The Hunt

Chapter Ten

Woe Is Me

            “Argh!” I yelled as the string of the bow shot back and hit my fingers. We’ve been out here in the blistering hot sun for hours practicing shooting and loading bows and arrows. It wasn’t the first time today the hard string or heavy bow had assaulted me. “ You can do better than that!” Michael yelled while sipping on cool lemon-aid. I’d just about sell my soul for something cold to drink. John had told me that I couldn’t eat, drink, or rest till I shot an apple out of the tree in the yard.     

            So for the past four or five hour I’ve been stand out here in the hot sun with all black clothes on trying unsuccessfully to hit an apple. I was hot, tired, hungry, and frustrated. I narrowed my eyes, and focused on an apple. Come on Joey you can do this, I thought. I put the arrow in the bow , and pulled back the string. 3…2…1 Zing!  I released the arrow. The tree rustled and the arrow dropped out of it and on the end of the arrow… a juicy ruby red apple!

            I let out a sigh of relief and sunk to the ground. I looked over and Michael’s jaw was hanging open. “You don’t have to act so surprised you know.” I said.  I got up and walked into the house. “ Did you finally get one?” John asked. I nodded and grabbed a glass of lemon-aid. I sat down at the table and laid my head on my arms.

            “Don’t get too comfy. Today we are going to your grandma’s to get your clothes and then we are going to come back and work on defensive and offensive martial arts training.”

            I half moaned half growled and took a drink of my lemon-aid. “Why?” I whined. “ Because of this.” He said handing me a paper. Crap!  My Grandma had reported me missing. It was all right here in black and white. Josef Alexander Fox ; 5’9; 107 lbs; Raven hair; green eyes. I sighed again for the millionth time today and handed him the paper back.  “Okay when do we leave?”  John grabbed his jacket and keys, “Now.”

            I sat in the back seat of the Camaro. John was setting in the drivers seat very quietly lost I thought. Occasionally a cruse word or two would escape his mouth then he would shake his head. Michael sat in the passenger seat listening to an older IPod, making drumming signs and lip singing along. I sat alone in the back looking out the window. Imagining what my Grandma would say. Would she let me leave or call the cops. Knowing my grandma without a clever lie my bet was on the latter.

            We pulled into the drive way a short while later, John turned around and looked at me, “ Okay so you go in and say whatever you have to say. If you run into trouble you know what to do.” I said ok and got out. I took a deep breath. I was nervous, If she didn’t let me leave did I have the courage to defy her and run away? Would I, Should I, put John and them in that danger of trying to avoid the police if she called them? I didn’t know, but I had to try. I walked up to the front door. Walking in didn’t seem right so I knocked. “Coming!” I heard her yell. I exhaled a breath I didn’t know I’d been holding.

            “JOEY! I was soooo worried!” She screamed when she saw me and hugged me pulling me in the door. “Are you okay did they hurt you?” She asked setting us both down on the couch. I was relieved she hadn’t noticed the car in the drive way. “Grandma I’m fine, but I wasn’t kidnapped. I was with some friends with school,” I half lied. “I’m sorry I worried you but I just need some time away from the house.”  “ Oh Joey it okay. It’s just with Kay getting worse and all, and then you just disappeared all of the sudden. I was so afraid. I thought I had lost you both.” 
I sighed, “Grandma. You’d didn’t lose me…” She looked at me and said,” Why do I feel a, but coming?” “Well not exactly a but – “ She interrupted, “ good cause either way there isn’t an option. Your home now.” I didn’t know what to say. It was exactly what John and I had feared. “ Grandma…” A lie came to me, “ Look I need some time to clear my head. I want to go back and stay with my friends for a while. Please.”

            “NO, Joey I’m not losing you again.” I swallowed hard, now what? Back to the question, obey her or defy her?  I suddenly felt angry. Why me? I thought. Why? As much as I didn’t want to, I knew what I had to do. “I’m going back. You can’t stop me.” I whispered. Defy. My bed was now made and there was no changing destiny. Ha ha ha I laughed to myself. Destiny, more like stupidity. It would be all too easy to accept Kay’s fate. I mean the Shtriga was probably long gone, and there was probably no finding it. So what reason did I have to stay there? I thought of the long ago time when Michael had told me once you start hunting you never stop. Wait that wasn’t long ago, that was last night. Barley fifteen hours ago. It felt like ages.

            I could tell she was about to say no, deny me the chance to leave again. I stood up as I heard a knock at the door. My grandmother and I exchanged looks. We both slowly approached the door, and she turned the knob. “Um.. hello can I help you?” “ Um. Yes ma’am we’re friends of Joey,” I heard John say. I relaxed a little knowing it was him and not… wait did he say we? Oh no I thought. Michael was standing behind John looking mischievous.  “Are you the ones he’s been staying with?” John politely nodded. “Well, please come in.” she said gesturing for them to enter. Michael smirked, “ Nice place.” She flopped onto the couch and the snapping sound it made, made me cringe. My grandma frowned but said nothing. If looks could kill I would have just murdered Michael.

            We sat in the kitchen for about an hour talking, and the agreement was I could stay with John as long as I checked in with me grandma often. “Of course I need you address just in case,” she said.  “ No problem. 243 Holland Ave.” Michael looked at John like he was crazy, he opened his mouth to say something be the look John gave him shut him up. “Okay…” I said, “I’ll go get my stuff.”

            I walked up the stairs. Each footfall causes a loud creek. I got to the top of the stairs and my heart caught in my throat. Standing at the end of the hallway was a dark figure. Thought I couldn’t see the face I knew who it was. “ No,” I said. No matter what I did always seeing her made me scared. Terrified. I froze in the spot. “Joey, where have you been? I’ve missed you!” Amy said as she walked out of the shadows. I wanted to scream. Call for John, for Michael, they would know what to do. She was only a foot away. She smirked and touched my cheek. I felt the panic inside me. She was right in my face. I was shacking now. “Exorcizamus te, omnis immundus spiritus –“ She looked up and frowned before disappearing. I gasped  not realizing I had been holding my breath. My shaking legs gave out and almost fell. Thankfully I held my self-up by grabbing the wall. “Joey!” I felt someone grab my shoulders. It was Michael. He shook me and said, “ hey, hey, hey come on don’t faint now!” I took a couple of deep breaths and forced myself to calm down  . “I’m Okay.” I said trying to steady my breath.

            We went to my room and I sat down on the bed. I had to sit down. While I rested for a second, and John and Michael looked for signs of the Shtriga. I looked questionally  at John. He shook his head. I ran my fingers through my hair. Finally feeling better I got up and roughly shoved some clothes into a bag. We went down stairs and I told my grandma bye.

            When we got outside I put my bag in the back and got in. We were half way down the road when Michael looked at John and asked, “ are you feeling okay?” John looked puzzled, “ Ya, I’m fine. Why?”  Michael looked at him, “ 243 Holland is half way across town from where we live.” John smiled, “ I know.” I could see it hit Michael then, “ you lied to her!” he said laughing. We got the house and I – still shaken up from seeing Amy – went inside and laid down. I guess John forgot about training, because he didn’t wake me till dinner. Which was hamburgers and fries from Wendy’s. I ate then went to the bathroom. I turned on the shower and stepped in. The hot water felt good on my bare, almost sunburned  back. I thought about Kay sitting in the hospital all alone and unconscious.  I sighed, it just wasn’t fair! Why me? I thought Why me? “Why God? What did I ever do to you?!You took my parents and my sister! What do you want from me!?” I whispered hitting my fist on the tile wall. I felt tears falling down my cheeks. I brushed them away annoyed. I got out, went to bed and fell asleep.  

I woke in the middle of the night and herd John and Michael talking.  “John, he froze. That could be dangerous in a life or death situation” Michael stated. “You would have frozen to if a demon had appeared to you like that, after all he’s been through.” John retorted. “My life hasn’t exactly be peaches and cream, you know.” Michael snapped. “Look Michael. I said he stays and that’s the end of it!” John spat then walked away. I shook my head. Great I had cause a rift between John and Michael.

            I walked over to the window and looked at the moon. I watched the woods, wondering what they might conceal. After thinking about it I decided I probably didn’t want to know. I laid back down. Could this day get any worse? I thought. I sighed,( I seemed to do that a lot here lately), and fell asleep. Thankfully my dreams were undisturbed.