“Dude. That is awesome. How did you get the chain through it?” I leaned closer to her and grabbed the rock while keeping one eye on the road.
“My father drilled this fine hole right through the middle. My mother gave me the chain on my sixteenth birthday. It was the gift that threw me off the scent of what my real present was—a car. Both of these things are kind of important to me. I figured I could mesh them together. I hope you didn’t mind me drilling a hole in your rock.”
We were almost meeting face to face between my two front seats. I practically forgot I was driving.
“No, I don’t mind at all. It’s for you…from me,” I muttered.
She fluttered her eyelids and turned to face front. “Ahhhhhh, Leo. Car. Driving. Road.” She pointed at the windshield. I grinned and watched the road in front of us more carefully.
We chatted about everything from her friends, the rumor mill dying down about her, and the hottest topic of all…well, at least to us…Scruffy and Sandra. It was then that Shade clued me in on the fact that our friends were also going out tonight, and they wanted us to stop by BNB’s before going our separate ways for the evening. I agreed.
BNB’s was bustling as usual. Sandra and Scruffy were already there, relaxing in her topless convertible, talking with people when we pulled up next to them. They shouted and waved and we returned the sentiments right back to them.
Shade was almost leaning out of the window screaming at her best friend as we came to a stop. The two ladies jumped out and hugged each other while Scruffy and I casually approached each other for a “bro” handshake.
“What’s up, brotha Leo?” Scruffy called.
“What’s up, Scruff?”
We clasped hands and shared a one-armed man embrace. I hit him with a lingering question that I already knew the answer to. “So man, are you and Sandra a thing now or what?”
He looked over at our two excitedly talking female companions and smiled, unable to wipe the pie-eating grin off his face. “Yeah, it looks to be so, man. I asked her out officially today and she said yes. How about you?”
“Not yet officially, but maybe tonight.”
“Like you once told me, no worries, you got this. So crap or get off the pot.”
“So, you don’t think she’s going to get tired of chauffeuring your bum-ass around and eventually dump you on it?”
Scruffy chuckled and slapped me right back with a shot of his own. “Man, I wouldn’t be worrying about me. Once Shade comes to her senses about you carrying her around so your ugly mug can look better, you’ll be tossed out of her life like a sack of hot garbage.”
The two of us rolled our heads backwards and bellowed. Then I placed my hand on his shoulder and gave it a light squeeze.
“Scruff, the you and Sandra thing…I think it’s dang cool, my lad. I couldn’t be any more proud of you than I am right now. Congrats, sir.”
Scruffy looked at me with the most sincerity I ever saw. With no joke or ulterior motive, he returned my gesture and replied, “Thanks, bro. We both have had a little stroke of luck here lately. It’s really nice to see you and Shade are finally getting to know each other on a deeper level. So I say to you, Leo, my boy, congrats to you too, homey.”
We stood there for a moment, so proud of the hotties we’d been fortunate enough to snag.
“So, what’s on the agenda for you two tonight?”
“I guess we’re going to go check out a movie, and then, who knows after that? Hopefully, a little make-out action if I get my way…” Scruffy wiggled his eyebrows while rolling his tongue around on his lips like a predator. “What are you guys gonna do?”
“That’s the Scruff I know—”
He interrupted me with a loud, “That’s right!” and slapped me on my side.
“Anyway, I think we’re going to Golf and Carts to hang out and, well, whatever else, I guess.”
“Make out!”
I shook my head in disgust again at my hormonal bud. “Whatever is the matter with you is no little thing.”
The girls heard Scruffy’s blatant display of vulgarity and called us on it. “What the heck are you two talking about over there? Make out? Are we gonna have to keep an eye on the two of you even more so than we already do?” Sandra teased.
Scruffy headed over to his new girlfriend. I followed a few paces behind.
He slid his arms around her waist and rested his chin on her shoulder. Sandra clasped her arms around his. I was really proud of the boy. Since I wasn’t quite sure where Shade and I stood yet, I just kept still next to her, sliding my hands in my back pockets. Shade bumped her hip against mine playfully.
“So…Golf and Carts, huh?” Sandra said as she leaned back into Scruffy.
“Yeah, I guess so. Should be pretty fun,” I answered as Shade and I shared a glance.
“Make sure you try the chocolate volcano sundae if you haven’t already. It’s to die for. It’s sooooooooo good. It’s our favorite snack, huh, Shade?”
“Hell yeah, it’s good!” she agreed.
“I-I’ll be sure to try it myself then. I’m sure it will be…just scrumptious,” I lied. Shade nudged me, letting me know she remembered my confession about how everything I eat tastes of ash.
“What?” Sandra asked, concerning our odd spontaneous laughter.
Shade got back on subject, rescuing me from having to do so. “Oh, we’ll be certain to eat that after we play a few holes of miniature golf and race some carts around the tracks a few times, right, Leo?”
“Sounds good to me, chick.”
Scruffy, never missing an opportunity to, well, be himself, leaned over Sandra’s shoulder and whispered loud enough for all of us to hear, “Leo put her in the wall.”
Sandra looked over her shoulder at him with a sour smile and poked her elbow into his side causing us all to bust out laughing. “Mark, behave yourself.”
“Sandra, if you can get him to do that, then you’ve just solved one of the great wonders of the universe.”
“That’s for sure.” Sandra rolled her eyes and flipped open her cell phone to check the time. “Oh crap, Mark, we better get going if we want to catch the movie.” She spun out of his grasp.
“Let’s roll, babe. Leo, my boy, later on.” Scruffy extended his hand again for another handshake and we hugged again.
“Later on, Scruff. Have fun, but not too much fun,” I kidded the young couple.
“I hope that’s not the case at all. I hope we have waaaaaaayyyy too much fun!” Scruffy pushed at a disgusted Sandra, who stuck her tongue out at him.
“Speaking of that, take care of my boy, Shade. He’s innocent and child-like. I don’t want him coming back all corrupted by your ways.”
“Oh yeah. Okay, you got it there, Scruffy.”
“You better watch him, Sandra, he’s already feisty!” I warned as we climbed into my car.
“I know, right? You all have fun! Leo, take care of my girl.”
“I will, I promise. It’s like she’s with insurance. She’s in good hands.”
We waved as we left the busy BNB’s parking lot.
“Oh, that Scruffy…Sandra is gonna have her hands full with that one,” Shade said.
“That’s my boy.”
“God, Scruffy can—oops, sorry.” She stopped herself, as if saying God around me was a bad thing.
“It’s okay. Talking about God around a demon isn’t like in the books or movies where we recoil in anguish and pain or something. We’re just not allowed to live in heaven or earth, that’s pretty much it.”
Shade looked mildly confused. “What about going into churches or being splashed with holy water and all that?”
I shot her a half grin. “Well, I can enter any church I choose, but we don’t because it’s considered sacred ground to the living. So, keeping in tune with spiritual law, we’re not allowed to venture onto church ground, although some rule-breakers do. As for holy water, if it’s blessed by a holy man, angel, or something like that, then yes, th
at’s very painful if it splashes on us. Feels kind of like the burn of a thousand white-hot fire pokers.”
“Ouch! Have you ever been splashed with holy water?”
“Yes, and it sucks.”
“Sounds like it. Soooooo, what happens to a demon if he breaks the rules and goes into a church?”
“He’s taken from earth, usually unwillingly, and placed back into Hell. He may not even be allowed to return to earthly work ever again. Same goes for demons that try to possess people…”
“Ooh.”
“Those are usually entities that have slipped out of Hell past the goyles. Purely in spiritual form, they hide in bodies. That way they can feel what it is to be in the flesh again. The longer in they’re in a body, the longer they can keep from being sent back to the torments of Hell.”
Shade looked bewildered. “So that’s why demons possess human beings? Those exorcist preacher guys are called in to get them out and—”
“Exactly, those men or women, exorcists, get the attention of both Heaven and Hell. This tells each side that a beast is on the loose and if Hell doesn’t come back to claim him, angels will show up and kill him, thus giving him a spiritual death, never to exist anywhere, ever again. Almost as if the being never existed at all.”
Shade looked sad. “That’s terrible. I guess, well, if the demon was like you.”
“Yeah, like me,” I said under my breath.
“Wait, you said goyle. What’s a goyle?”
“A watchman, or I should say woman, for Hell. They are in charge of making sure no impure malevolent being escapes the fires of damnation. They’re the bouncers of Hell, so to speak, making sure that what’s out, stays out, and that whatever’s supposed to stay in, stays in. Not that anything ever tries to go in. It’s the coming out part that keeps them busy.”
“What do they look like?”
“Geez, girl, what is this, night of a thousand questions?”
“I’m sorry, Leo, I’ll stop.”
“No worries, girl, I’m joking. I have no problem answering your questions. I understand why you have them.” Shade just nodded. “Have you ever seen or read Lord of the Rings?” Shade nodded again. “Goyles look very similar to the Elf women. They’re very human-like in appearance, have pointed ears, and beautiful long blonde or brown hair. They wear long, flowing, glittering attire.”
“They sound stunning.”
It’s true; they don’t remotely seem the type to be guardians of the foulest place in existence. “Yes, they are. But what separates them from being simply breathtaking women are their harsh fluorescent yellow and green eyes, and sharp jagged teeth. They make a scream so piercing it can shatter a spirit’s soul, weakening it. To hear a goyle’s scream can bring a demon, even an angel, to its knees. They are truly wolves in sheep’s clothing, especially their goyle queen enchantress, Agrelia. Cold and calculating she is—like they all are, for that matter—not the type you want to get into a tussle with. There’s a reason why they’re handpicked to keep the sinister evils of Hell in Hell. Beautiful they are, but vicious. Not too many are willing to take them on in order to escape Hell, I can tell you, and none are successful in getting past them.”
Shade was deep in thought. She whispered the name of the goyle queen. Before she could speak, I gave her more facts to digest. “What’s really going to blow your mind is that they’re hybrids of both demon…and vampire.”
Shade shot a look at me as her jaw dropped. “Are you telling me there really are vampires, too?”
I politely scoffed at her ignorance. I mean, of course she wouldn’t know stuff like that, no human really does. I just couldn’t help but feel a sense of superiority in knowing. “Oh yes. I could fill you in on them, too, but for now I cannot.”
“Wait. What. Why not?” She sounded frustrated.
“Because we’re here.”
“Huh?”
“Golf and Carts. We’re here.” I pointed out the windshield at the shining neon lights that illuminated the entire park.
Her stress-filled face relaxed and lit up with excitement as we pulled into the parking lot. “You’re going to have to finish telling me about this whole Hell, goyle, vampire, angel, demon thing, Leo. This is nuts.” She exhaled.
I smiled and patted her leg. “C’mon, let’s go inside and have a good time. I’ll explain more to you later after we’ve had a little fun. Sound like a deal?”
Shade pressed her lips together as if conceding her thirst for knowledge for the time being. “Sounds good. I’ll kick your butt on the course and in some carts first.” Shade slapped my chest and hopped out of my car.
“Oooohhhhh. Now it’s on like Donkey Kong, girl.” I got out, slamming my door to join the backwards-strutting and oh-so cocky girl. “Let’s get in there and I’ll show you what I can do, chick.”
She pressed her finger into my chest and made sure the playing field was level between us. “Don’t you pull any of that demon crap on me, either, trying to give yourself an advantage somehow. Got it, demon-boy?”
“I make no guarantees.”
“You better make some, if you know what’s good for you.”
We strolled casually into the establishment.
CHAPTER 11
DETAILS
We purchased passes to race and play unlimited holes until we could almost puke. We hurried up a ramp in the tunnel-like entrance of the building that took us through the arcade and past a huge neon sign depicting a little golf guy driving a go-cart. You could see this sign glowing for miles standing over the fun park baring the name “Golf and Carts.” Shade rifled us into, and through, the arcade area. The game zone, or arcade, is where the pizza parlor with the infamous chocolate avalanche reigns. After hardly seeing a thing inside the place due to the rushed pace, Shade ushered us back outside and up to a little booth.
“Dang girl, it’s a good thing I didn’t want to actually stop and look around,” I pointed out.
“Oh stop, you big baby, there will be plenty of time to look around after we hit a few holes.”
She pulled me over to the guy who was handing out putters and scorecards from inside the booth. I guess she really liked putt-putt.
We made our way to the first hole and Shade instantly picked up where I left off concerning the vampires, while pointing at the start of the course, signaling me to go first.
“Okay, Leo, this vampire thing, what’s their deal? They’re for real?”
“Aren’t we on a date? Do you really wanna talk about goblins and ghouls all night long? Don’t you wanna talk about something more uplifting?”
Shade put her hands on her hips. “Yes, we are, and yes, we will. I can’t help myself. This stuff is fascinating. It seems unthinkable, all this Heaven and Hell stuff, what you are, and so on. I promise I’ll shut up about it soon. Besides, I kinda like being one of the only people in the world to know such cool inside info.” She raised her eyebrows.
I just gave her a cynical grin and shook my head. “Vampires—yes, they’re very real, and very powerful.”
“Are they as strong as demons?” She smirked as if gutchecking me in a small way.
I smiled. “No, not really, but close enough. You should know that we demons are the kings of the dark underworld, girl,” I kidded her back in a serious way, “but there’s one who is as strong, rumored to be stronger than any demon like myself, and that’s the Vampire Lord, Shimmer. The rest of the vampire hordes on earth are under his command.”
“What’s he like? What’s he look like?”
“Think of the most cruel and vile human mass murderer you could think of—Charles Manson, maybe? Now picture him with unlimited power, an army of cunning and merciless killers at his disposal that heed every vicious command he orders.”
Shade just turned her head in slight fear, still hanging on every descriptive word I spewed out to her.
“Now, imagine the scenario with almost no rules to govern them. Aggressive killers, if given the freedom to do so—there would b
e no human life left on earth period—heck, no life but vampires would be almost ideal for them if they didn’t desire human blood so much. Be thankful they must follow spiritual laws, like me, or that would be a reality. Vampires have to follow the leash-laws of Hell, like demons do.”
I placed my putter on the green and gently struck my black golf ball down the little green fairway. Shade stood behind me, patiently waiting her turn.
“Have you ever seen that magician guy, Chris Angel, on TV?”
“Yeah, he’s pretty awesome. Pretty hot, too. What about him?”
“Shimmer looks a lot like him. Well, dresses similarly. He sports round, purple-tinted hippy glasses on the tip of his nose, barely covering those bright, blood-red eyes of fire that all vampires possess. He has multiple long silver necklaces from which, ironically, dangle pendants of black crosses that clank freely around his neck. On his fingers, even on his thumbs, he wears a multitude of silver jewelry. I haven’t gotten a real close up look, but some of them appear to have religious images on the tops of the rings. He’s muscular and always dresses in black. Always. Even his shoulder length hair is black, which is covered by a black do-rag that surrounds his head and ears. He’s ruthless and dangerous. There has never been a more calculated killer than him…ever.”
“So is he—are they—what they’re made out to be? You know, blood suckers elegantly stalking humans at night and such?” She chuckled uncomfortably.
I could tell she was hoping my answer would debunk vampire myths. Although they’re not exactly like they’re made out to be in stories and movies, rumors about stalking vampires do lay bare some facts.
“Here’s an ugly secret we on the other side of humanity know. While breezing into those shopping supercenters, I’m sure you’ve seen pictures of missing people, correct? You know those ‘have you seen me’ flyers of people who have disappeared without a trace?” I let Shade have her turn putting.
“Yeah. What about them?” She looked baffled as she bent over to shoot.
“Well, with the exception of the majority of the really, really, young children, you can blame it on the work of vampires.”
Drift (Drift Series) Page 12
