What Hunts Me

Chapter 2

Chapter 2Twelve days before….

“Are you kidding?!” Billy hissed.

I glanced her way. She was in the middle of several ghosts, not too powerful, but plentiful, and somewhere along the way she'd lost her chopstick and was stabbing the ghosts barehanded, which hurts like hell since ghosts and demons emit an electroplasmic shock when you touch them. I could tell from the shrillness of her voice and her expression that she was getting some pretty good jolts. We were currently engaged in a ghostly and human battle at Schofield Barracks Army Base on the beautiful island of Oahu. Two soldiers were now advancing on Billy, and were unfortunately quite possessed. I sprinted to her, grabbing her by the waist and lifting her out of the way before the first of the two men, a corporal, could get to her. She started to use her un-lady-like words, but then noticed the guy was holding an old, but sharp bayonet, and it was aimed right at her gut. She grumbled a thanks and reached for another chopstick, which she assumed was in her back pocket; no luck though, she was all out. I pulled two of my five remaining yellow number two pencils from my pocket and handed them to her, then I lunged at the man with the blade, taking him down at the waist and stabbing his nasty demon, a World War II navy ensign, at the same time. The victim promptly fainted (they always do) when the ghostly veteran that haunted him disappeared into a swirling grey mist.

Billy was making her way to the other man, a staff sergeant. I wasn't sure what specific ailment plagued the man, but based on the ominous green puss leaking from his eyes and nose, not to mention the milky white foam around his mouth, I guessed it was pretty nasty. All of which was courtesy of a rather mean 1950s ghost. The ghost had managed—in the soldier's weakened state—to possess him, and as such was using the soldier's well-honed fighting skills to pummel our local ghost killing companion, Alika Kekoa. Billy stabbed the ghost, who then faded away into that all-too-familiar grey mist as the staff sergeant fainted.

Alika and Billy turned in unison and headed toward the commissary, where we knew the ghost infestation was at its most prevalent. I finished off a demon that was possessing another soldier, an officer this time, and joined them in the building. By the time I got there, there wasn't much to do. Bewildered army personnel, civilian shoppers and employees, and a lot of grey mist greeted me. Fortunately for the victims, they wouldn't remember being haunted, thus they wouldn't remember being ill, thus our intrusion into their lives needed some quick explaining. Alika smiled broadly, proclaimed to be lost, and inquired about directions off the base.

When my ghost killing abilities had first surfaced, they were quickly followed by the introduction of some very interesting people; some good, some bad. Billy Wilkinson was one of the good ones, but her estranged and deranged grandfather, Frederick Vokkel, was definitely on the bad end. He'd managed to call in a large surge of ghosts and demons; odd, because he couldn't actually communicate or see the ghosts and demons; and even odder, because ghosts and demons don't like to work in packs…they're strictly solo operators. Billy killed Vokkel, but since that time we'd been seeing more and more surges, groups of all levels of ghosts and demons working in unison. These weren't everyday occurrences, but they were becoming common enough.

Alika was a native and resident of Maui, and born to a long line of ghost killers. His name at birth was Joseph, but when he began to show his ability to see and kill ghosts, his father renamed him Alika, which meant “guardian” in Hawaiian. It was a perfectly appropriate name for him, since that was basically what he did…he guarded the Sandwich Islands from ghosts and demons. But sometimes, like most mid-level ghost killers, he needed an extra hand.

When this particular infestation started he did his best to keep it under control, but when the nasty demons started showing up, he called the Watchers. The Watchers are a global group of people, some ghost killers themselves, others just ordinary folks, that are aware of our unordinary situation. Their primary purpose is to protect ghost killers from those that want to harness our power, but they also keep tabs on everything that goes on in the supernatural world of ghosts and demons. If an infestation crops up and can't be handled locally, they will send in reinforcements, such as Billy and me. The guy in charge of most of the U.S. is Aris Galanos, and like Billy and me, he lives in San Francisco. He's also a respected friend, not to mention he's kind of our boss, although Billy would never admit that.

There aren't many of us…perhaps ten-thousand, give-or-take, worldwide. Unfortunately, the ghost and demon population is much larger, and that means most ghost killers are constantly on the move, trying to keep them in check. Ghosts and demons come in different levels of power; the older they are, the stronger they are, and most ghost killers are low to mid-level in their abilities. But a few, like Billy and I, are exceptionally strong, and when a situation like the one we just experienced arises, we're called in to handle it.

As we walked to Alika's car, I announced, “Well now, that was fun!”

Billy grumbled. She was in a wicked mood, which wasn't really all that unusual for her, especially since we'd been going non-stop for months with little-to-no break. Her general disposition was abrasive and hard. She had a right to be that way; she'd been betrayed by her mother, her grandfather, and some people she thought were her friends. Until last year, she'd led a nomadic existence, travelling the world alone, killing ghosts and demons. Things were different now…well, not in the sense that she still travelled a great deal, but she had friends and family now, people that loved her and wanted her around. I spent a lot of time making fun of her attitude, but it was all in jest and she knew it. I think it actually softened her up a bit. But she needed a vacation; we both did.

I jabbed her gently in the side and said, “Come on, Billy. We're in paradise and the job is done. Cheer up!”

For most people the island of Oahu is full of natural wonders, beautiful beaches, and rich historical sites. But for Billy and me, it's ghosts and demons, and if we're lucky a Mai Tai or two. So far, we'd had plenty of the first two and none of the third, but that was soon to change. It was all arranged, courtesy of yours truly.

“Ah, he's right malihini, let's go celebrate.”

Alika drove us back to our hotel in Waikiki. In the lobby Billy announced the need for the restroom, and I filled Alika in on my plan. When we'd gotten the call to come to the island, I immediately went to Aris and declared it vacation time. I told him I'd be arranging for Billy's boyfriend, Mike, to come over and join her. I knew the job would only take a day at the most, but told Billy we'd be staying at least three days, so she'd pack a few extra things. Once Mike made the scene I'd skip town, back to San Francisco. I needed a vacation too, and I had the perfect one lined up.

Per my plan, Mike had already arrived and was on his way to the hotel. I texted him and told him to stay out of sight for the next hour. When Billy returned from the restroom, Alika informed her he'd be taking us both to dinner, and then shooed us off to our rooms to clean-up.

Forty-five minutes later I was sitting at a table in the lounge with Alika when Billy stepped off the elevator. She's a natural beauty; even if her brazen personality sometimes overshadows that beauty, she still turns heads. Her long, jet-black hair hung in waves, and her pale smooth skin shone with the freshness of her recent shower. But it was her eyes that caught most peoples' attention. They were a piercing green color, and she had the wicked ability to use those optical beauties like a weapon. An especially focused glare could mean impending danger to the recipient; it was unsettling, and had sent many a stronger man into a state of panic. The sundress she wore bared her shoulders and showed off her long legs. At five-foot-eight, she had the figure of a well-trained triathlete. Every man in the lounge turned to look at her, those eyes slicing each one in half as she scanned the room for us.

She sauntered over and sat, grumbling something under her breath, probably about all the unwanted attention she'd garnered from the male patrons. She just didn't realize how pretty she was. We ordered drinks and my phone let out a whistle, alerting me to a new text. I glanced at it; it was Mike, letting me know he had arrived.

Billy gave my phone a spectacularly evil look and snarled. “Do not tell me that's Aris.”

I smiled. “Nope.”

Billy's chair faced the main lounge and lobby area, and her expression suddenly changed from a scowl to surprise, her eyes narrowed, “What the…?” Obviously, she'd caught sight of Mike as he'd entered the lounge.

Mike had been my college roommate, and I'd introduced the two. He and Billy had been casually dating for the last few months, a relationship that had us all in shock, but seemed to be blooming. To be honest, I hadn't thought it would work, but I was very happy she'd found someone that was willing to not only put up with her less than shining personality, but do it on a romantic level.

She stood as Mike approached our table, and asked, “What are you doing here?”

He pulled her close and kissed her cheek, then hooked a thumb over his shoulder in my direction. “It was all that guy's idea.” He looked her up and down. “You look amazing.”

A slight blush rushed up her cheeks, then she leaned around Mike and attempted to give me a dirty look, but instead of that deadly green glare, it came off soft.

I smiled and stood up. “Well, that's our cue to leave. You're officially on vacation for the next week. See you later.” Alika and I began to walk towards the lobby.

Her tone was sharp. “George!” I turned back to her; her lips were slightly upturned in a smile. “Thanks.” I tipped her a two-fingered salute and we left them.

On the drive to the airport, Alika said, “That was a pretty nice thing you did for her, brah.” Much to my surprise, especially considering our rocky start, Billy and I had become close friends, and I enjoyed seeing her happy. I'm a nice guy that way.