GRIEVOUS VENGEANCE

CHAPTER 37

The first part of the try out has ended and the next set will start after an hour. Henry was told he passed the try out and he will become one of the regulars. The girls at the audience area were still giggling while looking at him. He did what he always do when girls are going crazy on him. He brushed his wet hair ans closed his eyes, then he looked at them and gave a wide smile. The girls shouted in excitement.

"Babe, you were so amazing back there!" Andrea ran towards Henry and wrapped her arms around his nape. "You're the best and the girls were swooning over you!"

Henry hugged his girlfriend so tight. "Thank you, Babe. I know I can make it. I was the champion in Junior High."

"You should take a shower first, my clothes are now wet." She touched and looked at her uniform. "Look at me."

"It's okay, Babe. We can work it out later and dry it out." He winked at her.

Andrea giggled. "Go now. We have a lot of things to catch up." Andrea bit her lower lip. "We can be together all night later. My parents are away."

Henry's lips twitched and his eyes shone like bright stars upon hearing it. He immediately walked towards the locker area for men.

The shower is in the inner part of the locker area. There are few male students inside preparing for their turns for try out. He took out his towel, soap and shampoo, his new underwear and pants from his sports bag placed inside the locker, then he went to the shower area. He chose to use the cubicle at the far end. He removed his trunks and started cleaning his whole body. He was humming while taking his time to wash himself. After showering, he dried himself with towel. He wore his underwear and black jeans before going out of the cubicle.

He was walking back to the locker area when he felt a strange cold. It felt horrible and the hair all over his body stood up. He would not have ignored it but he heard a whisper from the wind. The woman's voice seemed to come from a deep well.

"We will be together for life...."

He looked around the shower but there was no one else but him and the two men who had just entered. He felt scared so he walked fast towards his locker. He opened the locker and took his sports bag. Even before he closed his locker, he felt his body hair stood up again. The cold wind brushed his right cheek and he heard a faint whisper, "Henry, we will be together for life...."

His eyes widened. He could not remember who owned that voice but it was creepy! He felt something beside him. He looked at his right side and saw the scariest face in his entire life. Its eyes are black, the face is decaying and the lips are cracked. It has two horns on its head. He shouted in terror. He banged all the things he could touch. He rubbed his eyes. The creature he saw was gone. The two students turned around and gave him a strange look. He quickly took his sports bag and stormed out of the men's shower and locker area.

*****

They waited for Marvin outside the school stadium. He went out wearing their school uniform. His hair is still wet, adding more masculinity to him. He smiled while walking towards them.

"Have you see it, guys?" he asked. "There was a black shadow creature swimming with him."

"Yes, we did, but Mark can't see it," Janine said. "You don't have any special ability, I guess. You just happen to be with us all the time."

"I'll leave that special ability with you, guys. I'll be just your driver and back up." Mark grinned. "There are times I see things you see, maybe their intention is to be seen, but I can't see the one earlier."

"But what was it?" Jackie looked around. "Where's Steve? He should've seen it."

"He's probably still in the clinic," Marvin said. "Pestering Jen. He likes her."

"I heard you," Steve said. He's walking towards them. "Am I late? Did I miss anything?"

"Why are you late?" Marvin put his arms on his waist. "Stop fooling around, man!"

"I'm not, I just visited our friend, Jen." He smiled innocently. "What happened?"

"You haven't seen him yet, but the guy earlier was Jen's ex-boyfriend," Janine said. "We saw him in the team's try out, and he swam with a black shadow, with horns." She even gestured her two index fingers like horns on her head.

Steve kept his silence for a while. "What was the issue of the guy? Did he hurt or abuse anyone?"

Jackie nodded. "He dumped his previous girlfriend, replaced her while she's pregnant then he pushed her that made her get a miscarriage."

"That's probably it. Or it could be another girl if he did that to a lot of women." He looked around and searched the area, then he froze while looking at the entrance of the building. They saw Henry and his girlfriend walking out of the stadium. They seemed in a rush. It was quick, but aside from Mark, they saw a black shadow with horns following him. The shadow was gone after a few seconds.

"You saw it, right?" Janine asked. "That black thing."

Steve nodded. "It's not just a lowly spirit. It could be a demon or something else. Like an element we don't really see but living around us."

"Was it the same as the Soul-eater?" Janine hugged herself. She doesn't want to encounter demons anytime soon. "Or are you referring to dwarfs and other creatures?"

Steve shook his head. "I'm afraid not. I still need to confirm it."

"What can we do? Will it hurt other people, too?" Jackie asked. "I don't care if that will just haunt that guy. He's a scumbag. Sorry, but I don't feel any sympathy towards him."

"We need to find out what that is, and why it is around human. It could hurt other people as well." Steve walked to follow Henry. Janine and the others followed him, too.

They weren't able to catch them because they already hopped into his car and started the engine.

"We can try to talk to him tomorrow," Mark said. "Let's go home."

They all left the school with heavy feeling and anxious. They are going to face an evil creature again. Janine is worried about their safety.