Love, Basketball and Demons

Chapter 10: Birthday Crasher

Rob strolled across the quad, his eyes following the falling autumn leaves as they danced around him. The crisp air nipped at his cheeks, but he hardly noticed; his thoughts were focused on the movie theater incident and getting answers to what happened that night.

He spotted Ahmed sitting under a large oak tree, engrossed in a mystery novel. As Rob approached, he couldn't help but admire how serene Ahmed appeared, his heart nearly skipped a beat before he reminded himself why he was there. He took a seat next to his friend of a friend, hoping to gain some insight into what had happened.

"Hey, Ahmed," he began casually, "How are you holding up after the theater thing, the news said you found a body and were attacked by an animal. Is that true?"

Ahmed frowned slightly, clearly annoyed by the interruption. He closed his book with a soft sigh and looked up at Rob. "Do we have to talk about this now? I'd rather just enjoy my book."

Rob persisted, sensing there was more to Ahmed's reluctance than met the eye. "Come on, man. You saw everything, right? I have heard some crazy rumors around campus and was hoping to just get the truth straight from the source."

Ahmed's annoyance quickly turned to anger. "I don't want to talk about it, alright?" he snapped before storming off, leaving Rob standing alone.

Rob watched him go, realization dawning that he should have been more sensitive to Ahmed's feelings and trauma. He was about to chase after Ahmed when he heard a faint buzzing noise. Looking down, he saw Ahmed's phone vibrating beneath the blades of grass. Picking it up, Rob glanced at the screen only to find the call was coming from China, he rolled his eyes at the robocall. As he hung up, he accidentally tapped the camera app with his finger and something caught his eye: a blurry photo of Gluttony, captured during the theater incident. The orange glowing eyes were unmistakable on the screen.

Rob's heart raced as he stared at the damning evidence of the supernatural. He tried calling Zack, "Pick up, Pick up, Pick up!!!" but there was no answer. Great, he thought, now what do I do? Torn between keeping the only visual evidence of Gluttony and Zack from ever being found out, Rob made a split-second decision to delete the photo. With that done, he pocketed the phone and raced after Ahmed, determined to make amends.

Meanwhile, Abby and two other exorcists arrive at Ethel's home, intent on confronting her about what she knows about the sin and its vessels. As they approached, Ethel sensed their presence and grabbed a frying pan from the stove. She positioned herself next to the door, pan at the ready.

The door swung open with intense force as the first man kicked it. He was quickly met with the back end of the frying pan, sending him tumbling back off the front porch and landing motionless in the grass. The second exorcist, a thin woman, leaped through the entrance keeping low to avoid the pan. She drew her weapon and turned to where Ethel had once stood, but was only greeted but a set of empty coat hooks. The exorcist turned to find a dimly glowing green eye staring back at her, before she could move she found herself tied up in the front entranceway with Ethel standing over her triumphantly.

Abby crept through the back door, a ring of holly at the ready. Caught off guard, Ethel gasped when she saw Abby. This was a grave mistake as Abby lunged forward stuffing the holly into Ethel's mouth, causing her to pass out almost instantaneously. "Still too focused on what's in front of you" She smirked as she stood over Ethel. "You should have chosen a better part of town to hide out in, I don't see the police getting here anytime soon."

Dragging the unconscious woman to her car, Abby loaded her into the vehicle and drove back to St. Jerome's Parish, leaving her fellow exorcists on Ethel's lawn.

As water dripped from Ethel's face, confusion and fear flashed in her eyes. She went to move but found her wrists were restrained. Abby stood over her, a mix of determination and smugness in her gaze. "So, I think it's time we had a chat," Abby started "What have I missed since I've been gone?"