UnEarthed

Chapter 20

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

Theresa is startled from her bed by loud knocks on her front door. She climbs out of bed and stumbles across the dark cabin. Before unlocking the door, she holds the demon blade firmly in her hand and peeks through the window to her right in curiosity as to who would be knocking at her door at two in the morning. She see's Rob, Hope, Trojan and Max standing on her porch.

"What the hell..." She mumbles and opens the door. "Rob? What are you guys doing here? You should be in Lincoln."

"Kenzy is gone." He says frantically as he storms into the room, followed by the others.

"What?" Theresa asks in confusion. She makes sure to lock the door behind them and then grabs a robe off the back of the couch and wraps it around her. She stares wildly at the distressed group and wonders what happened in the last few hours since they left her.

"I don't know... we stopped for gas and while we were all inside, she took off."

"Why would she leave like that?"

"We don't know. We were hoping she came here." Hope adds.

Theresa shakes her head. "I'm sorry. I haven't seen her since she left with you all earlier."

"This doesn't make sense." Rob paces back and forth as the anxiety rises in his chest. Breathing heavily, he tries to remain calm. He has never felt this anxious before and he is uncertain of how to control his emotions anymore. Lately, Kenzy has him feeling like a different person. "Why would she go off on her own knowing she is in danger?"

"Maybe that's why..." Theresa answers, gaining everyone's attention.

"What do you mean?" Max asks.

"She knows the demons are hunting her, not any of you. Maybe she thinks she's protecting you by leaving."

"That's ridiculous. She's the one who needs to be protected." Rob's tone grows increasingly defensive.

"I know, Rob. I'm just saying that may not be how she sees it."

"Well, what do we do? We have a zombie crisis on one hand and a demon crisis on the other." Trojan chimes in and the team look at Theresa hoping for an answer.

"You four go to Lincoln. I'll go find Kenzy." Theresa answers.

"No, we'd have better luck finding her as a team." Rob argues.

"I'm not asking, Rob. I work alone. I know how to defeat the demons. None of you do and right now, I don't have time to train you. Besides, protecting Kenzy is my job."

"Your job?" Hope asks and steps forward with her arms crossed over her chest in her signature "Hope" pose, giving the impression that she is demanding answers.

Theresa lets out a deep sigh and takes a seat on the couch, signaling the others to follow her which they all obey. "I was waiting for the right time to tell her but I knew her father. He came to me before he died wanting information about demons."

"Her dad knew about the demons?" Rob asks.

"Yeah, he knew a lot about them and they didn't like it... that's how he got himself killed. Before he died, I promised him I would watch after her. I've been following her since his death, keeping my distance and killing any demon who catches up to her."

"I am so confused. Why didn't you tell her this before?" Hope snaps, angry at Theresa for withholding this from her friend.

"Hope, there is so much more to this that you don't understand... there's things about it that I don't even understand. The demons don't want Kenzy dead. They say they have plans for her, which I say is worse than death. I have been digging and researching for years and I have very few answers. I promise I will tell her everything I know when the time is right. But for right now, I need to find her. If the demons get to her before I do, she's doomed."