Demon: Book 1

Chapter 5: Cleaning Duty

After finishing my second lap around the lake, I tied off the half-filled garbage bag and tossed it by a tree. Exhausted, I plopped down in the sand close to the water. The smell of sewage still lingered on my clothes. The thought of having to do this all summer was depressing.

I took my phone out of my pocket to find I had no service and another two hours to sit there. It didn't take five hours to clean some toilets and pick up garbage. I couldn't even text anyone to make the time go by faster. Not that I had anyone to text.

My stomach started to growl, reminding me I had left my lunch in the truck. I took out my pocket knife and grabbed a stick lying nearby. After peeling off the bark, I started carving little design like my grandpa had taught me. I worked on it for over an hour. It slowly morphed into a snake curled around a twig. I thought it looked alright. My grandpa would have been proud.

The bushes rustled behind me. I turned around as a German shepherd came barreling out of the trees straight at me. Cursing under my breath, I ran for the tree line.

The dog didn't chase me. Instead, it went to the lake where a ball was floating in the water. Sucking in my lips, I prayed that no one had been watching.

"Hey, look at this."

My eyes landed on two boys walking out of the trees. One picked up my pocket knife, while the other grabbed the stick I had been working on. I marched toward them but felt my courage start to fade as I realized they were quite a bit taller than me. They gave me weird looks. I stopped a reasonable distance away. The dog, now dripping wet, had returned to its owner's side.

"Umm... those are mine."

The two boys exchanged amused glances. "Really?" said the bigger one.

I nodded. "Yeah, my name is on the knife." I pointed to the handle. "Right there, you can see it. Aden Perri."

The boy examined it. "Nope. I don't see anything. Maybe you dropped yours somewhere else."

"Just give it back." I held out my hand. "It's mine, and so is that." I motioned to the carved stick.

The shorter boy laughed. "No chance of that happening. Beat it, kid."

"The knife is mine," I stated. "It was a present. Give it back."

"Like we're going to listen to the garbage boy." The taller one shoved me.

I staggered back and rubbed my shoulder. "My dad is a forest ranger."

The boys laughed and pretended to be scared. "What is he going to do? Give us a ticket?"

Bowing my head, I felt stupid. My dad really couldn't do anything.

"Get out of here, or you're going to end up in the lake."

Staring at my feet, I slowly turned and walked away. It wasn't worth getting into a fight over it. I'd ask my mom to buy me a new one.

"Hey, garbage boy."

I looked over my shoulder.

"Catch." The taller one threw the ball at me.

I caught it and stared at the red object in my hands.

"Go get it, girl."

My eyes grew wide as the German shepherd race toward me. "Oh, no."

It leapt into the air and landed on top of me. I screamed and toppled into the sand, curling into a ball. The dog pawed at my chest and arms. It was only a matter of time before it took a chunk out of my arm or went for my neck.