The Demon's Gift

Untitled Part 8

 I woke up late. I rolled out of bed a bit after ten, worry instantly flooding my mind, carried over from the day before. It took me exactly five minutes to get up, get my shit together, and go searching for Cole. I went to his room first, since it was closest, and found it empty. I tried the training room next. He was stationed at the punching bag, beating the poor thing to shit.

"What happened?" I called out, emerging myself deeper into the room. He stopped when he heard my voice, facing me. I ended up a few feet in front of him.

"They didn't just dump her phone. We know where she is."

"So it's a trap."

"Yes," he said, taking off his gloves. "Mateo and Kenzie have never been in on a rescue before, so I'll talk to them today so they know what to expect. Christine spotted five demons last night, but I'm sure we can expect more. We'll need everyone, and I've called in all the groups around us. Only one could spare a couple hunters."

"How many people do we have right now?" I asked.

"With Lennon gone and Nat taken, we have eight."

"That's not bad," I said. He went to put the gloves away.

"Five demons were spotted, and it's possible that that's all of them, but I'm betting on seven. I'd prefer to outnumber them by more than one person. We're going into a trap, and I want to get out of it with ease."

"Who's coming?" I asked as he began walking back to me.

"I'm not sure of their names, but they're from the group up north a bit. Cover the northern outskirts of the city. We've done things with them before."

"I recall."

"I have to go gather Mateo and Kenzie," he told me, starting to walk towards the door. "We're all meeting here at four. Try to eat an hour before then, and have some carbs for breakfast."

I didn't feel like eating at all, but I made my way to the kitchen anyways after he left. I looked through the fridge and found nothing already made. I knew jack shit about cooking, but I found mac and cheese boxes in the cupboard, and I figured no one was hopeless enough to screw that up (I was wrong). I put water on the stove, waiting for it to boil. Christine came in not long after.

"Hey," she said when she saw me, slowing down and leaning up against the counter rather than going to the fridge. "What are you making?"

"Mac and cheese," I replied, shaking the box.

"I've never seen you cook anything before," she said.

"That's because I haven't, really," I told her honestly, setting it down and sitting across from her. She said something else before I could.

"I'm worried."

"I am too," I sighed. "But it's Nat. She'll be fine."

"She's too good for them. For all of us."

"Believe me, I know," I muttered, looking down at my hands. She reached one of hers across and placed it on top of them. We sat like that for a while, until she looked behind me.

"Your water's boiling."

I hopped up, rushing over to the bubbling pot. I frantically opened the box and poured them in, alarmed by the sudden stop of bubbles as they sat still in the bottom of the pan. I shook the pot a few times to no avail, and I turned around to ask Chris for help, but she had left me to conquer the food on my own. I searched the drawers until I found a big spoon, and then stuck it in and stirred them up, detaching a few from the bottom.