The Demon Conspiracy (36 page)

“Hey, Granny. Hey, Dr. Parrish,” he said.
“The place looks great!”

Granny gave him a hug and rubbed his hair.
Parrish smiled proudly. “Why thank you, young man,” he said. “We’ve
come a long way and now we have heat!”

“I can feel it!”

“That’s right,” said Granny. “Mark’s gonna
spend the night here tomorrow.”

Travis looked around. “Cool! But where you
gonna sleep? There’s no bed, or nothin’.”

“I’ll bring an air mattress,” said Parrish.
“So how’d you like to spend the night here, too?”

Travis got even more excited than he was
before. “Can I sleep in the tower?”

Parrish nodded. “You bet you can. It’s got
the best view of the neighbors’ house, that’s for sure.”

“The neighbors?” Travis laughed. “You mean
us.”

“We could roast marshmallows in the
fireplace,” said Granny. She winked at Parrish, who nodded
vigorously.

“That’s what I’m talkin’ about!” Then Travis
remembered Mathew. “Wait! Mathew Dunlop’s gonna spend the whole
weekend with us. Can he come too?”

“Sure,” said Parrish. “The more the merrier.
Of course, I may have to put you both to work if you stay
here.”

“Really? What can we do?”

“I don’t know. What
can
you do?” Parrish
looked down thoughtfully at Travis, who shrugged. The big man
backhanded the problem away. “Don’t worry about it, we’ll find
something. But tomorrow I want to stay here to make sure the heat
works properly, and hopefully, I can lay the ceramic tile in the
downstairs bathroom.”

“Aren’t you gonna be afraid in here by
yourself?”

“Nah. Matilda will join me when she gets off
work.”

“Cool!” said Travis. He gave Parrish and
Granny high fives and ran upstairs to look out the tower bedroom
window. Below he could see the garage side of the McCormick’s house
and most of the yard. Way up here he stood nearly as tall as the
big oak tree in Angie’s front yard. Parrish was right. This room
did have the best view of the neighbors’ house.

***

As far as Travis was concerned the sleepover
was going great in spite of the fact Kelly also had someone over to
spend the night. He was glad it was Melissa because she seemed to
fit in like she was part of the family. She was funny and crazy and
just as sneaky as the boys when it came to spying. Plus with her
around it gave Kelly someone else to hang out with. Before dinner
Melissa convinced everyone to go down to the basement to tell ghost
stories and she was really good at telling them. She told stories
about demon dogs, zombies, vampires and murderous skeletons. After
what happened in Pandora’s Cave, Travis wasn’t interested in
hearing any scary stories. He was glad when Angie finally called
them upstairs to eat.

When they sat down at the dining-room table
it became obvious how much trouble Angie had had with the grill.
She’d never used a charcoal grill before and she’d ruined quite a
few hamburgers and hotdogs before she got the hang of it. But in
the end dinner turned out to be pretty good. Luckily, Mathew
preferred badly charred hotdogs and Melissa ate mostly potato salad
because she was thinking about becoming a vegetarian.

After supper the boys went to Dr. Parrish’s
house to see if they could help build something. Right after they
got there Granny showed up because she got off early from her job
at Mike’s Pub. Dr. Parrish was so engrossed with laying ceramic
tile in the downstairs bathroom he’d forgotten all about the boys.
But it was obvious he was glad to see them when they came in.
Travis noticed he was especially glad to see Granny, too.

“Since you’ve got heat now, you’re done with
the hot air blower, right?” said Granny, getting right to work. “Do
you want me to move it out to the garage?”

“Better leave it in the corner with the
kerosene,” said Parrish. When I finish up the ceramic in the
bathroom, I’m going to tape the kitchen ceiling. It’s kind of cold
tonight, and I want the drywall compound to dry.”

“Don’t you think your brand-new furnace will
keep the place warm enough?”

“I’m a big believer in Murphy’s Law and I
like to have a backup plan.”

“What’s Murphy’s Law?” asked Travis.

“I know what that is,”
said Mathew. “If something
can
go wrong, it
will
go wrong. That’s close anyway.”

“Very good, Mathew,” said Parrish. “And
that’s why I’m keeping the heater and the kerosene around, just in
case.”

“So whutta you want us to do?” asked
Travis.

Parrish gazed down at them and thought about
it. “I’ve got just the thing. Come with me.” He led them to the
dining room where some tools and supplies were stored. He sorted
through the pile and pulled out a pair of cordless drills and a
large box of screws.

“How’d you guys like to do
some
real
work?”
he said, handing each boy a drill.

“We get to use drills?” said Mathew
hopefully.

“As long as you’re careful,” said Parrish.
He led them into the kitchen where the floor was covered with thick
sheets of plywood, but the boards moved a little under their feet.
“I’ve already cut the plywood and laid it down, but it’s not
attached. I need you to screw down all these sheets of plywood
tonight so I can put ceramic on it tomorrow.” He showed them how to
work the drills and how to put in screws, then watched them do it.
Travis was always interested in tearing things apart, but he was
extra thrilled to be building something. He exchanged an excited
glance with Mathew as they went to work. Parrish was clearly amazed
at how quickly both Mathew and Travis grasped the concept and the
coordination that went with drilling screws into wood.

“I think you boys have it down nicely,” he
said after several screws had been put in to his liking. “Let me
know if you have any questions. I’ll be in the bathroom
working.”

“How many screws do we put in?” asked
Travis.

“Do you see all those dots on the floor?”
said Parrish. The boys scanned the huge kitchen floor. There were
hundreds of marks. “Well, I pre-measured and marked where I wanted
the screws put in. I need one screw in every dot. If you finish
that job, and do it correctly, I’ll find more work for you.”

“That’s what I’m talkin’ about!” said
Travis.

“Yeah!” Mathew agreed. Both boys nodded
eagerly and set off with their drills.

Travis noticed that Parrish watched them
discreetly for a while, then quietly went back to his tile job.
Travis spoke to Mathew as they worked. “I’m sorry I don’t have a
tree fort to camp out in,” he said. “That would have been
cooler.”

“Are you kidding?” said Mathew. “This is way
more fun than the tree fort. I’ve never worked a drill before.
Besides, it’s kind of cold tonight, my treefort does better in the
summer.”

Travis worked like it was the dream job of a
lifetime. When they had finished over half of the room, Mathew
stood up and took out his cell phone. “Hey, Travis, can you take a
video of me working? I want to show my parents what we’re
doing.”

“Sure.” Travis took the phone and aimed the
lens at Mathew. Mathew drilled a couple of screws into the floor
and looked up.

“Hey, mom and dad! We’re helping Dr. Parrish
fix his house! See?” He drilled another screw in, then took the
phone from Travis and got some video of him doing the same
thing.

Travis was a little embarrassed to be
recorded as he worked. He looked up shyly and waved. “It’s
easy!”

“That’s good,” said Mathew approvingly.
“Hey, let’s finish this and go to the tower. Maybe we can take some
video shots from up there.”

“Yeah!” said Travis, as they both went back
to work.

28

OUIJA BOARDS AND
S’MORES

KELLY

Nothing could ever ruin the perfect night I
was having with Melissa. So far we’d had dinner and watched two
scary movies. Now it was nearly midnight and we were setting up the
Ouija board in the basement where Angie had agreed to let us sleep.
There wasn’t much stuff in the basement anymore, just a few boxes,
tables and the other equipment Chris had used to invent Majik
Juice. We dragged the desk across the room to a spot under one of
the windows, hoping to add a little privacy to our sleeping
area.

When Angie came downstairs to see if we
needed anything, I noticed her eyes were a little puffy and red,
like she’d been crying. I scanned Angie’s thoughts and found out
why. Chris, of course.

“A Ouija board?” said Angie. “Those things
scare me.”

“That’s the idea,” I said. “We want to be
scared. At least a little.”

“Yes, well, when I was your age my
grandfather told me a tale about some kids that played with a Ouija
board and one of them became possessed by a demon. He started
acting weird and did strange things.”

“What kinda strange things?” asked
Melissa.

Angie thought for a moment. “He must have
been killing small animals because they found a grocery bag full of
animal bones in his bedroom. And he covered the walls in his room
with tiny handwriting about how darkness and demons would some day
prevail and the world would end. It took three Catholic priests to
exorcise the demon out of him.”

We gawked at Angie. “Is that, you know,
true?” I asked.

“Not sure,” said Angie. “But it kept me from
playing with the Ouija board. Of course, you’re not afraid, so
maybe we need to fix the mood in here. You should have candles
burning instead of an overhead light. I’ll see if I can find some.”
She left the basement and came back a few minutes later with four
tall, thick red candles and some matches. She set three of the
candles around us and put the fourth close to the Ouija board, then
turned off the light.

An intense eeriness filled the room as the
candle flames danced. Shadows moved all around us. I held my
breath. All of a sudden the basement was kind of spooky. If I were
going to talk to some dead guy with a Ouija I’d rather do it in a
brightly lit room.

“Candles are certainly easier to light than
that stupid grill,” said Angie, laughing. “Isn’t this better?”

I gulped.

Melissa smiled.
“
Perfect
.”

“Before you start communing with the dead,”
said Angie, “have you ever had s’mores?”

I shook my head. “What’s a s’more?”

“Oooh, I love s’mores,”
said Melissa. “You cook marshmallows over a fire and sandwich them
between two Graham crackers and a piece of Hersey chocolate.
They’re
so
awesome.”

I thought they might be really good. “Do we
have any Graham crackers?”

“I’ll check,” said Angie, as she went
upstairs again. When she returned she shook her head. “We’re out.
The boys were going to roast marshmallows in the fireplace next
door, and we’re out of those, too.”

“That’s okay,” I said, trying not to sound
disappointed. “We can eat something else.”

“No,” said Angie. “I’m going to the store.
You girls stay here. I’ll be back in half an hour, okay? If you
scare yourselves too badly go next door where Dr. Parrish and the
boys are. Matilda might be there later. Is there anything else we
need?”

“I forgot my toothbrush,” said Melissa. “I
can give you money if you need some.”

Angie smiled broadly. “Sweetheart, money is
the one thing we’ve got plenty of these days. Our bank account
grows every time I look at it.”

“Are there any stores open this late?” I
asked.

“Oh sure, I’ll be right back.” Angie left
the basement and went upstairs. Melissa held the candle under her
face and tried to make her eyes look wide and ghoulish.

“It’s time for the Ouija board,” she said in
her most sinister voice.

I thought about it and got both excited and
nervous. “Are you sure? I mean, after what Angie just told us?”

Melissa reached into her purse and took out
a folded sheet of paper. “I’ve got instructions right here. Got ‘em
off Ouija board.com.”

“There’s a website called
ouijaboard.com?”

“Kelly, don’t you know there’s a website for
everything?”

29

MONSTERS IN THE
NIGHT

LIPSLUDGE

Lipsludge was small for a demon, barely
taller than the average eight-year-old human child. But he had
something going for him that kept him from being pushed around by
most of the much larger demons. He was fiercely aggressive and
possessed superior leadership skills. The Boss had complimented him
on numerous occasions, which made him the envy of his fellow demons
no matter what color they were or how many eyes or arms they
had.

At supper, while feasting on a hot bowl of
delicious human and cave fungus soup, the Boss announced he needed
a demon death squad to go on a mission of the utmost importance. As
soon as Lipsludge heard about the mission he volunteered to go
because it offered a chance for him to see the outer world at
night, something he’d wanted to do since he’d been budded. But
there was one thing that truly bothered Lipsludge about the
mission: the entire idea had been suggested by the traitor-human
Mr. Deel.

Lipsludge didn’t trust Mr.
Deel and he couldn’t fathom why the Boss seemed to fancy him. Mr.
Deel popped in and out of the deep caves whenever he pleased, and
if he wanted some task accomplished that required a demon, the Boss
ordered it done on the spot with little or no discussion. It almost
made Mr. Deel seem like the boss! Of course, Mr. Deel
had
promised all demons
that they’d rule the surface of the world soon, but how could
anyone trust the word of a human—especially a traitor-human who
wanted to destroy his own kind? Somebody needed to keep a close eye
on Mr. Deel. But Lipsludge knew he’d have to do it on his own and
he’d better be sneaky. If the Boss found out…well,
demon
soup was also a
popular dish in the caves.