Hunter Academy - Book 1

CONVERSATIONS

Jessica

I leave the guys' office after typing out a quick text to Memaw that I would be stopping by. On the drive, I mull over how I am going to approach this subject with her. She's pretty open minded for an old lady. Ha! She would smack me upside the head if she knew I just called her an old lady. She might be old in years, but she certainly isn't old in her heart and mind. That's all that really matters isn't it? I hope I'm half as cool as her when I'm her age. I decide that being direct is the way to go as I pull up in front of her house. I get out and lock the door, making my way to the backyard. I'm pretty sure she's enjoying the sunshine in the last little bit of good weather we're going to have for awhile, since it's unseasonably warm. I mean, 80 degrees in the middle of October isn't unheard of in the midwest, but it's still unusual. That's right where I find her, one of the neighborhood cats snuggled against her feet. I lean down and pet the cat on the head. He looks up and gives me a look that says "Why are you touching me?" and pounces away.

"You scared him away!" Memaw protests.

"That cat is a menace to everyone but you," I counter.

"It's not my fault he has good taste," she huffs out, taking a drink of her sweet tea. "There's sweet tea in the fridge. Why don't you grab a glass and come back out, then tell me what you've been up to the last few days." I do as she says, and grab a bag of chips on my way back out. I take the seat next to her and offer her some chips after popping a couple in my mouth.

"So, Peanut," she begins around a mouthful of chips, "what is it you wanted to talk about?"

"Okay, so remember me telling you about the guy who showed up to ask some questions?" She nods her head in the affirmative. "Well, when he left he told me to call him if I remembered anything. No matter how small or weird." I then proceed to tell her about what happened when Matt and I went out to play pool. "And then the weirdest thing happened. After this girl dies in the middle of the pool hall, I look over into the corner, and I saw that woman from my dreams."

"The one that's been basically torturing you in your dreams?" she asks incredulously.

"The very one. She looked so sinister, and then she just disappeared. It was the freakiest thing, Memaw. So, I called the guy that night and left him a voicemail. He called the next day, and we met for coffee. Now, you know me. I'm practical and logical to the point of driving everyone crazy, but I haven't been able to come up with any practical or logical reasons for what happened to that guy and the bus, or what happened with that chick at the pool hall, or even that woman showing up that just happened to have been haunting my dreams for weeks." I stop and take a huge breath, and down half my glass of tea. I look at Memaw, and she's with me so far. I kind of figured she would be.

"So I meet up with Leo at that coffee shop downtown. He brought all these books with him. He then proceeds to tell me that it's demon that has been causing all the deaths. Did I mention there were others? He shows me in this really old book, about this demon named Fovos. Memaw, the picture that was drawn was the exact image of the woman who's been in my dreams. It was eerie." I take another sip of my tea, looking at her. Yup, still with me. She looks like I've just been talking about the weather. "So, as he's telling me about her, I'm reading what's in the book. Apparently, she's a demon that feeds off fears. When she attacks, she makes you see images of things that terrify you. Making you hallucinate, to the point of blocking everything around you. I told him about my dreams, and he said he had something that could help block her while I'm sleeping." I go on to tell her about meeting the other two, and getting the Ashwagandha root. I even tell her about the apps that Dane put on my phone, promising to keep me informed, if I kept them informed." I finish my story, sit back and wait for her to respond.