hey guys i just realized I probably should've put a notice in a few chapters ago, by this point in the story we're at about 2011-2012 in real time and in those days I'd just started my edgy phase, I swore a lot cause I found it cool (it's not, it doesn't make you cool YOU make yourself cool hon you're awesome just the way you are!) so I just wanted to say now that things get kinda out of hand for a little while. I grew out of it at some point but just be prepared for more cussing down the line, you've probably already noticed an increase in swears in the story, so that's why. I was also really into refereencign my favorite songs in my stories (didn't we all at that age?) so that's why you see a lot of those sprinkled in the recent chapters. lol I look at some of these and think that's not what i'm into at all these days how did I listen to that! :D but I still like Cher Lloyd, she's amazgin!

Chapter 26 Holding out for a Hex

I rode my jetbike over to the hotel where Mom and Demongo were staying, ran past the front desk screaming that I was dealing with a ghost situation at home and needed to find my Mom's boyfriend (the receptionist was so nice he just put up his hands and said "okay miss you do whatever you need to!") ran into the elevator, and pressed the fifth floor button repeatedly until the door finally closed, and even then I kept pressing it until I reached the right floor. But that was probably partially because of the slight corpse smell in the elevator that I couldn't place. But I was a Commander in the Dexlasb army I was used to the stench of cadavers. but I ran outta that elevator like a bat out of heck or a baby out of a female bodybuilder. I ran all the way to room #410, screaming the whole time out of fear for what was going on to Decter. I pounded on the door

"MOM ITS WIND LET ME IN I NEED TO SPEAK WITH DEMONGO!"

but there was no answer. Instead the door slowly creaked open I stepped inside. Mom was siting on the floor at the foot of the bed bawling her eyes out. There were dozens of empty pizza boxes (though some had like one slice left), empty beer bottles, empty wine bottles, used syringes, and there was a toppled bong next to mom's crying form. There was a boombox nearby blaring Maroon 5's Payphone but not anymore, mom'd lowered the volume before I got here because she needed to think. The bed was all messy the blankets were everywhere you didn't have to be Dexter to know what went down. I gagged a little in my mouth but approched the filthy, disgusting bed to crouch down beside my mother.

"Mom what happened in here?!" I asked. Then the horror at the scene sunk in and I went slightly off topic to ask, "WHAT THE HELL ARE ALCOHOL AND DRUGS DOING HERE YOU'RE PREGNANT FOR CRYING OUT LOUD?!"

"It's okay Wind, I ate plenty of sponge cake before taking them we'll be fine"

"UGH THAT ISN'T HOW IT WORKS MOM!" O cried, ugh I had to go through this all the time with her. But anyway "BUT ANYWAY, WHERE'S DEMONGO I NEED TO TALK TO HIM DEPSERATELY! DEXTER IS OIN DANGER!"

"He... he's left me, Wind," Mom said before collapsing into a waterfall of tears again.

"Wait... what?" I asked trying to comfort my mother.

"He realized he didn't want to be a father Wind, and he left me, he packed his bag and ran."

"THAT SON OF A DEMON!" I snapped. "I'm so sorry, Mom. He's no good for you, he's an anus and you have to forget about him!"

"BUT I CAN'T WIND!" Mom walied. "I HAVE FINALLY FOUND TRUE LOVE! HOW COULD I POSSIBLY MOVE ON?!"

"BY FINDING A BETTER MAN THAT'S HOW!"

"HE WAS THE BEST MAN IN THE WORLD"

"WELL OBVIOUSLY NOT IF HE LEFT YOU HERE IN A HOTEL ROOM TURNED DRUG DEN!"

"DID SOMEONE SAY DRUG DEN?!" asked a cop who broke down the door with a few other officer,s they were listening in the whole time. "A-HA! JUST AS I THOUGHT!"

We were arrested and hauled outside in handcuffs. That is until I explained who I was and they let me go, but couldn't let Mom go because she wasn't in the military! "Oh please, Sirs, can't you let er go?! it's not her fault, her boyfriend dumped her here, and she's pregnant!"

"That depends," said the officer holding my mom he turned to my mom, "did you have any of the drugs in there?"

Mom looked away, embarrassed. "Well, I did have a few hits on the bong..."

"MOM!" I shouted.

"Is that all?" asked the officer.

"... no, sir

"MOM!"

"I'm sorry, Commander Walter," said the officer as he loaded my mom into his squarfcar, "I have no choice but to bring her in. I'll call you later with a trial date and the name of the prison."

"well... okay, officer..." I said, and watched as my mother waved to me through the tinted window before being driven away to her new home. Her new stony, cold and lonesome home.

I suddenly remembered I needed Demonko's help but he had skipped down. "BLUEBERRIES ON RICE," I G-rated swore, since there were still a few cops around crossig off the hotel with crime scene tape. I couldn't use harsh language in front of our men and women in blue that was disrespectufl, but aslo I was worried if there was a new law I hadn't heard of yet where you couldn't swear in public and they would've thrown me in the slammer right next to my mom. "But if Gwen's dead and Demongo's out of town, who can I ask for help?!"

"Did you say, someone's deda?" asked one of the officers but I'd heard her and run away from the scene before she could turn around and interrogate/arrest/sentence to death me.

I raced my hoverbike through the dark, lamplit streets of Downtown, my radio tuned to the 80s alternative station. I glared at Planet F as Tears for Fears sang "Everybody wants to rule the world." (though if this were the Doctor singing, and it's possible since he's also British, it would sounds more like "Evreybaudey wants tew rouwal tha wourald") Tears slipped down my cheeks and general face from how upset I was at this invasion. It seems like it was only a week ago that this horrible thing started, and maybe it had been, since time goes by fast when you're stressed. This awful planet had stolen my boyfriends, my vaginal health, and my own mom. I pulled over at the overlook of Bravo Beack and screamed at the sky, "WHAT MORE DO YOU WANT FROM ME, FUSE?!"

This woke up the nearby neighbors and they started cussing blue streaks so I zoomed outta there man. "Well," I said, trying to focus on helping Decter since I certainly couldn't help my mom, "who else could help in a spiritual way?... OF COURSE!" I screeched, and hard-braked my jetbike, which also screeched. I turned north, and made for the Wilds, Downtown and the Suburbs blending into colorful blurs as I sped through the quiet, vacant streets.

I skidded to a halt inside the gigantic doors to the Devil's Bluff outpost, sheesh Peach Creek thinks it's all that with those giant Planks outside but this place is where it's at! Everyone in town seemed to be asleep, no one was in sight and all the lights were out in the houses.

I ran to the one that had a fire pit smelling of sage and banged on the animal hide doorflap. "MR. HEX! PLEASE! WAKE UP! THIS IS COMMANDER WINIFRED WALTER, I NEED YOUR ASSISTANCE IMMEDIATELY!" I screamed into the night, it echoed off the walls of the canyon amplifying the sound.

In the middle of my rant a candle was lit inside the house and I heard heavy footsteps nd hushed cursing. Hex pulled the flap away and whispered sharply, "WHAT?!" His hair was up in curlers and he had a green face mask to cleanse and detoxify his pores after a long day of wearing all that makeup.

"SIR MY BOYFRIEND HAS-"

I was interrupted as I noticed all the lights in the outpost were now on and people were either yelling at me to shut up, or slowly exiting their homes with weapons raised. "oh crud, i didn't think i was that loud..."

"SIGH... COME INSIDE, MS. WALTER," said Hex, stepping over. "AT LEAST IF YOU'RE MY GUEST, THEY CAN'T KILL YOU UNTIL YOU LEAVE."

So I went in, everyone automatically went back to their homes. I sat down in Hex's tent, he had a tiny fire inside going for warmth during the night because the desert freezes at midnight, and he had a bag of marshmallows and a box of graham crackers next to it, and an unwrapped bar of chocolate. The whole tent smelled of patchouli.

Hex plopped his arcane ass down on the log seat across from me, and offered me some smore fixins. "CARE FOR SOME?"

"No thank you," I said quivering, "I'm too stressed."

He made something of a grunting noise and set the ingredients aside. "SO THEN, MS. WALTER, WHY ON EARTH DID YOU COME HOOTING AND HOLLERING ONTO MY DOORSTEP IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT?!"

I jumped in fear as I saw a Fusion Blowfish waddle past the window. "W-Well, you see, Sir, I'm afraid my boyfriend's body is..." I hesitated a moment, scared to utter the words but forced myself to anyway. "... haunted."

Hex nodded gravely, but I was sure I detected the tiniest ounce of fear behind his dark eyes. "THIS IS VERY SERIOUS BUSINESS, MS. WALTER."

"I know," I said, "but everyone else who could help is either dead or has skipped town after impregnating my mom, and you were the only one I could turn to. You deal with intense rituals and cleansings all the time, don't you?"

"I DON'T REALLY PRACTICE CLEANSINGS, COMMANDER," Hex said, raising a brow at me. "I'M THE ONE WHO CASTS WHAT REQUIRES THE CLEANSING."

"I understand that Sir, but please, this is urgent." I took a deap breath. "The world may be in danger if we don't do something."

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN? IT IS ALREADY IN GRAVE DANGER."

"It's about Dexter Finster, Sir," I said. "He's haunted, and if this ghost takes over, we'll lose the greatest mind we have, and likely, the whole war."

Hex's eyes widened as he heard my explanation. "I SEE..." he said, taking a moment to think this all over. "YOU MUST UNDERSTAND, MS. WALTER, IF I PERFORM A BENEFICIAL RITUAL... IT WILL GREATLY AFFECT MY REPUTATION AMONGST OTHER PRACTITIONERS OF THE DARK ARTS."

"I understand," I said, "and I'm willing to pay you whatever you deem ncessary to compensate for the defamation of your name."

"HMM..." Hex thought, then said, "HOW ABOUT YOU SHOW ME AROUND YOUR BACKYARD?"

"Well there's really not much to see I mean the grass needs to be mowed but I've had other things on my plate-"

"THAT'S NOT EXACTLY WHAT I MEANT."

"Oh!" I said, understanding now. "Yeah, sure, I guess? I mean I've already slept with Demongo, my self-respect is already destroyed."

"WELL I WILL MAKE IT MY MISSION TO MAKE YOU FEEL BEAUTIUFL," said Hex happily, and he put out his arm and I took it and we smiled at each other.

"That sounds like fun," I said, "but it'll have to wait until Dexter's cured."

Hex stammered, "ER, RIGHT, OF COURSE."