Chapter 20 A Demon Attack

Much to her surprise, when Jackie and Bob stepped out of Bob's house, Jackie noticed that something was off. Nothing outright looked wrong, at least on a first glance. But there was something she could sense inside of her, something in the atmosphere that just screamed of a horrific reality. Was it overwhelming? Yes. Was it frightening? Absolutely. It didn't help that Bob seemed to notice it too. Sure, he didn't say anything, but Jackie picked up on the changes in his demeanor. He frowned and rubbed his shivering arms, looking like he was scared to walk so much as an inch away from his front door.

It took her swallowing a very large lump to actually move forward. She tried not to let this bother her. Saying that something was wrong would be a thesis based solely on superstition at this point, and that wasn't the way Jackie operated. She took a few steps forward, gesturing for Bob to take her hand. He did, and they officially began their walk. Jackie tried to focus on other things; the coolness of the breeze, her being with her boyfriend. The fact that now, she actually had a plan and didn't have to worry about Aunt Minty and Uncle Bryce anymore. That fact proved to be sweet, almost sweet enough to completely cancel out the scary vibe the town was soaked in.

But, again, Jackie wasn't going to let that bother her.

They continued on their walk. Both of them waved at some of the people they passed, with Jackie wearing a particularly big smile. Whether or not everybody else felt the ominous vibe, they didn't show it. Honestly, that was enough for Jackie to relax a little bit, not feel as though she and Bob were in immediate danger.

But that changed once they got halfway to Aria's house. People ran in the opposite direction as the two of them, some of them crying, some of them screaming in terror. Jackie and Bob shared a look before Bob stopped one of the running civilians.

"Hey," he said, his voice level despite the person hyperventilating. "What's going on?"

The person shuddered. "D… D… D…"

Jackie furrowed her brow and stepped towards them. "It's okay. Just breathe." The person nodded, clearly attempting to do so. They weren't necessarily successful though, so Jackie put her hand on their shoulder. Yes, she touched the shoulder of a stranger, how appropriate. "Just take deep breaths. It's all going to be okay."

The person shook. "N… no! No, it is not!" They felt ready to collapse. "There's… there's a monster!"

"RAAWWR!"

All three of the people present shrieked. Jackie and Bob looked at each other with wide eyes, all while the civilian that they had been trying to help finally collapsed. Tears fell out of their eyes too.

"We're done for…" they muttered. "The whole town… the whole kingdom… oh man…"

Bob, much to Jackie's surprise, stepped forward, wearing one of the bravest faces that Jackie had ever seen. "It's going to be okay." Both Jackie and the stranger looked at Bob like he was completely insane, but the special didn't waver. "We'll get that monster. I promise."

The stranger didn't say anything; just nodded. Still shaking more than was comfortable, they got up and ran away at top speed. Once they were gone, another roar carried throughout the air. A pit formed in Jackie's stomach at the sound of it.

"Bob…"

Despite his own shaking, Bob grabbed hold of Jackie's hand. "Come on." He paused for a second. "Let's go see what's going on."

They broke out into a run. The closer they got to their original destination, the more terrified people Jackie noticed. Full grown men cried like babies, women looked like they were going to shatter under the pressure that they experienced. The roars reverberating through the town only made these people look even more frightened. They tripped over their own feet as they ran in the opposite direction of Jackie and Bob. Jackie looked back over her shoulder at their retreating backs, a nasty pit forming in her stomach.

It wasn't until Bob and Jackie were within a few feet of Aria's house that they finally saw what the townspeople had gotten so worked up over. Towering over Aria's house was a demon. Its purple skin was as shiny as the teeth of a vampire. Its bat-like wings stretched up into the sky, blocking out the sun and casting a shadow darker than the witching hour. Its mouth contained fangs, and above said mouth was a snout-like nose. Its hoof-like feet looked ready to crunch anybody underfoot, which would no doubt cause this great terror insurmountable levels of pleasure.

"What…" Jackie uttered. "What… what is…. Why…?"

Bob let out a gasp. "Jackie, look!"

Jackie looked where he pointed, and she gasped. A red gem rested right in the center of the demon's chest. And within that crystal, the image of a collapsed, trembling Aria was present.

"ARIA!" Jackie shrieked at the top of her lungs. That scream, unfortunately, made the demon notice them. It roared, sending spit flying out of its mouth like bullets. Without much need for discussion, Bob grabbed hold of Jackie's hand and flew her to a place where they could hide.

Within no time at all, they ducked behind a building. "Aria…" Jackie put her hand to her forehead, all while Bob looked like he was about to vomit. "What… how…" She looked at Bob. "Bob, what can we do about this?"

Bob hesitated. "We… I don't know. We need to rescue Aria, but… I don't know if I can fight off against something that large and powerful."

Jackie's trembling got worse. "We…" she had a thought, one that made her stand up straight and tall. "We need to call Ludwig." Bob gave her a wide-eyed look, prompting her to explain. "Aria is his girlfriend! Plus, he is much more skilled with his powers than you are. Maybe he would be able to help out; maybe he could help us get Aria out!"

Shaking, Bob nodded his head. "You're right." He fished his phone out of his hammerspace.

…

Ludwig sat at the table in the dining hall. Instead of working on the notes for a song, he now held a sketchbook in his hand. With a number two pencil, he sketched out a picture on one of the pages. The picture in question was a bowl of fruit, a bowl of fruit that rested right in front of him. He bit his lip as he worked, feeling all sorts of emotions tumbling around inside of him as he did this. He had almost quit two times, for he didn't think his rusty art skills would necessarily do the greatest job at capturing the image. It was only perseverance, as well as the words from Lemmy (sitting right next to him) that prevented him from halting production.

Regardless, Ludwig still felt as though everything had to be precisely, one hundred percent perfect. He erased more often than not, creating smudges on the page that told the story of his lack of confidence. He kept telling himself in his head that it was okay if it wasn't perfect. He was a prodigy when it came to music, but that didn't mean he had to be a prodigy with everything else. It was okay if he wasn't perfect; practicing would inevitably help him get better.

"You know," Lemmy said, pressing his fingertip to his lip. "I just had a thought." He leaned forward. "If the word 'octo' means 'eight,' wouldn't that mean that October should be the eighth month of the year, not the tenth?"

There was a silence before Ludwig responded. "I… I'm not sure." He leaned closer to his sketchbook, hoping he could improve the outline of the apple. Oh man, coloring this piece was going to be a big hassle, wasn't it?

"Yeah," Lemmy said. Another silence fell upon the room, only broken every so often by the sound of Ludwig's pencil. Lemmy looked up at Ludwig, his eyes filled with wonder. "Can I help you color the sketch once your done?"

Ludwig snorted. "Sure. If I can actually produce a sketch that doesn't look like dog shit." He drew one more line before dropping both the sketchbook and the pencil down on the table with a plop. "Okay, I think that's enough for right now."

Lemmy looked at the drawing, a smile growing on his face. "Looks pretty good!" He giggled. "Definitely not like dog shit."

Ludwig snorted again. "Sure it does."

"No, I'm serious. I really like it." Lemmy chuckled. "I don't know if I can give you much more feedback than that, but I do like the way it looks." He walked over to Ludwig. "And I'm sure that once you decide to color it, it's going to look even better."

While Ludwig's incredulity wasn't completely gone, he at the very least found that he appreciated Lemmy's words. "Thanks, Lems."

"Of course!" Lemmy looked back at the sketch before giggling again. "Maybe you should show it to other people, and get their feedback too."

"Really? Like who?"

Ludwig immediately regretted asking that question once Lemmy gave him his answer. "Like Aria! I'm sure she would like to help you out!"

Silence. Ludwig sat perfectly still, trying to prevent himself from thinking too hard about his girlfriend. He frowned and adjusted his posture, a sight that caused Lemmy's face to fall.

"Right? Wouldn't she like to help out?"

Not wanting to delve into his last encounter with his girlfriend with his brother, Ludwig ultimately decided to nod. "Maybe."

The smile returned to Lemmy's face. "That's good enough for me." He gasped. "Ooh! You know, maybe it wouldn't be too bad of an idea if I drew something! Can I borrow the sketchbook?"

Part of Ludwig was suspicious that Lemmy was only saying this so that he could show the fruit bowl sketch to other people, but he decided that he wasn't going to listen to that part of his mind. "Sure. Just don't rip any pages out."

Beaming, Lemmy picked up the sketchbook and left the room. Ludwig sat in place for a second, running his hands over his face as he sighed. Aria. Aria Aria Aria. Should he have gone back to her already? Probably; they couldn't be mad at each other forever. But even with that in mind, Ludwig was scared to go back. What if she slammed the door in his face? What if she told him that they were through, that their relationship was officially over? Ludwig didn't know if she would necessarily do that, but just the mere possibility made him hesitant. And sad, really sad. All he had wanted to do was help her out. Instead, all that happened was that a wedge was driven between the two of them. Oh, he didn't know what to do about that.

Which is why he wasn't going to spend too much time thinking about it. He got up from the chair, making his way toward the front door. He was going to spend some time outside; that's what he was going to do. Clear his mind, breathe in the fresh air and maybe be inspired to pursue another artistic task. That seemed good. Exactly what the doctor ordered, if he was going to be frank.

So, he started to make his way there. Once he was halfway to his destination, his phone chimed from within his hammerspace. He seized upon hearing it, hoping that it was Aria on some level. He pulled it out, feeling a little disappointed when he saw that the text was from Bob. His disappointment didn't last long when he read the text though. Instead, it transitioned into fear.

Ludwig! There's a demon rampaging around Sparksville, and it's got Aria! We need your help!

Ludwig actually gasped out loud when he read that. He stared at the screen, with terror wrapping around his heart like some sort of choking vine. He couldn't move, couldn't breathe, couldn't even think as he stared at the text. He actually started to feel a little sick as the reality of the situation hit him.

Aria was in trouble. MAJOR trouble.

With shaking hands, he typed into the textbox. I'll be there right away. He did some deep breathing exercises as he put his phone away. "I just need to get Kamek really quick," he said out loud. He turned on his heel, hoping beyond all hope that now wasn't too late.