Page 144 of Lucky 14

I look around, frowning. You can’t build walls around a beach?

The girl and the boy are talking together, but she doesn’t look scared. You know who isn’t scared of monsters?

Superheroes.

Wait…

I look at them more closely. The girl holds a gun like she knows how to use it. She shoots me a look that’s…calm. Like she’s fought monsters before.

You know who else has fought monsters before? Catwoman.

The boy’s eyes are moving all around, but he also has a gun. Is he Robin?

Slowly, I grin. Of course they are. I already have Superman and The Joker. They’re voices in my head. Their names are Wyatt and Kyan, but I know who they really are. There are others, too, but Superman and The Joker are my favorites.

And now I have more.

Something on Catwoman’s belt makes a noise. A walkie-talkie.

Cool! I bet it has superpowers.

The smell of smoke gets stronger, and I crouch, looking around for the monsters. The girl grabs my hand and pulls me into the trees, crouching behind a big one.

There’s a crash in the forest, and then I hear something.

“Little brotherrr.”

I jump. I know who that is. The walls weren’t tall enough!

“Where could he be?” There’s more rustling, coming from another direction. I crouch to the ground. He brought Waylon? They’ve always been the scariest monsters. How did he find me? I’ve been so careful.

Catwoman moves beside me, and her gun fires in an explosion of sound.

“You’ve always been a little shit, you know that? Now it’s time you finally paid.”

I cover my face with my arms. I don’t want to be punished.

“It’s okay.” Robin is beside me now, rubbing my back. I jump, looking at him with wide eyes. He just smiles at me. As if to say, ‘I’ll keep you safe.’

And it makes my heart slow down for just a second.

“You always embarrassed Dad, you demon fuck. Now you embarrass our family name.”

I squeeze my eyes shut, building fake walls around us, three walls thick. Another gunshot sounds, sticks crack, and there’s screaming.

I collapse on the ground, hands covering my ears, my own gun pressed into my head as I try to squeeze the sound away. The walls! They aren’t working!

“Get the fuck off me!”

Gunshot, scramble scramble, screaming.

Walls, walls, walls. Concrete walls. Brick walls. Walls made of water to wash all the bad away.

It’s Catwoman screaming now, and that’s what makes me open my eyes.

Then I see him. The monster.

Weston.