Demons Ascension - Amy

[Posted by Ted H]

Aaaaaaaaaaand DONE! 57 days after starting and one title change later, Demons Ascension is complete. Im not crazy about the precedent 57 days sets, but whatever.

Overall, I'm happy with the final product. It comes across as a bit all over the place with its early part. I feel I didn't quite make a smooth transition between "Detective fiction" and "Oh shit, demons!" Grammar is, as always, not my strong suite and my ability to describe certain people and places is about as suspect as always....

...BUT, I write action better than most and I'm in my element more when the shit hits the fans (which obviously cant happen until late in the story) so when I get to the good part, I'm off and running. I like the end result, its a radical departure from the source story I wrote back in the day....and  most importantly: I finished a major project. Net win!

NaNoWriMo minimum, plus an extra 10k for good measure.

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[Demons Ascension - Amy] 

           The bar was one of those typical sports bars, which James wouldn't have minded except it was filled with Chicago sports paraphernalia. There were White Sox and Cubs pennants in equal representation, as if the bar picking one side over the other would offend someone. James figured they'd pick the White Sox for the same reason most bars in New York backed the Yankees overwhelmingly over the Mets; it's less embarrassing that way. Then there were the numerous Bears decorations that irked James more than the indecisive baseball battle. There was a large neon sign in the back that read "This is Bears Country!" and a football helmet hanging over it. Next to it was an oversized cheese grater, which James figures had some asinine connection to the team. There were hanging basketball photos and a Blackhawks sign that just seemed out of place. All in all, James figured this bar was still better than a typical trip to UNOs.
            James had spent most of the $40 Bradford had given him when he felt a tap on his shoulder. It didn't seem like John, so James didn't turn around. "Here to make me look crazy some more?" he asked aloud as Amy helped herself to the seat across from him. "Sorry," she said "But you never really gave me a chance to explain."
            The bartender wasn't paying him much attention and it was still a good hour before people would pour in from work, leaving James some privacy in his little corner of the bar. They were in a booth in the back, a cheap stain glass lamp hung overhead and a signed photo of Frank Thomas looked down on them from the wall. "Am I just drunk and am imagining you?" James asked "Or is this some deeper psychological problem that I should get some pills for?"
            "You're not crazy," Amy said.
            "And you're not a lawyer, or whatever you're trying to pass yourself off as," James said back.
            "I'm whatever I'm needed as."
            "What were you doing hanging around Kenton?"
            "Keeping an eye on him. He doesn't have long. I'm just making sure he doesn't die in vain."
            "And will he?"
            "That depends on how you proceed from here."
            "What the hell are you?"
            "Right now, I'm a friend, because that's what you need right now."
            "Cute, but right now I need an honest friend...or more importantly a lead...or at the very least one of my usual strippers."
            "What if I told you this wasn't a simple string of murders?"
            "You mentioned something like that before, but I do find it odd that the concept of murdering itself is simple to you."
            "The reasons people give for killing are usually simple, the actions themselves are simple. The forces that drive the need to kill often are so petty it makes me cry when I think about it."
            "You know, for someone who talks about simplicity, you sure act in convoluted ways. How come only I can see you?"
            "Rickey could see me too."
            "Great, I'm in the same boat as a man crying that he'll be put on head meds. I'm in fantastic company."
            "I come and go as needed,  but I'm not invisible to certain people. My mere presence isn't suppose to be allowed here."
            "Allowed by who? What are you even risking?"
            "The fate of everything hinges on your ability to prevent him from completing his task, from finishing the ritual."
            "Stop being cryptic," James said as he gripped his bottle "Tell me who's doing this. Who am I trying to stop?"
            Amy shook her head "I dare not speak his name, and even if I did, it wouldn't help you find him," she said "And I could not help you find him. He masks his presence wherever he goes."
            "Naturally," James said as he sat back and finished his beer "So you look for me, tell me I'm important and that this case is way bigger than anyone is guessing, and then proceed to tell me nothing of importance. Real nice Amy."
            "Rickey told you the truth," Amy said as she grabbed a napkin and pulled out a pen to draw with "And you can be skeptical about the gunshots, but he did try to run someone down in his car."
            "Then tell me how the man could do something like that? How can a mere man completely total a car just by standing in the way?"
            "Because he wasn't simply a man," Amy said with a flat look as she drew "Not at that moment."
            "What was he?"
            "Something more. Something unholy."
            "How are the police suppose to take this guy in then?"
            "Oh, he's quite harmless now. But they're worrying about the man who killed those three people, when the man behind it all is the one that needs stopping."
            "Wait, there're more people involved? It's not just one guy?"
            "I can't stay," Amy said as she placed the pen down and rose."
            "What do you mean?" James asked as he went to follow.
            "Once he becomes strong enough, I won't be able to cross back over."
            "Say what?"
            "All I can do for now is watch over Rickey until he passes."
            "Amy, give me a name. Give me something to go one!" James yelled as he grabbed Amy by the arm. Amy looked back at him with fear in her eyes. "He'll have someone killed again soon enough, I can feel it," she said as she yanked her arm free "Until then, look for his symbol and put the pieces together."
            With that, Amy disappeared out the door. James was behind her by maybe two seconds, but she was nowhere to be seen on the street when he looked. He went back into the bar and looked at the bartender. "You saw her too, right?" he asked as the bartender nodded. "You should probably buy her a drink next time," he said with a smirk "And probably work on some better pick up lines."
            James ignored him and returned to his booth. He didn't really feel like drinking anymore and he was pissed off about his talk with Amy. The way she made it sound, the devil himself was behind everything. There was something else she wasn't saying, but whatever it was, she was scared to death of it. Either way, none of that was going to fly with John and Bradford, at least not without a little proof.
            James looked down at the napkin Amy had been drawing on. There were small markings all over it that James couldn't make out but the most prominent part of it was the large lines scratched out on it forming a C that hand a line drawn horizontally through the middle of it. None of it looked familiar but James guessed that this was the symbol Amy had been talking about. "The crazy in this case is going through the roof now, isn't it?" he said to himself as he pocketed the napkin and ordered another beer.