Evil in Me, page 24
“I done told you!”
VUTTO
“Okay, be ready in a minute,” Tina said, hitting record, dubbing their first take from the church session.
“Hey, Ruby, ask Beel how it is there are dog and cat ghosts? Do they have souls? I mean, I thought only people had souls.”
Beel came forward and Ruby allowed him to talk through her. “Of course you thought that. People are arrogant. They believe they are the only creatures that matter.”
Tina frowned. “Well, okay, don’t need to get all judgy. But, I’m curious, are their souls like ours then? Do they go to doggy heaven when they die?”
“I have possessed many kinds of creatures, and at their core, they are all the same. They just want to live and thrive, they feel love and joy, hate and sorrow. But I will add, animal souls are purer, their desires more honest, they know their hearts better.”
“So … no doggy heaven?”
“I do not know. Some linger on the earth plane, but most go on to somewhere. I only know I never saw a dog’s spirit in Hell.”
“That’s because all dogs have good souls,” Ruby put in.
“Don’t know about that,” Tina said. “Remember that Doberman, the one near the school? Redd? Redd did not have a good soul. Redd wanted to kill and eat anyone who came near his fence.”
“Redd had shitty people,” Ruby said. “Redd just needed love.”
“I like dog,” Vutto volunteered. “When I can catch them. They are very tasty.”
“Vutto, no,” Ruby scolded. “That’s not okay.”
“So Beel,” Tina asked. “What happened then? At the church? You think the ring called all those pets? The taint? The song?”
“All of it perhaps, but especially the song. The manifestation of magic is like a bright light to them.”
The tape clicked off. Tina pulled it out of the player and wrote EVIL IN ME, BY THE NIGHT MARES on it. She held it up. “Okay, we’re ready.”
“So, it’s a college station?” Ruby asked.
“Yeah, WREK. They’re pretty much the only station in town that’ll play our kind of music. My friend, Greg, he runs the late show.”
“And you really think he’s gonna play our song?”
Tina let out a breath. “Well … that part’s a little complicated.”
“Oh, do tell.”
“Nothing big, just a minor hiccup.”
Ruby waited.
“Greg’s not taking my calls anymore.”
“Aw, Tina, what did you do?”
“Me? Why do you think it was me?”
Ruby shook her head. “What did you do, Tina?”
Tina let out a harsh sigh. “Maybe, just maybe, I threw out his pot.”
“Tina! Jesus. You’re still doing that? Haven’t you learned?”
“Dope’s for losers.”
“You got a crush.”
“What? No, I don’t.”
“Yeah, you do. Because you only do that to people you really care about.”
“Nuh-uh.”
“Who are you talking to, here? How many times did you throw out my stash? And your beau, Ricky. What about your brother? Uh-huh. Tell me I’m wrong.”
“Don’t matter. I got a work-around.”
“Oh dear,” Ruby groaned.
“We’re gonna break into the station.”
Ruby rolled her eyes.
“Not as bad as it sounds. I got a key.”
“How is it you got a key?”
“Greg gave it to me back when we were hanging out. I used to guest DJ with him sometimes.”
Ruby shook her head. “I don’t know.”
“If you want folks to show up to the gig, we need to get this song out there. Let ’em know when and where we’re playing. Folks hear this song and they’re gonna show up. I know it. Because this song is full of magic.”
“We’re not gonna be able to play if we’re in jail.”
“We’re not going to jail. It’s just a college station. Most of the people know me there. They like me. They’re not gonna call the cops. It’ll be fine. Just fine. Trust me.”
* * *
The cat hissed and leapt off the porch.
“Leave the kitty alone,” Ruby said, grabbing Vutto by his jacket collar. “We don’t eat cats.”
“You don’t eat cats,” he replied.
“If I catch you near a cat you’ll have to leave. You understand?”
Vutto stuck out his lip. “But I am hungry.”
“How can you be hungry? You just ate two pounds of raw hamburger meat.”
“I am always hungry.”
“We’ll get you some more meat on the way back. How about that?”
Vutto nodded. “Yah, more wet meat.”
“Do you eat anything besides meat? Y’know, bread, or cheese maybe?”
“Yuck, cheese is gross. I like blood. Blood is my favorite.”
Ruby shook her head and escorted him to the Cadillac. She opened the door. It was dark out and starting to rain. “Get in. I’m getting wet.”
“Do we have to bring him?” Tina asked.
Ruby sighed. “After what happened at the club, yes. Crazies everywhere. This taint is real and he’s about the only thing between us and them.”
Vutto took a seat in the front.
“No sir,” Tina said. “You’re not riding next to me. In the back, buster.”
Vutto moaned, but climbed over into the back as he was told.
Ruby cranked up the car and drove off, too busy trying to defog the windows to notice the gray van pull out and begin following them. About twenty minutes later they drove on to the Georgia Tech campus.
“Hey, Vutto,” Tina said. “Tell me something.”
“Yah?”
“Where do demons come from? Huh? Like, are there girl demons and boy demons? Y’all go on dates, get married, or what?”
“Yah.”
“Yah?”
“There are every kind of demon.”
“Well, what kind are you? Girl kind or boy kind?”
“I am neither kind.”
“Well, where do you come from then?”
“I told you, Vutto is good egg. I come from egg.”
“So … you lay eggs?”
“Yah.”
“By yourself? I mean … don’t you need some help with that?”
“I do not need boyfriend or girlfriend.”
“Okay,” Tina said. “I’m more confused than ever now.”
“I am good egg.”
“Yeah, I got that part. Hey, there it is,” Tina said, pointing to a large coliseum. “The infamous Thrillerdome. The station is around back.”
They drove to a side annex, parking in the back next to a row of dumpsters, and got out. There was only one other car and a semitrailer in the whole lot. The rain had let up, leaving the asphalt glistening under the one flickering sodium lamp.
Ruby scanned the bushes and shadows as they walked up to the building, on the lookout for crazies, relieved to find it so desolate. Other than a gray van driving by, she saw no one.
“Wait here, Vutto,” Ruby said. “We should be back shortly.” She noticed him sniffing. “What is it? You smell something evil?”
“I smell rats,” he said, his lips curling, exposing his needle-like teeth. “Vutto hungry,” he hissed, so low that she barely heard him. He closed his eyes for a moment, as though in pain, and rubbed the scar on his forehead.
He’s fighting it, Beel said. Do not turn your back on him.
Tina tried the door; it was locked. She pulled out the key Greg had given her and opened it.
Vutto’s face twisted into something vicious, his eyes turning into red specks of flame. It lasted only a second, but it sent a chill down Ruby’s spine. Ruby nudged Tina inside, wanting to get away from the creature, hoping that he wouldn’t be waiting to kill them when they returned.
Ruby and Tina entered the building. The place smelled like Pine-Sol. The only light on was at the far end of the hallway. They headed for the stairwell, their steps echoing down the long empty corridor.
“You sure this is okay?” Ruby asked in a whisper.
“It’ll be fine.”
“And you really think this Greg guy is gonna forgive you? Huh? Not just call the cops on us.”
“It’s not if he’s gonna forgive me, it’s just how much groveling I gotta do first. He always comes around … eventually.”
“Wait. Are you saying this isn’t the first time you’ve thrown out his stash?”
“Not saying anything.”
Ruby let out a low laugh. “Oh, you really do have the hots for this guy.”
Tina grunted. “Let’s keep this about the band, okay? Greg really digs helping out new acts. Taking credit for getting them their first airplay and all. It’s a point of pride with him. So, I’m gonna leave it to you, to … y’know, sell the band and all.”
“Me? I don’t even know him.”
“He’s not mad at you. And don’t worry, he’ll like you. Just … just don’t be afraid to be a little flirty. Y’know, turn on the sex appeal.”
“Pffft … I don’t do flirty. And I certainly don’t have any sex appeal.”
“Sure, you do.”
“No, I don’t. I’m a weirdo.”
“Look, babe, you’ve been brainwashed by too many hair spray commercials. Not every guy is into Christie Brinkley. Greg likes weirdos. Just remember, for every weird gal, there’s a weird guy out there somewhere.”
Ruby wasn’t quite sure how to take that, but knew flirting never worked for her. She’d always felt too self-conscious, as though she was coming across like some B-movie hussy.
They found their way to the second floor, then down the hall to a green door covered in band stickers. The whole building seemed empty.
“Shouldn’t be anyone around but Greg at this hour,” Tina whispered. “But if we do run into someone, just act like we were invited.”
Tina opened the door and they entered a small room with a reception desk, the walls covered in band posters. There was no one around. The only light was coming from an adjoining hallway. Tina led them down the hall, to a door with a lighted sign that said ON AIR.
Tina gripped the doorknob, hesitated, sucked in a breath, then opened the door.
The man wearing headphones and sitting behind the console turned out not to be a man at all, but a young woman, a girl really, looking to be around eighteen or nineteen—black curly hair, shaved on the sides, wearing a jean jacket covered in band buttons and pins. She jumped when she noticed them, gave them a perplexed look, then raised a finger to her lips. She leaned into the microphone. “Looks like I have some unexpected guest. Gonna leave y’all with ‘Kiss Off,’ by one of my faves … the Violent Femmes.”
She hit a button on the console and took off her earphones. “Y’all aren’t supposed to be in here. You lost or something?”
“No,” Tina said. “We’re not lost. Greg, he, uh … invited us here. We’re his guests. Isn’t this his shift?”
“Yeah, it is, but we switched out so I could go to the dentist. Sorry, you missed him. Hey, make sure the door is shut all the way on your way out, please. Thanks.” She gave them a little wave and put her headphones back on.
“Well, maybe you can help us then?”
The girl slid her headphones back off, looking perturbed. “What?”
“I said, maybe you can help us.”
“Y’all need to go.”
Tina pulled out the cassette. “I’m Tina and this is Ruby. Our band is—”
“Tape submissions go in that box out front. Now I got to get back to work.”
“This isn’t a submission. Greg invited us here to play our new song.”
“Y’all need to arrange that with Greg.”
“We already did. That’s what I’m telling you.”
“Talk to Greg.”
“Look, we’re a local band trying to catch a break. Our show’s tomorrow night, so it would really help us out if you could just slip this one song into your lineup. What do you say?”
“Put it in the box, please.”
Tina came around the console, a big smile on her face. “Hey, forgot to mention I’m on with Greg all the time. Surely you’ve heard my name around here? Tina Tang? Yeah? Heck, we can even do this together. You and I. Make it a fun thing.” Tina walked over to the tape deck.
“Hey!” the girl cried. “What the hell!”
Tina punched the tape deck open and slid in the tape.
“No ma’am!” the girl yelled and grabbed Tina, trying to tug her back while Tina struggled to push play. The two of them landed on the console, then rolled onto the floor. The girl began screaming bloody murder.
“Oh, shit!” Ruby said.
Tina flipped the girl over with one of her fancy martial art moves, and pinned her down in a choke hold.
“Tina!” Ruby cried.
“Push play!” Tina yelled. “Push play!”
Ruby jumped over and hit the button. The tape began to spin, but nothing happened, the Violent Femmes just continued to belt out how much they needed someone to talk to.
“The board!” Tina cried. “Hit the blue switch!”
The girl began gasping, her face turning bright red.
“Oh, fuck!” Ruby cried, straddling the wrestling duo to get to the board. There were at least four blue switches that she could see.
“Which blue switch?”
“The blue one! The blue one!”
The girl’s face was purple now, her eyes rolling up in her head.
Ruby started hitting blue switches, managing to cut off the Violent Femmes, but now there was nothing, just dead air.
“Hey!” came a man’s deep booming voice.
Ruby spun around to find a large black man in a security uniform glaring at them.
“What the hell is going on here?”
* * *
It’s me, Richard.
I followed the Cadillac on campus, Ruby’s song allowing me to keep a safe distance. It was so strong now I had little fear of losing them.
She parked in a lot near the stadium. I circled around, finding a good spot on a nearby street. There were no lights on the street and a hedge between us, giving me good cover to watch them.
Ruby and some tall Chinese-looking gal got out and walked over to the back door of the annex, the demon trailing along like some mindless pup.
I pulled out my revolver, checked the chamber, wondering for the thousandth time if I could kill that beast, or at least injure it enough to grab Ruby and get away. I had six rounds loaded and a dozen more in my vest pocket. Surely a slug to the cranium would drop that monster. Surely.
Ruby was talking to the demon, like some witch to her familiar. What are you, Ruby?
Goose bumps prickled my flesh. Seeing her there, so close, yet unattainable, was maddening. Her song so bright, so sweet. And this brought both joy and pain, as I knew now with certainty, I wasn’t the only one who could hear it, not the only one under her spell, not the only one who craved her blood. Where would I be if Ruby was stolen from me? If someone were to murder her before I could? The thought chilled my marrow. How would I ever get over that? Why, it would kill me.
I glanced in the back of the van, at some of my new tools, a blowtorch and a large pair of needle-nose pliers. I had such great plans for her. Just needed to get her, get her before someone else did.
The women entered the building and the moment Ruby left my sight, I felt a wave of panic. They’ll be back, I consoled myself. Dang it, how easy this all would be if that demon wasn’t with them.
The demon paced back and forth, catching bugs out of the air and eating them. After a bit, it started sniffing along the wall, digging around some cinder blocks, picking and scratching in the weeds. God, but the thing gave me the willies. There was a pile of boards and two-by-fours leaning against two trash cans. It flipped over one of the boards and several big rats shot out, racing away toward the hedge. The demon dashed after them, all of them disappearing around the corner of the building.
I held my breath waiting for it to reappear; a minute drifted by, another.
Now! I thought, shoving my gun into my pants and grabbing my handcuffs and pepper spray. I put on my cap, snatched up my bandanna off the dash and tied it around my face. I had no sooner stepped from my van than the back door of the building popped open and the two women came stumbling out. No, they were thrown out, shoved to be precise. A large security guard yelling at them and then slamming the door shut behind them.
At that moment, despite being a lifelong atheist, I swore that God was real. Knew he must want me to rid the world of this witch. How else could I explain such luck other than divine intervention? Further, I made a pledge then and there to start attending church every other Sunday.
The pair headed for their car, their backs to me. That’s when I moved in, pepper spray in hand, coming up fast along the hedge, intent on blindsiding them.
“See you in church, God.”
* * *
Beel saw him, the man, and even with his face covered, Beel knew he was one of the evil ones attracted by the taint. The man held a spray can in his hand. He raised it, aiming the nozzle at them.
Ruby! Beel cried, pushing forward, forcing her down.
The man shot a blast of liquid at Ruby, but missed, hitting Tina instead.
Tina screamed and kicked out blindly, striking the man, knocking the spray can from his hand. The man punched her in the side of the head and she collapsed, crashing into the garbage cans, landing on a pile of boards.
Some of the overspray got in Ruby’s eyes, stinging them and blurring her vision. Beel tried to push Ruby one way, but Ruby tried to go the other and she tumbled. Before she could get a leg up, the man drove his foot into her stomach, twice, knocking the air from her and doubling her over.
Beel tried to get Ruby up, away, but the blinding pain was overwhelming and all of Ruby’s efforts went to coughing and sucking air back into her lungs.
The man grabbed Ruby, began dragging her off. He was surprisingly strong, easily picking her up and tossing her over his shoulder.
Then Beel saw him: Vutto, racing for them on all fours. Never had Beel been so glad to see a demon. Vutto revealed his true form, his blazing red eyes, horns, and gnashing mouth full of teeth.
