Mr. Au stood before her with his arms to his sides, two muscular appendages hanging from a broad torso. He was glaring at Summer with a look that made the little hairs on the back of her neck stand up. Stern and focused.

Victor's backyard was large for a home of its size. The grass was neatly cut, and it was a rich forest-green. His furniture set was monochromatic, clean, and free of any wear and tear.

It was in stark contrast to her own backyard, which lacked in the tidiness department, making up for it in sheer flamboyancy. Flowers of varying shapes, sizes, and shades lined its edges. And her patio furniture set consisted of a table with a tree stump painted green as its base, and faded rainbow-colored beach chairs.

Connor sat on the deck, staring at his phone. Victor was next to him, meeting Summer's gaze with a mocking grin.

Connor lifted his head. "You got this."

"Yeah, go get em'!" Victor yelled, still smiling.

"Summer, look at me," Mr. Au demanded. She jerked her head forward. Mr. Au glared at the deck, shaking his head. "Hey guys, go inside until we finish."

"What?" Victor whined. "I really wanted to see this."

"You guys are distracting her. I'll be going through the basics for a while anyway, so there's nothing for the two of you to learn. Now please, go inside."

"Yes, sir," Victor said with a tinge of defiance in his voice. He ambled his way through the glass sliding doors. Connor followed his lead, giving them a quick nod before entering the house.

Summer relaxed her shoulders. The nest of snakes battling in the pit of her stomach eased their relentless attacks.

"You ready to get started?"

Summer put her arms to her sides and straightened her posture. "Yes, sir."

"The most important thing when it comes to hand to hand combat is your fighting stance." He raised his fists. "Hold your hands high to protect your head and face. Keep your fists clenched, but relaxed. Make sure your elbows are high and close to your body, and keep your weight evenly distributed on both of your feet to create a stable base. You want to stay light on your feet, so keep your knees slightly flexed to allow quick movement in any direction. Okay, now you try."

"Yes, sir," Summer said, raising her hands and mimicking his stance to the best of her ability.

Outside of gym, those few years of volleyball in middle school, and the cheerleading debacle her freshman year, she rarely got much exercise. Still, she was still in pretty good physical shape. A true testament to the power of fortuitous genetics.

Victor had been an uber athlete since forever, and Connor had hidden how adept he was at martial arts for all these years. The thought of her potentially becoming dead weight crept up from time to time since they encountered the demon at the sanatorium. A holy water gun was great and all, but defending yourself without the need of a weapon was the ultimate contingency.

Summer took a deep breath, awaiting Mr. Au's inevitable critique. The snakes in her stomach were raring for another go.

"Make sure your elbows are close to your body." Mr. Au moved Summer's elbow and then tapped one of her knees with the back of his hand, causing her to bend them slightly. He backed away, inspecting her stance. "Not bad."

***

Connor sat on the couch, peering through the large glass doors.

"Oh my god," Victor announced.

"What?" Connor asked, still staring at Summer.

Victor crossed his arms and looked Connor up and down. "You finally made a move, didn't you?" Connor went mute, his face flushing red. "Finally!" Victor exclaimed.

"How did you know?"

"It's written all over your face. Before, when I caught you staring at her, you had this sad puppy dog thing going on." Connor furrowed his brow. "But the look in your eye is completely different now."

"V, what are you talking about? Sad puppy dog?"

"Trust me. I'm a master at these things."

"Did you know she was into me?"

"Of course. She blushed the first time she saw you."

"She did?"

"She did." Victor sat up. "I'm really happy for you."

"Thanks. So, how did your date go?"

"She's already in love." Connor rolled his eyes, sighing deeply. "Seriously, though, it went great. She's hot, nice, and really easy to talk to. Also, I learned that coffee sucks."

The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

"Why did you go to a coffee shop in the first place?"

Victor shrugged. "She's always carrying around one of those giant plastic iced coffee cups."

"Wait a minute, you actually took what she likes into account?" Connor cupped his ear. "Are those wedding bells I hear?"

"Relax."

Connor's smile waned as Summer began practicing kicks. "Do you think she's going to have another vision?"

"I don't know. Helping April was amazing, but Summer was so shaken up after her vision that I'm not looking forward to another one." Victor rubbed the top of his recently cut head. "We've got to find a way to protect people from these demons without relying on her visions. I mean, what if that was a onetime thing? Are we just gonna go around town looking for people with red eyes and spiky auras?"

"Do you remember the name of the guy April told us about?" Victor gave him a perplexed look. "We asked her if the demon was working with someone, and she told us she heard him say a name. It's on the tip of my tongue."

"Oh yeah. I think it was... Aaron?"

"No, that doesn't sound right." Connor shut his eyes, desperately trying to recall it. "Aayan!" he yelled. "I'm pretty sure April said the demon mentioned someone named Aayan."

"So, you think this Aayan guy is the reason why these demons have been hurting people?"

"I don't know." Connor glanced outside. Summer and Mr. Au bowed and then started toward them

Mr. Au slid the door open. "You guys better watch out. Eventually we're going to start sparring, and she might give you fits," he said with a hand on her shoulder. "Why the serious faces? What were you guys talking about?"

"Summer, do you remember when April told us that the demon mentioned someone named Aayan?" Connor asked.

Summer used her palm to wipe the sweat from her forehead. "Yeah, she told us he said 'Aayan can screw himself'."

"She also said that the demon wanted her for himself," Connor said. "I'm thinking this Aayan guy is the one who ordered him to kidnap April."

Victor leaned back in his chair. "I haven't met many demons, but from what I've seen, I can't imagine one of them taking orders."

Mr. Au left, returning a few seconds later with a towel in each hand. He tossed one to Summer, wiping his face and arms with the other one. "You guys need to fill me in." He threw the towel over his shoulder. "Summer, did your grandmother talk to any police officers at the station?"

"Yeah let's just say it didn't go well."

"I'm going to need details."

Summer sighed. "Well, she spoke to a receptionist and told him she wanted to report the existence of demons. After immediately getting laughed at, she walked out of the station."

Victor snickered. "What did she expect?"

"Victor," Mr. Au said with a glare.

"Sorry."

"At least she tried. Make sure you practice your stance and I'll email you a couple of videos. Call it a homework assignment." He gave her a wink. "Now, let's get you back home."

***

Summer waved her hands over the car's air vents. The sun was especially brutal that day, illuminating the neighborhood and causing everything to look slightly overexposed. "It's so beautiful outside," Summer noted as she passed an immaculately kept front lawn. "But this heat..."

"Yeah, and it's supposed to be like this all week," Mr. Au said. "Hey Summer, let's talk for a minute."

"Sir?"

He chuckled. "You don't have to call me sir."

"Yes, si—I mean, yes, Mr. Au."

"I want to personally thank you."

"Your welcome, but, what for?"

"V had a tough time dealing with his mother's passing. He started acting out, and I would constantly get phone calls from his teachers. Then he came home from school one day and told me about this little surfer girl from California with a cool purple necklace." He presented a warm smile. "Listen, I know V can be a little rough around the edges, but your positive attitude has done wonders for him. Please keep being that light in his life."

Summer felt tears forming. "Thank you for those beautiful words. I promise—"

Her vision became blurry. She collapsed into her seat as the world around her faded away. There was nothing but darkness. A feeling of weightlessness started at her toes and trickled up the rest of her body. Then, as if someone flipped a light switch, a building materialized below her. She quickly understood why she felt weightless. Summer was flying—or rather, floating—above the building. She surveyed the area and recognized it as her old middle school.

Summer jumped into the body of a young man, a mixture of sweat and tears burning her eyes. She waved a hand in front of her face and saw nothing but still darkness. Using the same hand, Summer reached around for nothing in particular, hoping that she could get her bearings. She felt slick plastic on her fingertips. She reached again and felt rough bristles. A broom. The faint smell of chemical cleaner combined with the stench of sweat and fear in the air. It was so revolting that she almost gagged.

Summer awoke to Mr. Au shaking her. "Hey, what happened?"

"I had another vision."

"What did you see?"

"Nothing, it was completely dark. I did feel a broom, though. And I smelled chemical cleaner. Wait, before I jumped into the guy's body, I was floating above Sunbury."

"The middle school?"

"Yeah." She rubbed her temple with her fingertips.

"We're going back to get V and Connor."

"Wait!" Summer exclaimed. "Drop me off at my house first. I need to pick some things up."

Mr. Au buckled Summer's seatbelt and sped toward her house. Once there, Summer darted through her front door. Her grandmother jumped when the blur in the shape of her granddaughter sped up the stairs.

"What's going on?" she asked.

Summer ignored her and grabbed four bottles of holy water from her closet. She ran back down the stairs and stopped at the foyer. "Granny, I had another vision. He's in Sunbury and he's terrified. Mr. Au said he's gonna drive us there after we pick V and Connor up."

Her grandmother rose to her feet. "What?"

"Please, granny, I don't know how much time he has. Mr. Au is gonna be with us this time."

"Please be careful."

"Don't worry. I have three guardian angels now." She sprinted outside and leapt into the car.

Mr. Au parked in his driveway and rushed through his front door. "Guys," he said. "Summer had another vision. This time, the person is at Sunbury."

"The middle school?" Connor asked.

"Yeah. V, I need you to get my axe from the garage."

Victor shot up out of his chair. "Wait—"

"My axe. Now!"

"Yes, sir."

"Mr. Au, take this." She handed him a bottle. "Holy water stuns them for a little while." She turned to Connor. "Did you bring one?" Connor reached into his pocket and presented a glass bottle. "Good, I'll give one to V when he comes back."

"Summer, you said you felt a broom and smelled chemical cleaner, right?" Mr. Au asked.

"Yeah."

"I'm guessing he's in the janitor's closet. Do you guys remember the layout of the middle school?" Victor appeared with a giant axe in hand. It had a cherry red handle, and the silver-colored head gleamed. Mr. Au grabbed the weapon and inspected it.

"Once we get there, I'm sure I'll remember the layout," Connor said.

Mr. Au gripped his axe with both hands. "Okay guys, let's go."