The Monsters of the Mind

Part 15

"There you are Kylie!" Jimmy appeared in the auditorium, pulling his bowler hat off of his head and wiping at his brow, "Apologies for the delay, it seems that my second guest is a bit more picky about the way her meals are than my first."

"Don't worry about," I answered, putting on a smile as I pulled the styrofoam containers out of the large paper bag I had brought in earlier and trying to ignore the shaking in my hands. Memories of what the manager told me about the Halls still had me quaking, even after the minutes leading up to this point.

When my food was finally brought out, the manager had turned to me again, "Now you know, Kylie. If you choose to go forward with this, be careful."

I could only nod, whispering my thanks before paying and slowly walking from the diner and hailing a cab to take me back to the hotel.

Now, Jimmy was sitting across from me, digging into his meal without a care in the world, while I stirred my chips and chicken strips around in the container.

"This really is good, Kylie," Jimmy mumbled around the food in his mouth, "You're going to have to give me the number for this place so I can order from there again."

I nodded quietly.

"Kylie? Is everything alright? You're awful quiet..."

What could I say? The truth? How I found out more about his family tree? Or even the implications that his family had bloodlines tied directly to demon worshippers? All of those answers sounded manically crazy, even from me - and it would be very off putting.

I knew, based on my own experiences and what two of the spirits had told me, that Jimmy Hall wasn't aware of that other side of him - and if he was, it was doing a very good job at keeping him in the dark about everything that they had done. If I gave mention to anything about what I had heard in town, I would most definitely end up dead - if I didn't suffer another hit to the head.

I swallowed hard, "Just, erm, a little tired still I guess."

"Do you feel dizzy? Nauseated?"

"None at all, Jimmy," I tried to smile, "Just a lot of things going on, I guess. I'm worried about my car and my family, I'm scared that I'll be stuck here longer than expected..."

I watched as his eyes shifted, as if glinting with delight, before he spoke, "Yes... but wouldn't that be a treat?"

My look of pure horror made him chuckle nervously, "Kidding! I'm kidding, Kylie!"

He reached out and took my hand gently, making me relax somewhat, "Everything is going to be fine, I promise. Your car is going to be repaired and you'll be able to get to your parents soon, that I have no doubt."

"In all honesty, Jimmy, you're the one I'm a touch worried about," I admitted.

The reality of it was that I had been lucky - incredibly lucky to say the least. I had only seen this other side of him on three separate occasions and each had only been mild... well, except for the one hit on the head earlier today. But what was really nerve-wracking was what was going on when I wasn't here. I couldn't control what Jimmy or that other side of him did behind closed doors, but I did want to help - if there was a way.

Jimmy laughed, looking down at our entwined hands again, "You shouldn't worry about me, Kylie. I've been on my own since I was thirty - and that was about fourteen years ago, remember - and I've been able to take care of myself ever since."

"It's not that..." I muttered, twisting our hands around.

A small mark on Jimmy's right hand caught my attention. It looked like two large S's side by side with a line through them horizontally. There were also two small dots, one above and one below, the marking. I had never seen it before, and it made me curious.