The Green Guardian

Chapter 38: The Mascot of the Basilisk

        Keegan wanted to accept Mateo, but his inner voice (the voice in his head) interfered with his decision. In his room, he sat up in bed, with his silky sheets over his knees. Frustrated, he knocked his phone off the dresser in between both hotel beds. Keegan did not like being quarantined, but he understood why he was.

A chill passed over his head. The presence, though, felt different–less demonic.

Keegan searched the room. The curtains in front of the window blew gracefully, even though the AC wasn't on. He rubbed his hands together and asked, "Who's there?"

Something tugged at his ear. It jerked it, causing Keegan to fall off his bed. He landed on top of his phone–a cheap Samsung. "What do you want?" he said. He would probably need an Ouija board to understand the spirit or a spirit box.

The being's ghostly hands grabbed his shirt collar. Keegan felt his feet lifting off the floor. He shivered, feeling fearful.

From out of nowhere, the door to his room flew open. Evie, Charlotte, and Sam rushed inside.

Sam, who glared, yelled, "Drop him, Faelyn!" at the spirit.

Keegan felt it releasing his collar, and he fell back onto his phone. He hit his funny bone, and boy did that hurt. Keegan clutched his elbow. "Faelyn?" he inquired. Was he really dealing with Mateo's father–the jerk who used to show off all the time when he was younger?

Sam was the only one who saw and heard Faelyn. The ghost was beyond mad.

Keegan yelled at him. "What are you doing back in my life?"

Faelyn never met Keegan. They were distant from each other when they were younger. Nevertheless, Keegan always spied on him.

Faelyn pointed at him. "For your information, dude, you're killing my son! Did you really think I wasn't going to do anything? What if that was your daughter in his shoes?"

"What's he saying?" Keegan angrily asked Sam.

He crossed his arms. "He's asking what you would do if Evie was in Mateo's shoes."

"And he has every right to ask that," said Charlotte. She hugged Evie to her side.

Keegan shut down. He didn't want anything bad to happen to his daughter. She was Daddy's little girl.

Sam's foot started to tap. He squeezed in front of his family members. "Euphorbia told me, Mr. Madison, and I'm going to pass her message down to you, that no doubt about it, Maria and Mateo are going to have a little girl. Euphorbia's seen her with her time-traveling powers. Mateo is going to love that little girl just as much as you love Evie. Do you really want her to grow up without a dad?"

Keegan's head hurt. He clutched it and begged, "Don't patronize me! You're just a kid! What do you know about love?"

"Darling, please." Charlotte let Evie go. "Give Mateo a chance, and give his little girl a chance to have a dad. After everything that's happened to him, Mateo needs some light in his life."

"No, he needs to be punished!" Keegan protested. "Who, in their right mind, gets a twenty-one-year-old pregnant?"

Evie jumped in. "He didn't mean to, Daddy. It was an accident."

Sam nodded. He crept closer to Keegan as if he were a cat stalking a mouse. "Euphorbia also told me that Mateo and Maria have not messed around since the banquet." He knew there was a little girl present, but he had to say this for Keegan to understand. "Mateo is scared now. He never wants to do it again."