Haunter 1: The Shadow of the Haunter

17. Better Safe

Amy spent about an hour in the basement. When she came back up, she nodded with a tired smile when I offered her coffee and sat down at the table with a long sigh.

"Pennhurst Asylum," she said, and she did sound exhausted. "That's where Price picked it up."

I rummaged the pantry for more cupcakes and was lucky to find one last tray. I needed to tell Susan to get a dozen more for the weekend, or I would suffer withdrawal symptoms.

"Did he tell you anything else?" I asked, bringing her coffee and the cupcakes to the table. Trisha sat down opposite her.

Amy raised her eyebrows, like gathering her thoughts through the fog of exhaustion in her head.

"He was born there when the asylum was still open, and remained there after the courts closed it. Plenty of bad vibes around to feast on for centuries. He'd never paid attention to the living until our lovely Haunter came around. Looks like he started calling on any and all entities around. He invited them to use his and his teammates' energy to manifest. Kujo thought why not try that walking snack and took a bite at Price's energy. The tastiest thing he'd ever tried." Amy sighed again, shaking her head. "He'd seen other scavengers attach themselves to humans before, so he thought he could as well do it. And here we are."

"Why is he so damn massive?" asked Trisha.

Amy grimaced. "The nutritive value of Price's energy. Kujo started off as a regular two-foot-long parasite, and ended an eight-foot-tall half-breed demon."

"Jesus!"

"Language," Amy and I said at the same time, and the three of us chuckled.

"He has wings?" I asked.

"Yeah, but they're like broken."

Trisha showed her the screen grab and Amy sighed yet again. "He's too big to stay around, Fran. He needs a big dark place like Pennhurst to stay alive."

"But he will find another host!" Trisha argued.

I shook my head. "I don't think so. He won't risk getting chained again."

"She's right."

Trisha was googling something. "Pennhurst is three-hundred miles away from here."

"You think we can take him back home?" I asked with a hopeful smile.

Amy dropped her head until her chin touched her chest. "You two are an explosive pair, you crazy kids," she complained. "Yeah, we could. In your car, Fran, 'cause I ain't playing driver for half-breed demons."

"Sure!" I was delighted with the idea. "I can go visit him there from time to time!"

Trisha laughed out loud.

"But we need to talk to somebody from Pennhurst to let them know," argued Amy. "We can't just show up and set a half-breed demon free on their grounds without telling them first."

"Like they would care about one more drop in the ocean," I replied. "Have you visited or watched any investigation conducted there? They're up to the roof in dark entities."

"Bet Price would love to film the release of the shadow," said Trisha. "Another bait in the hook."

I grinned. "And he surely knows the whole staff." I winked at Amy. "He would know whom to call to give them due notice of the upcoming homecoming."

"You should ask him," said Trisha.

"When he shows up, if he actually does. I've been calling him and texting him almost every day for the last week. Enough already."