Heaven, Hell, and Everything in Between

Chapter 11: Parent Supervision

Ch. 11 Parent Supervision

"You did WHAT!?" our masters yelled in unison.

"We....killed most the demons in our area, sir." I said meekly, "What's the big problem?"

"The problem is," Rocko said with tempered rage, "is that you three have not only drawn the attention of some Greater Demons in your area, but the barrier we put up to cloud the vision of mortals is so weak that one more fight could shatter it completely!"

"Couldn't you renew the spell or something," Grace said, "like changing a burnt light bulb?"

"Not only is that a bad idea," Master Karcka intoned, "but if we were to put a new spell in place, we would have to remove the existing one before we could apply the new one. It would be a span of two decades before the new shield could be put up. During which the entire planet would see every demon that walked by them."

"Yeah, I guess that would be a bad idea." Grace mumbled.

"So what happens if we have to fight a demon?" I asked, "How would we kill it without destroying the barrier?"

Rocko gave me his best boy-is-this-kid-stupid look and said, "Simple, you don't fight him. If the demon is after you, you run and hide, if they find you, then you kill them in a surprise attack, no battles. We cannot afford the barrier falling."

"Ok." we said.

"Go home and get some rest kids," Master Soroka said kindly, "there won't be much trouble for a while, so you can get some peace and quiet until next week, or whenever more demons show up, but you should have at least three days before they arrive."

Rocko added a last warning as we left the Battleschool, "Remember, no fighting for at least a week so the barrier can strengthen again."

"Noted, and accounted for Master Rocko!" I called over my shoulder, "See you tomorrow!" I didn't know at the time, but tomorrow night was a long way in coming once we got home. As soon as I came down for breakfast the next morning, I knew I was in trouble, because my parents were sitting in the living room, watching for me as I came down. I took one look at their faces, and knew this was something I was going to regret doing for a long time. I walked up to them and sat down across from them in my best be-nice-to-me pose. I hoped that I may get off easier if I could act calm, but as soon as my dad started talking, I knew I was in for a world of hurt.

"Do you have any idea how much trouble you are in?" he asked in a dangerous tone.

"Probably don't want to know." I thought, but decided to keep that to myself, or risk getting in more trouble.

"You and your friends have been running off without an explanation as to where you are going for days now," my mom said, "and you come back looking like you went to a fight club for Beat-Me-Up Friday. We have called and asked Grace and Ricky's parents if they come back looking the same, and they said 'sometimes worse'!"

"Yeah, about that," I said guiltily, "There's something I have to tell you."

"That you and your friends are in some kind of hero squad and fight the bad guys that the police miss." Dad said, "Sorry, heard it before."

"Actually," I said, "that wasn't too far off."

"You are grounded until further notice," Dad said with finality, "No going outside, no friends over, no TV, and no games."

"Any chance I could call my friends before this takes effect?" I asked hopefully.

My parents looked at each other, and said with such stiffness that I thought they could be likened to plywood sheets, "Two minutes each, no more."