The following morning I wake up to a car honking in the driveway. I check through my blinds on the window and see a Ford Pickup.

"Oh shoot he's here!" I stumbled back and nearly fall over.

Frantically, I rush to get ready. I throw on a shirt and pants and run my fingers through my hair. I stumble downstairs and fling open the front door to go talk to Abe. A man I assume to be him is leaning on the pickup with a duffel bag hanging on his shoulder.

"Abe?" I asked hesitantly.

"Yep. Jackie, I presume?" He asked.

"Yes sir."

"Oh don't 'Sir' me. I hate that bullcrap. Just call me Abe."

"Okay, um, Abe."

"Shall we go inside?"

"Yes si-Abe."

Abe was barely taller than me. He had rusty-colored scruffy hair and pale, green eyes. His mouth was set in a way that seemed like he always scowled at something. He wasn't muscular, but he wasn't overweight either. His clothing style reminded me of a farmer slightly, but it tried to look like it was from the city. Together, we went inside. On the kitchen counter, I saw a note Mom left me. I read it:

"Hey Jackie. Today I thought I would go out and calm down. Though I don't appreciate the joke you played, I'll be there to talk it out. Just not today, okay sweetie? I'm sorry I couldn't tell you in person, but you wouldn't wake up. Anyway, I'll be home by nightfall. Love you, Mom."

"She's weak," his words echoed in my mind. She may have left, but this means she won't see Abe. Is this a sign I'll live? She won't be here to stop me, so maybe this means I'll be okay...

"Eish, did ya tell her about the demon?"

"Yeah..." I recalled our fight and cringed.

"Why?"

"It told me it was going to kill me, and that it killed my obnoxious aunt. My mother admired that aunt for some reason a lot."

"So it's already struck, I'm sorry for your loss." I shook my head.

"Don't be, she didn't love me and I didn't like her. The demon had told me her last wish before she was killed was I would die too."

"Wait, where was your aunt found?"

"In an alleyway with a corpse so mutilated they needed a DNA test just to see who it was."

"I know the type of demon we're dealing with now."

"What? What type?"

"The kind of demon who will be annoying to try to kill off."

Before I could respond, Abe puts his bag on the table and takes out a broad sheet of paper. Seizing a pencil, he motioned for me to come over.

"Now look kid, do you think you can call this thing to you? Even if it's to slaughter you, can you coax it over here in a timely manner?"

"I d-don't know, I can try... it probably will." I wanted to sound more sure of myself that I was, but I was so much more frazzled that I was stumbling nearly every sentence I spoke. What's wrong with me?

"Good enough, now we have to make a plan. The basic idea is you bring it over here, and then I'll kill it, but we need to be coordinated enough to know what's happening when."

"What if we don't, what if the plan fails?" Abe turned back up from his paper to look me dead in the eyes. Under his gaze I wanted to shrink until I was a little mouse and could scurry away. Away to a safe place, but nowhere is for me.

"Then you better pray there's a big guy up there to meet us, because we won't be needed on Earth anymore."

"Oh..." I swallowed hard again. Not only am I risking my life, but he's risking his. At least with me I'd die anyway. How does he do this?

"So, let's get started, shall we?" Abe clapped his hands and let me view his sketch.