Latter Rain by Vanessa Miller Page B

hit Isaac like a hurricane. Knocked him over, left him for dead. “Oh, God, don’t let this happen. This is my son, Lord.”
    Destroyer’s blade dug into Donavan’s chest.
    â€œAaaaaarrgh!”
    Destroyer laughed then cut into Donavan again.
    With a resolve to get his son away from these monsters, Isaac knuckled up and mean-mugged his opponent. Nostrils flaring, mac-daddy stance in place, he told them, “Leave him alone. I’m the one you want.”
    Destroyer snapped his crust-laden fingers. Two grizzly looking demons pulled Isaac off the wall and threw him around like they were Hulk Hogan in his pre-arthritic days.
    Oh, it’s on. Let one of ’em drop me. I’m gon’ beat him like he stole something . But before Isaac could get his rumble on, a bell went off. His first thought was to find the judges and ask them to stop ringing that bell. Ain’t no sense letting the bad guys win when he wasn’t tired yet. He quickly realized that the bell was ringing inside his head. Probably from that punch he had just taken.
    When the demons got tired of slapping him around, they slung him on the floor next to Donavan. Now, both he and his son screamed in agony as the hell-bent demons ripped through their bodies.
    â€œAaaaaarrgh! Aaaaaarrgh!” Isaac screamed while jumping around in his bed. The sudden movement jarred him. Isaac awoke panting. He gasped for air and reached for the telephone and dialed.
    The phone rang three times before a groggy voice said, “Hello.”
    â€œPut Donavan on the phone,” he told Nina. No time for acting like he had manners. He needed to make sure his son was still alive.
    Nina looked at the clock on her nightstand. Three A.M. “Isaac do you know what time it is?”
    â€œNina, please. Just go get Donavan for me. I won’t call your house this early in the morning again. But right now, I need to speak to my son.”
    Putting the phone down, she pulled back the covers and got out of her warm bed. Yawning as she headed to her son’s room, Nina called out, “Donavan. Donavan.”
    Donavan was closing the window he’d just climbed back into when he heard his mother calling. Quickly discarding his jeans and faking a yawn he said, “Yeah.”
    Outside his door, Nina told him, “Come get the phone. Your daddy wants to talk to you.”
    â€œAw, Mom, I’m asleep. Can’t it wait ’til morning?”
    â€œNo, Donavan. It sounds important.”
    Donavan snatched the door open and stormed down the hall to his mother’s room. He picked up the phone and growled into the receiver, “Yeah, what is it?”
    â€œWhat have you been doing?” Isaac demanded.
    Donavan let out a bored yawn. “What do people do at three in the morning, Dad?”
    â€œDon’t you get smart with me. I’ll come back down there and give you the beaten you should have gotten last night.”
    â€œBut I didn’t get it, did I, Dad? And why not? Because you left me. Didn’t think one more thing about me after you got mad at Mom, did you?”
    Isaac sighed. “I’m sorry about that, Donavan. But I need to know, son. What did you do after I left last night?”
    Rolling his eyes, Donavan told Isaac, “I went to bed. What else could I do?”
    â€œDonavan, don’t lie to me. This is important.” Isaac knew with everything in him that something bad was going on with his son, and the thought terrified him.
    Donavan’s voice boomed back with anger. “Look, don’t call here accusing me. You don’t know what I’ve been doing, and you don’t care. So get off my back!”
    When the dial tone sounded in Isaac’s ear, all he could do was shake his head. Chip off the ol’ block indeed.

10
    Donavan didn’t find JC until Saturday afternoon. He was in a “conference” with bad luck Baby Dee and Mark Smith. Baby Dee was a high school drop