Excerpt From Ki-Chan: Demon Hunter Book #3: The camping trip from Hell
NOTE #1: This was originally supposed to be shared two weeks ago, but I got sick. Please forgive the lateness. Book #3 is still a WIP. Please look forward to more information in the coming months.
NOTE #2: In this excerpt, Ruey, Kameko and Marlowe have gone on a trip to Chichibu-Tama-Kai for a weekend camping excursion to celebrate Marlowe's birthday. However, Hadagi and Panti have sent along a demon to foil their festivities. This segment picks up right as the trio are trying to follow and fight this new demon, who has hidden his true form by disguising himself as a giant bird shadow. The shadow is part of an ancient group of demons known as The Nanatsunotaizai, hinted at during the tail end of Book #2.
Watching the shadow dart between the trees, Marlowe cuts down the forest faster and faster, not noticing the sky changing. The shadow turns, as if to face Marlowe, then unleashes a wave of dark energy. Thinking fast, Kameko jumps onto a nearby boulder, then propels herself, spinning just above Marlowe’s hair, her hands lighting up with small, pink balls of light.
Kameko: KINBOSHI BURAITSU!!
A flurry of pink energy balls leaves her hands, meeting the wave of dark energy. She blows the dark wave back, but the shadow leaps forward, unleashing a second wave of energy, blasting Kameko into a tree. The shadow then spins towards Marlowe.
Marlowe: ARIES SHEATH!!
His entire body becomes encased in a thick sheet of metal as his eyes turn a deep silver. The shadow bounces off of his chest, then forms two iron swords out of itself. Marlowe and the shadow begin a sword fight, as he swings his arms, still lit from his last attack. Clinking his metal arms against the shadow’s swords, Marlowe knocks the shadow back a few feet, giving Ruey a chance to leap up and strike.
Ruey: AQUARIAN AIR BOLT!!
Leaping up from the same boulder as Kameko, Ruey heats oxygen into long, blue-gray arrows of light, then pelts the shadow with his bolts. The shadow takes the bolts into itself, then seemingly vanishes back into the forest.
Marlowe: SHIT! The pickle snatching son of a bitch got away!
Kameko: And I am not getting any signal on the holowatch. I have no way to even text the others to let them know about this.
Ruey: Do you think we should head back home then?
Marlowe: No, that bastard seems pretty fixated on us. He’ll probably come looking for us once it/s dark. Let’s scan the area first and then head back to camp. He’ll probably come back for the next round of food we set out.
Kameko: Not a bad idea. I just hope we can keep that thing isolated to this forest so he doesn’t go after anyone else.
Taking to the skies, the trio fly over the forest, trying to see if they can spot anything unusual. But aside from the path Marlowe made, nothing seems out of place. The lush, emerald greenery conjures an image of purity against the heather-silver, partly sunny sky. Inspired by nature’s beauty, Ruey and Kameko sneak pictures on their holowatches before returning their gaze towards the trees, again noticing nothing out of place. Marlowe, still somewhat coated in metal, flies higher than Ruey and Kameko, as his eyes start to turn back to their usual violet boldness.
Kameko: Marlowe, where are you going?
Marlowe: Isn’t it obvious? I’m getting a little higher so I can try and get a signal. Since I’m taller than the both of you and I’m still coated in metal, I shouldn’t have any trouble getting a hold of Silas on the holowatch once I get a little more air.
Ruey: Oh hey, that’s pretty clever!
Marlowe: Yeah, hey, I think I see a tower from here.
Ruey: I think I see it too. Get a little higher!
Marlowe: Shit. Signal is still crappy.
Kameko: Huh. That’s odd. Hey, do you guys see that?
Ruey: Did you find the demon?
Kameko: No… I don’t think that’s him..
Taking on a shade of slate blue, the clouds start to dim in color and multiply in number as Ruey hovers closer to Kameko.
Ruey: Ah… Marlowe?
Marlowe: Hang on, I’m still working on this.
Ruey: Marlowe… I think you should probably quit...
Marlowe: Not now.
Kameko: Um Ruey’s right. We really should just hit the ground and go back to camp… preferably far, far away from the trees.
Marlowe: Not now, I almost got it.
Ruey: Ah.. MARLOWE!!
Marlowe: Dammit I said NOT N-
*CRACK BOOM*
Marlowe is hit with lightning. Kameko grabs her head, screaming from the deafening sound as Ruey’s eyes widen.
Marlowe’s body spirals quickly towards the ground as Ruey and Kameko chase after him. Realizing they won’t reach him in time, Ruey holds his hands out in front of himself.
Ruey: AQUARIAN GUST!!
Pushing out a giant, hot bubble of air, Ruey blasts his oxygen bubble past Marlowe, creating a large air cushion on the ground. Zap fried and in a state of shock, Marlowe lands hard into the air bubble, but he has fallen at such a high velocity that he ends up bouncing off of the bubble and slamming himself face first into the ground, right onto a large stone.
Kameko: Well THAT failed!!
Ruey: He’s METAL, I didn’t think he’d BOUNCE!!
Landing on the ground as another roll of thunder cracks across the sky, Ruey instinctively attempts to run to his brother’s side, but Kameko pulls him back.
Ruey: The hell are you doing? Kameko, let go of me!!
Kameko: He’s metal and he just got hit with lightning. You wanna be electrocuted too?
Ruey: SHIT!! That’s a good point. MARLOWE WAKE UP!
Kameko: MARLOWE! Are you alright? Did you die yet??
As Ruey’s air bubble dissipates, a low, long growl is heard. Shaking, trembling, Marlowe slowly rolls onto his back, just as the last of the metal coating starts to peel off, making a loud, creaking noise. Ruey and Kameko sigh out of relief.
Ruey: It looks like that metal coat thing you did saved your life! Are you okay?
Marlowe: O-o-o-o-k-k-ay i-i-i-i-i-s sub-sub-sub-j-j-j-j-ectiv-v-ve.
Kameko: You know, I didn’t know you could do that thing.
Marlowe: H-h-h-how e-e-e-lse a-a-am I s-s-s-posed t-t-to s-s-s-urv-v-v-ive s-s-s-squirt w-w-w-when sh-sh-sh-she th-th-th-throws f-f-f-f-uk-uck-ucking l-l-l-light-ni-ni-ning bu-bu-bu-bolts wh-wh-when sh-sh-she’s p-p-p-p-p-pissed?
Ruey: Ah… should we get him to the hospital?
Kameko: We’re humanesques. What are they gonna even do?
Ruey: Eh… good point. I mean, I’m not even sure if any of their tools would even work on us.
Kameko: Probably not. I mean, bullets don’t penetrate us, so how far do you think a needle or a scalpel would get? Especially when you consider that Marlowe can turn himself into metal.
Ruey: Well, should we at least get him home? We can come back later to look for the demon.
Marlowe: N-n-n-n-no. I-i-i-i-I’m get-tit-tit-titing up.
Struggling to his feet, Marlowe sheds the last of his metal coating, then wobbles towards the nearest tree. Still shaking, he slowly brings his arm up, then taps his holowatch. Surprisingly, the holowatch still works, though there is still no signal.
Ruey: Amazing! It still works? What the fuck did Techno design these things with?
Kameko: He really thought ahead. This means that even if Ki-Chan’s power goes haywire again, I can still play my freemium puzzle games!
Marlowe: H-h-h-how n-n-n-nice-s-s-s-s-s.
Kameko: Woah. Hey, my eyebrows feel a little weird. It feels like all the hair on my body is standing-
Ruey: FUCK!! AQUARIAN GUST!!
Pushing Kameko aside, Ruey quickly fires another hot air bubble against the tree, just as lightning hits both the tree and the bubble. In hitting the bubble, the lightning strike blasts the oxygen pocket apart, blasting Ruey, Marlowe and Kameko towards the ground a good distance away. The trio sit up, just in time to watch the tree split, with each half falling with a crack.
Kameko: What the fuck? Ruey, thank you!!
Ruey: That was WAY too close for comfort, is this the demon?
Kameko: There he goes, KINBOSHI BURAITSU!!
Kameko fires a flurry of pink energy balls as the demon soars by then disappears, but Ruey and Marlowe spot another problem.
Ruey: AQUARIAN GUST!!
Marlowe: A-a-a-ARIES SH-SH-SHEATH!!
Suddenly, there is a downpour of rain. Ruey and Marlowe quickly combine their powers, creating a semi-clear, hot bubble of liquid metal and oxygen. As the dome starts to fall and set completely around them, Kameko’s body turns strawberry pink.
Kameko: TAURUS SPEED!!
She runs into one side of the bubble, just as Ruey and Marlowe move enough of the metal and air concoction beneath them, enclosing the bubble. Running at top speed, Kameko races the bubble through the forest like a hamster rolling along pavement in a plastic ball. Speeding through the forest, the bubble bounces off of boulders, over wildlife, and then finally, back towards the camp, deflecting lightning from above. Seeing the tent in the distance, Ruey and Marlowe slowly drop their powers, letting the bottom become thin enough to dissipate against Kameko’s shoes as she slows down. Coming to a slow stop, the trio quickly lift and exit the metal casing, sliding into the smaller of the two tents Ruey had set up earlier. Peeking their heads out of the tiny, vinyl windows of the tent, the trio watch as another bolt of lightning hits the metal casing, then slinks right over it.
Kameko: WOW! It’s like watching lightning hitting Chicago’s Cloud Gate, but in a way smaller form.
Marlowe: Huh?
Ruey: The bean.
Marlowe: Oh.
Ruey: Any luck?
Kameko: No, still no signal. This has to be the demon, because rain be damned, we had a great WiFi signal earlier.
Ruey: Well demon or not, it isn’t safe to drive or fly out in this. We’re gonna have to stay here until it blows over.
Kameko: But wouldn’t it be safer to hide in the van?
Just as she says this, lightning strikes just behind the van. Kameko slinks away from the vinyl windows.
Ruey: So um… yeah. We should be fine in this entirely meltable PVC death trap once Marlowe and I do another bubble thing, but it’s moving quickly, I don’t see this thing lasting very long...
Lily: So we will have rain all day today. I wonder if Ruey actually saw the weather report before he packed the van?
Techno: Probably not.
Back at home, Lily and Techno are channel surfing while cuddling on the couch.
Lily: Do you think we should fly over to the park and see if they’re okay?
Techno: Nah. Kameko would have used her holowatch if there was something wrong by now.
Violet: They have their own superpowers. They’re fine.
Silas gazes out of the window, watching the rain pouring. A hard wind joins the downpour in blasting through a few Sakura petals on the trees outside. He looks at his holowatch, then returns his gaze outside. Cecil brings Silas a beer.
Cecil: She hasn’t messaged anyone yet.
Silas: I know, but something doesn’t feel right.
Cecil: Guilty conscience?
Silas: No, this feels different. Although the guilt thing I do have. It’s shitty. I should have just manned up and told Ruey, but she made me swear not to until she told him herself this time.
Cecil: Yeah, we all agreed this is something she needs to handle on her own. Most of us have learned to just stay out of it.
Silas: Do you think this will create some kind of conflict? I mean, we all have to fight together.
Cecil: Those two have had a weird thing since high school. I wouldn’t expect it to.
Violet: It better not. This ain’t one of those slow written TV dramas. We have real shit to deal with. We can’t have demons AND relationship drama on the battlefield.
Silas: I just texted Kameko. We’ll see what happens I guess. Where’s the other two?
Cecil: Upstairs I guess.
Silas: Atta boy, Tige. Bout time.
Techno: Huh. How about that. They’re saying the flash flood is staying in effect until Monday morning.
Lily: I wonder if Kameko has decided where to bury Ruey?
Kameko: Right… over…. There.
Marlowe: I’ll go get the shovel.
Ruey: Oh come on guys! The newspaper I got from Cecil before we left says it won’t be THAT bad of a storm!
Still trapped inside the confines of a PVC tent reeking with plastic fumes, Kameko’s patience is finally starting to wear thin.
NOTE #2: In this excerpt, Ruey, Kameko and Marlowe have gone on a trip to Chichibu-Tama-Kai for a weekend camping excursion to celebrate Marlowe's birthday. However, Hadagi and Panti have sent along a demon to foil their festivities. This segment picks up right as the trio are trying to follow and fight this new demon, who has hidden his true form by disguising himself as a giant bird shadow. The shadow is part of an ancient group of demons known as The Nanatsunotaizai, hinted at during the tail end of Book #2.
Kameko: KINBOSHI BURAITSU!!
A flurry of pink energy balls leaves her hands, meeting the wave of dark energy. She blows the dark wave back, but the shadow leaps forward, unleashing a second wave of energy, blasting Kameko into a tree. The shadow then spins towards Marlowe.
Marlowe: ARIES SHEATH!!
His entire body becomes encased in a thick sheet of metal as his eyes turn a deep silver. The shadow bounces off of his chest, then forms two iron swords out of itself. Marlowe and the shadow begin a sword fight, as he swings his arms, still lit from his last attack. Clinking his metal arms against the shadow’s swords, Marlowe knocks the shadow back a few feet, giving Ruey a chance to leap up and strike.
Ruey: AQUARIAN AIR BOLT!!
Leaping up from the same boulder as Kameko, Ruey heats oxygen into long, blue-gray arrows of light, then pelts the shadow with his bolts. The shadow takes the bolts into itself, then seemingly vanishes back into the forest.
Marlowe: SHIT! The pickle snatching son of a bitch got away!
Kameko: And I am not getting any signal on the holowatch. I have no way to even text the others to let them know about this.
Ruey: Do you think we should head back home then?
Marlowe: No, that bastard seems pretty fixated on us. He’ll probably come looking for us once it/s dark. Let’s scan the area first and then head back to camp. He’ll probably come back for the next round of food we set out.
Kameko: Not a bad idea. I just hope we can keep that thing isolated to this forest so he doesn’t go after anyone else.
Taking to the skies, the trio fly over the forest, trying to see if they can spot anything unusual. But aside from the path Marlowe made, nothing seems out of place. The lush, emerald greenery conjures an image of purity against the heather-silver, partly sunny sky. Inspired by nature’s beauty, Ruey and Kameko sneak pictures on their holowatches before returning their gaze towards the trees, again noticing nothing out of place. Marlowe, still somewhat coated in metal, flies higher than Ruey and Kameko, as his eyes start to turn back to their usual violet boldness.
Kameko: Marlowe, where are you going?
Marlowe: Isn’t it obvious? I’m getting a little higher so I can try and get a signal. Since I’m taller than the both of you and I’m still coated in metal, I shouldn’t have any trouble getting a hold of Silas on the holowatch once I get a little more air.
Ruey: Oh hey, that’s pretty clever!
Marlowe: Yeah, hey, I think I see a tower from here.
Ruey: I think I see it too. Get a little higher!
Marlowe: Shit. Signal is still crappy.
Kameko: Huh. That’s odd. Hey, do you guys see that?
Ruey: Did you find the demon?
Kameko: No… I don’t think that’s him..
Taking on a shade of slate blue, the clouds start to dim in color and multiply in number as Ruey hovers closer to Kameko.
Ruey: Ah… Marlowe?
Marlowe: Hang on, I’m still working on this.
Ruey: Marlowe… I think you should probably quit...
Marlowe: Not now.
Kameko: Um Ruey’s right. We really should just hit the ground and go back to camp… preferably far, far away from the trees.
Marlowe: Not now, I almost got it.
Ruey: Ah.. MARLOWE!!
Marlowe: Dammit I said NOT N-
*CRACK BOOM*
Marlowe is hit with lightning. Kameko grabs her head, screaming from the deafening sound as Ruey’s eyes widen.
Marlowe’s body spirals quickly towards the ground as Ruey and Kameko chase after him. Realizing they won’t reach him in time, Ruey holds his hands out in front of himself.
Ruey: AQUARIAN GUST!!
Pushing out a giant, hot bubble of air, Ruey blasts his oxygen bubble past Marlowe, creating a large air cushion on the ground. Zap fried and in a state of shock, Marlowe lands hard into the air bubble, but he has fallen at such a high velocity that he ends up bouncing off of the bubble and slamming himself face first into the ground, right onto a large stone.
Kameko: Well THAT failed!!
Ruey: He’s METAL, I didn’t think he’d BOUNCE!!
Landing on the ground as another roll of thunder cracks across the sky, Ruey instinctively attempts to run to his brother’s side, but Kameko pulls him back.
Ruey: The hell are you doing? Kameko, let go of me!!
Kameko: He’s metal and he just got hit with lightning. You wanna be electrocuted too?
Ruey: SHIT!! That’s a good point. MARLOWE WAKE UP!
Kameko: MARLOWE! Are you alright? Did you die yet??
As Ruey’s air bubble dissipates, a low, long growl is heard. Shaking, trembling, Marlowe slowly rolls onto his back, just as the last of the metal coating starts to peel off, making a loud, creaking noise. Ruey and Kameko sigh out of relief.
Ruey: It looks like that metal coat thing you did saved your life! Are you okay?
Marlowe: O-o-o-o-k-k-ay i-i-i-i-i-s sub-sub-sub-j-j-j-j-ectiv-v-ve.
Kameko: You know, I didn’t know you could do that thing.
Marlowe: H-h-h-how e-e-e-lse a-a-am I s-s-s-posed t-t-to s-s-s-urv-v-v-ive s-s-s-squirt w-w-w-when sh-sh-sh-she th-th-th-throws f-f-f-f-uk-uck-ucking l-l-l-light-ni-ni-ning bu-bu-bu-bolts wh-wh-when sh-sh-she’s p-p-p-p-p-pissed?
Ruey: Ah… should we get him to the hospital?
Kameko: We’re humanesques. What are they gonna even do?
Ruey: Eh… good point. I mean, I’m not even sure if any of their tools would even work on us.
Kameko: Probably not. I mean, bullets don’t penetrate us, so how far do you think a needle or a scalpel would get? Especially when you consider that Marlowe can turn himself into metal.
Ruey: Well, should we at least get him home? We can come back later to look for the demon.
Marlowe: N-n-n-n-no. I-i-i-i-I’m get-tit-tit-titing up.
Struggling to his feet, Marlowe sheds the last of his metal coating, then wobbles towards the nearest tree. Still shaking, he slowly brings his arm up, then taps his holowatch. Surprisingly, the holowatch still works, though there is still no signal.
Ruey: Amazing! It still works? What the fuck did Techno design these things with?
Kameko: He really thought ahead. This means that even if Ki-Chan’s power goes haywire again, I can still play my freemium puzzle games!
Marlowe: H-h-h-how n-n-n-nice-s-s-s-s-s.
Kameko: Woah. Hey, my eyebrows feel a little weird. It feels like all the hair on my body is standing-
Ruey: FUCK!! AQUARIAN GUST!!
Pushing Kameko aside, Ruey quickly fires another hot air bubble against the tree, just as lightning hits both the tree and the bubble. In hitting the bubble, the lightning strike blasts the oxygen pocket apart, blasting Ruey, Marlowe and Kameko towards the ground a good distance away. The trio sit up, just in time to watch the tree split, with each half falling with a crack.
Kameko: What the fuck? Ruey, thank you!!
Ruey: That was WAY too close for comfort, is this the demon?
Kameko: There he goes, KINBOSHI BURAITSU!!
Kameko fires a flurry of pink energy balls as the demon soars by then disappears, but Ruey and Marlowe spot another problem.
Ruey: AQUARIAN GUST!!
Marlowe: A-a-a-ARIES SH-SH-SHEATH!!
Suddenly, there is a downpour of rain. Ruey and Marlowe quickly combine their powers, creating a semi-clear, hot bubble of liquid metal and oxygen. As the dome starts to fall and set completely around them, Kameko’s body turns strawberry pink.
Kameko: TAURUS SPEED!!
She runs into one side of the bubble, just as Ruey and Marlowe move enough of the metal and air concoction beneath them, enclosing the bubble. Running at top speed, Kameko races the bubble through the forest like a hamster rolling along pavement in a plastic ball. Speeding through the forest, the bubble bounces off of boulders, over wildlife, and then finally, back towards the camp, deflecting lightning from above. Seeing the tent in the distance, Ruey and Marlowe slowly drop their powers, letting the bottom become thin enough to dissipate against Kameko’s shoes as she slows down. Coming to a slow stop, the trio quickly lift and exit the metal casing, sliding into the smaller of the two tents Ruey had set up earlier. Peeking their heads out of the tiny, vinyl windows of the tent, the trio watch as another bolt of lightning hits the metal casing, then slinks right over it.
Kameko: WOW! It’s like watching lightning hitting Chicago’s Cloud Gate, but in a way smaller form.
Marlowe: Huh?
Ruey: The bean.
Marlowe: Oh.
Ruey: Any luck?
Kameko: No, still no signal. This has to be the demon, because rain be damned, we had a great WiFi signal earlier.
Ruey: Well demon or not, it isn’t safe to drive or fly out in this. We’re gonna have to stay here until it blows over.
Kameko: But wouldn’t it be safer to hide in the van?
Just as she says this, lightning strikes just behind the van. Kameko slinks away from the vinyl windows.
Ruey: So um… yeah. We should be fine in this entirely meltable PVC death trap once Marlowe and I do another bubble thing, but it’s moving quickly, I don’t see this thing lasting very long...
Lily: So we will have rain all day today. I wonder if Ruey actually saw the weather report before he packed the van?
Techno: Probably not.
Back at home, Lily and Techno are channel surfing while cuddling on the couch.
Lily: Do you think we should fly over to the park and see if they’re okay?
Techno: Nah. Kameko would have used her holowatch if there was something wrong by now.
Violet: They have their own superpowers. They’re fine.
Silas gazes out of the window, watching the rain pouring. A hard wind joins the downpour in blasting through a few Sakura petals on the trees outside. He looks at his holowatch, then returns his gaze outside. Cecil brings Silas a beer.
Cecil: She hasn’t messaged anyone yet.
Silas: I know, but something doesn’t feel right.
Cecil: Guilty conscience?
Silas: No, this feels different. Although the guilt thing I do have. It’s shitty. I should have just manned up and told Ruey, but she made me swear not to until she told him herself this time.
Cecil: Yeah, we all agreed this is something she needs to handle on her own. Most of us have learned to just stay out of it.
Silas: Do you think this will create some kind of conflict? I mean, we all have to fight together.
Cecil: Those two have had a weird thing since high school. I wouldn’t expect it to.
Violet: It better not. This ain’t one of those slow written TV dramas. We have real shit to deal with. We can’t have demons AND relationship drama on the battlefield.
Silas: I just texted Kameko. We’ll see what happens I guess. Where’s the other two?
Cecil: Upstairs I guess.
Silas: Atta boy, Tige. Bout time.
Techno: Huh. How about that. They’re saying the flash flood is staying in effect until Monday morning.
Lily: I wonder if Kameko has decided where to bury Ruey?
Kameko: Right… over…. There.
Marlowe: I’ll go get the shovel.
Ruey: Oh come on guys! The newspaper I got from Cecil before we left says it won’t be THAT bad of a storm!
Still trapped inside the confines of a PVC tent reeking with plastic fumes, Kameko’s patience is finally starting to wear thin.
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