Free The Conch Shell of Doom by Ryan Hill Page A

light it first.” Mr. Lovell took the lighter out of Percy’s pocket and gave it to him.
    Hands shaking, Percy lit the cigarette and took a long drag, the cherry burning through the paper and tobacco. The ambulance’s siren could be heard in the distance. They’d be there any minute.  
    “You’re more trouble than you’re worth,” Mr. Lovell said. “You know that.”
    “I’m so, so sorry. I fucked up. Why can’t I ever do anything right?”
    This is pathetic. Does he realize what someone his age was like five hundred years ago? A king? A killer? Master of his destiny?
    Flashing red lights bounced off the van. The ambulance was about to turn into the parking lot.  
    “I’ve got to go,” Mr. Lovell said.  
    “Wait!”
    Mr. Lovell teleported away before Percy could finish what he was saying. In less than a second, Mr. Lovell was back in his condo. He threw his hat across the room and screamed. It felt like everything was falling apart.
    “Everything we’ve worked toward. Preparing this place for the Awakening. All that effort. For nothing.”
    It doesn’t matter if the Awakening fails. My brother must die. No more of this back and forth.  
    “Can you even be awakened without your entire body?”  
    Yes. We may need to… borrow some parts, but if my head survives, I survive. The rest of my body will only make the assimilation easier.
    Mr. Lovell couldn’t believe what Trenton was saying. “I didn’t know you had this power.”
    My father wanted Franklin and me to be fishermen, like him. They loved the sea. I did, too. Even after it took my first life. That’s when the Conch Shell of Doom came to me. Gave me this power.
    “I’ve never heard this story,” Mr. Lovell said. He was amazed.
    You may be a master of the dark arts, but I created them. I used the shell to curse myself with immortality.  
    Mr. Lovell took his gloves off and looked at his deformed hands. If Trenton had the power to use other people’s bodies, surely that ability could be passed on. “You mean to say all this time…”
    No. Only I have that power. You knew the price of immortality when I offered it.  
    “I did. Do. Perhaps one day, I’ll be strong enough to have a new body.”
    Perhaps, but living in a body that isn’t yours can be troublesome. They wear out over time and sometimes reject their new master.  

CHAPTER SEVEN
The Morning After

    Bailey woke up with a wicked case of cottonmouth. His head swirled, like it was being flushed down a toilet. He swallowed, burning his dry throat. The previous night was a cloudy haze, but judging from the sore tongue and throat, he’d drunk something super-hot. Why couldn’t he remember? What the heck happened? Did he get drunk off liquor and hot sauce?  
    Bailey held his head in his hands. “Think.”  
    It felt like something important happened, but his brain only produced scattered bits and pieces, nothing concrete to go on.  
    Huh. Bailey had woken up sick, tired, hungover, and once with his hand down his boxers, but never with zero memory of the night before. Maybe Bailey had gotten black out drunk with his friends, but if that were the case, he’d have stayed over there. So why was he home?  
    He checked his cell phone for any hints. There were three unread texts from Alexis, all asking how everything went with his parents. Huh ? How did what go okay with his parents?  
    “Stupid brain. I wish I could trade you in for a new model.”
    Bailey glanced at the alarm clock next to his bed. 9:17 a.m. Alexis probably hadn’t gotten up yet, but he texted her anyway.
    What are you talking about?
    Bailey rolled out of bed. Why couldn’t he remember the previous night? It was the oddest thing. The only thoughts that came to mind were a nightmarish image of some grotesque man with burning eyes and his parents pinning him to the floor. Even those felt like a fading dream. Nothing real.
    Alexis texted back.
    Are you on drugs? You came to my house last night.
    “Whoa.”