“Let’s be real.” Seymour barked out a short laugh. “With the way this whole fucked-up crazy week has been goin’, I amnot that fuckin’ lucky. Next, he’ll probably wanna go to fuckin’ Disney World or some shit.” He rubbed his hands over his face and groaned loudly. “Fuckin’hell fuckin’ fire.”
“Shall we go to the park now?”
“Sure, why not? Maybe we’ll run into the fuckin’ Boogeyman and he’ll want to try every goddamn pizza.”
“Seymour, he is out of town on vacation. I have heard he does enjoy Italian cuisine though.”
“Daddy, I was really hopin’ you would just sayno.”
CHAPTER
NINETEEN
The park was small but empty, and there didn’t seem to be any immediate sign of trouble. It was well lit from multiple tall streetlamps that lined the walkways and the playground, and Seymour was thrilled to see exactly three trees. One was quite large and thick, probably a few centuries old, and the other two seemed to be its offspring, as they were all the same species, though much smaller.
Oak, maybe.
Whatever the big ass trees with acorns were.
As far as parks went, Seymour thought it was pretty dismal. Having such a small patch of nature surrounded by the buzz of the city only reinforced the heavy contrast of green grass and gray steel. It made him homesick, longing for open fields and shaded woods, and he realized this was the first time he’d thought about home in a while.
Then again, he’d been distracted by a certain angel with a smile brighter than any sun, a kindness that melted his heart, whose very touch made his heart race…
And a crazy ass monster dick that certainly defied the laws of physics.
Yup, plenty distracted.
With Day on his shoulder and Sariel by his side, Seymour strolled around the perimeter of the park and then through it twice. They stopped beside the playground, and Seymour scanned the swingsets and slide, certain some kind of goblin or other monster was going to pop out at any second.
But there was nothing.
Huh.
“Well. Fuck.” Seymour sighed. “Do we wait s’more? Start diggin’ a hole?”
“Why would we dig a hole?” Sariel asked, frowning.
“To look for clues,” Day whispered. “Duh.”
“Ah.”
“I was so sure somethin’ would be here.” Seymour kicked at the rubbery turf that encompassed the playground. “Maybe we should wait? See if anything happens?”
“I suppose it would not hurt to observe the area for a while.” Sariel’s eyes glowed briefly as he stared out at the trees. “I am not aware of any imminent threats. I am also not aware of anything that would be helpful.”
“Fuck it. I’ll take it.”
Day meowed suddenly. “What is that?”
“Eh?” Seymour turned to see what she was looking at. “Oh, that’s a slide, baby girl.”
“A slide?”
“Yeah!” Seymour laughed. “You never been on a slide?”
“No.” Day’s pupils dilated until her eyes were almost completely black. “What do you do?”
“C’mon!” Seymour eagerly jogged over to it, laughing. “Look, there’s all kinds of slides. What we got here is just your standard straight slide. But there’s ones with twists and turns, even tunnels?—”
