Enter the Janitor (The Cleaners) (Volume 1) Read Free Page B

infusing it with raw willpower. The effort left him shaking, but he forced himself to straighten and aimed the mop at the blot-hound across the boundary.
    “All right, you sorry excuse for an overgrown tar pit. Think you can tussle with me?”
    When the blot-hound didn’t move right away, Ben worked up a wad of phlegm and hacked it at the creature. It bit the snot out of mid-air. A purple tongue slithered over its lips and it peered curiously at Ben.
    He scowled. “That was s’posed to be an insult, not a snack.”
    The blot-hound slunk forward and tested the barrier with a paw. The water sizzled against its skin, but the beast didn’t relent. It pushed its head further, making it flatten like a mime’s hand against an invisible pane of glass.
    Ben clenched his jaw, readying. Once the beast set a second paw in the water, he stuck the sparking tip of the mop handle into the band and released a charge.
    Electric arcs writhed across the hound’s body. It howled, a bowel-trembling noise that scraped over Ben’s ears. Off to one side, the redhead clamped hands over her ears and writhed, but he kept his hands on the mop, channeling energy down through it.
    With a final surge, the blot-hound crashed its bulk over the swath of water. Its size diminished by a quarter as it forced its way across, but the power Ben had invested in the barrier dissipated and only left the blot-beast stunned.
    He stared in disbelief. Only when Carl made the spray bottle rock did he snap out of the shock.
    “I ain’t gettin’ paid enough for this.”
    As he reached for the bottle, the blot-hound shook itself and lurched forward. It knocked him aside like a bulldozer putting a Tonka truck in its place. His head smacked against the wall and the mop flew from his hands.
    He dropped flat. The room danced for a moment, but steadied just as the blot-hound’s maw yawned above his face. Maybe letting it get a taste of him hadn’t been the wisest thing.
    The door flew open, and Jason rushed in.
    “Sure you don’t need any help?” He froze and gaped at the beast.
    Students crowded behind the librarian, craning their necks to see inside. As soon as they got a peek at the bathroom monstrosity, however, everyone screamed and bolted. The blot-hound grunted and raised its head, discarding Ben for fresher meat.
    Jason kicked the door shut behind him. He grabbed up the plunger from the fallen cart and shook it at the beast. “A-all right … J-just you and … me. I’m n-not going to let you h-hurt anyone!”
    The blot-hound roared and charged. Jason stepped forward and swung the tool. The beast ducked the blow. A paw lashed out, raking the man’s throat into giblets. The plunger fell from limp fingers as he toppled into the girl’s lap, eyes blank, shirt stained crimson.
    O O O
    Dani screamed as she shoved the body away. Hot blood on her hands. Her clothes. Oh god. This couldn’t be real. As she fought to keep from vomiting, her mind resorted to analyzing potential threats.
    Lyme Disease. Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease. Toxoplasmosis. Too many variables. She had to find out who this guy was. Get his medical records.
    Her vision swam as nausea rammed up her throat. When her sight cleared, the bathroom door had splintered off its hinges beneath the beast’s charge. Beyond this, the monster pillaged the library, toppling shelves onto students and shattering tables. Screams echoed alongside cracking wood and brick.
    Hepatitis B. Hepatitis C. Cryoglobulinemia.
    The janitor—whoever and whatever he really was—lay dazed beside her. Blood oozed from a gash in his scalp. He clutched one of his arms and muttered something about restocking toilet paper rolls.
    She got to her knees and crawled over to him. He had to stop this … thing. This monster. But she couldn’t bring herself to actually touch him, to try and shake him back to awareness.
    Malaria. HIV. AIDS.
    His mop lay by her, though. She picked it up—god, a wooden handle—and reached over to poke