Page 158 of Demons Dig Donuts

This was going to be how he died?

No, no, no. This was bullshit. Utter and total bullshit!

He was Indigo fucking Summers and he’d come too far, fought too damn hard, to die like this. He struggled and bucked, trying again to gasp, but his throat wouldn’t unclench because of the squeezing in his chest. Still, he went for it again and finally managed a teeny gasp.

Not enough…

It wasn’t going to be enough.

“Indy!” Mr. Heiss shifted his other hand around to Indy’s chest. His eyes narrowed in focus, and he grimaced. “Hold still, Sonnenschein. This may not feel very nice.”

“Wha…? Oh God—” Indy screamed as Mr. Heiss’s hand passed through his chest and clenched inside him, the pain now so great that his vision went black and consciousness slipped away. He went limp, unable to fight it, and he was totally at Mr. Heiss’s mercy as everything turned dark.

Then…

It was gone.

The pain was gone, and Indy shivered, his skin soaked with sweat as he gasped for air. He could breathe. It didn’t hurt, and he could fucking breathe. He trembled but found he didn’t have to worry about going anywhere because Mr. Heiss cradled him so close. He had to wait for his vision to return so he could focus, staring blearily up at Mr. Heiss. “What… What did you…?”

“You’re dead, demon!” Gammy hollered as she charged in, waving her hands so that every banishment circle in the room lit up like neon signs. “Dill! Where’s Dill? Dill, damn you, we have to banish this demon!”

“Now wait—” Mr. Heiss tried.

Dill appeared with a roar, glaring at Mr. Heiss as he grew large enough to bump up against the ceiling. “Grow!”

“Dill!” Indy grunted, his voice still weak. “It’s… it’s okay!”

“He is all right,” Mr. Heiss said calmly, though he watched both Gammy and Dill warily. “Do you not see…?”

“I see what an absolute piece of crap garbage demon you are!” Gammy hollered. “And I will see your butt banished into—”

Mr. Heiss cleared his throat and held up his hand.

“Oh…”

Mr. Heiss’s fingers were coated in a thick black sludge. It seemed chunky in the most unpleasant way possible, and Indy was certain it would smell terribly if he got a whiff of it. Mr. Heiss made a fist, and the sludge simply burned away into nothing.

“Was that…?” Indy touched his chest. “Did you just pull out my fucking cancer?”

“Only some,” Mr. Heiss said gently. “It’s enough for—”

Indy smacked Mr. Heiss’s arm. “You asshole!”

“Excuse me?”

“You knew? This whole fucking time?” Indy glared. “And, and you didn’t say anything?”

“Oh, yes, because by the way, I know you’re terminally ill is such a great way to open up a conversation,” Mr. Heiss drawled in a surprisingly catty tone.

“Wow.” Indy blinked.

“What?”

“I didn’t realize you could sound that bitchy.”

Mr. Heiss growled.

Dill took a step back, glancing between them questioningly. “Grow?”