《My Little Cemetery》


 Chapter 1: A new job

    As I pulled my truck into a small clearing deep in the woods, I could sense the bones and rotting flesh buried under the earth. Echoes of the thirty-two souls that once possessed them resonated through the clearing. The body does not want the soul to leave. A shadow of the soul can remain a long time. It seems that only after the earth has reclaimed the bones that the shadow dissipates.


    I backed my truck up to a freshly dug hole and threw it in park. After getting out and walking around, I dropped the tailgate; it revealed a pile of firewood with a pair of nice leather dress shoes sticking out. I began my work by dumping the wood over one side of the truck, revealing a body wrapped tightly in tarp and tape. I shoved it unceremoniously off the tailgate and into the seven-and-a-half-foot deep hole. Jumping out of the truck bed, I grabbed my sledgehammer and seven, long wood stakes and began the necessary task of ensuring the body stays buried.


    In the middle of driving in the second to last stake, my phone buzzed.


    ¡°Yes?¡±


    ¡°Anthony, how are you doing? I have been having a lovely day here in Maine visiting with an owner of a wonderful little deli.¡±


    ¡°Really,¡± I said unenthusiastically.


    ¡°Oh, yes, it was quite delightful. I have a little problem that I could use your help solving.¡±


    I leaned on the handle of my hammer, ¡°Go on.¡±


    ¡°Um, some sort of beast has been wreaking havoc in a certain town that, for now, will remain nameless. People have been ¡®disappearing.¡¯ I told a good friend I would handle it. If you could go sort things out, that would be great.¡±


    ¡°How much?¡±


    ¡°Well, that would depend on what you find. I¡¯ll transfer you fifty thousand in the morning to cover the trouble of looking into it. Once you have an idea of what we are dealing with, send Gregory your price.¡±


    ¡°Send me the coordinates, and I will leave first thing in the morning.¡±


    ¡°Very good, I will have Gregory pick you up and fill you in on the details.¡±


    One of the leather shoes twitched. ¡°Sorry, but I¡¯m going to have to cut you short, Hobbs. I¡¯m in the middle of something.¡±


    ¡°Very good, side work, always commendable. Thanks again,¡± Hobbs hung up.


    I looked down at my phone, then over at the now writhing leg. I sighed and slammed my sledge into the stake, ending the writhing.


    Hours later, I sat in my small cabin in the Smoky Mountains. From the sky, the cabin was invisible because of the thick tree cover. I didn¡¯t have much time before I met up with Gregory. I took my camera from its case and began downloading the files onto the computer I kept in the cabin. I then went through my laptop and saved everything from the last hunt onto a thumb drive. I stuck it into my main computer and saved it. The work of destroying the old laptop and thumb drive would be quick. I carried them and a small screwdriver outside to my firepit. I set the laptop and flash drive on a flat rock and opened the back of the laptop. I scooped a generous amount of thermite directly onto the hardware inside. I lit it and watched as it ate through the components and started burning the stone. With that done, I grabbed my bags, taking care to pull a fresh laptop for this hunt from my supply closet, and headed out.


    I dropped my truck off at my storage unit and met up with Gregory at a local gas station an hour later. I climbed into his Toyota after tossing my two bags in the trunk. He looked like a professor: white male in his forties with a button up shirt and slacks.. You would have never guessed he was employed by a guy like Hobbs.


    ¡°It¡¯s good to see you, Anthony. Hope you¡¯ve been well.¡±


    I smiled; Gregory was a good man, one of those people who seemed to care. ¡°I have been fine; my work has been a bit sparse the last few months, so I was glad when your boss called. How have you been?¡±


    ¡°Oh, I have been well, just running errands and spending time with my family. We took a cruise this summer and it was nice to get a break from work.¡±


    ¡°I bet it was. Hobbs must¡¯ve missed your assistance.¡±


    ¡°That he did,¡± he replied with a soft smile, ¡°Speaking of which, there have been a bunch of ¡®disappearances.¡¯ As you might have guessed, Hobbs sent a man in to investigate and deal with the problem. He¡¯s currently dying in a trauma unit.¡±


    ¡°How sure are you that it wasn¡¯t human and not just some twisted killer?¡±


    ¡°Oh, we¡¯re very sure. We have a photo and it¡¯s clearly not human. Take a look.¡± He reached into his front pocket and handed me the photo. The perspective seemed to be from an elevated window that was caked in dust. On the dark street below, a creature stood on four legs. It appeared to be thin and mangy. Even in the darkness, one eye shone bright pink, though the facial features were obscured by darkness.


    ¡°Do you know what it is?¡± Gregory asked.


    Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    ¡°I don¡¯t, but I can tell you this: whatever it is, it¡¯s probably not reincarnated.¡±


    ¡°Why do you say that?¡±


    ¡°The eyes. They shine. If it were dead, they would suck in the light and not be as reflective. That said, that is not always the case.¡±


    ¡°Interesting. Why is that?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know, but I do have to agree with you; it is definitely not human.¡±


    ¡°It tore our man up. Long gashes and cuts everywhere, and there were chunks of flesh missing where it had bitten him.¡±


    ¡°Did it swallow?¡±


    ¡°Well, there were no pieces left. I suppose it must¡¯ve,¡± Gregory shrugged.


    ¡°The other victims, what were they like?¡±


    ¡°We don¡¯t know. They are all missing.¡±


    ¡°Great,¡± I groaned, ¡°I¡¯m betting that we won¡¯t find them then.¡±


    ¡°Probably not.¡±


    We drove in silence for a long time. Hours later, we entered a medium-sized city and pulled into the back parking lot of a hotel. We got out, and I pulled out my bags. He led me to one of the rooms and opened the door with a key card. ¡°Come on in,¡± he said as he handed me the key card and a set of car keys. ¡°These are for the old green Jeep outside. It¡¯s a 1999 Cherokee, but don¡¯t let the dents and rust fool you. All the inner workings have been replaced. It is reliable and will get you where you need to go. Registration and all of that are in the glove box. It¡¯s the same alias as always.¡± He paused long enough to look at me. ¡°One more thing,¡± he reached into his pocket and tossed me a thumb drive, ¡°all we know about the creature is on this.¡±


    I caught it. ¡°Thanks, I will get right on it.


    ¡°I will give you a call in a weeks¡¯ time,¡± with that he was out the door and gone.


    I walked into the hotel room. It was ground level with the Jeep right outside my door. The room was fairly standard with two stereotypical queen size beds, a set of nightstands and a desk and television. I tossed my bags on the far bed by the bathroom and turned on my laptop. I inserted the thumb drive and opened the single folder it contained.


    In the file, there were pictures from Google Maps with markings of where the people had gone missing, and photos of strange tracks and claw marks found close to the locations. Much of it looked like it was from the local police. The area was huge, hundreds of square miles of wooded mountains dotted with small towns. This was going to be a lot of work. I set the laptop down and retrieved my tools from one of my bags: my semi automatic 12 gauge shotgun, crossbow, an AR-15 chambered in .308 and the .45 1911 that my mentor Victor gave me. I double checked that they were loaded and ready. I slid the 1911 into my side holster under my arm, threw on my leather jacket, and walked out the door.


    I was feeling good. My last job had gone smoothly. True, I was bitten more than I had liked, but it was to be expected when hunting vampires. The two hundred-thousand-dollar commission should be hitting my account after emailing the evidence to Chris. I fired up the Jeep and spent the rest of the day driving around the city and the surrounding countryside. Nothing felt off the whole day. I did drive near some patches of ground that I could sense held echoes of long dead bodies, but that¡¯s nothing out of the ordinary.


    I pulled into the local Wal-Mart and grabbed the extra things I needed: a pack of large zip ties, a length of para cord, and groceries for at least a week, primarily Cliff bars and other grab-and-go items. As I walked out to the parking lot, I saw two guys standing next to my Jeep. One looked up from the cigarette he was smoking, making eye contact with me. The other kept glancing around the parking lot looking very paranoid. I shifted my groceries to my left hand, freeing my right so it could quickly get to my 1911. When I was a few parking spaces away, I stopped next to a big black suburban that would give me some cover.


    ¡°How¡¯s it going?¡± I asked.


    The one with the cigarette took a long drag. ¡°Been better. You Hobbs¡¯ man? If so, I hope you will do better than the last guy he sent in.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re friends of his?¡± If these men were associates of Hobbs, I should have gotten a call before they contacted me.


    ¡°No, but we work for a friend of his.¡± The man flicked his cigarette to the ground and crushed it under his boot. ¡°Our lead man is dead, and we need help transporting the package we are holding.¡±


    ¡°Package?¡±


    The two looked at each other. ¡°We will handle the package; all we need from you is to deal with the problem. That is what you are getting paid for, to my understanding.¡±


    ¡°It is.¡±


    ¡°Well, let¡¯s get going then.¡±


    ¡°You get my employer to call me and explain the situation, and I will go with you. Until then, I¡¯m sure you can understand why I can¡¯t deviate from my job.¡±


    The man pulled another cigarette from a pack in his pocket and leaned back against my Jeep, lighting it. ¡°I¡¯ll give our boss a call,¡± He pulled out a phone and punched in a number.


    I set my groceries down and leaned against a light pole next to the suburban.


    ¡°We found Hobbs¡¯ man. He wants to hear from Hobbs before he joins us. We will be on our way once he gets the call. Unlikely, but it should be fine. The package is in the vault, and it¡¯s welded shut. Whatever, they can¡¯t get to it.¡± He hung up and looked over at me. ¡°Our boss is working on getting in contact with your boss.¡± He took another drag on his cigarette.


    His friend looked over at me. ¡°Can you really handle these things?¡± He was twitchy and unable to keep eye contact with me. Always looking around. I couldn¡¯t tell whether it was caused by drugs or extreme paranoia.


    ¡°You run into it?¡± I asked conversationally.


    ¡°We did,¡± said the one leaning on my hood. ¡°They came out of the forest after we secured the package in the vault. It would have been better had a few of us stayed in the vault as well. Bullets didn¡¯t do crap to it, and they killed two of us. We were lucky to get to the car. They¡¯re fast, but they can¡¯t outrun a Mercedes.¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s more than one of them?¡±


    ¡°Yeah,¡± he shook his head and took another drag, ¡°I dunno, maybe three or four of them.¡±


    ¡°What do they look like?¡±


    ¡°Not sure how to describe it, a little wolf-like maybe? They ambushed us in the dark. I will tell you what though -- their eyes are quite pink.¡±


    ¡°Hm, are you sure you shot them?¡±


    The twitchy man looked at me, holding my gaze for the first time. ¡°I dumped two mags of 7.62 into one of them. Center mass. As we pulled away, it was back up and almost took a chunk out of the bumper.¡±


    My phone buzzed. ¡°Give me a moment,¡± I said to the twitchy man, pulling out my phone. It was Hobbs. ¡°Hello.¡±


    ¡°My ¡®friend¡¯ says he sent two men to help you find the beast and transport a package. I understand you¡¯re hesitant to join them, but my Lord, I was in the middle of something awfully engrossing and a call from this individual totally ruined the experience.¡±


    The line went dead before I could get a word out. I slid my phone back into my pocket. ¡°Well, the two of you check out. Where are we going?¡±


    ¡°Deep in the woods. You got what you need to handle these things?¡± asked the man with the cigarette.


    ¡°Most likely. If not, I¡¯m good at improvising.¡±


    He stood up, ¡°Follow us.¡± He pulled out a set of keys and the suburban I was standing behind beeped and unlocked.


    ¡°You have a good eye for cover,¡± the man with the cigarette smiled, ¡°she¡¯s bulletproof.¡±

 Chapter 2: Whats In the Bunker?

    I followed them onto the interstate, then a county highway, then on a loose dirt and gravel road. The drive took about an hour. They pulled off the road and drove through a forest for another twenty minutes. I was glad Gregory had the foresight to get me a Jeep instead of something low riding. The armored Suburban pulled off to the side of what appeared to be an old, abandoned shack. It looked like it could have been an old moonshine hut. I rifled through my duffle, pulled out my twelve gauge, and loaded it with alternating shells of buckshot and slugs. Whatever this creature was, if a couple mags of 7.62 from an AK didn¡¯t stop it, I wanted the most destructive tool available. The shotgun had a round drum mag with a 25-shell capacity plus one in the chamber. I stuffed a couple spare ten round straight mags in my back pockets.


    I got out, threw my shotgun sling across my chest, and walked over to the two men. They were armed with full auto AK¡¯s and standing twenty feet from the torn and broken shack door.


    ¡°You ready?¡± The man with the cigarette asked.


    ¡°Sure am.¡± If things got dicey, I could most likely fall back on the silver tipped rounds in my 1911.


    ¡°After you then,¡± he motioned to the shack.


    I clicked the light mounted on my shotgun and entered the shack. The old building was torn to bits. The walls were covered in massive claw marks. In the center of the shack, the floor had been ripped up, the splintered boards revealing a badly marred steel trapdoor. I noticed the door was welded shut along three of its four edges. I looked back, and the twitchy man was carrying in a portable acetylene torch; his AK hanging ready at his side. What in the world are they keeping down there? I hoped it wasn¡¯t some form of rare monster, because, depending on what it was, I would not be able to let them leave with it alive. ¡°What¡¯s in the hole?¡± I asked, looking at the two men.


    The one with the cigarette smiled back at me, leaning on the door frame, looking out into the woods. ¡°Don¡¯t worry; it¡¯s not dangerous. Just worry about keeping us safe as we get it out. The monsters are likely to show up soon. We don¡¯t have much sun left.¡±


    I walked back out of the shed and pulled my Jeep alongside the shack. If there was going to be a shootout, I wanted my non-armored car to be able to drive out. Fall was approaching. I could smell it in the cool air. The leaves weren¡¯t quite turning, but it wouldn¡¯t be long now. The forest was dense. I would hate to be lost in it with whatever creature was out there. As I walked back to the dilapidated building, I could hear the acetylene torch cutting through the steel trapdoor. I stood at the doorway across from the man puffing on his cigarette, who was watching and waiting, as the twitchy man worked.


    ¡°So, you hunt monsters, then? I can¡¯t say I had thought that was a real job before last week. Are there many of them out there?¡± He seemed genuinely interested. It was my policy not to discuss work with most people, but he knew more than most, albeit not much.


    ¡°More than most people think, but it¡¯s generally not a problem. Where people get into trouble is when they start looking for them. If you don¡¯t pay them any mind, they stay in their lane for the most part.¡±


    ¡°Do they really? I can¡¯t help but find that hard to believe.¡±


    ¡°Well, not all of them. Clearly my existence is proof of that. You shouldn¡¯t run into anything else, though, if you don¡¯t look for them.¡±


    ¡°Hm, what about you? Are they attracted to you? You must be neck deep in this stuff.¡±


    ¡°I know for the most part what lines not to cross, what is too far, but you are right. I am more likely to be killed by a monster than most.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re crazy,¡± he said taking a long drag. ¡°After this mess, I¡¯m done.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think I¡¯m that insane. Electricians die from being shocked at a higher rate than most. Sketchy armed men die, but they die by bullets more often than most. If we wanted a safe job, we would be accountants.¡±


    The man snorted, ¡°you¡¯re damn right.¡± He glanced back at his companion. ¡°How¡¯s it going?¡±


    The twitchy man looked up after a moment, twisting his torch off. ¡°We will be on our way in no time. Just finished cutting though.¡± He started beating the trapdoor with a hammer to break the slag free that was keeping the door shut. Then, he produced a handle with suction cups on the end and slapped it on the door. He pulled on it, but the door wouldn¡¯t budge; he must have missed a section. A moment later, as if in response to his banging, a shriek erupted from the darkening woods. Followed by a second. The three of us locked eyes. The skittish man shook the handle violently. When it didn¡¯t budge, he stood up. ¡°Screw it. I¡¯m not going to die trying to get this open.¡±


    The other man took a long drag on his cigarette. He looked me up and down. ¡°You¡¯re on the clock, but you can come with. I wouldn¡¯t blame you,¡± he nodded to the armored SUV.


    ¡°Go ahead. I will handle this,¡± I said it with so much confidence, I almost forgot about the little butterflies drifting around in my stomach. I like my job. I¡¯m good at it, but you can never get rid of those freaking butterflies.


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    The two men ran to their armored car and climbed in. A moment later, the engine roared, and they were speeding away. I took a deep breath in through my nose and let it out slowly. I walked over to the trapdoor and gave it a good yank. It screeched and bent up a little on the right side. I pointed my light at the door and shone it along the cut. There were two sections about an inch thick that were not cut through. I let my shotgun hang and quickly lit the torch. My heart was racing as I adjusted the flame. I had cut through one of the two missed sections when I heard the distinct sound of a collision, then something rolling downhill, and the panic horn of a car echo through the woods. It had to be the armored Suburban.


    The sound of trampling feet tore past. I grabbed my shotgun in one hand, the lit torch in the other. I kept the barrel pointed at the door; my eyes still adjusting after cutting with the torch. Nothing came through the front door, but it wouldn¡¯t be long. I haphazardly cut through the last section with my left hand as I kept the gun trained on the front door. I set the torch aside, yanked on the door, and prayed that what was down there was safer than what was outside. The trapdoor screeched open, and I pointed my shotgun down, illuminating a ladder that descended into a steel shipping container with blankets or cushions at the bottom. I popped the handle from the top of the hatch and tossed it down. I twisted shut the torch¡¯s valves and tossed the whole kit down onto the blankets. I climbed down, pulling the hatch shut over my head. Holding the door shut with my body weight, my shotgun tucked under my right arm, I scanned the storage crate. The crate was furnished with a bed and chest of drawers as well as other pieces of furniture. It looked like a little apartment.


    A young woman in her twenties sat in the back, her eyes wide. We stared at each other. A shriek erupted, and the trapdoor pulled up an inch to the sound of claws grating on metal. I grasped the handle with both hands and hooked one of the ladder rungs with my foot for stability. I strained to keep the trapdoor closed as the beast, or beasts, tore at it, prying it up with their long talons. Moments later, the young woman was beneath me, climbing up the ladder and clipping the end of a ratchet strap to the handle I was clinging to. She jumped back down the ladder and began ratcheting down the strap. The shaking and rattling through my bones stopped as the strap tightened. I hung there as the creatures struggled against the strap. The young woman backed up from me to the other side of the cargo crate.


    I dropped down, landing on the blankets. I looked at the girl. She was staring at me, face void of emotion. I put some distance between me and the rattling trapdoor, keeping my back against the side of the crate so I could watch the girl and see the trapdoor at the same time. She didn¡¯t look particularly dangerous, but, in my profession, pretty girls are often not what they seem. We stood in silence for a long time, listening to the scratching and rattling from the trapdoor. Eventually, the girl sat down on the floor, leaned against a recliner, and rested her head in her hands. A little while later, she slumped down to the ground, presumably asleep. I spent the rest of the night glancing from one side of the container to the other. At 5am, my alarm went off. The creatures above gave up hours ago, but I could hear them occasionally pacing above us. The girl looked up at me, startled awake.


    ¡°Sorry,¡± I mumbled as I pulled out my phone and switched it off. She sat up and leaned against the recliner.


    ¡°They will leave when the sun rises,¡± she said softly, ¡°they always do.¡±


    I nodded, ¡°figured as much. None of the disappearances happened during the day.¡±


    She looked at me, eyes large in the dark. ¡°Do you know what they are?¡±


    I shrugged, ¡°no, but I have dealt with similar things. What about you? Do you know?¡±


    She glanced away. ¡°No. What are you going to do with me?¡±


    The question threw me off guard. I looked at her more closely. She was slim, dressed in jeans and a purple t-shirt with an unbuttoned flannel over the top. Her face was angular and elegant. Her skin was pale and her long black hair hung down to her thighs.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know. Why are you down here?¡±


    ¡°I have been in a private collection for a few years now,¡± she still didn¡¯t look at me. ¡°You¡¯re not like the other men. You smell different.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    She suddenly locked eyes with me. ¡°Like dead things. They cling to you.¡±


    Well, she wasn¡¯t human. People don¡¯t smell death. I could imagine the death that must cling to me. ¡°What are you, vampire? No, you would have already tried to bite. Elf? Fae? Something like that?¡±


    She glanced away again. ¡°Something like that,¡± she muttered.


    ¡°Private collection? Is it all humanoid?¡±


    She just looked away, not answering. It seemed likely. I would have to find it and put an end to it. Hopefully, it wasn¡¯t Hobbs¡¯ contact, though it was looking like it was. If so, Hobbs would just have to deal with the loss. ¡°Well, the sun should be up; we had best get going,¡± I told her.


    She looked at me. There was dark bitterness in those sad, fearful eyes. I held her gaze. She did not budge from her place curled up against the recliner. She closed and opened her large eyes as if bracing herself. ¡°What will it cost me?¡± Her voice was quiet but firm.


    ¡°Cost you?¡±


    ¡°You reek of death and murder. You seem capable of anything. I am a valued collectable. No one dares to touch me.¡±


    I couldn¡¯t leave her here. That was not an option. She could: A) be dangerous, and B) certainly have information I need. Besides, leaving her here seemed wrong, but I get her point. If I could smell the death on people, I wouldn¡¯t trust me either. Never mind the fact she was a beautiful young woman. ¡°If I were to touch you, it would be to end your life,¡± I stated flatly. ¡°If you are dangerous, then that is what you should be expecting. If not, I will turn you over to a woman who specializes in rehoming the Fae and Elven folk who are unlucky enough to cross back to this world.¡±


    ¡°You are very reassuring,¡± she looked at me still wary and distrustful. I dug into my pocket, pulled out Grace¡¯s business card, and I tossed it to her. It slid across the floor to her feet. She picked it up. She studied it for a long moment then looked at me. ¡°You will take me to her?¡±


    ¡°I will. We will need to deal with these creatures that are hunting you first. I¡¯m not going to bring that mess to her; she has enough on her plate.¡±


    The young woman got up slowly, holding the card in her hands. ¡°Are you lying to me?¡±


    ¡°No, I am not in the business of locking people in cages underground.¡±


    ¡°You think I¡¯m a person?¡± She asked in a soft skeptical tone.


    ¡°Of course. You look like me.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not human.¡±


    ¡°You look like a human, don¡¯t you?¡± She looked down at her feet. ¡°Well, you look close enough to me.¡±


    She looked at me, brow furrowed as she tucked the business card into her back pocket, ¡°you¡¯re strange.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, well, my experience has been strange.¡± I stated


    ¡°I¡¯ll come.¡± She replied softly.

 Episode 3: Now I Need a Trailer

    I popped the ratchet strap free from the bottom of the trap door and climbed up the ladder, shotgun swinging at my side. I drew my 1911 and pushed the trapdoor open, revealing an empty shack. I climbed the rest of the way up and switched back to my shotgun. The girl from the Fae or wherever followed. She was not wearing shoes but didn¡¯t flinch when she walked over the splintered and torn wood floor. We walked out into the rising sun to find my Jeep tires torn to shreds. The windows were busted with rocks and the steering wheel was laying on the ground ten feet from the Jeep. I looked in the back. My duffle with my AR was missing along with my bug-out bag. I popped the glove box, which hadn¡¯t been opened, although the rest of the interior had been ripped apart. I grabbed three extra 1911 mags and a small first aid kit.


    With no other option, we walked through the forest. It was beautiful; the morning light was filtering through the trees. I led, following the tire tracks that the armored SUV had left. Less than a mile into walking, the tire tracks left the route they were on, veering right. There was a second set of tracks as if massive eagles had been running across the soft forest floor. I followed the SUV¡¯s tracks a short distance through some dense foliage to the side of a steep ravine. The armored car lay crumpled at the bottom. These creatures were smart. They had not only torn my Jeep to bits but had likely herded the armored car off a cliff. I walked a little closer and could feel the cold release of the recent dead.


    We continued towards the main road, mostly in silence, only stopping to drink from a spring running down the side of the mountain. The young woman trudged on wearily. She clearly hadn¡¯t been subjected to much activity. A little after noon, I could hear the sound of a highway ahead. When we were about fifty yards from the highway, I looked down at the shotgun in my hand.


    ¡°Wait a moment; I have to stash this.¡± I held up the shotgun. She walked over to a tree, leaning against it. I found a hollow trunk that would work. I pulled out the drum mag and cleared the chamber, then shoved the shotgun in, stacking the mags on top. I piled brush and leaves over the opening. I pinged the location with my phone.


    ¡°Aren¡¯t you going to need those?¡± she asked.


    ¡°Yep, but would you pick someone up off the side of the road that had a shotgun slung over their shoulder?¡±


    She shrugged.


    As we walked toward the road, a black SUV crept down the shoulder, heading for us. The girl rubbed the back of her neck subconsciously, ¡°I should have just stayed and waited for him.¡±


    I didn¡¯t know who the ¡°he¡± she was referring to was, but if he was the man rubbing shoulders with Hobbs, then he was most likely dangerous and had resources.


    ¡°Just leave me here. They are likely to kill you!¡± She mumbled.


    The SUV pulled over, and two men dressed in suits got out and walked into the woods towards us. They probably wouldn¡¯t want to get into a fight so close to the road. I should let them take her. She was probably more trouble than she was worth. This whole situation was getting over my head. I hunt monsters not men. I let out a low groan. ¡°Sit here; I will go talk to them.¡± She went to argue, but I stared her down. She slowly sunk to the forest floor. I approached the two men. We stopped ten feet from each other. ¡°You must be associated with the man who hired me to deal with the monsters,¡± I smiled warily.


    The larger man looked at me. ¡°You deal with them then?¡±


    ¡°No, actually, I have not had the opportunity. You seemed to leave out that they are demon bound to that young woman.¡± The men glanced behind me. I was making this all up, of course.


    ¡°What are you talking about?¡±


    ¡°To kill them I will need to break their bonds with her. Your employer should have informed me of the situation. It is impossible to kill them without breaking her free first.¡±


    The two looked at me skeptically. ¡°Well, we are here to pick her up and take her somewhere safe.¡±


    I shook my head as if annoyed. ¡°She just about died last night. You can¡¯t keep her safe. I will need to break their connection. I need to talk directly to whomever is in charge. Do you have a number I can call so I can fill them in on the details?¡±


    The shorter man, who was a few inches taller than me, smiled. ¡°I¡¯m listening. What are you going to do to free my asset from these terrifying beasts?¡± He said with a bit of sarcasm.


    I looked at this man more closely. He seemed very comfortable. Was he the leader of this group or just a higher up? ¡°Are you the girl¡¯s keeper, then?¡±


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    ¡°She is mine, if that is what you are asking,¡± he said with a sly expression.


    ¡°Good. I¡¯ll show you what we¡¯re dealing with,¡± I turned, leading the way back towards the young woman. She looked up at me, eyes void of emotion, making me uncomfortable. I knelt down, resting my hand on her back. ¡°Do you have any affinity for the psychic arts?¡± I asked the man.


    He smiled, ¡°I don¡¯t believe I do.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s fine. Rest your hand under mine. I will guide you.¡±


    ¡°What are you, some soothsayer?¡±


    ¡°Something like that.¡±


    ¡°What are you going to be showing me?¡± He seemed unwilling to commit but seemed interested.


    ¡°I¡¯m not going to show you anything. You are going to feel the bond they have placed on her.¡± It was a stupid trick, but I was out of ideas.


    ¡°Alright,¡± he smiled, glanced at the other man, squatted down, and placed his hand on her back. She flinched at the touch.


    I grabbed his hand, pulling him towards me as I drew my gun. I shoved it in his face and pulled the trigger. I turned on the man behind him, who was presenting a pistol my direction. I gave him three rounds to the chest and one to the face as well. He toppled over. I stood up, training my gun in the direction of the SUV. No one was getting out. ¡°We need to get going.¡± I pulled the girl to her feet. She had blood splotches on her back, it was a stark contrast to the paleness of her skin. ¡°You alright?¡± I asked. She looked at me wide eyed, face ashen. The blood appeared to be from the man I had shot. She did not appear hurt. Her eyes were looking at my arm; blood was seeping into my leather jacket. I must have been shot.


    ¡°You smell like honey and rotting roses,¡± She reached out touching my arm, coating the tips of her fingers in my blood. She brought them to her nose. With a deep inhale, her eyes rolled back. She licked her fingers, tasting my blood like she was savoring a piece of chocolate.


    I glared at her, eyes dark, breaking her out of her hypnosis. Her deep blue eyes staring up at me, suddenly terrified. Mouth gaping slightly, I could see where her fangs had been filed down to resemble human canines. She quivered and shrank beneath my stare. She fell to the forest floor next to the dead bodies and huddled in a ball. I normally would have shot her, but, instead, I pulled a pair of zip ties from my jacket and roughly pulled her arms behind her back and tied them together. I dragged her quivering frame to a sapling and tied her to it. How had I been so stupid? She could have killed me!


    I went through the two men¡¯s pockets now that she was secured and found a set of keys. I broke the forest line and walked up to the SUV parked on the side of the road. I was wary of more men in the car, though I couldn¡¯t see anyone through the windshield. I unlocked it and opened the rear passenger door. It was empty other than a few bags and a suitcase.


    I closed the door and walked around, got in the driver¡¯s seat and fired it up. I drove it through the thick brush back down to the bodies. I struggled hauling the big man to the back, but the other man was not nearly as heavy. I shut the trunk and walked over to the woman. I cut her free and yanked her up. She stumbled and fell. I took a long breath, then grabbed her shoulders, righting her, and propelled her into the back seat. I buckled her in tight, then zip tied her hands to the buckle so she couldn¡¯t get up. We drove back to the road.


    I reached into my pocket and pulled my phone out. I punched in a number and waited. On the last buzz, Old Ned picked up.


    ¡°Anthony, are you hurt?¡±


    ¡°Sure am.¡±


    ¡°How bad?¡±


    ¡°I was shot through the muscle of my left arm. Could I get in tomorrow night?¡±


    ¡°I can get you in tonight. How bad is the bleeding?¡±


    ¡°I have it stopped up with a cloth; it will be fine. I can¡¯t get there until tomorrow night.¡±


    ¡°Alright, Anthony. Call me if you need me to walk you through any procedures. Got to go, in the middle of a neuter.¡± He hung up.


    My second call was to Gregory. He picked up on the second ring. ¡°Hello?¡±


    ¡°I need a new vehicle with a 2 ? inch hitch dropped off at the hotel.¡±


    ¡°Alright, I¡¯m taking it you got into some trouble.¡±


    ¡°I sure did. Whatever these things are, they are not very easy to kill. I also need an AR-15.¡±


    ¡°Do you need rounds with that?¡±


    ¡°No, I have plenty at the hotel.¡±


    ¡°It was a vampire, wasn¡¯t it? The last time you lost a car--¡±


    ¡°No,¡± I interrupted, ¡°but funny you asked. I did run into one along the way.¡±


    ¡°Bad luck.¡±


    ¡°Something like that. I¡¯ve got to go.¡± I hung up and kept driving until I reached the next town where I could rent a U-Haul trailer. Then, it was back to the woods. I found a nice, secluded clearing off a dirt road and unhooked the trailer.


    I opened the rear passenger door. The vampire looked at me in horror. I pulled her from the SUV after cutting her free of the zip ties. I forced her around back to the trailer. She was light, which made it easy to pick her up and deposit her in the trailer. I grabbed a moving blanket in the trailer and tossed it at her. She stared at me, seemingly horrified, as I locked her in. If I hadn¡¯t seen and experienced the things her kind could do to a man, I would feel worse about what I was doing. This was the hard part of the job. Not all monsters were terrifying beasts that hunt you through the woods. Some appear defenseless, innocent even.


    I pulled anything of use from the SUV and stashed it under the trailer, including a briefcase and laptop. I drove the armored car to a large pond I found on Google Maps not far from the hotel. It had been a quarry, so it was plenty deep. I parked and waited for night to fall then drove the SUV off the dock. I walked the three miles back to my hotel soaked. I was relieved to be free of the vehicle and its occupants. A new Jeep Liberty sat in front of my hotel room. I found the keys to it on the coffee table. I drove back to the trailer. The hair on my neck stood on end the entire time it took to hook up the trailer. I didn¡¯t see anything, but I felt like I was being watched.


    I spent the rest of the night driving the highways around the town. A couple times, I thought I saw glints of pink eyes looking at me from the brush on the side of the highway. This was my second night without sleep, so I cranked the AC and played heavy metal to stay awake. I found my way back to my hotel as the sun started breaking the horizon. I unlocked my door to find Hobbs sitting in a chair and smoking a cigar.

 Chapter 4: Vets Are For People Too

    Hobbs was portly and shorter than most men, wearing a bowler hat and suit. ¡°Anthony, how are you? I dare say, I thought we may have lost you.¡±


    I shut the door behind me and walked over, sitting on the bed across from him. He was the last person I wanted to see.


    ¡°I was expecting to hear from my friend how you were faring, but he hasn¡¯t picked up all night and neither did you. Neither of you are the kind of man that would leave me hanging.¡±


    ¡°I would love to talk, Hobbs, but I need sleep.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s in the trailer, Anthony?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not your friend, if that¡¯s what you¡¯re asking,¡± I responded tersely.


    ¡°It wasn¡¯t, but now I¡¯m curious,¡± Hobbs replied.


    ¡°A vampire, if you must know,¡± I muttered.


    ¡°Oh, you don¡¯t mind if I look, then? I have never seen one before. Though one of my ex-wives certainly might be one,¡± he chuckled


    ¡°It¡¯s morning in the middle of town. You can¡¯t be serious.¡±


    ¡°Oh, but I am,¡± He smiled in his pleasant way.


    He was probably verifying I didn¡¯t have his acquaintance in the back. Fair enough. I needed to make it quick, though. I could feel my body starting to shut down, and I would not be able to stay awake for much longer. I opened the hotel door to find the trailer backed up to the door and tarps on either side, preventing any onlooker from seeing inside. Heavens, Hobbs¡¯ men worked fast. I looked back at him. ¡°You own this hotel?¡±


    ¡°By no means. I just have an understanding with the manager. We ¡®repair¡¯ a room from time to time.¡±


    ¡°Sure, just like I ¡®rehome¡¯ every creature I meet,¡± I muttered. Hobbs chuckled at me.


    I walked over to the trailer and unlocked it, pulling up the rolling door to reveal the vampire. She was huddled in the back corner. The trailer reeked and she looked disheveled. Hobbs looked in behind me, then frowned. ¡°Really, Anthony, I thought you more of a gentleman. Come on. Get her out. Bring her into the hotel.¡±


    I climbed in the trailer, irritated and tired. I pulled her up to her feet and walked her to the room. All the while, Hobbs was looking at me with disdain and disappointment which was funny because he had no doubt kidnapped and killed more people than I ever had. Once in the room with the door shut, Hobbs walked over to the vampire and cut the zip tie with a pair of fingernail clippers that he produced from his pocket before I could stop him. She rubbed her hand where the zip ties had left indentations and chaffed her skin. She looked from him to me, eyes large and terrified.


    Hobbs smiled kindly in a way I hadn¡¯t seen before. ¡°That¡¯s better. The restroom is in the back. Go get cleaned up. We will find you a new set of clothes. Take as long as you would like. I have a few words to speak with my young friend here.¡± She didn¡¯t budge. ¡°My dear girl, you¡¯ll feel much better. Take the chair and prop it under the doorknob if you must. We will not intrude.¡±


    Hesitantly, she walked to the bathroom, grabbing a chair from the desk on her way. Once the water was running, Hobbs turned to me. I was pulling off my boots, having already discarded my bloody leather jacket on the floor. I sat back on the bed; my body was close to losing consciousness.


    ¡°I expect more from you, Anthony,¡± he settled back into his chair across from me, lighting up another cigar, sour faced. ¡°You can¡¯t treat a woman like that.¡±


    I pulled a sock off and looked up at him as he let out a long puff of smoke. ¡°I don¡¯t know what to tell you, Hobbs. She¡¯s a vampire.¡±


    ¡°So? You should treat her well in any case. My good man, can you not see that? Everyone deserves respect.¡±


    As I pulled off my other sock, I was having a hard time keeping my eyes open. It wouldn¡¯t be long before my body shut down, essentially in a coma. Nothing would wake me for at least six hours. ¡°That¡¯s very profound. I can¡¯t imagine you have ever treated someone poorly,¡± I muttered.


    ¡°I have learned when dealing with people, it is best to respect them the best you can, no matter the outcome.¡±


    ¡°Hm, here I was thinking I was the more caring individual in our relationship,¡± I muttered.


    ¡°What are you going to do with her, Anthony?¡± He asked curiously.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know what I am going to do, Hobbs. She¡¯s dangerous. A vampire¡¯s bite most times will not change you unless it¡¯s a full moon or you have a tendency for it. One that I don¡¯t.¡± I lifted my shirt revealing multiple nasty bite wounds barely scabbed over. ¡°It would be safest to kill her and lay her to rest in my graveyard. Most people who turn sour after a bite find a way to spread their curse.¡±


    ¡°She did that to you?¡±


    I chuckled letting my shirt back down. ¡°No, that is what I was in the middle of wrapping up when you called me for this job.¡±


    ¡°I was going to say. She is a small woman and hardly seemed capable.¡±


    ¡°What they can do may surprise you. He bit me five times before I managed to put a bullet in his brain.¡±


    ¡°Did that kill him?¡±


    ¡°No, if I¡¯d left him, he would have healed over a year or so. I had to stake down his limbs and add a few things to encourage decay.¡±


    ¡°Very interesting, but let¡¯s get back to business,¡± he glanced at the bathroom door. ¡°What progress have you made dealing with our original problem, the young lady aside?¡±


    ¡°The monsters are after her, it seems. I don¡¯t know how to kill them, which usually means slugs and buckshot until they stop moving. They seem to be quite intelligent so laying a trap for them is probably my best option.¡±


    He nodded thoughtfully, ¡°Have you heard from my acquaintance by any chance?¡±


    I glanced over at the bathroom. If I didn¡¯t tell him, he may find out from her. Heaven knows I couldn¡¯t get rid of her with Hobbs here. ¡°Yes, we had a misunderstanding, and he did not come out on top.¡±


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    Hobbs frowned, displeased. He probably wouldn¡¯t kill me for this, though you never know. ¡°That is not great to hear,¡± Hobbs responded. ¡°That will make things more difficult. Well, it doesn¡¯t matter. How did you run into the girl?¡±


    ¡°He was keeping her in a shipping crate in the woods. I can¡¯t imagine why,¡± I climbed back in bed, settling back on a pillow and resting my hand on my 1911 under my shoulder.


    ¡°Samuel was never the most pleasant of individuals,¡± Hobbs droned. An instant later, sleep forcibly overtook me like it always does.


    I woke suddenly, no fog or weariness in my head. My body ached a little, and my arm with the bullet hole throbbed. I sat up, stretching my neck from side to side. It cracked and popped. Hobbs was sitting across from the vampire. They were eating Chinese takeout. She was dressed in a pair of my sweatpants and one of my flannels. It was too much fabric for her slim frame. She had the shirt sleeves rolled up. Her black hair was braided, contrasting with her marble white skin. She looked over at me with apprehension. I shook my head realizing I just stared at her for a good five seconds. It irritated me; she was beautiful.


    Hobbs looked at me, smiling. ¡°This lo mein is absolutely wonderful. We ordered you a box.¡± He gestured to a container sitting on the table between him and the vampire. She looked increasingly uncomfortable now that I was awake. Hobbs seemed to notice this too. ¡°Get cleaned up first; you look terrible. Heavens you¡¯ve bled all over the bed.¡± I wasn¡¯t in the mood to talk, so I walked over to the chest of drawers and pulled out a change of clothes. As I showered, I could hear snippets of soft laughter from the vampire. No doubt Hobbs was putting on a show; he had a way of opening people up.


    The laughter stopped when I stepped out. I walked over, swiftly grabbing the Chinese box off the table and sat back on the bed. It was three in the afternoon, and I had a lot to do. I shoveled a few bites in my mouth. The two sat quietly, letting me eat. About halfway through my box, I finally spoke. ¡°I need a favor from you, Hobbs,¡± I glanced from him to the girl.


    He looked at me quizzically, ¡°go on.¡±


    ¡°They have her scent. If we set her in a sauna of elder smoke, it may cover her scent. I will also need a few vials of her blood beforehand, so if you could dig up a transfusion kit that would help. In the meantime, at night, she will need to be driven around. They are fast, but not nearly as fast as a car.¡±


    Hobbs studied me for a long moment. ¡°I can make those arrangements, but I can¡¯t keep an eye on her for you.¡±


    ¡°Fine, just get the kit and elder branches. We can make a sauna in the trailer.¡±


    ¡°Very well,¡± Hobbs stood up from his chair and smiled, ¡°How long until you get this wrapped up do you think?¡±


    ¡°A week to a month, perhaps a day. I need to purchase a few things, but I will make it happen.¡±


    ¡°Very good,¡± he tipped his hat to the vampire, ¡°it was a pleasure to meet you, Miss Lauren.¡± He left, leaving an awkward silence. I finished my lo mein and tossed the container in the trash.


    ¡°Come on, we need to get you clothes that fit,¡± I said, grabbing my boots and pulling them on.


    She looked at me apprehensively, ¡°Aren¡¯t you afraid I¡¯ll run? Or bite someone?¡±


    I shrugged. ¡°If you run, the creatures will find you, and you will no longer be my problem. The full moon isn¡¯t for two weeks. It¡¯s unlikely that a bite will turn anyone.¡± I got up and grab my holstered 1911 off the bed frame, strapping it on, then pulled on my leather jacket. I looked at her bare feet and shook my head. I opened a drawer where I keep my gym shoes and socks, and I tossed them to her. ¡°These will work for now.¡±


    She accepted them and put them on though she clearly didn¡¯t want to. I led the way out and was surprised to find the trailer missing from the back of the Jeep. Hobbs must have been more irritated at me than I had thought. For an underground man, who had no qualms about killing the people in the business, he sure had some strange lines drawn.


    I drove us down to the local Walmart. I looked over at the vampire. She had spent the entire drive looking out the passenger side window. ¡°You ready?¡±


    ¡°No.¡±


    I shrugged, ¡°They have a dressing room. We have a few hours before we need to hit the road. You¡¯ll be able to find something.¡±


    We walked into the store, and I grabbed a cart. She followed as I walked through the store, filling the cart with more zip ties and Cliff Bars. I turned to her, ¡°you can supplement your diet with a... food?¡± I sounded like an idiot.


    She looked at me, ¡°I can eat whatever you do.¡±


    ¡°Hm, it is my understanding you will still need some form of...¡± I glanced around at the shoppers walking by, ¡°well, you know.¡±


    She looked at me like I was an idiot, which was a nice improvement to scared and timid. I shouldn¡¯t care how she looks at me.


    ¡°Yes, but not as much as you would think. A rare steak will hit the spot if I am in a pinch. I prefer them from a local butcher¡¯s shop.¡±


    After stocking up on food, I took her to the women¡¯s section. I planted myself on a bench and started looking up local butcher shops. She found a set of clothes she liked and set them in the cart. I looked up. ¡°You will need more than that. Get yourself a couple days¡¯ worth. You¡¯re missing shoes.¡±


    ¡°Will I really need more than one set?¡± She responded bitterly.


    I didn¡¯t want to admit it, but my determination to kill her was wavering. She was not acting like any other vampire I had met. Perhaps I could keep her in my cabin; it was a terrible idea for more than one reason. Grace would kill me if she found out I was keeping a vampire, much less a young woman. Oh, and not to mention the vampire would probably kill me. She had managed to show considerable restraint considering the two dead men and my bloody arm, but she wasn¡¯t dumb either. She would wait for an opportune moment and strike, likely killing me in my sleep, especially considering nothing can wake me up due to my condition.


    ¡°Yes. We aren¡¯t going to be doing laundry; you will need a change.¡± When she came back with three more sets, she was still missing shoes. ¡°Shoes?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t like wearing them. Didn¡¯t before I was changed and even less now.¡±


    ¡°Get some sandals at least or rip off Converse. Their soles are thin.¡±


    She frowned but didn¡¯t outright reject the idea of getting a pair of Converse. As we checked out, I noticed she didn¡¯t get socks.


    After checking out, we swung by the local butcher for a few slabs of steak and some ground beef. I asked if he had any blood for a family blood jelly recipe I wanted to try. He said he could get me a gallon if I stopped by tomorrow morning. We drove back to the hotel, and the vampire went to the bathroom to change.


    I was cleaning my 1911 when she came out looking unnervingly beautiful in slim blue jeans and a black tee shirt with my clothes folded in her arms, not exhibiting any signs of how dangerous she really was. It irritated me that I found her attractive. I released the slide out of frustration. It shot forward with a satisfying ¡°shunk.¡± I absent-mindedly topped off the mag with another round and popped it in the gun. I automatically pulled the slide back again, chambering a round.


    She walked over and sat down on the bed across from me, setting the pants and shirt she borrowed down. A knock came from the door. I got up, peeking through the peep hole. A man in overalls was walking way and climbing into a farm truck. He revved the engine and drove off. I popped the door open to find a little box, a guitar case, and three large bundles of elder branches. I pulled the little box and guitar case inside, then loaded the bundles in the back of my Jeep.


    I came back in and popped the guitar case open, revealing an AR15. I loaded the mags and put them back in the case. I popped the little box open and found the transfusion kit with five vials. The vampire looked at me apprehensively as I took them out. I walked over to her, the kit in my hand. ¡°I need your blood.¡± She shifted away from me. ¡°Give me your arm.¡±


    She reluctantly stretched out her arm. It was cold, sucking the heat from my fingers as I tied the rubber band around her arm. Her veins were small, and it didn¡¯t help that her blood was very translucent with a hint of light gray. Having only drawn my own blood, this proved to be difficult. I wiped her arm with an alcohol pad, then tried sliding the needle into her vein. It rolled to the side, and she winced.


    ¡°Sorry,¡± I muttered.


    Four tries later, she was fighting back tears, and I was no closer to my goal.


    ¡°You¡¯re not going to get it,¡± she said, teeth clenched.


    I sat back in defeat, pulling a gauze pad from the box, and handed it to her. ¡°We¡¯ll just have the vet do it. Come on, we had best get there before dark.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not a dog,¡± she snapped.


    ¡°Well, I¡¯m not either, but I need my arm patched, and I clearly am not going to get your vein.¡±


    ¡°You see a vet?¡±


    I shrugged, ¡°He doesn¡¯t mind.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re a person,¡± she stated.


    ¡°I pay well; he doesn¡¯t ask questions. I see a vet.¡± I wasn¡¯t quite sure what the look she gave me meant, but she followed me to the car.

 Chapter 5: I Have a Problem

    She appeared to sleep the entire hour to the vet practice. We walked into the lobby which smelled like dog food and antiseptic. An old lady sat with an arm full of yipping chihuahuas. Monica, the receptionist and vet¡¯s wife, smiled upon seeing me. ¡°Anthony, how are you?¡± She smiled in her grandmotherly way. ¡°You brought a friend. What¡¯s her name?¡±


    I hadn¡¯t asked up to this point, not wanting to know. It would make things harder. I glanced at the vampire.


    ¡°Lauren,¡± the vampire said softly.


    ¡°Is Ned available?¡± I asked.


    ¡°He will be right with you after he gives Miss Marbles¡¯ babies their rabies shots.¡± The dogs were barking and growling like little RC engines. It seemed to me it was too late for the rabies shots. ¡°Would you like to see our animals while you wait? We have a few babies that need forever homes,¡± she looked at us with a sad puppy dog face.


    ¡°Sure,¡± anything to get away from those annoying rats. She beamed and led us past the desk to the kennels where cats meowed, and dogs barked as we entered. It was loud but not nearly as grating as chihuahuas yipping.


    ¡°Feel free to take any of the ones with the red tags on their cages out one at a time. I need to man the desk. Ned will be in shortly,¡± she turned and pushed back through the swinging doors.


    Lauren had popped open a cage a little way down from where I stood and was petting a fuzzy, gray, speckled cat. I had thought about getting a dog to help me find dead bodies. Well, I don¡¯t need help finding bodies, I needed an explanation for how I found them. It was not uncommon that I got the side-eye from a detective or officer for finding a body too quickly. Plus, I was never home and taking care of one on the road seemed like too much work. Lauren had moved on to another cat, this one orange. She spoke suddenly. ¡°I was offended that you were bringing me to a vet like some animal, but animals seem to be purer than a large percentage of people I have met in the last few years. There are worse groups I could be lumped in with,¡± she glanced at me, emphasizing worse groups. She scratched the chin of the orange cat again before moving on to a seven- or eight-month-old bloodhound who had been baying and begging for attention since we entered.


    All the animals seemed to like her, which was interesting because, often, they don¡¯t like vampires. Animals intuitively know a predator when they see one. Perhaps that¡¯s why they don¡¯t seem to like me either. The bloodhound wouldn¡¯t let her put him back in his kennel, letting out the occasional howl. She sat down and leaned against his kennel door to pet him. The back door opened, and the vet walked in. He was smiling, though there was a bit of concern in his eyes.


    ¡°Anthony! Oh, you have a friend!¡± He glanced at Lauren and the little bloodhound. ¡°He¡¯s a good dog. His owner couldn¡¯t stand his baying, so he wound up here.¡±


    ¡°I like him,¡± Lauren rubbed both sides of the dog¡¯s face making his droopy, happy face swing side to side.


    ¡°Well, you¡¯d best put him back,¡± I said a bit more harshly than I had meant. The happy countenance that she had faded. Ned gave me a look. ¡°She needs your help as well.¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s take a look at you first. Once you manage to get him in his kennel, feel free to come through these doors,¡± Ned told Lauren. Lauren nodded; her lap occupied with the massive puppy. I followed him into his operating room.


    ¡°Take off your shirt, Anthony, and let me see.¡± I popped off my jacket and t-shirt. Ned looked at the bite marks on my chest and abdomen. ¡°Hm, they are healing well. Turn around; let me see that arm.¡± At this moment Lauren walked in. She paused halfway through the door. I could feel her eyes looking over my bitten and marred skin. She slowly shut the door and found a seat along the wall. The vet pulled the bandage off and took a good look at my arm. ¡°Well, you will live. It doesn¡¯t look too bad. How much movement do you have?¡±


    I shrugged. ¡°I can move it any way I need to, though it hurts quite a bit. It won¡¯t stop oozing blood.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m going to poke around a bit, stop the bleeding, and you should be good to go.¡± It wasn¡¯t very long before he had me sewn up with a new bandage wrapped around my arm. I got up from the chair. ¡°Now, how can I help you miss?¡± Lauren looked to me, a bit irritated.


    ¡°We need you to draw some of her blood. She is being hunted by a few creatures, and I need it to lay a trap.¡±


    ¡°Very well. Come and sit here. And you are?¡±


    ¡°Lauren,¡± she said as she walked over and sat in the seat.


    The doctor frowned, looking at her bandaged arm. ¡°Don¡¯t tell me the two of you tried to do it yourselves,¡± he unwrapped the bandage then shook his head, wrapping it back up. ¡°I had best do your other arm.¡± I got another glare from her, though I pretended I didn¡¯t see.


    I produced the kit from my jacket, handing it to him. ¡°Her blood is going to be different.¡±


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    He took the kit, unfazed by my words, and began his work. ¡°Oh, it is quite different,¡± he filled the vile and held the gray, translucent liquid to the light. He looked back at her. ¡°Is it rude for me to ask?¡±


    ¡°She¡¯s a vampire,¡± I said before she could open her mouth.


    He looked at her, nodding and popped in the next vile. ¡°Not the one who tore you up a month ago, I see.¡±


    Her eyes strayed to my exposed chest. ¡°How did you come across him?¡± Lauren asked timidly. I grabbed my shirt off the vet¡¯s operating table and pulled it on.


    ¡°There was a serial killer in Memphis that was abducting prostitutes along with a few college students. A few of their bodies were found void of blood with signs of an IV having been planted in their necks. I got a call from a friend in the FBI. I handled the problem.¡±


    ¡°Do they know?¡± Ned asked.


    ¡°My friend does, but the cops are still officially looking for the serial.¡±


    ¡°Do you find serial killers, too?¡± Ned asked.


    ¡°No, killing actual people, even if they are monsters, is not my line of work. I leave that to the cops.¡±


    Ned popped off the last vile and started wrapping up her arm. ¡°Well, you are ready to go. Pay Monica at the front.¡±


    I paused, holding the door open for Lauren. ¡°How much for the hound?¡±


    Ned looked at me. ¡°Three fifty.¡±


    ¡°How¡¯s his nose?¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s a bloodhound.¡±


    ¡°Would you hold him for me? I will be by to pick him up in a few weeks.¡±


    ¡°Sure. I don¡¯t mind you paying to house him.¡±


    ¡°Thanks.¡±


    I led our way out and paid Monica for the vet¡¯s work and the dog¡¯s adoption fee and boarding. We got in the Jeep and started driving. We were about fifteen minutes from our destination when the vampire spoke, arousing me from my brooding.


    ¡°Why did you get him? The dog.¡±


    I shrugged. ¡°He might be helpful. I need to find people from time to time.¡±


    ¡°You mean monsters.¡±


    ¡°No, actually, he would get torn up pretty good and likely killed if I sent him after a monster. Not to mention I have no idea how good of a working dog he will be.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re not making a good case for why you would want him,¡± she rubbed her temple.


    ¡°Perhaps I get lonely sometimes,¡± I was surprised by my own honesty. She looked at me.


    ¡°Are you, well, alone a lot?¡± I nodded pulling off the highway onto a familiar dirt road.


    ¡°My parents live states away, and my siblings spread out across the states, except the youngest, who is still at home. I don¡¯t see them much due to work.¡±


    ¡°Do they know what you do?¡±


    ¡°My Dad does, but the rest think I am in law enforcement or the military, perhaps the FBI.¡± At this point in the conversation, the thought occurred to me that she had a family somewhere. I didn¡¯t ask. I didn¡¯t need to make this harder, so I kept on talking. It wouldn¡¯t matter what she knew.


    ¡°How come he knows, and the rest don¡¯t?¡±


    ¡°My father and I were on a camping trip with a friend of his when we came across a monster from the class of Grendel. Are you familiar?¡± She shook her head. ¡°It is a lanky, human-like creature that hunts and eats people. It¡¯s horrifying and is one of the few things that a gun won¡¯t do squat to. The short story is my father¡¯s friend was in this line of work, so we were able to survive.¡±


    ¡°Did you kill it?¡±


    ¡°No, it can¡¯t be killed. It¡¯s still somewhere up in the Rocky Mountains. We were lucky to survive.¡±


    ¡°Are you going to try at some point?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s too dangerous. Finding it would be next to impossible, and it would kill me nine times out of ten.¡±


    ¡°So, it really can¡¯t be killed.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know how. Perhaps if I could get it in a foot thick, steel box and fill it with molten metal or concrete, but it¡¯s too smart to be captured. It sticks to the mountains. The government has tried to find and kill it, but they are only feeding it with the men they send. My mentor even went after it. He¡¯s missing along with ten other men.¡±


    ¡°Are there many of these monsters?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think so. I have only heard of the one in the last few hundred years. There were more supposedly, which makes me think it is killable, but the folklore on how is not accurate, to say the least. Perhaps, it¡¯s always just been the one. I don¡¯t know.¡±


    A shiver ran down my spine. There was a reason I work here in the South and never take jobs in the Rockies. It¡¯s said once it gets a taste of you, it never stops hunting you until you are devoured. We rode in silence for a few more minutes until I pulled off the dirt road onto the overgrown strip that led to my graveyard. The vampire seemed to feel the change in my mood; she wasn¡¯t stupid. She kept glancing from me to the darkening road ahead. The moon would be rising soon. She was becoming skittish, eyes moving quickly. I could feel her fear swelling the closer we got to the clearing.


    I let out a long breath as I pulled into the clearing. It was covered in mounds of grass marked by stakes with trinkets on them. My gut felt hollow. One was fresh, covered in rich soil, with a dress shoe set on the stake. I put the Jeep in neutral and sat in silence. Part of me wanted to keep her alive as long as possible but that would not be doing me or her any favors. No, I should end it.


    I got out of the Jeep and walked around to the passenger side, my face set in stone. I pulled the passenger door open. The vampire trembled under my touch as I pulled her roughly from the Jeep and dragged her to the center of the field. I pushed her down onto her knees. The first rays of moonlight breached the tree line, gliding across us. I pulled my 1911 from the holster and clicked the safety off. The sound seemed to ring through the empty clearing. The vampire¡¯s skin shone silver in the moonlight, giving her a heavenly glow. With my free hand, I pulled my knife from my pocket and cut into the back of the wrist holding my gun. I discarded the knife point first into the grassy ground.


    Blood rolled over my fingers down the barrel of my 1911 and landed on the back of her head. She shook with each drip as if they were physical blows. I stood there waiting for her to lash out and attack. Under the full moon, she should not be able to resist my fresh blood. She knelt there stiffly, fingers digging into the ground. I watched as her fingers slowly dug furrows into the rain softened soil. She gradually went limp and collapsed to the ground. Her back heaved as soft sobs escaped. In a moment, my mind went back to a similar sound as I swung softly side to side. Dots started to spot my vision.


    I let out a long slow breath and allowed the 1911 to fall to my side, the safety on. I wiped the gun on my pants, but the blood was dry and didn¡¯t come off. I slid it back in its holster. I couldn¡¯t kill her. I didn¡¯t know how, but she hadn¡¯t given in to her natural instincts. My head was pounding, so I crouched trying to get some relief as waves of blackness crashed over me.

 Chapter: There is Always Something Hidden in the Cellar

    I was surprised when I woke. My eyes shot open under the hot sun. Lauren was missing, along with the Jeep. My 1911 still sat securely under my arm, and my knife was in the earth not a foot from me. Passing out was worrying; it had not happened in a long time. I could usually feel it coming on and find somewhere to sleep before I passed out.


    It took all day to get to my storage unit. I opted for the dirt bike instead of my truck. After losing two vehicles, it was too much to ask for a third. On my way back to the motel, I pulled into a local barbecue. Three cop cars were parked out front. I walked in and a pretty girl in a red apron directed me to a table not far from where the cops sat. I ordered brisket and listened to their conversation. They were swapping stories and having a good time when their radios started chattering. Something was pacing around some houses in the national park. The description was a four-legged creature.


    They packed up and were gone in an instant. I followed, leaving my brisket. I pulled up the general location on my phone and sped after them. I exited the city and drove towards the park. It was ten minutes before I could pick out the flashing lights of the police cruisers; a chopper buzzed high overhead, moving to the east away from their location. Had they called a chopper? I followed their lights through winding mountain roads until I reached the base of a long driveway. The three police cruisers were at the top.


    My heart rate increased the moment I stepped off my bike. I slipped my 1911 from its holster. The sun had dipped below the horizon, and a soft drizzle had started. The closer I got to the house, the hollower my gut felt. The lack of noise was not reassuring. I could see the gleam of a light from the house. I crept a little further, then pressed against the side of an old tree and watched. The three cruisers sat motionless in the gravel parking lot: red and blue lights flashing.


    After a few minutes, the driver door of the closest cruiser opened and out slipped what I first thought to be a very big dog. It sauntered over to the next cruiser, reached up, and attempted to open the back door. A light came on from inside the car and silhouetted the beast. It had a long neck and a body that resembled a large dog, but its feet were talons. It raked its talons down the window and yanked the door open. Gunshots erupted from the inside of the cruiser. The creature¡¯s head lunged forward and dragged a man¡¯s body out of the car and off behind the house. I could feel eyes boring into me. I kept glancing around, but, like most people, my vision sucked in the dark.


    The wind was to my back. A moldy smell like rotten food left in Tupperware way too long wafted to my nose. I glanced backwards and caught two gleaming pink eyes staring at me from deeper in the woods behind me. I twisted, brought my pistol around, and let loose the entire clip in the direction of the glowing eyes. Instinctively, I ejected the spent mag and slid in a fresh one. I released the slide. I broke from where I stood and sprinted towards the house. Branches cut across my face and body. I breeched the trees and passed the cruisers, slamming hard into the front porch screen door. I fumbled with the handle for a moment, then swung it open and slammed it shut behind me. I stared back through the window but saw nothing. Had my silver rounds been effective?


    I clicked the lock on the screen door; little good it would do. I walked up the steps to the front door which was cracked open. Holding my gun ready in one hand, I carefully slid the door open. A body lay on the floor in front of me. It was one of the cops from the barbeque joint. He was torn up. Big chunks of flesh were missing from his body in circular scoops like someone had taken a large ice cream scoop and removed a spoonful here and a spoonful there. The old carpet he lay on was saturated with his blood. The echo of his recently deceased soul reverberated through the room.


    I shut and locked the front door. The living room was undisturbed. I grabbed his pistol, a Glock, from where it had fallen to the ground. I could tell by its weight that the mag was about half empty. Right in front of me was the kitchen and to my right was a set of stairs. Two sets of bloody footprints led up. One was small, either a woman or a child. Next to them were the taloned tracks of the creature.


    I worked my way through the house: first, the kitchen, then up the stairs. The tracks led to a window that was partially open, but all the upstairs rooms were empty. I went back downstairs and studied the kitchen. A cordless phone lay on the counter; next to it was a kitchen knife set, with two knives missing. I peeked out one of the windows and thought I caught a glimpse of movement, but to be honest, I wasn¡¯t sure. It was going to be a long night. I had at least seven hours before sunrise. It was time to get settled.


    I rummaged through the kitchen drawers until I came across what my family called the ¡°catch all¡± drawer. Most houses have at least one drawer or place where all the odds and ends go. I found a hammer, a fist full of nails, and screws. I drove a few nails into the back door, securing it to the frame. Then, I went upstairs and did the same with the bedroom doors. It wouldn¡¯t keep anything out, but it would make a good amount of noise. I balanced a glass cup on the front doorknob to warn me, since I¡¯d run out of nails and screws. With that done, I went around and turned off all the lights except the upstairs hallway. I set one of the kitchen chairs in the back corner of the front room so I could see all the possible entry ways, then sat and waited.


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    It had been about two hours when I heard tapping come from upstairs. I focused on the sound and tried to get a feel for where it was originating from. It sounded like fingernails striking glass, probably the window at the end of the hall. I took a deep breath in through my nose and stood up from my chair. I walked to the base of the stairs. The tapping paused. I climbed the stairs until I reached the point where my head just barely broke level with the second floor. Movement caught my eye. A taloned hand was stroking the glass, almost aimlessly. I trained my gun on the widow. The claws raked against the bottom of the glass as it pried the window open gingerly. Rattling came from the front porch.


    An idea popped into my head. I rushed down the stairs, bent over the fallen officer, and pulled out his taser and its extra cartridge. The upstairs window opened. I backed myself into my corner. A creature leisurely ambled down the stairs. I leveled my gun and emptied my 1911 into its center mass. Tufts of hair blew out its back as my rounds ripped through it. It crumpled at the base of the stairs. It didn¡¯t move.


    The scraping at the porch door stopped, then resumed at a window to my right. I looked back to the base of the stairs and instinctively leveled the taser at the blur springing at me. Its body locked up; the current took the thing on a ride. It shook and writhed as the current passed through its body. I dropped my 1911, pulled the Glock from my jacket, and emptied the rest of the mag into its flat face, blowing each eye out along with part of its nub of a nose. I picked up my 1911 and loaded another mag, pocketing the old one. I pointed it at the beast as I let go of the taser trigger. It didn¡¯t move. I cautiously slid my foot towards it and touched its body; it was dead. I could clearly distinguish its softer ring from the dead officer¡¯s. I thought I had felt something leave its corpse after I shot its head. I let out a soft sigh. Good. Not many things, even in my strange world, could keep going with a head full of lead.


    I changed out the taser cartridge with a fresh one. I walked over to the cop and took his extra mags for the Glock. I should have already done this. I swapped one out and pocketed the other. I pulled the front door open, stepping onto the porch. The creature looked wary, its pink eyes blinking, standing to the right side of a cop car.


    I unlocked the screen door and opened it. The creature stood there just looking at me. Was it really going to let me just shoot it? I raised the taser and fired. Amazingly, both barbs struck, and the creature fell to the gravel. I walked over to its writhing body and dumped the new mag into its head. I reloaded the Glock then let up off the taser. I nudged the creature with my boot; it was still alive, barely. I pulled the taser again, set the barrel of the Glock right over its eye socket, and fired three more shots. I checked again. It was dead.


    I went back into the house, walked upstairs, and followed the bloody footsteps out the window. I climbed out onto the roof. The footprints were hard to follow, but there were clear scrapes alongside. The bloody prints stopped at the peak of the roof where small lines of blood ran down either side of the roof indicating they had stood there for some time. I looked around, but there was no sign of anything or anyone. The helicopter that flew off earlier... had it picked this person up?


    I needed to get going; this was a mess¡ªdead officers and creatures¡¯ bodies. Soon back up would be here, and if I didn¡¯t want to sit in an interrogation room, I had better leave. I pulled out my phone and called Chris. He picked up right before his voicemail. ¡°Yes,¡± his voice was gruff and rugged.


    ¡°Chris, it¡¯s Anthony. I have a situation in Tennessee. Some local officers are dead, and I¡¯m not going to be able to whisk the monsters¡¯ bodies away.¡±


    ¡°I will be there in five hours. Send me your location. You aren¡¯t being held, are you?¡±


    ¡°No.¡±


    ¡°Are you still at that location?¡±


    ¡°Sure am. Cops should be showing up any minute.¡±


    ¡°Ditch the location until I get down there. I don¡¯t need another Pennsylvania incident.¡± My mind went back to the jail cell and long interrogation with the state investigator before Chris came and cleared things up.


    ¡°I¡¯m on my way out,¡± I told him, ¡°Pack a taser. If you run across these things, it will give you a chance to blow its brains out.¡±


    ¡°How many are there?¡±


    ¡°I killed a few, but there may be more.¡±


    ¡°Well, if you need a hand, don¡¯t be afraid to ask for help. I have dealt with a few strange things myself.¡±


    ¡°Will do,¡± I replied. He hung up so quickly, I didn¡¯t beat him to it. I like Chris. He cut through red tape, and as my ¡°boss¡± he gave me free reign over my work as a private contractor. He has three monsters to his name, or ¡®anomaly¡¯s¡¯ as the government liked to call them. He was the most experienced supernatural agent they have at the FBI.


    I made my way to my dirt bike and had to sit in a ditch as cop cars flew past me and up the driveway. I pushed it down the road half a mile before daring to start it up.

 Chapter 7: I Hate Caves

    I got up the next morning to three voicemails from Chris. I didn¡¯t listen to any of them, I just called him back. He picked up on the first ring. ¡°Anthony, what are these things? We found two. Is the third still out there?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡±


    ¡°I need you down here. We found something rather troubling. Do you know why the cops were called to this house?¡±


    ¡°No.¡±


    ¡°A woman called and claimed she had been kidnapped. They traced the call here. It appears to be a human trafficking ring. Well, not entirely human, I suspect.¡±


    Chris was waiting for me at the base of the drive, and law enforcement surrounded the perimeter of the property. I rode past them and up to Chris. Chris was a man in his late forties with a fit Roman frame. He sported gray stubble and an unbuttoned white collared shirt with no tie. His balding gave away his age. I kicked out my stand and followed him up to the house. ¡°Did you kill both of them or just the one? One is filled with 9mm and the other looks like it also has a touch of forty-five.¡±


    ¡°Both. I borrowed the dead officer¡¯s gun,¡± I responded.


    ¡°Well, it¡¯s too bad you didn¡¯t get here sooner.¡± We passed the covered bodies of the monsters and a couple body bags.


    He led me to a pole barn on the back of the property. Down a cellar door, I could feel the echoes left behind by the dead when we entered. There were five cages made from rebar welded together. Silver wire spiraled around every bar. There was a bed in each cage along with a bucket. A mortuary furnace sat in the back of the room. It was filled with ash and a half-burnt body. In the right back corner was a separate room lined with silver plated steel. A set of chains and handcuffs were bolted to the floor with a drain grate in the middle of the room. A spilled beaker of blood was just out of reach of the chains, the cement floor smeared with it.


    ¡°What do you think they were holding?¡± Chris asked grimly, ¡°vampires, perhaps? Maybe werewolves?¡±


    I nodded in agreement, ¡°Many have died here.¡±


    ¡°Were they hunting them and bringing them here to kill?¡±


    I looked around the hellish room. There were many echoes of the dead here. This was where most of the killing took place. ¡°I find it hard to believe,¡± I started, ¡°there just aren¡¯t that many horrors. It¡¯s not easy to become a vampire or werewolf. You have to be bitten on a full moon and have a proclivity for it. People often die from a vampire bite or are unaffected. A werewolf bite is more likely to take hold, but it is rare that there is anything left. Can I look at the body in the oven?¡±


    ¡°Put on a cap and gloves. Try not to mess it up,¡± Chris grunted.


    After I got my gloves and hair net, I crawled into the oven next to the body. There was plenty of room; it was the biggest incinerator I had ever been in. I looked at the teeth; they looked normal. The left arm looked mangled, but I couldn¡¯t tell what did it. A werewolf bite seemed likely. I crawled back out, pulling my gloves and my hair net off.


    ¡°What do you think?¡± Chris asked as he leaned against the wall.


    ¡°Their teeth are normal. I can¡¯t tell sex. Your techs will have to figure that out, but their left arm is badly mangled. My guess is something bit it, but, again, your techs are going to have to verify. What are your thoughts on all of this?¡±


    Chris looked around the room and took a deep breath in through his nose. ¡°It reeks of human trafficking: the beds, cages, hell, there¡¯s a van with blacked-out windows upstairs in the back of the barn. But, the furnace and provisions for the supernatural makes me think of your profession, no offense. Victor had a place to hold the monsters he was working on if he needed. So, what if it¡¯s a rogue group hunting and killing monsters? It wouldn¡¯t be the first time.¡±


    ¡°There aren¡¯t enough monsters for this big of an operation. There are only two other hunters in the States besides me. Well, one. And we pretty much have a handle on things. I would know about an operation this big.¡±


    ¡°Are they trying to make more monsters?¡± Chris posed; his expression darkened.


    ¡°That¡¯s an unpleasant thought. It would only work ten percent of the time.¡±


    Chris nodded. ¡°You would need to get rid of all the...well, if they didn¡¯t turn,¡± he looked to the furnace. I hated to admit it, but he was on to something. Lauren had said she was part of a ¡°collection.¡± I don¡¯t regret killing people, but it would be nice to bring her old master back from the dead and ask. I tried once. It almost killed not only me, but Victor. If I could find Lauren, perhaps she could shine some light on this. My gut twisted a little at the thought of seeing her again after a few nights ago.


    ¡°Well, tell me what else your team finds,¡± I started back for the stairs.


    ¡°You don¡¯t want to stick around and see what we dig up firsthand?¡± Chris asked.


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    ¡°No, I think I may have run into someone who was funneled through this place. I need to find them. If there is a group making monsters, I will need to hunt them down.¡± Chris looked interested but didn¡¯t press. If I wanted his help, he knew I would ask.


    ¡°The monsters you killed in the house, where do they fit into all this? From what I have heard, they have been terrorizing the surrounding area.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know, Chris. Victor would know at least what type of anomaly they are, but he took his book with him. I¡¯m compiling mine, but I have a few new entries to jot down.¡±


    Chris nodded, ¡°Well, I would suggest making two copies of your book for posterity¡¯s sake.¡±


    I nodded, ¡°Give me a call if you get a lead.¡±


    ¡°Will do.¡±


    I got back to the hotel and sat, not wanting to make the call, but eventually I did. Gregory picked up the phone. ¡°Anthony, how is it going?¡±


    ¡°Rough. I killed two of them but had to call in my FBI contact to smooth things over. They killed three cops before I managed to put them down.¡±


    ¡°I see. Were the monsters all killed?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure, but it appears there is a group making anomalies or at least trafficking vampires and possibly werewolves. If you could poke around and see what you can find, we can hash out an agreement.¡±


    ¡°I think that can be arranged,¡± Gregory responded.


    ¡°Could you send me the location of the Jeep? It has gotten away from me, and I would like to get it back.¡±


    ¡°I will route it to your phone. How did you lose it?¡±


    I had a pang of guilt, ¡°Things got complicated.¡±


    ¡°Well, in any case, a live update is loading on your phone. It appears it hasn¡¯t moved for ten hours or so. It¡¯s in the middle of the woods.¡±


    ¡°I best get it then. Thank Gregory.¡± I hung up.


    I picked up the old clothes Lauren had been wearing from off the bathroom floor and stuffed them in my backpack, along with one and a half box of 45s. That done, I headed back to my storage unit to pick up my truck. At my unit, I loaded my dirt bike into my truck bed and drove to the vet¡¯s clinic. I walked in and I nodded to Monica. ¡°I¡¯m here to pick up my dog. Could you put a big bag of dog food, a leash, and collar on my tab? I¡¯m in a bit of a rush.¡±


    ¡°Not a problem, honey. You go ahead and get him, and I will get your things.¡±


    I walked in the back and found the young hound sitting lazily in his crate. He perked up when I popped open the door. He was friendly but not nearly as energetic with me as with Lauren. ¡°You are going to help me find your friend,¡± I rubbed his head roughly, and he licked my hand oblivious to what my words meant. Well, I hoped he would help. The woods were big, and I was almost certain that she had ditched the Jeep. She could have gotten a ride from a passing car, but my gut was saying I needed to get the dog and that she would be out in the woods.


    I led him out to the waiting room. A large bag of dog food, a leash, and squeaky dog toy were sitting on the counter. ¡°A little present from us to the lucky little boy on his big day,¡± Monica beamed at the pup. She smiled at me, triumphant. Yeah, yeah, yeah, I finally got one of your dogs, I thought. I clipped the leash to his collar and threw the fifty-pound dog food bag over my shoulder after tucking the toy in my back pocket.


    He sure had a nose. He was sniffing and pulling on the leash every which way as we walked to my truck. I opened the door and he jumped in, immediately finding his way to my pack. Maybe this wasn¡¯t as terrible of an idea as I had assumed. He either wanted a Cliff bar or could smell Lauren¡¯s old clothing.


    As I drove down the highway, I cut open the big bag of dog food in the passenger seat and filled two-gallon Zip Lock bags. We might be out there for a couple days. The hound kept trying to get up front, so I took a handful and tossed it in the back of the truck. He busied himself finding the scattered kibble, and I was able to fill the two bags in peace.


    We found the Jeep deep in the woods around noon. Lauren had driven off the highway and weaved through the trees for five miles or so before running out of gas. There was no sign of Lauren anywhere. I walked back to my truck to the sound of baying and yipping. The little guy didn¡¯t like being left out. He was young and unruly. I opened the door, grabbed his leash, pulled the clothes with Lauren¡¯s scent out, and held it to his nose. He sniffed, very interested, and pulled me to the Jeep. Finding it empty, he stuck his nose to the ground and began pulling me deeper into the forest. He yipped and bayed at me when I wouldn¡¯t go along. I tied him to a tree, walked back and unloaded my dirt bike, and strapped on my pack. Hopefully, he had her trail and not a deer or some other animal. I untied his leash and let him loose.


    It didn¡¯t take me long to understand why hunters used GPS tracking collars on their dogs. As soon as I took off the leash, he was on his way, smelling and jogging through the forest. I would need to find a trainer for him. I quickly got on my bike and cruised after him. He stopped at a creek where he drank some and laid down in the cool water. He was slower after a bit, but he kept at it after I gave him another whiff of Lauren¡¯s shirt.


    An hour later, we came to a cliff with a forty-foot drop. The dog paced from side to side, baying frantically and sniffing down over the edge. I tried calling him off, but he would not respond, so I clipped the leash on him and tied him to a tree. He only quieted his baying when I poured out a couple cups of dog food on the ground. I walked to the edge of the cliff and looked down over the side. Rolling trees and mountains spread out before me. The bloodhound pup munched loudly behind me. I scanned the cliff face below me. There was a small cave opening that I could reach about four feet below where the pup had been yipping and bouncing. I didn¡¯t want to go down. I had sworn off caves; they are terrifying. It took me a good twenty minutes of pacing to get up the nerve to go down.


    I pulled a flashlight from my pack and popped the pup off his leash. If something happened to me, I didn¡¯t want him to starve to death tied to a tree. I clambered down to the cave. The pup barked and yelped, wanting to go in with me but unable to make it safely. The cave was just big enough that I could crawl comfortably. I pulled my backpack off and dragged it behind me in order to go feet first into the cave. I would have preferred to crawl forward, but I was afraid that I would get in a position that would make it impossible to turn around.


    The pup howled and barked as I crawled and slid my way down through cave. Soon, his baying was muffled, and I could hardly hear him. A couple hundred feet further, the cave narrowed and dived vertically down eight feet, opening into a larger cave. I carefully lowered myself, trying not to think how much this reminded me of the caves in the Rockies. I was starting to get the jitters. I slipped down into the large, open room. It was about the size of a typical living room. I shone my light around. The walls of the cave were damp. It was empty. There was a tunnel at the back. It was much smaller, and I would have trouble fitting. I squatted down and shown my light down the tunnel. Lauren looked at me from ten feet down the crevice, covered in dirt.

 Chapter 8: Nothing Good Happens in a Cave

    Lauren scooted further back but reached a point even her small body couldn¡¯t fit through. There was no possibility I could follow and pull her out. Upon finding she couldn¡¯t progress any further down the passage, she buried her face in her arms. Her reaction to me, though understandable, made me feel sick. I don¡¯t know why I cared, but I did.


    ¡°I was up at a farmhouse in east Tennessee,¡± I announced. ¡°The basement in the barn out back was designed to hold people like you. Have you seen it? It had rebar cages wrapped with silver wire and a big furnace at the end.¡±


    A soft sob escaped her lips, and she huddled down further. Her breathing quickened as she tried to stifle her sobs. Again, my stomach turned. It was a feeling I was not accustomed to. She seemed to know the place. More time went by. I didn¡¯t know what to say. Her voice cut through the tunnel like a knife. ¡°Just do it. I can¡¯t handle it anymore,¡± Her voice quivered. ¡°If you¡¯re going hold a gun over my head, just pull the trigger.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not going to.¡±


    She looked at me, shaking her head. ¡°You reek of death. I knew it was you the moment you entered the cave. Don¡¯t lie to me. Killing things like me is clearly what you do.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re right; I kill monsters. Try to anyway.¡±


    She looked at me, face streaked with tears. ¡°You¡¯re going to have to kill me. I¡¯m not leaving. I won¡¯t make the same mistake twice,¡± she shouted, ¡°Leave me. Dead or alive here is better than being around you!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not going to leave. You are going to get out and tell me what you know about the farmhouse. You¡¯d better not make me crawl down there and drag you out,¡± I stated.


    She wiped her eyes on her sleeves and glared at me. ¡°Go to hell.¡±


    ¡°Fine,¡± I muttered. She¡¯d come out.


    I got up and made my way back out of the cave to an anxious puppy. The pup was whimpering softly, head resting over the side of the cliff. He let out a loud, happy howl at the sight of me. I called to him. ¡°Come here boy. It will be fine, just to the edge.¡± He climbed far enough for me to grab him. With one arm holding him haphazardly over the cliff edge, I clung to a young tree trunk with the other. I shoved him unceremoniously into the mouth of the cave. He scampered through the cave, happy to be back on the trail. I crawled after him. I caught up to him where he hesitated at the drop. I moved in front of him and dragged him down the tunnel behind me. It was difficult. He struggled and fought, but I managed to get us to the bottom. He howled and lunged for the end of the cave. The echoes made my eardrums ring. I held firm to his collar. The last thing I needed was for him to get stuck in the little tunnel along with Lauren. As I walked to the tunnel mouth, he yipped and whined excitedly at the sight of Lauren.


    ¡°You can come out or I¡¯m going to put a cap in his head.¡±


    ¡°You bastard,¡± She snarled from the back of the tunnel.


    ¡°You have a minute. If you aren¡¯t out by then, he¡¯s dead.¡± I pulled my phone from my pocket and set a one-minute timer. I held it up so she could see it.


    ¡°I hate you.¡± The timer was ticking down, and she wasn¡¯t moving. The pup was yipping and whining at her.


    ¡°You have thirty seconds,¡± I pulled my forty-five from its holster and clicked off the safety. This got her moving. She crawled forward, and I pulled the pup back, giving her room to get out. The timer went off as she reached the mouth of the cave. Her eyes went wide. She scrambled, tumbling out of the tunnel. I let the pup go, and he bounded to her, licking and jumping on her. I slipped my gun back in its holster and clicked the safety back on. She petted and rubbed the dog, glaring at me. I stood there, no doubt looking every bit the monster I felt. I was done with caves. Nothing good ever seemed to happen in them. ¡°Come on. Let¡¯s get the pup out.¡± As I turned away from her I mumbled, ¡°I hate caves.¡±


    She didn¡¯t say anything but got up. I picked my pack up off the ground. Getting out of the cave with the pup proved difficult. I had to shove him up ahead of me. Lauren was kind enough to bring the pack up after, though she would not talk to me. I climbed out of the cave first, then lay on the cliff¡¯s edge. I grabbed the pup from her arms, and immediately clipped him back on the leash. He was unruly and likely to run off after a scent now that we found Lauren.


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    I reached down and grabbed the pack from Lauren and then helped her up. The soft, cold touch of her skin was distracting. I pulled her up and over the side of the cliff face. I didn¡¯t want to let go, so I withdrew quickly, overcompensating. Again, I didn¡¯t know what to say, so I stood quietly, taking deep breaths. I was glad to be out of the cave.


    ¡°What are you going to do to me?¡± Lauren asked, breaking the awkward silence.


    ¡°It¡¯s more like what to do with you,¡± I grumbled. I needed Grace. She was going to kill me, but I needed her help.


    Lauren¡¯s face seemed to go whiter if that was possible. ¡°Why would you leave me alive instead of killing me? I¡¯m a monster, right? It doesn¡¯t matter what you do to a monster! I can see it in your eyes. Worse yet, I can smell it.¡± I didn¡¯t know what that meant, and I was sure I didn¡¯t want to.


    I took a long look at her. Heavens, she was beautiful. She glared at me. ¡°My blood is like crack to vampires, and you don¡¯t seem keen on eating me. If you didn¡¯t try to kill me or others, then are you really a problem?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re full of it. If you¡¯re willing to kill a puppy, you¡¯re capable of anything.¡±


    I shrugged. ¡°I¡¯m not interested in making you like me. We need to figure out a living situation that is suitable for you but does not put others at risk. First, I need to track down some human traffickers and put them six feet under. I have a friend in the FBI that may need to sit down with you and ask a few questions.¡± I started dumping my pack out. I couldn¡¯t carry the pup on my bike without it. I stuffed the hound in the camping pack. His floppy head stuck out the top, looking around. ¡°It would be easier if you carried him,¡± I told Lauren and gestured at the bike. ¡°We have a long way back to the truck, and we aren¡¯t walking.¡±


    Lauren didn¡¯t look happy about riding on the dirt bike but did take the pack. The pup licked the back of her head, baying softly. He was tired. I had pushed him too hard for his age. I straddled the bike, revving it on. Lauren got on a moment later, stiffly grabbing my jacket with her hands. She soon abandoned trying to hold on to just my jacket for stability and wrapped her arms around me. I didn¡¯t mind, no in fact I didn¡¯t mind it at all, but I should. The trouble with vampires is they¡¯re attractive predators. My solution has always been to kill them on sight. I don¡¯t know what to do with whatever Lauren is.


    Once we were back to the Jeep, Lauren took the pup out of the backpack. He was droopy and lethargic. ¡°He did a good job today,¡± I said and walked over to the truck. I opened the back of the cab and grabbed a water bottle and Cliff Bar. ¡°Feel free to get whatever you need. I don¡¯t have blood, but there is some food.¡±


    She didn¡¯t talk to me, but she did get in the truck, shutting herself and the hound in the back of the cab. I loaded the dirt bike in the bed and grabbed a five-gallon gas can. I poured it into the Jeep¡¯s tank. This way, when Gregory sent someone to get it, they could drive it out. I unloaded my odds and ends from the Jeep into the passenger seat of the truck. Lauren was curled around the pup in the backseat. They both appeared to be asleep, but I doubted she really was. I pried my eyes off her and got into the truck.


    It was late by the time we made it back to the hotel. I pulled the truck into the hotel¡¯s parking lot and pulled a plastic key card from my pocket. ¡°You managed to lose another one of my cars,¡± Hobbs sat in the dark puffing on a cigar. The red glow illuminated his face softly. He sat comfortably in the same chair next to the small dining table where he had eaten Chinese with Lauren just days ago.


    ¡°It¡¯s full of gas and ready to be picked up. Though I admit, this job has been a mess.¡±


    Hobbs waved his cigar in the air. ¡°You have a habit of getting in over your head. I have become accustomed to it. I will have someone pick it up, but that is not why I am here. You asked for some information and a deal. The group you¡¯re looking for is a group that has been smuggling and selling what they are calling ¡®exotics.¡¯ They call themselves ¡®The Carnies.¡¯ They had a base out in the mountains, but you seem to have found it already. Your friend in the FBI is set up with his trailer. Heavens, they should get him a new one. The thing can¡¯t be livable. Anyway, they were smuggling ¡®exotics¡¯ from there to the Virginia coast, then shipping them all over the world to private collections. These exotics are running about three mil, which seems low considering what they are, but I digress.¡±


    I tossed my empty pack on the bed. ¡°Do you know where they are located now?¡±


    ¡°No, not yet,¡± Hobbs stood. ¡°Also, your little friend is on a missing persons list out of Michigan. Her family has a ten thousand dollar reward out for anyone who gives information that will lead to her discovery. They have a couple private investigators out on the hunt as well. Oh, good job on dealing with the monsters; they seem to be gone. Half of your payment,¡± He pulled an envelope from his suit pocket and handed it to me. I took it. ¡°You have a day left before this room is no longer yours. If the monsters don¡¯t show in another month, the rest will be mailed to you as usual.¡± He tipped his hat and saw himself out. I looked in the envelope. There was about fifty thousand. Fair enough. A dark sedan pulled up, and he got in.

 Chapter 9: Home

    I went to the truck and opened the back door. Lauren was sitting up, the pup¡¯s head in her lap. He was wheezing softly.


    ¡°How¡¯s he doing?¡±


    ¡°Fine.¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t leave you alone out here,¡± I told her. She looked down at the pup, rubbing his head gently, clearly not wanting to leave the truck. ¡°I need rest; tomorrow we will go to my FBI contact, and we can work out a solution for you.¡± She got up reluctantly and led the pup inside. She settled herself on the far bed. I closed and locked the door, then grabbed a pillow and lay down in front of the door. I rested my hand on my 1911 and let sleep take me.


    The next morning, I woke to something wet. The pup was standing over me, licking my face. I got up. Lauren hadn¡¯t moved from where she sat on the bed, though she must have because she was wearing a new set of clothes. ¡°You scream in your sleep,¡± Lauren stated. I sat up stiffly, wiped my wet face, and pushed the happy pup away from me. He didn¡¯t care and bounced back in my lap. I held him down, rubbing his head. Content that I seemed to be alright, he bounced back on the bed with Lauren.


    ¡°I do that,¡± I grumbled, getting up. I walked to the bathroom, turned on the hot water, and splashed it over my face, washing off the dog slobber.


    She got up and leaned on the bathroom door frame. She was close, less than an arm¡¯s length away. ¡°What could make you scream like that?¡± She took another step closer like a curious, yet skittish cat. She looked at me, really looked, and cocked her head to the side.


    I looked at her, water dripping off my face. I grabbed a towel and wiped it clean. I looked into her eyes. ¡°You¡¯re scared of me!¡± She glanced away, backing up. ¡°You should be. Every vampire I have ever met is dead. You were almost one of them. You embraced your fear. The only thing you didn¡¯t do right was take the 1911 and put a cap in my head. Why didn¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡±


    ¡°Well, I don¡¯t know why I didn¡¯t kill you either.¡± This wasn¡¯t quite true. She had proven herself to be harmless up to this point at least. ¡°You need the restroom?¡± I asked.


    ¡°No.¡±


    ¡°Well, then, I am going to take a shower and get changed before we leave.¡± She backed out of the doorway, and I shut it roughly after her.


    She was strange. She clung to the opposite side of the room to get as far from me as possible last night, but today she was too close. She was a problem. If I could be ninety-five percent sure she was not going to bite anyone, she would probably do alright without supervision. I don¡¯t know if I could ever trust her that much. In that moment, I was one-hundred percent sure that Lauren would not dare bite someone in front of me, but I was not certain that if she were with someone weak that she would be able to resist. She probably would, but I couldn¡¯t take that chance. I needed Grace to pick up her phone. I had called her on the drive to the hotel with no response. For now, though, Lauren could probably live at my cabin until Grace got back to me. I could get another freezer and load it full of cow¡¯s blood. Whatever else she needed, I could just have delivered. She probably wouldn¡¯t go after a delivery truck driver, especially if she was not starving. As long as no one dropped by on the full moon, it should be safe. At least, I hoped that was the case.


    I finished up my shower and put on new clothes. Lauren was not in the hotel room. The door was open. My heart stopped, and I rushed to the door without socks. Lauren was walking the dog outside on the grass. She looked up at me, frightened at what I might do. ¡°Rudy needed to relieve himself. I¡¯m sorry.¡±


    ¡°Well, bring him in when he¡¯s done.¡± I went back in but left the door cracked. I put on my boots and began cleaning things up.


    As I was wrapping up, my phone buzzed. I answered, hoping it was Grace. Chris¡¯s gruff voice cracked over the phone, ¡°Someone dropped off an envelope that has some information on this group. It¡¯s as we expected. They were transforming people into vampires and the like. We are getting a team together to raid their base on the Virginia coast. I was wondering if I could get your help with the vampire and werewolf side of things.¡± I wondered if Hobbs had dropped off the note. He probably didn¡¯t want me going after these people alone.


    ¡°I can get you a list of items each man will need to fight them, but I think that the ones you find might not be very dangerous,¡± I glanced over at Lauren playing with the pup on a grass strip.


    ¡°I thought they all were dangerous.¡±


    ¡°They are, but these people are likely killing the most aggressive ones. I would suspect their product can¡¯t be too dangerous or people wouldn¡¯t buy them.¡±


    ¡°I would still like you there,¡± Chris responded.


    ¡°Something came up. Silver bayonets will do the job temporarily. Leave them fixed in the chest, put them in coffins wrapped with silver wire, and I can dispose of them properly for you. If you have the time, have each man carry a clip with five or so silver rounds.¡±


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    ¡°Where on earth do you find real silver bullets?¡± Chris asked.


    ¡°Who knows. I make my own. If you have a man or two with silver buckshot in shotgun shells, that will stun them well. It¡¯s easier to make in a crunch. When in doubt, blow or cut their heads off and wrap the writhing bodies in blankets, then put them in coffins wrapped in silver wire like I said. I will get rid of them for you.¡± I explained.


    ¡°If we catch any alive, how do you hold them?¡±


    ¡°If they are caged, leave them until l can come and evaluate them. If they will allow you, wrap them in a blanket and fasten them down with rachet straps so they can¡¯t move, and then wrap silver wire around them.¡±


    ¡°Where do you get that much silver wire?¡± Chris asked.


    ¡°It¡¯s like sixteen bucks for five feet on Amazon. Make sure it¡¯s sterling silver. I like to have ten feet for each vampire or wolf.¡±


    ¡°Alright, sounds like we will be chopping up some of that wire and going in with shotguns. I will let you know if we need you after the fact,¡± Chris said. I hung up on him. Lauren was making her way back.


    ¡°Load the pup up in the truck and then get your stuff together. We need to get out of here; my contract is up.¡± She did what I asked quietly and efficiently. Soon, we were on our way home. It took all day to reach my cabin, a nice little two-story log structure. It was in the center of one-hundred wooded acres and down a long dirt driveway in the heart of the Smoky Mountains. I pulled into the garage. Lauren got out and the pup followed. I opened the door for her, letting her in my home.


    ¡°Where are we?¡± She asked.


    ¡°This is my place.¡±


    ¡°Why did you bring me here? I thought we were meeting your FBI friend.¡±


    ¡°He is getting ready for a raid and is hopefully cleaning this mess up.¡± I pulled my pack from the truck and walked in after her. She carried in her bags and set them on the kitchen table. I boiled water for hot apple cider and invited her to take a seat at the table or couch. She sat down at the table as I worked on getting bowls for the pup. I also pulled out steaks to defrost. I gave her a cup of apple cider, then sat down across from her, sipping on mine. ¡°I think this is the best place for you while we figure out what to do.¡±


    She took a sip of her cider after smelling it. ¡°So, what now?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re going to stay here. You seem to be in control of yourself, but I can¡¯t take a chance that you would bite someone. Then I would definitely have to kill you and most likely whomever you bit. So, if you can keep from biting the 57-year-old Amazon driver, I think you might do okay here.¡±


    ¡°Just you and me, huh?¡± She asked as if I were up to something nefarious.


    ¡°I know; this idea of mine is uncomfortable on multiple levels. My objective is for you to not hurt anyone until Grace can take you.¡±


    ¡°Am I the first monster you¡¯ve tried saving?¡±


    ¡°Interesting question; you are.¡±


    ¡°Why not others?¡±


    ¡°Not my job. Grace generally does this sort of thing, though not with vampires,¡± I responded. ¡°The risks I face if you do bite someone or run away could be absolutely devastating, which brings me to my conditions. You can¡¯t leave this property, and I will be giving you a phone. You are to always have it on you outside the house. If you leave the property, I will assume you are on the hunt and will find and kill you. I will not hesitate a second time. You understand?¡±


    She looked at me, then nodded. ¡°Fine, but you have to agree not to touch me and to let me have my space when you are around. I want a second party to know of our arrangement as well.¡±


    ¡°Do you still have that card I gave you? She is a psychologist of sorts. You can call and tell her whatever you would like, if she picks up. I¡¯m having trouble getting ahold of her.¡±


    ¡°Alright. What about Rudy?¡±


    ¡°Who?¡± I asked. She pointed to the pup who was passed out on the floor. ¡°He stays here, and you teach him how to track things and obey commands.¡±


    Lauren looked at me baffled. ¡°I don¡¯t know how to train a dog basic commands, much less how to track people.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ll have the internet, a laptop, and plenty of time. You can figure it out. If you find books or programs you think would be helpful, send me the link, and I will have them sent here. Clearly, we will need to get you some other things as well.¡±


    She frowned. ¡°How long are you going to be keeping me?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know. I am hoping Grace will pick up her phone, and I can pawn you off on her, but in the meantime, we will just have to make it work.¡± I got up and checked on the steaks. They were thawing nicely. ¡°I don¡¯t want to sound rude because I think I already know the answer, but how do you like your steak?¡±


    She shrugged. ¡°If it¡¯s thawed, it¡¯s good to go.¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t want the ends seared?¡±


    She thought for a moment. ¡°No, just let it warm in the water.¡±


    After dinner, I showed Lauren to my guest room, located upstairs to the left. It was my entertainment room with a tv, a pullout couch and a dresser that was full of a bunch of random stuff from my childhood like a stack of Yu-Gui-Oh cards and random toys. One drawer was filled with Legos mixed with Connects. I figured once my sister¡¯s kids got big enough, they would like to play up here. She and her husband, Bill, had been meaning to stop by with their one-year-old boy. They kept on saying they were going to swing by and surprise me. They never did. Bill was a helicopter pilot for EMS out in Idaho, so I never went to visit them either.


    I helped Lauren and Rudy get settled with the dog on the floor with a thick blanket, though I doubted he would stay there. Once they were comfortable, I walked down the open hallway that overlooked the living room and stopped, looking out the wall of big windows. The stars were bright along with the waning moon rising over a not-so-distant mountain. I just stood there taking in the sight. A long sigh escaped my lips. It was good to be home.


    I opened my door with its sterling silver doorknob and walked into my room. A gun safe was next to my bed in the center of the room. I had a larger one in the basement, but this one was for easy access. I had an ornate desk set to the side, near a small balcony so that I could watch the sun set. My wood floorboards were joined with silver wire as an added precaution. I was going to line all the floorboards in my house, but I supposed it was good I didn¡¯t.


    I unlocked my gun safe and pulled out one of my AR 15s. I loaded up a 30-round mag with alternating green tip armor piercing rounds and sterling silver tip ammo. I did the same with my 1911. It still had my dried blood on it. I would have to clean it in the morning. After changing into pajamas and brushing my teeth, I pressed a button that lowered a net made of quarter-inch thick chains down around my bed. The links had silver wire woven through them every foot. I walked around, running a cable through the bottom links of the net and eye hooks set in the floor. I brought both ends of the cable to the foot of my bed and clipped them to a big eye hook with a carabiner. I got in bed, ready for a peaceful night¡¯s sleep.

 Chapter 10: A Visit From Family

    I awoke to the smell of french toast and heard conversation drifting upstairs. For a moment, I thought I was at my parents¡¯ house. My sister¡¯s voice carried up the stairs mixed with the sound of a babbling baby and my brother-in-law¡¯s low drawl, teasing her. Then, I heard Lauren, and my eyes shot open.


    ¡°So, what do you do for work?¡± Bill asked from downstairs.


    ¡°I¡¯m in school, though I took this semester off, but I¡¯ll be going back in the spring,¡± Lauren responded.


    ¡°Oh, what are you studying?¡± My sister asked.


    ¡°Nutrition, but I¡¯m only a semester in.¡±


    I shot out of bed. I unclipped the cable at the base of my bed and pulled the cable out of the links and eye hooks with a couple yanks. I hit the button, but found the net was taking too long to rise, so I crawled underneath. They continued talking as I hurried and put on jeans and a clean, crumpled white t-shirt that I had not bothered putting away. I was about to go downstairs when I stopped¡ªmy 1911. I hated not having it on me, but it was covered in blood. I decided to grab it, anyway, sticking it in my shoulder holster; I didn¡¯t put it on, but held it in the crook of my arm. I took a deep breath, opened my door, and went out.


    I walked across the upstairs balcony. I couldn¡¯t see anyone but could hear them in the kitchen below me. As I descended the stairs, my sister saw me. She was making french toast at the stove. Bill was sitting across from Lauren and bouncing a baby in his lap. ¡°Good morning, Aaron, did you sleep well?¡± my sister said, smiling a little too sweetly. I faked a big smile back.


    ¡°Sis, you know I can¡¯t help but get good sleep.¡±


    ¡°We were talking about how soundly you sleep. Lauren was telling us it¡¯s impossible to get you up once you¡¯re out.¡± I forced another smile, looking at Lauren. She smiled back unapologetically. What did they think my relation to Lauren was? I was afraid for more than one reason. I settled in a chair next to Lauren, hanging my shoulder holster and gun on it first.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry; I would rather have introduced you,¡± I lied.


    ¡°I hope it¡¯s alright we barged in on you,¡± Bill said. I like Bill, though not so much at this moment.


    ¡°It¡¯s fine. I¡¯m glad you caught me. I am hardly ever home nowadays,¡± I replied.


    ¡°Well, we saw smoke rising from your chimney and figured you were home,¡± Bill could see the confusion on my face. ¡°Oh, you¡¯re going to love this; we finally got that private helicopter.¡± On any normal occasion, this would be great, but my heart would not stop pounding. What if they recognized her? Hobbs had said she had gone missing a year ago, so there had to be missing persons posters out there. What had she said and what was she going to say?


    ¡°Where did you land it? I¡¯m surrounded by woods,¡± I asked.


    ¡°That grass patch next to your pond,¡± Bill replied.


    ¡°Oh. How was it?¡±


    ¡°Not bad, a little tight, but nothing compared to where I land at work,¡± Bill smiled.


    ¡°Well, when you are ready to leave, we can walk down with you and identify a few trees to take down to make it easier,¡± I told him. I hoped this was enough to get them to leave sooner. This really wasn¡¯t the best time. If only Grace had called me back, we wouldn¡¯t be in this situation.


    My sister walked around the counter, setting a plate full of french toast on the table. Our places had already been set. ¡°Let¡¯s bless it; shall we?¡± My sister said. ¡°I will, if you don¡¯t mind, Aaron.¡± I nodded, glancing at Lauren. ¡°Lord, we are grateful to be here together. We ask that You bless this food and that it will nourish our bodies. In the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.¡± I mumbled an amen along with Bill. ¡°Well, how did you meet?¡±


    I looked at Lauren. She looked at me as if to say, ¡®this is your problem.¡¯ ¡°My work actually.¡± My mind went blank, and I couldn¡¯t think of anything else to say. I was not going to tell the truth. I paused for a long moment. Then, surprisingly, Lauren spoke up. I looked at her as the blood drained from my face.


    ¡°He stopped into the restaurant I work at, and I haven¡¯t been able to lose him ever since,¡± Lauren said.


    ¡°And what does that have to do with your work?¡± Bill asked me.


    ¡°I was in town looking into something for work and stumbled... needed food,¡± I replied clumsily.


    ¡°You¡¯re very romantic, Aaron,¡± My sister said dryly.


    ¡°He can be,¡± Lauren mused. ¡°He brought me flowers on our first date. It was a little soon, but sweet.¡± The way she looked at me when she said it almost made me think it happened.


    ¡°What can I say? The moment I saw you; I was smitten,¡± I said and forced a smile.


    ¡°You really are bad at this,¡± my sister said, shaking her head but smiling. ¡°Continue, Lauren.¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s not much more, honestly. We met rather recently,¡± she replied. My sister raised an eyebrow. I was going to get a talking to. ¡°We both had a few days off work, so An-Aaron picked me up and has been showing me places all around Tennessee.¡± I got another look from my sister. Yep, definitely going to get an earful.


    ¡°How about the two of you? What have you been up to?¡± I asked.


    ¡°We got the new bird and are on our way to see Bill¡¯s parents. We will spend a few weeks with them, then it¡¯s back home where Bill will be taking people sightseeing over Yellowstone,¡± my sister replied.


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    ¡°Will you still be doing EMS work?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Part-time; one week out of the month I¡¯ll go in or if they really need me for a tricky situation, but for the most part, I will be taking people out sightseeing,¡± Bill explained.


    We munched on french toast and Bill told some crazy landing story about pulling some lost hikers out of a river. I began clearing dishes, and Lauren excused herself to the restroom. Bill took the baby out to see the dog, who was apparently chained up outside somewhere. My sister stood next to me rinsing as I washed dishes. ¡°She seems nice, a little quiet. Do you think perhaps you are taking things a little fast?¡± What she meant was: you shouldn¡¯t have taken her home. Which I didn¡¯t. Well, not the way my sister was thinking. That simply wasn¡¯t my or my family¡¯s style. If my sister really knew what was going on, I¡¯m sure that wouldn¡¯t be an improvement.


    ¡°She stayed in the guest room, if you¡¯re so interested.¡±


    ¡°Uh huh.¡±


    ¡°Look, you don¡¯t have to believe me but that is the truth.¡± I looked down at her, and we locked eyes; she squinted up at me.


    ¡°Then why play with fire, Aaron?¡±


    If she only knew. ¡°Generally, I would agree with you, Bree, but Lauren, she¡¯s different...¡± There was no fixing this.


    ¡°She is? They all are, Aaron,¡± she argued.


    ¡°I¡¯m glad you came,¡± I said truthfully, trying to change the subject. ¡°Work has been rough lately, and you stopping by, while unexpected, is nice.¡±


    ¡°I should have called, but we wanted to surprise you with the bird. Bill is so proud of it.¡±


    ¡°Well, I wouldn¡¯t have woken up if you had called,¡± I grumbled.


    ¡°Is your sleep any better? I worry about you.¡±


    ¡°No, it¡¯s the same as it has always been.¡±


    ¡°Since the trip, you mean. Dad still won¡¯t tell me what really happened. I know it¡¯s more than a rockslide.¡±


    I let out a long sigh. ¡°Sis, he can¡¯t tell you and neither can I.¡± If I did, the chance of her running into an anomaly would increase, and she lived way too close to that thing. I knew from experience that the more you knew about these things, the more you saw them.


    ¡°But why? It hangs over you; I can see it. I want to help.¡±


    ¡°I have a therapist; they have helped,¡± I replied.


    ¡°I know, so does Dad, but there¡¯s a piece of you that¡¯s missing, and it¡¯s not just the loss of our cousin. It happed again a year ago when Victor went missing.¡±


    I shrugged. ¡°Once we are old and you have dementia, maybe I¡¯ll tell you.¡±


    ¡°Really?¡± She sounded perturbed. ¡°Dementia doesn¡¯t run in our family.¡±


    ¡°Well, you can hope,¡± I joked. She glared at me and splashed me with water but was unable to keep a smile from her lips. I smiled for real this time, and we wrapped up dishes. Lauren came down the stairs, and we all went outside. Bill was petting the hound, and the baby was patting it on the head. He seemed excited to see it but was not sure what it was. Rudy was tied to a rope that was no longer hanging in my shed. Lauren untied him and clipped him on a leash. We walked down to the bird so Bill could show her off to me.


    ¡°I could give you two a quick spin, if you would like,¡± he suggested.


    ¡°We would love to, but I have reserved a spot at the Tipped Teacup Caf¨¦. Another time?¡± I replied.


    ¡°Fine, but you¡¯re not getting out of it. Will you be here in four to five weeks?¡±


    ¡°Probably. You will know we¡¯re here if there¡¯s a fire going,¡± I said.


    ¡°Well, I will take you then.¡± Bill smiled.


    Lauren and I watched as they strapped in, and we waved as they took off. Bill was a good pilot. I was surprised he had fit the little copter down there. I made a mental note of a couple trees to drop to make it less hazardous.


    ¡°They were nice,¡± Lauren said and pulled Rudy back toward the house. His nose was taking him to who knows where. ¡°Though your sister didn¡¯t seem very approving of me staying the night,¡± she smiled slyly.


    ¡°We are a traditional family; I am a traditional individual,¡± I replied.


    ¡°Is that what you want? Are you going to settle down, then? Find a little wife and have a house full of babies?¡± She replied sassily.


    ¡°Perhaps when I am older.¡±


    ¡°Why older?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not ready.¡±


    Lauren let out a laugh. ¡°I¡¯m sure,¡± she said dismissively.


    ¡°My work sometimes follows me home.¡±


    ¡°A female vampire isn¡¯t something you want to bring home to your wife?¡±


    ¡°Oh, not just that, I had a wraith follow me all the way here from Washington DC. Found it outside my window one night as I was going to bed.¡±


    ¡°What did you do to it?¡± She asked.


    ¡°Apparently, it was attached to some old sterling silver jewelry that I had bought at auction. I tossed the jewelry in the pond, and it lives there now.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re joking.¡±


    ¡°If you would like to see it, we can go down some night and watch it drift across the lake and though the surrounding trees.¡±


    She shook a little dramatically. ¡°I think I¡¯m good, that¡¯s a bit spooky for my taste.¡±


    ¡°Coming from you that is hilarious.¡±


    ¡°I was very content not being a vampire, actually.¡±


    I nodded. ¡°How did it happen?¡± We walked a few yards in silence.


    ¡°I was abducted at college. I worked nights and was walking home at 2 am on my regular route. I think I had been watched for some time. For about a week, another woman had a similar route home, so we started walking together. She lured me into her supposed workplace, an old print shop, when we were being followed by a lone man. Three more men were waiting inside, and I was quickly tied up before I could register what happened. I was kept at the farmhouse you found. They locked me in a room, and a man came in and bit me on the back of my neck,¡± she rubbed it subconsciously. ¡°I changed over what felt like a week. My skin turned paper white, and I could smell everyone that had ever been down there.¡± She looked out towards the woods as another quiver took her.


    ¡°How did they feed you?¡±


    ¡°They threw another young woman in with me. She hadn¡¯t taken to the bite. I couldn¡¯t bite her. She was so scared, and I was too. We sat there for a long time, then the man that bit me cut her arm and filled a glass. He gave it to me, and I threw up. After that, I was moved to a rebar cage, and they started bringing me pigs¡¯ blood. They tried to get me to bite different people, but I couldn¡¯t. Not to mention, anyone who¡¯d bite was thrown in the furnace.¡±


    ¡°Would you recognize the man that bit you or any of them?¡± I asked, hoping she could help identify members of the Carnies.


    ¡°Just the woman they held me with. Everyone else had their face covered, though I could tell you who they were by smell.¡± We were back at the cabin. Lauren walked to the back porch and sat on the porch swing. She pushed herself aimlessly back and forth. ¡°I was there for a long time before they took me and had my fangs filed back down to normal, though they are starting to come back,¡± she rubbed one of her canines with her thumb. ¡°I was sold or given to the man you killed not long after that. Then, those big dog things started showing up around his house. I was locked away in my ¡®display case¡¯ to protect me from them. Not long after that, I was moved to the bunker where you found me.¡±


    ¡°Do you have any idea why the creatures were after you?¡±


    ¡°No, but I was one of a five-piece collection. A liger was the most normal creature he had. I was on display next to some horrifying looking creatures. I don¡¯t know where he got them.¡±


    Well, that was troubling. ¡°Where was this house?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know. They would only move me if I put on a blacked-out biker¡¯s helmet that would lock around my neck.¡±


    ¡°Hm, that¡¯s not a bad idea.¡± Lauren frowned and looked away. ¡°Not for you.¡± I clarified.


    She got up from the swing. ¡°I¡¯m going to lay down if you don¡¯t need me for anything, Aaron,¡± she stated, emphasizing my name.


    I chuckled bitterly, ¡°No, and that¡¯s our little secret.¡± She left, taking Rudy with her. With nothing else to do, I headed for the shop. I needed more silver tipped bullets.

 Chapter 11:

    We settled into a routine over the next week. I would get up, unlock Lauren¡¯s door, walk down to the kennel in the kitchen, let Rudy out, and he would thunder up the stairs. I would hear Lauren¡¯s door creak open, then close again. I¡¯d eat breakfast and top off Rudy¡¯s water bowl. Then, I¡¯d go out to the shop to experiment with casting different types of silver bullets or work on a sterling silver chain mail shirt I¡¯d been working on. I should had made it sooner. After lunch, I would run through dry fire drills with my various guns and crossbows and wrap up with one or two live fire drills on my makeshift range. I would finish the day with a kettle bell workout or a long run with Rudy followed by practicing a bit on the punching bag hanging in the back of my shop.


    Lauren would work with Rudy in the morning and spend much of the rest of her day drifting around like a ghost from room to room in the house and though the surrounding woods. Often, I would look up from a set of kettle bell clings or glance out the shop¡¯s window to find her nestled down at the back of a tree with Rudy napping in her lap as she wrote or drew in a notebook. Sometimes, I would see her lying on the ground watching the wind blow through the trees. Around seven, we would find our way to the kitchen, and I would cook dinner. She would pull a quart of cow¡¯s blood from the fridge and replace it with one from the freezer. She seemed to still like normal food, so I would make extra. I would turn on the tv and watch something and sometimes she joined me, sitting on the floor with Rudy. Most of the time, she went up to her room. Once I was ready for bed, I would call up to Rudy, who would reluctantly clamber down the stairs from Lauren¡¯s room. I¡¯d let him outside to do his business, then shut him in his kennel. I would go upstairs, lock Lauren securely in her room, and finally secure myself in bed.


    We went three weeks without any news from Chris on how his raid had gone, and received no new jobs, which wasn¡¯t surprising. I was getting bored, worried, and a bit complacent. Lauren seemed so harmless I had to keep reminding myself what she was capable of. One morning, after getting out of bed and unlocking Lauren¡¯s door, I waited for her after making breakfast instead of going out to the shop. I sat at the kitchen table, absent-mindedly scrolling through different crossbow bolts for sale. She came down not long after I usually would have left.


    ¡°No work in the shop today?¡± She stopped halfway down the stairs and leaned on the railing.


    ¡°Plenty, but I am thinking about going to town for the day.¡±


    ¡°Oh,¡± she frowned. ¡°You¡¯re going to lock me in my room, then?¡±


    ¡°Sure am. Unless, you come.¡±


    She looked at me skeptically and leaned further over the balcony ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°I want to eat somebody else¡¯s food, pick up a salt lick for the deer, and get a few other big things.¡±


    ¡°Taking me would be a risk,¡± she clarified. ¡°So, why?¡±


    ¡°Are you going to run or try to get me in trouble with the local cops?¡±


    ¡°I could,¡± She smiled


    ¡°You could also play nice, join me for dinner, and have a relatively enjoyable evening.¡±


    ¡°I could.¡± She drew out the words, seeming to think it over. ¡°Where were you planning to go for dinner?¡±


    ¡°Chinese, but I am open if you would like to go somewhere else.¡± I couldn¡¯t help but notice her hips sway from side to side as she thought it over. Gosh, she was distracting. I got up and started water for my morning tea, giving myself something to do other than stare at her.


    ¡°Fine. I¡¯ll come, but we are getting curry.¡±


    ¡°Thai or something else?¡±


    ¡°I was thinking Indian, but Thai is good. Do you have to drink that?¡± Her voice was close. I turned from where I was shredding fresh ginger into a coffee cup. She was a few feet behind me, glaring at my cup.


    ¡°I like it, and yes.¡± I popped in four rose buds. ¡°Do you want to know why?¡±


    ¡°I think I have an idea,¡± she replied.


    ¡°Roses and ginger tea, I make it every morning I¡¯m in the field. Makes me smell delicious to vampires and other predators.¡±


    ¡°Are you trying to get bit?¡±


    ¡°Yes, actually. I want them to be distracted,¡± I replied, and she scowled. I couldn¡¯t help a small smile. She continued to glare at me. I poured hot water in the cup, setting it aside.


    ¡°You should put garlic in it,¡± Lauren said.


    ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°People who eat a lot of it smell nasty. People and garlic don¡¯t mix at all.¡± She glared at the tea. ¡°You should drink garlic juice instead.¡± I picked up the glass and took a sip.


    She stepped around me and dug in the fridge, pulling out apple juice and cream cheese. After breakfast, we locked up Rudy, leaving him home. He still needed a line and outdoor kennel, two of the things on my list. I pulled into the local farm supply store where Lauren helped me pick out an outdoor kennel and line for Rudy. I was about to walk by the toy aisle when Lauren stopped me by lightly grabbing my shoulder. The touch sent prickles up my spine, and I couldn¡¯t tell if they were good or not. ¡°What?¡± It came out harsher than I had meant. Her eyes blinked in surprise, and she quickly withdrew her hand. I coughed, clearing my throat. ¡°Sorry. What is it?¡± I prompted in a less rough tone, though it still had an edge I couldn¡¯t quite get rid of.


    Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.


    She pointed to a stuffed tiger. ¡°We should get him some chew toys. He¡¯s destroyed the one you had for him and a couple pillows.¡± I nodded absentmindedly, trying to not think about the lingering feel of her touch. It should have been cold, so why had it felt warm?


    ¡°Good idea. Is there anything else he needs?¡±


    ¡°Treats would be great, actually, a dog bed for inside, one for outside would be nice too, but if that¡¯s too much, I can just move it when he goes out.¡±


    ¡°I suppose we can afford that,¡± I said. Lauren picked out a couple toys, including a ball and a throwing arm. I grabbed two big beds.


    As we shopped, I kept catching the occasional stare from a redhead a few years older than me. Her complexion was very light, not uncommon, but she kept looking from me to Lauren. Her expression was troubled, and her attention was mostly on Lauren. She was very discreet, but I have been hunted by many things, including people. You get a feel for it. I guided Lauren through the store, keeping an eye on the redhead. Perhaps it was nothing. Lauren was acting a bit strange. She looked around from time to time as if trying to find something or someone but couldn¡¯t put her finger on it. We checked out, and I unloaded the big items into the truck bed as Lauren put the smaller ones in the cab.


    As I climbed in the truck, Lauren looked at me strangely, ¡°Your scent is too thick.¡±


    ¡°Oh?¡± I asked as I pulled out onto the road headed to Walmart.


    ¡°I thought I smelled something familiar. I couldn¡¯t get a good feel for it with you standing so close. Your smell never dissipates; it¡¯s like a fresh dose of cinnamon every time I take a breath.¡±


    ¡°Well, if you get a hint of it again, let me know, and I will give you some more space.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not a big deal; I just feel a bit more vulnerable not being able to smell. I¡¯ve become so used to distinguishing things and people by smell it¡¯s hard when it¡¯s all masked by yours.¡±


    I stopped at a light and scanned the cars around me for the redhead. I couldn¡¯t find her, though I kept looking as we drove. ¡°What was the smell like?¡± I asked. She frowned, looking away. She wasn¡¯t going to tell me, though it seemed she had an idea.


    ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter. Where are we going next?¡±


    ¡°Walmart, Lowes, then Thai food.¡±


    ¡°Would it be alright if I got a sketchbook? I filled up the notebook you gave me.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t see why not. Is there anything else you need?¡±


    ¡°No.¡±


    ¡°Well, if something comes to mind, let me know.¡±


    I kept my eye out for the redhead as we shopped, but I didn¡¯t see her in either store. Lauren picked out a sketchbook, and I threw in another one and a pack of nice-looking pencils. Then, I forced her to pick out some more clothes; a weeks¡¯ worth just isn¡¯t enough to be comfortable. I hated doing laundry, and she was having to do laundry twice a week. I told her it was because of the water bill.


    After picking up a few more things from Lowes, we finally sat down in a small Thai restaurant. I sat along the wall, facing the door. I was looking forward to this. I¡¯m a fairly good cook but not a chef by any means. Lauren ordered some red curry with shrimp and rice, and I got the Pad Thai. Not long after we ordered, the redhead walked in. Our eyes met as she smiled at the waitress and took a seat to our right. Lauren had not seen the woman and looked around, taking a deep breath in through her nose.


    ¡°That familiar scent is back, isn¡¯t it?¡± I asked. Lauren looked at me, surprised.


    ¡°Yes,¡± she admitted softly.


    ¡°You wouldn¡¯t happen to know a redhead with a very pale complexion and an angular face?¡± I asked.


    ¡°I don¡¯t believe so.¡± She sounded honest.


    ¡°Well, she seems very interested in one of the two of us, and unfortunately, it doesn¡¯t seem to be me.¡±


    ¡°What makes you think that?¡± Lauren asked as the waiter put down our food. I smiled to the waiter and said thanks. The waiter nodded and walked over to the redhead¡¯s table. I turned back to Lauren.


    ¡°She was following us in the farm store. Her attention was mostly on you.¡±


    ¡°What are we going to do?¡±


    I took a bite out of my Pad Thai. ¡°Have dinner; it¡¯s very good.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re not concerned?¡±


    ¡°No,¡± I replied. Lauren sat stiffly and ate, trying to not look behind her at the woman across the room. A couple more bites in, she shook her head.


    ¡°I¡¯m going to the restroom.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t be long.¡± I shoved another forkful of noodles in my mouth. As soon as Lauren disappeared into the back hallway, the redhead stood and followed. Well, this was going to get messy. I would let her pass, then get up and go after her. Then, well, we would have to play it by ear. I was surprised when she didn¡¯t continue past my booth but slipped in across from me, taking Lauren¡¯s place. She smiled at me sweetly, green eyes probing like a mountain lion trained on prey.


    ¡°What are you doing with Miss Charles?¡± The red head asked.


    ¡°She is my date for the evening.¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t know what a mess you are in; she is going to literally rip your heart out. I should let her, but you might not deserve it.¡± She produced a missing persons poster. There was a picture of Lauren, skin a darker shade, pink in her smiling cheeks. My heart rate picked up. I hadn¡¯t expected this. ¡°You get up and leave, and we have no problems. You stay, and the cops will be here in less than five minutes. I wonder how long it will take to get out of prison being the lead suspect in her missing person¡¯s case?¡±


    ¡°Really,¡± I reached out swiftly, grabbed her hand, and clasped her palm under my ring. She jerked back at the touch, but I gripped her hand solidly. Her hand quivered under the metal, then slowly went still as the ring numbed it, causing her to lose strength. She didn¡¯t seem scared or flustered, instead she leaned closer.


    ¡°So, you know she will rip you to pieces,¡± The redhead stated.


    I shook my head. ¡°No, she doesn¡¯t have the heart. You on the other hand; you¡¯re the next level like a crazy, redheaded ex-girlfriend. I can¡¯t even imagine what you would do to me.¡±


    ¡°Shut up,¡± she snapped. Her arm was, no doubt, slowly going numb.


    ¡°What is your interest in Miss Charles? You can¡¯t be thinking of returning her to her family. Are you trying to retrieve a lost piece of property?¡± Her other hand struck like lightning as she slapped me hard across the face. I reflexively let go of her hand. My hand went straight to my 1911 under my jacket. I could taste blood in my mouth. She pulled her hand back, rubbing her limp fingers. The waiter and some of the other patrons looked. Lauren stood in the back hall staring, eyes wide. ¡°Well, I suppose it was inevitable that the two of you would meet,¡± I announced loudly enough for those around to hear. I stood up, spitting blood into my napkin, then set it on the table. ¡°I will happily talk to the two of you in a more private location.¡±


    I walked to the counter and pulled two hundreds from my wallet. ¡°For me and the two lovely ladies. My apologies.¡± The cashier took the money from me and muttered something about me being in some deep something or other. I walked out of the restaurant and could hear Lauren¡¯s shoes as she followed. If I was lucky, the redhead wouldn¡¯t. I was disappointed to find her walking alongside Lauren, talking quickly and quietly as they approached the truck.

 Chapter 12: An Unexpected Guest

    When the two reached me, Lauren¡¯s eyes were wide, and the other woman¡¯s were fiery and angry. ¡°You put on quite a show,¡± the redhead snapped, ¡°Like you could get one woman, much less lead two on.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know; you seemed quite interested,¡± I spat bloody saliva on the pavement at her feet. Lauren took a step away from me. At the same time, the redhead took another deep breath, and an irritated smile broke across her lips. I spat again.


    ¡°Please, stop,¡± Lauren pleaded from the other side of the truck. My face still throbbed, and I was still mad at the redhead, but I did what Lauren asked and swallowed the blood instead.


    ¡°You didn¡¯t answer my question, Miss. Are you here for lost property?¡± I asked.


    She looked from me to Lauren, ¡°I came to find a missing person, but she seems to be in more trouble than I had bargained for.¡±


    ¡°Well, you seem to know a thing or two about the trouble she¡¯s in,¡± the redhead glared at me as I spoke.


    ¡°You should let her come with me; it would be safer for both of you.¡±


    I shook my head smiling, ¡°No,¡± I turned to face Lauren, ¡°Lauren, get in the truck. I think it¡¯s time we left.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t do it. He will kill you,¡± the redhead told Lauren. Lauren didn¡¯t move. ¡°I know what you¡¯re going through,¡± continued the redhead, ¡°It¡¯s a rough world for us. I promise I won¡¯t hurt you. I¡¯ll help you get back to normal.¡± She pleaded, ¡°Just don¡¯t get in the truck with him.¡±


    ¡°Who are you?¡± Lauren asked.


    ¡°My name is Amber Andersen. I¡¯m a private investigator, but more importantly, I know what you are going through. You don¡¯t have to be locked in a cage, held captive, or killed to keep you from hurting people.¡±


    Lauren seemed torn. She looked from me to the redhead. I was in no position to stop her. ¡°Will you hurt Rudy if I leave?¡± The question hit harder than I expected. It was my turn to take a deep breath.


    ¡°She is lying, Lauren. If there was someone who rehabilitated vampires, I would know. In my experience, vampires can¡¯t be rehabilitated, with one exception.¡±


    ¡°You must not have met very many,¡± the redhead spat.


    ¡°More than you, I would guess,¡± I said drily.


    ¡°Will you hurt him?¡± Lauren asked again.


    A long moment of silence passed before I answered, ¡°No.¡±


    ¡°Then, I¡¯m going with her,¡± Lauren asserted.


    I shook my head; she was making a mistake. ¡°You¡¯re sure?¡±


    Lauren nodded, ¡°Very.¡± She took a step back from the truck.


    ¡°So be it. I hope I never have reason to find you. Grab your things and go.¡± Lauren didn¡¯t move until I took a step back, and then she pulled her bags from the cab.


    I scowled at the redhead, and she smirked back. ¡°Come on, dear. Let¡¯s get you somewhere safe.¡± The redhead pulled out a set of keys, and a nice, gray Jeep lit up a few stalls down. She walked after Lauren, keeping an eye on me the entire time. I watched them get in the Jeep and drive off. If this were a normal encounter, I would have followed. Should have, but I didn¡¯t; I went against my instincts and stood there for a long time before getting in my truck and driving home.


    I pulled into my garage, bitter and angry. Perhaps that was why I didn¡¯t notice that something was wrong. I threw my truck in park and trudged in the front door, flicking on the light. There, sitting at my table, was the man I had shot and left for dead in the lake. He smiled at me. ¡°Where is my asset?¡±


    I could hear the sound of boots on the porch behind me. I didn¡¯t look back but stepped into the house and walked to the cupboard. I pulled a pack of dried roses out and poured a few in a cup. Someone entered and closed the door behind me. I grabbed some powdered ginger from the cupboard and dumped a scoop in the cup. ¡°Tea?¡± I asked.


    ¡°No, but feel free,¡± the man replied. I started the pot and turned to lean on my counter. There was a rough looking man standing in the doorway and a couple more standing in the living room, looking at me with their tommy guns trained on me¡ªan interesting choice considering modern weaponry. ¡°Don¡¯t make me ask a third time. Where is my asset?¡±


    ¡°Six feet under the ground with a silver dagger through her heart. Looks like I should have done something similar to you. Pardon my unprofessionalism.¡±


    The man chuckled, smiling. He produced a flask from his jacket and took a swig. It smelled like whiskey. My pot whistled, and I poured it into my cup before sitting down across from him. I took a sip. Rudy¡¯s cage was empty. ¡°If that is the case, then why is my man telling me her tracer is flying across the country? At this rate, she will be in Canada and out of our range.¡±


    Well, now I know how they found my house. ¡°Hm, perhaps I am not as good at my job as I had assumed.¡±


    If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.


    ¡°I find that hard to believe. I paid a pretty penny and am not disappointed in your work. Those Fae hounds are very hard to kill, and you killed three after blowing my brains out. You also killed my guard in a half second. I must say your skills are impressive. It¡¯s rumored you even fought the Rocky Mountain Horror,¡± the man replied.


    ¡°What do you want?¡± This was getting more and more uncomfortable.


    ¡°My property back, but, if I can¡¯t get that, I may have to settle with something else. The Rocky Mountain Horror seems like a fair trade. You cost me my entire operation. Seems like the least you could do to repay me.¡±


    Ice ran through my body, though I did not show it. ¡°It¡¯s not real. You¡¯re just going to have to put a bullet through my skull and cut your losses.¡±


    ¡°Oh, it is real,¡± he slipped an envelope from his suit jacket and placed it on the table. Three grainy satellite pictures showed a group of men in a fire fight. The second showed what appeared to be a black arm dragging a body into a cave entrance. The next picture shook me. It was older. A young Victor stood with a group of backpackers. They all looked hollow-eyed. What surprised me even more was that my dad stood on the far left of the group with a pump shotgun held loosely in his hands. Victor¡¯s face was stitched up poorly, hard to tell what they used due to the picture¡¯s age. It was strange to see his young face freshly scarred. He had never said what did it. At their feet was a massive, lanky human form, dark beneath a white sheet. I looked closer at the picture. They weren¡¯t in the Rockies; the vegetation was more tropical.


    ¡°Where is this?¡± I found myself asking.


    The Collector smiled. ¡°Somewhere in Brazil.¡± I sat back in my seat and shook my head as he continued. ¡°I have had a hard time tracking down anyone in this photo. Apparently, the one I have been trying to find has gone missing. Imagine my glee when I heard he had a prot¨¦g¨¦. I had to see what you were capable of, and I¡¯m not disappointed.¡±


    ¡°So, you were testing me then?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°You shouldn¡¯t be surprised that I ruined your little operation.¡± I took a sip of my tea.


    ¡°In retrospect, no, but that doesn¡¯t mean I¡¯m going to let it go,¡± He smiled sardonically.


    ¡°Then kill me. I am not going after the Rocky Mountain Horror. I don¡¯t care who it killed in your life; I can¡¯t kill it. It can¡¯t be killed.¡± I set down my glass, splashing a mouthful of tea on the table.


    ¡°Oh, it hasn¡¯t killed anyone I know. I want it alive for my collection,¡± the man chuckled.


    ¡°That is the most clinically insane statement I have ever heard. That bullet must have really scrambled your brain!¡±


    He chuckled again. It was getting disturbing. ¡°Why can¡¯t you kill it? Certainly, you must know something?¡±


    ¡°It moves through the woods like a wraith. The big thing is guns don¡¯t work; silver does nothing; raw iron is useless. Your best chance is to lure it into a large woodchipper or industrial shredder, but it¡¯s too smart for that. There are stories of trappers disappearing, and all that was found was their mangled bear trap,¡± I could tell by his expression I was not getting anywhere.


    ¡°Why not lure it to a steel shipping crate?¡±


    ¡°If you could, I would be surprised if it held, but you can¡¯t. It¡¯s a hunter and will not fall for a trap. Perhaps C-4 or claymore mine¡ªif you could blow it to pieces you might kill it, but I doubt it would present you with an opportunity. You don¡¯t hunt it; it hunts you.¡±


    ¡°You should see my collection. It might surprise you what a man can hunt and even take alive.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t care if you have Dracula himself,¡± I stated slowly, emphasizing every word. ¡°You are not capturing or killing the Rocky Mountain Horror.¡±


    ¡°They did,¡± he pointed to the picture of my father, Victor, and the three other men standing over the massive body.


    ¡°Possibly. If that is the same type of creature, then they never told me how or that they even did it.¡±


    ¡°They? You know more than just this Victor character?¡± He asked. I cursed in my head, but it was too late. I back pedaled.


    ¡°Yeah. They,¡± I replied.


    ¡°Who else knows about this thing?¡±


    ¡°Victor is the main source, but there was a marine friend of his who seemed to know a lot,¡± I pointed to one of the random faces in the picture. ¡°I don¡¯t know him. We had drinks at a bar once, and they talked a little, but Victor is the one you would want to talk to.¡±


    ¡°Well, he is missing. You wouldn¡¯t know where he went, would you?¡± He took a sip from his flask. ¡°If you told me, perhaps, I could overlook our recent misunderstandings.¡±


    ¡°Dead. Four years ago, he went up to the Rockies with a special team from the government to end this threat,¡± I pointed to the covered body. ¡°He and ten other men are now missing, and the government has taken a hundred miles of the Rockies as ¡®training ground¡¯ to minimize the number of people who go missing each year. You want Victor? His remains are probably hanging at the bottom of a lava tube with every bit of skin stripped off his decomposing body. It eats your skin like string cheese and leaves the rest to rot off the bark rope it hung you from.¡±


    The man¡¯s eyes gleamed greedily, soaking in the information. ¡°Does it really? That would be quite the spectacle.¡±


    The scars on my back would agree, though I did not remember the strips of skin being torn from me. ¡°Without a doubt.¡±


    ¡°Have you seen its victims?¡±


    ¡°No, but Victor¡¯s word is more than enough.¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s no chance, then, that he survived?¡±


    ¡°Not if we want to be truthful. You can come up with a fairy tale of how he¡¯s possibly still alive, but you would just be living a delusion.¡±


    ¡°Having a few faes myself, I am willing to play with the possibility, but you are right; it seems slim. I guess I will have to settle with you,¡± he stood up, returning the flask to his pocket. ¡°If you prove yourself, you will be rewarded very handsomely. I need to get going and retrieve the asset you stole. We will continue our discussion on how to catch this Rocky Mountain Horror soon.¡±


    I went to stand but felt a heavy hand on my shoulder and a muzzle shoved in my back as the man walked out the front door. He pulled my arms behind my back and cuffed me. The man behind me stood me up and quickly searched me. He took my gun mags and silver knife. He examined the gun, ejecting the mag and looking at my alternating rounds. He popped a couple out and looked them, then glanced over at me. ¡°They are very well crafted. We could use something like this,¡± he mused, fingering the silver tipped round. ¡°You got any more laying around?¡± I didn¡¯t respond and kept my expression blank.


    He emptied my three mags onto the table and sorted out silver tips from the regular rounds. He swiped the silver rounds up and pocketed them, leaving my gun and the other rounds on the table before escorting me to a black sedan. They were thorough chaining my hands and feet to eye hooks welded to the floor of the trunk. A big, fat man got out of the sedan with a briefcase.


    ¡°How much do you weigh?¡± he asked cordially, pulling a syringe from the briefcase. ¡°I¡¯m guessing 180.¡±


    ¡°175,¡± I corrected. He nodded to himself and filled the syringe then stuck it through my jeans into my thigh. I could feel fire starting to run up and down my leg. My vision was starting to go blurry. I was rolled onto my side and propped up so I couldn¡¯t roll over. The trunk slammed, and waves of blackness and fire began cascading over my body.

 Chapter 13: A Private Collection

    I was back in the Rockies, seeing images I had not seen in years. My cousin was by my side. We were running terrified through the woods, darting between trees, scrambling over rocks and around boulders surrounded by tall pine trees. I could hear the raspy sound of air being sucked down a dry throat. It drove us through the wood to a small cave opening on our left. My stomach flipped as I heard myself, surprisingly calm, yell to my cousin, ¡°Cave! It can¡¯t fit!¡± I wanted to scream, ¡®No! Keep running! Don¡¯t go down there!¡¯ But I watched as he scrambled in, and I followed. We crawled frantically. I could feel a massive hand close around my leg.


    I woke to my face being slapped. I could taste blood. The sound of jet engines powering down entered my subconscious. ¡°He quit screaming. Is he awake?¡± asked a gruff voice.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know, but if he starts again, I¡¯m going to put a ball gag in his mouth,¡± answered a second.


    ¡°He was screaming the whole flight?¡± Asked the first.


    ¡°Yes, it didn¡¯t matter how much I hit him. He wouldn¡¯t shut up,¡± grumbled the second. I stayed limp, not wanting them to know I was awake, though I couldn¡¯t stop my body from quivering. I did not have many memories from my trip to the Rockies. I had been pretty messed up. Whatever they had injected me with had brought one back. I was not a fan.


    They dragged me out of a small jet and laid me on a cement floor. The jet engines trailed off as bags were tossed down next to me. I would have tried running if I was not hog tied. Two men picked me up, dragged me down a flight of stairs, set me on a rolling table, then pulled me into an elevator. One of the men pushed a button labeled ¡°the Jungle,¡± and the elevator started to descend. It was a long minute before the door opened, and they rolled me out into a large, empty room. By now, I had gotten my wits mostly back and opened my eyes. The two men were dressed in black uniforms with helmets, not an inch of skin was visible.


    The room they were pushing me through was dotted with hatches, much like manholes you see in the middle of a street, but they were fastened to the floor with massive bolts. The men weaved through until they reached one that was extra-large, in comparison to the others, set in the center of the room. One of the men began unbolting the trapdoor with a massive air drill. The bolts were easily as thick as my arm and about three feet long. He pulled each bolt out with a winch attached to some sort of rail system running over each trapdoor. Once the bolts were removed, he clipped the winch to the massive lid. The winch¡¯s motor whined as it slowly lifted the impressive two-foot-thick steel lid up and out of the way.


    ¡°Come on. Let¡¯s get him in.¡± The two men pulled me from the rolling table and over to the hole. One shoved something in my jeans¡¯ back pocket before they dropped me. I couldn¡¯t do anything to stop them. I expected to hit the ground hard but landed on something soft. I could feel it deflating. The metal lid shut with a resounding shunk. Well, I wasn¡¯t getting out that way.


    I reached in my back pocket and found a pair of handcuff keys. As the stunt pad deflated beneath me, I fumbled with the handcuffs, freeing my hands then feet. A light illuminated a hall in front of me. I took the handcuffs in my right hand. They were not a good weapon, but it was better than nothing. I walked down the hall into a massive, staged exhibit. Five-foot thick Plexiglass ran around my enclosure. It was large, about the size of three trailer homes slapped together. The ceiling was a good twenty feet high; fake pine trees were placed upright, reaching the very top. A stream ran through the middle. I walked around, looking for whatever else they were holding here. I could see other smaller exhibits were placed around this one.


    ¡°What do you think monster hunter? Will it hold a grendel?¡± The man from my cabin asked through a speaker set in the roof. I found the man standing on the far side of the enclosure looking through the five-foot thick glass. He smiled at me, tapping the glass from the other side. I could barely hear it. He spoke again, the microphone in his lapel picking up his every word. ¡°Well, what do you think?¡±


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    I shook my head. ¡°You will never get it down here. I think it will claw its way through the glass eventually, if you did.¡±


    ¡°I find that highly doubtful, but we have precautions for that,¡± he pressed a button, and a thick wall of steel began to rise from the floor and lower from the ceiling. I took a step back. He stopped the wall with another press of the button, and they retracted. He smiled at me. His eyes were abnormally large. I still was having trouble categorizing him. Vampire? Wolf? A fae? He healed too quickly from a bullet to the head, so probably fae.


    ¡°I may have underestimated you,¡± I said stiffly.


    His smile widened. ¡°Have you come around, then?¡±


    I looked around the encloser and let out a long breath. ¡°No, but it would be better for it to be here than roaming free.¡±


    ¡°Go back, and I will have my men escort you to my sitting room.¡±


    His men pulled me up on the winch and lead me through a maze of tunnels. They brought me out on to a balcony suspended off the side of a cliff. Was I in Wyoming? The land around was very desolate. I was definitely somewhere in the Rockies. The man sat at a glass table, a glass of wine in front of him. He didn¡¯t turn from looking out over the barren landscape until I sat down across from him. He let out a long sigh, turning to me. He studied me a long time before taking a drink. ¡°My men say you screamed uncontrollably the entire flight over the mountain. I didn¡¯t believe them until they sent a video.¡± He placed a tablet on the table and clicked play. I watched myself, laying bound in the back of the jet, and listened as I screamed bloody murder and moaned, rocking from side to side. ¡°You are a completely different person in your dreams, it appears,¡± he smiled at me.


    I didn¡¯t take my eye from my quivering form until he pulled the tablet away, pausing the video. ¡°You are a monster hunter? How is that possible? You seem so terrified.¡± He was trying to get under my skin, and it was working. My brain was warming up, starting to cycle through those lost images. I couldn¡¯t keep from moving, so I let my foot start tapping.


    ¡°Monster hunter. I don¡¯t hunt horrors.¡±


    ¡°Please. Aren¡¯t they the same?¡± He leaned back in his chair. ¡°It¡¯s all a matter of perspective don¡¯t you think, Anthony?¡± He said my name as if we were life long friends. I hadn¡¯t known he knew it.


    ¡°Dare I ask your name?¡±


    ¡°You may call me Mr. Edgewood.¡±


    ¡°Well, Mr. Edgewood, what do you want to know that I haven¡¯t already told you, and what will you be paying for it?¡±


    He laughed out loud. ¡°You are quite the conniver, Anthony, but you are right. You need to know where we stand. You are mine now¡ªpart of my collection. A monster hunter just seemed fitting to add to the collection of beasts. Oh, you don¡¯t like the idea?¡± He smirked at my scowl. ¡°But don¡¯t worry, I am a good master. You behave, and your life will be better than most who consider themselves free. So, name what you want, and it will be provided as long as you jump and sit at my every command.¡±


    ¡°Like what?¡±


    ¡°Oh, really anything. You seem to like having that little vampire around. She, or someone like her, could be yours if you want, depending on your obedience. The sky really is the limit, seeing as you will be spending most of your time under the earth,¡± He chuckled.


    ¡°You caught up with her then.¡±


    ¡°Soon. You¡¯re interested?¡±


    ¡°Not nearly as I am in my own freedom.¡±


    ¡°That is not on the table,¡± Mr. Edgewood replied.


    ¡°Not even if I brought you the grendel?¡±


    ¡°You are going to share what you know one way or another, so no.¡±


    ¡°You misunderstand. I said I will go and get it. Hunt it down and bring it back to you.¡±


    ¡°Oh interesting, it¡¯s suddenly possible to catch it? Go on; I¡¯m listening.¡±


    I took a long deep breath. ¡°I stick by what I said, but I am willing to try if it means that I am a free man.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s just not good enough, Anthony. It¡¯s time you tell me what else you know. Then you can settle comfortably into your exhibit, and I will collect my prize.¡±


    ¡°Well, it seems we¡¯re back to you putting a cap in my head.¡±


    He frowned. ¡°Well, that is unfortunate, but you will learn to bend to my wishes in time.¡± He walked over to the railing, absently tapping the tablet, and resuming the sounds of my own screaming. ¡°I wonder how long it will take for you to break. It will be good fun for the Doc; he seemed to want to watch you live.¡± Chills rain though my body at the sound of my own screaming.


    His men grabbed me roughly and dragged me back through the metal door and rough cut stone hallways to a clean operating room. They strapped me down to a table, and the same fat man as before appeared, smiling as he injected me with another syringe and began setting up a camera as the waves of fire started to run over my body.

 Chapter 14: Dark Recollections

    The next weeks were a fever dream. I would be running with my cousin; we would make it to that terrifying cave, and I would wake up screaming to the feeling of a massive, boney hand grasping my leg. The medical room would come into view, and there the Doctor waited to apply the next dose, sending me right back.


    I don¡¯t know how long I lived that nightmare before I awoke in my exhibit. The furniture around me was Victorian. My body quavered uncontrollably, and my soul felt empty and hollow. I crawled into a corner of the room; my eyes scanned for the monster that had killed my cousin. My wits were scrambled. I sat there for hours, eyes darting as they caught glimpses of long, gray fingers. My whole body flinched at the sound of a door being opened. The two men were back to take me for the fifth¡ªno¡ªseventh time.


    ¡°He will break soon.¡±


    ¡°We will see. I think another week.¡±


    ¡°You willing to talk now like a good pup and tell the master what he needs to know?¡± A man nudged me with his boot.


    ¡°No,¡± My voice was all but gone due to my constant screaming.


    ¡°See. He¡¯s tougher than you thought. Let¡¯s get some food in him.¡± The man placed a platter on the floor next to me. It smelled good; bacon, eggs, and mashed potatoes, a strange mix, but I didn¡¯t care. I grabbed the plate and ate slowly as my head pounded. Then I curled up and fell asleep. If I dreamed, I do not remember. I woke on the operating table, feeling better with only a slight headache. The Doc hovered over me, smiling.


    ¡°Your sleep is remarkably deep and restorative. You also scream less. Are you ready to talk?¡±


    ¡°Is he willing to let me go?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re not ever going to be let go. You¡¯re part of Master Edgewood¡¯s collection. Best to come to grips with it.¡±


    I dreaded the needle, but it was better to be driven insane than lose my bargaining chip. I didn¡¯t know anything else. I would go insane anyway if I was locked away. I¡¯d rather they kill me trying to get the information that wasn¡¯t there. There is no way to kill or capture a grendel. I felt the bite of the needle and was gone again.


    This time was different. I was not running but hanging by my feet in a lava tube. Firelight flickered around me. I felt air on my back from exposed muscle, and smelled strips of my own skin cooking on a small fire. My cousin¡¯s mutilated body was hanging next to me. He was barely alive, well past saving. Victor appeared in front of me, lowered me down, and dragged me through the tunnel to my father, who stood at the entrance of a large cave. He had some sort thick, smoldering stub much like the end of a used cigar albeit larger in his left hand and a handgun in the other. ¡°He¡¯s alive? How?¡± My father¡¯s voice quivered. ¡°What of your son?¡±


    ¡°He is too far gone, but I cannot leave him to suffer,¡± Victor¡¯s rough voice was grim.


    My father glanced at the dwindling stub in his hand. ¡°Go quickly. We don¡¯t have much time.¡± Victor nodded, pulling his 1911 from his holster¡ªthe same one he had given me. Not long after, a deafening gunshot echoed through the cave, and Victor reappeared with fresh blood splattered across his hand and arm. Tears dripped from his bloodshot eyes.


    ¡°We can kill it. We have time if we can just draw it back in,¡± Victor urged.


    ¡°No,¡± my father said. ¡°Anthony may not make it if we try.¡±


    Victor looked at me, ¡°It¡¯s our last talisman; we won¡¯t ever be able to kill it if we leave now.¡± My father looked down at me then nodded soberly to Victor.


    ¡°Let¡¯s hurry.¡± My father knelt down and seared the inside of my forearm with the burning talisman. The two men tore off running in pursuit of their prey, leaving me to die or so it felt. I lay staring up at the starry sky, waiting for the grendel to return and strip the rest of the skin from my bones. My father left me.


    I woke up in the gothic room, curled up against the glass. I was losing it. Every shadow was terrifying boney fingers or Victor¡¯s face splattered with the blood of my cousin. I was having a hard time controlling my breathing. A hand touched my shoulder; I flinched violently. Turning, I found the redhead from the store was crouched over me. Eyes wide and a little apprehensive, she slowly pulled her hand back.


    I was still dreaming. I curled back into a ball, closing my eyes. ¡°He must hate you,¡± Her voice was too real and familiar. I opened my eyes again, head still throbbing. She was still there, coming in and out of focus.


    ¡°Are you real?¡± I found myself asking. Her irritating smile broke across her lips. She grabbed the front of my jacket, pulled me roughly to my feet, and stood me up against the wall. I was surprised her small frame could muster the strength. My head throbbed again, and I tried to fall back down onto the floor, but she held me firm.


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    ¡°You broke easier than I would have thought after hearing Lauren¡¯s stories about you, but she¡¯s got a bit of Stockholm syndrome, so I suppose I shouldn¡¯t be too surprised.¡± I dropped to the side. ¡°Stand up we don¡¯t have much time. You¡¯re not what I was looking for but leaving you here to rot would be too cruel. Come on.¡±


    She pulled me forward, forcing me to take a step. My head pounded with the movement. I leaned on her, and she walked me out of my exhibit, down a maze of mine shafts, and up a flight of familiar stairs to the hanger. The jet was missing, but a propeller plane was sitting ready to taxi right outside the hanger. This was most definitely a dream.


    She leaned me against the plane, popping the cockpit open. She helped pull me up and onto the wing then pushed me tumbling into the cockpit. She climbed over me, pulling the hatch shut behind her before settling herself down in the pilot¡¯s seat. She pulled out a remote that looked very similar to the one Edgewood had been using from her pocket and started mashing buttons.


    ¡°What are you doing?¡± I muttered.


    ¡°Giving your host a present for when he gets back.¡± She started the engine. We were out and on the dirt runway in mere moments. She gunned the engine, and I felt sick as the plane lifted off the ground. Not the painful dream I had been hoping for but better than the nightmares I had been experiencing. I wished for pure, sweet blackness, and it came soon enough.


    I woke to the sound of a pump and the smell gasoline wafting through the air. I was alone in the back of the propeller plane. The redhead was chatting with a man in a florescent vest who was pumping gas. They were speaking French or that¡¯s what I thought. My nerves were shot, and my body quivered, still affected by the drugs that had been pumped into me, but my mind was working. The feeling of terror was constant, ebbing in and out. I was ready to cry, scream or mess someone up; I wasn¡¯t sure which urge was the strongest. I sat up. The man nodded to me. The redhead looked a bit troubled that I was awake but smiled and said something to the attendant then walked around the plane to me. She popped open the cab, climbing in. ¡°We¡¯re about to take off.¡± She said nonchalantly like we were old friends on a trip. ¡°You sleep well?¡±


    ¡°Enough. Mind if I sit up front?¡±


    ¡°Climb on up.¡±


    I sat there strangely relieved to be sitting next to a fae. I let my head flop back against the head rest. The pump popped, and the attendant pulled out the hose and replaced the cap, giving a thumbs up to the redhead. She started the engine, tossing me a pair of comms from off the dash. I put them on and listened as she talked to the flight controller, pulled out onto the taxi way, then preceded to take off.


    ¡°There is some food in the glove box,¡± Her voice crackled over the headset. I popped it open and found a bag of trail mix. I munched on it. It was very stale, but I needed to get my strength up as soon as possible.


    ¡°Where are we going?¡±


    ¡°We are picking up Lauren then heading back to the States. The Collector will be right on our tail.¡±


    ¡°I would ask how you got me out, but the real question is why?¡± I asked frankly.


    ¡°Chance. You were in the right place at the right time.¡±


    ¡°Hm.¡±


    She let out a shrill laugh. ¡°You¡¯re not thinking I was purposely trying to find you of all people?¡± She asked, giving me a wicked smile.


    I shook my head. ¡°No, not in a million years. If I were you, I would not have gone to the trouble of recovering me. So why did you?¡±


    ¡°We have a mutual friend. If I left you, they would have been upset.¡± Amber shifted the airplane slightly to the left.


    ¡°Who would that be?¡± I asked.


    She smiled and shook her head. ¡°I will let them tell you if they choose. It¡¯s too much fun keeping you in the dark. You don¡¯t really need to know.¡±


    Trouble is I have a lot of ¡°friends¡± that she could be referring to. Hobbs rose to the top of the list along with Grace. Regardless, she should know better. I don¡¯t have a reputation of playing nice, and she seemed to know.


    We flew in silence for a few hours until she touched us down in another airport in the boonies. Amber looked over at me. ¡°Climb in the back. Lauren doesn¡¯t know I brought you. I would like to give her a heads up before she sees you.¡± I crawled into the back of the plane and found a spot between some suitcases. Amber parked next to a pump, and an attendant started to fill it up. She got out and headed for the small airport. Not long after, Amber reappeared with Lauren who was dragging a couple suitcases. Lauren looked at me warily as Amber handed me two bags. They climbed in and put on headsets. I settled back against the luggage and pretended to sleep. From time-to-time, Lauren would glance back at me.


    A few more stops that I don¡¯t remember, and we were back in Tennessee. I climbed out onto the tarmac at the regional airport. We waited in the parking lot for the Lyft. He showed up, and I loaded the suitcases in the trunk. He dropped us off at a storage unit fifteen minutes from the airport. Amber led the way to a large unit and popped it open, revealing her Jeep. She closed the rolling door behind us. The two women looked at me for the first time then glanced at each other.


    ¡°We should check you for a tracer before you go. My guess is you have something similar to Lauren.¡± Amber dug around her Jeep and pulled out a small device like a plastic wand. She handed it to me after turning it on. ¡°Run it all over your body. They most likely injected it into your butt cheek or thigh, but he might have planted more than one, so it would be good to be thorough. It will pick up a tracking signal and metal so it¡¯s best not to have to work around buttons and zippers.¡±


    I took the wand; the three of us stood for a moment, looking at each other. ¡°I¡¯m not going to strip in front of the two of you; this isn¡¯t an audition for Thunder Down Under.¡±


    The redhead rolled her eyes, and Lauren¡¯s face flushed. ¡°I did not need that image in my head. You wouldn¡¯t make the cut; I can tell you that right now,¡± The redhead stated sarcastically. ¡°Come on Lauren. We should find something to eat.¡± She turned, pulling the rolling door open and pulled it shut after them.

 chaptwer 15: Found My Shotgun

    I scanned my entire body. I only found one ¡®blip¡¯ in my right thigh around where the fat doctor kept jabbing me with sedatives. I marked the spot with a Sharpie I found in Amber¡¯s glove box and got dressed. They returned with red smoothies¡ªraspberry, most likely I joked with myself.


    ¡°You find it?¡± Amber asked.


    ¡°Yeah, only one in my right thigh.¡± I ran the wand over my jeans, and it beeped.


    ¡°Well, let me finish this, and we can get to work cutting it out,¡± she replied. That sounded like a terrible idea. Being operated on by a fae¡ªprobably fae¡ªwith Lauren in the room?


    ¡°Here,¡± Lauren pulled a sub from a plastic bag and handed it to me. I took it. It was the first thing she had said to me. I hadn¡¯t expected them to get me a sandwich.


    ¡°Thank you,¡± I mumbled awkwardly. I started unwrapping the sandwich as Amber rummaged in her Jeep. She emerged with a set of medical tools and laid them out on the dash. She absent-mindedly sipped her questionable drink. It was probably raspberry, I kept telling myself. Faes don¡¯t drink blood, but they could. The voice in my head wouldn¡¯t shut up. ¡°If I could take a scalpel to go, that would be appreciated.¡±


    She looked at me. ¡°You¡¯re going to have a hard time getting it out yourself. We won¡¯t hurt you... much.¡± She smiled in her sly way on the last word.


    ¡°I believe you about seventy-five percent, but I¡¯m not done with the tracker.¡± I took a bite out of the sandwich. It was almost gone.


    ¡°What do you mean not done with it?¡± Lauren asked. The redhead was squinting at me suspiciously and sucking on her smoothie.


    I swallowed the last bit of my sandwich. ¡°Mr. Edgewood is very interested in something that I happen to know a bit about. I am very interested in him no longer existing. So, I¡¯m going to kill him. It will take him longer to find me if I remove the tracker.¡±


    Lauren shook her head at this, ¡°You shot him in the head, and he came back from it. I don¡¯t know if he can be killed.¡±


    ¡°You make a good point; he will have to be destroyed. He¡¯s a high fae. Killing isn¡¯t enough,¡± I walked over to the Jeep¡¯s hood. ¡°So, if you could spare a scalpel, I will be on my way.¡±


    The redhead pulled a scalpel from her bag. ¡°You¡¯re free to go.¡± She said, handing the tools over. ¡°We¡¯re not interested in holding you captive.¡±


    I nodded, ignoring her last comment. ¡°I appreciate it.¡± I pulled the rolling door open.


    ¡°Is Rudy safe?¡± Lauren blurted suddenly. I looked back to her, my heart hollow.


    ¡°He was missing from his kennel when I was taken. They likely silenced him so he wouldn¡¯t give them away when they jumped me.¡± I cut the feet right out from under her. Her bottom lip quivered, and she backed away slowly. I turned and walked out of the storage unit. I couldn¡¯t join her in her grief for a dead dog. I had a monster to kill.


    I walked down the road until I came across a hotel. I got the receptionist to let me make a call. I dialed up Hobbs. ¡°Who do I have the delight of speaking with?¡±


    ¡°I need a woodchipper and to be picked up at the hotel in Madisonville.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not a department store, but I suppose I could get you a chipper.¡±


    ¡°Oh, and a bunch of buckshot and slugs¡ªthree and a half inch.¡±


    ¡°You sound hoarse. Is everything alright, Anthony?¡±


    ¡°It will be.¡± I hung up and walked out of the hotel. The receptionist looked at me wide-eyed as I left. A half-hour later, a man pulled up in an old pick up.


    ¡°Are you Mister Anthony?¡± He asked with a cheek full of tobacco.


    ¡°Sure am.¡±


    ¡°Well, climb on in,¡± He patted the rust bucket.


    I directed him to my unit and thought through how I was going to kill Mr. Edgewood. When I got out, he stopped me. ¡°You need a chipper, too; I was told,¡± he said as he handed me a large box of shotgun shells.


    ¡°Sure do. Drop it off in front of this unit, will you?¡±


    ¡°Will do. How big? I got 12-to-38-inch chippers.¡±


    ¡°24 will be suitable,¡± I replied.


    ¡°When should I be back to pick it up?¡±


    ¡°You won¡¯t.¡±


    I slid open my unit¡¯s door and dug under the cover on my dirt bike. I pulled out forty thousand in cash and handed him thirty thousand. He happily took my money and was on his way without a second word. I revved my bike up and took off to the gas station to top off and fill my spare gas cans. Then, I was off to find my shotgun.


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    I sped through the Smoky Mountains. Almost hit an armadillo that scurried across the road. I found my shotgun right where I left it in the hollow log along with its drum mag and two ten-round straight mags still sitting on top. I hadn¡¯t had a chance to get them while I was watching Lauren. I ran its action. It worked nicely. There was a touch of rust here and there, but I would clean that up easily enough. I had to get going; it likely wouldn¡¯t be long before they caught up to me. It was getting late, and my body was fatigued. I popped a Slim Jim from the handful I bought at the gas station before making my way to the cave where Lauren had hidden from me.


    Hours later, I found the cliff face and road along it until I reached the cave. I parked my bike and went about the rough task of cutting the tracker from my thigh. It was much deeper than I had thought, and the gushing wound made it hard to find. I gave up trying to get it out with my fingers. I pulled a Leatherman from my bike and was able to get a good hold on the tracer with the plyer¡¯s teeth. I managed to pull the tracer out with a lot of grimacing and cursing. I squeezed out a tube of super glue, also taken from the seat of my bike, over the incision, then sprayed it with activator for a quick seal.


    I climbed down into the cave, sticking the tracker with a piece of gum right where the cave took a vertical plunge down. Hopefully, it would still send a signal through all the rock and dirt. I left the cave and climbed along the side of the cliff face to an elevated point where I could see the cave¡¯s mouth and top of the cliff. I scavenged for branches and built a blind that I hoped would conceal me. The last thing I did before settling down was sprinkle gasoline around the top of the cliff and on my pants. I hoped it would somewhat mask my scent if they had dogs. I bunkered down and waited, praying Edgewood wouldn¡¯t come after sleep overtook me. I popped another Slim Jim and lay prone, shotgun nestled against my shoulder.


    They took twelve more hours to reach my trap. It was early morning. I had been awake for an hour¡ªthank heavens. I could hear their engines as they pulled up along the side of the cliff. A door opened, and I could see men getting out and walking towards the cave. The voice of Mr. Edgewood cut across the mountain side. ¡°Anthony, the time for running is over. We don¡¯t need things to get messy.¡± He paused, waiting for a reply. When I didn¡¯t reply, he looked at one of his men. ¡°Where is it showing he is located?¡±


    ¡°Beneath us, right over here.¡± It took them a minute to find the mouth of the cave. I watched as a man leaned over the edge.


    ¡°He must be down there.¡± It took all my restraint to not begin firing. ¡°A couple flash bangs should do the trick.¡± The man said.


    ¡°Perhaps,¡± Edgewood said softly. ¡°Anthony, I suggest you get out or it is going to become very unpleasant for you,¡± He announced loudly. When there was no response, he nodded to one of his men. The man hung over the edge as he popped the pin on a flash bang before tossing it in the tunnel. He followed the flash bang and shone his rifle light down through the tunnel a moment after it went off.


    ¡°It¡¯s look like it drops down at the very end. We will have to go in to get him or wait him out,¡± The man announced.


    ¡°We have time,¡± Edgewood said. ¡°Get staged then push down and retrieve him.¡±


    I watched and listened as they got ready for their entrance. There were five men including Edgewood. I watched as they secured a tow strap to a tree over the cave. Three of the men descended to the cave got stacked up on the right side of the cave; the lead man was holding a ballistic shield. One more flash bang, and they pushed into the cave. I took a long, deep breath and counted down slowly from twenty. The fourth man stood above the mouth of the cave, and Edgewood stood a ways back from him right along my line of sight to the action.


    My first two shells literally blew Edgewood off his feet and took his shins out from under him. I emptied three rounds into the man standing over the entrance as he brought up his tommy gun. He tumbled off the side of the cliff. Edgewood was crawling toward the cars. I emptied the rest of my 25-round drum into his back. He stopped moving. I swapped out the drum for a ten-round mag as I scanned the rest of the ridge. No movement. I walked down to the clearing. I trained my shotgun on Edgewood as I approached him. He was chewed up pretty good. A big chunk of flesh was missing from his thigh. His chest should have been more damaged, but his suit, apparently Kevlar, appeared to have caught many of the rounds.


    He looked up at me¡ªnot in fear but in amazement. He started to speak but I fired a round into his face. ¡°Get back up from that,¡± I grumbled bitterly. I went back to the cave and easily slipped over the side using their strap. I shoved the shotgun barrel down and emptied the rest of the mag. I popped it out and replaced it with my last ten rounds before firing five more into the cave. I listened, but my ears were ringing from the 12-gauge blast. I couldn¡¯t feel the dead either, which meant they were not dead, or I wasn¡¯t close enough. Well, if someone was alive down there, they got the idea that it would be a bad idea to try coming out. I climbed back up over the edge and repacked my empty mags as I watched the cave¡¯s mouth. I shot a couple more rounds of buckshot into the cave before going to the nearest SUV.


    I found what appeared to be a large GPS tracking system. I was going to put a round in it but thought better of it. I figured he might have more monsters roaming around. If so, this might make it easier to find them. There were a few tommy guns in the back along with two more flash bangs. I took the flash bangs and a tommy gun back to the mouth of the cave. I couldn¡¯t hear his men. They were probably in the bottom of the cave if they were alive. I popped in the flash bang and emptied the gun¡¯s drum mag into the tunnel after it. I shone my flashlight down the cave. There was a body before the tunnel dove down. I thought I had felt something like an echo when I crossed over to the SUV.


    I wished I had a stick or two of dynamite or any kind of explosive to seal off the tunnel. I would have to settle with the next best option, though it was not my preferred method. I grabbed the spare tires from the SUVs¡¯ trunks, deflated them with the scalpel, and placed them in the mouth of the cave. I gave one a good douse of gasoline and lit it.


    After a few minutes, the tire was burning pretty well, so I kicked it down the tunnel. It stopped on the man¡¯s body in front of the drop off. Good enough. I kept my shotgun trained down the tunnel. About five minutes in, I saw movement at the bottom, so I squeezed off a couple rounds. I waited until the first tire was starting to burn down, then lit the second one and rolled it down after the first. Ten more minutes passed without any sign of life.


    I climbed back up the cliff and walked over the top of the cave. There were definitely a couple dead, but I was having a hard time feeling exactly how many. I felt sick. Smoke inhalation was not a pleasant way to go, but I didn¡¯t have a better option. I piled a bunch of brush at the entrance, plugging up the cave and watched for an hour, feeling sick at what I had done as black smoke seeped from the mouth of the cave.

 Chapter 16: I Almost Got to Finish Dinner

    Once the smoke was barely seeping out, I pulled away the brush and ventured into the cave. I could feel three distinct echoes of recently departed souls as I neared the back. I didn¡¯t want to see their bodies, so I left them.


    I shoved my dirt bike into the back of one of the SUVs before getting Edgewood. His face was slowly reforming since he was definitely a high Fae. I dragged him into the SUV and cuffed his hand and knees¡ªI had mostly removed his feet at his shins with buckshot¡ªto the base of the seat.


    The chipper was waiting for me when I reached my storage unit. I pulled my dirt bike out of the car, parking it back in its place. The collector was looking far more whole, like he had been shot by a .223 not a 12 gauge. I didn¡¯t have much time. I grabbed a few rolls of duct and electrical tape. I wrapped him up head to¡ªwhat he had left of his¡ªtoes.


    I hitched the woodchipper to the SUV and headed back home. A hundred feet from my house, I put the SUV in park, and got out. A light was on. I checked my shotgun, making certain it was ready. The front door was unlocked. I carefully opened it, then pushed into my house. My sister looked up from where she was making something at the stove. My brother-in-law rushed for a drawer across from where he was sitting on the floor with the baby. I lowered my gun, and we all looked at each other. My brother-in-law slowly began putting my 1911 back in the drawer.


    I let out a long breath and was surprised to hear the baying of a hound. Rudy flopped down the stairs, licked the baby absently as he flopped over to me, very excited that I was home.


    ¡°Heavens, Aaron, you just about scared me to death,¡± My sister said.


    ¡°You might not want to put that away yet,¡± I said to my brother in-law.


    ¡°What¡¯s going on, Aaron?¡± He asked seriously, pulling the 1911 back out.


    ¡°Work followed me home. I believe I have things taken care of, but there is still a chance things could go downhill,¡± I replied. ¡°I need to clear the house, then we can talk.¡± They looked at me in shock. I needed to make sure things were safe before I told them whatever I was going to tell them.


    I pushed past them and went upstairs to check the guest room. It had my sister¡¯s family¡¯s stuff, but it was clear. I unlocked my door and pushed into my room. It was sacked: clothes strewn throughout the room, dresser tipped over, bed flipped, safe cut open, and my guns discarded on the floor. Rudy stuck by my side as I finished the cabin and went out to the shop. My extra silver-tipped rounds I had made were missing, but nothing else was gone. More importantly, no one was here. I walked back into the kitchen, letting my shotgun hang from the strap across my chest.


    ¡°You had a month,¡± Bill said, my 1911 still grasped in his hand.


    My sister was holding the baby, eyes wide. ¡°Should I call the police?¡± she asked.


    ¡°No, it¡¯s fine now. I dealt with it. I just need a phone to call the FBI, and we should be good to go.¡± I walked to a drawer where the men had dumped all my stuff and grabbed my phone. It was dead, so I plugged it in to charge. ¡°Wait here until I get back.¡± I turned to go back outside.


    ¡°Are you sure we shouldn¡¯t call the police?¡± my sister asked, cradling her baby protectively.


    ¡°They couldn¡¯t help. I just need to wrap this up. You¡¯re safe.¡±


    ¡°If you take another step without telling me what is going on, I¡¯m going to call them,¡± my sister stated firmly.


    I pulled a scrap of paper off the counter and jotted down Chris¡¯s number, then slid it towards her. ¡°If you must call someone, call this number. He¡¯s with the FB,I but give me fifteen minutes, and I will call him myself.¡± I turned and went out. Rudy was right on my heels.


    He barked and growled as we reached the SUV. I opened the side door, and he jumped in tearing at Edgewood¡¯s shoulder. Rudy sat over him, teeth sunk in, thrashing his head in anger. I hadn¡¯t imagined for a moment the pup was capable of such aggression. I shut the door and drove to my cemetery at the far end of my property. I got out, revved up the chipper, and aimed the chute down towards an old plastic tarp. I tried to pull Edgewood out of the SUV, but with Rudy pulling on him in the opposite direction, it was impossible. It took me a couple minutes to pry him off and tie him to a tree.


    Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit.


    I shoved the Collector in the chipper. ¡°Come back from that,¡± I found myself muttering as Edgewood¡¯s body ran through the blades. I could feel the echo of his dark soul vibrating around me, trying to piece its body back together. I was not finished by any means. I was going to come back with containers of salt, silver, and raw iron shavings, mix that concoction with what was left of Edgewood, separate it all out in a couple different plastic tubs then bury them. Honestly, being chopped up by the steel blades was probably enough, I just didn¡¯t want the slightest possibility of him coming back. Once had been enough.


    I found my sister finishing the dinner she had been cooking when I burst in. She looked at me, irritated. ¡°Your contact says he¡¯s on his way.¡±


    I let out a long sigh. I didn¡¯t want her to call Chris, too late now. ¡°I¡¯m going to get cleaned up.¡± I shuffled up the stairs and took a long, hot shower. I found a set of clothes from the piles Edgewood¡¯s men made and went back downstairs.


    Dinner was served, but neither Bree nor Bill were eating, just the baby. Bree was feeding him spoonfuls of mashed potatoes. Rudy lay under the baby¡¯s chair, head flopped on the floor, one droopy eye open watching for scraps. ¡°Where did you find the dog?¡± I asked, settling into a seat across from Bill.


    ¡°He was sitting on your porch. Did he get locked out? He looks like he missed a few meals,¡± Bill replied while my sister looked at me, still not touching her food. ¡°He demolished two bowls and probably would have had a third if we let him.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know exactly what happened to him,¡± I paused. ¡°He must have gotten out.¡±


    ¡°What happened? You wouldn¡¯t leave him out on his own,¡± Bree asked. She was concerned, I could tell, and still not interested in the food in her plate.


    I cut into my roast. ¡°Work followed me home,¡± I said matter-of-factly, then shoved the delicious food in my mouth.


    ¡°Here?¡± my sister glanced around the room, wide-eyed. I thought that had been pretty obvious when I had swept the entire house.


    ¡°Yeah, I took care of it.¡± I shoved more food in my mouth.


    ¡°What does that mean?¡± My sister snapped. She shifted in her seat and glanced at her husband. He nodded to me. I could tell he could guess the vein of what ¡°took care of¡± meant.


    ¡°Don¡¯t press him, dear,¡± he said. ¡°He probably can¡¯t talk about it. Is that right, Aaron?¡±


    I could; it wouldn¡¯t do them any good, but I needed to say something because they should stop swinging by my place. It just wasn¡¯t safe anymore if it ever was. ¡°I killed them. Tied up loose ends, as it were.¡± My sister blinked rapidly in disbelief. Perhaps, I should have approached it differently. I took another bite of mashed potatoes. The confirmation played across Bill¡¯s face. He had guessed something similar, but it was clearly still a bit off putting, even for him.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know what to even say,¡± My sister breathed. I waved my fork dismissively.


    ¡°It¡¯s fine. I made it out alright, with some help, and I... I took care of it.¡±


    ¡°If you need us, you can come to our place,¡± my sister said. She glanced around my home; the look on her face reminded me of someone lost in a dark forest.


    ¡°That would be nice, very nice. I should make certain thing are settled here.¡± What I really meant was ¡®It¡¯s better if I stick around and get rid of anyone who might come poking around looking for Edgewood or me for that matter,¡¯ but I couldn¡¯t say that without making her current reaction worse.


    ¡°How about we all pack up, and take the helicopter to a hotel?¡± Bill suggested, standing up and grabbing the baby. I bit into my roast; gosh it was delicious. My sister and brother in-law stared at me blankly.


    ¡°That sounds wise,¡± I muttered. The rest of my food would have to wait. I should have told them after I finished. After shoving my sister¡¯s food in large Tupperware, I went back to my shop and grabbed what I needed to finish off the Collector¡¯s remains. I called Chris on my way to the cemetery; he was on his way with a team and would be here in three hours. I told him I would be back in the next day or two. By the time I was back from burying Mr. Edgewood, Bill and Bree were packed and had Rudy on a leash. I took my 1911 from Bill and threw on a clean jacket.


    Bill flew us to a local airport; we got an Uber to a hotel, and I paid for the rooms. It was the least I could do. I paid for two days for mine. It felt like I was going to sleep 24 hours so I was surprised when I woke up the next morning. I got my brother-in-law and sister on their way. Though, my sister said she was not done talking, and I would be hearing from her. I waited with Rudy at the entrance of the hotel for Chris. He pulled up in his nice Ford, towing his old silver bullet camper. I let Rudy in the back, then climbed in the passenger seat.


    ¡°I got an earful from your sister. She was very worried.¡± Chris gave me a long look. ¡°She didn¡¯t seem to know what was going on.¡±


    ¡°Someone from the exotic trafficking ring found my house.¡± I glanced back, taking note of the cars around us.


    ¡°What happened?¡± Chris asked as he pulled on to the main highway.


    ¡°I ran him through a chipper, then burnt the remains with salt, silver and raw iron.¡±


    ¡°Heavens, man, was that necessary?¡± Chris looked over at me, face grim, one eyebrow raised.


    ¡°I shot him in the head with a forty-five the first time, and he showed up in my house a week or so later. I would have run him through again if I thought it would help. I need a plane to go to his compound. I don¡¯t know what we¡¯re going to find, but I¡¯m guessing there are things that will need put down.¡±


    Chris nodded. ¡°What did he want? Do you even know?¡±


    ¡°Oh, I know,¡± I let out an exasperated sigh. ¡°He wanted to catch Sinew, the grendel, alive.¡±

 A talk with Dad

    Far too soon we were landing on the mountain side dirt strip next to the decrepit hanger that led down to Edgewood¡¯s exhibit hall in Wyoming. I waited up top with Chris as his team went in and cleared the building.


    My hair stood on end. I was too close to Idaho. I should be safe; the thing shouldn¡¯t be able to catch my scent from a state away. At least that¡¯s what I told myself. Victor had said ¡°Once it gets a taste of you, it becomes obsessed with finishing what it started¡± that and I should ¡°never under any circumstances go further west than Iowa and Missouri.¡± Edgewood had put a wrench in that plan.


    After a half an hour of worried pacing, one of Chris¡¯s men finally called all clear. I followed Chris down the cement steps. The hallway was rougher and dirtier than I recalled, shorter, too. I wondered what else the drugs had distorted. We walked into an unfamiliar hallway ending in an ornate, oak door. The door looked out of place against the rough-cut stone walls. Chris led the way into an elaborately decorated cavern. It looked like a haunted house except everything was, well, real.


    To my left an emerald green basilisk was curled around a massive bolder. The edge of its scales glowed vibrant orange under a black light. Its feathery head tracked my every movement. There were more creatures; some I didn¡¯t know. Large, five-foot tall rabbit things played with each other in a grass dome. Massive stick bug creatures that resembled human strolled around a pool in a moonlit bamboo exhibit. One wall of the cavern was taken up by an old gothic house cut in half like a dollhouse so we could see into the different rooms. Men and women dressed in Victorian era clothing stared at us through thick glass, each in their own separate room. The bottom left room was empty. It appeared to be the room I had been locked in. There was a werewolf in a large, silver cage further off to the left. He looked to be in his mid-twenty¡¯s and was dressed in stereotypical rags that had once been a nice suit. His hair was black, and he looked ready for a fight. He stared at us from the center of his cage, but I paid him no mind. He would be Grace¡¯s problem, along with the others.


    We walked past the large center exhibit. A chill rain up my spine at the reminder of its intended occupant. There were more exhibits, but they appeared to have been opened and their inhabitants let loose. No doubt Amber¡¯s doing. Chris let out a long breath. ¡°I find it hard to believe someone would have something like this and not flaunt it to their friends.¡±


    I nodded my agreement. ¡°You think any people in government have seen this place?¡± I asked.


    Chris bit his lower lip. ¡°I hope not.¡± He said after a moment, ¡°it¡¯s possible.¡± He glanced at the vampires in their Victorian house, then at the werewolf. ¡°Think we will find them in the missing persons database?¡±


    ¡°If they were sourced from the same group we found evidence of in the farmhouse, it seems likely. Grace will show up eventually and help you sort them out. As for now, we should probably leave them. I am more concerned about the empty ones,¡± I gestured to the five empty exhibits.


    ¡°Speaking of,¡± Chris led me out of the exhibit hall though another hallway to a steel door that was blown or torn open revealing an unlit section of rough-cut tunnel. ¡°This was an old silver mine. Whatever was in those exhibits is now roaming though the mountain, if they haven¡¯t already found their way out into the world,¡± Chris stated.


    I turned, walking away from the mine shaft. If I stayed down here much longer, I was going to lose it. Flashes of Victor exiting the lava tube with his 1911, which now hung under my arm, covered in my cousin¡¯s blood started to resurface. I found my way back up to the hanger and resumed my pacing on the side of the mountain. Chris followed, frowning. ¡°We don¡¯t need your help. It appears to be like you said. We can wait for Grace to handle them.¡±


    ¡°If that basilisk gets out, it will kill everyone,¡± I muttered. ¡°As for the vampires, cow¡¯s blood will keep them going, but I have heard horse tastes better... not that it matters. I have no idea what those rabbit things eat, but the werewolf can eat anything you can. Just don¡¯t let him out. Some are tame, but most aren¡¯t. Let Grace figure it out.¡± I looked over the open valley in front of us and then across the rolling hills. I really needed to leave before my nerves got the better of me. ¡°Call me if that basilisk gets out; everything else can be handled with silver bullets and gasoline.¡±


    ¡°Your thoughts on the empty cages?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know. One looked like it could be housing a water nymph, siren, or something. Both are deadly around water. We¡¯re in a desert, so they are probably still in the mines. As for the other cages, your guess is as good as mine. They might not be empty; I would check them with thermal and film camera. You should probably check the whole compound, honestly.¡±


    ¡°Any idea what could have been in the large one in the middle?¡± Chris asked.


    ¡°Other than me? Nothing,¡± I replied.


    ¡°Care to explain?¡± Chris crossed his arms.


    ¡°It was empty; you don¡¯t have to worry about it.¡± I turned from him, giving my surroundings another good look. Chris didn¡¯t press me on the matter. I was thankful. ¡°You will get my bill in the mail,¡± I stated.


    ¡°I can¡¯t wait,¡± Chris muttered. He hated paperwork as much as I did. I turned to get in the plane. I was done here. ¡°Wait a moment,¡± Chris reached out and touched my arm. ¡°I know what you are probably going to say, but we have a few sets of campers missing in Utah. You wouldn¡¯t come with me? It¡¯s a werewolf; we think.¡±


    I shook my head. ¡°Call Grace. I don¡¯t work in the Rockies.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve tried. She¡¯s been missing for two months now. We could really use an expert.¡±


    ¡°If she¡¯s still MIA in two weeks, I will happily advise you over the phone.¡±


    Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.


    A week later, I found myself pulling into my parents¡¯ gravel driveway. I parked my truck in the old three-sided, tin barn where I had always parked. When I got out, my little brother, the youngest, tore through the screen door of the farmhouse and darted across the green lawn. ¡°Aaron! You¡¯re home! You¡¯re home!¡± I let Rudy out and that put a smile on his face. He gave me a big hug and then started petting Rudy. ¡°Do you think he will like Bandit?¡± Bandit was their old lab.


    ¡°I don¡¯t see why not.¡± I grabbed Rudy and put a leash on him. His nose still liked to take him all over. I didn¡¯t need him getting lost out in the country. I handed the leash to Sam; he took it, grinning up at me. ¡°Would you tie him on the porch for me?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Sure will. Are you coming in to see Mom?¡±


    ¡°In a bit. I¡¯ll stay for dinner. Where¡¯s Dad?¡± I asked the question, but already knew where he would be.


    ¡°He¡¯s working on the tractor in the old barn. What¡¯s your dog¡¯s name?¡± He patted Rudy¡¯s head again.


    ¡°Rudy. I¡¯ll be in after helping Dad. Keep an eye on Rudy and see if he gets along with Bandit. If not, you might have to kennel him.¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡± Sam started leading Rudy over to where Bandit sat disinterested on the porch.


    I walked over to the old barn and found my dad elbow deep in the old Case tractor. He looked up. ¡°Aaron, we weren¡¯t expecting you, but that¡¯s typical of us Johnsons, showing up any time we want.¡±


    I pulled the picture of him, Victor, and the three other men from my wallet. ¡°Dad, I have a question.¡± He pulled his arms out of the tractor and leaned up against it. I handed him the picture. He took it after wiping a hand off on his overalls.


    ¡°Mmm, where did you find this?¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s under the tarp?¡± I asked, skipping over his question. He didn¡¯t need to know where I got it.


    He stood in thought for a long moment. ¡°You know what¡¯s under it, Aaron.¡±


    ¡°Is it the same one that¡¯s in the Rockies or different?¡±


    ¡°Different, though some think they¡¯re the same.¡± He flipped the photograph over then handed it back to me.


    ¡°Did you all kill it?¡±


    ¡°We did, but it was old much older and decrepit compared to the one in Idaho.¡±


    ¡°So, it is possible to kill the one in Idaho.¡±


    My dad shook his head. ¡°No, I don¡¯t think it can be. We tried, and it didn¡¯t work. We barely got you out alive.¡±


    ¡°You had some sort of smoldering bundle like a cigar, what was it?¡±


    He looked at me a bit surprised. ¡°You remember?¡±


    ¡°Some,¡± I replied. He gave me a long look.


    ¡°That was an incense of sorts we found deep in a jungle ruin in the Amazon. According to our translator, it was used to ward off and even kill those creatures in the ancient days. I don¡¯t know the recipe. No one living does; we burnt the last one that night you almost died.¡±


    I unrolled my sleeve, revealing the round burn mark. ¡°Why sear me with it?¡±


    My father let out a long sigh. ¡°I had to leave you alone, and I didn¡¯t want it doubling back and taking you away. I went with my gut.¡± He looked at me waiting for my reaction, perhaps waiting for me to express my anger at him leaving me vulnerable and alone after almost being stripped to nothing. Perhaps I should have been mad. Trouble is I don¡¯t think, given the situation, I would have done different.


    ¡°Did you know one was in the Rockies?¡± I asked after a long moment of silence.


    ¡°Yes and no. We thought there was a possibility one was in the Rockies, so Victor brought the incense with him. He always had it with him whenever he went to Idaho.¡±


    ¡°Is there more incense in the Amazon?¡± I asked.


    ¡°If there is, I don¡¯t know where to find it.¡± Maybe there was a chance I could get my hands on one. It would be worth looking into. ¡°Aaron,¡± Dad said seeing my change of expression. ¡°The Amazon is not a place for a someone like you. There are creatures there that have not been seen in thousands of years. If you go looking for incense, you are likely to stir up something worse.¡±


    ¡°I know. Don¡¯t go looking for the supernatural that isn¡¯t already being a problem. It¡¯s the first thing Victor taught me.¡± I wanted to bring up Victor shooting Colin, but it was pointless. I didn¡¯t have anything to say. I still didn¡¯t know how to feel about it.


    ¡°Why did Victor go after it if he didn¡¯t have the incense?¡±


    ¡°He wanted it dead more than anything, Aaron.¡± My dad rubbed the bridge of his nose. ¡°He figured with enough explosive and fire power even the Grendel could be killed. They had air support. It didn¡¯t matter.¡±


    ¡°Do you think it would hunt a werewolf or vampire? They¡¯re not human.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t like were this is going, Aaron. You know it hunts man. A Vampire is a man. It¡¯s just altered a bit. I wouldn¡¯t bet on it being safe.¡± He reached into the tractor and fidgeted with a part. ¡°How have you been holding out? Your sister called; she was very worried about you.¡±


    ¡°I won¡¯t lie; it was close. It¡¯s always close.¡±


    My dad pulled a bolt out of the tractor. ¡°You hear Grace went missing?¡±


    ¡°Well, she hasn¡¯t picked up any of my calls.¡± I leaned against the engine block glancing into the tractor.


    ¡°We need men like you, but you¡¯re not helpful dead. If she doesn¡¯t turn up soon, you are going to be in a rough spot.¡± My dad started removing a worn fuel line.


    ¡°Grace will turn up, but if she doesn¡¯t, I will find her.¡±


    My father gave me a long look. ¡°I hope so.¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t know you ever went on a hunt.¡±


    My father glanced at the picture in my hands. ¡°I¡¯m a good friend, better brother, a decent shot, and a hell of a mechanic. Your uncle needed me, so I went. If you need me, just say the word, and I will be there.¡±


    ¡°I know.¡± The last thing I wanted was to drag my father into my world. ¡°Are any of these other men alive? Would they know anything?¡±


    My dad pulled the fuel line from the tractor. ¡°I don¡¯t know what happened to most of them.¡±


    ¡°Well, if something comes to mind, let me know.¡± He clearly knew something but wasn¡¯t going to tell me.


    ¡°What was your latest quarry?¡± He asked. My phone rang as he asked the question. It was the redhead.


    ¡°Give me a second, Dad,¡± I answered and walked to the barn door where I could see my Mom and Sam walking over from the house.


    ¡°We need your help. Edgewood¡¯s hounds are after us. Lauren said you can kill them.¡± She sounded strained, but it was hard to hear over the propeller.


    ¡°Help from me is like pouring gasoline on a fire. I don¡¯t know what to do with either of you,¡± I said apprehensively.


    ¡°We are likely dead wherever this plane lands,¡± she spat through the crispy mic. ¡°I don¡¯t have time for your cryptic muttering. Are you going to help or not?¡±


    ¡°Does your phone get texts up there?¡± I asked, trying to keep my voice even.


    ¡°Of course, it does!¡± She yelled so loudly I reflexively pulled the phone from my ear.


    ¡°I will text you an airport to land at. I¡¯m about three or four hours out. Stay in the air until I get there.¡±


    ¡°Fine. Expect company when you get there. It¡¯s the same creatures that were hunting Lauren when you found her.¡±


    ¡°Yep, I got it.¡± I hung up and started punching in the coordinates to a rural airport in Ohio. My mother looked a bit worried, and my little brother was giving me a crazy hard hug. When had he started?


    ¡°I got to go,¡± I said.


    My Dad walked over from the tractor. I gave my brother a quick hug and then my mom. My little brother complained that I just got there, but my mom hushed him. ¡°Some people are in trouble. Aaron has to help them.¡± Despite her words to my little brother, I could see the worry in her eyes.


    I ruffled Sam¡¯s hair. ¡°I will be back; we will hit the pond when I do. I¡¯m sure we will get that catfish that has been breaking your line.¡± I untied Rudy from the porch. He got up from where he was laying with Bandit. ¡°Come on; we got to go.¡±

 Chapter 18 Im Gonna Need a New Truck

    I walked back through the wreckage, climbed in my truck, and thanked heaven when it backed out of the building. I pulled alongside Rudy and Amber. Amber was clearly in a lot of pain. She was taking deep, stuttering breaths, and biting her lower lip. ¡°I¡¯m going to get you plugged up. Take this.¡± I ripped the wrapping off a popsicle that I pulled from my med pack.


    ¡°What is it?¡± She grunted.


    ¡°Morphine popsicle.¡± She took it reluctantly. I worked quickly to wrap the large gash in her thigh then pack her eye with gauze. That side of her face was so covered in blood, I had no idea how bad it was, and I didn¡¯t have time to find out. We were in rural Ohio, but someone would come and see what caused all the ruckus, and we didn¡¯t need to be here when they did. I helped Amber into the passenger seat. Finding my 1911 on the floor, I slid it back in its holster. Rudy got in, sitting at Amber¡¯s feet. I drove the truck around occasionally stopping, getting out, and throwing the fae hounds¡¯ bodies in the back.


    ¡°Are you going to get Lauren?¡± Amber muttered. The morphine was clearly setting in.


    Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    ¡°In a minute.¡± I didn¡¯t want to see what had happened to Lauren, so I gathered up the remaining fae hounds. They filled the back of my pickup, weighing the whole thing down a couple inches.


    I finally forced myself to pull up alongside the crashed plane. I shone my flashlight into the cockpit. Lauren had a metal bar lodged in her chest, and her left arm was mostly detached at the shoulder. Her face was surprisingly tranquil. I couldn¡¯t leave her; I did not feel the echo of her soul. She was still alive. I climbed in, dragged her out of the plane, and settled her in the backseat of the truck. Rudy jumped in the back, clambering over Amber and causing her to wheeze in pain. He settled down on the floor, staring up at Lauren¡¯s face.


    I walked to the gas pump and filled a bucket with aviation fuel. I dumped it on the plane, then repeated the process in the small airport¡¯s main office building. I left the pump running, spreading gas across the tarmac. They were going to have to build a new building anyway so why not add a new pump? I created a trail connecting the plane, building, and pump, then walked to where I parked my truck a hundred yards on the other side of the smashed gate. I lit the end of the trail with my zippo and watched the flame run. I wanted to stay and watch it all burn, get lost in the flame, but Lauren and Amber needed help and that help was dangerously far away.

 Chapter 19 Bodies to Bury and a Plane to Catch

    I pulled into old Ned¡¯s practice. I knew, despite it being four something in the morning, he would be up. I got out of the truck and helped Amber out. She was pretty delusional, mumbling to herself. Something about ¡®she¡¯s going to kill me¡¯ and ¡®not enough fuel.¡¯ Lauren hadn¡¯t moved the entire drive. I helped Amber into the building, slipping my arm around her waist as she used my shoulders for support.


    ¡°Ned! Ned!¡± I called. I leaned Amber up against the counter after trying to open the door that led past the desk to his back office. I jumped over the counter and rapped on Ned¡¯s office door halfway up the hall. No one answered, but the surgery room lights were on. I pushed through the doors to find Ned and another massive man dressed in scrubs bending over a human frame. Monica was at their sides with a tray of tools. I took another step; it was Grace.


    ¡°Get out,¡± The growl came from the big man who appeared to be in his thirties. The hairs on the back of my neck pricked the moment he spoke. He felt dangerous, very dangerous. I unzipped the front of my jacket, giving me easy access to my 1911. The feeling he exuded was familiar, but I couldn¡¯t quite place it. Nether him nor Ned looked up. Monica was giving me a stern expression.


    ¡°Whatever you need, Anthony, it will have to wait,¡± Ned stated.


    I swallowed. This was bad. I glanced at an empty operating table in the room. Amber was in bad shape and needed help now, but clearly Ned, Monica, and the big man had their hands full. ¡°When you¡¯re done with Grace, I¡¯ve got two more that need your help.¡± At this, the big man glanced up at me. His eyes were murderous.


    ¡°I am going to rip your head off with my...¡±


    ¡°Smith,¡± Ned countered, cutting the man off. ¡°I need your level head right now. We will get to them when we are done. Now, Anthony, get out.¡±


    I left the operating room and unlocked the doors separating me from Amber. She clung to the counter, barely keeping herself up. I swept the top of the reception desk off with my arm, showering the floor with pencils, paper and the like. ¡°They are in the middle of surgery. I¡¯m going to lay you up here in the meantime.¡± Amber nodded in response; her face had dropped a few shades from standing there.


    I slipped off my jacket and set it at one end as a makeshift pillow. When I picked her up, she gave a small sigh of relief and let go of the desk, going limp in my arms. I gently placed her on the desk. She seemed more comfortable. There was no good place to put Lauren other than the empty operating table. I thought about going in and getting it but stopped myself. The big man had seemed moments away from fulfilling his desire to free my head from its shoulders. Any altercation in this situation was best to avoid.


    I paced from Lauren in the truck to Amber on the desk over and over again, mind racing. What had happened to Grace? She was fae and, as such, was very hard to kill. She had been in this realm for most of her life now, and she was older. But that shouldn¡¯t matter, she was still a high fae. Her body should knit itself back together without the help of surgery unless she were cut up with iron. I paced for a long time before Ned emerged from the operating room. He looked grimly at Amber on the desk, and the mess of office supplies strewn across the floor.


    ¡°What have you brought me now, Anthony? Monica,¡± He called back to the operating room. ¡°We need the second operating table.¡±


    ¡°A third, if you have it,¡± I said grimly.


    Ned gave me a look. ¡°We don¡¯t.¡± The big doctor brought the operating table to Amber, and his big frame quivered. He ripped off his medical mask.


    ¡°What have you done to her, butcher?¡± He roared. He went to grab me with his big, meaty hand, but I swiftly drew my 1911 and clicked the safety off. This stopped him. We stood there, seething. I prayed he wouldn¡¯t lunge, and he was quivering in anger, muscles bulging under his scrubs. It was Amber that neutralized the deadly moment.


    ¡°Are you going to kill each other or get me off this desk?¡± The big man tuned from me, walking over to Amber. He was still seething, but Amber seemed to get the big man under control. Ned pushed me out the front door.


    ¡°Let¡¯s see what else you brought us,¡± He muttered tiredly. He shook his head at Lauren curled up on the backseat. Rudy whimpered sadly, resting his head on her arm.


    ¡°What happened to them?¡± Ned asked.


    ¡°She was stabbed with a silver knife then they were in a plane crash,¡± I responded.


    ¡°Well, I¡¯m glad Doctor Smith is here. He is a bit of an expert with our altered cousins, as it were.¡±


    We got Lauren inside and settled on the counter where Amber had been moments before. Ned put a hand on my shoulder. ¡°Go shut the gate so we don¡¯t get any unexpected customers.¡± I nodded, heading for the door. ¡°Oh, and Anthony, pull your truck in my barn. I don¡¯t know what it is you have in the back, but, well, they shouldn¡¯t be seen, and you should keep your distance until Grace comes around to keep a lid on Doctor Smith. I don¡¯t need you killing each other.¡±


    I did what he asked, shutting the gate and pulling my truck in to the barn. I was worn out, and I could feel the exhaustion starting to crash down on me. I was surprised I had been able to keep it beaten back for so long. Part of it was trying to stay alive, but another part was me not wanting to relive that nightmare in the Rockies. It had only happened once since I had returned from Edgewood¡¯s compound, but the possibility made it hard to want to sleep over these past few days. I needed the sleep, regardless, so I climbed out of the truck and laid down on a pile of hay. Rudy flopped his head and front paws on my chest, and I gave in to the blackness.


    Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.


    I woke in a heavy sweat; shadows of a nightmare danced in the back of my mind but not vividly enough for me to recall what they were. Probably my trip to the Rockies with Victor, if I had to guess and most likely the one that he had not come back from. The one when he told me to never come up after him.


    After putting Rudy back in the truck, I walked out of the barn and back to the practice. It was well into the afternoon, and I was starving, but that was on the bottom of my priority list. Monica smiled at me with hollowed eyes as I entered. I noticed that the counter had been picked up and cleaned. ¡°You look better. Come here. Grace would like to talk to you.¡± Monica led me through the doors behind the desk and to a room just past Ned¡¯s office. ¡°She is just through there. I had best keep an eye on the front desk.¡±


    I opened to door gently. Grace was laying on a fold out couch. She was sipping on some coffee and reading something on her phone. She looked up at me, smiling. ¡°You have been busy it seems. I didn¡¯t know you knew Amber,¡± she said the last bit sweetly, and my gut flipped. She was not pleased.


    ¡°I probably would never have met her had you just picked up your...¡± I paused deciding against riling her up any further. ¡°What I mean is: where were you, Grace?¡±


    ¡°Oh, we will get to that, but how did you meet my daughter?¡±


    ¡°Amber?¡± I don¡¯t know why I was surprised. Amber¡¯s fiery attitude was similar. I thought I would have known if Grace had children.


    ¡°That is correct. How did you meet her, Anthony?¡±


    ¡°You know a fae named Mr. Edgewood?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t tell me you got caught up with him as well? This is what I get for trying to do a thane job. Yes, I know him,¡± She responded.


    ¡°Well, Amber was under the impression that Edgewood was holding you captive. She found me instead.¡± Grace frowned deeply. It wasn¡¯t the first time I met Amber, but Grace didn¡¯t need to hear that story right now.


    ¡°Foolish girl. I told her to avoid him under all circumstances. Why did he want you?¡±


    I settled down into an armchair across from her. She gave me an eye of disapproval, but I wasn¡¯t subservient to her, and my body ached. ¡°He wanted me to catch Sinew. You know... the Grendel.¡±


    Grace¡¯s pupils widened ever so slightly. ¡°No. Not even he is that mad.¡±


    ¡°Not anymore,¡± I laughed darkly.


    ¡°You killed him; didn¡¯t you,¡± Grace stated.


    ¡°Sure did.¡±


    ¡°You know he¡¯s a high fae, right?¡±


    ¡°I figured it out,¡± I chuckled again. ¡°Speaking of high fae... what put you in the state that you needed surgery from my vet and a goliath doctor? Victor said give you a day, and you would look no worse than if you had just gotten back from paintballing.¡±


    ¡°I am still unsure of exactly what I ran into,¡± Grace stated dryly. ¡°I was looking into a mess up in Utah. Campers were... I should say... are getting eviscerated by something up there. It¡¯s not a wolf like Chris seemed to think. It stuck me in the neck from behind and then gave me a slice through my guts. I would probably still be there, my body helplessly trying to heal from the iron cuts, had Smith not gotten impatient and gone looking for me. He affirmed that there were not wolves in the area. Well, none that are rampaging around killing people, that is.¡±


    I sat in silence, trying to come up with an idea of what it could be, but with such limited information, I had no idea. ¡°What are its patterns?¡±


    ¡°I couldn¡¯t tell you. It got me three days into my investigation. When I left, ten people were missing or found dead. Now there are twenty-five,¡± She replied. I nodded. Grace rubbed the dressing around her neck absent-mindedly, then glanced back down at her phone.


    ¡°Do you know how Amber and Lauren are doing?¡± At the mention of her daughter¡¯s name, I got another one of her sweet looks.


    ¡°Amber is fine. Thank you for asking. She will be back to herself in a few days; right now, she is sleeping off her injuries. Miss Lauren I don¡¯t know. Smith rushed her to his clinic. She seems to be in some sort of coma.¡±


    ¡°How long have you known Doctor Smith?¡±


    ¡°He has been with me for a long time. He just hates you, so I never thought it prudent to introduce the two of you.¡±


    ¡°I would ask why, but I¡¯m guessing I killed someone he knew.¡±


    ¡°Oh, much worse, you¡¯re pretty thorough, Anthony. He has to deal with the ones that escape your grasp.¡±


    I gritted my teeth. ¡°He has to finish them, you mean?¡±


    ¡°No, he has to save them. Oh, don¡¯t give me that look, Anthony. My people know to stay clear of you, but sometimes it can¡¯t be helped; you just run into one. There is a handful of people I managed to whisk away without you knowing.¡±


    I looked at her, no glared at her, as the realization hit me. ¡°You could have just told me.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re hunted by the myths and legends as much as you hunt them. Second thoughts will get you killed, so I run damage control the best I can. Unfortunately, Smith has to take on the brunt of it when I don¡¯t get there in time.¡±


    I let out a long breath. I could think of half a dozen instances that she might have been referring to. Victor, and Grace for that matter, had drilled into me that I should always default to killing on sight. Anyone, or thing, that was harmless should know to stay out of my way. Now it appeared that policy was not nearly as foolproof as they had made it sound. It¡¯s true, if I found a person or creature that seemed harmless, I was supposed to call Grace, but I had only made that decision once before Lauren, and it had almost gotten me killed. ¡°How many Grace?¡±


    ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter. Like I said, you need to focus on staying alive. You will get killed if you start second guessing yourself.¡± Her unwillingness to give me a number was not reassuring in the slightest.


    I stood up. I didn¡¯t know exactly how I felt about this new information. I had maimed and probably killed quite a few people who were not a problem. On one hand, I didn¡¯t care; accidents happened and trying to distinguish peaceful monsters from true monsters seemed an impossible task. The other part of me thought of Lauren. I had almost killed her; it would have been safer for me if I had. The issue being, I have become certain she wouldn¡¯t hurt anyone, intentionally that is. Bringing her to Grace was the right choice, which made me wonder how many others I could have given the chance. How many others deserved it? I reached for the doorknob.


    ¡°Where are you going, Anthony?¡± Grace asked sweetly. She clearly wasn¡¯t done talking to me. I turned.


    ¡°We need to stick to our jobs. You can¡¯t pick up my slack because I¡¯m too scared to go west. It¡¯s not leaving you with enough time to find ways to keep innocent people from running into me. I don¡¯t need to be adding to the problem,¡± I rambled.


    ¡°We have no choice as long as the Grendel lives. If it gets your scent, there¡¯s no one who can kill it. If Victor would just show back up, then the two of you could deal with the Grendel, and we could get back to normal,¡± Grace retorted. Her words stopped me in my tracks, but I didn¡¯t dare tell her Victor had tried and failed to kill the thing. She wouldn¡¯t believe me if I had; she thought the man was unkillable.


    ¡°I¡¯m going to Utah. There something there that needs killed, and I should have been on it weeks ago.¡± Grace opened her mouth, probably to contradict me, but I shut the door on her mid-sentence. I left quickly. Rudy was frantic when I opened the door. I barely caught him as he tried to leap out. I pushed him back over to the passenger side. ¡°Sorry buddy, we¡¯ve got bodies to bury and a plane to catch.¡±

 20: Box Canyon

    Thinking was impossible. I was having a hard time sleeping back south but in Utah it was impossible. I got sleep for sure every two days for six hours. I was no longer in control of my sleep cycle. It was manageable before but now I had to make certain I was somewhere safe four hours before the 48<sup>th</sup> hour mark.


    The thing was trailing me, I still didn¡¯t know what it was, but I could feel it stocking me it was the faintest of faint feelings. I spent the first day driving spreading my cent in and around Tooele Valley. I walked through every store, restaurant and church, I could fine, then I parked out on a gravel strip and waited.


    Having the Rocky Mountain horror, the Sinew less than a state north of me, was not helping me focus. It should still be in Idaho, but it didn¡¯t have to be. If it was the Rocky Mountain horror that was killing the people in Tooele then it would without question pick up my cent. If it did come for me, I would be ready, out running it should be more than possible in my truck. Breaking my cent trail was another problem entirely.


    It didn¡¯t come that the first day or the next. I spent a week parked on long flat strips waiting to be found by a Horror that never came. Something else was terrorizing this valley. So, I left town and started driving down box canyons listening for the echoes of the dead.


    More than halfway up my second canyon of the day; I came to where the road was washed out. The canyon continued up for five or so miles past the washout, not usually a problem I would just grab my extra gun, my bag and hit the pavement but I didn¡¯t want to be far from the truck, it was my only solution for the Sinew that might be hunting me.


    But I needed to get this job over quickly, I needed to go back south where I could think. I turned the truck around and backed it up to the wash, I would walk around the next bend maybe a little further, then I would come back to the truck if I didn¡¯t feel anything.


    The washed-out road was deep, and I slid down the side and had a little trouble getting up the loos dirt with my pack and twelve gage slung over my chest. I walked up the warm road past desert shrubs and small trees that thrived in the sheltered environment. A zip caught my eye as a hummingbird darted into a bush, I took a closer look and saw it sitting in a nest. I didn¡¯t know they lived in the desert. The bird seemed too small too delicate to survive in such a dry and wind-swept place.


    Passing the humming bird¡¯s home I turned the corner in the canyon and was immediately hit by the sweet smell of rotting body¡¯s. Every dead decomposing thing has a smell, people have the most recognizable cent. The smell was strong, and coming down through the canyon. I checked my shot gun and continued my walk. The road narrowed and came to a fork in the canyon. To the left the road wound on up the canyon, to the right, the canyon narrowed and flattened out, the walls constricting together. Giving the winding narrow space an unstable feel. The smell of the dead was coming drifting from the narrow passage.


    I took a long breath letting the fear I had been living in for the last two weeks wash over me, then I locked it out. Whatever was down there needed killing, and I was here to help it on its way. I stepped between the canyon walls embracing the cool sent of rotting dead.The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.


    The first body echoed from beneath a thicket of scraggly bushes. He was mostly skeleton surrounded by a rope, the remains of a climbing harness around his waist.


    Continuing for a few minutes I found another body, this one hidden beneath a thin layer of gravel also mostly skeleton with a ripped and shredded winter coat and ski paints. They had clearly been killed months apart from one another.


    Coming to a large overhang I crouched, stooping beneath it twenty or so feet, coming out on the other side I was in an oval bowl formation, around fifty feet wide and eighty feet long. The echoes throbbed at me from the ground, they were all mixed and overlayed with one another, more than twenty individuals, I guessed. The ground was raised higher in the oval section as well. The smell was unbearable. A small spring fed down a crack in the canyon wall dampening the stones beneath my feet, the congenator of the rot I was smelling.


    Looking up through the oval in the canyon I could see torn cloth from a flannel shirt, ski goggles hanging off a shrub, a pair of large pink sunglasses discarded in the back corner of the oval in a bundle of sticks deposited by the last flood.


    Listening, I watched and waited but there was no sound other than the fresh wind that was coming from further down the canyon. I was relieved, whatever had killed these people was not the rocky Mountain horror. There were no bark strands hanging from crude stick structures with the dead remains slopped in piles beneath them. Whatever was doing this killing was trying to hide the fact. The rocky mountain horror didn¡¯t hied it¡¯s pray, it simply eats it somewhere it won¡¯t be disturbed.


    I walked over the collection of the dead. Not ten feet from the oval the canyon took a sudden two-foot drop, were stones and gravel had been removed for thirty or so yards forward. I looked back the way I came, it to was lower than the center oval, but flooding had washed away the apparent shift in the canyon floor. The sound of rocks falling over my head made me dive beneath an overhang in the canyons wall. A rock the size of a tire landed three feet away. I peered up pointing my shot gun, looking up the sides of the canyon, all I could see was a leather work glove, sun bleached, snagged in a crack of the cliff face at the top of the canyon.


    I was on edge, certainly the cascading rock was intentional attempt to hit me. I slipped out from under my slight overhang and scanned the canyon above. Nothing, no movement. Eyes now scanning the top of the canyon more than the front I made my way to the back were the wall rose in a hundred or so cliff face. Finding a suitable lip in the wall to sit under, I settled down and waited for something more to happen.


    After the sun set, I retrieved my night vision goggles from my pack. It would be very hard for someone to see me down in this pit, but I would easily see them skyline against the bright stars.


    Another hour of waiting and I decided I had waited enough. I kept scanning up and down, side to side. I didn¡¯t see any movement. Getting back to my truck I noticed the washed-out bank was inches away from my truck¡¯s back tires instead of five or so feet and the slop was very loos and runny. It seemed like someone had been digging towards my truck. I walked around and found all four tires deflated, punctured. Yep, something had been digging towards my truck.


    The popped tires didn¡¯t stop me from getting in and pulling it fifty more feet down the road and away from the ¡°eroding¡± washout.  Something had been digging as I sat in the back of the canyon. I didn¡¯t know what or how long.  It didn¡¯t really look like digging more like the hard compacted dirt was crumbling apart and falling down the hill side of its own accord, something it could not be doing on its own. I would settle down and wait, see if the thing came back.

 21: Dry wash out

    I stuck around my truck untill day brake, nothing happened and luckily for me this was the first night of two, so I hadn¡¯t fallen asleep. But I needed to get moving if I wanted to be somewhere safe when sleep would eventually take me. So, I walked out of the box canyon and called a service truck to bring me four new tires.


    The tech came and started working on swapping out the tires. He was in his fifties quite overweight but strong.


    ¡°How did you pop all four of um?¡± he asked. Looking at the truck.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t.¡± I responded scanning the canyon around us.


    ¡°No?¡± he looked at me pulling out a jack and a couple jack stands.


    ¡°I parked it and walked up the canyon, when I got back all four were deflated.¡±


    ¡°Hum. No one really comes up this canyon anymore. It washes out so much, it¡¯s too unpredictable. Last year I got a call that a group of climbers were stranded after parking up here. They spent the night and it must¡¯v rained, because when they packed up and came back to their car the road had washed out. The county had to bring a bobcat and a dozer to patch the road, before we could get them out.¡±


    ¡°Interesting, how many times in the past year has it washed out?¡± I asked still looking around the canyon.


    The man was under my truck using a drill to quickly raze his jack. ¡°Five, this year, they got tired of fixing it, so they put that ¡®washed out¡¯ road sign up at the entrance, it looks like it was knocked over.¡±


    ¡°That explains why I didn¡¯t see it.¡± This was definitely the right place.


    The mechanic replaced my tires quickly. I was counting out hundreds to pay for the service when we heard the sound of steel cutting into earth echoing softly from down the canyon.


    ¡°You see anyone else up here?¡± he asked as I handed him the cash. Two more distinct shoveling sounds drifted up to us. I didn¡¯t like it. I was unsure what I was dealing with. Whatever it was, seemed to have made its way below us now.


    ¡°No.¡± I said after a moment.


    ¡°Someone cut your tires.¡± The man said after another barely perceptible sound of digging. ¡°People have been going missing.¡± He said that last part to himself. ¡°You want to follow me back down; I¡¯m not saying it¡¯s anything but to be honest this Canyon just doesn¡¯t feel right.¡±


    ¡°Ya.¡± I replied. ¡°Don¡¯t get too far ahead of me. I don¡¯t think it¡¯s water that¡¯s been washing out this Canyon.¡±


    ¡°Doesn¡¯t seem like it.¡± The man looked down the canyon.


    The new tires felt good on the hard packed dirt road. Lots of traction. We wound our way slowly down the canyon. Untill, we reached another wash out. It was of cores dry. I got out, the technician did as well. I didn¡¯t miss the handgun tucked between his seat and center console. The side of the road had been carved out at a narrow point in the road. A few clear shovel marks but the dirt behind had been broken down to fine grains. I looked at the man.


    ¡°You think your truck will fit?¡± I asked.


    ¡°No, but yours might. If we kick the dirt back in place. I have a shovel. We can build up and span the gap with my four-wheeler ramp.¡± He looked around. I did the same, but there was nothing to see.


    We switched out the order of our trucks and started building the road back up, as we worked the sound of shoveling resumed further down the canyon. We looked at each other. Swet dripping, covered in the dry dirt.


    ¡°We should probably walk down there.¡± The man said. ¡°We dig out of this one and we¡¯ll just have to stop again when we get to the next, if my hunch is right their digging on that thin bend half a mile down, If they cut through that neither of our trucks are going to make it out.¡±


    I was trying to get him off the mountain without dealing with whatever this was, but that didn¡¯t seem to be an option. ¡°I¡¯ll grab my guns and pack, I guess were walking.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t want to, but I think your right.¡± The man walked back to his truck and retrieved his own handgun, and a bottle of Gatorade.


    He looked at me when I came walking back shot gun slung over a shoulder, my AR 10 in my hands.


    When we got close to the narrow bend the shoveling stopped. The only sign that anyone was there, when we turned the corner was freshly dug dirt not all broken down to fine grains. The gap was not enough to prevent my truck from navigating the narrow corner, but it wouldn¡¯t take much more digging to stop it.


    ¡°If you want, one of us can go back and get your truck. The other can hold the road here and keep whoever from finishing. Won¡¯t stop them from digging somewhere else down the canyon. But we could probably get down before they are able to cut enough into another section of road.¡±You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.


    ¡°No.¡± I stated. ¡°We should just walk out. Whoever it is, is trying to kill us, splitting up will just get one or the both of us killed.¡±  Doing this would likely mean I would need to get Chris involved but splitting up would likely get the technician killed.


    We came acrost one more spot that had been dug, a bleached leather glove lay discarded near by the freshly torn soil, but it must have been there a while because when I kicked it over there were a few long rectangular worms that had taken refuge beneath the glove.


    There was no other sign of life the entire time we walked down the ravine. I even poled out my thermal monocular but only picked out birds from the brush. As we reached the end of the canyon, the sound of digging commenced far up behind us. I was starting to get tired, but whatever it was, was close.


    The man was calling the county cops on the phone. ¡°I¡¯m telling you Jonna, someone¡¯s been digging out the road to Balsom Hallow, it¡¯s spooky as hell there¡¯s no sight of anyone whoever they are, they are back up there digging we must of walked past them at some point¡­ I don¡¯t know how, the canyon is too narrow to hied¡­ Okay we will be here at the base of the mountain, see you soon.¡±


    He turned to me, I was still staring at the mountain behind us. ¡°My cop buddy is going to pick us up. I don¡¯t know when we will get the trucks out, but I think they are going to search the mountain again, this time with dogs. I don¡¯t want to say it but that rumored serial killer might be the one who¡¯s been causing the wash outs. You were lucky.¡±


    Boy this was going to be a mess when Chris got my text. I began digging in my pack looking for my bottled skunk musk.


    ¡°What are you doing.¡± The mechanic asked.


    ¡°Look I was going to come back in a day and try and deal with this then, but I called you and now the local officers are going to git in over their heads.¡± I paused. It was always hard trying to explain my reality to people.


    ¡°I¡¯m a government contractor.¡± I pulled out Chrises business card from my wallet. He could sort this out better than I could. ¡°Give this to your cop friend, this is my project manager he¡¯s with the FBI, now that you are mostly safe, I had better go back up and deal with it.¡±


    The man looked at me. ¡°You seemed a little off to me. So, you were already after the serial killer?¡±


    I pulled out the musk and started to shove my equipment back in my pack. ¡°Ya. Take my shot gun. I¡¯m going to have to climb this mountain, this pack and rifle are heavy enough. I will come pick it up at the Polece station when I¡¯m done.¡±


    I began to apply the skunk musk. If whatever it was could smell, I didn¡¯t want it catching my cent on the way back up.


    ***


    Looping far to the left I trudged up the side of the mountain. I watched as a police SUV came down the empty road and picked up the technician far below me. They watched me for a bit but soon lost interest and left, I wondered if the officer called Chris, one thing I was sure of, I wouldn¡¯t be picking up my shot gun untill Chris called the department and gave me the go ahead.


    After hours of hiking, I crawled and looked over the edge of the canyon trying to find whoever or whatever was responsible for collapsing the road. Pulling out my rifle I scanned the trail far below with my scope. For the next three hours as the sun set, I crawled along the ridge and scanned the darkening canyon below.


    Just as the sun was touching the horizon, as the first waves of deep exhaustion set in warning me I didn¡¯t have much more time before my predictable narcoleptic sleep would set in, something slipped from the shadow in the canyon below, it walked jerkily to where my truck was parked. The distance was far and dark, but I could see the figure was wearing a thick flannel shirt, jeans, and a wide brim hat with some sort of cloth wrapped around its face.


    I don¡¯t know where he had come from, a cave, perhaps? The canyon walls were steep, floor bare, unless he had been sitting under a bush the whole time I would have seen him approach from ether side of the canyon. He couldn¡¯t have been in a bush because I scanned them with my thermal. Unless thermals didn¡¯t work on the creature. I dug into my pack, pulling out my thermal monocular focusing it on the person who was now on their knees digging at the road making its way towards the front of my truck. Despite the distance the person glowed red through my optic. Wherever they had hidden it was a good spot.


    It took me less time than normal to set up my shot. It was the threat of falling asleep on the ridge and having the person fined me in the next twelve hours that rushed me. I didn¡¯t know for certain that the person below me was the killer. Perhaps, it was some farm kid who was pulling a prank on whoever went up the canyon, 20% to 15% percent chance that was the case. In my line of work, you needed to follow your gut.


    My gut was telling me the person below wanted me dead and was likely responsible for the many bodies in the oval further up the canyon. But my gut had been wrong before, grace said as much. In the end I decided to hell with the consequences giving into my gut and slipped down the other side of the canyon slowly creeping down the steep slope, within six hundred yards of the digging figure.


    The sun was now fully set, the horizon barely giving off enough light for me to identify the hunched over figure spastically digging around the front tire of my truck.


    Crack¡­ Crack-Crack. I let three rounds fly. The thing paused its digging turning to look up at me then collapsed to the ground. Crack, crack. I put two more rounds into the center mass before slinging my rifle over my shoulder. I needed to get off this mountain as fast as possible. I was going to fall asleep, there was nothing I could do to prevent it. Normally I would check, make sure the monster was dead, then hunker down in my truck, but climbing down the six hundred almost vertical inner face of the canyon in the dark was not going to happen. I would need to walk all the way around and back up the canyon road, that would take hours. If I was fast, I could run the ridge line down to the wheat fields below and maybe holed up in one of the barns at the base of the mountain.


    When I reached the peak of the mountain, I pulled out my monocular and looked for the dead man. I wanted to make sure it was dead. Nothing, no heat signature whatsoever. Surely it hadn¡¯t cooled in the ten minutes it had taken me to climb back up the ridge. I scanned for thirty more seconds. The only red image that I picked up was a large dot the size of my fist slowly scooting away from the direction of my truck. Likely some sort of small mammal, a vole probably. Throwing my thermal back in my pack and switching to my night vision, I hurried down the crest of the mountain.


    Halfway down the mountain, blackness washed over me, my body slowed, and I crouched settling down on the rough mountain side, as my body gave up, giving into sleep.

 22: Falling

    Suddenly I woke to the sensation of falling. I was rolling down the side of the mountain, my NVG¡¯s were gone, likely ripped away as I tumbled. I squirmed flailing my arms and legs doing everything I could to bring myself to a stop. Colliding with a stiff bush slowed me enough to gain control of the fall. I was able to bring myself to a rough stop.


    How had I messed up so badly, there hadn¡¯t been a cliff nearly this steep where I had given into sleep. It was then I saw the figure looking down on me from the oval ridge above.


    It looked like a scarecrow, dressed in a tattered flannel button down shirt, torn blue jeans and a wide brim hat. One black eye socket peered down at me through a rat bitten hole in the weathered tee shirt that was tied over the creature¡¯s head.


    It jerkily, began climbing its way down the steep inner face of the canyon. I was stunned for a moment. Something that uncoordinated should not be able to make its way down to me so quickly.


    I slipped, letting my body slide closer to the Black hole beneath so I could grab a protruding bush. Grabbing it I fished under my arm for my 1911 just as the creature reached me. It pulled an old hand scythe from the missing buttons in the middle of its flannel shirt. The scythe bit into the back of my Kevlar jacket as I shoved my 1911 at the scarecrow. Bits of carcass splattered me with each trigger pull.


    Bang-bang-bang-bang, bang. I walked my rounds up its chest, the last one finding a place in its neck. The creature lost grip of the mountain side and fell down through the darkness. Three long moments and I heard the hard impact and the snap of bones on hard gravel.


    Something was crawling on me, many something¡¯s. I was unlucky enough to have fallen into a nest of some sort of grub. I resisted the urge to discard my gun, instead I slid it back in its holster. Then began beating and slapping at the worm-like creatures that were crawling over my body and down my neck, they bit and thrashed taring my flesh. I didn¡¯t stop untill I either killed or knocked them all off.


    Slowly gently I climbed up and out of the oval on the cliff side. It wasn¡¯t until I was on top of the oval looking back over the edge that I realized where I was. I was over the mass grave at the top of the canyon where all that gravel had been piled to hide those bodies. I must have been dragged or carried acrost the mountain. It had tossed me in with the rest of its dead.


    The scarecrow¡¯s body was only half intact when I got to it. A mass of broken bones was all that was left of the lower half, but that¡¯s not what disturbed me. It was the mass of long rectangular worms. They were wrapped all around the upper skeleton of a dead man¡¯s remains. Adhering together they jerkily made the skeleton crawl, hand over hand towards the back of the canyon.


    I think the little buggers could feel the earth move as I approached because they abandoned making the skeleton crawl and swarmed around its head. Incasing the skull in a tight throng, their bodies somehow tightly binding to one another.


    I kicked the living flesh ball lightly, some of the maggots-worm things fell off, but the majority were fused so tightly together it felt like kicking a solid rubber ball. A slight tremor of revulsion traveled up my spine, those were the little buggers that had been crawling all over me.


    My first thought was to smash the loose worms with rocks but seeing that they were determined to join their brothers. I simply waited until all the ones that could crawl, crawled over and attached themselves to the mass, after that, I kicked it back to my truck. The ball would grab at and adhere to the gravel, so I kept it from rolling over anything too solid.Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site.


    Back at my truck I pulled out Rudy¡¯s big plastic bowl and flopped the mass onto it, then I grabbed my gas can. Predictably the worms began to break away and scatter as I splashed them with gasoline, I lit the mass with a flick from a cardboard match, the little worms hist and popped writhing.


    Something deep within the mass began to shriek like a wounded bird, the mass slowly burned and shriveled revealing the worn skull. A large larva grubby looking thing pushed its way out of the eye socket spilling and flopping on to the ground.


    It was fat and about the size of a foam football, chard black in places, its original color a pinkish gray. It tried to inch away from me still shrieking, big black bulbus eye above its tiny mouth looking back at me as it fled.


    After taking a couple pictures with my disposable camera, documenting the creature for future reference I hoped I wouldn¡¯t need. I dumped more gasoline on the larva creature and relit the fire. I pushed the floundering mass back with its chard minions and began piling dead branches, getting the fire as hot as possible to insure a complete burn. I would need to get Chris down here with a team to search for every little worm. Whatever this was we didn¡¯t need more of them.


    My phone buzzed, I flicked it open. ¡°Hello.¡±


    ¡°Anthony.¡± The Voice on the other end was urgent. ¡°Where are You?¡± It was Chris.


    ¡°Utah why.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s what grace said.¡± There was a pause. ¡°The Rocky Mountain horror, is moving south. Three bodies have been found hanging in trees. We caught a frame of it on satellite last night just about to cross the Utah Border. We think it¡¯s caught your cent.¡±


    Chest hollow, I crouched down in a squat.


    ¡°Anthony are you there?¡± Chris was urgently asking.


    I spit out bile. ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°Get out of there. It should go back to its mountain range once it loses your sent, distance son make distance.¡±


    ¡°My trucks stuck, it¡¯s going to take me a while to dig out.¡± Probably all day, was that enough time?


    ¡°I¡¯ll see if I can convince them to send a chopper. Don¡¯t count on it, after the last encounter they placed a no contact order. If hell fires can¡¯t kill it, they don¡¯t think anything can.¡±


    ¡°Ya, I know.¡± I said running over to the technician¡¯s truck to see what tools I had to work with. Trying to push away the terror that was trying to consume me.


    ***


    Over the next four hours I shoveled and dug. Cut dozens of branches, doing all I could to build up the earth that the worm mass had broken down to fine dust. After building up the road weaving brush and limbs into the loos soil, I laid down the four-wheeler ramps that were in the back of the technicians truck. I pulled forward, four-wheel drive engaged, I tore over the loos slanted road, tires spun my trucks back end sliding to the left, then the front tires caught the other side and I was pulled past the washout.


    I flew down the canyon as fast as I could, the only thought on my mind was putting distance between me and that thing that wanted to strip my skin as I dangled alive. Forget my pack, forget trying to find my NVG¡¯s or my Rifle, I needed to make a massive loop from Texas all along the coast all the way up to Canada in less than a week, even then I might not lose it.


    The tight curve in the canyon came out of know where. I didn¡¯t have time to slow down much less stop. I hit the worms second trap, and it sent me and my truck tumbling down the side of the road ten feet into the bottom of the canyon.


    My truck was now lying on the driver¡¯s side door. A stupid mistake, I knew that the second trap was there. After crawling through my truck gathering a few things, laptop, camera, bottle of water, I climbed out and sat on the driver side door, the mechanics truck wouldn¡¯t make it over the first obstacle even if I managed to hot wire it.


    I slid off my truck and slowly climbed back up to the road. Slowly I walked out of the canyon. If I was lucky there might be a tractor or something in one of those barns at the foot of the mountain, I doubted it would help. By the time I rolled into town the Rocky Mountain horror would be in the valley if it wasn¡¯t already.

 23: Running out of time

    Three hours of walking and I finally made it to an empty barn, straw and a tiller was all it contained. I sat down on a bail pulled my 1911 from its holster and switched to a new mag, one that wasn¡¯t mostly spent. It wouldn¡¯t matter though.


    My phone buzzed. ¡°Hello.¡±


    ¡°Anthony, how are you doing this fine evening, I am in a greenhouse looking at the most splendid butterflies from acrost the world. You see I have been asked to provide a friend of yours with a plane, apparently, she needs a fast one.¡±


    ¡°Funny time to finally call me back Hobbs.¡± I wasn¡¯t in the mood.


    ¡°Anthony, I was busy, surely you understand that. Like I was saying, it¡¯ seems you are in a little mess, your government friends don¡¯t seem to be able help you this time.¡±


    ¡°You got a jet? I could use a ride, here in the next few minutes.¡±


    ¡°Well I don¡¯t have a jet, but I have loan your friend quit the propeller plane. She should be in Tooele in two hours, is that enough time?¡±


    I looked down the road at the next barn a few more miles away. The Rocky mountain Horror couldn¡¯t be far from the valley, I could feel it coming.


    ¡°We will know in two hours.¡±


    ¡°Well, if you don¡¯t make it, it¡¯s been a pleasure to work with you, I will have your mother sent flowers. But if you do evade whatever is following you, I have a sewer problem I could use your help addressing.¡±


    ¡°Ya, Hobbs I¡¯ll take your money. If I get out of this. I¡¯m going to need a new truck.¡±


    ¡°Anthony you should take better care of your vehicles. Any way I have to go, these butterflies aren¡¯t going to admire themselves.¡±


    I was going to save my strength for my inevitable confrontation but six bullets for the Rocky Mountain horror, the last for me really didn¡¯t take all that much energy. I started running to the next barn.


    Halfway through the run the Rocky Mountain horror entered the valley. The sensation was like the echoes of the dead, this echo was alive and ravenous. By the time I reached the second barn, the starving echo was not far, somewhere in the hills above me. An old four-wheeler sat in the second barn, worn and slightly deflated. I turned the key, the engine came to life sputtering and popping.If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.


    As I backed the four-wheeler out of the barn, the sound of a propeller plane entered the valley, my phone started buzzing.


    ¡°Heard from a friend of yours you were in trouble.¡± Red was on the other line. ¡°Where are you?  Any sign of the monster?¡±


    It was in the mountain to my right, a defining hollow echo. ¡°Mountain on the east side of the valley, I am on a road parallel with the mountain.¡± I puttered along pushing the beat-up four-wheeler as hard as I dared.


    ¡°Which mountain?¡± She asked


    I brought the four-wheeler to a stop. Listening to the sound of her plane.


    ¡°Down the valley to the south, about two thirds of the way, do you see the mountain that cuts into the valley? It sounds like it¡¯s on your left, but I can¡¯t see your plane.¡±


    There was some mumbling under the sound of the propeller. ¡°I see it.¡±


    ¡°I am on a four-wheeler parallel with the mountains to the east.¡±


    ¡°Is there room on the road to put down the plain?¡±


    ¡°I think so, some wires around, but the road is pretty straight.¡±


    ¡°k.¡±


    Soon a nice slick single propeller plane crested the eastern mountain. It made a big arc and came in for a landing on the gravel road, skipping a little. I ditched the Four-wheeler.


    Amber popped the cock pit open as I climbed up on the wing.


    ¡°Your mom knows you¡¯re doing this?¡± I shouted at her. She Gave me a wicked smile. ¡°Of course not.¡±


    I climbed in next to her, and pulled the door closed behind me with a hard cluck.


    Red had the plane back in the air before I could figure out the seat belt. ¡°You know where Sinew Mountain is?¡± I asked barking into my headset.


    ¡°You don¡¯t have to yell. I can hear you just fine. I don¡¯t, Grace refused to tell me.¡± She spoke into her head set glancing over at me.


    ¡°Fly over these mountains to the east.¡± I pointed. ¡°We need to lure the creature back to his mountain. Go slow we don¡¯t want to lose it.¡± I laughed at the end of the statement. Losing it was the only thing I wanted right now.


    ¡°How¡¯s it feel?¡± Red asked out of the blue, veering the plain to the east and getting what felt to me like way too close to the mountain.


    ¡°What are you talking about?¡± I muttered looking at the tree tops whizzing not too far below.


    ¡°You know¡­ being hunted. You do it all the time what¡¯s the other end like?¡± The nerve she was smiling at me.


    ¡°Do you know what¡¯s beneath us?¡±


    ¡°I have an idea. But your friend didn¡¯t go into detail when he called and offered me his plan.¡±


    ¡°Hobbs.¡± I couldn¡¯t keep it in. How did he know I was in trouble, how did he know who amber was?


    ¡°You shouldn¡¯t talk to him he¡¯s dangerous.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re all dangerous.¡± She was still smiling. ¡°You¡¯re avoiding the question.¡±


    I wasn¡¯t going to give her what she was looking for.


    ¡°Come on admit it, you¡¯re just as terrified as Loren was of you.¡± She was smiling as she slowly glided us over the mountain below. The hungry echoing pounding of the Rocky Mountain horror was almost unbearable. He was close so very close to his goal.


    ¡°No comment?¡±


    I looked over at her. ¡°I think we could gain a little more elevation.¡±


    She glanced back at me, her lips still curled in a slight smile. ¡°I want your help with something. I¡¯m looking for someone. My father actually, I was told you knew him.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s his name,¡± I asked. Gosh I hope I hadn¡¯t killed him; I have killed most fay I¡¯ve run into up to this point.


    Her smile faded. ¡°Victor, apparently the two of you were pretty close.¡±


    My next thought sank deep down where the echo of the Rocky Mountain Horror still haunted me. How do you find a dead man?

 24: Who is Morgan Waverly?

    We landed on Sinew mountain. On the old overgrown dirt road, not far from the cabin. I was surprised that Red was able to fit the sports plane between the trees. No one had been up here in a very long time. We climbed out of the plane; my legs were trembling before my feet touched the ground. We walked down the short-overgrown trail to Morgans Cabin. He was the only other man I recognized in that picture Edgewood had presented me.


    The cabin was rough looking, sun bleached sides overgrown with large saplings and tall weeds. My heart could still feel the echo of the Rocky Mountain Horror. The Sinew. It was so far off, I could almost forget it was there. But now that I remembered what it was, how the thing felt when it was near me, I understood why my sleep cycle had changed after coming west. My body knew the creature was close. It new I didn¡¯t need sleep, I needed to run, run until that echo dissipated to nothing.


    Red looked at me. Leaning on the cabins railing. ¡°You good?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m fine.¡±


    She didn¡¯t look convinced. ¡°I want you to tell me about my father?¡±


    ¡°He was a good man.¡± I stated looking at the cabin. I shouldn¡¯t have let her land us here.


    ¡°I know that already, how did he come to choose you? Grace won¡¯t say.¡± She was looking down on me. I still haven¡¯t stepped up on the first worn porch step.


    ¡°It started here, on this mountain I suppose. Victor is my dad¡¯s¡­ friend from child hood.¡±


    ¡°Humm, he never talked much to me about his childhood. Other than he was alone a lot.¡± She looked at me chewing the idea over. ¡°Where do you think he is?¡±


    ¡°Dead.¡± I took a step away from the porch. The forest was dark green with the emptiness of death.


    ¡°Why?¡± she was still leaning looking over at me.


    ¡°He¡¯s been missing for three years. He would have come back if he were alive.¡±


    ¡°Grace doesn¡¯t seem to give that any weight.¡±


    ¡°What dose Grace say?¡± I asked.


    ¡°He¡¯s out there, says she can feel it. Says he¡¯s hurting terribly.¡±


    ¡°Well, I¡¯ll tell you what I know. If you are willing to hear me break a promise I made to your father.¡± I should have settled this with Grace a few years ago.


    She seemed to chew it over for a long moment. ¡°What Promise?¡±


    ¡°The kind your supposed to keep.¡± I was pacing in the tall grass looking from her to the empty woods and back.


    ¡°I want closure, if there¡¯s proof, he¡¯s dead¡­ I want to see it.¡± She was looking intently, eyes tracing my unnerved pacing.


    ¡°Well let¡¯s look in the cabin.¡± I turned abruptly, going up the stairs, feet led. She pushed off the railing following behind.


    The cabins door was locked with two pad locks. I pulled out my wallet and retrieved the two different keys. It wouldn¡¯t have kept anyone from breaking in, it was just a log cabin after all, but this was Sinews Mountain no one made it this far up. I didn¡¯t know what was on the other side, Victor had given me the key but told me not to follow if he didn¡¯t make it back.


    We entered the cabin, Red lit the room with her phone. I looked round the dust covered mess.


    ¡°This was Morgen Waverly¡¯s house. He a...¡± I paused seeing an object that looked like the end of a very thick cigar sitting on a desk, placed on top of a folded piece of paper.


    ¡°He¡¯s a what?¡± Red asked looking around the torn room. I walked over to the burnt stub picking it up. It was the right diameter to fit the scar on my arm, holding it in one hand I unfolded the paper.


    Anthony,


    You shouldn¡¯t be here; I clearly have failed in killing Morgen Waverly the Grendel. Take this to your father, he knows how to use it. There¡¯s not much, don¡¯t lose it, don¡¯t waste it!


    That was all, nothing more. Red was looking over my shoulder.


    ¡°How did he know you would come here?¡± she asked.


    ¡°He gave me the keys and told me not to come.¡± I couldn¡¯t help a dark laugh. ¡°He probably thought I would try killing the Sinew if he failed. Guess he never knew how much it terrifies me.¡±  I handed the note to Red. She took it reading it over, once again. I pocketed the stub in the breast pocket of my jacket.


    ¡°What is the Rocky Mountain horror? the Sinew, Grendel whatever?¡± She was taking proof of her dead father rather well.


    ¡°It¡¯s from Beowulf, the monster that can not be killed by any weapon was called Grendle, Beowulf ripped his arm off and the creature died of blood loss. The point is, you have to kill it with your hands. That¡¯s why, guns, knives, apparently even hell fire missiles don¡¯t work. Grendel is a class of monsters that are very hard to kill. Sinew, and the Rocky Mountain horror. Are signifying names for this one in particular.¡± This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.


    ¡°They hit it with missiles?¡± Red looked up from the paper.


    ¡°Ya,¡± I was looking around the room surely he left something else. I started picking up old papers, putting the room back together.


    ¡°It didn¡¯t do anything?¡± she asked.


    I glanced at her, flipping through some books I found on the floor. Fly fishing, very helpful. A how to stop smoking book was right under it. ¡°You walked away from a plane crash, it didn¡¯t do much to you.¡±


    ¡°Yes but I can be killed.¡± She was giving me a look. ¡°Which is why Grace didn¡¯t ever want me to meet you. She said you kill fays without thought. Burnt the image in my mind that you might as well be death it¡¯s self. Thought you would be older.¡± She turned away scanning a toppled shoe rack with her phone.


    The next book was on how to tie flys. I flipped through it. ¡°That¡¯s very flattering,¡± I was unsure how to respond. ¡°Unfortunately, I¡¯m not as good as Victer was. He was a true harbinger of death¡­ I just¡­ it doesn¡¯t matter.¡± Tossing the books on the table I started righting furniture.


    ¡°Yes but what is a Grendel, I don¡¯t care what you call it, the note said Morgen Waverly was the Grendel, who is that? What dose that mean?¡±


    The room was so dark. ¡°He is the owner of this cabin. We would come up here once a year and see him.¡± I paused. ¡°But the Grendle killed him, mmm. No Victor never said that exactly¡­ I looked over at Red holding the note. The note did seem to imply Morgan was indeed the Sinew.


    ¡°Speaking of my father, where is he?¡± Red was shining the light around the room.


    ¡°You mean were did he die?¡± I righted a book shelf.


    ¡°Sure,¡± she gave me a look.


    I pointed up the mountain. ¡°His bones are likely some were up there. I don¡¯t know where the creature hung him.¡±


    Digging into the cupboard I found canned beans, pie mix and the like. The room had been absolutely trashed. The small light from Red¡¯s phone was not really helping me see all that much. Digging through the drawers I found a mag light, the kind with the big triple D batteries.


    Click, the light illuminated the room. Showing the pealing wallpaper where large hands had dragged thick nails acrost the walls. The furniture also bore the large nail marks. This looked very familiar. Werewolves do the same kind of thing when they transform for the first few times. Just well this was less messy, more stricken feeling than rage full.


    I scanned the room with the light, Victor hadn¡¯t tossed the room looking for something like I originally thought. No if I were to guess this room was like this when we came to see Morgan the night my cousin died. I looked at Amber.


    ¡°Did you have a brother?¡±


    ¡°I did, he died on one of my dad¡¯s hunts. Why?¡± She was giving me that look again.


    ¡°Do you know anything about my family?¡±


    ¡°No, why would I know anything about them? What I want to know is how he chose you after Bartholomew died.¡±


    I was unsure what to say, so I told the truth. ¡°Your dad¡¯s my uncle.¡±


    Ambers eye¡¯s widened.


    ¡°My grandparents adopted him at fourteen. He had been bouncing through foster care due to his complexion.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think it was him being an albino that had him shuffling around so much.¡± Red stated.


    ¡°No,¡± I agreed. ¡°More likely because his father, I suppose your Grand father had initiated him as a thane at age twelve before he died of a very rare form of radiation poisoning. Thanes know the most about myths, legends, they attract them like the plague.¡± I muttered.


    ¡°I thought you being dangerous was why Mother never wanted me around you, but now I¡¯m thinking it¡¯s has more to do with what you know.¡± Red was squinting at me.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t know you where grace¡¯s daughter or that Victor was Married to Grace untill three weeks ago.¡±


    ¡°Really?¡±


    I shrugged. ¡°Nun of this really matters.¡± I started walking for the door.


    ¡°How long do we have until it comes back?¡± The question caught me off guard.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know, it took it about a week to find me in Utah. It knew where I was. I think it started looking for me when I was taken to Colorado. I think it knows I¡¯m here. Why?¡±


    ¡°We have a day though?¡±


    ¡°Maby.¡± I didn¡¯t like where she was going with this.


    ¡°I¡¯m going up the mountain. I want to fine my father.¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t want to see that.¡±


    ¡°I need to know he¡¯s gone. Grace told me you had a gift for finding the dead. It won¡¯t take long if that¡¯s right.¡± Her eyes were locked with mine.


    I cracked the door. Looking at the fading sun. ¡°I will go up alone. You stay with the plane.¡±


    She gave me one of her smiles. ¡°No, I need to see, to know he¡¯s dead.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not taking you into it¡¯s lair. Victor would not approve, much less your mother.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t care what he would want, I want my father home not dead on a mountain somewhere.¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s dead.¡± I stated.  Images of my cousin. Red¡¯s brother apparently, swinging next to me; skinless. I couldn¡¯t get rid of them after stepping off the plane.


    ¡°I¡¯m not taking off untill you show me.¡±


    I looked at her. She was as dumb as a box of rocks. ¡°Your brother died next to me, the last time I was here! We were going for our yearly family camping trip. Apparently not the whole family. We, me and your brother were setting up camp. My father and yours went straight here to check in on Morgan; like they did every year. Now I know why. I waved acrost the ruined room.


    ¡°It was dark we had pitched the tents. And we just got a fire started. We were sitting by the fire joking around breaking out a pack of polish sausages, when a voice from the trees called to us. ¡°Delicious, Skin, Delicious.¡±


    We thought it was Morgan, it sounded like him, just dry and deeper like he was trying to scare us.¡± I paused. Looking at Red, ¡°then the most terrifying gray giant stepped from the tree line, and we ran. It chased us to its lair. I was grabbed; my head hit the cave wall.¡± I paused.


    ¡°You know what the Sinew does, right?¡±


    Ambers face had lost a bit of pink. ¡°It eats them. Right?¡±


    ¡°Do you know how?¡±


    She didn¡¯t answer. For a long moment. ¡°Grace wouldn¡¯t tell me. She won¡¯t talk about it.¡±


    ¡°Alive.¡± I clarified.


    ¡°He had mostly finished your brother then started on me. My memory is patchy. So when I say I won¡¯t take you to his lair, I am saying¡­ I am saying. You really, really, don¡¯t need to see what happen to your father.¡±


    Amber looked at me. ¡°My mother truly believes he¡¯s alive. And I don¡¯t think he¡¯s dead either.¡±


    I wanted to get into it with her, to tell her, Grace was insane for thinking such a thing. But it wouldn¡¯t take that long for me to walk down the mountain to the cave, or if I had to, scour it for bodies. A day at most. The Horror couldn¡¯t make it¡¯s way back by then? I didn¡¯t want more memories to emerge, to see my cousin eaten alive, the images of his skinless body was terrible enough.


    ¡°Come on then, we will take a quick look around but when the sun rises, we need to be in your plain and heading back south.¡± I walked over to the front door. It would be fine, it would be fine. I started telling myself.


    Red went to where the gun case lay on the ground glass panes shattered, undoubtedly going to retrieve one of the hunting rifles. ¡°Leave it, weapons don¡¯t work, I doubt there¡¯s anything dangerous on this mountain. If Morgan returns before we¡¯re done, all we will be able to do, is run.¡±

 25: Stirring up old bones

    The forest was much the same, hallow, dark large pine trees swaying overhead, crisp air, shadows moving throughout as the gentle wind swayed the trees. The first pile of bones was under a young spruce tree, scull rolled off to one side. Near an out crop of boulders that was in the satellite imagery Edgwood had presented me. The tattered camouflage uniform scattered around them affirmed it was likely one of the men that had gone with Victor.


    A crude rope made from sapling bark hung over the pile of bones which in turn were mostly covered in pine needles and twigs. The next bone pile was not far off. The rope was still holding on to the shin bone. We found six piles in total. Scraps of military uniforms around each.


    Nothing that felt or looked like it could be Victor. We widened our search and found more bodies, in various stages of decomposition, as we worked our way down the mountain. There would likely be more if we searched the surrounding hills. Though there was one section left I had skipped.


    An hour or two more of walking and we were at the cave. I didn¡¯t fade into blackness, but my whole frame was trembling slightly. I forced myself to bend down and feel for echoes. The old familiar call came back to me, caves are great places at preserving things. My cousin lay still. His echo a sweet bitterness I could never forget. But it wasn¡¯t just his echo that call from the cave. Many more reverberated out of the cave¡¯s mouth.


    ¡°Down there in the back is where the Sinew hung us.¡±


    I crouched. Looking further up the mountain. Back towards the cabin and plane. How could such a terrible place be so quiet? I didn¡¯t want to crawl down there.


    ¡°Are we going in then?¡± Red squatted down next to me.


    I looked at her, holding eye contact for a long moment. Trying to formulate an excuse not to enter the cave. Nothing came.


    ¡°Stay here. If I need to get out quick, I don¡¯t want you behind me.¡± I clicked on the Maglite and shown it down the tunnel. Then began my long crawl. I drug myself through dry dirt following the tunnel as it veered to the right then opened up to where I could crouch. It didn¡¯t take long, I was at the back of the cave, a large pile of bone and skinless decomposing meat was to my front left. Strands of bark hung over them from cracks in the cave wall. My cousin was somewhere in the bottom of that pile.


    To the center right were the remains of a small fire that had been restarted many times. Further back lay a large, deformed skeleton, it hadn¡¯t been hung up but lay out on its stomach. I walked over to it and shone my light on the bones. They were large, gray, shaped with long ridges and odd thick sections. The skull was strangely elongated as well. I pulled my disposable camera from my jacket and snapped a few pictures of the skeleton then one of the pile.


    The skeleton was too big to be victors, too big to hang up on the crack over the pile of victims. Why didn¡¯t the sinew hang the big man outside like the others? Strange behavior I didn¡¯t like the idea that the Sinew could change up it¡¯s M.O.


    Looking around the cave there was nothing else of note, so I made my way back out. ¡°Victors body¡¯s not in there.¡± I said exiting.Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit.


    ¡°Are you sure,¡± she asked. Peering down the cave.


    ¡°Just a pile of bones. If I had felt his echo in the pile I would have dug through it for you. But he¡¯s not in there.¡±


    ¡°Okay, were should we look next.¡±


    ¡°We don¡¯t,¡± I pointed to the brightening horizon, ¡°I¡¯m sure his body is somewhere on this mountain, but we should leave.¡±


    Amber looked at me. ¡°You still think he¡¯s dead?¡±


    ¡°Of course.¡±


    Amber squinted slightly. ¡°There''s nowhere else we can look?¡±


    ¡°Like I said his body is somewhere on this mountain, but it would take me a week to cover the entire thing. We don¡¯t have a week; we should have left last night.¡±


    She didn¡¯t say more but walked along side me on our way back to the plane.


    ***


    Red put us down on a landing strip in Maine, Gregory was there. Red tossed him the keys to the cock pit. ¡°Where can I take you two?¡± He asked.


    ¡°I have a ride,¡± Red said, she didn¡¯t say more just walked towards the front of the hanger.


    ¡°How was you trip?¡±  Gregory asked. I was still watching Red go. Bringing my attention to him I forced a smile. ¡°Better than it had a right to. Your boss has a job for me?¡±


    Gregory nodded. ¡°It¡¯s messy, very messy.¡±


    ¡°Well, I will need to get my things from my house.¡±


    ¡°This way then.¡± He pointed to where Red had disappeared behind a hanger.


    I followed Gregory to a Toyota in the parking lot. Red was standing on side of the road as a new big jacked up Dodge pulled in next to her. Smith the big doctor from Ned¡¯s surgery room was in the driver¡¯s seat. He was looking at me, face a sheet of granite. Getting out he opened the passenger door for Red, closing it he turned and started walking over to me and Gregory.


    ¡°How about you get the car started I will be with you in a minute.¡± Handing Gregory my lap top bag I walked over to the big man.


    ¡°I should kill you for what you did to that young woman, Loren.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    ¡°You know what you did.¡±


    ¡°I pulled her out of a burning plane, after baby sitting her for a month, because Grace was MIA, am I missing something?¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t remember injecting her with a syringe full of silver flakes?¡± His face was red.


    ¡°No, sounds like it would be pretty affective.¡± I should have asked Red about who had jumped them before the plain crash.


    ¡°Don¡¯t play the fool with me, we all know you did it.¡± The man was brisling.


    ¡°I take it she¡¯s dead?¡±


    ¡°She¡¯s gone.¡± The big man was trembling anger starting to get the better of him. ¡°I had better not see you again. Understand. If I do, I don¡¯t think I¡¯m going to be able to stop myself from taring your head off it¡¯s shoulders.¡±


    ¡°Is Rudy doing alright, Ned said Grace came back for him after I left for Utah.¡± I ignored his outburst.


    ¡°The dogs fine.¡±


    ¡°Good, tell Red,¡± I nodded at the truck, ¡°I appreciate her help, I will hopefully not be seeing any of you for a long time.¡±


    ¡°She has a name.¡± The man growled.


    ¡°Who?¡±


    ¡°Miss Amber. I know you know it.¡±


    ¡°Why does it matter? If things go the way they should, you will get in that truck and I will never see either of you again.¡±


    He nodded turning, I forced myself not to look back at red in the passenger seat, instead jogged lightly over to where Gregory had pulled up and climbed in.


    ¡°What needs killed?¡± I asked as we started pulling away.


    ¡°There is something in the sewers outside of one of mister Hobbs favorite delis. It¡¯s been snatching people down a man hole, bad for business.¡±


    ¡°Picture¡¯s?¡± I asked.


    He retrieved a thick envelope stuffed with cash and one picture of a large crustacean like claw pulling back through the grate on the side of what should have been a very busy street.


    ¡°He could probably deal with this one on his own.¡± I stated.


    ¡°Sometimes, when dealing with these things the government can¡¯t help but get involved.¡± Gregory stated tactfully.


    ¡°I see, I¡¯ll need a dead pig. Mm, make it three. This won¡¯t be hard. I flipped through the cash. Fifty thousand. ¡°I¡¯m raising my initial rates by 25% will that be a problem?¡±


    Gregory Smiled. ¡°Not at all.¡± He pulled out another envelope. ¡°For the new truck.¡±

 26: Pool extension

    Two months off the mountain and I was finally feeling semi normal.


    The contractors were done with my new pool, and the thick galvanized steel grating had been dropped off two weeks ago. I began carrying the sections down the stairs to my work shop¡¯s basement. Laying the sheets acrost the pool I began placing them on the large three-inch steel sinker bolts that lined either side of the pool. It didn¡¯t take too long to set the grates over the entire pool surface.


    As I was sinking the nuts down over the bolts with my impact driver, prepping for the next step of installation which would be to welled the nuts and bolts together before I painted them, I heard knocking coming from my shops door and a woman¡¯s voice calling down. ¡°Hello, is anyone home?¡±


    Leaving my work, I walked back up the stairs. A woman in her early forties, dressed in jeans, ankle zip up boots and a flowing long sleeve shirt stood looking into my shop.


    Had I taken my Rose tee today? Hum, wonder if she caught sent of me and followed me back from the Hardwar store. It wouldn¡¯t be the first time.


    ¡°How can I help you?¡± I asked.


    ¡°I am, Ann Shelden, with Halloween hills, spooks and thrills theam parks.¡±


    ¡°Really?¡± what a fake sounding name.


    ¡°Yes can I come in?¡± she asked.


    ¡°Can you?¡± I smiled.


    ¡°Well, that would be up to you.¡± She smiled back.


    She didn¡¯t look like a vampire. But I was not exactly hitting the identification out of the park, this year.


    ¡°What do you want?¡± I asked after a moment.


    ¡°Well we are looking to acquire some land for our next theme park. I am scouting out possible locations, your property is in a prime spot, the fact that it still has its grand fathered tax exemptions makes it an even more desirable location. Would you be interested in sitting down and having a conversation?¡± Interesting, this one had done a little research before showing up on my door.


    ¡°Sure, we can go in the house and sit at the kitchen table.¡± There was no way on earth I was going to be selling my property to a developer. But with a Name like Halloween hills, spooks and thrills, I really doubted she was with a developer.


    ¡°Great,¡± she smiled at me. And I led her into the kitchen where I started a pot for my rose bud tea. It wouldn¡¯t be long before I knew if she was telling the truth or not. Probably not.


    ¡°Would you like a glass of tea.¡± I offered.


    ¡°No thank you.¡± She smiled. Setting her things on the table.


    I leaned on the counter, letting her have a seat as I boiled water. How was she going to try to go about killing me?  You see, I wasn¡¯t prepared for the binder she pulled out of her bag. A big three-inch thing stuffed with paper.


    ¡°This will be our third theme park. We are a seasonal business. Our first location is on a farm outside of Menfess. We have been renting locations and setting up on existing infrastructure but we are at a point that we need to establish a small year round location that our visitors can travel to at any time, as well as a new headquarters. Your property¡¯s location is a good middle ground for our future expansion throughout the state.¡±


    She scooted the binder acrost the table. I leaned over, seeing some marked up plans. No way, she might actually be telling the truth. She flipped a page revealing more plans. ¡°These are our basic requirements, if you are willing, I would like to walk around your property and see if it might be a good fit. We are able to pay cash If we decide to make you an offer.¡±The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.


    ¡°I can take you on a walk around.¡± My water was done. I popped in three roas buds and a hint of ginger. Took a couple sips, she didn¡¯t seem to react at all. I was having a hard time believing it.


    ¡°Mmm,¡± I flipped through pictures of their various seasonal parks. This might be a legit offer. I would know for certain in about twenty minutes. ¡°Let¡¯s go on a walk.¡±


    ***


    We strolled around my property; we skipped my cemetery. I didn¡¯t know whether to be disappointed or pleasantly surprised after fifteen minutes into our walk I came to the conclusion she was most likely a regular person and not a vampire, wolf, or some kind of siren.


    ¡°So, you¡¯ve heard my spiel, I can tell you¡¯re still thinking it over. She was saying. ¡°So, on a separate note, what is it you do for work?¡±


    Aw yes, that question always seemed to come up with regular people. ¡°I take government contracts for things I can¡¯t talk about, but in my free time I¡¯m a Ghost hunter.¡±  I smiled.


    She looked at me as we walked back down the gravel road. ¡°Really? You like spooky stuff?¡±


    ¡°You could say that.¡± They didn¡¯t really like me back, well the wraith in my pond didn¡¯t seem to mine me much.


    ¡°You find anything interesting on you hunts?¡± She asked. As if in response the thing in my newly acquired thousand-gallon water tank rapped the inside, sending an eerie watery ping. I pretended nothing happened but miss Shelden glanced at the tank. It pinged again then there was the sound of large skittering legs as it dashed from one side of the tank to the other. Probably hungry, it ate like a pig.


    ¡°You know normal things, ghostly images strange knocking. That sort of thing the norm.¡± I continued.


    ¡°Do you often go¡­¡±


    The thing in the tank hit the side again. Ting, ting.


    ¡°What¡¯s in your tank?¡± she asked.


    ¡°A ghost.¡± I joked. ¡°For real though it¡¯s, a crocodile, my buddy dropped him off I¡¯ve been taking care of him.¡±


    ¡°Why are you keeping a crocodile in a steel water tank? That doesn¡¯t seem humane?¡± The woman gave me a look.


    Mm, good question. ¡°His indoor tank had a catastrophic failure, this set up is temporary, I¡¯m going to have to clean the whole thing out with a power washer and bleach before I can use it again. It¡¯s not a long-term solution.¡±


    ¡°Oh.¡± Another very un-crocodile bang came from the inside if the tank. She looked at me, ¡°He sure is upset.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re not wrong, it¡¯s about time I feed him. He¡¯s got a bit of an attitude. Anyway, what do you think of the property?¡±


    She looked at her binder. ¡°It¡¯s nice, could be a good fit for us, I¡¯ll have to talk to my Boss there are a few others we are looking at but definitely top three.¡± Clang, I looked at the tank. Then back to Miss Sheldon.


    ¡°Well, like I said I¡¯m not really looking to sell at this time though maybe someday.¡±


    ¡°Would you care if I followed up?¡± She was writing something down in her binder.


    Another clank. ¡°Sure, how about you give me a call.¡±


    ¡°That works, do you have a business card?¡±


    Clank, Clang¡­ Clank. ¡°I don¡¯t, you got a piece of paper?¡±


    She handed me a blank sheet. As I wrote the thing in my water tank started to rhythmically tap the side.


    ¡°He, he sure doesn¡¯t like it in there.¡± She said taking the paper back.


    ¡°No, he¡¯s accustomed to roaming around a big outdoor enclosure.¡±


    ¡°Here, she handed me a pair of tickets, and a business card. ¡°For your time. If you hear of any one in the area with a similar property, a call would be appreciated.¡±


    More clanging came from the tank. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, he¡¯s hungry, I had better see if that turkey is dethawed.¡±


    ¡°No worries, you have a nice day.¡± She quickly returned to her car.


    I nodded heading to the freezer in my shop. She was soon pulling down the driveway and out of sight. That was so strange, the only person who ever came down that road who I didn¡¯t know and wasn¡¯t trying to kill me were delivery drivers.


    I pulled the freezer door open and retrieved two turkeys. I walked over to my tank and carefully unlocked the improvised trap door. I flicked the latch open with a thick three-foot section of rebar. Then pushed the trap door open with the same rebar. Immediately there was a rush, disruption in the tank joined by the skittering of large legs. A massive claw stuck out of the trap door pinching, opening and closing slowly.


    I unwrapped the turkey and stuck it on the end of the rebar. The Claw took the turkey. There was another rush as the thing scuttered back to the other end of the tank, I plopped in the second turkey in the same way, using the section of rebar. If that claw grabbed me, that would probably be it. Slapping the lid down I flipped the latch over and replaced the lock. I walked back down to the basement under my shop and resumed securing the steel grates to the top of my pool.

 27: Theme Park

    The rides were all Halloween themed. Though, I doubted that¡¯s how they started out. A haunted ship rocked back and forth. It had clearly started out fun and tropical but was now attempting a spooky ghost ship, flaking paint revealing the tropical colors beneath.


    I walked past kiosks selling Halloween themed trinkets and costumes scattered around all sorts of secondhand rides. With venders selling caramel apples, pies and the like. The park was giving off the right ambience despite the tacky refaced rides.


    The large hay bales and old farm buildings in the back gave the theme park a nice touch of authenticity I was not expecting. Acters in cheap costumes were scattered through the park as well. Witches, werewolves, vampires, scarecrows, directed passersby and accepted tickets and soled goods.


    I found my way to a cider shop and sat down in an empty stall ordering a glass along with a piece of raspberry pie. A brake was nice after successfully transferring the creature to my basement.


    So, the seasonal theme park was indeed real. Monsters were not all that realistic, nothing here was. A fine place to take the family I suppose.


    The pie was good, cider fresh, the calm smell of fall rested around me, cut fields brought the honey golden harvest moon. I sat content watching it slowly move in the nights sky back dropped by far away stars. A Groop of high schoolers tore by laughing on their way to the haunted corn maze. A family bobbed for apples. The toddler laughed at his dad every time his face came out in a different funny expression. ¡°What brings you out of your dark woods?¡±


    Red slipped into the seat next to me. Her pail skin was contrasted by dark, cherry red lipstick. She wore a black witch¡¯s hat, carrot orange flannel, jeans and cowboy boots. She fit the place well.


    Shifting in my warn leather coat I took a long sip from my cider, ¡°Your looking good Red.¡±


    She gave me that sly smile of hers. Ignoring my compliment. ¡°You¡¯re not here for the apple cider.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s good, nice and crisp. Have you tried it?¡±


    ¡°Not yet.¡±


    ¡°All get you a glass.¡± I stood up and walked over to the counter. In the short time it took to get the glass I scanned the open room and the patrons mingling in the park beyond. Nothing seemed off.


    Coming back, with the tall plastic cup, I settled down acrost from Red not returning to my seat next to her.


    ¡°I don¡¯t bite.¡± She said as I slid the glass over to her.


    ¡°What are you doing here, Red?¡±


    She leaned back in her chair. Sipping on her straw. ¡°I am having fun, enjoying an evening out with some of my friends and who do I see sitting all alone completely out of place. You¡¯re not on a date, are you?¡±


    ¡°No.¡± I took another bite of pie.


    ¡°Should me and my friends head out? I don¡¯t want them caught up in whatever you have going on.¡±


    ¡°You and your friends should be fine, the spookiest thing I have seen all night is you.¡±


    ¡°Thanks.¡± She touched her witch¡¯s hat. ¡°I was trying really hard.¡± She paused studying me as I ate the last bit of pie. ¡°You really came here alone?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°And there¡¯s nothing here?¡±


    ¡°Nothing in particular, no.¡±


    ¡°Well, I won¡¯t take up the rest of your night.¡± She went to slip out of her seat but paused, she was certainly up to something. ¡°Do you want to join me?¡± She asked that sly smile had returned.


    ¡°What to do mean?¡±


    ¡°You know, walk around the park look at things, appear to be normal.¡± She said it like what I was doing wasn¡¯t normal.


    She stood up, I got up following. Might as well see what she was up to. We walked through the park, Red leading, me watching.


    ¡°Did you find the creature that tried to kill grace?¡± she asked. As we weaved through the crowd.


    I glanced at her, taking my scanning eyes off the people around us. ¡°I did, It was some sort of, worm.¡±


    Red glanced up at me. Green eyes holding mine from beneath the brim of her witch¡¯s hat. ¡°She was slashed and stabbed by iron. Doesn¡¯t sound like the kind of thing worms do.¡±


    Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.


    I smiled, remembering the bulging black eye that had peered out at me from the inside of the sun-bleached skull. ¡°They weren¡¯t regular worms.¡±


    ¡°No.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think they were after her in particular. If that¡¯s what you¡¯re asking.¡±


    ¡°Seems a strange coincidence. Not everyone likes her.¡±


    I looked back to the crowd, ¡°Grace was looking for trouble in the valley. She found it. I don¡¯t know how intelligent the creature I killed was, but she stepped into its hunting ground. I don¡¯t think it knew what to do with her when she didn¡¯t start decomposing.¡±


    ¡°Smith was pretty frustrated, after finding her.¡± Red remarked.


    ¡°So was I.¡± We turned, it seemed she was leading me to the fair¡¯s wheel on the far side of the park, away from the front and the parking lot. It¡¯s old tee cup buckets were redesigned into jack o lanterns.


    ¡°Was looking for it worth the risk?¡± she asked. ¡°Being that close to the Sinew? Having it catch your cent?¡± She wasn¡¯t looking at me when she asked the question. Last time she had wanted to see my reaction.


    I stopped; we were almost at the fair¡¯s wheel. ¡°It worked out.¡± Something was starting to feel off, I couldn¡¯t quite place my finger on it. There was a hollowness in my chest that wasn¡¯t there in the cider shop. I looked at Red. She was looking at the turning fairs wheel.


    ¡°Do you want to?¡± she asked. Nodding at the ride.


    I glanced around trying to find whatever it was that was bothering me. ¡°It¡¯s a crisp night isn¡¯t it.¡±


    ¡°It is.¡± She smiled. Waiting for my response.


    I looked back at her, ¡°Sure.¡±


    She turned and I followed her to the short line. My anxiety was starting to grow, there was not a quick way off the creaky thing. Why was I so nervous? I looked at Red. She was a beautiful woman.


    The starch thought hit me; I had definitely killed more beautiful women then gone on dates with them. True, they had all been monsters, at least as far as I knew. I didn¡¯t know what Red was up to, if she were up to anything at all.


    I was still looking at her when the man asked for our tickets. I dug into my pocket and pulled out the universal pass for two. We climbed into an orange painted tee cup and I forced myself to look any direction other than Red¡¯s. She had settled back on her side of the farice wheel and was slowly sipping on her cider, smiling from the corner of her lips as we slowly rose into the air.


    To the front of the fairgrounds fast movement cought my eye and I watched as Smiths big truck aggressively pulled out of the parking lot. Aw, she had brought me here so her friends could leave in peace without the risk of running into me. I understood now. Though the understanding didn¡¯t stop the unease in my gut.


    ¡°Didn¡¯t want me to run into smith again?¡± I asked. Nodding at the dissipating taillights. Red smiled. ¡°I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re talking about. I thought we were here enjoying this pleasant ride.¡± She gestured with her cup at the people below.


    ¡°Hum.¡± I sat back.


    ¡°You¡¯re not really good at this kind of thing.¡± Red sounded a mused as we slowly began rising for a second rotation.


    ¡°Good at what?¡±


    She looked more amused. ¡°What do you do in your off time when you¡¯re not hunting, doesn¡¯t seem like you go on dates.¡±


    I smiled. This was a date, was it? ¡°No, no dates.¡± We rose 5 more feet, a soft echo drifted from the west. Aw, that¡¯s what the pit in my stomach was responding to. I waited five more feet and the echo repeated. Faint, low, and almost dead.


    ¡°Well, what do you do?¡± Red asked again.


    ¡°I sharpen knives and load bullets.¡± This would be our last trip around the fairis wheel. I needed to go.


    ¡°So, your always working? That explains a lot.¡± She muttered the last part.


    ¡°Yes, in fact I got a whiff of something. As we have been going around. I¡¯m going to have to leave when we reach the bottom.¡±


    ¡°What is it?¡± she swirled the ice in her cider cup. ¡°You¡¯re not just making something up are you?¡±


    ¡°No this has been,¡± I didn¡¯t know the right word. ¡°Different.¡±


    She raised an eyebrow. ¡°Glad to bring you, some variety.¡±


    We had risen another five feet, and the dark echo softly called again, hunger. Famished hunger. ¡°It¡¯s coming for me.¡± I didn¡¯t realize I had said it out loud.


    ¡°What is?¡± Red sipped the last bit of apple cider from her cup. Her eyes flicked over the vast ground beneath us, my change in mood seemed to have put her a little on edge.


    ¡°Morgan, don¡¯t worry it¡¯s not close. But I need to go.¡±


    Red looked over at me. Expressionless, for the first time this evening.


    Stepping off the fairs wheel Red discarded her cup in the trash. She looked at me, went to say something but stopped herself, thinking it over. We stood there for a moment. ¡°I need to go.¡± I turned and began walking away. I didn¡¯t look back.


    I was just about to my truck, when I caught a glimpse of pink glimmering eyes from the thick woods that surrounded the carnival. I started walking towards them, but as I aproched they vanished to the sound of rustling brush. I pulled out my phone and scrolled through the contacts.


    Red didn¡¯t pick up. So, I called grace. She answered on the second buzz.


    ¡°I was wondering, when you were going to call.¡±


    ¡°Those things, which were after Loren and amber, I just saw one in the woods. You need to call your daughter and tell her to find me in the parking lot.¡±


    ¡°All call you back.¡± Grace hung up.


    I waited hand in my jacket, fingers around my 1911.


    Grace called back a minute later. ¡°Amber is safe. How did you know she was at the carnival?¡±


    ¡°We ran into each other. Those things are still after her. You¡¯re going to need to figure a solution without me. The Sinew is after me. My hands are full.¡±


    There was a long pause, from her side of the line. ¡°Are you sure? You left it in Utah, it couldn¡¯t have picked up your sent from this far way.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s coming for me grace. Something¡¯s changed, I don¡¯t know what, but I know it¡¯s coming for me and is only a few days from finding me.¡±


    ¡°We can get you on another plane. There is the Glade in Ireland you could¡­¡±


    ¡°If it can track me acrost the states then who to say it can¡¯t find me in Europe. That¡¯s a lot of dead people in between. If you don¡¯t hear from me in three weeks you¡¯re not going to.¡± I hung up my phone and climbed in my truck. She tried calling me back several times, but my mind was made up. My plan would either work or it wouldn¡¯t.


    I wanted more time, but after recognizing the Sinew¡¯s call in the mountains of Utah and Idaho, I understood. I would rather force the encounter and die; I couldn¡¯t take the feeling of dread that had been my constant companion over these last three years after Victors death.