Chapter 30

The drive back up to the national park was not especially far as the crow flew. If there had been a regular highway connecting Port Harrington to Greene Point National Park, the whole journey would have taken as long as a decent daily commute. The road showed a lack of care as they passed through the farmland, but it was passable. The winding path between the stands of pine and oak trees was always the most tedious part of the journey. Luis’ van was not especially good at handling the bumps, but Vince was used to it.

Especially since he had something to occupy his mind: the bound sheriff.

“And that’s where we sit: we need Nanora’s coven to help us fight off this Marazza, and then she and Bayla can go home to figure out why her… what’d you call it, Nanora?”

“Her morphic field,” said Nanora. “It has been completely corrupted and intermingled with Vince’s.”

Murphy had stayed quiet during most of the explanation. Vince was a bit shocked; he had not known the blustery sergeant for long, but this was the longest he had ever seen him without making a sarcastic comment.

Once Vince stopped, Murphy let out a long sigh. “So she’s a killer whale, you’re some kind of superman with magical whale powers she gave you, Nanora’s a witch from an alternate universe, and… what’s Perez?”

“The best plumber on the island,” said Luis with a smug smile.

Murphy nodded, absorbing new information. “Okay. I think I see what’s going on here. The pressure got to me and I’ve had a psychotic break.”

Vince was annoyed for a moment, before he caught Murphy’s wry grin. He chuckled as some of the tension in the van ebbed. “What pressure? You said earlier you have a pretty cushy gig.”

“You haven’t met the missus,” he replied, chuckling in kind. “Seriously, now. I believe you; I’ve seen too much weird crap in the last twenty-four hours to disbelieve anymore.”

“We knew you believed us,” said Bayla, her tone a sharp rebuke. “You were going to give me over to the eff-bee-eye.”

“I mean now I think you’re reasonable,” said Murphy. “That you don’t mean any harm.”

Bayla’s face screwed into an angry mask. “You threatened us when we had done you no harm—”

“You did attack him,” said Vince. “We aren’t innocent.”

Bayla blushed. “W-well… he was extremely ill mannered.”

“It’s one of the perks of my job,” said Murphy. “Anyway, you know I need to tell the world about you. The people deserve to know, if just for their safety.”

“Constable Murphy,” said Nanora, turning her head to face them, “I should not have told you any of it before. I am still learning my way through the downplane, and I thought that you were my opposite number. The FBI is essentially an army of constables, right?” He nodded. “If one constable had that reaction, imagine how the FBI would respond!”

“They’d cover it up, just like the Grey’s,” said Luis. “You and Bayla would end up in Area Fifty-One.”

“If we were lucky!” said Nanora, plowing ahead even though she did not understand Luis’ references. “It would put Avalas in danger of invasion. Nobody but you can know. Please, I beg of you: keep this knowledge to yourself.”

The sheriff’s mustache shifted back and forth as he weighed her words. Her imploring expression finally broke him down. “You’re all going home, right?”

“That is our intent,” said Bayla. “This whole affair has been stormy start to finish; it shall be a relief to see the Northern Kelp Forest again.”

Murphy nodded. “And this army of witches should be able to make short work of that monster shark, right? Then everything’s all back to normal for Fin Island?”

“More or less,” said Nanora. “Somebody is still smuggling contraband across, but…” She hesitated. “I don’t want to be mean, but the sheriff’s office is woefully ill equipped to deal with it.”

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“No offense taken; I want the hell, er, heck out of this business,” he replied. “Okay. You get that shark dealt with, get that killer whale off my island, and we can call it settled. I’ll just have to figure out how I explain going AWOL today.”

“You aren’t going to turn around and charge me and Luis with anything, right?” said Vince.

Murphy barked a harsh laugh. “That’d raise way too many questions without giving away Avalas. Besides, you’re still going to be super when she goes home, right? I’m not messing with that.”

Will I still be a champion if Bayla’s in another dimension? Huh, that’s a good question. Vince looked from Nanora to Bayla, and it seemed like they were equally unsure.

“So we’re good? We’re all squared up?” asked Vince.

Murphy shook his head. “Yeah, we’re good, kid. I’m not pressing my luck anymore. Crap, you three’ve all KO’d me once. I’m not giving Perez a shot at it.”

“You might, if we don’t get my van fixed,” said Luis. Murphy’s eyes narrowed at the parting shot, but he let is slide.

“Yeah, yeah,” said Murphy. “Now, are you ready to cut me loose? I can’t feel my hands.”

Vince hesitated. Not much harm he can do. We already hid his gun, phone, and knife in the glovebox. “Alright, but it’s going to be a bit before we can bring you back south. We’ve got an appointment with a portal.”

*************

The parking lot at the edge of the hiking trails was as Vince and Bayla had left it the day before, though there were more cars than before. After crouching in the back of the van for miles on end, Vince was grateful for the chance to stretch his legs again.

“That could be a problem,” said Vince, nodding to the parked cars. “We don’t want anybody stumbling across us. Nanora, where’s the portal at?”

“It stays in this general area, but it can move as the planes shift in relation to each other,” she replied.

“How much of a shift are we talking about?” asked Vince. “Hey, where’s Bayla?”

“I am here,” she said, stepping out of the van, looking different than the last time he had seen her.

Vince’s mouth went dry; he always thought she was cute, but he still was not used to just how striking she was in her alternate form. She wore a variant of his plaid shirt and shorts again, only tied off around the belly, half the buttons undone, and with substantially shorter shorts.

Luis’ eyes were wide open as he drank in Bayla. “Wait, what? When did you turn into a supermodel?”

“Supermodel? I am not sure what it means, but I like the sound of it,” said Bayla.

Clearing his throat, Vince asked, “Wh-where did that outfit come from?”

“I ran short on material; I have used up quite a bit of water from my Aqua Armor, and I am taller now. I was inspired by one of the printed magics in Luis’ bathing room,” she replied, pressing up against him. “Do you approve?”

“Y-yeah.” Ma wouldn’t, but she isn’t here.

“I thought you might.” Bayla’s knowing smirk as she stepped back irritated him; they both knew he was easy to fluster. She stole a water bottle from his backpack, pouring half of it out to create a spear, and the other half to strap it to her back. “Besides, it is a warm day; the extra water is better spent on weapons.”

“Printed magics?” asked Nanora, raising on eyebrow at Luis.

“Yes, they had still images of women in clothes like this, or similar,” she said.

“I-I’ve got no idea what she’s talking about,” said Luis.

“I’m sure you don’t,” said Nanora, turning her nose up at him.

Vince coughed into his hand, trying to be a decent wingman to Luis. “Bayla, when did you find the chance to transform? Why, for that matter?”

“It seems to come easier with practice,” she said, flexing her muscular arms. “Longer legs shall make this hike less awful, yes? Besides, I feel more comfortable like this.”

“That wasn’t a hallucination either,” murmured Sergeant Murphy.

“Oh my,” said Nanora. She examined Bayla with her crystal, and Vince noticed that she was now the same height as the witch. “I thought your morphic field would tear itself in half transforming again so quickly, but it seems just as stable as before.”

“That is excellent news,” said Bayla, her face beaming.

Nanora pursed her lips. “You misunderstand; your field had as many holes as Swiss cheese, and it still does. We need to get you home and stabilize it, or you might actually tear yourself apart. Please, stop playing with your form.”

“Oh,” squeaked Bayla.

Nanora turned to Murphy and Luis. “You two do not need to come with us.”

“Like hell we don’t, pardon my language,” said Murphy. “Vince said that shark was tracking you by smell, and somebody sent those ColecoVisions—”

“Kaleekos,” interjected Nanora.

“… after you,” said Murphy, ignoring the correction. “I’m sticking with all of you until this is resolved. I want my gun back, too. The stopping power won’t impress some of these monsters, but it won’t hurt.”

“Know that if you betray us, the next Aqua Arrow will find your throat,” said Bayla.

Murphy gulped, unconsciously taking a step back. “W-wouldn’t dream of it, darling. At this point, I figure if I’m breathing, it’s because you’re decent folks.”

“Then I’m not staying here alone,” said Luis. He let out a little sigh as he looked down the entrances of the main trails.

Nanora went to retrieve the stashed gear while Vince sidled up alongside his friend. “Finally got you to go hiking,” he said, ribbing him gently with his elbow.

Luis gestured at Bayla, who was watching Murphy with obvious suspicion. His eyes dwelled on her form a little longer than Vince strictly liked. “Well, yeah. You didn’t tell me you could meet chicks hiking.”

“I think I did a couple of times,” he replied.

Luis shrugged. “You usually come home alone, so I figured you were full of it.”

“Whatever, man,” said Vince, casting his own worried look down the darkened hiking trail.

Ma always said there were wolves and worse in the forest. She doesn’t know how right she is. Though, I doubt she imagined sharks.

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