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.”
The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.
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.”