To Be Merry and Escape From It All

A Whateley Academy Tale

By Renae

With the creative assistance of Dr. Bender

(Merry 7)

“Rise and shine!” half sang, half shouted Kam as he rolled in a cart laden with food.

“Morning Kam,” offered Karen with a yawn as she sat up and pulled her hair out of her face.

“… Off,” I replied and pulled my pillow firmly over my head.

“Now is that any way to great your friends?” Kam asked and as I felt the pillow being jerked away he added. “Wakey! Wakey!”

Rolling over I repeated my earlier efforts with the blanket, “Doan wanna.”

“But I insist, after all you’re supposed to have guests today,” Kam said with a laugh as the blanket was forcibly removed from my head.

“Guests? I thought I was going home today?” asked Karen quickly.

Rolling over I gave Kam a matching set of birds, “I don’t do morning meetings,” I said and then I promptly rolled back over to hide from the light again.

“Well you are going home today Karen, it’s just that Whateley is sending some folks over to talk with you and your mom.” Kam grinned and pointed down at me, “You don’t want Karen to go home without saying goodbye do you?”

I rolled over and gave Karen a bland look, “Goodbye, don’t forget to write.” Looking back up to Kam I asked, “Can I go back to sleep now?”

Karen laughed and pointed at me, “She’ll be better after coffee, my dad wakes up the same way.”

“No I won’t, I’ll be better after four more hours of sleep,” I groused and reclaimed my blanket.

“Why are you so tired? Were you doing things that you were not supposed to be doing?” Kam asked with a slightly skewed smile.

“I refuse to incriminate myself in any shape or form,” I grumbled and sat up slowly, yes my head was attached though it seemed to throb slowly. “But no, not really, I just kept waking up from really bad dreams all night long.”

“Hmm, that sounds like a common complaint,” Kam said slowly as he looked at the mirrored glass of the room, “Kerry said the same thing.”

“I don’t think I dreamed last night,” said Karen with a sigh as she picked up a bowl from the cart, “though waking up is weird still.”

“Yeah, I get that too,” I looked at the large platter of ham and eggs that was waiting for me, “going from dreaming of the old me to awakening in the current me is a rude thing now and again.”

“Funny I never have that problem,” Kam said lightly.

“I’m sure we could find a way to make it happen,” I muttered at him. Picking up my tray of breakfast, I then used the plastic knife from it to make a cutting motion at his groin, “Snip, snip even.”

“I’ll pass,” he shrugged and pointed to a bag on bottom of the cart, “more clothing for you Merry.”

“Let me guess the usual ARC tracksuit and undies?” I asked after a finished the bite I was working on.

“Is there anything for me?” asked Karen quickly.

“Well your mom wanted to have you in a skirt today.”

“Oh hell no,” Karen’s nose wrinkled in evident distaste, “not even if you paid me.”

“Skirts are not so bad,” I said with a shrug, “but I would rather wear jeans.”

Kam pointed at me with a smile and then said to Karen, “Well if Merry can do it, I think you can do it too.”

She gave me a skeptical look, “You’re kidding me.”

“No, admittedly it is weird at first, but you may as well put up with it now.” I glanced down to my quickly vanishing food, “That way if your mom drags you shopping the worst of it will be over already.”

“Ug, girl clothes.”

“Well Whateley does have a uniform that most of the students do wear,” Kam paused briefly, “at least most of the days any ways.”

“I bet it has a skirt,” muttered Karen sourly.

“You would win.” Kam shrugged and said, “Clothes just are, I don’t like suits and ties either, but I will put up with them on occasion.”

I took a quick glance at Kam’s feet showed that he was in shoes today, “And shoes?”

“Well sandals are only good when you know you will not be doing anything that requires toe protection,” he admitted quickly.

“I see, a necessary evil?”

“Precisely.”

“Ok,” Beltane paused and looked back over the seat at her companions, “what gives?”

“Beg pardon?” asked Chou with a quick glance to Nikki.

“You three were scarcely this quiet at breakfast, and I can see Nikki is tense about something.” Beltane paused and gave Sara a direct look, “Have you been stealing kisses from Stalwart on the side?”

“Hardly,” Sara smiled and shook her head, “I don’t poach from friends.”

“Ok so it’s not boyfriend troubles,” Beltane glanced at Chou briefly, “nor girlfriend troubles.” Beltane grinned as Chou flushed rapidly, “What? I’m not blind am I?”

“It’s cute really,” added Sara with a sly grin, “but I think the only ones who have caught on, are the Poe folks.”

“Yet,” said Nikki with a lazy smile, “though you two do disappear a lot together in the library.”

 Looking quickly out the window Chou glared at the rolling hills and asked plaintively, “Can we talk about something else please?”

Beltane smiled wickedly at her, “Ok, for now.” Then Beltane studied the other two a moment, “Ok, back to the original question: What gives?”

Nikki scowled briefly and glanced over at Sara, “Well?”

“A well, is a deep hole,” Sara said glancing at the driver.

“Now that is an evasion if I ever heard one,” Beltane shook her head and wiggled her fingers and a green glow washed across the van, separating the driver from the passenger compartment. “Do I have to make the driver park the van until I get an answer?”

“Isn’t magickal coercion against the rules?” asked Chou with a smirk.

“You will find that many of these rules people are fond of can be shed in a hurry, if they think they can get away with it.” Beltane shrugged and smiled, “I could just blow the tires as such things do happen.”

“Wonderful, we just had to be saddled with someone devious,” Nikki shook her head and groaned aloud, “thank you ever so much Ms. Carson.”

Grinning Beltane waved a hand back and forth to the three girls, “Don’t make me break out my cereal attack.”

“Oh like you did to Toni?” asked Chou with a smile.

“Worse, much worse,” Beltane smirked grandly, “ok enough stalling already, spill it.”

At Nikki’s rolling eyes and slight uplift of one shoulder, Sara forced out a long-suffering sigh, “Well it’s like this…”

“It’s no wonder people think Posies are nuts,” Beltane said after a long moment of silence, “you all make me seem sane!”

“Well I think we get that for other reasons,” Chou said with an indifferent pat of her sword’s scabbard.  

“Look, we are not asking you to do anything illegal,” stated Sara calmly, “she doesn’t legally exist and while she may be slightly off, she has not consented to being held prisoner either.”

“Yeah right, usually if someone is committed to a nut house there is legal paperwork to go with it.” Beltane pointed at Sara and then the other two girls, “True?”

“Ah, her um, legal custody or guardianship is one of those nebulous things,” Sara reluctantly admitted, “The CIA has played fast and loose with many laws in regards to her. Otto has been working to secure some sort of legal status for her but that has been blocked at many levels.”  

“That is not really surprising,” added Nikki quickly, “considering what she can do.”

“Frankly it sounds as if she would be safer where she is,” Beltane said slowly, “it’d be hard to kill her down there for one.”

“Well we are hoping to get her to Whateley, and while it may be a bit riskier for her,” Sara admitted cautiously, “the enforced neutrality would give her some protection and a chance at some sort of life.” 

“As long as she didn’t go off campus,” added Chou in a sotto voice.

“It’d be a start at least,” Nikki nodded unhappily, “for all intents and purposes she’d still be a bit of a prisoner. Though we do have good Shrinks on campus too.”

“Then with a bit of work we can disguise her enough to where she can escape to a life beyond Whateley one day.” Sara smiled and sat back, “But that is not so much of an issue as getting her out is.”

“Ok so have you given any thought of how to get her out?” Beltane asked and pointed at Sara, “Saying that I approve of this insane idea?”

“No, no clue at all,” Sara said with a defiant smirk, “all we know is that Gypsy said it was possible for her to leave today.”

“So you just plan on waltzing in and playing it by ear?” Beltane asked in evident disbelief.

“Yes.”

“You all are nuts, did you know that?”

“Well, we do live in Poe,” said Chou with a roll of her eyes.

“That is not an excuse to do insane things!”

“You cannot plan for some things child, you just do what is needful,” said Nikki as she sat formally, “to do otherwise would be criminal.”

“It’s still an insane plan!” Beltane protested loudly.

“Just pretend you are on an epic adventure in a galaxy far, far away,” suggested Sara with a laugh.

“Use the force Luke!” suggested Nikki as her features softened.

Chou grinned and pointed over to Sara, “Who needs the force I gots me a wookie!”

“We’re doomed I say.” Beltane stopped abruptly and then blinked suspiciously at Sara, “Ok, how did I end up as the whiny droid?”

“Dumb luck?” Sara asked as she buffed her claws briefly.

I thought Karen’s mom had shown surprising restraint when it came to springing the skirt of her daughter. Karen didn’t seem so sure as she stood there in the knee length dark denim skirt. Though I think she was slightly pleased with the bright green and touristy Galilee Bay t-shirt she was sporting. I don’t think she was too happy with the stockings, but she did put up with them. Though the penny loafers her mom presented got stuffed back in the bag quickly when her mood visibly soured.

Smiling I nodded to her mom, “New shoes are a bitch, especially if you are not used to the style.” I pointed down to Karen’s tennis shoes, “Not to mention her toes are not used to anything that narrow yet.”

Mrs. Taliesin nodded quickly, “I see what you mean, have you gotten that far?”

“Not exactly, oh I have a pair someplace, that I wore for a day or two.” I rolled my eyes and added, “But I didn’t much care for the lack of traction.”

“Ah, that makes sense,” Mrs. Taliesin paused and held out a separate bag to me and in a slightly apologetic tone added, “I wasn’t sure of your size, so if it’s a bit large you could always use it as a night shirt.”

Surprised at her gift I paused and then took the bag from her carefully, “It’d beat the drafty gowns here by a long shot,” I said with a happy smile as I opened the bag. Inside I found a black T-shirt that was similar to the one Karen was wearing.

“Otto said something about your eyes and certain colors, so I go you a black one, I hope you don’t mind,” Mrs. Taliesin said after a moment.

“Oh no, it’s perfect,” I smiled up at her, “really it is.” I laughed and looked at the sailboat and lighthouse on the front of it, “You can’t imagine how awkward I felt shopping for clothes and not knowing if the white shirt I picked out was white or blue.” Glancing over at Karen I pointed and added, “I am not even sure if her shirt is green or yellow, but it looks green to me.”

Mrs. Taliesin blinked at that and smiled gently, “It is a bright yellow, as they didn’t have any blue ones her size in the shop. Do you have much in the way of clothing?”

“Me?” I asked with a shrug, “No not really, I think you could put all of my clothing in a small suitcase.” At her worried look I added, “I’ve only been a girl for,” I stopped and did a quick count in my head, “about a month or so now.”

“Well you seem to be holding up well,” Mrs. Taliesin said carefully.

Giving the cell an odd look, I glanced over to Karen and back to her mom, “Well, yes and no. I am in the nut house after all.”

Briefly flustered Mrs. Taliesin sat down on Karen’s bed and hugged Karen to her side, “I meant as a girl.”

“Oh, it’s largely an act on my part at times,” I motioned at my chest and then lower. “Waking up to this was unpleasant, but at the time I was more worried about other things.” I waved a finger between the mother and daughter, “At least she should have more time to adjust and a bit more information about the curse than I did.”

“Oh dear, ah yes that must have been a rude shock,” Mrs. Taliesin said sympathetically.

“Not as bad as some of my other rude shocks but still bad enough.”

“Rude shocks?” Karen asked quickly.

Sighing loudly even to my ears I paused and then continued, “From the start, when my gift showed up I was in danger.”

“From your family?” Mrs. Taliesin asked unhappily.

“Yes, and then others,” looking down at the floor as I continued, “I suppose some of it was my fault, as I evidently frightened people with what I could do.”

“Normal folks do overreact at times to the unknown or unfamiliar,” Mrs. Taliesin pointed out after a moment of silence, “it took a while for folks to accept us in Galilee. Considering that we do rescue work, nothing dramatic or flashy.”

Karen laughed at that, “Right mom, like depositing a sinking trawler on the beach is not dramatic?”

Appearing slightly abashed Mrs. Taliesin smiled, “Well. We were rushed on that one. A small fishing fleet ran afoul of smugglers and the Coast Guard was busy elsewhere.”

“Ouch, so did everyone make it off safely?” I asked.

She shook her head briefly and looked away, “No, the smugglers had made examples of a few of the ships and their crews.”

Picturing all sorts of ugliness I nodded sympathetically, “Ick.”

“We did capture them, and from what I hear there trials went pretty much as expected,” Mrs. Taliesin said with a savage smile, “life sentences all around.”

“Ah, good. So you are publicly out?” I asked.

“Not exactly, some of our team is, though as we do have to deal with the police, Coast Guard, Navy and the like from time to time.” She paused and smiled, “I’m firmly in the ‘phone booth,’ as I usually have to work the day job most of the time.”

“What, no secret base, no corporate sponsors?” I jokingly asked.

“Well we do have a base,” she shrugged indifferently, “and money, but emergencies don’t happen every day and a cover is only as good as the time you take to make it work.”

“We have one of the largest surf and dive shops in the state,” said Karen happily and she poked her mom in the side gently, “though someone says I have to wait to get my dive certifications.”

Grinning at was obviously a long-standing complaint of Karen’s, I said, “I see, but now you have a real reason to wait, as powers take training yes?”

“Yes,” Mrs. Taliesin said quickly, ”we can’t have you electrocuting the fish can we?”

     “Oh man, that bites. We were supposed to go to swim with the dolphins this Christmas,” Karen said in sudden dismay.

“Well, maybe in the summer, we’ll see how well you get it under control,” Mrs. Taliesin said and gave her daughter a hug, “there’s always Mouse World you know?”

Blinking as she appeared to think quickly Karen quickly nodded, “And the Studios bit too?”

“We’ll see,” Mrs. Taliesin said with a quick hug, “but it depends on how quickly you get things under control.”

“Can’t have you blowing up the rides you know,” I stated and then pointed at myself, “I have a long ways to go before they would let me on a normal plane.”

Mrs. Taliesin suddenly frowned, “Oh dear, I can see the RV is going to get a working over, though I always did like camping.”

Karen smiled and then laughed, “What she really likes is the S’mores.”

“Well, yes, but who doesn’t like marshmallows, chocolate and graham crackers?” Mrs. Taliesin asked with a grin.

I had to agree, even though my family’s version of camping was vastly different from her version I suspected, “True, very true.”

A cold dark mist seemed to hang heavy in room as the sound of falling meat slapped harshly against the floor.  Buried the mist, small shapes coursed across the tiles of the floor only to converge on one spot. A low guttural moan that seemingly was wracked with shivers wailed briefly and then stilled.

“I, I’m coming Frank, hang,” a brief garrulous cough wracked the unseen voice, “in there.”

Otto smiled as he walked into the conference room, the van from Whateley had arrived on schedule and the girls had discovered the pastries. Idly he noted a cup in Sara’s hand and he chalked that up to her trying to blend in. With a critical glance to the room’s décor he walked over to the girls.

“Hello ladies, I am Doctor Otto, thank you for coming on such short notice,” then after a brief nod to Sara he continued, “I’ve had the pleasure of meeting Ms. Reilly before, but I’ve not been introduced to the two of you I think.”

“Then if I may?” Sara asked with a smile and a wave of her hand to Bladedancer, “May I present to you Ms. Chou Lee.” She paused as the two shook hands and then indicated Beltane, “And Ms. Belle Forbes.”

“A pleasure to meet you sir,” Belle said with a smile as she clasped hands with him.

“Like wise, I assure you,” he paused and motioned to the conference table, “if you would sit please, I would like to say a few things before the mother and child are brought up.”  

“So is it just Karen is coming up I take it?” Nikki asked as she took a seat.

Slightly surprised by question the Otto nodded, “Yes, there are security concerns that I cannot go into regarding the other girl’s case though.”

“Ah, I see, Ms. Carson had thought we might be meeting her as well,” Nikki said casually.

“Not that it could not hurt,” Sara said with a lazy shrug, ”seeing the same techs' day in and out has to be a drag.”

“Maybe we can arrange a visit later on, though it depends on how her day goes,” Otto smiled gently, “though primarily I asked for your help in assuaging some of the mother’s worries.”

“Still in denial is she?” asked Sara quickly.

“Well some,” Otto admitted hesitantly, “though she does seem to have made some adjustments to the matter.”

Belle chuckled loudly, ”As opposed to screaming, hitting things and throwing pottery?”

“Well yes, she was somewhat vocal,” Otto admitted with a glance to Sara.

“So you would like us to tell her what?” asked Chou in the pause that followed.

“Well I won’t ask you to lie or share things that are painful to you.” Otto nodded to the girls and he smiled easily, “I would ask that you share things that might help both the mother and daughter to adapt and if you will prepare them somewhat for possible headaches.

The tall figure kicked the unconscious security guard a second time in evident irritation. Turning away it ignored the coalescing figure that grotesquely mirrored the unconscious guard. After a moment the zombified guard shambled unsteadily away and down the hall on its mission.

“Damned Uncle Tom’s get what they deserve,” muttered the figure as tendrils weaved in the air and out from its chest. “Yes Frank I know… I’ve not forgotten.’ It whirled in sudden evident panic and screamed, “No-o! Frank! They got Frank! “Those dirty, stinking, pinko fairies!  They got Frank! Hold on Buddy! I’m coming!”

Nikki gave the wary mother and child a warm smile, relaxing her hold on her glamouries a touch to ease their nerves, “Hello, I’m Nikki and these are my friends and sisters if you will, at Whateley.’ She paused and indicated Beltane, ”Belle Forbes is our upper class mentor for this trip. Chou Lee and Sara Waite and I share some of the same classes.”

Chou smiled at the younger girl as she sat at the table, “Hi Karen, nice to meet you.”

Karen smiled and looked at the others, “You were all guys too?”

Nikki rolled her eyes at the question, but she smiled, “Yes, we all started out as guys.”

Otto chuckled and glanced at the older woman, “If you will excuse me I have to check on some paperwork.”

Mrs. Taliesin nodded, “I think we can manage Doctor.”

Otto nodded towards Sara, “Quite, Sara knows how to reach me, should the need arise.” 

Karen gave Sara a distinct frown, “I thought you were younger and my size?”

Walking over to Karen, Sara smiled and shrank down briefly before returning to her normal size, “Well yes and no, I can change my size as needed, and it helps Merry to relate to me on occasion if I appear younger.”

“So you were doing it to make Merry calmer?” asked Mrs. Taliesin critically.

Sara smiled and then continued, “Well both of them actually. It might help you to understand that I’m the oldest of the changelings here, though Belle has been a girl longer.”

“Dare I ask?” Mrs. Taliesin prompted.

“Late twenties,” Sara said casually watching the other lady carefully.

“You lied to me?” asked Karen uncertainly.

“Did I ever say how old I was Karen?” Sara asked her calmly.

Karen paused and thought furiously for a long moment, “Um, no.”

Sara walked over and knelt down by Karen, “I’m still your friend Karen, and I will still be your friend if you want me to be. Ok?”

Karen nodded slowly and then hugged Sara quickly; “I suppose it’s ok. Just no fooling me again ok?”    

“Cross my heart,” Sara made a quick ‘X’ over her chest and returned the hug.

Beltane smiled and motioned to the younger girl, “We’ve been asked to treat Karen as if she was our sister on campus when she arrives.”

Nikki nodded and then added, “While there are some children on campus her age, most if not all of the others are high school aged.”

“Ah, some things never change,” Mrs. Taliesin said as she watched her daughter help herself to a glazed donut.

“Yes, did you attend Whateley as well?” Chou asked with a smile.

“Many moons ago, I was in Dickenson back then,” Mrs. Taliesin said, “though I didn’t know there were such a thing as Changelings then.”

Beltane nodded and easily added, “It is not openly talked about due to the sensitivity of the issue. Many people cannot accept that there is such a thing. Add in some religious and social aspects and it could really be a problem.”

“Will it be a problem for Karen?” Mrs. Taliesin asked hesitantly. 

“It should not be, after all she will be growing into her girlhood.” Beltane smiled as the mother relaxed, “hence there will be less likelihood for any shocks to the student body.”

“Most of our trials on campus are not so much tied to the change,” Beltane motioned to the others, “but learning how to react to boys without throwing up in fear.”

Chou grimaced with an exaggerated roll of her eyes, “True, though at the same time we have had to accept that most of the boys there have yet to figure that out too.”    

“Beg pardon?” asked Mrs. Taliesin quickly.

“Well the boys for the most part are boys, you know; too much testosterone, too little thinking?” At Mrs. Taliesin’s nod Sara continued and looked over at Karen, “Just because most of the campus has powers, doesn’t mean everyone has figured out what to do with them, much less how to be adult with them.”

“That sounds familiar,” Mrs. Taliesin said with a smile, “and it sounds like very little has changed since I was there.”

“Very likely,” Nikki smiled and nodded to Karen, “Otto has asked that we might tell you what sort of problems that we had encountered and what possibly to expect.”

Mrs. Taliesin blinked and nodded slowly, “He said as much earlier.”

Chou smiled slowly and took a breath, “Well we’ve all had our fair share of bumps, though the hardest bit I have to deal with on a regular basis is waking up as a girl.”

Karen nodded rapidly, “Merry says she has a problem waking up from old memory dreams, is it something like that?”

“Yes, something like that.” Chou shrugged and motioned to Nikki then Beltane, “They’ve been girls longer than I have, so I can’t say if it gets easier, though there are times I wake up crying.”

“Do you miss being a boy?” Mrs. Taliesin asked softly.

“Yes I do at times. It is hard not to, considering I was one until summer hit,” Chou chuckled ruefully, “having friends in the same boat helps.”

“Ah, and your family,” Mrs. Taliesin motioned out form the room, “did they take it well?”

“Ah, I was orphaned not long after I had changed,” Chou looked away quickly, “my mom had passed when I was younger so it was just my dad and I for a long time.” 

“I’m sorry,” Mrs. Taliesin said looking uncomfortably down at the floor.

“My father is still in shock,” quickly inserted Nikki who then drolly added, “even though my mom was thrilled to have a daughter.”

“Thrilled, as in burned your clothes, took you shopping and then redecorated your room while you out one day?” asked Belle with a grimace.

“Well not that way, but close,” Nikki chuckled and rolled her eyes, “my change took place during the school year. So I ended up out of school and forced to go shopping frequently.”

Beltane ruefully rubbed her nose; “Shopping isn’t so bad, as long as it doesn’t follow the loss of all your stuff. That was bad. My mother decided I was going all girl, all at once. Big mistake.”

With a cough Sara pointed to Karen, “Don’t be in a rush and toss out the baby with the bathwater, is what I think Belle is saying. While I didn’t get the chance to keep my things, I do wish I had that choice.”

“Yes,” Beltane gave Sara a bland look, “It’s nearly as bad as dying in some respects, and belongings do give and hold a sense of self. Which is very important at times.”

With a sad frown Karen looked at the other girls, “No wonder Merry is messed up, she said she doesn’t have anything.” 

Sara nodded slowly and looked over at Nikki, “Well she does have the important thing, she has friends and without them she’d be in real trouble.”

 Walter frowned and swore softly while he rapidly typed at his terminal, trying to wrest answers from the unresponsive machine. He had the old knot of fear in his belly that he used to get back in ‘Nam, the one that screamed all hell was about to crap down on him.

As there was no logical reason why the defense systems would arm and cycle in fresh ammunition, without it having either a major glitch in the system or it firing it all off. From the rate of the reload cycle was triggering, either there were a pile of bodies directly across from the guns or a pile of unspent ammunition was growing besides them.

 In either case he only paused a brief moment before pressing the alert button. If he was wrong, the worst they would have going on was a drill and a few angry techs to clean up the ammunition. If he was right, he would earn his ridiculous salary again. “I’d rather be wrong,” he said as he stood up and rushed into armory.

Sara frowned as the lighting in the conference room changed over from the usual steady white, to a sullen amber. A moment later a low grating tone chimed several long notes before stopping abruptly. Walking quickly to the conference room doors she eased the doorstops up and allowed the doors to close.

“What’s going on?” asked Mrs. Taliesin.

“I’m not sure,” Sara said as she walked over to a phone, “though I suspect we should stay here for the moment. Picking up the phone she glanced at the other girls quickly, “I’m fairly sure this wasn’t part of a planned event.”

Chou frowned as her sword suddenly unmasked itself, “You don’t say.”

“Walter what is going on?” Otto asked as the image of the security chief appeared on the monitor.

“I’m not sure Otto, some damned weird shit is going on with the defense systems at the Black to Red Access Junction.” There was a pause as the man pulled on an armored jacket, “I don’t think it is our little guest playing games either. What really worries me is that I’m not getting any response from the personnel down there.”

“Do you think we have a breakout?”

“Damned if I know,” Walter stopped and pulled on a helmet, “but I am treating it as such.”

“Right I’ll call down support from the Orbital Platform and alert the other bases for support just in case,” Otto reached over and typed a command at his terminal and waited for it to process.

“Good plan,” Walter picked up a large gun from his desk, “the team here is ready to go, and with luck we can cross this off as a drill.”

“I’ll send the powered sentry teams down once they report ready,” Otto quickly added.

“Rojer, on the way.”

Sara placed the phone back in its cradle thoughtfully, and announced to the expectant faces, “We’re to stay here for now.”

“What’s wrong?” Mrs. Taliesin asked as she pulled her daughter close.

“Doctor Otto is not sure just yet.” Sara shrugged and said calmly, “It could be nothing more than a sensor glitch.”

“Shouldn’t you go help?” Nikki asked quickly, ”You do work here.”

Sara rolled her eyes, “Doctor Otto said I am to make sure you all are kept safe.”

“Uh huh, why can’t adults just say when things are going bad?” asked Karen loudly with an evident scowl on her face.

“What makes you say that?” asked Chou as she fought off a wave of unease.

“I watch TV. When ever there is sensor glitch or something on the science fiction movies, it means the monster or alien is coming to get them,” Karen pronounced as a fact.

Beltane gave Sara a worried frown, “She does have a point.”

Chou loosened her blade from its scabbard slightly and shook her head, “That’s what worries me.”

~’Merry?’~ asked Otto’s voice as it intruded upon my sleep.

“Gods, is it too much to ask for a few hours extra sleep around here?” I asked the room loudly in protest of being awoken again.

~’Ah, I have to ask, did you have anything to do with the problems in the security systems tied to the levels way under yours?’~

“No I didn’t fuck with any of your precious security systems!” I shouted at him and the room, “Can I go back to sleep now?”

~’Merry, as much as it pains me to ask this of you; we need your help.’~

I slowly sat up as my door hissed open to reveal Kerry anxiously standing there, “Jeeze, has the world come to an end?”

~’No, but it seems like part of our security and sensor system has been corrupted and we need you to go in sort it out.’~ There was a pause and Otto worriedly added, ~’We can’t even tell if folks are alive down there.’~

“Oh crap. Ok, Ok. Just put me down at real computer terminal and I’ll see what is going on.” I gave the room a foul look and yawn loudly, “But I will really want a nap later.”

“I’m sure something can be worked out,” Kerry said with a chuckle, “Come on lazybones out of bed and to work.”

“I’m not lazy, I’m just not a morning person, jeeze.”

“We’ll try to schedule our emergencies on your time table next time,” Kerry said with a smirk in my direction.

“Everyone is a wise guy today.”

“Just part of the friendly service.”

Walter pulled Sergeant Quedino back against the wall by her combat harness. With luck the unconscious woman would be all right there, though he was certain that her leg shouldn’t bend above the knee. A cold terror seemed to drag at his senses pushing at him to flee, though he’d faced that often enough in Vietnam. Standing with his back against the wall he surveyed the path of carnage and tried to use his radio again with no success.

Catching a flicker of movement out of the corner of his eye, Walter turned and brought his rifle up. Pausing only briefly he noted the bipedal form was encased in some sort of lion-themed armor. Then he fired, repeatedly, to no avail. 

Otto mentally crossed his fingers and held his breath as the computer screen blinked rapidly and then flicked several times in succession.  As the screen started to fill with information and facility schematics, a separate window opened and filled with text.

Otto’s eye’s briefly focused on the next to last line of text, and with a scowl on his face he reached over and pressed a recessed button firmly. Moments later a strident alarm began to sound through out the complex. 'Great -the- Deidrick, the one the case was named after, just happens to get loose when I am in charge, just lovely.' Otto thought and added verbally, “I’m really beginning to hate you Mister Lenston,” he half growled in anger as he walked quickly out of his office and down the corridor to the safety of the armory.

~’Otto, that isn’t exactly good news, so what is the plan?’~ Sara asked once the mental data dump from Otto had stopped.

~’Chiefly keeping Mrs. Taliesin, her daughter and the other girls safe and out of harms way,’~ there was a brief pause and a hint of annoyance in his mental tone, ~‘essentially we have to let Maelstrom reach the surface and then take him out once he is outside.’~

~’Wouldn’t it be better just to trap him down below?’~ she asked quickly.

~’Yes, however he has already battled his way past Walter’s team and is working his way to the Red and Blue Junction.  We can expect him to enter the service lifts in a few minutes, which will buy us another ten minutes or so as they are powered down.’~

~’Ok. How long until the Orbital Teams arrive?’~ Sara motioned rapidly at the others briefly to silence them as they tried asking questions.

~’About seven minutes after Maelstrom hits the surface, as much as I hate Lenston, he’s thought of everything.’~ Otto’s mental tone was angry as he continued, “We’ve taken bad casualties downstairs, if things get too bad upstairs you are authorized to eliminate Maelstrom by any means necessary.’~

~’I see, I take it you are going to be charging into the breach?’~ she asked.

~’Psychically, I’m going to hammer at him from in the Armory, with luck I can drive him up and out of the complex.’~ Otto appeared to sigh, ~’I’ve called Tanaka, though their team porter is in the Bahamas. So it will take time to gather them and to get them here.’~

~’Good luck, he’s got some strong defenses,’~ Sara fretted briefly, ~’we’ll stay put for the moment, no sense in getting in his way.’~

~’Thus far he doesn’t seem intent on anything other than escape.’~

Sara nodded and added, ~’Fortunately for us.’~

I pulled out of the Net in time to see a very battered looking Vlad being helped into the control room by Chris. As Kerry rushed over to him, I could see several rents in Vlad’s flesh merge and heal. Frowning I stood up carefully and peered down the corridor though the haze of smoke and flashing lights past Chris.

“Vlad! Are you ok?” Kerry asked frantically as she rushed to his side.

He gave her an unsteady hug and nodded, “I’ll be fine, though we’ve got wounded all over the place. I think we need a doctor more than Merry needs a babysitter.”

Chris nodded looking shaken, “The escapee has some Psi and really can screw with your head. I’ve not been that scared in some time.”

Feeling an odd wave of euphoria arise within me, I dimly noted the faint white glow that flooded my senses with peace. A faint tug registered on my arm causing me to turn slightly to look up at Vlad’s frowning face. I wasn’t sure what he was trying to say though, as all sound seemed to be muted and distant; though he seemed stronger than he was moments ago. With a careless poke to his chest, my arm arose and pointed out of the command center and down the corridor of it’s own volition.  His expression seemed odd, though he did move out of my way. As I moved steadily down the corridor my world turned completely white, though that didn’t seem to be a bad thing.

“So we’re just going to stay here?” asked Beltane as she skeptically looked at the walls of the room, “These walls won’t keep an elephant out, much less this guy.”

“Well no,” Sara said as she walked to the lectern on the raised dais and knelt down. “You all are going into the bunker.”

There was a muffled click and the dais split in half and slid apart leaving a large opening visible underneath. With a hop down to the doorway Sara paused and spun the large wheel on the door eliciting a hiss of air. An amber warning light flicked on and Sara quickly backed up as the door slid forwards and then off to the side.  

“Ok, everyone in,” Sara said pointing to the open door, “you could ride out a nuclear blast in there or a F5 tornado. Should you need it, there is an escape route leading out from the back of it that opens out a quarter mile away from the site.”

“Wait,” Nikki said with a frown, “aren’t you going with us?”

“No, someone has to make sure Maelstrom is stopped or at least slowed down until the other forces get here and recapture him.” Sara shrugged and smiled oddly, “Either that or I’m having an early dinner.”

“Right, there is no way I’m sitting in there when my friend is in danger,” Nikki pronounced with a quick glance to Chou, “right?”

Chou blinked and nodded slowly as she tapped her sword, “I’ve not had a real work out in a few days.”

Throwing her hands up in the air Beltane groaned dramatically, “I can just picture Ms. Carson’s expression when she finds out we just had to get involved in a fight.”

Mrs. Taliesin looked out of the bunker with a frown, “I could help.”

“No,” chorused the three girls and Sara continued, “you have to make sure Karen is safe, besides you really don’t want Karen to see what could happen.”

“What do you plan to do?” Mrs. Taliesin asked.

“What ever it takes,” Sara said calmly.

Kam watched critically as Merry knelt down by the last wounded man. Her behavior was that of a person either stoned out of their head or walking in their sleep. Having awoken to her touch, only to see her vacant expression had been disturbing. Though he was pleased to be alive.

Standing carefully he walked over to where she knelt. As the dim white glow that had surrounded her was flickering out like a candle in the wind, he lifted her back and away from the suddenly aware man. Carefully he eased her to an empty cot as she started to convulse violently.

“That is so wrong,” commented Kerry with a look of revulsion as a serpentine head pushed out of Merry’s mouth.

“I think she’d agree with you,” commented Walter as he carefully felt the bare skin of his chest and abdomen through the large hole in his armor, “I should be dead or dying.”

Kam reached out and closed his fist, eliciting a messy pop from the head of the snake, “With luck she won’t remember the snake.”

“From the look of horror on her face I would say that isn’t likely,” commented Kerry as she walked over with a few towels.

Chris nodded as Merry started to vomit for real, “She has a few choice words on the subject, I won’t bother to repeat them.”

“I’ll bet,” commented Walter blandly.

“I don’t get it, how can you have a ramp elevator going down to where you keep prisoners?” asked Beltane as she studied the busy scene.

“They don’t go down to the prisoner levels, well not directly.” Sara paused and shrugged as men in powered armor rushed by, “It is a series of ramps, each with heavy doors, traps and the like. But rather than forcing a possible hostage scenario, we’re giving Maelstrom a free pass to the surface, though he has to walk.” 

“Don’t you have some sort of safeguards to prevent this sort of thing from happening?” asked Chou as she motioned to the long corridor.

“Yes, and most of the time they would suffice, but they don’t do squat if they are sabotaged,” Sara glared downwards, “someone will have some explaining to do one day.”

“What happens if you get a mass prisoner escape?” asked Beltane.

“They nuke the site and hope all the bad guys die,” Sara said with a bland smile, “though for all the cryo-suspension units to simultaneous fail would be astronomically high.”

“And what where the odds on something like today happening?” asked Chou.

“Oh about like the chance of getting struck by lighting two times in a row, on a sunny day,” Sara chuckled and drolly added, “that is without the sabotage mind you.”

ARC, Blue Section

Heyoka frowned as the horde of zombies, giant spiders and other things lurched up the ramp. There wasn’t too much that he could do from the astral side of things. However he had been able to briefly grab control of a few of the monsters at key times. Mostly his efforts had been to redirect killing blows away from victims and to cause monsters to ignore the fallen security people.

Earlier he had been skeptical of Sara’s need for him to be here. Though in retrospect it was a good thing he was, if only to have kept the people from getting slaughtered outright. The figure that trailed the horde as it snaked upwards had him concerned, as it hung over into the astral layer oddly.

In some ways the blackness that ebbed out of the figure reminded him of daemons and of Sara, though he wasn’t sure if Sara qualified as a daemon. Other worldly, strange, exotic, dangerous yes, and unlike this thing she was at least friendly. Whereas he was certain this thing was far from friendly. 

Occasionally a purple beam of light would strike the figure causing it to stumble briefly. It didn’t seem too effective, but whoever was doing it evidently had a plan, as the glow radiated purpose. As a wall eased down at the base of the ramp, Heyoka watched a few bolts strike the figure in succession, evidently to distract it from turning back.

Thunderbird was angry and yet silent as it circled higher in the astral plane. Heyoka had the suspicion that if the figure made it out to the fields and forests, Thunderbird was going to blast it into oblivion. Inwardly he agreed with the idea, though he didn’t relish being messed up from the aftereffects.

He was sure his grandmother would likely say; ‘Sometimes you ride the horse, sometimes the horse rides you,’ if he were to ask her about the powers.  Or some other not so useful homily, though he was fairly sure she never had to deal with marauding monsters. True she did have a few solid kernels of wisdom. ‘You fight evil, you don’t take it to dinner and fuck it,’ was one of her favorites when politics came up, she had made a point of not discussing politics after that.        

Grinning he turned his thoughts back to the problem, ‘Well Granny, I don’t think I’m going to take that to dinner.’

Thunderbird seemed to nod in agreement as it screeched it’s anger.

Walter looked around as the teams reformed, “Does anyone know what the hell got loose from downstairs?”

Kerry looked up at the monitor she was working with and frantically typed in a few commands. Suddenly her screen was filled with flashing text, scanning it she pointed to one section. “He’s called Maelstrom, if I remember correctly he was big noise in the sixties, who expressed his political activism using violence. It says he has Psi and some PK attacks, add in some regen and manifested armor and creatures. Also a fear aura of some sort.”

“Yeah we met those,” Walter said with a grunt, “does that say how to stop it?”

“It says the Mystic Six captured it using brute force followed by metal and spiritual attacks.” Kerry shrugged expansively, “Not a lot of help there.”

“Crap, well we still have a job to do.” He glanced around the room and said firmly, “Ok men time for round two; if it’s not friendly, we kill it.” He looked back at Merry then Kerry, “You two need to get out of here in case it comes back for hostages.”

“I thought I was an inmate?” I asked cautiously.

Walter fingered the hole in his armor with a grim smile, “Look, I’m not telling you to escape. I’m telling you to get out of harms way, got it?” He chuckled and pointed upwards, “We’ll be a bit busy for a time.”

I smiled and nodded, “Yeah, I got it and thanks.”

“Yeah,” he paused and fingered his armor, “well thank you, now scram we have a bad guy to take down.”

“We’re scramming,” said Kerry as she tugged on my shirtsleeve.

The men and women in the powered armor had managed to restrict the tidal flow of zombies and other weirdness from the ramp before they were forced back by shear numbers. Fortunately the horde was flowing in the direction the group wanted them to. Just faster than what they could effectively deal with in the corridor.

“Fall back!” Sara shouted into a megaphone over the stuttering gunfire, “Take the fight outside where we can maneuver!”

Nikki blinked and nodded as the armored force moved into action without questioning the instruction. Then with a gesture she crushed a zombie that was menacing her. “Can I get a hand here?” said Nikki as she slapped a disfigured hand away from her face.

“Oh get a grip!” said Chou as she cut the groping hand away from Nikki’s chest, “This is so wrong.”

“At least they are not singing Thriller,” said Nikki with a chuckle, backing away from the fight as Chou danced through a series of cuts.

Sara paused and discarded the megaphone she was using as a club, “Anyone here order brains?” she asked as she raked though a zombies head with a suddenly taloned hand.

“That is so not funny,” muttered Beltane as a green ray washed outwards from a stone in her hand, melting a giant spider that was approaching her.

“The exit is behind you,” Chou said as she took a breath, and added pointedly, “using it would help…”

Nikki cast a quick look over her shoulder and leapt for the opening, “I’m out!”

“Good, now don’t stop!” chided Beltane as she pulled her along. 

Chou backpedaled though the door and beheaded a badly formed wolfman, “Lon Chaney you are not!”

“Well yes, especially after you chopped his head off,” added Beltane as she pointed to short wall at the edge of the parking lot, “defensible position!”

“On it!” Nikki shouted as she sprinted the short distance to it.

“Hey! I just noticed something,” shouted Beltane.

“What?” asked Chou as she dismembered a zombie in a long flowing cut.

“These zombies don’t stink!” Beltane said as she shoved a glowing fist into the eye socket of a zombie and watched it deflate.

“Wonderful,” Sara said with a grimace, “keep moving.”

Beltane appeared to pull a baseball bat out of thin air and swung it experimentally before crushing the head of a thing that was half woman and half hound, “They go splat really well though!”

“And they melt, eww gross I just stepped in zombie goop!” announced Chou with a grimace.

Beltane frowned and brushed at the slime on her face as she ran back to the wall, “It’s Ectoplasm.”

“Eto-what-asm?” asked Chou as she chopped the legs out from under three zombies in succession.

“Ectoplasm, nit wit, don’t you froshes know anything?” asked Beltane as she paused for a breath. Of which turned into a surprised screech as Nikki pulled her out of the path of a running Komodo dragon.

As a bright red light struck the lizard turning it into ash Nikki shouted in Beltane’s ear, “I know when to duck! Does that mean anything to you?”

“Ow, yes, thank you too.” Visibly gathering herself Beltane took a step and pointed at a zombie, “It means I can do this.” Beltane waved at the zombie and his features melted only reform to look like a skeleton from Pirates of the Caribbean.

“Ahoy Captain! Barnacle Bill at your service!” it said and with a salute it then ran at the attacking zombies only to end up crushed by them. 

Nikki paused to pat her on the shoulder, “Cute. Keep it up, I think the main course is coming our way.”

“Yo ho ho! A pirates life for me!” shouted Beltane with a grin.

“I think someone is hung up on Johnny Depp,” said Chou with a faint scowl. 

“Shiver me timbers!” intoned Beltane with a laugh as she swung a cutlass that just formed in her hand.

“She is enjoying this entirely too much,” agreed Nikki.

A cold wind stirred out from the main doors of ARC, low guttural moans and a voice was clearly calling for someone loomed closer. As a small flock of black birds leapt skyward the air coming out of ARC was filled with a cold dark mist that obscured the entrance.

“Who the hell are we fighting Sara, a cult classics film director?” asked Nikki with a frown.

Sara paused in her wild dervish dance of pest removal and frowns, “I don’t know what his issues were. I just work here, I don’t catalog the Popsicles.”

“Great,” Nikki blasted another zombie with her glowing hands, “well I think we are about to get introduced.”

Suddenly the broken doors burst outwards from their frames as a two-meter tall hulking shadow lurched out into the open. In a loud rush of wind, dark ominous clouds flooded the sky, banishing most of the morning’s light. An angry southern voice filled the foggy air, “You have taken Frank from me, what did you do with him?”

Sara smiled wickedly bearing her teeth and shouted, “I ate him!”

“Nooooooooo!” the voice protested with a roar of anger.

Nikki shook her head in evident irritation,  “You just had to be cute?”

“Well, I got his attention, which is what I wanted.”  Sara replied and surged forwards into a clump of zombies creating a tidal wave of body parts as she diced them, “We have to see him to fight him though, can you do something about the fog Nikki?”

“Sure, sure, ask the elf to do weather magicks.” Nikki paused to gut a zombie with a shimmering kick, “In the middle of a freaking fight!”

Chou danced past a stumbling body to point at Sara and Beltane, “We will keep them occupied, you do your thing.”

“If it snows in the Mohave, its your fault!” Nikki protested indignantly then ran backwards out of the fray.

Chou smirked as she danced off the short wall into a savage cut that bisected the spider before her, “I’d prefer you get rid of the fog.” She then charged into the throng of zombies surrounding Sara, slashing as she went. “Hi, got a plan?”

Sara body slammed a zombie with a splat onto the asphalt and looked at her blandly, “Surviving the next ten minutes would be good.”

“Consider this a warm up for spring,” said Beltane ominously as she pointed her cutlass at a group of reformed skeletons, “All right you scurvy dogs, get them!” She then paused and lopped an arm off a different zombie, “We could really use that fog to be gone about now!” she then commented loudly.

“Don’t interrupt,” Chou stopped to hack an arm off of the zombie in front of her, “the…” She followed through with a slash to sever the zombies neck, “Elf.” Chou grinned savagely as she sliced a fresh zombie from crown to groin “Do you want to see an oops on this scale?”

“No!” Beltane quickly swung wildly and fended off a grasping hand. Then she paused and then she grinned manically, “Sure! I always wanted to fight the Sta-Puff Marshmallow Man.”

Chou gave Sara a longsuffering look, “She nuts, fun but nuts.”

“Rrrrright,” Sara tensely looked to the back of the thronging mass of zombies, “I think the Calvary is over due.”

“Anytime would be good you know!” muttered Beltane loudly as a figure wearing a pumpkin as a head menaced her.

Eyes screwed up in concentration she briefly paused in and Nikki pronounced “An-cha-ra-zoth!” with a grandiose wave of her arm, then she paused and her grin turned sour as the air stilled completely, “Oops?”

“Oops! What do you mean oops?” Beltane said and then spat out a mouthful of goop, “Yuck, I better be feeling a wind real quick or someone is going to be copying my notes later!”

“She means,” Chou looked up and stumbled backwards, ”holy shit on a Popsicle stick! She means look out!” Chou pointed to a cloud of chattering fur as it started to rain multi-colored giant squirrels in the fog bank and everything else in the vicinity.

“Che wanna nuk nuk!” cried one of the squirrels as it landed spear first on top of a zombie.

With an exclamation of annoyance, Chou picked up a squirrel that had prodded her and looked it in the eye, “Look fur ball, if you poke me in the ass again, I am going to feed you to Sara personally.”

“And people complained about Pirates, jeeze.” Beltane frowned as the sound of gunfire drifted out of the complex. “I hope the gun fire means the Calvary is coming!”

“Nikki?” asked Sara as she flattened three zombies and rolled to her feet.

“What’s with her and squirrels?” asked Chou as she stripped a skeletal horse of its legs.

“I don’t know, I asked for wind I get squirrels,” Sara smiled wickedly, “I think she has a fur fetish…”

“I’m working on it sheesh!” protested Nikki as she retreated a few steps.

“No! Not sheesh! The word you want is Zenth,” Beltane rolled out from under a descending blade, and kicked a squirrel into the path of the encroaching zombie, “You muffed the last word of the spell, as in: An-cha-ra-Zenth!”

“Are you sure?” Nikki said as she braced herself to deliver a glowing punch to a fresh zombie.

“Of course I am sure, I’m not a TA in The Magical Department for nothing!” Beltane placed her hand on the zombie before her and it reformed into a fresh pirate, “Of course I am sure!”

“Critics!” Nikki protested and tossed an angry squirrel into the face of a zombie.

“Anyone seen,” Chou paused and ducked behind a car as Sara stood up and dumped a mass of body parts onto the wrecked car. “Never mind she is fine.”

Sara stretched unnaturally with a faint smile on her face, “Amusing as this is, where is he?” Sara looked around cautiously then leaped over a car as a large mass of octopus tentacles swung through the location she was previously in.

“I think it’s mad,” shouted Beltane as the grating sound of metal indicated a car being smashed to bits in the fog.

“Friend of yours?” asked Chou as she parried a slimy gray limb as it tried to enwrap her arm.

“Sorry, no, my friends usually ask first before groping,” Sara said as she pulled the limb away, “cut please.”

Chou rolled her eyes and used three spinning cuts to reduce the limb into several four-foot long sections, “I just had to ask didn’t I?”

“Also they are usually tipped in pleasing probes,” Sara continued blandly as she carved an end off in illustration, “unlike these.”

“Too much information Sara, seriously,” muttered Chou as she rolled out of their reach.

“Well you did ask,” Sara said with a grin as she kicked the offending object away.

“It’s coming!” shouted the voice. “It’s coming to eat us all.”

Sara frowned and jumped backwards as the figure was briefly reveled, “Oh shit!” she ducked back and sliced frantically at a waving black tendril that quested after her. “Crap! That’s not human or manifested, don’t let that touch you!” Sara gritted her teeth and kicked the severed but living limb out from under her feet, “It’s Other.”

“A daemon?” Chou asked as a wave of fog obscured Sara and a crawling thread of fear snaked around her before a calming warmth from the blade banished it.

“No a prophet! A warning of your fates to come!” The voice started to laugh bitterly, “Frank told me to prepare the way! But it was already coming!”

“… Al-bloz-nen,” Nikki paused in her chanting and held her hand up as a green glow flooded out from her. “An-cha-ra-Zenth!”

From Nikki’s up stretched hand the glow blasted up into the sky and back down with a roar of rushing wind. Chou took a hasty step backward followed by a forceful parry. Sara’s hands blurred as a tentacle fell into her reach, dicing the limb as she took a step forwards.

Seemingly unaffected by the cuts, the figure became visible. Standing among a gathering crowd of zombies was a shambling figure dressed in medieval armor that shifted and moves in sickening patterns. A large mane of bloody fur dripped around a lionesque mask, the eyes of which were visible yet seemed devoid of rational thought. From the center of its chest several strands of tentacles shifted and moved in an eye-wrenching manner.

“Some how I don’t think it went into the pod like that,” growled Sara as she moved closer to the other girls.

“You!” It shouted as it pointed at Sara, “What did you do with Frank!”

“Nothing yet, but I plan on having a long painful discussion with him.” Sara shouted back and then frowned, “You said it was coming, what is coming?”

“It won’t matter!” It drew itself up and proclaimed loudly, “I’m just the first! The next four are worse and then we will all pray for death, but we will not die!” It paused and pointed at Sara, “N’Tan’c will feast on you and your followers.”

“Sara!” Chou leapt forwards and severed a strand that had shot out from the chest of the thing at the goth girl, “Destinies Wave says we don’t dare kill it yet!”

Sara threw a zombie into the mass of tentacles and jumped on top of sedan, “Did she say why the hell not!”

“Domino effect! We kill him and…” Chou rolled out of the way as a flash of light flared into the zombies from Nikki’s hands. “We could bring the next on in on our heads, it’s a sacrifice ploy!”

“Ze-ouch! Easy there! I only have so much hair!” Beltane protested as she quickly patted at her hair as if to put fire out.

“If we can’t kill him, how do we stop it?” asked Sara as she kicked the remains of a zombie off of her leg.

“Knock it down, keep its filth off of me and I will ensnare its mind,” ordered an imperious female voice.

“Uh, Nikki?” Beltane paused as she planted her cutlass’ hilt into a zombies face crushing it like a rotten cantaloupe.

“Nikki’s not in right now,” muttered Sara, “I’ll handle the tentacles, Beltane, you glue its legs and chest when I get it down.” Sara grinned at Chou, “See if you can ring his bell and get the helmet off.”

“And I’ll make this abomination regret being born,” added Nikki with a disturbing smile.

“Destinies Wave says there may be a gem or something on this thing, we destroy it,“ Chou parried frantically as she backed away, “and the next cannot come.”

“Sounds like a plan,” Sara stretched and grew as several clawed tentacles ripped out both sides of her top, “so much for playing nice today.”

Chou circled to the left of Sara and watched critically as the man seemed to focus on Nikki, “You whore! You’ll not take me down this time!” Then it roared furiously and charged Nikki’s position.

Nikki frowned as the man rushed her, then a golden light flashed out from her palms and sent the man sprawling backwards. “We may have met once before this life, ‘creature,’” she stated with a hiss talking an angry step forwards, “but I assure you it will be our last meeting ever.”

“Oh yeah, Nikki’s definitely not in at the moment,” Chou muttered as she lifted her blade into guard.

Sara only allowed the man to bounce once before she swept him up into the air by his tentacles, using her own to slam him back to the asphalt cracking it. With a deliberate smile she repeated the process a second time, shouting, “Get ready!”

“I’m ready all ready! Quit bashing him up and down!” Beltane shouted as Sara slammed him down a few times on his head.

With a final jarring slam, Sara plowed the man to the ground and grunted angrily, “Just hurry! This bastard is freaking stronger than he looks!”

Just as Chou was about to rush in, Sara was lifted up into the air and waved rag-like, back and forth violently. As Sara loudly protested her sudden abuse, Chou rolled behind the man and slashed rapidly through the armor and tendons in both the creature’s legs. “And that is called Hunting for Snakes in the Grass,” she muttered as she leapt into a series of rolls that carried her out of harms way.

As both the creature and Sara toppled to the ground, Beltane clapped both hands together, muttering loudly. As the creature flailed Sara around in the air, a wave of gray ooze submerged the beast in a rough cube. The sudden silence was interrupted by a loud squawk of protest as Sara landed roughly on top of the cube.

Rolling to her feet, Sara tapped the cube, “Nice and solid, but where is it’s head?”

“That end,” Beltane paused and walked tiredly to the end she had indicated.

Chou frowned and then said, “As tempting as it is to let him suffocate, we need to get him under control,” she pointed to the solid block of grayish white material as it vibrated as the man inside of it struggled futilely to get out, “this isn’t helping.”

“Ok, just give me a moment,” Beltane placed her hand on the block and pushed. Slowly the odd material flowed back from the end of the block exposing the helmeted head. Weaving from evident exhaustion, Beltane took a few unsteady steps backwards, “All yours.”

Nodding once, Chou stepped into the open space and used careful cuts to weaken the top of the helmet, “Sara, a bit of brute force if you please?”

Sara chuckled and with a lazy back flip landed neatly opposite Chou, “My pleasure.” Wrapping her hands and tentacles around the helmet she gave it a firm yank, and then tossed the suddenly foaming glob away.

“You’ll burn for this!” shouted the gaunt head of the man as his eyes bulged in anger, “I’ll make you long for death!”

“No, I think not,” said Nikki as she approached the exposed head. Almost gently her hand reached out and caressed his bald head, “A prison of nightmares I give unto you.” With that a golden orange glow surrounded his head like a crown before solidifying into a burnished coppery band.

Sara whistled softly and gave Nikki a grudging nod, “Nice.”

Nikki seemed to take a miss-step backwards and sat down suddenly, “Oh that was not fun.

Beltane nodded slowly, “Maybe I’ll have to trade you notes. Weather witchery for conjuration?”

Slowly laying back on the asphalt Nikki grinned weakly, “Maybe, once my head stops pounding.”

“Ok he’s down, so now what?” Chou pointed to the solid block, “We still have to get the summoning item off of him.”

Sara pointed at Beltane then the block, “You can let it go now.”

Sighing tiredly Beltane placed her hand on the block and with a lazy smile said, “Go poof!” With that apparent command the block evaporated in a sudden haze of smoke, then a faint wind followed which left the not quite nude man on the ground.

Chou paused with a smile to clap lightly twice and said; “Show off.”

Beltane unsteadily walked over to crouch down by Nikki, and she tiredly pronounced, “Us witchy types appear to be done for the day.”

Sara lifted a mass of twisting tendrils away from the man’s chest and quickly plucked an object away, “Got it.”

“Great, now how do we destroy it?” asked Beltane with a frown.

Sara studied it critically, “Well I am not eating this, I think the taint of it caused the tentacles with our friend here.”

“Finally, something Sara won’t eat,” Nikki said with a groan as she forced herself upright to point at the approaching troopships, “Better late than never.”

Sara looked up and then frowned suddenly, “I need a shirt.”

“You do at that,” said Nikki as she walked over and gave Sara a hug. With a grin she stood up on her toes and whispered into Sara’s ear, “Look east.”

Sara returned the hug and slowly looked over to the rise of a small hill, smiling softly she said, “Yes I know.”

I had spent the last few minutes watching carefully from the lee of a small hill. From it I could look down at the battered parking lot where the fight had waged all over just minutes before. There were times when I really wanted to have been down there helping them, but I reluctantly stayed put. Instead I did what little I could with the rifle, namely slowing the zombie tide when I could do so safely.  

Scanning the faces of the four girls with the binoculars I had liberated, I stopped and focused on Sara. With a sudden snap of her head she was looking directly at me, and with what could only be a deliberate wink, she turned and walked over to where Otto was pasting bits of paper to the downed thing. At least I think that was what he was doing, with Otto, who the hell knew at times.   

~^Sara thinks you should be going now, ^~ calmly interjected a voice into my head.

“Great. Hello mysterious voice in my head,” I muttered aloud.

It seemed slightly embarrassed, ~^It’s Chris, I tagged along watching over you.”

“Well then, good, so which way should I go?” I asked.

~^Sara said for you to head west into the forest, she has some friends out that way.^~

“Ok, how far into the woods?”

~^She didn’t say.^~

I shook my head, “Ok, I guess she has a plan.”

Chris’s voice seemed to smirk, ~^I think she is improvising her ass off.^~ There was a distinct feeling of amused silence then he added, ~^You should get moving before Otto figures out that you are out and blows a gasket.^~

Easing down the back of the damp hillside away from the parking lot I nodded, “Ok, ok I am going.”

~^Take it easy Merry and be safe, ^~ Chris said as he faded out. 

I looked west to the start of the forest, and picked out a mostly concealed way to get there. I picked up a slight joggers pace, making sure the backpack of stuff I liberated along with the rifle were slung comfortably. I wrinkled my nose in disgust, in some small way that camp was a blessing.

 ~:Yeah right,:~ added Chad with evident sarcasm.

“Bitch, bitch,” I countered.

~:What ever, so how long before Otto looses the hounds?:~

“Dam if I know, with luck all he knows is that I am in my cell.”

~:And Karen?:~

“Karen, will be fine, I checked the satellites and NASA’s database. With the email I sent her she’ll have a good idea when to expect solar storms. She should be in Whateley and well off in no time, least I think her parents are that smart.” 

~:And us?:~

“We’ll just have to see,” I said with an indifferent shrug.

I felt a grin form as he seemed to lounge in the background with the others, ~:We’re just enjoying the view, even if we’re gonna get muddy and wet along the way.:~

“It will not be the first time.”

Otto gave a tired sigh and regarded Chris, Kerry, Kam, Walter and Sara grimly as they trooped into his office. “I thought I had asked to see Walter and Sara.”

Kam nudged Kerry, “Um you tell him.”

Kerry turned and nudged Chris, “Nope he can tell him.”

Chris frowned painfully, “Gee thanks.”

“Tell me what?” asked Otto as a sinking feeling arose in the vicinity of his stomach.

“Well umm, she ah, you see.” started Chris before trailing off under Otto’s intense scrutiny.

“She’s dead Jim,” supplied Walter who was trying not to grin.

 Otto blinked once and looked over at Sara, “You are so full of it, did you know that?”

Sara smiled cutely and took up residence on a corner of Otto’s desk, “Sure I am Otto, sure I am.”

Otto groaned loudly as he predicted the outcome of ‘this meeting,’ “I suppose we can come up with evidence proving this?”

“Absolutely,” said Walter with a wicked grin.

“This is technically a mutiny you know?” asked Otto with a pained frown.

Walter chuckled and sat in one of the chairs, “Oh Otto, do you really think so?” he glanced around the room, “How many did you count?”

“Count what?” Otto asked blankly as he searched in a drawer for a bottle of aspirin for the headache he was sure was coming on.

“Crosses, red crosses to be exact, like this one.” Walter held up a piece of armor that was savagely torn, and then he tapped a section where it looked a child’s finger had painted a cross.

Otto frowned as he read the name inscribed on the armor and then he blinked rapidly, “Ouch.”

“Yeah, it sure as hell surprised the shit out me too. I expected to be either waking up in hell or heaven, not here.” Walter said slowly as he held up the bit and placed the ripped hole of it just south of his heart, “At the very worst serious liver and spleen damage if not out and out dead.”

“Ugh,” said Kam, “and I thought being just ass deep in zombies and brain blasted was bad enough.”

“Four people would have seriously dead and another thirty wounded or would have been. That is if Merry had not wandered in and started healing them.”  Walter paused then added, “Sadly where was not much she could do for our losses in Black Section.”

Kerry sounded slightly dazed, “Not that I think she had much choice, as she seemed to be sleep walking at the time.”

Sara frowned thoughtfully, “Yeah, that could be a problem for her.”

Otto looked at her, “Not having a choice?”

Sara nodded slowly, “Compulsions can be a bitch, right Otto?”

Otto sat back and sighed, “You’re right, as I recently discovered the hard way, and if I find Lenston.”

“Yeah,” said Sara with an angry frown, “he’s not going to enjoy our hard questions.”

“So in any case, thanks to Merry, the Calvary was able to ride out and take down the rest of the zombies and not end up dead, while you and the Whateley kids worked over Maelstrom. You really should hire them by the way,” Walter said after glancing at the others as they nodded. 

Otto nodded in agreement, “I have had thoughts in that direction, so when did she leave?”

“I am not exactly sure, one minute she was behind me, the next minute she was walking out of a service closet with a back pack on.” Kerry frowned with a halfhearted shrug, “I suppose I could have stopped her, but,” she shrugged, “my heart wasn’t in it.”

“I see,” said Otto as Walter easily slipped his hand though the hole in the armor piece and wiggled his fingers puppet-like through it.

The phone rang and Otto answered and then quickly put it on speaker mode, “Hello Madam Chairperson, how can I help you?”

There was an amused chuckle, “I just wanted to call and let you know I am pleased with your staff’s work today, as was Willard.”

“Uh, Ma’am we have a slight complication,” Otto said reluctantly.

“Yes it is a shame that young girl was injured. Merry was her name, yes?” asked the voice with a chuckle.

“Yes Ma’am, Merry,” Otto said as his eyebrows rose slowly.

“Pity that she is in a coma and that you could only stabilize her injuries by freezing her down, isn’t it?” asked the voice.

“Yes Ma’am,” said Kerry with a slightly affronted look as Kam poked her.

“So it’ll be what? Six months to a year before she’ll have recovered, correct,” stated the voice, rather than asking.

“Yes Ma’am,” Kerry said sounding slightly indignant as Chris prompted her with another poke.

“So sad to hear that. I suppose we’ll be picking up the cost on this one, but that is how the ball bounces,” then there was a pause as the voice seemed to smile. “By the way, I hear tell that Mrs. Potter expects you for high tea on Sunday, be a dear and convey my respects?”

“Yes Ma’am.”

“Well that’s all, carry on. Oh and one more thing Otto?”

“Yes Ma’am?”

“Do try and hire those three, they seemed to be effective.”

“I’ll do my best.”

“Good man, I expect the rest of you may need paid holidays in the near future, we’ll have to see about that, yes?”

“Yes Ma’am,” the odd quintet said quickly.

“That includes you Otto.”

Otto sighed, “Yes Ma’am.”

“Good, that is settled, and I don’t expect to see the paper work until late the next week or the medical reports for that matter. Clear?”

“But,” hastily interjected Otto.

The voice seemed slightly turn scolding, “Otto, shut up, say ‘understood,’ and take care of things that need taking care of.”

“Understood.”

“Good man, carry on,” and for a moment the air seemed to hang heavily then there was a click as the other end disconnected.

“Oh my,” said Kerry in amazement and the others nodded in agreement.

Sara looked over at Otto as he was giving her a pained expression, “What?”

He paused then chuckled softly, “For a brief moment I had this minor thought that you had instigated this, but then I thought of something.”

“Me? Pish. Perish the thought, in any case what changed your mind at the last moment?” Sara asked.

“Neither Merry nor you would go for a plan than could have killed innocents,” Otto stated slowly. “Sewn chaos yes, but killing anyone or hurting people she doesn’t know, no. It just isn’t her style.”

“Figured that out did you?” asked Walter with a chuckle.

Otto gave him a pained look, “Yes, now if it had been someone like Lenston in her way out.”

“She’d kill and do it brutally with out blinking,” said Kerry, “and with good reason.”

Sara growled, “And if she did not I would. Just to make the world a better place.”

“As would I,” added Kam and Walter in near unison.

Otto sat up slowly in his chair and nodded slowly, “I think I could live with that.” He looked about the room then with a tired bit of laughter, “Everyone out and back to work, reports don’t write themselves as you all know.” As they all stood up and turned to go he added, “Except you Sara.” At her odd look he added, “It’ll only be just a moment.”

Once the others had left and the door was closed he studied her for a moment, “So what is your plan?”

“For?”

“Merry.”

Sara sat quietly in a chair and then sighed, “A change of name, a few details and get her into Whateley somehow.” She shrugged, “Anything else would be stupid.”

“I see, I am going to go along with this charade on one condition,” he paused and looked at her expectantly.

“Which is?” Sarqa asked with a faint frown.

“That she gets real therapy, even if it takes my shuttling Chris to Whateley on a regular basis to make sure she gets it.” Otto paused and pointed his finger at her, “Or she comes back here, am I clear?”

Sara nodded slowly in agreement, “She’s going to need it even if she doesn’t want to admit it. I think we can agree to those terms Otto.”

“Do you need me to talk with Ms. Carlson?” he asked softly.

“Perhaps, I had hoped we could get Snafu in with her, and maybe thin down the extra voices in her head some. But.”

“Snafu freaked and returned to Whateley, with good reason it turns out.”

“Yes,” Sara frowned, “what will you tell the CIA?”

“That Merry was injured in Maelstrom’s near escape. That she is currently in a coma, and she may come out of it or she may not.” Otto frowned darkly, “I had an interesting talk with their Director. ‘Frank’ or what ever his name really is, is still missing, as is the Deputy Director and others. Evidently something is up and they are busy cleaning up their house.”

“What about Doctor Palm?”

“The Counter AI Task Force is now under the aegis of some obscure branch of Homeland Security.” Otto tapped his desk thoughtfully, “I think they will still need Merry, but they need to be secure so that she is safe among them, and that may take at least a year.

“I do not think she will ever trust the anyone in the Government,” Sara said softly.

“I am not sure we can afford to have her not working with them, too any innocents could get hurt,” Otto said as Sara’s nose wrinkled.

“It all comes down to innocents, doesn’t it?”

Otto nodded, “Can you talk with her about it?”

“I don’t think she’d let Dr. Palm get away with the murder of her family, even if they were horrible to her.”

“She is right, you know, some times the best family is the kind you make up as you go along.”

“Should I have her call you uncle?” she asked mischievously.

Otto rolled his eyes, “I don’t think we’ll get that close, though one day I would like to say she was a friend.”

“Oh give her some time, Otto.” Sara looked westward, “She’s got a lot of growing and other learning to do.”

“Other learning?”

“Well, she needs to learn there is more to life than the crap her family shoved down her throat, for one.”

“And the other?”

“School, social stuff and things.”

“Dare I ask, what things?”

She paused and stuck out her tongue, “No.”

“I see, now shoo, I am sure you have things to do, yes?”

“Yes,” she grinned and hopped off the desk, with a few steps she stopped and paused at the door. “And Otto?”

“Yes?”

“Thank you, from both of us, even if she won’t admit it for a time.”

He grinned suddenly, “I expect so, now get moving ‘Your Braininess’ before a wolf gets her.”

“Pee-Tee!” she protested.

“Hah, you’re welcome.”

“You!”

“Out! Some of us have work to do!”

“I’m going, I’m going” Sara said with a throaty laugh as she opened the door.

Once the door closed Otto smirked and kicked his shoes off under the desk. ‘My dear friend, do you know the phrase: May you live in interesting times, is supposed to be a curse?’ Then with a resigned glance to the computer he shook his head and got up to make tea. “I suppose that I can try, to be lazy for a week, nah… Being lazy is too much like work.”

It was full daylight in the woods, so I was a bit concerned to hear a wolf howl in the distance. Not that I ever heard of a wolf attacking anyone, other than the semi-domesticated ones; and then only if they had been mistreated. People, go figure. I shook off the unease that crept up on me and unlimbered the rifle I had liberated with the backpack food and assorted other goodies. “Be prepared”, is more than a song by an animated goat after all.

It took a moment for me to realize Chaddy had continued the song for a few verses as I crunched along in the leaves. “Chaddy, you’re a nutter.”

~/An you’ll never be despaired. Wha-chu-talkin aboot Willis?/~ was his reply.

I grinned at his indignation, “Well you know, you just go off at odd angles.”

~/An you don’t? Seriously one of us is barking up the wrong tree or is that Bear sign?/~ For a moment my arm lifted up to point at distinctly clawed tree in question.

“Well it's not worm sign or movie sign for that matter.” I stopped and made sure the AR-14 had a round chambered and that the selector was set on safe, sure I would loose half a second, but it beat blowing an arm or foot off; or shooting a senator in the face, ala Chaney.

Kneeling down by the tree I looked for some sort of evidence that would prove the claw marks were recent. It was cold enough that the resin wasn’t freely flowing from the tree, and there were wood chips on top of the damp leaves, add in a few tufts of hair and you get fresh bear markings. “Well now we have a better reason for caution, don’t we?”

Chaddy sank back uneasily and Chad slipped in place in his stead, Mai was out of her realm so she was analyzing everything. ~:I thought that bears would be hibernating by now, and it sounds like the wolves are closer.:~

Stopping abruptly, I frowned as I processed that bit of information wolves; not wolf, “Maybe it’s a friendly werewolf pack coming to rescue us?” I asked dubiously.

Chad was noncommittal, so I guessed he was not buying into the concept of a friendly werewolf pack either.

 “Thanks again for the lift Terrence,” Sara said after a moments silence, the knots in her neck unwinding as she was finally back in her room.

“All part of the service, will you need a lift tomorrow?” he asked after a moments pause.

“I hope not,” Sara replied truthfully, “frankly all I want is a day without a crisis.”

Terrence nodded, “No kidding,” he shrugged in his armor as if it chafed, “if they don’t have me going back and forth between bases ferrying VIP’s, I’ll be amazed.”

“If things get too busy and I am not needed urgently; they could send a car,” she offered.

He smiled and pointed to her dresser that was making odd sounds, “Hopefully that isn’t company business.”

Sara looked over to her dresser and sighed, “Let me check.” She walked over and opened the offending drawer, picking up the phone; she had enough time to note that she had text messages and voice mail as the screen dimmed abruptly. “Great it’s dead.”

“That happens if you don’t charge them,” commented Terrence with a grin and held out his cell phone to her. “Here call ARC and see if it’s trouble, again.”

Sara rolled her eyes but tapped in the number, and waited for the other end to pick up, “I used to hate these things, and for a time I did very well without one.”

He nodded, “I can relate,” he tapped a satellite fed pager, “if this thing did not come with XM Radio, I’d be tempted to leave it someplace damaging.”

Sara nodded and then held up a hand, “Hi this is Ms. Waite, Red Fourteen, are there any messages for me? No, thank you. No, it’s just that my cell phone battery died.” She shrugged at Terrence, “Yes they are annoying that way. Thank you, I’ll remember that. Good evening.”  She hung up the phone with a hint of annoyance, “Danged security and their traces.”

“All part of the job,” he said as he took back his phone, “making sure you are where you should be, not kidnapped, not ass deep in alligators and so on.”

“Alligators would be a vacation,” she countered. “Thanks Terrence, now I think I have a date with a hot shower.”

He nodded sympathetically, “Ecto goop is messy, fortunately I was able to pop home, wash like mad and get back all on my lunch break.”

“Handy.”

“Yes it is,” he took a step back, tipped his cap and winked out in the space of one of his heartbeats.

“So,” Bluejay said as he popped into view at her table, “was the field trip fun?”

Sara frowned at him and then took a deliberate sip of the hot cocoa she had ’treated’ herself to.

“Oh don’t be that way. I already saw how Nikki, Chou and Bell seemed to be celebrating, and then the Feds showed up had a chit chat and left. But everyone was still in smiles afterwards.” He paused and sat down, ”So what went down?”

“Gossip gathering for the Don?” she asked disdainfully.

“No, just my own idle curiosity, supposedly you all went to see about a new student?”

“Yes.”

“Annnnd?”

She rolled her eyes, “Have you ever had friends who seemed to be trouble magnets?”

He rolled his own eyes and she could hear the mixture of humor and truth in his voice, “All the time, all the time.”

She sighed internally and conceded internally, that Bluejay was an ass at times, but a socialized ass, mostly. After a moments expectant silence she said,  “I can neither confirm nor deny that there were zombies involved,” 

For a moment he seemed mildly shocked, “Well that gibes with what I had learned.” He paused, “My apologies, I rather expected you to lie.”

“Why?”

“You, Team Kimba, The Alpha’s, etcetera.”

“Bluejay, appearances are not always everything, I am not really a member of Team Kimba.” She sighed deliberately, “Halloween should have made that obvious.”

He shook his head slowly, “I have my own thoughts about Halloween.”

“And?” she asked as she counted the melting bubbles of marshmallow froth.

“I don’t go willingly into that good night, nor blindly either,” he gave her a lopsided smile and then said softly, “it ended too easily.”

“You think?” she asked slowly.

“You are not protesting otherwise.” He sighed and rhythmically tapped the table with both sets of knuckles briefly, “I had hoped to be wrong.”

“You would have preferred a lie?” she asked after a sip.

“There are lies and then there are lies.” He chuckled and removed a lapel pin from his jacket; he cupped it briefly in his hand then slid it across the table to her. “I hate these things, all the sharp edges and such, I invariably prick or puncture myself.”

Sara studied the twin masks of comedy and tragedy as it slid to a stop a scant millimeter from her free hand. She stared at the red dot that filled one eye of it and dripped almost tear-like, “What is your game Bluejay?”

“Well not my soul, but maybe an occasional mutual exchange of services, hmmm?” he asked and batted his eyes at her.

“I am not sleeping with you, forget it.” She flicked the pin back to his side of the table, “I told you that before.”

“You don’t think I am sane enough; yes I remember that.” He smiled, “Sanity is overrated,” he said then flicked the pin back to her side of the table.

“Bluejay,” she sighed deliberately and expansively, “why would you want to borrow trouble?”

“Actually it is the opposite, I am borrowing against trouble or rather if you will, investing against it.” He paused, “Winds blow, fortunes wither or grow, in the end of the day it all comes down to an old axiom: Keep your friends close…”

“And your enemies closer,” she frowned thoughtfully, “Bluejay if you are my enemy, isn’t this like handing me your head?” She tapped the mask with a claw, and flicked it back over to him.

He smiled and stood up, “Who said we were enemies,” then with a laugh he flicked the masked pin back over to her side again. “And who said it was my blood?” He asked as he blipped from view.

Sara picked up the pin and then closed it briefly in her hand. She closed her eyes and traced the blood back to its owner; with a slight gasp she opened her eyes and then carefully tucked the pin into her pocket. ‘What the hell are you playing at Bluejay?’

I was seriously considering stopping and making camp for lunch when I walked into a small clearing. That was until I spotted the remains of a freshly killed and torn apart deer carcass lying exactly in the center of it. Uncertainly I flipped the selector on the AR-14 to three round burst and eased backwards so that I was against a tree.

A howl resounded not far behind me, and then several more echoed from across the clearing. “Great, just fucking great. Where the fuck is Lassie when I need her?”

I heard a very odd sound that seemed to be a mixture of laughter and odd rumbles. Then, not ten feet away from me a large bear walked into view; and for some reason I had the complete and utter belief that it was laughing at me. Once in front of me, it looked directly at me and then it dropped and rolled on the ground continuing to make the sounds I had heard before its entrance.

“Uh, yeah. Hi bear, good bear, this is a nasty gun, let us say we both don’t find a reason to need to use it,” I said uncertainly as I eased a few steps calmly backwards.

It looked up at me and I swear it snickered at me before sitting up.

“Look, I don’t want no trouble and you don’t want to be a rug, so I’ll be going now,” I said easing a few more steps backwards.

It shook its immense head and continued its odd behavior, scuffing pine needles and leaves up into the air confetti-like.

“Right then, nice meeting you,” I babbled at it and then broke into a run back the way I had came. Only to come to a skidding stop about five yards from a trio of wolves, large wolves, giant fucking wolves.

I stared at them and they stared at me for a very long tense moment. I blinked and clicked the selector over to fully automatic, “Right, this is a nasty gun with five point five six armor piercing and tracer rounds in it. You are wolves, bullets and wolves do not mix well, trust me, this is a fact.”

“Missy you are a hoot, did you know that?” asked an amused human voice behind me.

I didn’t look for the voice but I did my best to edge away from it and closer to a tree, again. “Oh yeah I am the real life of the party.” I lifted the rifle up to my shoulder, “I’ve got a gun.”

“I heard that, so did they,” said the voice. “Boys much as you enjoy the odd joke, you might give the girl a bit of space.”

When one of them growled rather rudely, I said ‘fuck it’ and put a neat row of bullets into the dirt directly in front of it. “Back the fuck off!” I shouted, as the three of them seemed to hesitate between charging and retreating.

“Oh my poor ears,” said the large and very naked man as he strode between the wolves and me. “Billy Joe Carter do not push it, considering she could easily have put those rounds in your fat head. Or would you rather face me?”

It shook its head and seemed to droop to the ground, it’s tail fell curling up under it quickly.

“I thought not, now go find that idiot cub and Eloise too,” he pointed off into the woods, “now git.” Once they bolted into the underbrush he turned back to look at me.

“Um, hi. Where is the bear?” I enunciated each word carefully.

“You are looking at it, now don’t go all panicky and ease the safety back on, ok?” He waved a large hand in my direction, “Guns only work on Were’s if you can do a lot of damage with them or use silver bullets. Though normal bullets are only painful, mostly.”

“Mostly?” I asked as I slipped the selector down to three round burst, as I wasn’t convinced I was safe.

“Yeah, mostly, like that rifle is still mostly armed.” He sighed and sat down, “Look dar’lin, I’m sitting, so you can either sit or stand.”

I frowned and crouched with my back towards the trees the tree partially leaning the pack against it. I wasn’t sure if I should ease the selector to safe or not, but I did ease it off to the side of him. “My trust factor isn’t that high.”

He shrugged and looked at me thoughtfully from under a dark mop of hair, then he sniffed the air thoughtfully, “You smell like blood, roses and something else, are you hurt?”

“No, it's not my blood,” I waved the barrel of the gun off in the direction of where I thought ARC lay. “Things went bump when I was leaving, so I played medic.” It was not exactly a lie.

“Mighty nice of you, I heard you were a prisoner?” he half asked.

“More like involuntary in-patient,” I said with a smirk.

“Uh huh, my name is Ben, and you are?”

“Um,” I paused not certain how much or what to say, “my friends call me, names.”

He laughed loudly and thumped the dirt with his hand, “I bet they do at that, so what should I call you?”

I dimly heard a crunch of leaves and aimed the rifle in that direction, “Paranoid.”

“I can see that,” he sniffed deeply and then yelled, “Abe is that you?”

“Dang it Ben, I was trying,” shouted a voice back.

“Trying to get your darned fool ass shot, I got this girl here mostly calmed down and there you go klutzing up the works,” he shouted back and then added, “again.”

“But I was quiet!”

“Evidently not, she knew which way you were coming from, idiot!” Ben sighed and looked at me, “You are not a Were are you? No, a’course not with those eyes, in any case.” He shook his head, “You got powers or sumptin, an you wanna use a gun. You are odd.”

“Gee thanks,” I muttered, “I don’t suppose you could tell your friend to move into sight, nice and easy so I don’t have to dig in my sweater pocket for a grenade and persuade him to run away?”

“Grenade,” he sniffed thoughtfully, “and plastique explosives. Missy, I don’t think I want you mad at me anytime soon. Do you know how to use them?”

“Yes, my asshole of an uncle made sure I was very familiar with things that go boom,” I said distastefully.

“Yeah, I see that.”

“So?”

“Abe, come on in, real slow like, she’s packing enough trouble to make me uncomfortable,” Ben semi-shouted with a loose smile that made me wonder if he was having fun at my expense.

“Yer shittin' me?” asked the voice as it tromped closer.

“No ah am not, an if you get me all blowed up I’m gonna make your balls into soup.”

“Pardon me if I sound rude but, did I just walk into Hicksville central?” Part of me really wanted to wallop Chad for asking that, but hitting myself is just silly.

“Nah, I jest tak dis way cuz I hab a PHD,” at my odd expression he added; “Here’s yer sign.”

I felt my face flush slightly, “Sorry.”

“Naw it’s ok, we doan seem too brawt compared to city slickers lak yerself,” he gave me a sardonic glance. “I do have a PHD, in education. We only tend to act like we are hicks or what have you. Caleb Lost Feather, the one you didn’t hear is puree bred Cheery-oak-kee, and he will tell you about it over and over. If you let him.” He pointed over my shoulder to a nearby man who was wearing tight black leather pants and moccasins, complete with a cowboy hat.

Caleb shook his head, and pointed with his very large knife to my rifle, “Nice gun, but since we are all friendly here, put it on safe.” It wasn’t a request, and his tone wasn’t exactly friendly

I sighed in disgust, “I can take the hint.” With slow easy movements I turned the selector to safe and then sat fully on the ground and slipped off my pack.

He nodded and eased his knife into its sheathe, “Not bad for a cub, brassy as all heck. But she has potential,” that he addressed to Ben. Then he studied me for a moment, “How old are you?”

“Sixteen,” I stated coldly as his tone and inflection seemed grating to me.

“You don’t look sixteen, and we were expecting a boy,” he looked back to Ben who shrugged.

“So sorry, I was expecting to meet friends, not werewolves or assholes with too few manners.” Yeah there goes my mouth again or Chad’s.

I wasn’t exactly expecting to be slapped, but then I don’t think he was expecting me to butt-stroke his knee either or the electrical pop that went with his slap. I wiggled my jaw painfully as he did his best to sit up while looking like a stunned fish. 

Slightly prudent, after the fact, I moved out his reach. “No touch, no get hurt, got it?”  I asked flipping the selector all the way up to fully automatic again.  

Ben sighed with an amused grin, “If this one isn’t the one we are looking for I might adopt her myself. Based simply on the fact that she knocked your dumb ass down.” He walked over and looked at Caleb with a snort, and then he reached down and took a firm hold of his abused knee and squeezed, hard.

“Ow! For fuck’s sake stop!” Caleb screamed and wriggled frantically trying to get loose.

“Not to mention if she is the one we are looking for, you sure as fuck do not want to piss off her mate. Not that her mate isn’t going to be pissed. But you,” he paused to push firmly on the man’s knee again, “do not want me or Eloise to fix you for fucking things up worse. Do you?”

Though a groan Caleb said, “I’m gonna.”

“Shut the hell up and follow orders,” interrupted a stern woman’s voice that caused the man to wilt. As she walked into view she seemed to be measuring the man on the ground against something in her head.

“Hi Eloise, I was just explaining things,” said Ben with a poke to the Caleb’s knee eliciting another sharp grunt of pain.

“I heard,” she reached back and pulled a nude boy forward, “so Carl, is this the one we want or just a random stranger?

I frowned, not sure of what to expect, and as he took a step towards me I brought the rifle up. “Just stay back,” I warned.

 “Uhh right,” he said slowly.

“Missy, he just needs to smell you. Nothing more. Or else I’ll break his of both knees for you, I give you my word,” offered Ben in a serious tone of voice.

“Gee thanks,” I replied uneasily, but I angled the rifle upwards slowly. “No funny shit.”

“Oh this whelp is in enough trouble as it is, he really doesn’t want me to make it worse,” stated the dark haired woman coldly.

He gave her a hanged dog frown and he walked slowly towards me, “I don’t want any trouble miss.”

“Uh huh, sure, if you touch me I will fuck you up.” I walked over to Ben, “Seeing as I am out numbered, would you hold this for a moment, please?”

He nodded slowly, and after I had put it back on safe, ejected the round and removed the magazine and put it in my pocket, he took the rifle carefully. “You know gun safety,” he said looking at Eloise then he indicated my backpack with his other hand, “and explosives.”

“Oh, and talented. Interesting.” For some reason her pronouncement of me being interesting, was disturbing.

I covered my unease by glaring at the boy who might have been my age if not a bit older. “Well?”

He edged towards me and leaned closer inhaling deeply, “Blood?”

“That is not mine.”

“Roses?” he asked uncertainly.

“That, is mine.”

“She smells slightly sweet, too sweet, maybe sick sweet?” he asked as his head started to slip lower.

“If you think I am just going stand here and let you sniff at my crotch, think again,” I warned as I clenched my fists.

“Miss, he’s a Werewolf, it runs in the genes,” interjected Ben quickly.

“Well I am not!” I protested loudly in my indignation.

“Would you like me to hold her?” asked Caleb who was back on his feet with no apparent ill effects. That statement earned him a hard look and a blow that landed his ass back on the ground from Eloise.

 “He just has to get close, but not touch,” Eloise stated firmly as if instructing the boy or warning him. She looked at me thoughtfully, “Miss it’s necessary.”

“Shit, shit and shit.” I eyed the boy uneasily, “All right, just get it over with.”

He swallowed nosily and with both hands at his waist and sniffed downward at my sweat pants. I am not sure who was more embarrassed; him or me, as his face and mid-back were violently flushed red. Personally I was fully border-lined on rage and embarrassment. With an odd step back he frowned “Lots of ozone, and I could have sworn it was a male.” He shook his head, “but it’s the same scent.”

“Oh, good.” She smiled tightly off into the woods and nodded, “Betty if you will?”

“Will what?” I asked hearing an odd sound and then feeling a painful jab in my ass. Slightly stunned I reached down to my ass and pulled the offending object out, it was a dart, like the ones they used on the Animal Planet wildlife shows, I looked at Ben who wore a pained expression, “You sorry assed fuckers!”

“Sorry missy, not my idea,” Ben said as he shook his head regretfully.

I took a tottering step towards my backpack, and then weaved slightly as the ground tilted unpleasantly, “I don’t handle medicines very well, I get averse, effects.” I looked at Eloise who was suddenly frowning, “You are s-o-o fuc…” then as the ground jumped up at me, solidly, I finished, “…ked.”

Whateley Campus

Sara studied the pin absently as she walked. Bluejay had invested a small bit of power into it, deliberately. That much was certain, where and how he had acquired the dot of blood on it was anyone’s guess. At a loud cough she looked up from her musings to see that Chief Delarose blocked her path.

“Ms. Waite?” he asked while putting his handkerchief away.

“Chief Delarose, how can I help you?”

He chuckled, “Nothing drastic I assure you. Ms. Carson requests your presence, I think it is tied to your field trip today.”

“Don’t shoot the messenger?” she asked him with a grin.

He smiled and motioned in the direction of Schuster Hall, “Not really, you didn’t get any messages?”

“My cell phone died just as I tried to answer it.” She paused and admitted, “I don’t normally carry it on me, too confining.”

“That I can relate to,” he said in evident agreement as they turned to walk towards Administration.

“So, how has your day been?”

“The usual, minor scraps bruises, bricks stuck on telephone poles. That sort of thing.”

“Let me guess, the infamous Jimmy T. approach to bullies?” she asked with a smirk.

“Yes, officially I don’t approve of his actions.”

She stopped and looked at him expectantly, “Unofficially?”

He smirked and motioned for her to keep up, “Unofficially, it tends to defuse things. Largely Jimmy just embarrasses the snot out of them with no real injuries. Largely.”

“And the other times?”

He laughed, “Well people are clumsy when panicked.”

“So, begging the question, why is Jimmy still on the list?”

Delarose hawked loudly and spat off to the side, “Politics.”

“You don’t approve?”

“Oh I can see the point of it, to some extent.” He paused in his walking briefly, “Not that it is very effective for tracking him on his antics.”

She digested that information, “I don’t know why he even tolerates the tracer.”

Delarose chuckled, “I think he just likes to annoy the monitoring staff.”

“Oh?”

“We all have our idle amusements,” he shook his head, “so how are the Thornies treating you?”

“Oh I got the usual: ‘Welcome to the Asylum’ speech. Apart from the occasional odd look, not much has changed.”

“You don’t share their perspective.” He stopped for a long moment, ”it happens with combat troops. Kids go out from home, see and do things outside of their friend’s experiences, wars and so on. They return home and their friends and family only see the old them. Whereas they see that everything is different, they know just how dirty things can get.”

“Like Halloween was?”

Delarose nodded slowly, “Some of the kids are still in shock, others pretend it didn’t happen. Then there are the ones who split into three camps, guard dogs, wolves and sheep.”

“I thought it would be more sharply polarized by now; with just dogs, and wolves.”

“Sadly there will be sheep no matter what, even if they get bloody noses from time to time.”

“So where do you see me?” she asked bluntly.

He laughed, “Without trying to sound callus; you are an apex class predator, the normal hierarchy doesn’t apply.” He shrugged, “What you choose to do, protect, victimize or harvest, lies on what you feel is correct.”

“No lecture on morality?”

He hawked and spat again in evident disgust, “Damn early winter colds, sorry.” He paused and picked up this train of thought, “Morality, morality is bullshit fodder for sheep, pardon my French if you will.”

“Freely pardoned,” she studied him for a moment. “So you see morality as?”

“Oh there is a general stance on things universally; don’t murder, don’t rape, don’t steal and so on.” He paused “Notice I did not say kill?”

As they resumed walking he continued at her nod. “Invariably there will be a point where people will stand up and say, enough. Then there is diplomacy, policing or killing to preserve lives or a way of life.”  

“And war?”

“Some would say war is a way of resetting the apple cart, funding the nation or another