The Cannibal Cure

by Jeff D Ellis

  “What do you know about your boss, Otis Thorn? Is he Veiled?”

  “He seems like a good guy. I don’t know if he’s Veiled, but I know he’s not a Vampire.”

  “Do you know of any pictures of him?”

  “That’s the strange thing. I have never seen a picture of him and due to the nature of our work and any picture taken at the office would get the person fired.”

  “I would never want to put you at risk. Is there a place he normally goes for lunch or something? I only want to know what he looks like.”

  “I haven’t seen him around the office in the last couple of days. He might be taking some time off.”

  “Thanks for your help, Kat.”

  “How’s David doing?”

  “He has recovered from the virus and is doing fine now.”

  “I’m so happy to hear that. Guess the wedding is still on. We should meet soon and go over plans.”

  “I’ll call and set a time soon, I promise.”

  David, how goes the bloodwork?

  Just finished. Meet you back at the desks.

  It didn’t take long for David to meet back at her desk. She filled him in on her conversation with Kat, and the Chief.

  “I have a couple of ideas of what we can do next.”

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  Subject 35

  THE LAST THING Hammer remembered was Otis Thorn in some warehouse and blacking out when he was hit from behind. The pounding in his head woke him up to the sight of old iron cell bars. The walls were carved from rough stone. Underneath him was a steel shelf with a thin pad on it. The only light came from outside the cell. Sitting up, he almost fell back from the dizziness. He held his head in his hands for a moment and the room stopped its spinning. After taking a personal inventory, he found the lump on his head was the only injury he had to deal with. He managed to get to his feet and staggered to the bars for a closer look. They looked like they came from a movie set in the old west, but these were no props and there was no chance of breaking his way out. The air smelled old and musty. This could be a secluded part of the underground. It had the same feeling. This had to be Thorn’s doing. It could also be why the victims of the Windigo were found in the underground. He gasped. What if he was bitten! He would rather die than turn into a monster. He frantically searched his body for bite marks.

  “You won’t find what you’re looking for.”

  Otis Thorn stood next to the bars looking in.

  “How do you know what I’m looking for?”

  “You’re looking for bite marks and you weren’t bitten, at least not yet.”

  “Do you plan on biting me later?”

  “Why do you think I would want to bite you?”

  “You’re a Windigo and it’s what you do.”

  “Now what does a Seattle detective know about mythical monsters?”

  “I know all about The Veiled.”

  “Is that something all of the SPD knows about? I think not.”

  “Cut the crap. You and I both know you are the Windigo that ate Councilmember Prescott and you have been experimenting on the homeless.”

  “Interesting. Everybody knows my company does research and doesn’t conduct human trials.”

  “I don’t expect your company knows about this research.”

  “How would you know about anything I do?”

  Hammer gave it a thought and remembered what Abby had described in her write-up of the vision. “Subject thirty-two… test sample fourteen. Which test subject am I?”

  Thorn looked worried. “You will be subject thirty-five, but we aren’t ready for that yet. I need to alter my formula to take advantage of new data.”

  “What are you trying to solve by all this?”

  “The cure for everything. The Windigo virus makes a person near immortal and halts the aging process. The problem is the side effects of endless constant hunger and the need to eat Human flesh. Once I find a way to suppress that, I can make the world a better place.”

  “This is all about you. You want the perks without paying the price.”

  “In a few days, you could be the first among many to win the fight against death.”

  “I don’t want to be a monster like you. Why can’t you test on animals like everybody else?”

  “Lab rats are not affected by the virus and homeless are cheap and available.”

  “I’m not homeless. Someone will come looking. I told others I was watching you.”

  “Don’t worry. By now, you are the top suspect in the killing of Cora Prescott. No one will find you here or ask me about it. Face it. You will be my test subject, or you will be dinner. Speaking of dinner, I’ll bring you some food later. I need to keep you healthy until we start the experiment.”

  Hammer smiled for the first time that day. He’d found the Windigo from Abby’s vision. Now he needed a way to get out alive and tell someone. It was hard to admit, but if anybody could find him, it would be Abby.

  The real question was: would he be still be alive or even Human when she did?

  ***

  Abby looked over at David. When he didn’t say anything, she had to push. “What are you thinking?”

  He smiled. “We get a list of all properties Thorn or Thorn Technologies own and see if any of them are near an entrance to the Underground. If Otis Thorn is our Windigo, he might have taken Hammer to a private lab someplace. It would also allow him quick access to the Underground to dispose of remains or let any Windigo he creates into the wild so to speak.”

  “I wonder why we didn’t look into that before.”

  “That also might not work. If he is as old as Greta suggests, he may have owned the property for an extremely long time and under one or more different names.”

  “We can’t check every building in the area, so what’s our next step?”

  “I think it’s time for me to test and see just how back to normal I am. Without Hammer, you need a real partner out in the field.”

  “What do you have in mind?”

  “First step is to see if I can contact Jaguar and go from there. I need to find a quiet and private place to do that.”

  “Good luck! I will talk to Gwen and Perry about properties.”

  Abby went to find Perry and Gwen. They were talking about properties and shell companies.

  “Hey guys, David and I were wondering about properties that are near or over the Underground that Thorn might own.”

  Perry smiled. “We were just wondering the same thing. The problem is, we don’t know how far back to go, and he could have used a shell company. Don’t worry, we’re working on it and will let you know when we come up with some possible locations to check out.”

  “Thanks, guys! You’re the best.”

  ***

  David found an empty conference room to use and closed the door. It was one of the few that didn’t have windows. It would be fine for his needs. He sat in one of the chairs and removed the Were-jaguar amulet from around his neck. It could be used to focus his connection to the spirit realm where Jaguar was. After his breathing settled into a slow deliberate pattern, he focused his will on the amulet.

  The jungle was all around him. At least the connection worked, but where was Jaguar?

  “I’m very happy to see you again, David.”

  David was startled by Jaguar’s sudden appearance. “Jaguar, I need your guidance.”

  “As always, I’m happy to be your guide. Ask your questions.”

  “While under the influence of the virus, I shifted to a coyote and got stuck with no control. I’m feeling better, but I’m worried to see if I can still shift.”

  Jaguar came closer and looked closely at him. “You are mostly back to your normal self. You shouldn’t worry about shifting anymore.”

  “I’m not in danger now?”

  “You were never really in danger of being stuck, as you put it before. You and your animal selves are one. Deep inside, you didn’t want to be in control. In a way, you had a death
wish.”

  “You said mostly. What do you mean by that?”

  “Remember when I told you that you were meant to have the Eye of the Jaguar, but weren’t meant to have it at the time?”

  “I remember that, but my hand was forced back then.”

  “You no longer have the Eye. It has been transferred back to its resting place. At the proper time you will find it again, but for now, you no longer have its abilities.”

  “What about the rest of what I could do?”

  “You are as you were otherwise. You need learn how to trust your abilities and make them second nature again.”

  “Unrelated question: I’m searching for a Windigo that has been killing people in Seattle. A police detective is also missing, and I’m worried he might be dead or about to become a Windigo.”

  “You are right to be worried. If you find him quickly, he may yet be saved.”

  “Can you help me find them?”

  “Your other spirit guide claims your victory over the Windigo. I can’t help you because of that. Coyote will want you to earn the victory on your own.”

  “Thank you for your guidance.”

  David found himself back in the conference room. There was one last thing he needed to do. After connecting with his inner jaguar, he shifted. It felt good to be a jaguar once more. He quickly shifted back as he padded to the door. Now he could tell Ash he was back to his full abilities and get put back on active duty. She should also know more about the blood by now. He found Abby and they went together to the lab.

  “Ash, after consulting with my spirit guide and testing it myself, I can verify I’m back to my normal abilities and ready for active duty.”

  “Your bloodwork did seem to indicate that, but I couldn’t risk you not being sure of yourself in the field. No more worries about being trapped?”

  “None. I was a jaguar a few moments ago and am back up to speed.”

  “Today, that’s good enough for me. I will let the Chief know.”

  “Do you have any results on the blood sample we dropped off?”

  “DNA is back and it’s a match for Cora Prescott. It also is virus-free.”

  “Thanks for the help. I will let the rest of the team know.”

  David’s phone buzzed. The results from Hammer’s house were in. They went back to the group for a briefing.

  Perry filled them in. “The team found the Detective’s car had been wiped clean and had no hair or fibers that would be of use. Inside the house, the only blood was on the bed. In most areas of the house, they found the Detective’s prints, but in the garage, bedroom and entry way, no prints were found. There was no computer to be found and no evidence of the pages removed from his notepad. The notepad didn’t show any impressions from writing on the first blank page. No evidence of a killing or abduction was found at that address.”

  “Was there any data mapping where his issued car had been over the last twenty-four hours?”

  “Sorry, Abby. SPD doesn’t keep real-time data on Detective’s cars. They only ping the tracker if a car is stolen or officer is missing.”

  Abby shifted in her chair. “Anything we can use to help find Hammer or the Windigo?”

  “Nothing in the report seems to help. Out best bet still is locating the lab Abby saw in her vision.”

  David nodded. “Thanks for the update. We know what we have to work on.”

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  Continuing the hunt

  HAMMER WAS STARTLED when Thorn came rushing in with some sort of airgun.

  “We’re leaving.”

  “I told you someone would come for me. There isn’t a place you can hide from them.”

  “Nobody is coming for you. It’s time to move to one of my other locations.”

  He wasn’t fooling anybody; he was acting way too worried for Abby to not be close behind. Realizing his need to stall to give them more time to find him, he laid down on the bed.

  “I think I’m comfortable here. If nobody is coming for me, there is no harm moving me later.”

  “I have my own timetables. One way or another, you’re coming with me now.”

  Watching Thorn’s eyes, he timed his roll out of the way to the moment the gun fired with a puff of air, sending a dart just past his body.

  Hammer pulled the dart out. “I hope you have more of those; I can do this all day.”

  A growl escaped Thorn’s lips and he stepped out of view. A few moments later, a large gray monster with sharp teeth and claw-like fingers appeared. Hammer could see a red heart beating in its emaciated chest.

  Its voice was coarse and raspy. “Tranquilizer or dinner. Your choice.”

  The room felt like darkness closing in on him as he cowered into the corner. This was the stuff of nightmares. It was hard to believe David and Abby had killed one of these things. The only thing in his favor was it would have to change back to human size to get through the cell door, but there was no chance in his mind he could escape unarmed and without help. He needed to buy more time.

  Hammer held his hands up. “I’ll come with you.”

  The raspy voice said, “Jab yourself with the dart and you will wake up alive.”

  He noticed it didn’t say safe or unharmed, but Hammer didn’t have a choice. Darkness came quickly after he plunged the tip of the dart into his leg.

  ***

  They decided to start searching the area where they fought the Windigo that had infected David. It made more sense than the area where Prescott had been found. The Underground was more stifling than David remembered. Until now, he had never felt claustrophobic. But the air felt so thick, he could cut it with a knife. Each breath brought the remembered scent of the Windigo he’d fought. He needed to stop jumping at shadows. They were soon at the place where the fight had happened. The blood and signs of struggle had been cleaned up. Now, only the scents of the Human cleaning crew remained. It was like waking from a bad dream to find there wasn’t a monster under the bed.

  “David, do you remember that rusted metal gate being closed before?”

  “I don’t remember the gate at all, but I was busy at the time.”

  David tested the gate and found it moved easily enough and it didn’t lock open or closed. “Do you think the cleaners closed it?”

  Abby looked at some pictures on her phone. “I don’t think so. In all of the crew’s pictures, the gate was open.”

  “I think we should take it as a sign.”

  They continued past the gate into darkness. David blended into the shadows as a jaguar. The scents grew stronger and he would be better able to see any trails of magic if he came across them. The natural camouflage would help if they did find a Windigo roaming the halls. The light from Abby’s P90 shone into dark corners.

  Abby, keep your distance from me as we go. I know you need the light to move by, but it also gives away our position.

  Don’t go too far ahead. I don’t want you facing a Windigo alone.

  As a jaguar, he lost the ability to see colors, but the jaguar’s eyes had amazing night vision. It took a moment to wrap his mind around it. Silently he padded into the darkness. His spotted coat was effective camouflage in these conditions. Up ahead, a metal door had been ripped from the wall. Sniffing, he found only stale dusty air. Sounds of traffic from the street up above filtered down to his ears. The roof must be thinner in this area. It was strange he never noticed street noise when he fought the first Windigo. A person screaming in pain while being eaten alive should have been noticed here. The Windigo wouldn’t hunt or have his lab here.

  Up ahead was an intersection. Right now, he was heading west. If he went north, he would be going towards downtown. South would go into the International district. The western passage should end in a few blocks. When he developed video games, he found that people normally went straight or took right turns to navigate a maze or set of caverns. To make people take the longest path to the interesting stuff, he placed them along left-hand turns. If the Windigo was smart, he m
ight do the same, but he would end up at an intersection like this every couple of blocks. If he took a turn too soon, he would just be making a small circle. Having a good map of what buildings were above him would have helped, but what if the lair was in a spot not connected to the surface? That way, Thorn wouldn’t have to own the building above the lab, and it would be totally off the books. The known areaways were about six square blocks. Thinking things through, he must be about a block south and two east of The Second Circle. He decided he should continue west for another intersection or two and then turn.

  Abby, I’m continuing west at the first intersection you get to. I’ll let you know when I make a turn.

  Copy that, David.

  Check-in complete. He started moving faster. As he went, the sounds from the street and sidewalk got fainter. The roof became a bit crumbly and the walkway was peppered with dust, but some spots had less dust than others. Someone had been down this path recently, but not in a hurry. The tracks went on for about a block and ended suddenly. There must be a passage hidden here someplace.

  Abby, I found a strange spot. I’ll be waiting up ahead for you.

  I haven’t noticed anything following behind you. Be right there.

  Looking around, there was no magical aura, but there were faint scents of Windigo and someone else. He took a deep breath. Hammer had been here as well. David shifted back as he noticed Abby’s light approaching.