Aspen

by Skye Knizley

  Raven looked at the paper then handed it to Aspen. “So you think a supernatural entity was trapped in the caves and the miners let it out?”

  Wright nodded. “And it has been feeding on us ever since.”

  Aspen looked at the pictographs. She was no expert, but the pictograph for danger, an inverted arrowhead, was pretty universal as were the symbols for home and death. Interpreted literally they could mean ‘danger, home of death’. She set the paper aside and looked at Wright.

  “How long do you think you’ve been here?”

  Wright pulled a torn piece of sheet out of her shirt and opened it. The sheet was covered in hashmarks in groups of five.

  “I don’t think, I know. One year and seventeen days,” Wright said.

  Aspen shook her head. “That isn’t possible, doctor. Your team only came out here a few weeks ago.”

  Wright sat up on her knees. “No! Don’t you see? Time works different here, we’re cut off from the world, we aren’t on Earth anymore!”

  She cackled and fell back, kicking her legs in the air. Raven grabbed her and shook her until she stopped. “That’s not helping, Wright! If we aren’t on Earth where are we?”

  Wright opened her eyes and stared at nothing. “Purgatory. This has to be purgatory, and we’re all going to hell.”

  Aspen had been unable to get anything else from her after that. She just stared at the ceiling, tired and spent. She and Raven had made her a healing cocktail from items scavenged from Raven’s first aid kit and left her to rest. If Martel’s condition was any judge, Wright didn’t have long to live. They had to find and stop the Other, whatever it was.

  She was staring out the window at the dull grey sky when Raven stepped up and hugged her from behind. It was a warm, gentle hug that made her feel safe and loved. But it wasn’t the hug of a friend, more like that of a lover.

  “We’re going to get out of this, Aspen,” Raven said.

  Aspen smiled and reached up to hold Raven’s arms. “I know we will, we always do. I’m scared, but not worried.

  She turned and looked at Raven. Raven, with her deep emerald eyes and flaming hair, the woman who had saved her life and never asked for anything but friendship.

  “What’s gotten into you?” Aspen asked.

  Raven cocked her head and looked confused. “What do you mean?”

  Aspen shrugged. “Rushing off in the Bass to come find me, being affectionate on the job, that isn’t like you. You’re usually all stoic and hidey with your feelings.”

  Raven shrugged. “It was just a hug, Aspen. Maybe I am just tired of being stoic and hidey with my feelings. I needed to find you and make sure you were safe. Is that wrong?”

  Aspen wrapped her arms around Raven. “No, I’m grateful you came, I should have known you would. I didn’t expect you to be more touchy with me, though. What about Rupe?”

  Raven kissed the top of Aspen’s head. “What about him?”

  “I know you have feelings for him,” Aspen said. “I’ve got eyes and ears, Ray.”

  “I do, Asp. I love him. But he’s my partner, being with each other would just complicate things. We’re better off as friends watching each other’s backs,” Raven said.

  Aspen let go and turned back to the window. “That’s what I always thought, but you two seemed to disagree with me.”

  Raven frowned. “You don’t seem happy.”

  Aspen shook her head. “I am, Ray. If you feel the way I do, then I am. It just… I don’t know, maybe it is this place. It all feels weird.”

  “I can’t argue with that. But, like I said, we’re going to get out of here. Do you have any idea what is happening to Wright?”

  Aspen rested her head against the window, letting it cool her skin. Something wasn’t right, her instincts were screaming at her, but focusing on them was like trying to cut concrete with a butter knife.

  “I consulted an expert, of sorts. He says it is akin to a disease, but he was unable to cure it,” she said.

  Raven leaned against the wall beside her. “A disease didn’t create all of this, Aspen. Is there another possibility?”

  “Yes. I just haven’t figured it out yet. It would help if I had access to my lab back in Chicago, I would love to get a closer look at these samples.”

  Jynx entered and perched on the desk in a fashion similar to the way Raven sat on her desk at the District house. “I finished perusing Dad’s journal. The only mention of silver people is a group of jungle spirits living in the Appalachian Mountains. Nothing about this Other or strange towns you can’t escape.”

  She pulled a crushed pack of Lucky Strike cigarettes out of her pocket and lit one with a silver zippo. “Something isn’t right, though. There were pages missing from the book.”

  Aspen waved the cigarette smoke away from her face. “I thought you quit smoking.”

  Jynx took a deep drag. “I ran out of gum. The detox and stress are killing me, I’ll try again when we get out of here.”

  “It’s a gross habit, kid. But let’s go back to something you said, something about pages missing?”

  “Yeah. I’ve been reading that diary nonstop for the last year, I know sections of it by heart, but some of those sections are gone, like they were torn out. I don’t know how they could be missing unless Piper took them,” Jynx said.

  Aspen turned away from the window. “Would she do that?”

  Jynx shrugged. “If she had a bug up her butt about one of her pet projects, yes. She puts them in her own book to keep them safe then gives them back later.”

  “Sounds like someone we know,” Raven said. “Asp, you mentioned your lab back home, what about the local hospital? They should have some kind of microscopes and stuff, maybe you can find out what this stuff is.”

  “I doubt they will have a mass spectrometer, but it’s worth a shot,” Aspen said.

  Jynx stubbed out her cigarette with the toe of her boot. “What are you two talking about? I thought we were getting ready to fight this Other, whatever the hell it is.”

  Aspen pulled out the gear bag she’d taken from Raven’s car and started stuffing Wright’s notes into the pockets. “This can’t just be some creature. What Martel was carrying was a poison or a disease, something in his blood. He had it, Charles had it, Wright has it and I have it.”

  She pulled up her jacket sleeve and showed the blue lines that were appearing on her skin. “I noticed it when I was looking at the window.”

  Raven grasped Aspen’s wrist and examined the lines. “Dammit, Aspen, why didn’t you say anything?”

  “Because that isn’t how she rolls, Raven. You would know that it if you hung out with her. Come on, let’s get Wright and go check out the hospital before it gets dark,” Jynx said.

  She left the room, leaving Aspen with Raven.

  “Who put the kid in charge?”

  Aspen smiled. “It’s just the way she is. She reminds me of you, and she’s not wrong.”

  “She’s not, but I don’t have to like it. What she does is murder,” Raven said.

  “From her point of view, it’s protecting the innocent, just like you,” Aspen said.

  Raven turned and there was fire in her eyes. “I have a badge, Aspen, and I carry the weight of Fürstin. She’s a kid with a gun. What gives her the right to hunt preternaturals? If she hasn’t shot an innocent, someday she will. Or get her head kicked in by something tougher than she is.”

  Aspen glared up at Raven. “That kid has saved my life. Every hunter I know says she and her sister are the good guys, just like us. Just because she doesn’t have a badge and a spiffy title doesn’t mean she isn’t worthy of carrying the weight. Why don’t you climb down off your mother’s high horse for once?”

  Raven’s eyes shifted from human to feral predator. Aspen had never seen it from this perspective; she didn’t like it, but she al
so knew she had no reason to be afraid. Raven would never hurt her. At least, not on purpose.

  “How dare you? You betrayed me, you got my partner almost killed, now you’re acting like a thug with a gun has the right to be judge, jury and executioner,” Raven snapped.

  Aspen let her magik show in her eyes. She’d never done this before, not to Raven, but she wasn’t going to back down. “Yes, I betrayed you! I also fought off a Master vampire to help you! I didn’t ask you to make me your familiar, I had your back without it, but I’m here now. You chose me and you need to listen! You aren’t alone. We aren’t alone. There are people out there, humans, who are on our side. You can’t flip out every time one dips a toe into our pool.”

  Aspen turned away and looked out the window. She could see Jynx helping Wright into the back seat of the Bass. “I know she’s abrasive. Try spending ten minutes with yourself before coffee, she’s no worse. Give her a chance, Ray.”

  She closed her eyes, unsure what would happen next. After a moment she felt a gentle hand on her shoulder. “You’re right, I’m sorry. I’m sure she’s a good kid and I owe her for keeping an eye on you.”

  Aspen let Raven turn her around. She opened her eyes and saw that the vampire was gone, leaving only Raven’s emerald eyes and a smile.

  “We kept an eye on each other, Ray. She’s a friend, please try to be a little nicer? She’s been through a lot. You two have a lot in common if you would stop being snarky and talk,” Aspen said.

  “I don’t think she wants to talk to me much, but I’ll try, okay?”

  Aspen nodded. “Thank you. It looks like she’s gotten the doc into your car, we should meet her before she starts doing donuts in the parking lot.”

  Raven arched an eyebrow. “She would do that?”

  They both heard the earth-shattering rumble of the Bass’ engine.

  Aspen hefted her bag and hurried out the door. “She would do that, she has the attention span of a horny rabbit.”

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  Devil’s Lake, MO, 8:42 a.m.

  Devil’s Lake Hospital sat on the western edge of the small town within walking distance of the lake that gave the town its name. The building was larger than most might expect, but in its day it was the only hospital for over a hundred miles. With mine accidents being common and far worse than the incidents that occurred in most small towns, the town elders had opted to bring in state of the art medical facilities, both to protect the miners and to bring in revenue from surrounding villages. When the mine fire erupted there were more than a hundred patients in the hospital that were evacuated. News reports said everyone had gotten out safely.

  Aspen looked up at the four-story structure and shivered. It didn’t look like a small-town medical facility. It didn’t look like a hospital at all, and the strange Gothic architecture looked out of place. It looked like a tomb of horrors dragged out of a 1960s Hitchcock film, Aspen half expected a serial killer to run out the door yelling for his mother.

  Jynx lit a cigarette and blew the smoke out her nose. “This is a hospital? Are you fucking kidding me?”

  “Looks can be deceiving, but I admit this is creepifying,” Aspen said.

  Raven walked past them. “It’s a hospital, I can smell the ammonia and chlorine they used to use to clean and cover up the smell of death.”

  “Living in your head must be no picnic,” Jynx said.

  “I wouldn’t know, I’ve never been on a picnic,” Raven replied.

  Aspen frowned. “What, like, never?”

  “No way! Even I’ve been on a picnic,” Jynx said. “It was the most boring five minutes of my life, but still, who hasn’t been on a picnic?”

  “That makes me so sad, honey. Not even a pretend one in the back yard?” Aspen asked.

  Raven opened the trunk of the Bass and began sorting through her gear. “Can we stop talking about picnics? Jynx, that pistol of yours is a 45 Colt, right?”

  Jynx drew her pistols and spun them. “Yes, they are 1911s custom made for me by Samuel Colt.”

  Raven kept rummaging in the car. “Sam Colt died in 1862.”

  Jynx smiled around her cigarette and winked at Aspen. “Did he, now? You might want to take a look in your archives. You might be surprised who is alive and who ain’t.”

  “I’ll get Thad right on it. In the meantime…”

  She held out two boxes of 45 ACP ammunition. Jynx holstered her pistols and accepted them. She slid open one box and smiled appreciatively at the silver cartridges within.

  “These are fancy. Is that holy oak in the tip? Nice!”

  Raven smiled. “My brother Thad makes them. His number is on the box, if you want to call and ask to order some. Just tell him I sent you, he’ll give you a good deal.”

  Jynx started loading her empty magazines with the cartridges. “Thanks, Raven. You aren’t so bad.”

  Raven went back to sorting her gear. “It doesn’t mean we’re engaged or anything, but I figured you were a little light on ammo after looking out for Aspen the last few days.”

  “I appreciate it. Maybe we’ll get out of this after all.”

  Raven pulled her back-up Automag out of a case and offered it to Aspen. “I noticed you lost your Javelina. This will do until we find you another.”

  “Ray, I can’t take that!” Aspen said.

  Raven held it out. “It kicks a little more, but not much. You didn’t eat much this morning, you’re having a magik hangover already. I’d rather you had something in case things don’t go as planned.”

  Aspen took the pistol. It was made of stainless steel, the same as Raven’s sidearm. The grips were some kind of rubber and it had a laser sight installed below the barrel. She knew Raven hardly ever used it, she preferred her father’s custom model, but she still felt special being offered one of Raven’s personal weapons. She slid it into her holster, which was a snug fit.

  “Do things ever go according to plan?”

  Jynx finished reloading her magazines. “I didn’t even know we had a plan.”

  Raven slammed the trunk and turned. “Get Wright inside and cover Aspen while she figures out what this thing is and how we kill it.”

  “I like that plan, I’m excited to be a part of it. How long do we give it before the shit hits the fan?” Jynx asked.

  Aspen turned to help Wright out of the car, but could hear Jynx and Raven and she shook her head at them. Three hours before, they were calling each other names. Now, they were talking like partners, almost like Raven and Rupert. She liked it, but it felt wrong, somehow. Raven didn’t make friends all that easily. The way she’d heard it from Rupert, it had taken days before she stopped threatening to pop his head like a zit.

  Wright was semi-conscious. The blue lines stuck out on her skin in such a way that her skin now had a slight texture to it, the same way Martel’s had when she found him in his room. If that was an indicator, Wright didn’t have long.

  Raven moved to her side and gathered Wright into her arms. “I’ve got her. Jynx, you cover us, Aspen you tell us where we need to go.”

  Jynx drew her pistols and moved to the doors. They opened easily at her touch and she stepped through. Aspen followed with her Automag ready and Raven close behind.

  The entry lobby was a wreck. The old wooden reception desk looked as if it had been hacked apart by a maniac with an axe, bloodstains ran down the walls and across the floor and debris was piled against the walls. A thick, cloying dust like the ash of the night before covered everything. Jynx moved through it in a cross step, her weapons pointed in opposite directions.

  “The lobby is clear, where to, Aspen?”

  Aspen crossed to a directory that hung askew on the wall. She wiped away the dust and located the pathology lab.

  “Clinical pathology, third floor,” she said.

  “Stairs or elevators?” Jynx asked.

&nbs
p; “Stairs,” Raven said. “If we get stuck in an elevator with Wright, she’ll die.”

  Jynx started off on soft feet, weapons ready. When she reached the stairs, she beckoned. Aspen followed and Raven brought up the rear with Wright cradled easily in her arms like an oversized child. When they were close, Jynx started up the stairs. Aspen entered behind her and gagged at the stench. Something, a lot of somethings, had died somewhere below and the stench wafting up the stairs was almost more than she could bear. She covered her nose with her free hand and looked at Raven, who had gone a little green.

  “Are you okay?” she asked.

  Raven made a gagging sound but nodded. “Just go quick, I’ll be right behind you.”

  Aspen hurried up the stairs, taking them two at a time. She caught up to Jynx on the second floor and waited for Raven to catch up.

  “I have movement in the hallway,” Jynx whispered. “What do you think?”

  “Is it close?” Aspen whispered back.

  Jynx peeked through the small window and shook her head. “No, whatever it is, it’s at the other end of the building.”

  Raven reached the landing with Wright over her shoulder. She looked like she desperately wanted to be sick, but was swallowing it with shear willpower.

  “What’s eating you?” Jynx asked.

  Raven glared at her. “Shut up. Why have we stopped?”

  “Movement at the end of the hall,” Aspen said.

  Raven cocked her head, listening. She then handed Wright to Aspen. “You go ahead with Jynx, I’ll check it out.”

  Aspen grunted under Wright’s weight, but got her into a fireman’s carry. “Is that a good idea?”

  “It will get me the hell out of this hallway. Go!”

  Jynx hurried away, surprisingly quiet in her Western boots. Aspen took another look at Raven then followed after. When she reached the next landing, she looked back and Raven was gone.

  Be okay, she thought.

  She and Jynx found the pathology lab on the third floor. The door was locked, a problem Jynx circumvented by kicking it open. Beyond was a small reception area with a single patient privacy room and a desk where a technician once signed for samples and scheduled testing. A glassed-off section housed the laboratory itself. It was much cleaner here than in the rest of the building, Aspen assumed because it was higher up and had remained locked all this time.