A flash of pain shoots at the front of my skull and I instinctively grab at my skull. A curse escapes from my lips as I scrunch my face to ride through the sudden flare-up. Staying up this late isn’t helping my injury…not at all. I whip out my phone and dial up Roc in hopes that he’s still up. He picks up on the second ring.
“Sailor?”
“Hey, Roc. You got a minute?”
“You’re not hurt or anything, right?”
“No…no it’s nothing like that. I’ve just been doing some research of my own with the case,” I say while glancing over the corpse of the demon I’d just mutilated. “I think there’s another angle we should be looking at.”
“Okay…so what should we be focusing on?”
“I…I don’t know. But something doesn’t seem right. The items are an after effect. Why would a witch leave behind clues like that? I don’t think that’s a byproduct of blood magic. It doesn’t make sense. Playing cards and teddy bears…aren’t those like things a kid would have? These people were adults. That one victim was into the game, so maybe those things have some sort of symbolic reference that’s manifesting for some reason or another. I know I’m rambling…it’s late and my brain’s fried…but it makes sense…right? Did the other guy have like a daughter or something? Something that would involve a teddy bear? Did he collect them as a child? Do you follow what I’m trying to say?”
“No, yeah, you’re making sense. Abby and I’ve been looking into it, but without actually doing some investigative work in the field, things have been slow.”
“What if the witch is after something? Like an item of some sort? If he’s coming this way, something might be luring him here, and it’s not Sphinx. I think it’s something different. Is there some sort of paranormal item that creates objects with ties to people?”
“I don’t think so…at least not here.”
“Where’s Abby? Is she asleep?”
“Yeah.”
“Damn it… Don’t bother waking her. I’m going to do some more research so I can actually give you something to work off of when I see you. I feel like we’re missing something. Like, it’s right under our noses, but we’re not seeing it. If that witch wanted Sphinx, he could do it in a bunch of other places without running the risk of interference by hunters. If he wanted monster hunters, he would have been able to get them in less active territories as well. Whoever this witch is, he’s jumping straight into danger and causing a scene intentionally for those who know the signs. Not good. He’s confident. Cocky, even. Who the hell is this guy and why? Why here, and why now?”
Chapter 11: Crunch
After dealing with the body of the demon, I make my way back home, exhausted and at my wits’ end. The demon wasn’t much help and his personal belongings didn’t amount to much either. There was nothing to further the cause for either my own agenda or the bigger picture. There’s one less demon roaming the streets, but that doesn’t say much. It seems like more and more are popping up each day.
While I was cleaning, I sent a text to Abby outlining what I had told Roc when I spoke with him on the phone…how things didn’t quite line up with the direction that we’re going. Both of them are super smart…and exhausted. They’ve both been working super hard on this one, and I really screwed Roc over by calling him in the middle of the night. He was a gentleman about it, but I shouldn’t have done that unless I knew it was something that was game changing. All I did was bitch and add my two cents. Nothing really constructive came about from it.
I boot up my laptop and do a quick search on the recent happenings in the area in hopes of finding what the witch could be targeting in the event that Sphinx isn’t his primary motivator. There have been killings. Scandals. Propaganda. The usual stuff I’d expect to see. Out of everything that's going on, I see a few of our crusades masqueraded as something else. Sometimes by us, and sometimes by our enemies involved in the supernatural. It's easy to forget sometimes that they're not just in the streets. Leaders of the paranormal are at your local bakery, bookstore, car shop, they can even be the ones who serve your food. It doesn't scare me anymore, but it has led to me having more than a healthy dose of skepticism when it comes to my daily affairs.
After some more digging, nothing on the incidents I comb through scream supernatural. The same goes for the rumors I'm able to scrounge up on the surrounding area. Paranormal artifacts tend to leave a trail wherever they go, so if I'm not picking up anything, it's simply because I'm not searching in the right spot. Dad and I didn't have too much of a focus on artifacts. We were always too busy dealing with avenging mom to diverge from that path unless it was something we couldn't pass off. Dad was always better when it came to this sort of thing though. Damn…we could really use him right now. He'd know what to do.
I continue my search until the dead ends become too much for me to handle. Defeated, I close my laptop and pick up one of my books on demonology in hopes of finding the missing link, but my headache deters me from pressing forward in hot pursuit. I’d taken something for the pain when I got in, but now the side effects are beginning to take hold. Maybe it was worth taking a few shots to the head if that means I’ll finally get some quality sleep. I sure as hell need it.
****
Morning, or what I think is morning, comes not long after I close my eyes. The sound of a car’s alarm wakes me, snapping me from some sort of fever dream. This time, it was tolerable. A good memory, actually. I don’t remember climbing into bed, but I clearly made it there and it looks like I took a tome or two along for the ride.
The dream I had was of my dad. He was crystal clear and as vibrant as ever. Mom was there, too, but it was fuzzy. I’ll never forget her face, but our memories together have been slowly eroding away with the passage of time. I remember her personality to an extent and key moments she played in my life growing up, but it’s getting harder to remember the little things that made her special. It’s depressing. This life’s been bogging me down for so long that I haven’t had the time to think about the good times we had. Only the bad…the things that make my lifestyle as meaningful as it is.
I dreamt that we were camping. Dad was making some hamburgers out over the fire and he decided to teach me how to properly gather sticks so that the fire can be properly maintained. There was an art to it, and it was so pressing to him that he had to tell me. Mom monitored the food while we went searching, and then she screamed. We ran back and I feared for the worst, but when we got to her, she was only screaming because a snake had made it to our campsite. It was the worst of our worries. Dad handled it, and everything was back to normal. We laughed and joked about it, and then, I woke up.
Truth be told, I wanted to go back to sleep if it meant being with the both of them for a bit longer. It was a tragedy that I lost them in the way that I did—one that I would erase in a heartbeat.
I slog off my morning disorientation by getting out of bed as quickly as I can. The drug-induced sleep I had did wonders. My headache’s gone, which is also a plus. I hit the shower again, even though I took one after I came in from hunting, and make myself a decent breakfast even though it’s clearly past noon. After I’m done eating, I decide to call up Blaze.
“Hey, Ray. What’s up?”
“How are things going in your neck of the woods? You guys need me for anything? Have there been any updates from Abby or Roc?”
“Everything’s fine. We’re still in the process of tending to the survivors, of course, but other than that, everything’s business as usual. There is something I wanted to speak to you about though, actually. I was going to wait until I saw you in person, but since you called…”
“Yeah?”
“Roc said you called him late last night. Is that true?”
“Yeah. It is. I had some ideas I wanted to run by him and I figured he’d be up. It was all for the case.”
“Yeah, I get that. What did you come up with? Roc tried to tell me, but I figured it’d be better coming from you.”
&nb
sp; “I don’t think that Sphinx is the reason that the killings have been coming closer. I don’t think that the witch is after Sphinx. I honestly believe that it’s a coincidence or at the very least, a byproduct of something else.”
“Something else? Like what?”
“I’m…not sure…but I do know that Sphinx is getting easier and easier to get. If Sphinx is what the witch is after, then nothing’s stopping him from getting it from a local dealer. If killing hunters was the goal, that could have also been done with less effort. We’re missing something. There’s something here that the witch is targeting that it can’t get anywhere else. I was thinking that maybe it’s a paranormal artifact or something, but I know you guys have been keeping up with that kind of stuff. You’d know if a witch or demon wanted a specific item for a specific cause.”
“Yeah, for sure, but you brought up some good points. There is something that we’re missing, and I’m not sure if digging through forensics will help us uncover what we’re looking for.”
“I feel the same way…in the spirit of being honest with one another, I went out last night. I hunted. I couldn’t sleep, so I tried my best to gain some intel about what was going on.”
“Sailor y—”
“Don’t worry, Blaze. I was careful.”
“It’s not that. I know you can handle yourself, it’s just that we’re in a sensitive state right now. We have a lot of manpower, but truth be told, we’re vulnerable. There are a lot of innocent people with us, and if the demons or whoever else get too antsy…” Blaze lets out a longwinded sigh. “I…if we get into a confrontation over something stupid, we can end up damaging more lives than we’re saving.”
“I know. I told you, I was careful. I care just as much about these people as you do, Blaze, that’s why I did what I did, and that’s why we’re going to do what we set out to do and kill that witch before he kills anyone else. We just need to find him, first.”
“I can count on you, today, right?”
“What do you mean?”
“You were out hunting demons all night—your words, not mine. The night before that you were helping us with our operation. Do you still want in on this one? We’re going to be on the front lines…just the four of us.”
“Yeah, I’m good for it. Last night wasn’t bad at all, and I had a good night’s sleep. I’m fresh.”
“Glad to hear it.”
“And get this, last night, I had a wild ass dream. My parents and I were out in the woods…camping. My dad took me to get some sticks and my mom got freaked out by a snake that had invaded our camp. We didn’t know at the time why she was yelling, but when we found out, my dad ending up killing it and we joked afterwards. I know it’s weird, but it was, I don’t know, nice…”
“Yeah, I get that. I have dreams like that, too, sometimes…hey…I’m going to call Abby in a bit and see if she has anything new.”
“All right. Cool. Keep me posted. I’m going to be getting ready. I might swing over once I’m done with everything and help around.”
“Great. Yeah, that’ll be cool. Talk to you later, Ray. Keep your head up out there. I know it’s rough. I’ll see you when you get here.”
“Same. Peace.” I hang up on Blaze, the riddle surrounding the witch’s attack pattern now on the forefront of my mind. I hit the books for a few hours, running through as much text as I can involving any connections I can think of, no matter how obscure. Of course, nothing lashes out at me, but it serves as a good refresher and keeps my mind off of my own problems until it’s time to meet up with Blaze.
I arrive there about twenty minutes before our appointed rendezvous time to meet, but Blaze is on the outside of the premises, waiting for me while leaning against his car. “I had a hunch that you’d be early. I can tell you’re jonesin for a fight.” Blaze smirks as he pushes off from his car after unlocking it.
“I just want this to end,” I say as I hop in on the passenger’s side. “All of it.”
We drive to the arranged meeting spot—a residential hotel not far from the scene of the crime. Once we get there, we see just how busy Abby and Roc are when we enter their room. Diagrams, textbooks, printouts, and sticky notes are sprawled out on the desk, coffee table, and the kitchen. Roc was the one to open the door while Abby continued to analyze whatever she’d been working on before we arrived.
“So, what’s new?” Blaze and I make our way to the spot with the least amount of clutter, Abby’s workspace, but that’s not saying much. They must have really turned every stone to have come as far as they did with this case. “Same old, same old. Nothing new from what I told you the last time we spoke.”
“Anything on the journal?” I ask Abby. Blaze filled me in on the way here, explaining that the latest prop to materialize and disappear was a journal. It was quicker than the others, and neither her nor Roc knew how to interrupt it.
“No,” she says as she lifts her hand in a defeated gesture. “We both read through the pages—it started off full, but the pages slowly started to empty themselves as time went on. That’s why I was denying your calls,” she says to Blaze. “We couldn’t waste any time. We didn’t notice anything like that happening with the playing card or with the teddy bear. It did have an eye missing, but there was no further degeneration, which made things even more confusing.”
“Okay, so what did the pages say?”
“Gibberish,” Roc answers Blaze. “Absolutely nothing, but it looked like it was written by a child.” Roc pulls up the images from his phone and passes it around the table.
“Yeah, I was getting those vibes, too,” Abby confirms. “That theory I told you about earlier may be true. I think the witch is targeting childhood memories.”
“Yeah, the playing cards…the bear…that all makes sense. I was thinking about it on the way here,” I add. “Do you guys have any pictures from where the body was found?”
“Yeah, right here.” Abby spins around her laptop and I begin to riffle through the images they managed to get from their investigation. Nothing strikes me as odd. Everything seems normal…a perfect picture.
“Crap… Anything pop out at you guys while y’all were there? Any sort of evidence left behind?”
“No…if he’s using magic of some sort, then there wouldn’t be unless it caused physical damage to the victim or to the environment. As I’m sure you know, we’re not too sold on the idea of him being a blood witch right now. Childhood memories seems like something that a psychic would be after.”
“Can I take a look at your computer, Abby? I want to review everything and see if I can come up with something.”
“Sure, knock yourself out. If I look at it any longer, I’m going to go blind. Our lead’s blown, but a fresh set of eyes never hurt. Let me know if you find anything. I’ll be resting my eyes.”
“If you need to take a nap, go for it, babe,” Blaze suggests after Abby walks past him.
“You sure?”
“Yeah, me, Roc, and Sailor have it covered. Get some shuteye.”
“Don’t worry about it, Abby. I’ll keep these two in check. At this point, it’s almost like another job for me.”
“Cool. Knock on my door if you need me. I’m going to be answering messages for the next ten minutes or so, but after that, I should be free.”
“You’ve done enough, Abby. Really. Get some shuteye.” Blaze bats his hand down at her, shooing her away.
“All right.” She smiles before entering the door. “But, seriously. Let me know if you need me, guys.”
“Gooooo.”
Abby shuts the door, and I direct my gaze back to the computer. “I honestly don’t know how she does it,” Roc says. “It’s like she has a literal computer for a brain.”
“I still don’t know, either, but she does a lot for everyone. Almost too much. Keep an eye out on her, Roc.”
“Will do, buddy. Will do.”
I continue to look over the information that Abby compiled from the string of cases related to the witch,
but just like she’d said, there isn’t much information to pull from. The victims all seemed to have died without a physical struggle of any sort, and the mystery man that Blaze showed me earlier hasn’t made any more surprise appearances.
Eventually Roc moves his laptop to the table and begins to give us a run down on the information. He’s just as tired, if not more, than Abby, but he does the best that he can. He tries to connect the dots for us, but essentially, the killings are perfect except for the items that are being left behind, presumably as an after effect of whatever spell the witch in question is using. An hour or so into his search, he resigns for bed, leaving Blaze and I as the only ones up.
“This is bullshit. We’ve got nothing to go off of and that witch is fucking everyone up!” I stand from my chair and put my hands on top of my head as I pace the room.
“Language,” Blaze says calmly. “And this is a hotel. Keep your voice down. If management comes in here, we’ll look like terrorists.”
“I just don’t get it. Why would someone come here of all places and wreck innocent people for childhood memories?” I muse, my voice only slightly lower. “Did you find anything about any kind of spell that would capitalize on that? Like, what is he trying to do? What could he possibly gain?”
“Maybe he’s searching for something? Inner child? Eternal youth? Innocence?” he answers me without looking at my way. “Roc ran a background check against all of the victims to see if something new came about…”
“And?”
“And, nothing. They’re all from the same state, but that’s not saying anything. They went to different schools, had different incomes growing up, their parents don’t seem to know each other, no weird hobbies or traces of suspicious stuff online on their social medias. Like, there literally isn’t anything with them that’s in common with them except for the fact that they were all once a child.”
“What about the children?”
“What about them? None of them had any children.”
Sailor Ray and the Beginning of the End Page 9