Chapter 3
It had been a year since Rufus had left her at the gas station. She set out right away to get a crappy motel room that night with some of the money he gave her and then she left for another job the next morning. She dove hard into work right away. She would hear about Rufus or Bobby from some other hunters in bars, she kept up her fake names, even switching it from Mickey to something else when she met hunters in person. It was bitter sweet to here about Rufus. She missed him but was mostly just glad to hear that he was still up and kicking. Apparently, he leaned on Bobby a lot after that. Rumors spread that they were always close but recently got closer. Researching something big that they wouldn't tell anyone about. Bobby had also teamed up with a couple of other hunters. Some would say that he's helping the enemy, but she didn't ever ask questions. About twice that year she got messages from Rufus, left at random bars. She wondered how many she had missed. They both said the same thing, "Keep moving, kid." She didn't know exactly what to make of them. She ended up seeing them as notes that said good job and that he misses her. She needed that to keep from breaking down.
She was finishing up a job in Montana when she stopped by a bar to try to earn some money for a motel for the next few nights. She had coaxed this one guy to play her in a round of pool. They bet a hundred dollars, she lost, as she always did the first time and asked him double or nothing. He agreed, figuring it would be just as easy as the first time. They were in the middle of the second set and she was kicking his ass when she overheard two well dressed men at the bar talking about something valuable. They were saying that it's hidden, they couldn't find it. She was a pro at finding the unfindable. She tried to ease drop on them as best as she could. She couldn't risk the game though, it was her last hundred. She finished the game, winning easily, and gathering as much information as she could from the men while she did.
"You swindled me, pretty boy." The angry biker said, getting up in her face.
"I won fair and square. Pony up big boy." She held out her hand, bracing for him to break her wrist, as they did sometimes.
"Another round." He demanded.
"No." She said, standing her ground. She looked over his shoulder and noticed the men getting up to leave. She had no time to waste.
"Give me a chance to win it back, boy." He argued, clearly not going to let this go.
"Make ya a deal. We walk away with what we came with. Call it even?" She looked up at him and grabbed his arm. She felt her head tilted without meaning to.
"Yeah, okay, no problem, thanks." He softened and gave her the money.
She looked at him confused but didn't have time. She let his arm go and walked after the men, throwing on her hood when she realized it was raining outside.
She was trying her best to keep a distance, but she was also trying to hear what they were saying.
They mentioned Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania as a possible location for the gloves. They acted like lives depended on these gloves. They must be priceless she thought to herself. That bit of information was enough for her and she turned to get in her car.
Rufus had given her about five hundred dollars to get by as far as she could. Of course, that money goes fast when someone needs a motel every night and food among other things. She made her living honestly in the beginning, taking temp jobs but hunting kept her moving so nothing ever stuck for more than a week. The money was good and sometimes she could even sleep over in the office, saving on motels. She bought the car after a few weeks making honest money, she came across it while hunting a wendigo in California. It's a white 1970 Volkswagen bug. The man who sold it to her was only asking seven hundred but of course she haggled it down to four. They were both shocked at the end of that deal that she had gotten away with the car for so much less. He didn't seem to mind, mostly just wanted it gone.
She opened the door which squeaked loud and slammed it shut. She could sense someone in the back seat and as she looked in the rear-view mirror, she caught a glimpse of black hair and a tan coat.
"Hello, Mickey." Is what they said as she spun around and tried to stab them but only got the seat lining.
She searched the back seat but found no one. She started the car and sped off. She never ran away from a fight, but she wasn't sure that's what it was.
She had been having visions of this man in a hoodie approaching her and trying to talk to her. He would ask for help. She didn't know what to do or say. She would get scared and he would catch on fire. She could still hear his screams but then she would wake up and realize it was just a dream. She had also seen the tan jacket man in her dreams, but much less clear. He wouldn't ask her for help. He would try to talk to her and repeat the message that Rufus had left for her. To keep moving.
She headed towards Pittsburgh trying to shake the thought that someone was following her. She constantly checked behind her, but no one was in sight. She felt the sense of someone still in her back seat, but it wasn't threatening. It was more comforting.
She arrived in Pittsburgh in the late morning and pulled into a motel parking lot. The sleaziest motel she had ever seen but also the cheapest. She paid for two nights and she was left with about twenty bucks. She knew she'd have to scavenge up some money if she was gonna need more time because these gloves sounded worth it.
She drove around town, asking questions, posing as the FBI. People were much more willing to divulge information when they knew they weren't in trouble. Continuing to pose as a male was much harder in the day and sometimes, she gave up and went with her female FBI agent badge. This made people even more open with her, sometimes too much. She got enough information that led her to an antique shop.
She walked in and talked to the owner. She said she didn't know about valuable gloves but that she was selling rare boxes that have never been open before. This intrigued Aria for other reasons than the gloves. She heard about cursed items being warded in boxes, but these were different. These weren't curse wardings. They were warding off something different.
"Which one has been here the least amount of time?" she asked, never taking her eyes off the boxes.
"The one in the middle dear."
She picked up the box carefully. "How much?"
"Well, I'm selling them for five thousand dollars apiece." She noticed the FBI agent's face fall practically to the floor.
"Ah, okay, maybe next time." She thought maybe she would come back and steal it later tonight but then spotted the security cameras who now had her face. She had been careless. Rufus would swear her up and down state street if he knew. She chuckled silently at the thought.
"Well, I'd take that ring on your right hand for it." The owner didn't take her eyes off of the diamond on Aria's hand.
It was Aria's mom's engagement ring. She usually had it stuffed under the seat of her car and couldn't remember putting it on. She paused to consider. She could pawn the engagement ring for more than five thousand, but she was pretty sure the gloves were worth much more. She would be taking a huge gamble, considering she wasn't even sure if the gloves were in the box. She felt this push, she couldn't explain it, but it wouldn't let her put the box down and walk away. She felt this urge, like she couldn't leave without it.
"Deal."
She handed her the ring and didn't wait for a receipt before she walked out with the box.
She couldn't wait to rip the box open and wanted to do it in her car without even waiting. She sense something was coming, something evil and she knew she should leave. She drove off to her motel room.
She opened the door to her motel and locked it behind her. She set the box carefully down on the bed and took her jacket off. She kneeled next to the bed and prayed to no one in particular that it was what she was looking for.
She opened the box and it glowed for a few seconds, making her look away.
There they sat.
The gloves.
They had a greenish brown color to them, and she picked them up slowly. At first glance they looked like normal gardening gloves. She flipped them over and noticed a name etched into them, "Josiah". She didn't know what this meant but she could feel that she found what she was looking for. She smiled to herself and put them back in the box and shut it. She couldn't believe how quickly she found them and assumed the gentlemen would be right behind her. She knew she should probably get a refund for the room and leave but she was extremely tired and decided just to stay the one night.
She hopped in the shower and collapsed onto the bed next to the box. Just as she closed her eyes she was greeted with a voice.
"Mickey."
She got up and spun around to see the man in the hoodie. He was conventionally attractive. He had a well-built body, tall, strong jaw and a voice that both intimidated people and made the ladies swoon. Some men too.
"Who-who are you?" She gasped.
"My name is Gadreel." He stood there trying to focus on her face.
"How did you find me?" She stood up to face him, but he towered over her making her feel small.
"I can't, not when that box is closed. Tell me where you are?" He pointed to her right side, but the box was on the left side. She realized he couldn't see anything around her. He could barely see her, she noticed as he kept trying to squint and focus on her.
She deepened her voice, trying to sound male, "Why?"
"I'm trying to help you. Those gloves will get you killed. Return them and no harm will come to you."
"Why are they so special?" She asked, trying not to glance at the box to give them away.
"I cannot tell you. Others will come for you. Please, meet me in town. Tomorrow at noon, at the corner of 3rd and 17th. I'll be waiting." And with that he disappeared, and she woke up.
She gathered her belongs, stuffing the box in her bag carefully but quickly.
She double checked the room and checked out of the motel. She got most of her money back and dealt with the loss. She drove off west. No way was she standing on some street corner tomorrow to hopefully meet the man in her dreams to give away something so valuable. She sounded crazy. She drove with her bags in the passenger seat and didn't look back.
She drove until she practically ran out of gas. She ended up in a small town in Illinois. She booked a motel as always and played for her keep. She was up eight hundred bucks when she decided to call it a night.
She went back to her room and took out the box. She set it down on the table and opened it again. She picked up the gloves and was mesmerized by them immediately. She couldn't put them down. She felt like she needed them. She slipped them on cautiously and felt a jolt run through her body and quickly pulled them off. She gasped, "Whoa" when she took them off. It wasn't a jolt like when she got electrocuted as a child. It was more like a jolt of electricity that gave her more attention to detail. She put them back on and felt it again. She took a breath to calm herself and she could hear things.
She felt people's suffering. She could feel the plants dying. She could feel the walls of her room decaying with mold and possibly termites. The feeling of mold was overwhelming, it made her slightly sick. She stood up but felt an over bearing feeling to puke her guts out. She grabbed onto the wall to brace herself and she felt it move. She turned to the wall she touched and realized that it no longer had mold. The chipping wallpaper looked brand new again and she looked at the walls around her and saw the same improvement. She didn't feel the mold or termites anymore, it felt fresh. She glanced down at the gloves that she was still wearing and wanted to see if it worked on humans.
She could feel the homeless man outside who had a nasty cough, probably pneumonia. She went outside, still wearing the gloves. She walked over to the man and put her hand on his shoulder. He instantly stopped coughing and clearly looked healthier.
He stared up at her in shock and asked, "Are you an angel?"
She looked at him and smiled. "Far from it, I'm afraid."
She went back to her room and put the gloves back in the box. She closed it with a smile and saw how priceless these gloves were. It wasn't about the money.
It was about helping people.
Bettering the world.
