Mirai could feel the rear end trying to fishtail as she squealed out of the parking lot. Only twenty years of driving the beast allowed her to keep it on the road. She knew she had only injured the creature. Without the right items from a Navajo Medicine Man there was no way to kill it. She did figure it would be unable to chase her for at least a while. She could stop in Flagstaff tonight. Tomorrow she would call in a favor and get a reference for a medicine man, then she would disappear onto the reservation. The skinwalker would have to be more careful on the reservation. They were hard to kill but they could be captured by people who knew what to do. She would just have to hope she would buy herself enough time.
"Dammit, she yelled as she shot past another annoying tourist. She was taking the hairpin curves at almost triple the speed limit and would go faster if these tourists would just stay out of the way. She had more close calls than ever before and probably scared the hell out of a lot of people before she forced herself to slow down a little. It would be just her luck to end up dying in a car crash after everything else she had faced plus she didn't want to be responsible for killing an innocent person. She still made good time up the hill and was in Flagstaff before 7PM.
She checked into a little dive motel on the east side of town and threw a tarp over her baby. Something was tracking her and she didn't know how. She had searched the car twice and couldn't find took a taxi downtown instead. It would be easy to hide in the 4th of July crowds. Walking through the center of downtown she noticed quite a few changes in what she considered her home town. One of the biggest was a new burger place where her old mechanic's shop used to be. She hesitated a moment as it was called Diablo Burger but figured it might be safest. No monster would actually be in a place like that. They tried to hide better than that, plus the long lines leading into it boded well for the food. While she waited in line she pulled out her phone to call Mike and apologize again.
She noticed a voice mail from him. "FBI? Oh Crap," slipped out of her mouth garnering her a few concerned looks from the couple in front of her. "And a wild dog?" now the couple avoided looking at her, assuming she was just another crazy. "That's just great."
She immediately called up a local attorney. He had handled all of her legal issues before Jeb had taken her away. She reached his answering service." Hey, Ben, I have a client for you. His name is Mike Aslan, and he is apparently being questioned by the FBI down in Tlaquepaque right now. Something about a wild dog and they destroyed some of his sculptures. I can vouch for him, he's gentle as a lamb. He can pony up whatever you need for a retainer. If he offers you one of his sculptures ask for the quail. It's going to be exquisite and will look great in your office."
She smiled at the couple in front of her who had turned around not even bothering to hide their curiosity now. "Sorry about that, my brother seems to end up with all sorts of weird issues. He's an artiste'" she smiled at them. It was funny how much you could get away with if you just smiled at people.
She was finally at the front of the line about to order when the clerk began what must have been his normal spiel, " This is a cash only restaurant, we do not take credit cards or checks and yes I will need an ID for the beer." he said not even looking up from the register. "Oh, so 'no credit cards' on the door and the menu board and on the back of your register really means no credit cards at all?" she smiled sweetly as she handed him her ID.
He looked up and laughed." I think you are the first person today to have read any of those. Now what can we get you?"
"I'll take that burger with the egg on it, some fries and a dark beer, porter, stout whatever." she laughed back.
"That'll be $16.75,"
"Damn, these better be some really awesome burgers, what do you use, unicorn meat?" she handed him a $20 and waived off the change.
"Well, we don't normally let people know, but it is actually unicorn meat that is grilled over the heat of a burning Phoenix. " He handed her a beer, her receipt and a little sign with a number.
She laughed as she walked away and began to wonder if this place really was run by the devil. Maybe they did actually serve unicorn. She fought her way through the crowd to the outside seating. She ended up sharing a table with a group of German tourists. The beer was strong and just cold enough for her taste. She found it strangely comforting to share a table with people she couldn't understand very clearly. It made her look like she wasn't alone but allowed her an excuse to not talk. She texted Mike to let him know an attorney would be calling him shortly and that she was okay and would call him later. It took about 30 minutes for her burger to come, in the meantime one of the Germans brought her another beer. The burger ended up being well worth the money and the wait.
She hung around with the Germans for a while, even buying a round of beers at the next bar. Somewhere during the night they ended up at a bar in east Flagstaff that was filled with taxidermied animals. It was this crazy log cabin like building filled with all these dead animals. The country music wasn't her idea of fun but she gave a few shots at dancing with her new found friends before slipping out the back door and walking back to her hotel. She set her alarm for a brutal 5 am wake up so she she could get started early. Dancing had worked off most of the beer so she ended up thrashing in nightmares again. it always came back to fire, her home burning not once, not twice but several times. It was much worse this year than ever before. Marcus had tried to convince her to get help but she had been fine at first, then after he was gone she didn't know who she could trust so she worked through it best she could but now it was getting worse. Maybe she should have asked Mike, maybe just talked to him. She snorted at the thought of sharing all of the crazy with him and shook off the tangled blankets. She threw on a tank top and jeans, slid her pistol into the holster she had designed for herself. With her hips it was almost impossible to find a holster that would work and remain concealed. This one worked all right and with a long fairly lightweight flannel shirt over the top no one could spot the outline of her Berreta.
She packed up all of her stuff, pulled the cover off the GTO and headed downtown again. She had noticed a couple of coffee shops that might just do the trick. She ended up at a complete hippie place. It had been around since the early 80's and had some of the best coffee and vegan pastries in town. She didn't really care about vegan but the coffee and the chance to people watch was the real draw. There were people from all walks of life there. Sitting in a back corner she gulped down an amazing scone - not cranberry, she avoided those now, but chocolate espresso beans on the other hand, well, some things were worth it. She sipped her first cup from the French Press and texted Martin Yellowhorse. "Having coffee at Macy's, join me." She settled in knowing he would show up eventually and until then she could just enjoy the people watching. The music was some kind of light jazz mixed with the occasional hoobastank. She had finished up her second French press when she saw Martin partway down the block. She was a strange mix of wired and exhausted and wasn't sure she was ready to call in this marker. Five years ago he had come to her for a special weapon. He had wanted to kill the Yee naaldlooshii that had killed most of his family. She had the ability at the time but not the knowledge. She had made it for free with the understanding that she would eventually call in the marker. Some of the supplies she needed were only available from a medicine man. There were oils from plants, certain soils and other items that were gathered and bless by the medicine man. She would then have to create the short spear from a white pine branch, anoint it with the items, and then participate in a "Sing" or blessing to add the power she needed. She would have to do all this while hoping the creature didn't find her first. Once she had the spear it would be a matter of just driving it into the creatures heart, preferably without getting her own guts ripped out. She didn't know if she would be able to do it. She had gotten lucky yesterday with the knife. She had some self defense training but she knew her limits. Maybe she would find a Hunter to help her out. As she waitied for Martin she realized this may be the best idea she had in years.
"Heya pretty lady," smiled Martin as he sat down with a pecan sticky bun the size of a dinner plate.
"Heya yourself" she smiled back. She let him finish his breakfast and chatted over light things knowing that Navajo's preferred to chat, share coffee and relax a little before getting down to business. It was easy for her to slow down and fall back into that way of thinking. Her Navajo foster family hadn't been too bad out of all of them, as long as the Dad stayed away from the whiskey. The third time, he had broken several of her ribs so she had been pulled out and moved to another family. She missed the good parts, the slow and easy way of looking at life, the joy of making fry bread, and even the mutton stew.
Once he had finished the sticky bun she took a deep breath and realized it was time to get to it. "Martin, it's time. I need to pull in that marker. I think one of those is after me. I need to make a spear." It was strange to be discussing something so profound and frightening in the packed coffee shop but it was like moving full circle to how everything started.
Martin leaned back and took a few deep breaths, she could see the flash of pain in his eyes and knew he was reliving the night his family had been slaughtered. He had escaped the creatures notice and slipped out the back door while it ripped apart his mother. He had run the several miles to his uncle's house. Eventually, after consulting several medicine men he had set off to track down a weapons smith to make the spear he needed to kill that creature. His side and arm still bore the scars of that final battle and his hand moved involuntarily to touch them before he answered her.
"There is a Hatali up at Naatsis'Aan that can do the sings. He will need you to help him gather some of the items, he isn't young anymore. But are you sure you want to do this, you could go into hiding, let someone else deal with it. It won't be easy."
"I am sure, it's following me somehow, I don't think I can hide and I am sure it's killing, a lot. I can't have that blood on my hands. I have some of the items he will want, and I have cash, a lot of cash, I can buy him a herd of sheep if that's what it takes. Please tell me how to find him."
"I will go with you, He's teaching me the sing. I will help you. If not for you, that ... that creature would have eventually killed me and the rest of my clan."
"You, you are training to be a medicine man? That's amazing, I mean really great. Can we leave now? I want... I need this to be over."
"I need to at least pack a bag and call him first. How about we meet at noon at the train station instead? You can run to the grocery store and get us supplies. Make sure you grab a couple cases of water too."
"Okay, but there is no snacking in my car. I guess I can let you drink water in it," she jumped out of her chair, grabbed up her stuff and took off to find the nearest grocery store.
It felt good to have a plan in motion, she found herself feeling a bit of hope for the first time since she had realized what was after her. She found a few items that wouldn't be too messy as she thought about the four hour drive ahead of them. She might have to allow for some snacking in the car.
Just before noon she pulled into the train station parking lot. There was a spot under a tree at the east end so she parked there and sat on the trunk while she waited for Martin. He was walking up from the side street when she spotted a large canine like creature moving in along the train tracks, She shouted a warning to Martin who looked where she pointed and then began to run. He dropped his pack and other items and sprinted towards the car, Mirai pulled her 38, knowing it wouldn't kill the creature but hoping it would at least slow it. Her first shot was a little high, the second caught it in the chest, the third and fourth hit along it's flank as it leaped onto Martin's back. Claws shredded into his back as he was shoved to the ground. Mirai emptied the chamber into the creature, heedless of the screams of the families running away from the gun fire. The creature looked straight at her then ran a few paces before it disappeared in a flash of smoke. In moments she was cradling Martin's head in her lap. "Go... go to the chapter house, the Hatali will be waiting there," he whispered with what might be his last few ragged breaths. She was surrounded by a crowd of people. "Call 911," she stood up and shouted at the first person she saw. Everyone backed up and she realized she was still holding the now empty gun. "Get him help, the thing was rabid, I need to... I need to go!" the crowd parted for her. As she ran to the car she noticed a few people on their phones and hoped the ambulances would make it in time. She had to get moving, the creature was after her, if she could get away from people at least no one else would suffer for her. Gravel sprayed the crowd as she pulled out onto Route 66 heading east. She was truly on the run now as she was sure a description of her car was being radioed to police cars everywhere. She flew through town heading out to I-40. There was a Hunter's bar out at Houck, it was the wrong direction for Navajo Mountain but she needed someplace safe to think. A bar full of Hunters would be the safest bet for now. She topped out at 120 on the highway ignoring the sirens and hoping they wouldn't manage a road block before she could get to safety.
She managed to find a side road that took her through the desert a bit. The dirt road was slightly wet and muddy from the early monsoons. They would continue searching the highway for a dark GTO. Instead she was now in a red mud covered car on side roads. The thick red dust was actually clay and would stick and cover her car as efficiently as repainting it would. It took some crisscrossing old forest and ranch roads but she eventually made it to Houck. When she pulled into Slacker's she breathed a sigh of relief to see the multiple GTOs she had left there over the years were still scattered around the lot. She paid Jonathon a monthly parking fee to keep her parts cars here. No-one would notice another GTO in the lot. She headed in hoping to find a hunter or two to take with her on the last leg of the trip.
