Hi all! I hope everyone is doing well. Just a quick thank you to my readers who waited patiently for an update. It's been a busy month, and I didn't get much writing done. I'm hoping to get back into a more regular update schedule, though it won't be weekly. I'm aiming for a few chapters this month. As always, comments, feedback, and favorites are greatly appreciated. Thanks again.
~The Wandering Piney
2:29 PM
"Here's the lobby," Luna said as she, Fred, and Brian entered the room.
Fred looked over the room, nodding in approval. "With the front doors blocked and only two ways in, my trap will work well here."
"There's a third way in," Luna sighed, motioning for Fred to follow her to the storage room behind the counter.
They didn't get far when Fred stopped at the old footprints Luna and Dusk had discovered earlier in the day. "Whose footprints are these?"
Luna shrugged. "We don't know. They weren't there when we first got here."
"The treads look like they belong to work boots," Brian said.
Luna glanced at his boots, and while Brian wore work boots, they were too small to be either set of tracks.
"Right. Now, where's this third entrance?" Fred asked, finished with his examination of the tracks.
"In here," Luna answered, holding open the door to the storage room.
They entered the room, and the green stain on the wall drew Luna's attention. She knew Thorn killed the centipede monster with magic, though she didn't know the exact spell Thorn used. But that didn't matter. Thorn killed it, and the thought of what she could do to a person sent shivers down Luna's spine. Well, she did know. She saw Cyrus's head splatter against the side of a van at the Fallen's temple. I wanted her to use magic, but not like this. Luna sighed. She knew hurting others terrified Thorn, but they needed to use magic to protect themselves. It was a complex situation, and the only way out was to restore Thorn's confidence, a task easier said than done.
"What happened here?" Fred asked.
"Hmm," Luma mumbled as she glanced at Fred.
He pointed at the stain on the wall. "What happened here?"
"Yeah," Brian said, stepping into Luna's view and crossing his arms. "What happened here?"
Luna swallowed, never once taking her gaze off Brian. "I don't know," Luna calmly explained, yet she felt sweat beading on her forehead. "The monster attacked us, and I fell into the hole."
There was an uneasy silence as Luna and Brian glared at each other. Neither moved, and they each waited for the other to falter. Don't tell him anything. There's something up with him.
"Oh," Fred said, breaking the silence. "I guess that's the hole you fell into."
Luna sighed as she turned to Fred, briefly catching Brian shake his head, and scoff. "Um, yeah, that's the spot."
Fred walked over to the edge of the hole and looked down. "Interesting." He looked up and smiled but quickly shook his head. "I can think of a dozen traps that could work here," he said, looking down into the hole. "But there are too many risks with sending people downstairs."
Luna sighed. "We learned that the hard way."
"You tried trapping the ghost?" Fred asked.
Luna nodded. "It didn't go well."
"That's putting it mildly," Brian said. "Our plan was a disaster."
Luna glared at Brian but quickly shook her head and sighed. "He's right. It was a disaster."
"What was your plan?" Fred asked.
"Lure the ghost underneath the hole and then drop a carpet on it," Luna explained with a sigh.
"Hmm. Simple and improvised. I like it," Fred said with a smile. "I've done the same thing plenty of times." His smile faded. "So what went wrong?"
Luna looked at the stain on the wall, recalling how the centipede monster ruined the plan. Or did it? She turned to the door and then back to Fred.
"It was a flawed plan, and I didn't think things through," Luna sighed. "I knew there were multiple monsters and didn't do anything to stop them from getting in here. Thorn and I got attacked, and I got pushed into the hole." Luna shook her head and scoffed. "It was a stupid plan. The ghost is intangible; we couldn't catch it anyway. I don't know why I thought it would work. I just put us all in danger."
"I understand," Fred said with a sympathetic nod. "No matter how great a trap is, there's something that can go wrong, and usually it will." Fred chuckled. "I can't count the number of times my traps failed, and I think I caught Shaggy and Scooby more often than the villains." Fred's demeanor became serious yet still understanding. "This was your first trap. Everyone's first trap fails. Mine did. So don't beat yourself up about it. Nobody got hurt, so learn from your mistakes, and next time you'll catch the monster."
Luna sighed. Fred has a point, but- She shook her head. Despite her lingering doubt over whether any future trap would work and her guilt for her role in not preventing the centipede attack, she still talked to Thorn about her magic. If that helped Thorn in even the slightest of ways, then her plan succeeded, and her disastrous attempt to catch the ghost was worth it. And as Fred said, first attempts at catching monsters always failed, and she knew what went wrong. She could learn from it.
Luna nodded. "You're right. Maybe it wasn't as bad as I thought it was."
"That's the trappin' spirit," Fred cheered.
Luna laughed, but as she and Fred turned to leave the room, she saw Brian nod at her.
"Well, hopefully, this new trap will work," he said, glancing at Luna. "Otherwise, we'll need magic or a miracle to pull this off."
Luna felt cold, and everything seemed to come to a standstill. Why did he say magic? Does he know about Thorn? He can't. We were careful. She almost looked at the wall but stopped herself. Of course, the centipede! If he didn't know about Thorn's magic before, he does now. Even though he saved her from the fall, all the suspicion she had of him returned with that single comment.
"Uh, are you okay?" Brian said with a slight chuckle. "I was just joking around."
"Um, right," Luna replied with a forced smile. She turned to Fred if only to end the discomfort she felt with Brian. "What's the next step in your plan?"
"Once Thorn and Dusk get back with the supplies, I'll need some time to set everything up," Fred explained.
Luna and Brian nodded, and they all left the room. Fred closed the door and then took a chair from behind the lobby desk and blocked the door. "So nobody comes through. I need only two entrances." He pointed at the makeshift wall made of construction tarps that blocked the main entrance. "Can you two make sure that is secure? I want to check out this hallway and make sure it's secure."
"Um, sure," Luna replied with a nod while glancing nervously at Brian.
"We'll get on that," Brian said, and he headed toward the makeshift wall.
Fred nodded, and he walked to the other side of the room, leaving Luna momentarily alone. Without much to do, she followed Brian. The task at hand wasn't difficult, and a cursory glance at the structure revealed only a small hole where a person could squeeze through, which was likely how whoever left the footprints got in. But none of that mattered to Luna. She kept looking at Brian, expecting him to be watching or observing her. Instead, he didn't acknowledge her as he tied the hole closed with some loose rope.
"Um, you check the left side, and I'll check the right," Luna said, shooting a nervous glance at Brian.
"Mm-hmm." He finished tying the rope and then made his way down the wall, never once looking at Luna.
Luna sighed as she patted the makeshift wall, looking for additional seams and tears. She made her way down her portion of the wall, taking another quick look at Brian. He continued working, still ignoring Luna.
Or so she thought.
"Why do you keep looking at me?" Brian asked, still not looking at Luna.
Luna flinched. "I'm not."
Brian scoffed. "You don't trust me, do you? Is that why you keep looking at me like I'm a criminal? Are you keeping an eye on me?"
Luna moved down the wall and didn't respond, pretending to work.
"Really? Even after I caught you?" Brian said, shaking his head.
Luna said nothing.
"Luna, you're not the only person here with trust issues," Brian said, briefly glancing at the storage room door before turning away from her.
Luna shivered. He doesn't trust us. "What do you mean?"
Brian didn't answer and kept working.
Luna grunted and continued looking over the makeshift wall. Damnit! If he knows we're lying about Thorn's magic, does that mean he's a cultist? Then why hasn't he made his move? Is he biding his time? Is he informing the other cultists and the monster about our plans? She glanced at the hallway Fred went down, wanting him to return so she didn't have to stay in the lobby with a potential cultist. What if Brian sabotages this plan? Fred has no reason to suspect him of anything. He'd get away with it. Luna sighed. How am I going to deal with Brian?
"All right, the hallway looks good," Fred said as he entered the lobby, much to Luna's relief. "Is everything good here?"
"Everything's good on my side," Brian said before glaring at Luna. "Is everything good with you, Luna?"
"Everything's fine," Luna coldly replied to Brian.
"Perfect," Fred replied with a smile before turning to the hallway that led to the basement. "I think I hear Thorn and Dusk."
Luna let out an exasperated sigh as Dusk and Thorn entered the lobby. They struggled to carry a large cage filled with rope, nets, and other miscellaneous supplies.
"Ugh, this thing is heavy," Dusk groaned as she and Thorn dropped the cage onto the ground.
"Fred, is all this stuff necessary?" Thorn asked. "Doesn't it seem a bit much?"
"Not at all," Fred answered as he looked over the supplies with approval. "If anything, it's not enough, but this is all I had when I showed the studio executives my trapping skills."
As Fred reached for some rope, he paused. "What happened to the cage?" he asked, pointing at a dent on the top of the cage. "It'd take a lot of force to bend this."
Luna noticed Thorn and Dusk exchange nervously glances while Brian raised his eyebrow. Oh, shit. Thorn did magic.
"Oh, I dropped it when getting it out of the Mystery Machine," Dusk quickly explained.
"Huh, the bars must be getting weak," Fred said with a shrug while Brian shook his head and said nothing.
Fred grabbed a coiled rope, a weighed net, and an axle from the cage. "We need to set up three of these at the start of the main hallway." He started walking to the hallway. "I need two people to help me with this, and then two people to start setting up the cage by the hallway that leads to the foreman's office."
Luna nodded. Now's my chance to tell Dusk and Thorn about Brian. She went to get her friends but stopped when Brian spoke.
"Thorn, can you help me with the cage?" Brian asked.
"Um, sure," Thorn replied.
Luna grimaced but said nothing as they divided the supplies among themselves. Thorn and Brian took the cage and the leftover supplies to the other side of the lobby. As they did, Luna glimpsed Brian glaring at her before he turned away.
"What's up with you? You don't look happy?" Dusk asked, lightly tapping Luna's shoulder.
Luna glanced at Brian and Thorn, and they were too far to hear her. She then glanced at Fred, who was dragging over a chair so he could reach the ceiling and attach the axle.
"Brian knows Thorn has magic or at least suspects it," Luna said in a hushed voice.
"What? How?" Dusk gasped, quickly covering her mouth.
"Thorn killing the centipede monster tipped him off," Luna sighed. "He's been asking questions about it, and then he made an off-hand comment about magic." Luna glanced at Brian. He was talking to Thorn, though Luna couldn't hear what they were saying. "He doesn't trust us, and he knows I don't trust him."
"Is he a cultist?" Dusk whispered.
Luna sighed again. "I don't know. If he is, he's not revealing himself."
"Dusk or Luna, can one of you hand me that net."
Luna stopped, realizing they had reached Fred. He was standing on the chair and was attaching the wheel and axle to the ceiling, creating a pulley. He had strung rope through the device and was pointing to a net on the ground. Luna picked up the net and handed it to him.
"Thanks," Fred said, and he began tying the net to the rope.
With Fred working, Luna pulled Dusk aside.
"We need to warn Thorn about Brian," Dusk whispered.
"I know. We need to figure out a way to get her away from Brian and warn her," Luna said.
"Um, just text her," Dusk bluntly stated.
Luna sighed at missing the obvious solution and pulled out her phone.
Don't trust Brian. He knows you're magic.
She sent the message, but instead of sending it, the message buffered. Luna grimaced and tapped the phone, but it kept buffering.
"Damnit," Luna muttered as she put her phone away. "The message won't send."
"It's always at the worst time, too," Dusk sighed.
"I'm beginning to think someone or something doesn't want us talking," Luna said, glancing at Brian. He and Thorn were tying ropes to the top of the cage, talking as they worked.
"Watch out below!"
Luna and Dusk quickly looked up and gasped upon seeing the incoming net. They ran, narrowly avoiding the net. The net spread out, encompassing the area where Luna and Dusk had stood, and landed with a whoosh. The net covered the ground, and it surprised Luna by how thin the material was; if one didn't know about the net, one could accidentally run over it and get caught like a fly in a giant spider web.
"The first net is set," Fred said, pulling the excess rope aside. "We just pull the rope when the ghost runs over the nest, and then we got him!"
"Wicked," Dusk said with an eager grin.
"Just make sure you don't catch us," Luna said.
"Don't worry, three of us will operate the traps," Fred replied. "So there's no risk to us."
"Good," Luna said. "We can't have things go wrong again."
"Right, now can you pass me the next axle and wheel?" Fred asked.
"Um, yeah," Luna replied, handing Fred the required supplies.
With Fred working again, Luna turned to Dusk. "We still need to warn Thorn about Brian."
"How? My phone isn't working either, so how do we get her away from him?" Dusk asked.
Luna sighed. She had an idea to get Thorn alone, but it was risky; Brian was suspicious of them, and if he caught on to what Luna was doing, the plan would fail, and they'd be at risk. It was a gamble, but Luna needed to take it.
"Keep Fred busy," Luna said to Dusk. She walked over to Thorn and Brian. Brian stood precariously on a chair trying to attach a mechanical device to the ceiling while Thorn stabilized the chair to keep him from falling.
Luna wiped her forehead as she reached them. "Hey, Fred's almost done with the nets, and he asked me to give you two a hand," Luna said.
"Oh, thanks, Luna," Thorn said with a friendly smile.
"Thanks," Brian said. "Can you hand me that rope?"
He's not hostile. Interesting. "Sure," Luna said, and she handed him the rope. With Brian working and distracted, Luna enacted her plan.
"Oh, Thorn, Gus called. He wants to speak with you," Luna said.
"Ugh, is he still pissed about us not checking in with him?" Thorn groaned.
"Moreso you since you weren't there when Dusk and I talked to him," Luna answered.
Thorn sighed. "I should call him back."
"I'll tag along since I need to tell Gus something," Luna said, eliciting a nod from Thorn.
"Brian, can you handle this for a minute? I have to make a call," Thorn asked.
Brian groaned as he finished attaching the rope to the mechanical device. "I need help hoisting the cage. It's a two, possibly three, person job." He crossed his arms. "Can't this call wait till after we're done?"
Thorn glanced at Luna. "I guess we can wait."
Shit! We can't wait! "Uh, Gus said it's really important that you talk to him," Luna quickly replied.
"Luna, I can deal with Gus later. Right now, we need to catch this ghost," Thorn replied with a sigh.
Luna shook her head. "It's really important that you call him," she said, her voice full of concern.
Luna glanced at Brian and then back at Thorn. "Like, really important."
Thorn looked confused for a few seconds, but then her eyes widened. "Oh," she gasped. She glanced at Brian, then back at Luna. "Is it about that, uh, thing?"
"Yes, that thing!" Luna blurted. She motioned for Thorn to follow her down the hall. "Let's go."
"What the hell is going on?" Brian grunted, causing Luna and Thorn to stop walking.
"I'm sorry, but I have to make this call," Thorn apologized, taking a step away from Brian.
Luna quickly looked around the lobby, trying to find something to keep Brian from following them. She noticed that Dusk and Fred had just finished setting up the last net. "Dusk! Fred!" Luna shouted. "Can you two help Brian hoist the cage? Thorn and I need to make a call."
"Sure thing," Fred replied, and a few seconds later, Fred and Dusk headed over to them.
"There, Fred and Dusk will help you," Thorn said to Brian with an unmistakably feigned smile.
Brian grimaced and glared at Luna. Luna said nothing to him despite how uncomfortable she felt. He needed to stay here.
As she and Thorn passed Dusk and Fred, Luna glanced at Dusk. "Keep him here," Luna whispered, and Dusk nodded.
Luna and Thorn exited the lobby and turned down the hall toward the foreman's office. They stopped just out of sight from the lobby, and Luna sighed. They were safe, for now.
"Okay, what's going on between you and Brian?" Thorn asked as she crossed her arms.
"He knows we're lying about your magic, and he doesn't trust us," Luna confided. "I think he's the cultist."
"What makes you think that?" Thorn asked. Despite her calm facade, Luna detected a hint of hostility in her voice.
"He commented on magic, and his behavior has become hostile. And he keeps asking questions about how you killed the centipede monster like he knows the answer, " Luna explained. She sighed. "Thorn, I think he's about to make his move."
Thorn scoffed and shook her head. "Luna, it sounds like you're overthinking things."
"I'm not," Luna stated. "He told me he has trust issues. He's wary of us, and I suspect he knows you're a witch."
Thorn sighed and lowered her head. "Brian told me you were hostile to him, and he didn't know why. He tried making some jokes, but you kept ignoring him and looking at him weirdly. He didn't feel comfortable around you, so he gave you some space." Thorn raised her head. "Luna, I know you're looking out for us, but this time I think you're seeing things that aren't there.
Luna laughed. "Jeez, Thorn, Brian's got inside your head. Like, did you two hook up or something cause I have no idea why you trust him. He's lying to you. He's the cultist. He's trying to kill us." Luna grabbed Thorn's arms. "Thorn, you need to believe me."
Thorn grimaced and pulled herself from Luna's grasp. "I'm not having this argument with you. Not again. Not when we're so close to catching these monsters." Thorn closed her eyes and then slowed her breathing. She then opened her eyes. "Luna, I want to trust people. I want to see the good in others. I want there to still be good in the world. I need to, after everything that happened to us with the cult and the Fallen. So yes, I believe Brian isn't a cultist and that he's trying to help us."
Luna sighed. "If you want to trust someone, then trust me," she pleaded.
Thorn sighed, and she took a step back. Luna knew her friend wanted to believe both her and Brian. And in all honesty, Luna wanted to be wrong about Brian, and for a change of pace, have the person they put their trust in be the good guy. But Luna knew better than to believe in such silly nonsense. Brian was just another liar, trying to take advantage of them, another Ravencroft or Matella leading them to disaster.
Yet Thorn remained in conflicted silence, glaring at the floor like it was hiding the answer from her. Luna sighed as Thorn grunted and started walking back to the lobby. I need proof that Brian is lying. Something Thorn can't deny. Luna looked down the hall and saw the foreman's office.
"Thorn, I can prove Brian is a liar," Luna said.
Thorn stopped. "How?"
"Brian said the foreman called him. If that's true, then we'll see the call logs on the foreman's phone," Luna explained.
Thorn didn't say anything, but she did turn around. Luna nodded, and she headed to the foreman's office, motioning for Thorn to follow her.
Luna stopped in front of the office, wincing from the lingering scent of decay. She hesitated, glancing behind her to make sure Thorn was there. Thorn covered her face with her arm in preparation for the smell. Luna's hand slightly trembled as she reached for the doorknob. She gripped it and stopped.
Calm down. You're doing this for Thorn. Luna winced as she turned the doorknob. The door creaked open, and the smell hit her. Luna gagged. She covered her mouth and nose with her arm as she opened the door and entered the office.
Dried blood covered the room, and a few flies buzzed around unidentifiable clumps of rotting flesh and bone. The stench was overwhelming, and Luna became nauseated.
Find the phone.
She looked around, spotting a blood-covered wallet and safety vest. She shivered upon seeing the severed hand gripping the hammer. The more she saw, the more she wanted to leave. But she still didn't have the phone.
A few morbid seconds later, Luna spotted a rectangular object on the floor. There's the phone! She picked it up, wincing as she felt the dried blood caked to the phone. She turned the phone over and saw the crack in the screen and the bloody fingerprints. Luna shivered. It felt wrong to disturb the site, but Luna needed the phone. She pocketed it and motioned for Thorn to leave the room. The two girls did, and Luna slammed the door shut.
"That was awful," Thorn muttered.
"I got the phone," Luna said with an exhausted gasp. She showed Thorn the phone, and Thorn sighed.
Luna powered on the phone. The screen lit up, making the crimson fingerprints stand out. It was an eerie sight, but Luna did her best to ignore it. The home screen came on, and Luna smiled when she saw that Mr. Kurtz didn't password-protect his phone. Luna swiped the screen, taking her to the home screen. She saw the call log and clicked on it.
There were five calls.
07:32. Mr. Kurtz made a two-minute call to Megan, which Luna realized was his wife.
10:46. Mr. Kurtz had a seven-minute call with Dale Collins, his boss.
10:53. Mr. Kurtz attempted to call Ray, which Luna learned was the Regal Hotel's Head of Security. Ray never answered the phone.
11:17. Mr. Kurtz had a ten-minute call with Dale Collins.
"This is the conversation we overhead," Luna said.
"Which means he dies soon," Thorn sighed.
There was a solemn silence between the two girls as Luna read the final listed call. At 11:25, Mr. Kurtz called an unknown number. The person he called never answered.
"Is that Brian's number? Or someone from M.A.P.S.?" Thorn asked.
"There's only one way to find out," Luna said, calling the number and putting the call on speaker.
"Rello? Reeheeheehee! Rorry, Rys-"
Luna felt a chill run down her spine as she ended the call. She turned to her friend. "Thorn…"
Thorn stared wide-eyed at the phone, subtly trembling. "No," she muttered, shaking her head.
"Thorn, I'm sorry," Luna said, reaching out to place her hand on her friend's shoulder.
"Check his emails," Thorn stated without looking up.
Luna did. She scrolled through the past two days of emails, never once seeing anything from anybody named Brian Kent or the organization M.A.P.S.
"There's nothing," Luna said.
An overhead light burst and the small glass panels on the office door shattered. Luna raised her arms to block the shower of broken glass while Thorn simply stood where she was, looking at the phone, indifferent to the falling glass.
"Thorn…" Luna stammered.
Thorn looked at her, her face reddened with both anger and sadness. "I should've believed you," she said. She turned around and stormed down the hall. Luna jumped when the door to the security room, which got left open, slammed shut with such an extreme force that it almost came off its hinges.
"Thorn!" Luna shouted. She ran down the hall, hoping to catch her hurt friend, terrified of what Thorn might do.