Chapter 24

Tru

We searched the woods for four days straight, with nothing more to show for it than aching feet and empty bellies. There was absolutely no trace of the bakbakwalanooksiwae. No even a footprint. Without Grace's ability to track and just be where we needed to be on a hunt, we had come up empty.

Grace had been discharged from the hospital with another stern warning from the doctor in charge about having her sutures taken out by a professional. If I had given our real names, I would have been concerned, but according to them, we lived in upstate New York and had been visiting relatives nearby. We would be in the wind in another few days.

She didn't complain, but I could see my eldest daughter was in a lot of pain, so I did what I could and brought her more food than usual and even managed to fill the prescription that the doctor had given us. I paid cash for it, wiping out what was left of Grace's haul from our first night here.

We only had two days before the moon disappeared again, and we would lose the creatures for the next four years as they went off into hibernation once more.

"This might be the most frustrating hunt we've ever taken on," I muttered as I sat next to Tulley at the picnic bench. "Nothing. No monsters, no footprints, no scents, and Grace is still laid up."

"She's a trooper," Fred answered, glancing up at me as she placed a plate with a sad looking peanut butter sandwich and a few carrots next to my phone. "Handling it better than I ever could."

I nodded, taking a bite of my sandwich. "Yeah," I swallowed. "Grace is tough. Toughest person I know."

"She shouldn't have to be, Tru."

I could feel my eyes move to Winnifred's, meeting her dark, stern gaze. "I know it," I agreed, "but this is what we do. This is what we have always done. You can't tell me she don't belong in this world. She's the best of all of us."

Paul nodded silently, taking a long drink of his last beer. "I'll drink to that," he agreed. "Once Serra's old enough, the two of them will be a pair to contend with. I'd love to be a member of that team."

Glancing sidelong at the man sitting next to me, I held my tongue, feeling the disgust for Paul crawl up the back of my throat.

"Grace is wanting out of the hunt," Tulley murmured, using his beer to hide his mouth. "She is wanting a normal life."

I shook my head. "No," I argued. "She's too good. As much as I hate to admit it, Paul is right. Those two together...they'd be unstoppable. I just wish I could be around to see it." All eyes pulled to me, waiting to see if I would elaborate. I played for time, realizing how close I had been to spilling my secret. "You know," I shrugged half-heartedly, "no hunter lives that long. I'll get myself killed, I'm sure of it. I ain't as good as Grace."

Tulley alone held his dark stare on me, waiting to see if I would elaborate. Luckily, I was saved by my phone, vibrating in my pocket. I stood awkwardly, "I've gotta get this, Tul," I muttered, turning away and checking the caller ID.

The phone number wasn't one immediately recognized, but considering we were working a case, it could be anyone. "This is Boseman," I answered, deciding to go with my Oregon State Trooper identification.

"Boseman," the man's voice greeted from the other end of the line. "Your name came up about those attacks in the woods not far from my precinct."

I glanced up at Tulley and gestured, getting him to join me, listening to the local law about our monster.

"Yeah?" I asked, nodding as Tulley lumbered towards me. "And who am I speaking with?"

"My name is Jerry Mitchell," the voice answered and Tulley pulled out a tiny notepad, writing the name down. "I'm the captain over here at Portland PD and this doesn't seem to be going away. I've got three new victims over here. Looks like more animal attacks, but now I'm starting to wonder."

"Three new victims," I sighed, shaking my head. "And on that side of the city. Seems like this thing is on the move."

"Thing, or person."

I glanced up at Tulley and predictably, he shook his head. Civilians never understood that sometimes, their serial killers were the things that went bump in the night.

Clicking my tongue, I tried to sound convincing, "You think a person did this? Really?"

"Starting to feel that way," Mitchell agreed. "The way it's moving into town. I don't know, it just doesn't scream animal attacks anymore."

Shifting my weight from one foot to the other, I sighed, "So what should we do about it, Captain?"

"I think I'm gonna call in the Feds," Mitchell answered. "This is getting too big for my paygrade and we have too many victims to not be alarmed. Count's up to eleven."

Tulley's dark eyes met mine and he shook his head, pressing his lips together. It was over.

"I get it, Captain," I agreed, "Is there any way I can stay in on the case to see what happens?"

Mitchell was chewing something, and answered with a full mouth, "Nah," he swallowed. "You can go home, Boseman. The Feds will take this. Go concentrate on something that's not so gruesome."

Trying to sound upbeat, I nodded, "That's great. The wife will be happy I get to come home. Thanks for the update."

"No problem."

Flipping my phone closed, I shut my eyes and leaned my head back. "Well," I sighed. "No more insider information from the cops. We've got two days to find these things before they go underground again."

"It is over, Truman."

I glared at Tulley, "It's not over until the new moon."

…

Grace

I watched Dad from my place on Tulley's bed. His body language told me that things weren't going well, and I knew from our conversation last night that we were on the edge of giving up. The phone call he just got seemed to have sealed the deal.

"What's going on?" Serra leaned over my legs, trying to see out the window.

"Dad got bad news," I answered, still watching him and Tulley interact. "Looks like we might be done."

"Done?" Serra asked, sitting cross legged at my feet. "But we haven't killed the monsters yet."

"We're running out of time."

…

Grace

I hardly slept that night, knowing that there was something out there. I could feel it in my bones and in the stitches, lacing through my back. The monsters were out in the woods, just waiting for us to make a move.

Paul and Peter stayed together in Paul's truck that night. Peter was forced to stay in the uncomfortable cab, while Paul made the most of the bed of his truck, covered safely with a hard shell. He had converted it years ago, saving plenty of money, not having to stay in motels. I knew it was what Dad would have preferred as a hunter, but having two daughters made sleeping in the car a bit more difficult.

Staring at the motorhome's ceiling in the darkness, I listened to Serra breathe. Her nose whistled occasionally and I turned to smile at my baby sister as she cuddled up near me. We felt safest when we were together.

There was movement outside, and I couldn't tell if it was the creatures or not. Sitting up was painful, but moving slowly enough allowed me to turn and stare out the gap between the curtain and the wall. There, in the distance, shadows crept across the horse paddock. I held my breath, wondering if they were about to attack, or simply getting close enough to see what we would do.

A sudden whine from the horse Serra named Clyde forced me to gasp, and I covered my mouth, shocked at my outburst. Serra turned towards me once more, opening her eyes enough to see that I was sitting up.

"What's wrong?" she asked, rubbing her face.

"They're out there," I answered, gesturing to the tree line. "But Clyde may have just spooked them."

Nodding, Serra rolled over once more, "Good horse."

My phone vibrated against my hip. "Yeah?" I whispered, answering Dad's phone call.

"You have a visual?" he breathed. "I heard that damn horse and about killed myself trying to get the dagger out."

"They're in the tree line, but not close enough to see."

"If I go after them, I'll lose them in the trees, won't I?"

Sighing, I nodded. "By the time you get Paul, Peter, and Tulley up and moving, they'll be gone. They move too fast, Dad."

Dad clicked his tongue as he moved to try and get a better view from the Chevelle. "Sounds like you're throwing in the towel."

"I'm not stupid," I answered. "We're beat. This hunt was fucked from the beginning."

"Watch your language."

I clicked my tongue back at him, "Can we go home, now?"

…

Grace

The next morning, Serra and I helped Tulley as he began to pack up the campsite. There had been no more movement from the bakbakwalanooksiwae family group, but that didn't stop Dad from taking Paul and Peter to take a look through the woods nearby.

My back couldn't handle much more movement, so I took a break and sat on the picnic bench as Serra helped Fred clean and store the guns Tulley had used on this hunt. I breathed slowly through my nose, trying to get a handle on the dull pain that wound its way through my wound, and as I did, I caught the stench wafting through the air.

"Tul," I muttered, sitting up straighter.

No one turned towards me, so I sniffed the air again, wondering if I had been overreacting. There it was, still hanging on the wind; the sour, sweet stench of decay. The bakbakwalanooksiwae had a very distinct aroma.

"Tulley," I repeated, standing carefully and moving towards the table.

This time, the giant of a man glanced up at me, watching me carefully. Now that I knew he was listening, I took the opportunity to scan our surroundings, watching for the monsters I knew were there.

"What is it?" Serra whispered, turning to face the same direction as I was.

"I can smell them," I answered, pressing my sister behind me and stepping towards the picnic table. "Tulley? You smell that?"

Nodding slowly, Tulley's whiskers twitched. "I do," he replied, reaching for the closest gun and loading it carefully. "I only have the one dagger."

"Me too," I answered. "Dad took the rest."

Winnifred reached over the table, handing Serra one of her silver-on-black, specialty engraved Colt forty-fives. "Get up top, now," Fred murmured to Serra, gesturing to the camper. "High is safe."

Serra glanced at me for confirmation. "Take another clip of silver," I agreed, pushing her into action. Immediately, Serra took off, headed for Tulley's camper. She climbed the ladder and rolled up onto the roof, out of sight.

"They're there," I gestured with my head. "At the end of the field to the right of the giant sequoia."

Tulley and Fred's heads swiveled in the direction I described and I took a deep breath, knowing very well that we were in no way prepared for a daylight attack. We were the only family group still at the KOA, so there would be no witnesses.

"Where's the Winchester?" I asked, "I'm no good right now hand to hand, but I can see if I can thin the grouping from Serra's position."

My phone began to vibrate as Tulley turned to load the Winchester long rifle. "There's a couple of silver shots left," Fred explained. "But we don't pour silver for this. It jams too often."

I pulled out my phone and puffing out my cheeks, saw that it was Emery. "Hey, Em," I greeted, shoving my phone against my shoulder as I took the rifle and attempted to climb the ladder to the camper. "Can't really talk right now."

"Everything okay?"

"Not really," I admitted. "Dad, Paul, and Peter took off this morning, looking for the things, but they're here, so we're trying to take some defensive positions. Hoping to hold them off."

"I'll call your father."

"Thanks, Em."

I hung up and took a deep breath, knowing that either way, this was probably the last shoot out we would have with the bakbakwalanooksiwae. Adrenaline was beginning to kick in, and I knew that I wouldn't be on my game as much as I'd like to be, but it would be better than what I had been feeling for the last few days. Adrenaline was good like that.

"Here they come," Serra whispered as I lay down next to her.

Looking out into the field, Serra was right. They were running, full tilt, out into the sunlight and straight towards Tulley's camper. I took a deep breath. "Shit goes sideways, you jump into the skylight of the camper and lock yourself into the bathroom."

"What about you?" Serra asked.

"I'll figure it out," I replied. "Follow orders."

Serra nodded, silent once more and began to line up her shot.

"Here we go!" I shouted, signaling to Tulley and Fred.

I could hear the crack-hiss of what sounded like a blow torch being lit. I didn't have time to move to the edge of the camper to check, but the smell of campfire reinforced that Tulley wasn't playing around. Little by little, smoke began to rise around the camper, after Tulley lit a large circle surrounding our little campsite. In order to get to us, the monsters would either have to go through the flames, or jump over them.

I took a deep breath and nodded. "Smart, Tul," I breathed. "To our two!" I shouted, signaling the approaching monsters. "Splitting! Two and twelve!"

Serra unloaded round after round of silver, but the bakbakwalanooksiwae were near impossible to track, they were so fast. I took a deep breath through my nose and searched for the third monster through the scope of the long rifle. There was still nothing.

Tulley's surrounding fire had gotten large, and he and Fred were busy building it up taller and taller, using firewood and pieces of what used to be the picnic table to create a literal fire-wall against the creatures. Serra fired twice more, finally hitting one of the monsters in the eye socket. It screeched in pain but continued running, turning slightly so that it would head back into the edge of the forest.

"One's still headed to us!" I shouted, "Comin' in hard at our two."

Tulley grunted as he struggled to move quickly towards the right hand side of the motor home. I could hear Winnifred's shallow, panicked breathing as well. Serra fired another two more times, but couldn't get a clear enough shot.

"Save it, Serra," I muttered. "Save the silver until you get a clear shot."

She didn't reply, but I saw her auburn head nod.

Taking a deep breath, I forced myself to my feet, holding the rifle under my armpit, waiting for another clear shot. The lead bakbakwalanooksiwae had slowed to a rapid jog, approaching the fire with concern. It obviously had never interacted with fire before, and I took the opportunity to fire twice into its open, middle mouth.

The creature hit the ground hard, and momentum carried it along the dirt for enough time for me to aim once again, waiting for it to get to its feet. There was a cry of despair from one of the other monsters, but I only had eyes for the one I put on the ground.

"Tulley!" I shouted, still holding aim. "It's down! Go!"

Lumbering out of the ring of fire that surrounded the motorhome, Tulley bolted to the fallen bakbakwalanooksiwae and threw himself onto it, driving the small obsidian dagger into its throat. It screamed in pain, trying to push Tulley away. Fred was right behind him, lighting the monster on fire with a torch made from the leg of the picnic table. Its screams filled the air and eventually died away.

I watched the edge of the clearing carefully, with the long rifle tucked under my shoulder, waiting for the others to attack.

"Grace?" Tulley's voice carried from below, waiting for me to reply. I was so focused on the grass paddock and the surrounding forest, I forgot to answer. "Grace?" he called again.

"Yeah," I echoed, "I'm here."

"Are you seeing the others?"

Slowly, I used the scope to scan the edge of the forests once more. "No," I said, almost to myself. "No, they're out of range."

Serra leaned over the edge of the motorhome, grinning at Tulley. "That's a good call, using the fire. I woulda' never thought of that."

"Part of hunting," Tulley grunted, "is being able to be thinking on your feet."

"Or have a woman that can think on her feet," Fred answered, rolling her eyes, still holding another torch. "A little credit where credit is due, don't you think?"

Serra giggled. "You're good at this, Fred. You should go hunting more often."

"No, thank you, child. I like staying out of the line of fire, if I can help it."