1 Tracker – The Past Comes Back to Haunt Us – Part 1
Dust particles scattered through the twilight, filling the air and making Jess sneeze. Perched precariously on one shapely hip, the upper half of her body deep inside the utility shelving in the basement of the Watchfire bar Jess was not having very much luck finding what she sought.
"There's just got to be more," her accent becoming more & more pronounced as she mumbled to herself in frustration.
A furtive noise from over by the basement steps causes her to wobble as she jerks herself out of the cramped metal shelving. The shelving starts to wobble, the boxes she is balanced on start to sway and in seconds the entire unstable tower comes down and Jess jumps free of the wreckage with a curse. Picking herself up from where she tumbled, Jess surveys the damage. Lopsided metal poles embedded in the old stucco walls, their crosspieces leaning drunkenly, their contents a jumble of cardboard & clothe on the concrete.
"Mel is gonna kill me for this for sure" Moving forward to try to move some of the things back into place Jess' attention is caught by a dull patch of color partially exposed through the cracked wall.
"What the?" Her trademark lightning grin breaks across her face as she squirrels up the stack of debris, prodding at the hole, widening it so that she can get at whatever is in there. 'This might be it! Whatever IT, might be' she thought to herself. Gingerly pulling the cloth bundle free of the stucco she opens what looks like a well-padded bandanna. Another furtive noise causes her to close up the bundle looking around cautiously, nothing there, but the hair raising on the back of her neck shapes the decision to take everything upstairs to examine, the bathroom should be safe enough. After all if Mel found out she'd been snooping in Gran's stuff…again, there would be hell to pay. Besides, this time she wanted to actually get to read the stuff she found. Nonchalance was not her forte and Jess knew it so she breezed up the stairs, already concocting a brazen excuse for the mess below stairs, she was unsurprised to see Mel & Cole arguing quietly. Of course, just like always they both clammed up when she came towards them from the doorway. Mel's eyes widened as they took in Jess' dusty appearance.
"What happened to you?" Mel asked Jess. "You look like you had a huge fight with a killer dust bunny and the bunny seems to have won" Mel's smile negated any sharpness to the comment and they both turned as Cole rushed to the basement door.
"Cole! Wait!" Mel's voice stopped Cole before he could make his descent. "Where are you going?"
"To fight the dust bunny, Mel. It hurt Jess" Cole replied as if it should be obvious.
"Is he for real?" Jess asked as she doubled over in laughter. Then laughed harder at Cole's perplexed expression. At the disapproving look on Mel's face, she sobered up and declared that she needed to go clean up before they got any customers. 'Sheesh, it wasn't like she laughed at Cole all of the time… But sometimes he was so smart & sometimes he was like a 3 year old. Taking everything so …literal.' It took some getting used to.
Leaving Mel to her stammering explanation of killer dust bunnies. Jess opened the door to the ladies lounge, skin roughening as she felt a slight breeze that caused her to shiver, dismissing it as coming from the slightly open transom window she shut the door and then settled on the side of the sink to peruse her ill gotten secrets.
Laying each piece gingerly on the counter, Jess contemplated the package itself. 5 slightly bizarre metal & plastic shapes had been enfolded in the cloth along with a yellowed piece of paper, but the cloth itself had been written on.
'Mel, if you are reading this, then I must assume that the visitors have returned. I hope for all of our sake's it is the Guardians and not the others. The Prophecy is probably at work. There are things you need to know about & you will find names & addresses for the people who can help you in this fight. Remember that I love you and NEVER give up hope. The prophecy tells of a being of peace, light & love who will find the warrior's heart & together they can defeat the evil that seeks to destroy all life. Honey, you were always your grandfather's heart & warrior that he was, he gave his life knowing he was only buying time for our world. The evil that is coming is not from our world & I know you probably think I am a dotty old lady but please…. please trust me, trust your heart. Arm yourself with the knowledge of my friends; they've been through this before. I only wish I could help you. Keep Jess safe, she controls the key. God bless you child. Love, Gran
"I control the key? Whot key?" Stunned and disbelieving Jess wanted to dismiss the letter as the ravings of 'what did Gran call herself?' a dotty old woman, but she knew Gran P was one of the sanest people EVER! Right up until her last breath.
Turning the items on the counter, Jess picked up the first piece. It felt like metal but was a blue/black color and had weird engravings on it, shaped like some type of frame, the other pieces seemed to made of a different material more like normal metal & plastic. She reached for the silvery metal sphere and it seemed to spark in her hand, she felt dizzy, her vision blurred & she saw a bright, blue/white light, it felt as if it were coming towards her. Panicked Jess dropped the sphere back onto the cloth on the counter and took a shaky step backward. Her hands shook as she pushed her bangs off her suddenly sweaty forehead.
"What the hell just happened?" Hearing her own whisper helped steady Jess somewhat but, seriously spooked she quickly wrapped everything back into the cloth, taking great care not to touch the sphere.
"On second thought" Jess muttered to herself carefully extracting the aged paper with the names and then putting the package inside the pouch pocket of her sweatshirt. "It can't hurt to check this out"" She let herself out of the bathroom and returned to the bar.
Nestov let himself return to normal. Sagging wearily against the tile he blew out a long breath. Hiding in the basement had been a piece of cake, an almost unconscious reaction to Jess' furtive maneuverings. He had gone down there to see what she was up to, besides that girl was F. I .N. E. fine! He could watch her work all day. Ok getting away from Cole & his 'neck pinch' played a big part in his desire to escape. But as he got down the steps & saw her pull the package out of the wall his natural instincts had taken over & blended with the shadows & watched. The white tile in the bathroom had been a challenge. He was a Desserian not a true chameleon and the effort of holding his cover had been hard but what had him shaking were the contents of that package. Of course he didn't know exactly what the pieces were but he recognized a few of the symbols. Arcane as the glyphs were, every child in the Migar systems had grown up on stories about P'shar and his rebels. And those were definitely! Eamon symbols.
Splashing water on his face he hurriedly blotted away the excess water and went out to face Cole who was calling him from the hallway.
"Mellow out dude. I was just washing my hands." Making sure his face was composed, Nestov turned to face the Tracker.
Cole nodded at Nestov wisely. "Personal hygiene is important Nestov". Turning, Cole led the way down the hallway to his room with Nestov following slowly trying to decide if he should tell the Tracker what he saw. Or maybe not. After all there might just be a profit to be had, if he could figure out what those pieces were.
Dust particles scattered through the twilight, filling the air and making Jess sneeze. Perched precariously on one shapely hip, the upper half of her body deep inside the utility shelving in the basement of the Watchfire bar Jess was not having very much luck finding what she sought.
"There's just got to be more," her accent becoming more & more pronounced as she mumbled to herself in frustration.
A furtive noise from over by the basement steps causes her to wobble as she jerks herself out of the cramped metal shelving. The shelving starts to wobble, the boxes she is balanced on start to sway and in seconds the entire unstable tower comes down and Jess jumps free of the wreckage with a curse. Picking herself up from where she tumbled, Jess surveys the damage. Lopsided metal poles embedded in the old stucco walls, their crosspieces leaning drunkenly, their contents a jumble of cardboard & clothe on the concrete.
"Mel is gonna kill me for this for sure" Moving forward to try to move some of the things back into place Jess' attention is caught by a dull patch of color partially exposed through the cracked wall.
"What the?" Her trademark lightning grin breaks across her face as she squirrels up the stack of debris, prodding at the hole, widening it so that she can get at whatever is in there. 'This might be it! Whatever IT, might be' she thought to herself. Gingerly pulling the cloth bundle free of the stucco she opens what looks like a well-padded bandanna. Another furtive noise causes her to close up the bundle looking around cautiously, nothing there, but the hair raising on the back of her neck shapes the decision to take everything upstairs to examine, the bathroom should be safe enough. After all if Mel found out she'd been snooping in Gran's stuff…again, there would be hell to pay. Besides, this time she wanted to actually get to read the stuff she found. Nonchalance was not her forte and Jess knew it so she breezed up the stairs, already concocting a brazen excuse for the mess below stairs, she was unsurprised to see Mel & Cole arguing quietly. Of course, just like always they both clammed up when she came towards them from the doorway. Mel's eyes widened as they took in Jess' dusty appearance.
"What happened to you?" Mel asked Jess. "You look like you had a huge fight with a killer dust bunny and the bunny seems to have won" Mel's smile negated any sharpness to the comment and they both turned as Cole rushed to the basement door.
"Cole! Wait!" Mel's voice stopped Cole before he could make his descent. "Where are you going?"
"To fight the dust bunny, Mel. It hurt Jess" Cole replied as if it should be obvious.
"Is he for real?" Jess asked as she doubled over in laughter. Then laughed harder at Cole's perplexed expression. At the disapproving look on Mel's face, she sobered up and declared that she needed to go clean up before they got any customers. 'Sheesh, it wasn't like she laughed at Cole all of the time… But sometimes he was so smart & sometimes he was like a 3 year old. Taking everything so …literal.' It took some getting used to.
Leaving Mel to her stammering explanation of killer dust bunnies. Jess opened the door to the ladies lounge, skin roughening as she felt a slight breeze that caused her to shiver, dismissing it as coming from the slightly open transom window she shut the door and then settled on the side of the sink to peruse her ill gotten secrets.
Laying each piece gingerly on the counter, Jess contemplated the package itself. 5 slightly bizarre metal & plastic shapes had been enfolded in the cloth along with a yellowed piece of paper, but the cloth itself had been written on.
'Mel, if you are reading this, then I must assume that the visitors have returned. I hope for all of our sake's it is the Guardians and not the others. The Prophecy is probably at work. There are things you need to know about & you will find names & addresses for the people who can help you in this fight. Remember that I love you and NEVER give up hope. The prophecy tells of a being of peace, light & love who will find the warrior's heart & together they can defeat the evil that seeks to destroy all life. Honey, you were always your grandfather's heart & warrior that he was, he gave his life knowing he was only buying time for our world. The evil that is coming is not from our world & I know you probably think I am a dotty old lady but please…. please trust me, trust your heart. Arm yourself with the knowledge of my friends; they've been through this before. I only wish I could help you. Keep Jess safe, she controls the key. God bless you child. Love, Gran
"I control the key? Whot key?" Stunned and disbelieving Jess wanted to dismiss the letter as the ravings of 'what did Gran call herself?' a dotty old woman, but she knew Gran P was one of the sanest people EVER! Right up until her last breath.
Turning the items on the counter, Jess picked up the first piece. It felt like metal but was a blue/black color and had weird engravings on it, shaped like some type of frame, the other pieces seemed to made of a different material more like normal metal & plastic. She reached for the silvery metal sphere and it seemed to spark in her hand, she felt dizzy, her vision blurred & she saw a bright, blue/white light, it felt as if it were coming towards her. Panicked Jess dropped the sphere back onto the cloth on the counter and took a shaky step backward. Her hands shook as she pushed her bangs off her suddenly sweaty forehead.
"What the hell just happened?" Hearing her own whisper helped steady Jess somewhat but, seriously spooked she quickly wrapped everything back into the cloth, taking great care not to touch the sphere.
"On second thought" Jess muttered to herself carefully extracting the aged paper with the names and then putting the package inside the pouch pocket of her sweatshirt. "It can't hurt to check this out"" She let herself out of the bathroom and returned to the bar.
Nestov let himself return to normal. Sagging wearily against the tile he blew out a long breath. Hiding in the basement had been a piece of cake, an almost unconscious reaction to Jess' furtive maneuverings. He had gone down there to see what she was up to, besides that girl was F. I .N. E. fine! He could watch her work all day. Ok getting away from Cole & his 'neck pinch' played a big part in his desire to escape. But as he got down the steps & saw her pull the package out of the wall his natural instincts had taken over & blended with the shadows & watched. The white tile in the bathroom had been a challenge. He was a Desserian not a true chameleon and the effort of holding his cover had been hard but what had him shaking were the contents of that package. Of course he didn't know exactly what the pieces were but he recognized a few of the symbols. Arcane as the glyphs were, every child in the Migar systems had grown up on stories about P'shar and his rebels. And those were definitely! Eamon symbols.
Splashing water on his face he hurriedly blotted away the excess water and went out to face Cole who was calling him from the hallway.
"Mellow out dude. I was just washing my hands." Making sure his face was composed, Nestov turned to face the Tracker.
Cole nodded at Nestov wisely. "Personal hygiene is important Nestov". Turning, Cole led the way down the hallway to his room with Nestov following slowly trying to decide if he should tell the Tracker what he saw. Or maybe not. After all there might just be a profit to be had, if he could figure out what those pieces were.