Montoya awoke from a particularly bad dream. She knew exactly what caused it: almost being eaten by some monstrous demon. It didn't take a shrink to know that much. But in her dream there was something different, something that scared her to her bones.
In the dream, she was fighting the demon. And she was winning.
Montoya lay awake trying to figure out why this scared her so. Why would facing her fears and coming out victorious be frightening?
Because then you would have to admit you need me.
That was it. She would have to accept that her "other" was a part of her and she would have to let her take control at times. That was the thought that scared her more than anything else.
I don't want you to have control. Not ever. I don't want people to get hurt.
Oh, God! If I have to hear you whine one more time then I'm going to do everything I can to gain control just so I can kill myself.
Why are we like this? Why aren't we normal?
Who says we aren't?
This can't be normal. Who hears voices in their heads? Who talks to themselves? Who has other people living inside their minds?
I would answer that but I'm afraid it would frighten you. Montoya shook the sleep from her eyes. "I wonder how Nathaniel and Damien are doing?" she wondered aloud. She quickly put on some clothes and walked down to the White Room.
Inside, she found Network and Paul going over a map of New Roanoke. Montoya hadn't been here long enough to really familiarize herself with the city, but she knew where some places were located and she could tell that the area that these two were focusing on the most was around the New Roanoke Grand Hotel.
"Let me guess where Damien is," she said.
Network and Paul turned around. Network glanced at the map, then back to Montoya. "Yeah. He's searching around up there. Hopefully he'll find something useful."
"We believe that the Ogrellan was summon in that immediate area," Paul informed Montoya.
Network waved his hand in a cutting motion towards his neck. When Paul seemed to not understand, he explained. "Montoya is...sensitive to the kind of work we do here. She doesn't really want any part of it."
Paul looked at Montoya, his head cocked to the side. "But she is already a part of it," he said. "Just being around you and Damien involves her."
Network shot an apologetic look at Montoya. Montoya shook her head and said, "He's right, Nathaniel. I can't keep avoiding this. If my helping you can save someone their life, then I need to get over my fear of this and help."
Whoa! Who are you and what have you done with Montoya?
Shut up!
"Glad to hear you say that, Montoya," Network said. "Paul has a complete rundown on this Ogrellan demon in his internal archives. He transferred it to this disc. I need you to look it over and come up with a fast and efficient way to kill this thing once we find it. Paul could do it, but I have him helping me work through some other things, and I am also working on downloading his archives as backup to our mainframes."
Montoya took the disc from Network. "Sounds like a full plate."
"It is the only logical thing to do," Paul said. "I am the only one strong enough to fight the Ogrellan and if I am damaged or destroyed in the battle then my archives can be secure in your mainframes."
"Just point me to a work station," Montoya said.
Damien walked through the woods, taking great care to pay attention to every detail, both physical and metaphysical. There was a strong sense of the magicks around, and Damien was positive that this had to be the location the Ogrellan was summoned. Now if he could pinpoint the exact site then Network and Paul could confirm it.
There was a sudden pull towards the Grand Hotel and Damien followed it. He whispered a protection spell to insure that he had that extra edge if the need arose. When he heard someone walking nearby, he was glad he invoked it.
A young blond girl walked down the gravel road that lead to the Grand Hotel. She was beautiful but easily in her teens. Damien could tell that she was angry about something, but couldn't make out what she was saying. He watched her for a few seconds before realizing that she was heading into town.
Without a second though, Damien stepped out onto the road behind the girl. "Awfully late for a stroll, isn't it?"
The girl spun around. Damien was amazed that she didn't appeared scared in the slightest. She reminded him of his twin Damon. God, he missed him.
"I can take care of myself," the girl spat. "Who are you supposed to be?" She nodded at Damien, indicating his clothes.
Damien looked down at his long, black coat and black clothes underneath. He looked like a spy out of a bad espionage movie. "I'm something of a detective," he told her.
"Oh yeah? What are you doing snooping around my family's home?"
Damien eyed the girl. She was definitely confident. "Last I knew it was a hotel."
"It is. But my family lives there also."
"And who is your family?"
The girl turned to walk away. "I don't feel like playing games, mister. Have fun snooping around."
Damien watched the girl walk away. He wanted to warn her about the Ogrellan, but he doubt she would be in harm's way right now. The demon seemed to stick to the city. Still...
"Watch out for monsters."
The girl stopped dead in her tracks. She slowly turned around. "What?"
Damien almost laughed outloud. "I mean, you never know what kind of crazy people are out there tonight. You heard about the murders in town, haven't you?" The girl walked towards Damien. "What exactly are you looking for out here?"
"Something that can help me stop the killer. You live around here, have you seen anything?"
The girl looked around as though she suspected someone to be listening to their conversation. "What do you know about the murders?"
Damien studied the girl for a moment. Should he tell her what he knew, or play a different hand? He figured that at this point she was the closest thing to a lead he had, so he had to see what she knew.
Damien sighed. "This may be hard to hear, or to believe, but you have to. The killer isn't human."
The girl had a look of fear cross her face, but no disbelief. She muttered, "I knew it."
"What do you know?"
"I can't talk now but I want to get a hold of you. Do you have a number or something I can reach you at?"
Damien pulled out his notebook and wrote down his cell phone number. He handed it to the girl. "My name's Damien. Yours?"
"Monica."
"So, from what I can gather about this Ogrellan," Montoya said, staring at a computer screen. "Is that the scent of blood tends to drive it into some sort of blood lust."
"Correct," Paul confirmed.
Montoya studied the file on the computer. "But this particular Ogrellan is infected with an outside source making it super strong and crazy?"
"It would appear so," Paul, again, confirmed.
Montoya sat in silence for a long moment studying the file that had been downloaded from Paul's archive. Network finished disconnecting the wires from Paul, and was putting them away when his cell phone rang.
He answered it. "Hey, Damien. Any luck?"
There was silence for a few minutes. Montoya watched as Network's expression changed from casual indifference to surprise. "And you think she might be able to figure out what's going on?" Network asked. Once again there was silence for a few moments. "Alright, Damien. We'll be here."
"Damien find a lead," Montoya asked as Network put his phone away.
"He found a girl who might have some answers. Apparently her and her family live at the Grand Hotel."
"Where the Ogrellan originated," Paul said.
"Yes. She is apparently looking into something, but she is supposed to call Damien. Could be nothing, but she seemed to have an idea, I guess."
Monica waited for Jeremy to leave the office. She watched him head upstairs and, once she thought everything was safe, quickly made her way into the office. She made sure she quietly shut the door and then pulled out a flashlight. She started going through the filing cabinets and the various papers that cluttered the desk. There was nothing about the killer anywhere. Of course, it wasn't like her family to just leave important documents like that laying about, so why had she thought this time would be different?
The light clicked on, startling her. She turned around and saw Eric standing in the doorway. "What are you doing, little sister?" he asked.
"I'm, uh, I'm trying to find..." Monica stammered. She took a deep breath, then sighed. "What's going on with this killer, Eric?"
Eric look confused. "What?"
"Don't give me that, Eric. I'm not stupid. Look at the victim list so far: A writer who reports on paranormal occurrences, your ex-girlfriend who everyone thought was going to go blabbing to whoever about family secrets. Who's next? Me? Because I won't sit idly by and let innocent people get murdered."
Eric's faced turned from surprise to contempt. "I don't know what you're talking about, Monica, but you are playing a dangerous game here."
"He's correct, Monica," came another voice. Roland Stycker walked into the office. "You don't ever want to go against family in anything, daughter."
"What is it with this supernatural Mafia?" Monica shouted. "What are we hoping to achieve here?"
"You are young, Monica," Roland said, his voice smooth as silk. "You are not ready to be inducted into the family yet. But the time will come when you will be ready to understand." Monica's eyes started to water. "I'm sorry, daddy." She said. "But I could never do some of the things you do."
"I know, Monica." Roland reached his arms out and took his daughter in them. She started to cry, sobbing into his expensive and tailor-made suit. "As I said, you are not yet ready. Your brothers were the same way. But soon you will be."
Monica pulled herself away from her father. "Daddy, I have to know about this creature that is killing people. It has to stop."
Roland stared at his daughter for a long moment. "I know, Monica. Events have already been placed into motion for it."
There was a sharp sting in the back of Monica's neck. She yet out a short scream before falling unconscious. Jeremy stood about five feet behind her, holding a tranquilizer gun in his hand.
"Sleep, daughter," Roland said to the unconscious Monica. "Let Family take care of family business."
In the dream, she was fighting the demon. And she was winning.
Montoya lay awake trying to figure out why this scared her so. Why would facing her fears and coming out victorious be frightening?
Because then you would have to admit you need me.
That was it. She would have to accept that her "other" was a part of her and she would have to let her take control at times. That was the thought that scared her more than anything else.
I don't want you to have control. Not ever. I don't want people to get hurt.
Oh, God! If I have to hear you whine one more time then I'm going to do everything I can to gain control just so I can kill myself.
Why are we like this? Why aren't we normal?
Who says we aren't?
This can't be normal. Who hears voices in their heads? Who talks to themselves? Who has other people living inside their minds?
I would answer that but I'm afraid it would frighten you. Montoya shook the sleep from her eyes. "I wonder how Nathaniel and Damien are doing?" she wondered aloud. She quickly put on some clothes and walked down to the White Room.
Inside, she found Network and Paul going over a map of New Roanoke. Montoya hadn't been here long enough to really familiarize herself with the city, but she knew where some places were located and she could tell that the area that these two were focusing on the most was around the New Roanoke Grand Hotel.
"Let me guess where Damien is," she said.
Network and Paul turned around. Network glanced at the map, then back to Montoya. "Yeah. He's searching around up there. Hopefully he'll find something useful."
"We believe that the Ogrellan was summon in that immediate area," Paul informed Montoya.
Network waved his hand in a cutting motion towards his neck. When Paul seemed to not understand, he explained. "Montoya is...sensitive to the kind of work we do here. She doesn't really want any part of it."
Paul looked at Montoya, his head cocked to the side. "But she is already a part of it," he said. "Just being around you and Damien involves her."
Network shot an apologetic look at Montoya. Montoya shook her head and said, "He's right, Nathaniel. I can't keep avoiding this. If my helping you can save someone their life, then I need to get over my fear of this and help."
Whoa! Who are you and what have you done with Montoya?
Shut up!
"Glad to hear you say that, Montoya," Network said. "Paul has a complete rundown on this Ogrellan demon in his internal archives. He transferred it to this disc. I need you to look it over and come up with a fast and efficient way to kill this thing once we find it. Paul could do it, but I have him helping me work through some other things, and I am also working on downloading his archives as backup to our mainframes."
Montoya took the disc from Network. "Sounds like a full plate."
"It is the only logical thing to do," Paul said. "I am the only one strong enough to fight the Ogrellan and if I am damaged or destroyed in the battle then my archives can be secure in your mainframes."
"Just point me to a work station," Montoya said.
Damien walked through the woods, taking great care to pay attention to every detail, both physical and metaphysical. There was a strong sense of the magicks around, and Damien was positive that this had to be the location the Ogrellan was summoned. Now if he could pinpoint the exact site then Network and Paul could confirm it.
There was a sudden pull towards the Grand Hotel and Damien followed it. He whispered a protection spell to insure that he had that extra edge if the need arose. When he heard someone walking nearby, he was glad he invoked it.
A young blond girl walked down the gravel road that lead to the Grand Hotel. She was beautiful but easily in her teens. Damien could tell that she was angry about something, but couldn't make out what she was saying. He watched her for a few seconds before realizing that she was heading into town.
Without a second though, Damien stepped out onto the road behind the girl. "Awfully late for a stroll, isn't it?"
The girl spun around. Damien was amazed that she didn't appeared scared in the slightest. She reminded him of his twin Damon. God, he missed him.
"I can take care of myself," the girl spat. "Who are you supposed to be?" She nodded at Damien, indicating his clothes.
Damien looked down at his long, black coat and black clothes underneath. He looked like a spy out of a bad espionage movie. "I'm something of a detective," he told her.
"Oh yeah? What are you doing snooping around my family's home?"
Damien eyed the girl. She was definitely confident. "Last I knew it was a hotel."
"It is. But my family lives there also."
"And who is your family?"
The girl turned to walk away. "I don't feel like playing games, mister. Have fun snooping around."
Damien watched the girl walk away. He wanted to warn her about the Ogrellan, but he doubt she would be in harm's way right now. The demon seemed to stick to the city. Still...
"Watch out for monsters."
The girl stopped dead in her tracks. She slowly turned around. "What?"
Damien almost laughed outloud. "I mean, you never know what kind of crazy people are out there tonight. You heard about the murders in town, haven't you?" The girl walked towards Damien. "What exactly are you looking for out here?"
"Something that can help me stop the killer. You live around here, have you seen anything?"
The girl looked around as though she suspected someone to be listening to their conversation. "What do you know about the murders?"
Damien studied the girl for a moment. Should he tell her what he knew, or play a different hand? He figured that at this point she was the closest thing to a lead he had, so he had to see what she knew.
Damien sighed. "This may be hard to hear, or to believe, but you have to. The killer isn't human."
The girl had a look of fear cross her face, but no disbelief. She muttered, "I knew it."
"What do you know?"
"I can't talk now but I want to get a hold of you. Do you have a number or something I can reach you at?"
Damien pulled out his notebook and wrote down his cell phone number. He handed it to the girl. "My name's Damien. Yours?"
"Monica."
"So, from what I can gather about this Ogrellan," Montoya said, staring at a computer screen. "Is that the scent of blood tends to drive it into some sort of blood lust."
"Correct," Paul confirmed.
Montoya studied the file on the computer. "But this particular Ogrellan is infected with an outside source making it super strong and crazy?"
"It would appear so," Paul, again, confirmed.
Montoya sat in silence for a long moment studying the file that had been downloaded from Paul's archive. Network finished disconnecting the wires from Paul, and was putting them away when his cell phone rang.
He answered it. "Hey, Damien. Any luck?"
There was silence for a few minutes. Montoya watched as Network's expression changed from casual indifference to surprise. "And you think she might be able to figure out what's going on?" Network asked. Once again there was silence for a few moments. "Alright, Damien. We'll be here."
"Damien find a lead," Montoya asked as Network put his phone away.
"He found a girl who might have some answers. Apparently her and her family live at the Grand Hotel."
"Where the Ogrellan originated," Paul said.
"Yes. She is apparently looking into something, but she is supposed to call Damien. Could be nothing, but she seemed to have an idea, I guess."
Monica waited for Jeremy to leave the office. She watched him head upstairs and, once she thought everything was safe, quickly made her way into the office. She made sure she quietly shut the door and then pulled out a flashlight. She started going through the filing cabinets and the various papers that cluttered the desk. There was nothing about the killer anywhere. Of course, it wasn't like her family to just leave important documents like that laying about, so why had she thought this time would be different?
The light clicked on, startling her. She turned around and saw Eric standing in the doorway. "What are you doing, little sister?" he asked.
"I'm, uh, I'm trying to find..." Monica stammered. She took a deep breath, then sighed. "What's going on with this killer, Eric?"
Eric look confused. "What?"
"Don't give me that, Eric. I'm not stupid. Look at the victim list so far: A writer who reports on paranormal occurrences, your ex-girlfriend who everyone thought was going to go blabbing to whoever about family secrets. Who's next? Me? Because I won't sit idly by and let innocent people get murdered."
Eric's faced turned from surprise to contempt. "I don't know what you're talking about, Monica, but you are playing a dangerous game here."
"He's correct, Monica," came another voice. Roland Stycker walked into the office. "You don't ever want to go against family in anything, daughter."
"What is it with this supernatural Mafia?" Monica shouted. "What are we hoping to achieve here?"
"You are young, Monica," Roland said, his voice smooth as silk. "You are not ready to be inducted into the family yet. But the time will come when you will be ready to understand." Monica's eyes started to water. "I'm sorry, daddy." She said. "But I could never do some of the things you do."
"I know, Monica." Roland reached his arms out and took his daughter in them. She started to cry, sobbing into his expensive and tailor-made suit. "As I said, you are not yet ready. Your brothers were the same way. But soon you will be."
Monica pulled herself away from her father. "Daddy, I have to know about this creature that is killing people. It has to stop."
Roland stared at his daughter for a long moment. "I know, Monica. Events have already been placed into motion for it."
There was a sharp sting in the back of Monica's neck. She yet out a short scream before falling unconscious. Jeremy stood about five feet behind her, holding a tranquilizer gun in his hand.
"Sleep, daughter," Roland said to the unconscious Monica. "Let Family take care of family business."