I stand with my arms wrapped around Magicks' neck, leaning on him. I absently brush some of the caked on salt off of his coat. He'll need a bath. He's nuzzling my hair. I've never worn it loose around him before, so this is something new for him. We're standing near where we came in. Someone had the good sense to create a small paddock using police barricades. There are a couple of buckets in the corner. The empty one had what appears to be oatmeal in it. The other one is filled with water. John probably got his "love" nip when he came to refill it. The nearly full moon is almost at zenith and it bathes us in a soft glow.
An agent walks up. He stops several feet shy of the fence. Magick's reputation must be all over the bureau by now.
"Miss Cavendish? It's time to go," he says.
"Thank you," I reply. Reluctantly, I let go of my gentle giant and leave the paddock. We start across the parking lot and I see a garbage truck surrounded by several black sedans. Then I see Abe and Hellboy get into the back of the truck.
"They ride in a garbage truck?" I ask the agent.
"Yes, ma'am," he answers. "It's the only way we can transport them."
"Surely there are vehicles big enough for them to fit into without stuffing them into the back of a garbage truck," I protest.
"Yes, ma'am, there are" he says "but it's better this way. This way they aren't seen. Besides, the truck's never been used to haul garbage. And there's a small lab in there, in case we need to analyze something."
By now we've reached the truck. John is behind the wheel and he's wearing a set of overalls similar to mine, except that his fit him properly. The agent opens the passenger side door to the cab.
"You'll be riding with Agent Myers, ma'am," the agent says.
"Thank you," I say as I climb into the cab. The cab is so large that I feel like a little girl again playing dress up in my father's clothes. I roll one of the sleeves up again. It must have unrolled itself when I was with Magick.
"Ready?" asks John. I just nod and he turns the engine over. It's so loud that normal conversation is impossible. That's fine with me; I'm not in the mood to talk anyways. The clock on the dashboard says 11:43 pm.
We follow the sedans out the gate and onto the main road. About 10 minutes later we're at the main gate to the park. A park ranger is waiting there for us. Dr. Manning gets out of the lead car and talks to the ranger. A short time later, the ranger opens the gate to let us in. We park not far from my truck and trailer. I'm glad they didn't tow it.
Before John can even turn off the engine, I'm out of the cab and across the parking lot. I climb into the truck bed and open one of the locked storage bins. Luckily, I keep a spare set of clothes in here. I change in the trailer. A short time later, I'm dressed in jeans and a t-shirt. I retrieve my sweater and tennis shoes out of the cab and quickly put them on. By the time I rejoin the others; they're ready to go and are waiting for me. I hand Dr. Manning the neatly folded overalls I was wearing.
"Thank you," I say to him. "You can send me the cleaning bill for these."
"I will," he says. He hands off the overalls to another agent, who puts them in one of the cars. Then he hands me a flashlight. The moon is at zenith, and we really don't need it, but I take it anyways. It's a big heavy thing. I can always use it as a weapon if I have to. I just hope I don't have to.
I lead the way onto the trails. Abe and Hellboy are right behind me with the rest of the agents following them. Manning stays behind with the cars just in case he needs to call in back up. Everyone has a gun out but me. That's fine by me. Guns make me jumpy. I notice that Hellboys' gun looks like a small cannon. It must have been what I heard going off when I was walking Magick.
Again, it takes about an hour to reach the deer trail I took earlier. I can feel the evil already. It's spreading. A shiver runs up my spine, but I step onto the smaller trail and lead them toward the fissure. I'm glad I have the flashlight now, since the trees make it hard to see the trail. Before we can reach the clearing, the first creature attacks. Abe and I both yell out a warning.
I manage to duck out of the way just as Hellboy and the other agents open fire. That cannon is a lot louder up close. I cover my ears and take cover behind a tree.
After what seems to be an eternity, the gun fire stops. I lower my hands and open my eyes. Abe is looking at me and holding out his hand. I take his hand and he helps me up. I can feel myself shaking and I know it's not because of him. I come back onto the trail. The creature is dead. One of the agents is slightly injured but he seems like he'll be ok. The smell of gun powder and fresh blood make my stomach turn. I put my hand over my mouth to try to keep from losing it. Abe gently squeezes my hand, and I suddenly realize that I haven't let go of his hand. I open my hand and Abe lets go, reluctantly it seems.
Hellboy takes the lead and we continue on with me between him and Abe. The feeling of evil is getting stronger with every step and it's making my head swim. It gets so bad that just before we reach the clearing, Abe calls out a warning that I never see coming.
Several creatures of various shapes and sizes attack. I run and hide again as guns open fire. I turn off my flashlight, and from my hiding spot I can see the fissure. There are creatures coming out of the forest and the hole. They're heading for the others. If the gap isn't closed soon, Hellboy, Abe and the others are going to be overwhelmed. Swallowing my fear, I creep through the trees until I reach the farthest end of the fissure. Keeping an eye out, I carefully crawl out of hiding toward it. Putting the flashlight down beside me and placing a hand on either side of the crack, I draw more power to me than I've ever done before. Then with a tremendous "heave" I slam the chasm closed again, causing an earthquake that knocks nearly everyone off their feet.
I look over at the battle and notice that Hellboy and Abe managed to stay on their feet. Some of the agents are trying to get up as the remaining creatures attack. Other agents are firing their guns from where they lay on the ground. A few of the agents are lying on the ground not moving. I know they're dead.
I pick up the flashlight and then stand up to head back to the trees. A creature that looks like a cross between a baboon and a cat spots me. Letting out an unearthly shriek, it charges me. I stand there stunned, and then, at the very last second, I swing the flashlight. By some miracle I actually make contact with the things skull, crushing it. Several more creatures notice me. Breaking off their attack on the others, they head for me. In a state of near panic, I "pull" a large slab of bedrock toward me. It bursts out of the ground between me and them. Then I give it a "push" and it falls over onto the creatures, crushing them to death.
Hellboy and the others make short work of the few remaining creatures. I just stand there, shaking, unable to move. After the last creature is dispatched, Abe comes over to me, carefully walking around the slab of bedrock on the ground and the dark liquid that is now oozing out from under it. He comes and stands beside me and looks at the carnage.
"Well," he says, "so much for hiding your abilities."