Model Beast
By Thomas Mc

Chapter 4 : The Return

June 2035

It had been nearly five months since Emily had been in New York. She was currently back in Paris for another fashion show. As she approached the resort where it was being held, the crowd had spotted her trademark charcoal gray hooded cloak and she was immediately recognized and mobbed. The security people quickly surrounded her and escorted her into the building.

A few minutes later the designer she was working for on this job cornered her. He reached out and grabbed the edge of her cloak examining the embroidery work along the edges. "Qui . . . Who , who made this coat for you? Je must to know." He demanded in his thick French accent. "Le execution est magnifique." He stared intently into her eyes. "Je must have la person who did this. Je will someone pay anything. Say to me who made."

Emily took a moment to recover from his onslaught. "I don't know who made it. A person that I meet in New York last Fall gave this to me." She responded trying to back up.

He pressed in closer, still handling the material. "Le person, who is him? Which is its name? Je must meet him, discover which did this."

Emily continued to try to pull back from him. "I only was with him for about an hour. I don't know what his last name is. All he told me was his first name, Devin. I don't know where he lives or how to contact him. He noticed that I was getting chilled and gave this cloak to me."

"Je will buy, calls you your price." He pressed.

"I would never sell this cloak. It was a gift from a very kind person and I have become very attached to it." She snatched the edge of the cloak out of his hands and beat a hasty retreat to the model's changing room.

At one point while she was on stage one of the designer's workers tried to make off with her cloak but the other models stopped him. Emily had never been particularly fond of the little French rodent and vowed that this was her last gig for him.

That evening in her hotel room she got a call from her agent. He told her that he had two offers for her to work on another fashion shoot and a fashion show, both in New York on the first of next month. She enthusiastically accepted the assignments.

~ x x x x x ~

Emily arrived in New York three days before the shoot and five days before the fashion show that she would be working on. She settled into her hotel room and called the producers of the show and the shoot to make sure she got all the details straight and to let them know her hotel and room number.

She spent most of the first day checking out apartments in the Manhattan area. By the end of the day she had found three that looked promising. The first one was on Central Park West near the south end of the park. It was a two bedroom with a balcony off the master bedroom. The balcony had a nice view of downtown Manhattan and the south end of Central Park. The building manager claimed that the building had been used as the set for an old movie about ghosts in New York. The second one was also on Central Park West closer to the north end of the park. It was smaller but it had a large balcony with a spectacular view overlooking Central Park. The third one was located about five blocks east of Central Park. It was the roomiest of the three as well as being more affordable but it had no view.

That evening she went out to do a little shopping. Among her purchases was a large package of chalk and a heavy duty flashlight. The salesman had told her that the flashlight could shine continuously for thirty-six hours on a new set of batteries. She had specific plans for tomorrow. Then she watched a little TV. The first of the three detective show episodes, that she had appeared in, was showing.

~ o ~

Devin was visiting his cousins in the brownstone. He had heard that Emily was going to be appearing on a popular detective show tonight and he wanted to see it. The plot of the episode apparently centered around a serial killer that was bumping off supermodels. About eight minutes into the show Emily made her appearance and everyone else in the room immediately noticed the same detail.

Clarissa was the first to speak. "Devin, she's wearing your gray cloak." She looked over at him in surprise.

~ o ~

Emily lay awake in bed that night thinking about her encounter with Devin six months ago. She wondered if he ever thought about their encounter or about her.

~ x x x x x ~

It was a nice spring morning and, as planned, Emily had nothing to do today but explore. She threw her cloak over her shoulders, grabbed her box of chalk and her new flashlight, and headed out the door. She took a taxi to Belvedere Castle.

After spending an hour exploring the Castle, she headed down to the basement. She spent a long time examining the back wall. She knew approximately where the hidden door had to be. It took a pretty close inspection, but she was finally able to locate the outline of the door and she also located the spy hole. Next she started searching for a trigger to unlock the door. Finally, frustrated, she had to give up and headed out of the Castle.

Emily made her way across the park to the band shell. Once there she easily found her way to the storm drain culvert and down to the hidden access within it. She knew how to open this doorway and soon she was in the upper tunnels. Being careful to mark her way with the chalk, she made her way through the tunnels.

She had been in the tunnels for a short time when she came across a rectangular chamber that had several blankets and pillows folded up and stored on a ledge that was about three feet up from the floor. The chamber was brightly lit by sunlight streaming down through the grid in the ceiling. She could also hear people's voices coming through the overhead grid. She wondered momentarily if this could possibly be where Devin lived but decided that it just didn't feel right. It looked more like possibly a temporary refuge of some kind. She left the chamber and continued her explorations.

The circular concrete tunnels gave way to a maze of rectangular brick walled tunnels. After over an hour in these brick tunnels, she came to a large chamber that had several entrances. In the center of the floor was a fifteen foot diameter vertical shaft with a spiral metal stairway along the wall of the shaft. Noticing the relative lack of dust on the stairs, Emily decided to follow them down and see where they might lead.

She had descended about thirty feet into the shaft when she heard the sound of feet above her moving swiftly. She glanced up and saw that she was quickly being overtaken by what looked like a pre-teen girl.

"Devin!" The girl called out. "Someone's been making chalk marks in the upper tunnels. I think we have an intru . . ." Then she came to a sudden stop and stared in surprise at Emily. "You're not Devin." A hint of suspicion crossed her face as she took in the piece of chalk in Emily's hand. "What are you doing down here and where did you get Devin's cape?" She took several steps away from Emily and looked like she was preparing to bolt back up the stairs.

Emily tried to reassure her. "I came down here looking for Devin." She shrugged. "But I've only been down here once and I'm lost." She thought a moment then continued. "Could you lead me to Devin . . . or Vincent?"

The child's eyes got wide at the mention of Vincent, then, after a moments hesitation, carefully edged around Emily. Glancing suspiciously over her shoulder, the child said, "This way," and headed on down the stairs.

Emily figured that they must have descended a couple of hundred feet when the girl led her into another tunnel that appeared to be carved out of solid rock. Emily was soon glad she had worn the cloak because there was a slight chill to the air. They passed through a maze of intersecting passages and soon were into an area that contained dozens of chambers that made Emily think of small apartments. She had become aware of an almost constant irregular tapping sound. It made her think of the codes from those old war movies that her father liked to watch. The young girl listened for a few seconds then looked at Emily more carefully. "They know you're here and they don't recognize you. How did you know about us?"

Emily wondered how the girl could know that. The banging? "I have never been down here before but I do know of the hidden door in the drain tunnel and I have met both Vincent and Devin." She passed her hand over her cloak. "It was Devin that gave this cloak to me six months ago." She shrugged. "I just wanted to see Devin and Vincent again and talk to them."

The young girl stared at Emily a moment then turned to a pipe that ran along the wall and started to tap out a complicated code using a small metal object she had pulled from a pocket. After a few seconds she stopped. "OK, I told them that you already know Vincent and that you are with me." Then she set off down the tunnel with Emily following close behind.

Emily noticed that some of the openings they passed had tapestries draped across them, then she noticed that all of the apartment like chambers had a tapestry that had been hooked or tied back from the doorway. They also began encountering some people in the tunnels. Most of them barely noticed her and the girl. Those that did notice usually did a double take and then stared at her in surprise. There appeared to be a lot more people living down here than she would have believed. They stopped just inside the doorway to one of the apartment like chambers. Emily could see an opening to a second chamber through the far wall. She could see two beds in the second chamber from where they stood. Both rooms were lit by a couple of large candles.

The young girl called out as they stepped in. "Devin, Michael. Anyone here?"

So this was where Devin lived? Somehow it seemed to suit him. Who was Michael? There was no response and as they turned to leave she noticed a copy of the latest swimsuit issue on a small table and half covered by a book titled 'The Comedies of Shakespeare'. On an old fashion coat rack she noticed a cloak much like hers but it was a shade lighter with a bluish cast.

"They might be in the dining chamber." The girl commented and Emily followed her out of the small apartment chamber.

They met two lion-men coming toward them. One she recognized as Devin. The other one was not Vincent. A third one? She had wondered if there were more. Following a short distance behind them were two young women.

"Emily, what are you doing down here and what was that about Vincent?" Devin asked.

"I came looking for you . . . and Vincent is a long story." She glanced at the others. "Can we talk?"

Devin indicated the room she had just exited. "Well since you have gone to all the trouble of hunting me down, I guess we may as well."

As they arranged seats around the small table in the outer chamber Emily turned her attention to the other lion man. He looked so much like Devin that she knew that they had to be closely related. "There are definitely more like you than I thought."

Devin indicated the other lion-man and the woman sitting next to him. "This is my father, Jacob, and my mother, Linda." He indicated the other much younger woman. "This is my youngest sister, Sharon. My other sister is away at Columbia Law School." Emily's eyes got wide as several thoughts collided in her mind at the same time. His mother and his sisters looked like normal humans. Were there any females like him? They could breed with normal women? What was she getting herself into here? She became aware that Devin was still talking. "Mom, Dad, this is Emily Hansen."

She shook herself. "Ah glad to meet you. Ah, are you both Devin's natural parents? Are there, ah, are there any females like you?"

Sharon giggled and Linda smiled as Jacob looked at Emily with an amused grin as he answered. "Devin, your friend seems to be catching on quickly. Yes, Linda is Devin's natural mother and Sharon is my natural daughter. No there are no females like us." He paused a moment. "I would like to know how you know of Vincent." They all looked at her expectantly.

She looked back at them as the surprise of the newest revelations wore off. "Well, I, ah, I didn't even remember until a couple of months ago but I met Vincent twenty years ago. I was four years old and got lost from my parents. He found me and took me to where my parents were looking for me." She paused a moment. "Could you tell me who Vincent is? Is he still around?"

"I'm Vincent and I'm still around." Came a voice from the doorway. Emily looked up to see another lion-man with a snow white mane entering the chamber, followed by a familiar looking white-headed woman. "This is my wife Catherine." That's when she recognized her as Catherine Chandler. "Jacob is our son and Devin is our grandson." They approached the rest in the room. "I just had to come here and meet the outsider that knew my name."

While Emily's mind was spinning with all the surprising revelations, Jacob stood up and gave his seat to Catherine. Then he and Vincent picked convenient walls to lean against.

Again Emily got her swirling mind somewhat under control. "I, ah, guess since I'm the, ah, intruder here I should explain myself first." She then told them about what had happened six months ago when she met Devin, from her point of view. Then she told them about her visit with her parents and finally what she remembered from twenty years ago.

"I do remember you, now." Vincent remarked after a couple of seconds. "You were so glad to have been found that my appearance barely registered with you. I wasn't even sure if you noticed."

"Oh, I noticed. I didn't remember you but I remembered your appearance. Though I thought of it as, ah, applied it to, ah, to . . ." She found herself at a loss for how to say what she meant, afraid of giving offense.

Jacob spoke. "You were thinking of the appearance of the Creature of Central Park." He smiled at her surprised reaction. "Where do you think that urban legend came from?" He chuckled.

"I'm afraid it kind of started with me." Vincent added.

"So how long will you be in New York?" Devin asked. "And what were your plans?"

"I'm in town for a big shoot for a makeup company the day after tomorrow and a major fashion show two days after that." Emily replied. "Until then I just wanted to find you, and possibly Vincent, and get to know you better." She shrugged as she looked around. "I guess I got a bit more than I bargained for."

Vincent addressed the young girl that had met Emily on the stairs. "Alicia, our guest is getting hungry and so are Catherine and I. Why don't you run to the dining chamber and bring us some lunch, and get some for yourself as well."

The girl, Alicia dimpled and executed a half curtsy. "OK, Vincent, I'll be right back." And she skipped out the doorway sing-songing some nonsense about getting a new helper. Five minutes later she returned with another lion-man in tow carrying seven lunches between them. This time Emily was only mildly surprised by the appearance of another one of them.

"Emily, This is my nephew, Peter." Jacob smiled. "Peter, this is Devin's new friend, Emily."

Greetings were exchanged then Peter left and, while they ate, Vincent told Emily about how he and Catherine met.

Linda announced that she had taken long enough for lunch and had to get back to work. The rest all talked well into the afternoon. Emily told them about her life as a supermodel and they told her about life in the tunnels. After a while Jacob excused himself, saying that he had community business to deal with. Alicia also left about the same time. She was supposed to meet some friends at the mirror pool, whatever that was. The rest continued talking. Around dinner time Jacob returned with two teenage boys carrying dinner for everyone. The two boys couldn't take their eyes off of Emily.

After dinner, Emily was starting to get sleepy and checked her watch. It was after ten. "I guess I need to get to bed soon, before I pass out." She looked around wondering if she should ask for help getting back to her hotel.

Devin replied. "I can guide you back to the surface."

"That would be nice. Will it be alright for me to come back down tomorrow after lunch?" She asked hopefully.

Devin glanced around at the others in the room. "That will be just fine with us. I'll be sure there is someone waiting for you to lead you down tomorrow." Emily yawned. Devin smiled as he held out his hand to her. "I guess we'd better go before you pass out on us." He took her back up to the park and walked her over to the road where she found a taxi waiting. The driver seemed to be unfazed by Devin's appearance. Emily was informed that the driver was a helper.

Continued in Part 5

'Beauty and the Beast' and its characters are owned by Witt-Thomas Productions and Republic Pictures. No infringement on copyrights is intended. This story is presented merely for the enjoyment of fans. Original concepts and story elements may be used by other authors as long as appropriate credit is given.