Chapter 7
“Given the parasitic nature of certain species you will encounter, Entity requires annual health checks of all our Wardens. This ensures your safety in the field as we have discovered potential species that are attracted to and feed off vulnerability, weakness, and other lesser creatures within the more docile classifications.”
Entity Employee Handbook: Warden Edition
“Long night?” Mark, the stoic security guard, asked.
She couldn’t tell if he was being judgmental or sympathetic—his expression was as impassive as always. She shrugged in answer, and he let out a low whistle. Once her bag was through the scanner, Alexys headed straight to her desk. Before she had a chance to boot up her computer, the phone rang.
“Oh, for the love of …” Alexys plucked the phone from its receiver. “Thank you for calling Entity, this is Alexys in Human Resources. How can I help you?”
“Morning Alexys, it’s Elliot—er, Elliot Harman.
” Elliot’s voice crackled through the phone.
The relief she felt upon hearing his voice was overwhelming.
“District 13, Third Quadrant, that Elliot.” His voice came in and out, no doubt from a lack of cell phone service from whatever part of West Virginia he found himself in.
The Appalachian Mountains were notorious for their dead zones.
Alexys felt her shoulders drop. “Oh, Elliot! I was just about to call you, what are the chances? How are you? Are you okay? How’s your week been?” She was too relieved to be embarrassed.
“All good here, thanks, very busy.” There was a commotion on Elliot’s end that sounded like an argument. “Sorry about the noise,” he said. “Just two guys arguing about the origins of The Bell Witch.” There was another commotion followed by a nervous-sounding laugh from Elliot.
“Were you able to wrap up your Black Dog case successfully?” Alexys opened his file on her computer as they talked and started a new entry. She hoped to have a case completion email to send over to Kristin by the end of the day. “I know you had one that gave you some trouble a few weeks back.”
Elliot chuckled uncomfortably at the memory.
“Oh, nothing I can’t handle,” he said. “I was much more prepared this time around. And it turned out to be a graveyard guardian, so it wasn’t mean.
” More commotion. “Anyway, that’s all wrapped up now, so I figured I’d go ahead and do my check-in a day early. ”
Alexys smiled. Elliot was still adapting to the new area and needed all the easy cases he could get. He wasn’t entirely new to being a Warden, he’d transferred from Southern California, but the majority of his cases there were to do with UFO sightings.
Elliot wasn’t used to handling man-eating monsters and ghosts.
Entity didn’t put their Wardens through very rigorous, in-field training given Reapers are meant to handle the more dangerous entities, so the majority of his first cases under her management were trial by fire.
“The graveyard was super old,” Elliot told her, “and had basically become one with some ivy—so no one even knew it was there. Felt like the right thing to do to leave it be for now, I can always follow up in a few months to make sure it’s still a guardian. And not a …”
Alexys supplied, “A malevolent spirit?”
“Yeah, that.”
“Excellent.” She finished typing the update and fired the report over to Kristin. There was no chance her other three Wardens would finish their active cases by Friday. “Great work, Elliot. I’m really impressed with how well you’re assimilating to the District.”
“Thanks, Alexys. That means a lot.”
“I’ll finish up the paperwork on my end and send it through for you,” she said. “Just send me some pictures of the graveyard for my report.”
“Sure thing. And, as I’m here, I might head up to a town called Mercyhill for a little investigating. It’s not too far from here. But don’t worry, I’ll be back and ready to go for our in-field assessment next week.”
“I arrive Wednesday bright and early, so we can begin as soon as I arrive that morning,” she said.
“Any clues about the case?” Elliot asked.
“Afraid not.” Corporate wanted the case to be a surprise.
Another thing for Alexys to gripe about, but if she was lucky, the evaluations would go back to being over-the-phone when the travel expenses all came in.
“Oh and Elliot, starting a new job without the right paperwork could lead to a write-up, so don’t go anywhere without telling me. ”
“Even if it’s only to investigate? Unofficially, of course. That’s how we get new cases, right?”
“Doesn’t matter what it’s for. If it’s job related, you call me first.” Alexys added, as an extra warning, “The last thing you need before your first review is a write-up. New cases come through me.”
“So many rules.” He groaned his disappointment.
She was hesitant to ask because she didn’t want him to think she would allow it, but Alexys asked, “What is it you were hoping to investigate?”
“Just some rumors of a strange, ancient creature living up in the mountains.”
Oh, is that all?
She immediately shot him down. “Absolutely not. Even if it’s a dead-end or false report, we’re still waiting on your results from your annual health evaluation. You’re stuck on easy cases until we know you have full clearance for field work. Understood?”
Elliot sighed dramatically. “It’s taking so long to process.”
“Understood?” Alexys drilled. She knew the health screening took ages to process, but it was work that had to be done. They couldn’t send Wardens into the field with supernatural attachments. Their effects could be corrosive to the mind and body, even without any noticeable symptoms.
“Yeah, yeah, I hear you loud and clear,” Elliot replied. “I’ll call you before I do anything. I know I’m still new, but I’ve had a really good year so far. You’ll see.”
Alexys’s smile deepened at his eagerness. He might be a bit wet behind the ears when it came to the Appalachians and the monsters that lurked in his Quadrant, but he was dedicated both to his craft and to helping people. She’d take a hard worker over a know-it-all any day.
Alexys pictured Nic’s smug face then, a niggling reminder that she still needed his Plan of Action report.
Encyclopedic pain in her ass.
“Um, also …” Elliot said tentatively. “Can you walk me through the pitch I’m supposed to give the client again? I can’t remember which package to use for a Black Dog.”
“It’s a Class A.” She bit back a sigh. He should have the information memorized, new to the area or not. “Once you get me the rest of the paperwork, the system will reclassify the case and send them the relevant information. Just make sure you get their correct email and schedule the follow-up.”
“Doesn’t that cost extra?”
“It does.” Another pitch they were forced to give, another way to bleed money from their customers. Like they were a bunch of glorified, stupidly expensive exterminators. “But that’s part of the job.”
Elliot grumbled something under his breath that Alexys chose to ignore. She couldn’t begrudge his irritation, after all, Alexys felt similarly. She suspected, if he had his way, monster hunting would be a hobby, and ridding people of troubling creatures and ghosts would be a civic service.
“Try to keep perspective,” she reminded him. “If your job was free, you wouldn’t get paid.”
“I know,” Elliot relented. “I just think a lot of folks need help and can’t afford it.” Alexys blanched. It was a bit too close to home.
“I actually agree with you,” Alexys said slowly, “but I unfortunately have bills that need to be paid too, so we are where we are.”
“I get it. Consider my faith in humanity withered but not dead.” He laughed at his own joke.
When Alexys hung up the phone, she was fully determined to leave the bad dream behind her. Now, she just needed to get everything sorted before she left. And after, one small stint in West Virginia.
What was the worst that could happen?