PART THREE

Copyright 2007 Mike Suchcicki

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6

The house was cozy, somewhat dusty in spots, but otherwise warm and bright. It was obvious that her kitchen was her laboratory, with large pots covering the stove and most of the counters, a variety of glass jars serving as beakers arrayed on the island and around the sink and many different jars and bottles of colored liquids placed wherever they would fit, on the counters, atop the refrigerator, on bookshelves and even here and there on the floor. The kitchen floor was heavily stained, her attempts at cleaning the stubborn messes obviously abandoned long before.

Despite what the sheriff had said about checking the entire house, Cornealius inspected every room and even the basement and attic. Sealy kept an eye on him the entire time.

Gray and Lake looked around the first floor, but their attention was focused mainly on the kitchen/lab area.

"I feel bad about poking around too much in her work area, at least until we know where she is," Gray said.

"Do you know if she takes off like this a lot, Cog?" Lake asked.

"Not like this." He motioned to the plate of uneaten food and cup of unfinished coffee on the breakfast table. "She would have cleaned up before heading out to test one of her formulas."

Cornealius, followed by Sealy, came down the stairs. Hefting his Ghoo rifle, he said, "Let's head out back and look for her."

Behind the house, the clearing continued for another fifty yards or so before angling up into another steep climb through the thick trees. The quintet spread out somewhat, enough to cover a wide path but close enough to watch each other's back. Cornealius and Sealy were on either flank.

As they climbed, Lake, between Cornealius and Gray, said, "Smell that?"

The other two nodded. It was faint but distinct. The average person, even one accustomed to fighting Ghouls, might not have noticed it. Cornealius doubted that even the most experienced veteran hunter in Johnson Ridge would have the trained senses to pick up the scent.

"Spore," he said.

Lake nodded back. "You know there's gotta be 'plasm all over the place up here."

Almost as if responding to a cue, a Ghoul sprung from between two trees, rushing at Lake.

Months of fighting as a trio trained Cornealius, Lake and Gray into a standard defense. Whoever was on left flank fired to the target's left side, the right flank to the right side and center person to the torso. If those blasts failed, then it was left leg, right leg, head. It took both blasts from each to finish the Ghoul, its claws mere inches from Lake's face before it exploded.

"Over here!" shouted Coggins, pointing toward Sealy on the right flank. A Ghoul was rushing the sheriff, who, while clearly a veteran Ghoul fighter, obviously did not have the experience of the City-dwellers. His shots were too wild, not precise. He wasted double doses of Ghoo on the same areas. Coggins added to the defense, helping to demolish the Ghoul before it reached the sheriff.

As Cornealius ran to help, he activated yet another Ghoul, which swiped at the back of the Ghoul hunter's neck as he ran past, removing some skin. Cornealius tucked and rolled, needing three blasts to take down the creature.

More Ghouls sprang from the bushes and trees, and soon all five hunters were engaged in their own battles. Gray took a swat from the back of a Ghoul's arm, sending her flying backward and over a fallen tree trunk. Her fall activated yet another Ghoul, which straddled her head as it reached down for her. She drew her sidearm and aimed straight up. The shot shattered the Ghoul, the close-range blast of Ghoulash stunning her.

Lake ignored the Ghoul coming toward him, turning to address the Ghoul that had knocked Gray down. He fired three shots in rapid succession, finally managing to explode the Ghoul just as it reached the log over which Gray had tripped. Instinctively he crouched, managing to evade the outstretched arms of the Ghoul rushing toward him. The Ghoul's body collided with his and they tumbled over together.

Beneath the Ghoul's heavy form, Lake could feel scratch after scratch on his arms and sides as the Ghoul flailed furiously. He had no clearance to bring up one of his weapons, and hoped one of his comrades was nearby to help.

Just then he felt the Ghoul's body jerk twice, as if shocked, its response to being hit with Ghoo. Cornealius shouted, "Lake, close your eyes!" Lake did as he was told, a split second before the sudden outward pressure of the Ghoul explosion pressed him to the ground. The hundreds of little pieces of shredded Ghoul stung all over as it hit his body and face, but the shrapnel was not solid enough to pierce his skin. No matter how many times he would feel it in his life, he would never grow accustomed to the pain of a Ghoul explosion at close range.

Finally his head cleared and he sprung to his feet. Everyone was accounted for, scratched and battered, but all alive. Naturally Cornealius, even with his neck scrapes, was the least damaged of the group.

"I don't think Hope came this way," Gray said. "If she had, she would have activated those Ghouls first."

"You're right," Cornealius said. "Let's do a perimeter sweep, to see if we can see any signs of where she went, but then we need to shut it down for the day."

"Yeah, it'll be dark soon," Sealy said.

They made a broad circle around the entire clearing — encountering only three Ghouls along the way — but could find no tracks or other signs of Hope Hartley's movements.

As they gathered near the house's rear entrance, Sealy said, "Could the demons have … " His voice trailed off.

"No, there'd be blood, and plenty of it," Cornealius said. "Ghouls attack only until they have made the kill. They don't consume the kill and they wouldn't drag it anywhere."

"Well, I can't imagine where she'd be," Coggins said. "This isn't like her."

"After all, she was expecting to meet us today," Gray said.

"Maybe that's it," said Cornealius.

"What do you mean?" Gray asked.

"Perhaps she had second thoughts about meeting us and talking to us about her work."

"That doesn't make sense, though," Coggins said. "She was so eager to see you."

Lake said, "The other explanation is that someone got here ahead of us."

"Wynn's men?" said Cornealius.

Lake nodded. "Perhaps they have her already."

Sealy said, "Wait a minute. Are you talking about Heston Wynn?"

"Do you know him?" asked Cornealius.

"I've met him. He was here about a year or so ago, on a demon-hunting trip with some of his researchers. Remember, Cog? You said you didn't really care to see him because you and him had some bad blood between you. He seemed like a very nice man. Even wound up donating to our school system. I don't think he'd be the kind to do what you're claiming he did."

"Well, Sheriff, let's just say that we know him a little bit better than you do," said Gray.

"Well, to be honest, ma'am, let's just say that I know Mr. Wynn a lot better than I know you. How do I know that Mr. Wynn didn't take Hope away to protect her from you folks?"

Coggins said, "Now, hold on there, Tom."

"Cog, I'm just telling 'em as I see 'em. You tell me you vouch for these people, that's fine. But I've got to ask you then just how well you know them to begin with."

"I trust Pammy with my life, Tom. And if she trusts these two, then I trust them with my life as well."

Lake said, "Well, I think she trusts me, but I'm not sure she likes me. Does she have to like me too?"

Gray just rolled her eyes. "Look," she said. "We need to figure out our next moves here. Sheriff, if Wynn did take Hope, regardless of his motives, there's a good chance that his men would have to pass through town to get in or out. Could I ask that you go back to town and check things out? If you do encounter any of Wynn's people, then you can ask them yourself what they're up to."

"I don't see a problem with that," the sheriff said.

"What about the rest of us?" Lake asked.

Gray said, "Well, I'm going to spend the night here, in case she comes back. Cog, I think you should go back to your place in case she tries to contact you there."

"Sounds good," the scientist said.

Cornealius said, "I'll stay here with Gray. Too much 'plasm in the area. She'll need backup." He reached in his pocket and drew out his car keys, tossing them to Lake. "You head back to town and set up shop at the hotel, in case Hope tries to contact us that way."

"Will do," Lake said.

Sealy turned to Cornealius and Gray. "Now, you two better be prepared for a lot of noise tonight. Tonight is the main night of the Demon Festival. There'll be dozens of hunters all over these hills and they'll be raising plenty of ruckus. It's not like hunting game, where you have to stay quiet. Demon hunters spend most of their time screaming at each other. It helps them know where to be and it keeps the morale up. But it gets pretty rowdy."

"Thanks, Sheriff," Gray said.

Lake, Coggins and Sealy departed. Circling around to the front of the house, Cornealius and Gray watched as the three marched down the dirt trail to the edge of the woods back to the clearing where the vehicles were parked.

"So, what do you think about this sheriff?" Gray asked in a low voice. "He seems to be a big Heston Wynn fan. Think he's on the payroll?"

"Let's just say I'm glad he's leaving and giving us another chance to search the house more thoroughly for clues," Cornealius said.

Gray looked around the grounds. "You know, there's enough room to land a helicopter here. What if the sheriff arrived here before we did, met Wynn's henchmen in their chopper and …" making air quotes, "'convinced' Hope to take off with Wynn's men?"

Cornealius scanned the area. "Could be."

"In that case, let's just keep our fingers crossed that Hope left some notes behind." She climbed the porch to the front door.

Part 1 | Part 2 | Continue to Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6