Slaying demons, p.20
Slaying Demons, page 20
part #2 of Damsel Series
So, even if she wasn’t doing that kind of thing any longer herself, at least not for fun, Hannah understood what her friend was really saying. It probably didn’t make sense to a lot of people. Most women, if they woke up and found that a guy had screwed them while they were passed out, would freak. Terry just acted as if she’d given consent, by choosing to pass out in the first place.
It was stupid, since it was letting men, guys who might have had too much to drink and weren’t thinking clearly, start a pattern of behavior that would harm others, over time. Plus, if she was passed out, she couldn’t make certain that protection was used. Even being on birth control, making sure some rando didn’t give you HIV or some other disease was a good idea in life.
That did mean it was possible that Terry might have had some drugs with her, that she hadn’t mentioned. Eric looked at her and snorted. It was not a polite thing to do.
“Not unless you slipped something into our food? I didn’t have anything. Not even a beer. We should probably get out of here. If nothing else we should move the show to a safer location. Connie is freaked, but wants to stay. Then, I’m pretty certain she thinks that Doug and I set the whole thing up. It could be Lewis and her, if she’s faking that? They’re tight and I didn’t see them, after we left the fire. That means they had all night to set things up.”
It was the right line of investigation, so Hannah nodded. After all, it wasn’t a wendigo at all, which meant it was probably one of them.
She shrugged.
“That’s probably it. I mean, think about it... This isn’t exactly filled with drama, so far, is it? I nearly had to blow Doug last week, just to stir up some controversy.”
Eric, being a good wingman, clearly, just nodded.
“You should still do that. Let me know and I can capture that on cam? We’ll have to blur things out, but sex really does sell.”
She nodded then, since it wasn’t a horrible idea. Even if she didn’t really do it, she was willing to make it seem like she and the sound guy were hooking up, just to get back at his old girlfriend, who’d been a bit of a twit, in regards to him.
“Let me see? I sort of have a real girlfriend right now and while she’s clearly good with me and him doing some stuff, I don’t want to look too slutty. Maybe we can see if Terry or Lara want in on that and we can pretend to fight over him? That thing with his ex...”
Max looked at Eric then, for an explanation. The man actually looked pissed off, when it was brought up.
“That witch did a real number on him. She could have just broken up with him, but instead dumped all over him first. On her way out the door, literally. I mean the whole thing, you know, he isn’t man enough for her, or any woman... he sucks in bed, she thinks he might be gay... Pretty much everything you could imagine. He was good with her, too. Supportive and always nice. He didn’t fight with her or anything. It was really that he didn’t have enough pull as a sound guy to get her on a show. She moved on to a production assistant, which, newsflash, also won’t get her on a show. She kept calling Martin a producer, but that isn’t his job.”
Hannah chuckled.
“Ohhh... That gives me an idea. We need a girl for it to work. We have her in on the show, and point out that she only got on, due to being Doug’s new sweety...”
Eric laughed, which had to make the camera shake.
“Oh, that would be good. Who do we get though?”
No one came to mind for a moment, then she shrugged.
“My girlfriend, Veronica? I can ask at least. She knows Doug, too, and he might have mentioned her to the ex, so that works. Of course, if they start going out for real, I’m going to have to find a new honey. It isn’t that serious, so we can risk it. Let me make a call?”
There were a few people that would need to be checked with, first. Veronica, but also Connie and the remote production team. They might not want to do all of that, just to help the sound tech out. It was a good plan, but not one that would mean anything to the general public.
After she, by herself, tore down and scattered the camp she’d built, feeling a bit annoyed by having to do that. Then Hannah went back to camp, so she could select out what they were having that night and then, carefully, walk a grumpy pair of socialite party girls through making freeze dried pasta and a rehydrated apple crumble, from a bag. There was meat in the pasta, meaning not everyone would eat it. They got a power bar each, which wasn’t that great a substitution for a hot meal. Still, no one whined that much, as darkness approached.
Then, interestingly, a rain of small stones started to hit them, at the fire. Pebbles. They stung a bit, as they hit flesh, so, yelping, Hannah made a run for it, hiding at the base of a tree.
“What the hell is this?”
It wasn’t in her plans, for the day, and Kate, who was also hiding, didn’t have any streamers of energy invisibly moving from her. Not that Hannah could tell. She was about to pull her handgun, when she caught sight of someone, at the tree line, on the far side of the clearing. A certain brother of hers, in fact.
She didn’t wave at him, since that would be a dead giveaway. Instead she jogged, in that direction, wondering what the heck was going on. He stepped back, hiding himself, as the others, Max and Eric, who had a camera, came up behind her, about a hundred feet back. Not running at all.
Nate, from behind a tree, whispered.
“We need you to find someone. Devon Teegs. Al tried, but can’t locate him. I need to get out of here. Get with him when you’re done.” Then, quietly, he moved back into the trees.
She muttered to herself.
“Why not just have Al get in touch with me?”
The answer to that was twofold. One, her brother could fly, and two, Alistair knew that a rain of rocks would help clear everyone there as the guilty party. They’d have to fess up at the end, but having her brother there was a thing she could make seem normal enough, later. They were pulling an epic prank, so had enlisted help. That was all.
So, she turned and ran from the woods, her eyes wide.
When she passed the other men, she waved.
“Back the other way. That... I saw something. Maybe someone.”
Then, using the fourth gait, she flowed back to the camp, and started to grab her things. When Kate approached her, she looked worried, and hugged her. That let Hannah whisper in her ear.
“I’m needed to find someone. Nate was the one throwing rocks. I claimed I saw something, in the woods. So, you know, I need to get away from the hut for a bit.”
That got a nod, and a stern face.
“This way. Connie, can we use your trailer for a bit? Hannah... isn’t feeling well.”
Max waved then.
“Use mine? I want to find out what you saw, anyway. If you feel up to that?”
She nodded, looked subdued and shaking a bit. That was fake, but she was used enough to doing that kind of thing that it had to look fairly good.
“Yeah. Let me... I need to sit down.” The two people took her by the arm on either side, like she might be about to fall down, for real. Then, once safely inside, she whispered, so that Max would be in on the whole thing.
“Nate, my brother, was in the woods and tossed the pebbles. A friend of his wants me to try and find a man, then tell the telepath who’s watching us about it. That’s Al. The telepath? He can’t locate the man, and that’s my thing. Like with that little girl?”
Max raised his eyebrows.
“There’s a telepath watching us? I didn’t know that was an option, really. Some kind of safety backup plan?”
Hannah nodded, then told the truth.
“He’s sixteen and a bit bored, I think. Super ethical, so don’t worry about him reading your mind. Anyway, I need to work and it’s going to take about an hour to an hour and a half. Maybe longer. Can I do that here? We can tell them that, I don’t know, I must have seen a bear or was overreacting to a deer?”
Kate waved at her and rolled her eyes.
“You faced down a moose. No one will buy you flipping out over that kind of thing. How about a ghost? No one here knows you can actually see that kind of thing and aren’t afraid of them.”
Then, Kate wasn’t supposed to know that either. Hannah just nodded, since the idea that her friend might have that information wasn’t that odd, really. Not if she didn’t make an issue of it.
“They really aren’t that scary, but, sure? Whatever works. Now, I need to go into a trance.”
That, as it turned out, wasn’t easy to manage at all. Mainly because Connie came in, looking ready to beat a certain heiress, if she tried to leave again that day.
“Hannah, are you all right?”
She sighed, but nodded.
“You know, I thought... It’s ridiculous, but I think I saw a tree that looked like bigfoot. It just stood there and I booked it, not getting a really good look. I was just going to meditate for a while, to calm down. It was nothing. Sorry for acting so over the top back there. It startled me, that’s all.”
The woman nodded, but also smiled.
“I don’t know what’s going on, but we’re getting some nice footage of things. Are you staying here for the night?”
She didn’t look around, so Hannah nodded.
“Yep. Max read me the riot act earlier, about how I’m supposed to be in survival training, not hitting a hotel minibar. Not that I did that one. I’m back in the hut for tonight. Kate, too, I think. Sorry about that. I’m not going to wimp out again.”
The words got her looked at funny, but also patted on the arm.
“Good. We sort of need both you and Kate to stick close to the cameras, if nothing else. We can also go into town, if we can find anyplace that’s opened right now, in the lockdown. Maybe have you two do some shopping?”
She nodded then.
“A grocery store? We can pick up some other food. Nothing against what we have, but whoever bought it got just enough for five days, if no one has seconds or doesn’t like something. Except that we have at least three vegetarians here. Two dedicated ones. Tomorrow? Right now, I need to calm down the rest of the way.” She took a deep breath and relaxed, then close her eyes.
After a bit, everyone else left. Then she tried to find Devon Teegs. A thing that, while she could locate his face, and find the area he was in, roughly, wasn’t working too well. Part of that was down to the fact that the man wasn’t moving, or breathing. Not all of it. He was in a room, with metal cabinets and a man with a white coat on. It took her about a full hour of poking around to get it.
When she finally did, she sighed.
~Alistair? I have a report on Devon Teegs.~
~Go. I’m listening. To several things at once, which isn’t that easy to do...~
She could see that one, so nodded.
~He’s dead. It looks like Tri-D, from the chart. His body is currently at the Moltnoma County Coroner’s office. In Oregon. I couldn’t find out a lot more than that.~
There was silence for a bit, then a simple thought, pushed her way.
~Got it. I’ll be in touch. Probably tomorrow, unless something comes up.~
She was fine with that, so thought goodbye and then stood up. Honestly feeling better, even if she’d been mentally connected to a dead man, not long before. That hadn’t been horrifying, though it had been oddly hard to see him as having been gone. Only the lack of movement, of breathing and a heartbeat, had led her down that path. Things she normally wouldn’t have even thought to look for.
It was weird, having never noticed a person who wasn’t alive before, on that level. Not one that she was looking for. Then, doing what she was, searching for missing people, would have that happening, at times. She felt it though. Almost as if she’d failed the man somehow. Even if he had to have been dead when she was asked to locate him.
Everyone else was quietly freaked out, which was over her having seen something and the rain of pebbles, earlier. She still sat in front of the fire, even if it was dark out and cold. She went into her pack and got her ugly, second hand, jacket out. It was a yellowish tan in color and had stains on it already. It had a good zipper on it, and had only cost ten dollars. It was big on her, but also warm. Her hands in her pockets, she settled on the ground, which was cool, under her.
She was a bit down still, over poor Devon being dead like he was. Terry, clearly not doing that well, if not in real withdrawals, moved in next to her. Cuddling her, more than was probably appropriate. They’d been in bed together, so Hannah just put her arms around her, for warmth. Comfort, as well.
No one thought it was strange, even.
Connie sat there, with a metal cup in her hands. From the scent of it, there was liquor inside of it.
“I called in to the head office. They’re sending an expert out, in case this is something supernatural. I don’t know who they’re getting for that. They won’t be on screen talent or anything. That will probably take a few days to set up. So... Are we staying here or leaving for the week?” Her voice was quiet, as if she was honestly worried about the things going on. That or them leaving, part way through a shoot.
Taking a deep breath, Hannah looked at Kate, then shrugged.
“I saw a tree. It looked like a giant hairy man, but it wasn’t. We should stay. So far these have been pranks. Whoever, or whatever, is doing this clearly isn’t trying to hurt anyone. We can always leave later, if it gets too intense, right?”
Her friends all looked scared, including Kate, who shook her head.
“That’s not wrong, but this is... I don’t know. I was hit by those rocks. Little ones, but that was real. I’d kind of thought you were just making stuff up to punish us for leaving last night, Connie. You know, to freak us out, for ratings or something? Um... Not to be a bitch, but... Are you?”
That got a snort.
“No. It’s a good plan, but it isn’t me doing it. The head office swears they aren’t behind it, too. So, we’re staying?”
Lara, grasping herself, shuddered a bit.
“Yeah. I guess? This is... I don’t do this kind of thing. Any of it. I signed a contract, so I’m in, but... We could have gone to a spa or something, you know?”
That was true or would have been, if not for Tri-D. Lewis sighed.
“This is... I don’t know, man. I’m in, if the talent is. We should put a watch up or something? Make sure we don’t have people sneaking around in the dark or whatever?” He seemed almost afraid, but was hiding it well.
The others nodded, and interestingly, Terry put her hand up.
“I’ll do that? First, I mean? Not all night. I barely slept last night. I probably won’t be tired for a while, though. Not enough to sleep on sticks and leaves.”
Hannah nodded.
“We want flashlights for that. Can we do that? Or, night vision?” She didn’t have the second one. But she had several small lights in her gear. She hadn’t used them the night before, but they existed.
She also needed to get her stuff up in a tree.
They had a plan then, with each of the on-screen talent taking an hour, and then hoping that early in the morning no one would be sneaking in to get them. Kate was up last, for that.
Which meant that it would be time to do something after that, if they weren’t being watched, too closely. That or leave things for a day. It wasn’t going to pay to do it too fast. Really, that it was working at all, so far, was amazing. Hannah didn’t let herself grin over it, thinking about having to get up after an hour, first.
“I’m heading to bed now, then. Get me up when it’s time? Gah... I need to hang up my pack. Kate’s too. There’s food in that.” She nearly whined over that, but got up, with Max doing the same thing. He showed her and Kate what to do, using a knotted rope to swing over a high branch and then tie the thing off, after the pack was up. Hannah had to do her own pack, though Kate didn’t. A lot of things had been working that way, she’d noticed.
Max had taken time to help her learn things, and kind of showed Kate what to do, while almost ignoring Lara and Terry. Which probably meant that the real plan was to abandon her, alone, out in the woods to survive. If so, she was going to have to learn what to eat, first. She could get water now, make a shelter and even get a fire going, but still needed some other skills that way. Hannah doubted she could really do that kind of thing, on her own.
Then, she had a bit of time to work that out. Plus, she might be wrong about what was being planned. It could just be that Max liked her. She wasn’t the hottest woman there, but being small and blonde might be the guy’s thing. It could even be something more wholesome, like the man simply deciding she was the one to teach things to, because she was bothering to try.
She had a sleeping bag, so used it, with a pile of bouncy sticks under her head. She actually slept, being exhausted like she was. Sometime later, she was shaken by the shoulder, with Terry talking.
“Um, hey? Time to get up and walk around? I did that. Honest. Eric got video of it.”
She yawned and stood up.
“Right. I’m on it. Lara will be fun to wake up, I bet. Let me...”
She climbed out, but didn’t roll her bag up. She was going to use it again, after an hour or so. She had her phone in her pocket, so checked the time. It was one-fifteen in the morning, meaning she’d gotten two and a half hours of sleep already.
Terry didn’t wait for her to get up and out before heading to her own cubby, and making some noises about being cold. It was brisk out, but the heavy coat was a good start in keeping her from being too chilled to survive. She had one of the flashlights in her pocket, so turned that on, and walked down the little path through the wooded area.
Then, for nearly two hours, even if it was boring, she walked around, guarding them from... Her. Kate as well. Which worked really well, for some reason. No one attacked in the night, so she, finally, went and found Lara. That didn’t take hours of shaking and screaming to get her up, since the woman wasn’t comfortable at all. None of them were, of course.
