Page 103 of (Mostly) Human Resources
With her coffee clutched tightly in her hand, Alexys slipped into her boss’s office and shut the door.
Kristin herself somehow matched the room. A warm smile and a kind heart, she had always felt more like a friend than a boss. Alexys respected her greatly, and the relationship they’d built over the last three years was better than any of the bosses she’d had in the past.
“Alexys, tell me, how are you feeling?” Kristin smiled warmly.
Alexys shrugged, taking a seat across from the desk. “I’m alright, I guess.”
Kristin nodded. Alexys couldn’t help but notice the box of tissues in front of Kristin next to her own very large cup of coffee.
Convenient.Hopefully unnecessary.
“You’ve been through a lot this past week,” Kristin said. “I completely understand if you need to take some time before we fill out your report.”
“No, it’s fine,” Alexys assured her. “These things need to be done sooner rather than later.”
Kristin’s smile took on an amused edge. “You know you’re my hardest working employee?”
That made Alexys crack a small smile in return. “You say that to everyone, Kristin.”
“Well, I mean it this time.” Kristin turned to her computer to pull up the reports, and Alexys was glad not to have her observant eyes on her.
She felt fragile, like she might crack if Kristin stared at her for too long.
Kristin was endlessly kind, but she could spot a lie from a mile away. She could tell you had a weight on your shoulders before you even managed to say hello, and she had a horrible knack for getting you to share it with her.
The last thing Alexys needed was for Kristin to pry out all the ugly emotions she was fighting to keep at bay. She wished she’d been able to cry them out the night before. The numb disconnect she’d felt at home would have made giving the report so much easier than the tumultuous sea of emotions boiling inside her.
“Alright, let’s start with the easy things.” Kristin’s focus was on the computer, her fingers flying across the keyboard with practiced ease. “What day did you arrive in West Virginia?”
“Wednesday.” Shock rippled through Alexys. It hadn’t even been a full week since it all started. “I landed at the airport on Wednesday morning. I emailed you my flight tickets and receipts.”
Kristin added all of the information to the incident report as they spoke. She asked for travel dates, hotel names, and rental car information.
The questions started out fairly routine. Dates, who she spoke to, what she did. Her expenses. But when they reached the section on the more Entity-specific business, Alexys stumbled.
“I’m sorry,” she said as she looked up at Kristin again. “Could you repeat that?”
Kristin nodded supportively. “Of course. Which supernatural entity or entities did you encounter, if any?” She shrugged. “In short, what monsters did you see?”
Monsters.
Alexys swallowed thickly. Images began to flash behind her eyes in quick succession. The Jackalopes.
The Hollow Walker.
Opal.
Waylan.
The cult.
Agnes.
Silas.
And …
Well …
