Page 13 of (Mostly) Human Resources

Alexys grinned because she knew it was true. “Whatever. You judge me for even watching them in the first place.”

“Somebody has to. Try to relax, and I know—easier said than done. I’ll see you in the morning.”

Alexys hung up the phone just as the kettle let out a sharp cry. She took it off the heat and crept down toward the bathroom.Anxiety crawled under her skin, but she needed a distraction. Pronto. As for the bathroom, she’d make it quick.

She flung the door open to find the light already on, the mirror free of any message. She felt the slow release of tension ripple through her.

She turned on the faucet to splash some cold water on her face. She didn’t think twice about the melatonin bottle that sat lopsided in the basin.

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

Driven by a restless urge to talk to Elliot, Alexys found herself in Entity’s employee parking lot 45 minutes early. Deciding there was no point in sitting in her car and watching the minutes tick by, she trudged through the front entrance and security stop.

“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 wasmuchmore 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.”