Page 40 of (Mostly) Human Resources

“I hear you.”

Opal sucked in a ragged breath, her eyes peering out toward the forest. “The nights are long, and these woods are full of monsters.”

CHAPTER 23

“The work conducted by companies such as Entity and others can be seen as beneficial on the surface, but they grew too large too fast, and are running unchecked while the government tries to adapt laws to fit our new environment. In my opinion, philanthropy is a stretch.”

Frontline Newsinterview with Christopher Cline (Cryptozoology Expert)

Nic was having a very bad day.

Excluding the fact that Alexys had abandoned him, he really expected things to go better than they were. Finding a ride to Mercyhill with Old Tom had been simple enough; he’d had a chance to review Zach’s file on Alexys, and there were no signs of any traffic.

His luck died there.

Rest In Peace.

Tom liked to talk. And as soon as Nic put his phone away and the music cut out, Tom got to talking. And talking. And talking some more. They’d barely been at it for half an hour before Nic learned everything there was to know about Tom’s chickens, his sister Barb, hisMamaw’snew canning cellar (which Tom had builthimself, thank you), and the new parking lot down at the local Dollar General.

Nic had come to the conclusion long ago that he much preferred books and research to socializing, but he found himself too indebted to deny Tom the satisfaction of talking. And listening. And listening some more. And before Nic knew it, he’d happily granted Tom’s request to visit Barb.

No, not Barb his sick sister which was who NicthoughtTom wanted to visit. Barb his girlfriend—except Barb thinks she’s too old to be anyone’s girlfriend, so she is Tom’slady friend.

The second mistake was deciding to stay in the car while Tom checked on Barb ‘real quick.’ There was nothingquickabout it. When the 30-minute mark hit, Nic climbed out of the rusty pick-up truck of questionable integrity and up the steep path to Barb’s trailer.

“Hello? Tom?” He peeked his head inside the front door and was immediately greeted by the cacophonous barking of three dogs. Nic took two quick steps back and let the screen door slam shut, effectively blocking the little anklebiters from getting to him.

“I’m coming!” Tom called from inside the house. There was a commotion as he shouted at the dogs, the dogs barked back, Barb yelled at all four of them, and then Tom stepped out of the trailer. He grinned down at Nic, his thick beard obscuring his mouth so the only indicator of the expression was a flash of teeth and the crinkling of his eyes. “Barb says hi.”

Nic leaned around Tom’s towering frame to peek skeptically through the screen door. He waved at the silhouette he assumed was Barb. “Hi there.”

“I promised Barb I’d help put a gate on her porch, if that’s alright with you.” Tom looked hopefully at Nic, hammer already in hand.

Nic let out a sigh. The urgency to catch up with Alexys was weighing on him—he never should have allowed her to get away so easily. But he was also beholden to Tom, his truck, and hisgenerosity. He checked his watch. Realistically, how far could Alexys get on her own? She was reckless, sure, but she wasn’t stupid.

“Real quick,” Tom said, a sheepish grin on his face.

‘Real quick’ was a phrase Nic suspected was actually shorthand for ‘not so quick’.

The porch gate took an hour to install because the stair railings weren’t the right distance apart. And then one of them wasn’t level (or plumb, Nic couldn’t remember the difference). Tom then took another half-hour to actually say goodbye to Barb while Nic grumpily ate a sandwich in the truck. He got access to Barb’s Wi-Fi and alternated between trying to call Alexys and reading through emails. He’d put his out-of-office on—ill, was the excuse he used. But he’d worry about all of that later.

By the time they hit the road again, the midday sun was arcing overhead, and Nic’s waning patience set his teeth to grinding.

The road wound around the base of the mountains, and he tried to force himself to appreciate the surroundings. He’d never seen the Appalachian’s before, and he had to admit, they were as breathtaking as they were unforgiving.

“You spend much time in the mountains?” Nic asked.

Tom gave him a sideways glance. “Plenty, but best keep your wits about ya, what, with all the Haints and witches and other such creatures.”

“Then I assume you’re familiar with the Hollow Walker?”

Tom grimaced. “Course I am! Horrifying creature, sent from Hell, I’d bet.”

“You’ve seen it?” Nic exclaimed, incredulously.

Tom laughed. “You think I’d be sitting here if I’d done? Nah, never seen it myself, but it’s out there alright, no doubt about it.” Nic felt a chill run down his back. The casualness with which Tom spoke about the creature was alarming. “But that’s just one of the things that makes this neck of the woods interestin’ to you lot, isn’t it?” Tom had him there.

Nic listened as Tom told him all about the local folklore, most of which he was already familiar with, but Tom also possessed a vast knowledge of the flora and fauna. Tom himself, as it turned out, was a very philanthropic man. His family had lived in Mercyhill for seven generations (from what he could remember and if his grandpa was to be believed), and he loved the town with his whole, bleeding heart. He was all too eager to tell Nic about how he’d joined the volunteer fire department they’d just put together a few months back and to show off his fancy new walkie-talkie.