Page 10 of (Mostly) Human Resources

Nic knew it was part of his job, but fielding information requests from HR was hisleastfavorite part of the job. They never listened to his expertise. They only ever wanted regurgitated information in a nice and neat little pre-made form. The Wardens were little better with their last-minute, absolutely crucial,need-right-nowrequests.

It was mind-numbing and frustrating, but working at Entity allowed him to continue his own research into the things that truly interested him. So he tolerated it.

Nic skimmed through the automated email, noting the details of the request. A Warden was being sent out to investigate a possible Riverwyrm, but even from a cursory glance, Nic was fairly certain it wasn’t legitimate. There was no evidence in the Archives to support a Riverwyrm leaving the water and eating cattle to sustain itself.

He hated calling them ‘Riverwyrms’. It was uncreative and too much of an umbrella-term. If he ever developed an interest in aquatic monsters, he’d go after that label first.

He ticked a box and passed it off to his assistant, Adrienne. Her workload was light since the sudden spike in Mothman sightings had recently died down. Which reminded him, he really did need to nail down his hypothesis on the Mothman’s seasonal migration.

But for now, he could pour over his Hollow Walker files one final time. He didn’t want to get his hopes up, but for the first time in a long time, Nic felt that familiar tickle of the unknown.

To be the one to catalog a never-before-documented creature? Nothing could beat it. If the Hollow Walker was out there, come hell or high water, he’d be the one to discover it.

CHAPTER 6

“As Human Resources employees, it’s your job to strengthen your Wardens’ performance, foster professional growth, and ultimately contribute to a more fulfilling and rewarding work environment for everyone at Entity.”

Entity Employee Handbook: HR Edition

Evening settled in, and the empty house waiting for her held little appeal.

It wasn’t a bad house. A little on the small side, sure, but decent for a single professional living alone. It had a cute garden and quiet neighbors which was always a plus, and the commute to work was fairly quick, too.

But the quiet threatened to eat Alexys alive if she was there on her own for too long. It was why she always agreed to stay late at work, or why she was always the first one through the door in the morning. Alexys hated being at home.

Alone.

After dark.

She dropped her bag and her keys by the door, turned on all the lights and trudged straight to her bedroom at the back of the house.Collapsing onto the mattress, Alexys pulled out her phone and video-called her mom. Seconds later, her screen lit up with what appeared to be a close-up of a chin.

“Mama, you have to pull it away from your face. I can’t see you.”

Her mom grumbled at her phone, the video swaying this way and that as she tried to adjust. Eventually, Alexys settled in for a wonderful conversation with her mom’s left nostril. Carol Keane was great at so many things, but a tech aficionado she was not.

“Are you at home?”

“I’m home, just got back from work.” Alexys rolled onto her side and turned on the small television cattycorner to her bed.

Carol huffed. “Why on earth are you working so late?” she demanded.

“Monsters don’t typically stick to a nine to five, Mama.”

Alexys knew exactly what her mom was going to say before she said it. They had the same conversation every time she called, without fail. No matter the topic, no matter the day, her mom always managed to bring it back round to …

“You should move back home.”

Alexys sighed in response.

“I mean it, Lexie. You’d easily get a job here—a nice, simple job. Nothing to do with that monster nonsense.”

“I like my job,” Alexys argued, but her conviction was half-hearted at best.

“You know I hate that you’re working for them, after everything that happened.” Carol shook her head and the camera swayed.

“Mama, we’ve been through this. I like the work I do. I like my friends here.”

“But you could do a job like that somewhere else, you know. Maybe even a little closer to home?”