Occulturation #15 Investigation
Ghost-Incorporeal-Restcha (4th day, 4th week, 3rd month)
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“I’m sorry, but we can’t do it today.” Salsan says over the phone, “There was a massive Screamer-related catastrophe around midnight last night. Sorry, Isuertal, but work comes first.”
Isuertal grips the phone in her hands, frustration is pulsing in her veins and wrinkling on her grimacing face. “It was a forest fire! Don’t make excuses just to avoid my slumber party.”
“I’m the captain of Fey Strike Force. I have information very few have access to.” Salsan’s voice says through the phone in Isuertal’s hand, “We didn’t want to cause a Screamer scare over a Fey corpse.”
Isuertal feels excitement and shock run up her body and she jumps down from the roof she had been sitting on. She barely even grunts in effort as she falls 15 feet onto the pavement and lands with bended knees to brace her fall. Such a fall might have seriously injured a lesser person, but Isuertal is just on a whole other level. She starts making her way down the street. “Wait, did you say there is a dead Screamer?” Isuertal asks, “Who did that?”
“It wasn’t any of our agents.” Salsan says over the line to Isuertal’s disappointment, “It burned to death in the forest fire. The fire must have been started by one of the victims in a desperate attempt to create a diversion for escape.”
Isuertal frowns as she crosses another street. “A Screamer killed by a forest fire?” Isuertal asks, “That doesn’t sound right. I’ve fought Screamers and they don’t go down just because of a little heat.”
She can practically hear Salsan’s smile through the speaker in her phone, “Do you see why I’m skipping your slumber party now?”
Isuertal’s anger bursts back up, as hot as before. “No, that’s still no excuse. If the Screamer is already dead, then it can wait for tomorrow.”
“But I need to interview the victims while the events are still fresh in their memories.” Salsan’s voice whines in Isuertal’s ear, “Some of them are dying, I need to get their stories while I still can!”
Isuertal grits her teeth as she walks up to the automatic sliding doors of the hospital. “Fine, I’ll help you get stories from those most involved with the Screamer.” Isuertal says as she flashes her badge to the receptionist and marches her way up the stairs, not bothering with the elevator, “Then we’re leaving for my slumber party that I’ve been planning for such a long time.”
Salsan’s nervous laughter echoes through the call and down the hall as Isuertal bursts through another set of doors. “Haha. There is no nee-” Salsan’s voice is cut off by a high pitched yelp that causes stinging feedback as it bounces between the two phones. Isuertal hangs up and stares Salsan in the eyes. Isuertal’s lips part to reveal her teeth in a grin before she asks, “Salsan, who should we talk to first?”
…
Millie lies in a surgery room, while Garesh waits out in the lobby with the Incorporeals hiding behind him. The doctors were confused as to how Millie could have gotten a key stuck in her right side, especially with no visible sign of damage. It doesn’t appear to have been stabbed into her recently because there is no stab wound. This is one of the things that tipped off the emergency response teams that there might have been a Screamer involved in this forest fire. They injected a syringe into her flesh with some difficulty piercing her skin. They said it would make her go to sleep. Millie knows they weren’t lying, they just didn’t know any better. She can’t rest. She used to know how to sleep, but she can’t remember how she did it before. How many years ago was it when she knew how? So now, she simply pretends to sleep as they sanitize her right side area with a wet cotton swab. They can’t see the scars, they can’t feel the marks. It looks perfectly unharmed, but Millie knows that the Shifter sigil nestles its claws there.
She is not as dead as she was before. Her form is given life. She can feel her muscles and has full sensory functions. She wishes she was still dead. If she was dead, she wouldn’t be able to feel pain. She tries to not react as they mark the skin for incision. Why do they have to go through this setup? Just do it already! A thousand times worse than the shot from the syringe, the sharp scalpel cuts away just around the key to help dislodge it and give it space for them to pull it out. A stinging pain. One of the nurses notices her leg kick out in response. The panicked nurse checks to see if she is asleep, but Millie doesn’t react. Millie has been dead before. She knows how to fake comatose symptoms. She feels the scalpel struggle to cut through her skin. She feels them gently pull out the key. She feels the prongs of the key jostle her ribs as it brushes past them. The doctors are confused at the appearance of the comically large key. They quickly go to work stitching closed the hole where they pulled out the key.
…
As Isuertal and Salsan follow the nurse, Isuertal notices the doors to the surgery room open. The surgery staff roll out a gurney holding a light-grey little girl that has a bandage on her right side where surgery has just been done. That little girl looks so familiar. Isuertal taps on Salsan’s shoulder. Salsan turns to face her. “What is it, Isuertal?” Salsan says with a fake smile as she tries to be polite despite Isuertal’s intrusion on her work.
Isuertal points to the little girl on the gurney that is rolling past them. “She’s so pale.” Isuertal says, “Is she dying? Maybe we should talk to her first.”
Salsan seems puzzled. “She is one of the few that are almost completely uninjured.” Salsan says, “She will be amongst the last we talk to.”
Isuertal finds this hard to believe. “You don’t go into surgery for being perfectly healthy.”
Salsan rolls her eyes. “She just had an object caught in her ribs.”
Isuertal is surprised that Salsan is so nonchalant about something as strange as an object stuck in someone’s ribs. “That’s not normal, Salsan.” Isuertal says.
Salsan sighs. “You’re right.” She says. “It’s not normal, but it is also not life-threatening. I need to speak with those that will die before I speak with those with anomalies.” Isuertal can understand the logic, so she reluctantly goes along with Salsan as they follow the nurse into a room where a young woman lies with eyes closed, a bandage tight around her middle. The nurse leaves, closing the door after her. Salsan gestures for Isuertal to stand back as she does the talking.
“Clementine, are you awake?” Salsan asks. The young woman barely nods but doesn’t open her eyes. Salsan continues, “Would it be okay if we asked you some questions about what happened last night?” The young woman nods again. With permission granted, Salsan gets right into it.
“Clementine, can you tell me why you came to the woods in the place where the forest fire started?”
The young woman nods again, her eyes still closed. Her faint voice is almost like a whisper. “I was chasing after my dog.”
“Do you know why your dog ran off into the woods?” Salsan asks.
“He wanted me there for the feast.” Clementine responds lazily.
“What is the feast?” Salsan asks.
Clementine speaks groggily as though half-asleep, and she seems to be having trouble staying awake, especially with her eyes closed. “At midnight, there will be a fresh harvest.”
Isuertal doesn’t have patience for this young woman’s sleep talk nonsense. She gets right up in the young woman’s face and shouts, “Clementine, wake up!” The young woman’s eyes flicker open and she looks around the room as though seeing it for the first time.
“W-where am I?” The young woman asks, dazed. Panic spreads across her face as she sees Isuertal’s angry face, inches from her own. Salsan pushes Isuertal away and gives her an angry glare before jumping to comfort the young woman.
“It’s alright, Clementine. You’re safe now.” Salsan says in a soothing voice, “You’re in the hospital. Your wounds have been treated. You’re going to be just fine.”
Clementine is breathing heavily and the sudden realization that she is not where she thought she was is causing her to shake. “Why am I in the hospital? What happened? I was just on my way home from the campus!”
Salsan calmly explains the situation to the young woman. “You were in a forest fire. We just wanted to ask you a few questions about what happened and how it started.”
The young woman still looks confused. “A forest fire? I live in the city. Why could I have been in a forest fire?”
“That’s what we want to know.” Isuertal says roughly, “You said you followed your dog into the woods.”
The woman is even more befuddled now. “That doesn’t make any sense.” Clementine says.
“I know. I know. It’s okay.” Salsan says reassuringly, “We’ll get to the bottom of this. You just rest for now.”
“I don’t have a dog.” Clementine says. Salsan stops her reassuring words. And Isuertal goes stiff. “W-what did you just say?” Salsan asks, not believing her ears.
Clementine repeats herself, “I don’t have a dog.”
Salsan looks like she wants to ask more questions but Isuertal puts her hand on Salsan’s shoulder and says, “Give it up, Salsan. She doesn’t know anything. Let’s go talk to that sickly little girl.”
Salsan sighs and stands up to leave, but as she rises, a hand grips around her arm, preventing her from getting away. Salsan turns to see the young woman holding her arm, hands clenched tight. Her face is pale and full of horror as her eyes look not at Salsan, but through her. By her expression, it seems like she sees something horrifying.
“The little girl.” The young woman whispers. “Its lifeless, broken body. The little girl kept moving after it died.” Isuertal turns her attention back to Clementine. She can almost visualize the child. Salsan tugs on Isuertals arm to make sure she is paying attention, and Salsan fumbles for her clipboard so she can write down Clementine’s words. “Isuertal, she still remembers!”
Salsan tries to hide her excitement and asks Clementine the same questions that she asked before. ““Clementine, can you tell me why you came to the woods in the place where the forest fire started?”
Clementine’s face seems to ease and lose tension as it looks back at the more pleasant memory. “The Screamer led me there in the form of a dog. At the time, I thought it was my dog.”
Salsan nods and writes on her clipboard eagerly. “Clementine, earlier, when I asked why you followed the dog into the woods, you said that it wanted you to be there for the feast.”
Clementine’s face seems a little more hesitant and afraid now. “Yes… Once we were deep in the woods. The dog started hissing like a cat and bit me. When it bit me, it became my twin sister. But… I’m an only child. So that can’t be right.”
“I think I see a pattern here.” Isuertal mumbles to herself.
“Clementine, what is the feast?” Salsan asks, “Last time I asked this question, you said something about ‘harvest at midnight.’”
Clementine is now breathing heavily but bares through the memories. “My twin sister, or… I thought it was. My twin sister wanted us to drink a strange juice. She called it ‘Clementinenade.’ I could tell it wasn’t right.”
Salsan is getting more and more excited as she writes down Clementine’s words. “Now Clementine, do you remember how the fire started?”
Clementine freezes. Salsan looks up from her clipboard and frowns. “Clementine?”
Clementine shakes her head. “Can we talk about the Screamer instead?” Clementine asks, almost pleading.
Salsan seems taken aback. “T-the Screamer?” Salsan asks, “Y-you know about the Screamer?”
Clementine nods. “Yes, I saw it. I can tell you about it.”
Salsan nods eagerly. “Yes, yes! We’d love to hear abou-”
“Not so fast.” Isuertal says calmly. Salsan looks betrayed as Isuertal steps close to Clementine’s bedside and stares her in the eyes. “Why don’t you want to talk about the fire?” Clementine flinches when she hears the word “fire.”
“Who cares about the fire!” Salsan says, almost shouting. “Isuertal, we came here to learn about the Screamer, not the forest fire!”
Isuertal doesn’t budge. “The forest fire on the news is a cover-up for something far more insidious.” Isuertal says smoothly, “Clementine is using the Screamer as a cover-up for something even more horrific than a creature that messes with your mind.”
Salsan blinks. “What are you talking about, Isuertal?” Salsan is angry. “I know how to do my own job.”
Isuertal ignores Salsan. “Clementine, the Screamer wasn’t killed by the forest fire. Isn’t that right?” Isuertal asks.
The young woman shakes her head vigorously, almost pleading. “No, please! I don’t want to remember. I don’t want to remember!”
Isuertal just shakes her head sorrowfully. “You already remember, Clementine.” Isuertal says in a soft tone, “This isn’t something you can forget.” Salsan seems lost. She can’t tell what they’re talking about. And it angers her. This is her job. She is an expert. Why doesn’t she understand what they’re talking about?
Clementine is in tears. She chokes on her words as she describes the awful scene. “I wish I had accepted the Clementinenade sooner. I wish I hadn’t sought help. I shouted and shouted. I left messages in every way I knew how. ‘HELP!’ It’s all I could muster. It’s all I could beg for. I was foolish. I drew the attention of that little girl. I should have just been content to die as a feast to the Screamer, but I dared wish for escape. And so my wish was answered. At first, I thought I had been delivered. There was finally someone I could see. Someone that wasn’t hidden by illusion: A little girl. But she was stuck too. She couldn’t see me. The Screamer had hidden me from her and taken my form. I think it came to kill me. Because it hated the Screamer that held my form. It followed the Screamer to a tree and did something with a key. But it hit an illusion where Screamer used to be. The Screamer was in the tree and the illusion of myself was left behind. So it climbed up the tree. Soon enough, it fell from the top of the tree. At that time, I had still hoped that it would save me. I had been doing everything I could to get its attention and help it break free of the illusion. It was the only person I could see besides the illusion of myself. That had been a mistake. The little girl… when it fell from the tree, it landed on its head. The little girl’s head split open and its spine snapped. It was like something out of a horror movie. Then the Screamer came to me still in my own image. It offered me Clementinenade again. I wouldn’t take it no matter what it made me feel. But then I saw the little girl’s body. It was still moving. And it was crawling towards me. It moved like a marionette. Broken, limp limbs bouncing about as the entire body tumbled towards me. When I saw its hideous form crawling towards me. I didn’t care anymore. I took the Clementinenade and drank it. Even as I drank it, I begged for help. This time, I wished that help would save me from the monster, the little girl. I didn’t care if the Screamer killed me, I knew that whatever the Clementinenade did to me would be a mercy if I was spared the sight of that little girl. The next thing I remember, I was up in a tree, a rope around my neck. The world was ablaze. But looking down, I felt safer up in the burning tree. Because on the ground, I could see the little girl. The girl was a blue bonfire. As flames consumed its flesh, it regrew anew. The little girl isn’t human. It is a worse monster than the Screamer. I have no doubt that it killed the Screamer and broke the illusion. I would have preferred to stay under the illusion than to see that girl again.”
Even after Clementine stopped talking, Isuertal could still hear her breathing heavily over the sound of Salsan scribbling away at her clipboard. Isuertal didn’t know what to say to calm the young woman. That was Salsan’s job. But Salsan was too busy writing down what she had said. Isuertal decides to do what she can to get the young woman’s mind off the little girl. Her last moments should not be reliving the trauma of such a horrible experience.
Isuertal asks, “Clementine, can you tell me more about the Screamer that led you to the woods?” The young woman seems to relax a bit as she repeats the story of her following her dog into the woods and then her twin sister preparing for the feast. Isuertal only pretends to listen. She doesn’t care about the Fey that had lured her there. It’s clear that the Fey had been powerful enough to have brought so many to what would have been an inevitable death if it weren’t for the little girl that Clementine mentioned. She notices that Clementine never refers to the little girl as a Screamer nor as “she” or “her” but rather as “it.” Isuertal wants to ask if Clementine thinks that the little is a Screamer or not, but she doesn’t want to traumatize her anymore. It doesn’t really matter whether she believes that the little girl is a Screamer or not, Isuertal thinks to herself. If the little girl really did as Clementine described, then it must be a Screamer.
Isuertal thanks Clementine for her time and nudges Salsan to get up from her clipboard and leave the room. Salsan expresses her anger at Isuertal pulling her out of the room and taking over the interrogation, but Isuertal isn’t really paying attention. She heads to the lobby to find a nurse that can direct her to where she needs to go.
“Isuertal, where are you going?” Salsan asks, “You can’t just ignore me after pulling a stunt like that!” As Isuertal and Salsan walk towards the lobby, they pass by a man wearing a rough, dirty leather coat, and his jeans have a hole on the side where a pocket used to be and scorch marks at the bottom of the legs. Isuertal can’t help but feel like he has seen that man before. She continues to the lobby and walks up to a man wearing white medical clothing behind a desk. Isuertal holds up her badge. “Sir, I’m looking for the little girl that received surgery to remove an object inside her.” Isuertal asks, “Which room is she in?”
The man in the white medical clothes glances at her badge and then gestures towards the man that she had passed in the hall. “Just follow him, he’s going there too.” The medical staff says, “Room 423.” Isuertal turns and follows after. She doesn’t want to seem like she is chasing after that man and doesn’t want to anger Salsan, so she keeps a nice even pace.
“Why are we visiting the little girl?” Salsan asks, “I told you she isn’t in danger of dying. We can talk to her after we interview the dying patients.”
“I just need to check something first.” Isuertal says quietly. The man in front of them has noticed her following and is speeding up. Isuertal squints and thinks to herself, Is there something in his hands? She isn’t sure what it is that is dangling from his hands, but it is giving her a sense of deja vu.
As she passes door after door. She reads the numbers in her head: 407, 408, 409. She pulls her eyes off the doors beside her as she senses movement up ahead. The man has broken out into a sprint. Isuertal’s predatory instincts kick in. She ignores Salsan shouting at her to stop. She doesn’t care about how she looks to others. She feels it in her gut, she mustn’t let him get away.
A door opens just in front of the man and he dashes through. The door slams shut and Isuertal can hear the man’s frantic voice muffled through the door. “Hurry, let’s go! I’m being followed.” Isuertal can barely hear the incoherent, soft mumbles of a little girl.
Isuertal runs up to the door and twists the handle. It’s locked. “What!” Isuertal exclaims in anger, “How is it locked?” She screams in rage. Salsan can sense what she is about to do and yells to stop her. “Isuertal, no!” It’s no use. Isuertal takes a few steps back to prepare a running start. Salsan struggles to try and prevent the incoming disaster. She grabs Isuertal’s arm to get her attention and points at the bottom of the door. “Isuertal, look!” Mist is pouring out from beneath the door. Salsan’s attempt to distract Isuertal backfires as this only fuels her intent to get in that room. Some nurses are running over in response to Isuertal’s screams, but Salsan fears that they will be too late.
“Please no, Isuertal!” Salsan pleads, “Please don’t break anything. I-I’ll come to your slumber party if you-” Isuertal immediately turns to face Salsan, throwing the captain of the Fey Strike Force off-balance and startling her. Salsan falls backwards to the ground. She hadn’t expected that. The mist under the door fades away. Isuertal starts turning back towards the door, but Salsan shouts to keep her attention on her and away from the door. “Ghostlight Grove!” Salsan’s face is turning red from making such a scene but she knows it will be even more embarrassing if she doesn’t stop Isuertal. “Eye on the prize, Isuertal. If you destroy anything, I won’t go with you.” Salsan gets back on her feet, and watches Isuertal take deep breaths to try and calm herself down. Nurses, doctors, and other medical staff have arrived at the scene. Salsan ignores all of their questions and demands they open the door to the room. Room 423.
One of the staff leaves to go get a key. Salsan just needs to keep Isuertal distracted for just a little bit longer. “It’s all right, the door will be open any second now.” Salsan says in a shaky attempt at a soothing voice, “Just wait a little bit longer, it’s going to be okay. It’s going to be okay.” Salsan’s panic is making it hard for her to keep her voice steady. She isn’t meant for tense situations like this. She is the captain of the Fey Strike Force, not a field agent. Why does Isuertal have to mess with my work like this?
Isuertal squeezes her eyes shut, trying to block out the image of the door. At the opposite end of the hall is a window. A figure with metallic limbs and a gas mask lands on the wall outside the building and knocks on the glass. Salsan groans. It’s like Greesha has a third sense for when Isuertal is making trouble, she thinks to herself. A few medical personnel near the window gasp in surprise. They are four stories high in the building. Salsan can’t let Isuertal see Greesha, it will only make things worse. Isuertal’s eyes flicker open when she hears the knocking on the window. “Is that-” Isuertal begins to ask but Salsan cuts her off. She puts her palms on Isuertal’s wet cheeks and holds her face, staring her in the eyes. “Isuertal, look at me.” Salsan commands. My hands are wet? Is Isuertal crying? Isuertal strains her neck, trying to turn to look to the side at the window. “Look at me, Isuertal!” Salsan says.
“I’ve got the key!” a voice shouts from behind Salsan. Too far away, Salsan thinks to herself. “Hurry!” Salsan calls back. The footsteps are rapid but not fast enough. The figure hanging to the wall outside knocks on the window again and her muffled voice shouts something incoherent through the glass. Salsan can see Isuertal’s eye twitch.
Isuertal speaks and Salsan’s dread grows. “I’m sorry, I can’t… I need to…” Isuertal swallows back tears as she pulls her head out of Salsan’s grip. “Please, still come to my party.”
“No! No!” Salsan shouts, “You’re so close! We’ve got a key!” She pulls on Isuertal’s arm and throws her weight backwards. She falls on her back again and Isuertal falls on top of her, squirming to get off her like a writhing snake. “The key!” Salsan says, “Open the door, quickly!”
Isuertal leaps up from on top of Salsan and dashes towards the door, but Salsan kicks her legs and trips her. The knocking on the window is constant and pounding. Salsan hears a creak as someone opens the window, and the rapid clanking of metal on the tile floor warns of Greesha’s approach. Isuertal is crawling towards the door. Surely, she doesn’t have the momentum to break through the door, Salsan thinks to herself. But Salsan knows better. Isuertal could bust the door into splinters from a standstill. The nurse is right by the door now. But she is hesitating, afraid of the crawling woman on the floor. Salsan shouts at the nurse, “Open the door! Do it now before it’s too late!” The nurse is startled into action. She fumbles with the key, twisting it in the lock. Salsan holds on to Isuertals legs as Isuertal crawls towards the door, dragging Salsan on the floor behind her.
The door clicks and swings open. Salsan knows not to hope for too much. Isuertal will probably tear apart the whole room. Salsan hopes the people inside have hid themselves well. “At least Isuertal didn’t break the door.” Salsan mumbles to herself as Greesha stops next to the door, looking in as Isuertal swings open the doors to cabinets and searches behind the bed-like patient’s table and underneath the gurney. Salsan is actually pleasantly surprised. The man and the little girl have really hidden themselves well, not even Salsan knows where they are. Then Salsan remembers the mist. And she remembers what the young woman had said had killed the Screamer. Now Salsan is beginning to understand why Isuertal has been acting so feral.
Isuertal is sitting on the cushioned patient’s table. Salsan can see tears running down her face. Salsan is concerned with how stressed Isuertal is behaving. A muffled woman’s voice next to Salsan asks, “What happened?”
Salsan gives a salute to Greesha before opening her mouth to answer but Isuertal speaks first. “They’re gone.”
Greesha’s face is hidden behind the gas mask, but Salsan imagines that Greesha is probably stoic and firm. “Who is gone?” Greesha asks.
“The person responsible for the wildfire.” Isuertal hisses. Salsan has a sudden idea. “I know!” She says, “I’ll check the cameras.” Salsan runs off to see if there is any footage of the escape. Isuertal.
“We should do so investigating of our own.” Greesha says, “Isuertal, where was this person before they escaped?” Isuertal points to the surgery room. Greesha heads off in that direction. Isuertal continues to sit there. As she sits there, she remembers. The surgery was to remove something from inside the little girl. It could perhaps give her some sort of hint. She stands up and runs past Greesha. She slams open the double doors. She points to the first surgeon she sees, “Show me the object you took out of the little girl!” The surgeon flinches. Then he points to another surgeon and says, “Actually, he is the one that took it out.” Isuertal turns to that surgeon instead. “What is the object?” She asks, “Show me!”
The surgeon nods vigorously, not even asking for a badge or identification. He just immediately turns to the cabinets and says. “Yes, it was right here. Just give me a moment to take out my keys.” He reaches into his pocket for the keys to the drawer, but his hands come back empty. “I could have sworn they were in my pocket.”
Isuertal stares at the drawer. She can tell exactly which one holds the object. She points to it and says, “It’s there!” The surgeon looks up and sees that Isuertal is pointing to a drawer that has a key attached to a king ring with several other keys on it. The key is in the lock to the drawer. The surgeon pulls the drawer open, it is already unlocked. He gasps.
“May I see?” Isuertal asks. The man gets really nervous. “Um, yes, of course. But not right now.” Isuertal can already guess the problem. “Fine, then at least tell me what the object is.”
The Surgeon looks down at the drawer. “Well, it’s a really big key.” He says, “I can tell because I am looking at it right now.”
“Tell me more about the key.” Isuertal demands. The man is sweating bullets now. He is no longer looking in the drawer but through it as his eyes stare off into the distance and he makes an expression of concentration. “Well, um, it had two prongs.” He says, “It was old fashioned. It was like really old fashioned big locks.” Isuertal notices that the surgeon uses the past tense in reference to the key.
“Tell me about the patient.” Isuertal commands, “Did she bleed?” The man goes pale. “No, we wouldn’t make her bleed. We-” Isuertal cuts him off. “I don’t care if you did your job well or not. Tell me, does that girl have blood?”
The surgeon looks incredibly nervous and glares at the other surgeon for directing Isuertal to talk to him. “Yes, of course she has blood.” Isuertal nods, then asks, “Does she look like a human?”
“Are you telling me you think she was a Screamer?” The man asks.
“No. I’m asking if she looks like a human.” Isuertal says calmly, “And you have yet to respond.”
“Oh, sorry.” The man says quickly, “Yes, she looks like a human. We wouldn’t operate on a Screamer.”
Isuertal sighs. “Thank you for your time, surgeon.” She says roughly, “If you find or remember anything of interest, please contact the Fey Strike Force.” She walks away. She feels conflicted. On one hand, this is an interesting case. On the other hand, she has been planning her slumber party for months. “Ugh, the Screamer can wait.” Isuertal mumbles to herself, “I’d have to wait a whole month for another quadruple alignment.” Isuertal meets up with Salsan in the security office. She’s watching footage of the escape. It shows the man running through the hall, the door opening on its own, the man going in, and the door closing.
“Let’s see the footage from inside the room.” Isuertal suggests. Salsan looks at her like she said something stupid. Isuertal frowns and asks, “What?”
“There is no footage inside the room.” Salsan explains, “It’s a privacy violation to keep cameras in patient rooms.”
Isuertal is severely disappointed. “Then what’s the point of these cameras?” Isuertal asks angrily. Salsan smiles. She points to another screen. This one is a camera from the surgery room.
“Oh, so it’s okay to have cameras in the surgery room but not in the patient’s room?” Isuertal asks, “How does that make any sense?”
Salsan points at the surgeon in the video. “See, he takes out the object from the child, examines it, then puts it in the drawer.” Salsan explains.
“Yeah, about tha-” Isuertal begins to say before Salsan cuts her off. “Isuertal, keep watching.” As they watch the video, they see the surgeon lock the drawer and put his king ring in his pocket. Then as the surgeon is cleaning up, the keyring floats out of his pocket and into the lock on the drawer. Then the drawer opens, the object inside it hovers up and out and the drawer closes again. The object then floats out of the room, but everyone is too busy cleaning up the area to notice.
“How did no one notice that?” Isuertal asks. The people at the security monitors look embarrassed. Salsan shrugs, “It was pretty chaotic with so many patients with life-threatening injuries coming from the forest fire.”
Isuertal just shakes her head and looks down, frowning. Salsan puts her hand on Isuertal’s shoulder. “Don’t look so down, Isuertal.” Salsan says cheerfully, “We still have all the other patients to talk to. Maybe they know something.”
“I doubt any of them know any more than that young woman.” Isuertal says, “And even if they did, what would it tell us? That the little girl is a Screamer?”
“Maybe some of them know something about the man.” Salsan says.
“The man is just an accomplice.” Isuertal says, “This girl has got all sorts of Screamers working for her. You know how there are some gangs in the cities that the police still haven’t taken care of? I think we just found ourselves a gang of Screamers. And it sounds like they didn’t like the Fey taking so many of the humans.”
Salsan frowns. “That’s quite the story.” She says, “How did you come up with that?”
Isuertal shrugs Salsan’s hand off her shoulder. “It isn’t the first Screamer gang I’ve found.”
Salsan wants to ask what Isuertal means by that but decides against it. Instead, she says, “Well, let’s go check on the other patients, so we can get their stories before they die.” Isuertal, however, shakes her head. “We’ve already got enough from here already.” Isuertal says, grinning mischievously, “But since I didn’t break anything, you're coming with me to Ghostlight Grove.” Salsan groans. She had been hoping that Isuertal would forget about that hasty promise.