If there’s one way to determine if someone is taken by lycanthropy, it’s by observing the surrounding environment and how it reacts, being floral and fauna. How will it respond to the new stimuli? Vukosava is being analytical now – if the dogs heed her call, her presence than that is an indication of where things are going. Her greatest strength is her mind and trading that in for a monstrously strong creature with regenerative abilities and a disgrace to the ws of nature is a horrifying thing.
“But what other choice do we have?” Vukosava mutters aloud.
“You’re not going crazy on us, Vics?” Harley asks wearily. “I don’t need you going mad right now.”
“No mad, just a whole new normal.”
“That’s what a totally sane person says on a daily basis. I feel relieved.” Harley fixes her ponytail.
Amber looks over at Vukosava, her eyes searching deeply. “You have a trick of your own.”
“I don’t know if I’d call it a trick, more like a hunch. Stay locked in – we need the two of you.” Vukosava says to Amber and Charles.
As they pull up by Kingsgrove prison, the old brick-and-mortar walls await them, with modern additions thrown on. The benefits of local government funding and an active reporting agency that is trying to pass hasher legistion on the downtrodden. That turns to crime or tries to run from it. There’s nothing fair about it – but right now Vukosava can’t focus on the rights and wrongs of the modern world. She can see the around the clock surveilnce cameras rotating around.
The moles on the inside don’t have much to do these days, no one is climbing over the fence or digging through the tough concrete floor with a spoon. There’s no escape artists here. Vukosava looks up to see two guards patrolling the top of the wall, looking down into the exercise yard and the cement path that leads to the entrance.
“Great, we got some tourists showing up.” One of the guards mutters under his breath.
“They don’t have that look about them – they’re locals, Aaron.”
“Lucky us.” Aaron adjusted his hat. “You reckon they’re going to see anybody?”
“No.”
Vukosava can hear every word.
As they make their way down to reception, they are cut off immediately. At the main desk is a man with a sharp beard and an even sharper hairline, tapping away listlessly on his computer whilst his printer churns in the background. He’s looking down at the local newspaper from time to time, sipping away at a fresh cup of coffee. After standing there for a minute and a half, he gets up to open the door, sticking his head out.
“Hello.” He drones robotically. “Welcome to the Kingsgrove Correctional Facility, are you here to see anyone?”
“Yes, sir.” John replies.
“Are you now?” Despite the man’s mannerisms, he’s not just going to check them in. “You do understand what this pce is right?”
“We have people on the inside.”
“Can you identify these people of yours?” The man is still holding the door, his gaze now sharpening further. He’s suspicious right off the bat. Scrutiny is their best policy, Vukosava thought. She needs to drag this out – until she can find the most opportune moment to give her backup pn a shot.
“Sure. I can do that.” Vukosava says quickly. “Mirko Dimitrov.”
“Retion?” The man goes on in his same dreary voice.
“Family friend. I want to see him.” Vukosava holds onto her poker face as well as she can. There are upsides to working on YouTube – she’s good at doing it. “Please.”
“You all know Mirko then – is that it?” The man looks over to the rest of them, who start nodding earnestly. “Wow, what a gathering, I’m sure he’ll be quite pleased that you waited all of this time to finally show up.”
With that st rejoinder on the end, he walks over to his phone – leaving Vukosava and the others outside the main door to reception, pressing down on one of the buttons. “I want you to run a check for me, Aliena.”
“What’ll it be for, boss?”
“I just want you to go by Mirko Dimirtrov’s cell. I have some people that want to see him.”
“Did they submit a formal request?” The man pauses for a moment, rapidly typing away at his computer. His eyes darted over it quickly. “Yes.”
Vukosava goes over to John quickly, shaking her head. “We’re not in luck.”
“I guess it should’ve been obvious that these bozos are not x. What do we do?”
“Follow my lead.” Vukosava makes her way into the reception. The others follow suit; the man stays where he is – raising an eyebrow at their intrusion.
“I thought you were going to wait patiently.” The man snorts pointedly. “Are you in a hurry?”
“Sir, we are in a hurry.” John butts in, taking his attention away for just a moment. The prisoners were up and about – going about their mundane routines. Everyone pys a role in the maintenance and continuation of Kingsgrove prison – the trainers for the dogs will be out soon, taking them out on their morning walks. “We’ve come a long way.”
“A long way – so, you’re now adding a sob story to the mix, do you take me for an idiot?” The man rounds his desk swiftly. “I know what game you’re pying, and I’m sick of it. I’d suggest you clear off, before I’ll have to clear you off myself.”
“I’m sorry?” John asks, jumping back slightly at this provocation.
“Do not py dumb with me – Mirko doesn’t know anyone named Vukosava. Nor any of you. You’re nothing but a bunch of miscreants – probably a bunch of bloody YouTubers to boot. They want to get involved and spin whatever they come across as a way of getting money and views.” The man crosses his arms, his gaze directing them back to the door, back out into the heat of the early morning. “Now kindly show yourselves out.”
Vukosava needs to be loud and proud.
She throws back her head and lets out a howl. A deep one.
This causes the man to pause, completely thrown off. “What the fuck are you doing?”
If she can carry intent in terms of making videos and doing research, a little thing like this should be easy. The dog starts going off – barking and howling back, running around in a frenzy. This is the main goal, causing enough chaos that they could progress into the prison without any more interference. Her fears, her anxiety are all being put into this act.
The group is equally shocked, trying to take in what they’ve just seen.
It’s clear that the man doesn’t want to leave his post, but he can’t just sit there and now reign in the chaos that is happening around him. “Remain here – it looks like I’ll have something else to talk about. You will be held responsible for whatever damages occur.”
He stalks away slowly, taking his radio off his belt to bark out commands.
Harley looks over at Vukosava. “That was your big pn, get the dogs to cause a distraction for us?”
“I’ve picked up a few tricks here and there.”
“Howling like a mad bitch seems to be one of them.”
Amber scans her surroundings. “So, we’re putting protection down?”
“Yeah, we got enough for all the different sections of the prison if we use them sparsely.” James is setting down his bag, grabbing the salt, the crosses, anything that can ward off the impure. “If I’m going to start sprinkling fairy dust everywhere I need to be sure that there won’t be more staff running around trying to get to me.”
“I think I’ll be able to keep the dogs on edge – and if needs be, really get them going wild.” Vukosava gives an affirming nod towards James.
“It’s time that we send them back home.” Nathen says with a grim smile. “Let’s go in pairs.”
The group rushes back to Nathen’s car, grabbing the silver baseball bats and all the other entity hunting equipment they need. It’s going to be a hell of a fight.
“First priority - get the wards down fast. If the dogs are looking at something, keep that in mind.” Vukosava is holding onto the boot of the car. “I’m sorry that I have to tell you all this, but there’s going to be casualties and I can’t guarantee the safety of anyone.”
John smirks. “Hey, we know what we’re getting ourselves into. Shit hits the fan, we deal with it.”
They rush back inside with their equipment, giving each other hugs and encouragement before spreading out – Harley with James, Nathen with Amber, closing off with Vukosava and John. As they start to make their preparations for this big showdown, using their repcement cell phones as a link of communication between them – it becomes clear that their prep time is starting to rapidly shrink. There’s no storm looming outside, but there’s a feeling in the air. A darkness that threatens to consume them.
Vukosava could sense it – maybe even smell it. It’s a powerless feeling, knowing that disaster draws near.
John is fixing his eyes on what’s happening outside.
He chuckles in spite of it. “If this is it – I’m happy that we faced it together.”
“A lot more fshy than the stuff you used to do, I reckon.” Vukosava is trying to take her mind off of their impending future. Anything to calm down her mind from its rapid search for answers and solutions.
“Yeah, in comparison it’s pretty mundane and pretty me.”
“You got a big, dramatic final speech ready when we face them down?” Vukosava asks quickly.
“The best I got is – keep on howling. Keep on fighting.” John smirks. “The others are probably going to figure it out eventually.”
“I’d prefer to do a big reveal.” Vukosava looks at John, and for the first time she can feel her cool persona shake just a little. “We’re getting out of this alive. I promise.”
“I hope it isn’t a case of the best die young. I got a lot more living that I need to do.”
“It’s the best way we can honor the past – and the moments we shared.”
“Yo, James, you done?”
“Yeah, it seems we got a free ride. Did you feel it too?”
“Yep, you bet, man. We’re going to have company soon enough. Make sure you hunker down when it hits, then feel free to back us up.”
“Please be safe, both of you.” Harley snaps loudly.
John switches over to Nathen and Amber.
“Hey, you guys got your stuff sorted as well?”
“Everything is in pce. I’m feeling a lot of energy – it’s like a bomb that’s about to go off. We’re right in its path, John.” Nathen is being honest, not over the top. Vukosava can tell.
“Lucky us.” John hangs up.
“If we’re going to make it easier for Carlos and Alexi to lend a hand, Charles Derhert will need to bring his A-game.” Vukosava is by the reception door. “If things go wrong.”
“So, same strategy as before with extra steps. We talk then we get distracted.” John shakes his head. “I hate pns that hang in the bance.”
“With Carlos and Alexi, they could focus on Sir Victor.”
“We really are depending on them a lot, aren’t we?” John squints. “But what the hell do I know? If they’re our saviors – then I won’t compin too much.”
-
“It’s been one fucking problem after another, Alexi, one big fucking piss fest.”
“You really need to calm down, Carlos, we knew that this was a possibility. There’s nothing else for it now.” Alexi is trying his best to defuse his own bomb – a man-made one. “If they’re heading for Kingsgrove, the casualties will make the disaster with the fog look like a children’s birthday party. We can’t afford to lose ourselves to rage.”
“Ever since those brats opened the portal at Duskenveil. It’s been getting worse.” Carlos is fuming still, but his partner is right. A cooler head always prevails over a steaming one. “If that young dy is as smart as I think she is – they’re at Kingsgrove as well. The most poputed prison in this state – wide open, free real estate for the fuckers to start ripping through.”
“We’ll need to bring proper equipment this time, Carlos, right to business.”
“You think we’ll actually be able to fight them?” The man stretches briefly.
Alexi sighs heavily. “I think we’ve reached the same point that those kids have. What choice do we have?”
Carlos is ready to get to work – death is a reality. It’s always been.
Alexi is different, more optimistic, more of a calcuting nature. With kindness thrown in.
There’s no time for that with Carlos, if monsters can wreak havoc on the world – then he’s failed. Once again. It’s the first time he’s felt his age in a long time.
“Are you wanting your gear now?” Alexi asks.
“Yes, I have no intention of wasting time. I need to level the pying field before things get thrown in the shit completely.” Carlos is a part of the United Services of Paranormal Occurrences – a unit that regurly deals with portals and raptures that bring demons and plethora of other entities into the mortal pin. He wasn’t mortal – at least with what he went through he couldn’t be. The loss of life that he deems precious breaks him, makes him stronger but crueler.
