Grim Echoes

Chapter 10 - Ander

Will signaled to Ander they needed to speak. He replied with a slight decline of his head. Ander turned his gaze to the dark-eyed woman, and his heart-rate increased. She was attractive, but not stunning, with pleasing symmetry. Her hair was dark brown and wavy, nothing in particular stood out. He did recall she had red tones when the sun touched her hair. Over seventy-five percent of the world had brown hair and at least forty percent with brown eyes. Hence why both he and Will had brown contacts to wear during missions. Most humans could not recall details about someone with brown eyes and hair. Yet there was something about her that made his heart pound and caused him to feel lightheaded.

"We need to step outside for a moment. Will you wait here until we return? You will be safe," he told her.

"Ok, can I use the bathroom?"

"Of course, just do not touch any of the bags. They all contain sharp items," he replied, and headed to the door.

Will pulled out his disgusting black cigarettes. Ander took a deep breath, irritated at the sight of them. Will watched the female until she closed the bathroom door and then opened the room door.

"You think she'll actually stay put? It'd be easier if she didn't and climbed out of the bathroom window," Will said as he lit his cancer stick.

"I thought we intervened for her safety, now you want her to leave?"

"I don't mean that, well, not exactly. Fuck. If Mason calls us, what the fuck are we gonna do with her?" Will inhaled his poison.

Naturally, Will had not thought his actions through. Ander had been managing the consequences of Will's poor judgment his entire life. Primarily due to Will's refusal to pause long enough to contemplate anything in depth. Except perhaps when he worked on weapons or vehicle modifications. Will would spend hours researching and learning techniques. Ander sighed.

"We have had civilians with us during missions before," Ander replied.

Never by choice. Most often, the reason humans ended up with them was because they saved them from a threat. It was then necessary to keep them safe until the mission was complete. The only difference Ander perceived in this situation was that Will had chosen to involve them, and it had nothing to do with the current mission. Perhaps Will was concerned about Mason's reaction to the situation. Ander pulled out his knife and fidgeted with it.

"I know, but this is different, she's got nothing to do with why we're here." Will inhaled more of his toxic pleasure. "Something off about her too,"

"She may not understand her abilities, but clearly she has psychic tendencies. Otherwise how could she have connected with us," Ander said.

Still not clear on where he stood regarding that. Part of him violated by her intrusive gift. However, when he left the library, she appeared exhausted and frightened. Perhaps she did not want to intrude into other's minds. Conversely, part of him was delighted by the connection. Although he had not encountered any images or sounds, he had felt her.

Unclear if he experienced her emotions or her essence, but either way it was glorious. Akin to the sun rising over a horizon and warmed every piece of him. Chased away the shadows that lurked in his soul. For a brief time, he was no longer himself, but something better. They were part of each other. Ander looked at the ground. Perhaps none of that happened. Perchance he had another delusional episode. Almost impossible for him to tell most of the time.

"Connected? What are you talking about? I didn't connect to anything." Will finished his cigarette.

The admission did not comfort Ander. He raked his bangs back, unsure of how to respond. He did not want the female to leave, but he had no logical reason to debate the point with Will. They had saved her from the immediate threat and they were on a mission. The werewolf they hunted was far more dangerous than recently escaped demons. It could be weeks before the demons resurfaced to find her again.

"We just don't know anything about her or what the hell was going on there and we don't have time to look into it. If Mason calls tonight or we find the fleabag tomorrow, then sure we could try to help out or call in some other Soldiers of Night," Will said and then flicked his eyes to the cloudy night sky. After a moment, the full moon peeked out from behind the clouds. Will pulled out his flask and took a long drink.

"I believe that is fair. If we are able to wrap the mission soon, then we can offer help. I could run her name in the database to see if anything comes up," Ander suggested and remembered to speak more plainly as Will preferred.

"Yeah, do that. We have to wait on Mason, anyway. She told us to stay in tonight, which means the trail is cold. God damn full moon, you know the fucker is out there hunting," Will grumbled his last few words.

Ander nodded. Likely in the morning, another mangled body would be discovered. Will was frustrated and out of patience. Every new corpse found he blamed himself for. Ander understood it was not any of their faults they had not located the werewolf yet. The mission file was accurate, but it missed key details. Those details made the mission risker than others. Ander tried to explain to Will he was not solely responsible for the deaths, but Will refused to discuss it.

"And she will stay here with us tonight?" Ander asked.

He did not want to admit to Will that he wanted her to stay. He desired to be near her and observe her.

"Yeah, its safer here while you look into stuff. Later, if Mason doesn't call, we can sleep in shifts so we're ready to go tomorrow and hopefully we'll find this shitbag," Will replied.

Ander nodded and followed Will into the room.