"Is there anything else you can remember?" I asked. It was important for us to get as much information as possible, even if it sounded like fever dreams. Beyond being shaken and weak, Joseph had a strong mind. I had a feeling he remembered things better than he thought.
He stared at the window with a perplexed look, recalling some memory we couldn't see. "There was a group of children that came to help me… humans and vampires, mostly, and some with fur and scales. They saw my infected arm. One of them cut off the mangled limb. I think he told me that he was sorry, but it had to be done. When I woke up, they were gone. I thought I’d dreamt them, but then I saw my arm. I heard other voices as well, but I was so feverish that I'm not sure which memories can be trusted beyond the children helping me. They had to exist if my arm was like that, and the doctor told me whoever amputated the limb likely saved me from certain death. I was alone for a while before they showed up."
Were those children the same voices from the night Sike and I camped together? They had to be… They were discussing Joseph by name. Perhaps he had originally been dropped near the children, but then somehow gotten moved and separated, possibly by the Ghost.
Joseph stifled a yawn, clearly tired and worn out even from our short chat. We needed to let him rest and recuperate. The Bureau would likely be sending their own follow-up team to take transcripts of Joseph's testimony. Bryce had already phoned our liaison between the Bureau and the government, and we would be able to look at copies of all of Joseph's work, since it pertained to our rescue mission.
"We'll let you rest," I told him. "Thank you. We truly appreciate everything you've told us. I hope you feel better."
As we said our goodbyes and left, Joseph's eyes were already closing.
Our buzzing group poured into the parking lot, and I unlocked the off-road SUV that the Bureau lent us. It was just big enough to fit our group of five. As we climbed into the car, Roxy called the Hellraisers to warn them of an upcoming meeting when we arrived. I started the engine and drove us back.
We met near one of the station points just outside of town. Cam joined us, reports freshly filed, along with Chandry, who smiled brightly. The other Bureau soldiers were out doing patrols in the forest near where Roxy said she was attacked.
"Learn anything good?" Jessie asked. Roxy's siblings, the twins, were every bit as wild and mischievous as she was when she first came to the Bureau. Roxy had changed a lot, though, since I'd seen her last. She handled her team well, with a tempered energy that made Bryce and me often exchange impressed looks.
"Yes, we did," Roxy replied. "It's becoming clearer that both Callanish and the Hellraisers have similar goals, at least. The monster that we’re looking for is the same creature Callanish dealt with in Utah."
"Utah?" Jordan echoed. "Wow, it certainly gets around."
You have no idea. The Ghost could jump multiple states and planes. It was impressive… and worrying. We had told Roxy's team about it, but it was difficult to understand for someone who hadn't experienced multiple planes. The Hellraisers, besides Colin and Roxy, had experience with monsters, but had never traveled to the Immortal Plane.
Bryce surveyed the twins. I could tell he wanted to give them some tough love, just like he had with Cam. "We're working together," he announced. "It seems like the simplest solution. We have missing people being kept in the other plane, wherever it is. We need to get back into the transparent space, but we have no idea how dangerous it is. The Ghost has made a home there."
"I've been calling it the Pocket Space," Cam confessed. "In my reports, I mean."
Roxy nodded. "Okay, so this Pocket Space, we need the Ghost to open a portal to get there. Or can vampires portal to it using a gate?"
Dorian shook his head. "Unfortunately, no. It really is a weird area that our senses have zero grasp on. We only have connections between the Mortal and Immortal planes."
The Ghost it was. "We need it to open a portal with its powers. We managed to force it to do that when we cornered it in the building, and Chandry held the portal open long enough for us to cross," I explained to them. "We'll need to contact our Immortal Plane allies before we make the attempt."
It was always our plan to include more of our allies. We desperately needed more people on this job. I wondered what Reshi would make of the Pocket Space.
"More vampires?" Evans asked, her voice a little high.
"Yes. It’s vital to get help," I said, and Roxy shot me a halfhearted smirk. As if that surprises anyone. "We'll work together to try to rescue the people who have been left behind. So far, we have three… but there could be more, from what Joseph said."
Roxy glanced down the road. "There have been abductions in town. Maybe they were people like Jessica, who were developing abilities. If the Ghost is taking people from the plane and not immediately eating them, they could still be alive."
We stood to save more people. My hopes rose. Now, we needed a way to lure the monster out.
"Everyone can brainstorm ways to lure the Ghost out and force it to open up a portal when we corner it. Ideally, I'd like to capture it in the process of opening a portal, but we have to prevent it from dragging off more civilians, at all costs." I surveyed the group. So far, the only skeptical faces were Jones and Evans on Roxy's team. Every team had some issues, though, and
