Jessie and Jordan grinned. Cam looked wary of the duo, but hopefully he'd work that out as we went along. Beggars can’t be choosers. And to be fair, it looked like Roxy had a good team. We wrapped up the meeting, and Roxy sent her teams off to patrols or rest. I stayed with her as Dorian shot ideas around with Bryce.
"Want to take a walk?" I asked Roxy as she wandered back. Bryce, Dorian, Sike, and Chandry were still chatting among themselves. She’d mentioned wanting to talk about something, so I was eager to steal a few minutes away from everyone. Roxy gave me a grateful smile, and we wandered down the road toward the town sign. "Your team looks good."
"They're a work in progress," Roxy said with a grin. "I guess I am, too."
"Everyone is," I told her. Although I knew Roxy often thought I was Ms. Perfect, I struggled just as much as everyone else. "How are Jones and Evans?"
She let out a chuckle. "You picked up on that already? It must be written on their faces. Evans is all right, but Jones has given me some insubordination. I hope things will get better. I've already stood my ground." We reached the town sign, and she went quiet for a moment. "Lyra, something weird has been happening. It's going to sound insane."
I raised an amused brow. "I am married to a vampire, Roxy."
"I know that," she said, scratching the back of her neck. "Look, just listen. I've been… hearing Kane's thoughts." Her story tumbled out. She told me how she’d thought she was going insane until she and Kane had finally connected during her intense fight with the Ghost, her speech becoming flustered during her explanation. It was hard to think that Kane and Roxy had a psychic bond, but I didn't doubt it, in the end. They were so similar. Things had happened between them, although Roxy told me it wasn't as serious as my relationship with Dorian.
"I think he's in the Pocket Space," she said as she finished her monologue. Her tone was a touch breathless. It must've taken her so much energy to keep this a secret. "Do you think we could find him? He can survive on his own, but… I want to help him."
I was willing to pursue it, although we needed more evidence. "If you think he's there, then I'm willing to float the idea to everyone else. We’ll look for him when we search for the others. We don't have to tell them about the voices. We could cook up a story… at least for your team. The only issue is that I'd like more physical proof." She nodded with understanding. We had to make sure he was there. Also, it might be harder for her team to understand the truth behind Roxy's experiences, especially if they weren't used to supernatural weirdness. "I know you're worried about him. We all are, but you're right. Kane is strong."
Roxy sighed heavily. The wind blew her bright red hair into her face as she gave me a concerned, searching stare.
"The thing is… his voice hasn't come back. I don't know what that means."
Her revelation sank in. Had we lost Kane? If she hadn’t heard from him since that moment, he might be injured, or worse. Wherever he was, I hoped he could hold on until we could find him. Please be okay, Kane.
28
Roxy
As much as I had enjoyed meeting the residents of this sleepy mountain town that had been thrown into chaos, I was just as happy to see them go today. Well, most of them were going. A few stubborn old folks were determined to stay in their cottages up in the neighborhood, but they’d had to sign waivers citing their refusal to leave the area. It would be a big headache for the government and the Bureau, but my job was just to hunt down this monster. The Bureau could figure out the locals.
The goal was to lure the Ghost out and capture it. It sounded easy in theory, especially when I considered that we had two great teams working together, but this monster was wily.
Thanks to Joseph's extensive research, we were able to enact a decent plan. We took his blueprints and sent them off right after leaving the clinic to some nearby Bureau techs who were at a station about thirty miles away. The Bureau had mobile spots all over, filled with researchers who had more than enough on their plates, since the Leftovers continuously produced samples for them to study. Luckily, the machine became a priority for them, and they delivered a prototype to us several hours later. They’d used Joseph's design to roughly engineer a device that would allow us to deliver an electric shock to the creature. The device combined old redbill equipment that we already had, since Joseph’s design utilized older Bureau technology. We hoped, based on Joseph's theories, that it would keep the creature from turning invisible and sneaking through a portal away from us.
I met up with Lyra in the road. The afternoon sun was hitting the mountainside, casting us in partial shade. We had lent her team more winter gear, since they had lost most of their supplies during their mission in Utah. Her breath floated in the air as she went over the schematics for the device again. Cam pointed to something on the paper. He was good with Bureau technology, and his obsession with reports and details helped immensely. Who would’ve thought Bryce’s nephew would be such a pencil pusher?
"We'll have to be careful with this prototype," he warned us. "You see that little button? It controls everything, but they didn't exactly have time to put a safety on it. It's very sensitive, from what I can see."
I
