Seeker, Scholar, Psychic and a Ghost

To find a Cryptid

Cort spent the night pacing her room and stuffing her face with M&M's, finding it too difficult to sleep with a stranger in the house. She was worried that Nick would wake her father or, ya now murder them. Also, she would never admit it, but she was scared of Nick, terrified of him. The only reason she hadn't shown it the night before was that she had been more angry than afraid. Now though, it was four in the morning. Sick of the familiar corners of her room, she chucked on a grey hoodie and cleaned her glasses, deciding to get out of the house.

***

Light poured through the dusty windows, straight onto Nick's eyes, making it very difficult to remain asleep. Groggily, he got up leaving bits of dried blood on the white sheets. Crap! He thought. That girl's going to kill me. He stalked over to the ensuite hopping there was a shower. Hazar! There was. He stripped down and got in quickly, scrubbing away at his skin, trying to get the remaining blood off. The stench of the dead Yeti, forever staining Nick's nostrils and, the memory of its lifeless corpse falling on him, staining his mind. He winced as he mindlessly scrubbed the raw cut in his shoulder. It had begun to crust over now though it still looked like shit. He shook his head. He needed to focus on his task. He needed to shut off the portals. He needed to meet Ms Esme Wally.

***

Cort had jumped the fence into the human part of the nature park. Thick branches with lush green leaves blocked out her view of the sunrise, but soon enough light slide through the gaps, illuminating the damp forest floor. She reached home at 5:50, ten minutes before her father left for work. She ran into him in the kitchen, as he shovelled food into his mouth, and made herself some toast. 

"Hey, Cort?" He asked, swallowing his food in a big gulp. 

"Yeah," She replied as her toast popped up. 

"I think something got into Merilyn's room again. There was some sound coming from there, almost sounded like the shower." He laughed slightly, but Cort could hear the strain in his words. She adjusted her glasses panicking slightly and glad that he hadn't gone into the room. 

"Don't worry dad, I'll get it, whatever it is." Her father smiled. 

"Thanks, bigfoot. Well. I'm off." He stood up, putting his plate on the counter and squishing Cort in a hug. 

"Cya tonight Yowie." He grabbed his hat off the counter and left. It was quiet without her dad and Cort ate her food in silence, like usual, then put some more toast in the toaster for Nick. Not knowing whether or not he liked vegemite she decided to just put some butter on it, then she went upstairs.

***

Marylin Brown was Cort's mother, though Cort would deny this if you ever asked. She was a cruel woman and Cort hated her for everything she had ever done. Marylin was a criminal who didn't give a damn about anything but money. Cort's grandparents had died before she was born leaving a large fortune to Aspen. Marylin had been an old acquaintance from high school. She ruined him. She paid for the house and left Aspen enough money to care for Cort, whose birth had been an accident. Then she left. Now Cort stood outside her old room, the one Nick was in. She had thrown out everything that had belonged to her mother as soon as she had found out how much of an ass she was. The only thing that her father insisted they keep was her photobook, the one Cort had thrown on the ground of her room last night. Taking a deep breath she knocked on the door.

***

"Nick I've got some toast for you." She said biting her lip to calm her nerves. 

"Thanks!" She heard him say through the door. There was an uncomfortable silence before he cleared his throat. "Um, I can't eat it through the wood." Cort realised she hadn't opened the door yet.