Death in the Water

A Stop at a Department Store

At a department store filled with clothing, wine, jewellery and some snacks for patrons, Henry and Katharine waited while Miao picked out a dress... Or at least that was how it had started. Miao was now trying on all dresses in heir size that were coloured white and showing them to Henry and Katharine for an opinion. While Katharine gave her opinions on the dresses, Henry merely stared with eyes glazed over. Were they not supposed to be going to the zoo?

Taking a seat in a chair, Henry dialed his home number. Maybe this time he would be able to reach his father. When he heard his dad answer "Hello?", a beam spread across Henry's countenance.

"Dad, it's Henry. I tried calling later, but the line seemed to be busy. Did someone call?"

"Evangeline Agassiz in an attempt to recruit me for the Carson Organization. I don't know what it is about that woman, a woman I have never even met, but there is something about her I don't trust." Answered Alphonse.

Henry could understand why Evangeline Agassiz would want to recruit his dad. Doctor Alphonse Branagh was an expert in aeronautics, anthropology, archeology, biology, chemistry, computer science, cryptozoology, engineering, geology, marine biology, medicine, metallurgy, meteorology, nuclear energy, oceanography, paleontology, physics and vulcanology. Recruiting someone as notable as him would certainly draw in others.

"What did you say to her?" inquired Henry.

"I told her I would think about it, while having no intention to do so." Replied Alphonse. "Now, what did you discover today? Is Carchemish's skeleton still there or is it missing?" Henry told his paterfamilias everything that had happened in detail, from the investigation of Carchemish's skeleton to Carchemish's arrival to kill the Peloneustes. When all had been told, Alphonse said: "So, he lives and we have no idea how he came back to life or even wherefore. Call me if anything comes up, Henry, and remember to stay safe. Carchemish may have killed one of the Men in Black last night, but remember that there are two more out there as well as their three young counterparts."

"Will do, dad." Ending the call on the digital phone, Henry looked over at Katharine and Miao. From what the latter was wearing, she was now on her way to playing dress-up, with the puffiest sleeves that Henry had ever seen. Standing up, Henry walked over and looked at the price tag on the dress. It was two hundred and fifty dollars. What was it made of? Unicorn fur? "Miao, how much money do you have in your purse?"

"Uh, I'm not sure. Why, Henry?"

"Because I doubt it is enough to buy you a dress worthy of a movie debut."

Miao gave Henry a distraught look. "What?" As she looked at the price tag, a surprised expression replaced her distraught one as she returned to the dressing room, wondering aloud: "Why does it cost so much?"

"So, what did your dad have to say when you told him what happened?" Katharine inquired as she smiled at Henry.

"To call him if anything comes up and to stay safe and that Evangeline Agassiz called earlier trying to recruit him." Henry answered, picking up a newspaper on a nearby shelf. Checking the date and finding that it was Sunday's, he nodded and turned the page to upcoming events.

"Do you think there is a connection between her and Carchemish? Or Moloch and the Men in Black?"

Henry thought for a moment. Could Evangeline Agassiz have somehow resurrected Carchemish? If so, what for and how did she do it? Was she an agent of Moloch, a Woman in Black? Such mysteries and he had no answers for them. How could he?

"That remains to be seen, Katharine." Henry answered, looking into her reddish-brown eyes.

Still smiling at him, Katharine said: "Something that remains to be seen together." Looking at the upcoming events page, she asked: "So, what were you thinking for later on in the week?"

"Well, let's see here..." Henry looked at the page. "There is a reading of 'Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde' tomorrow, appropriately enough at Jekyll Gardens."

"'Jekyll Gardens'?" Katharine inquired, rather amused at the location's name.

Smiling, Henry replied: "Yeah, London, England has Hyde Park, Actaea, Ontario, Canada has Jekyll Gardens. It isn't even that old, that place was founded my dad was four, hardly Victorian."

"What's hardly Victorian?" Miao asked, wearing a dress that was fairly similar to the one she had started wearing that day. The different was that it was not wet.

"Jekyll Gardens." Henry replied."

"Ooh! Can we go there after the art gallery?"

Giggling, Katharine commented: "The zoo, the art gallery, Jekyll Gardens, you want to see everything don't you, Miao?"

"Don't you, Katharine?"

"Not all in one day."

Henry took a look at the time that the reading was going to take place. Seven PM, and since "Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde" took approximately three hours to read that meant the reading would end around ten. That worked well, he just hoped that Katharine's dad would allow him to take her to the reading. Katharine had told him that her father had no problem with boys unless they had bad reputations or came from bad families, but he had no idea if she had a curfew or anything.

"So, why did Jekyll Gardens come up?" asked Miao, as she walked to the cash register to pay the attendant for her dress.

"There is a reading of 'Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde' there tomorrow evening at seven." Henry replied, taking a moment to look at Katharine. "I was thinking of taking Katharine."

A smiling Katharine uttered: "I'd love to go."

This was followed by a confused Miao turning to face Henry as the attendant removed the price tag from her dress. "'Jee-kyll'?"

"That's how it's pronounced, Miao." Henry replied, taking a look at the upcoming events. There was nothing that seemed of interest. "Not 'Jeck-ul'."

"Okay, wow..." Miao started to head to the door with Henry and Katharine following. "So, anymore commonly mispronounced names I should know about?"

"Well, off the top of my head... A certain vampire created by Irish author Bram Stoker." Henry opened the door, holding it open for Katharine and Miao. "After you, ladies."

Still smiling, Katharine walked through the door. "Thank you, sir."

Miao only walked through the door with a confused expression. Once out on the other side, she asked: "Who is Bram Stoker?"

"The author of the 1897 novel 'Dracula'." Henry answered as he closed the door. Looking to the sky, half-expecting to see Carchemish flying above them or coming down to rampage through the streets, Henry only saw what he had yesterday: a cloudless sky. "Taking its origin into account, it should be pronounced 'Dra-cool-a.'"

"'Dra-cool-a'." Miao said, repeating how Henry had said it. "It has a better ring to it."

"It really does." Agreed Katharine.

"Proper pronunciations always sound better than improper pronunciations." Henry commented as he proceeded to lead the girls to the zoo.

"Have you read that book, Henry?" asked Katharine, taking her place on Henry's right.

"I read it last year." Henry answered. "During silent reading, if you haven't read it, I could lend it to you, Katharine."

"I'd like that."

"You don't think Actaea will have to deal with a vampire sometime soon, do you?" Miao asked, walking on Henry's left side.

A vampire? Henry could only wonder. Sixty-eight years ago, a wyvern dubbed Carchemish had rampaged through the area. The previous night Henry and Katharine had not only seen a UFO, but it had landed and they met its pilot, Moloch, after which his henchmen the Men in Black with their independent shadows and young counterparts appearing not long after. After that Carchemish came back to life and that day a prehistoric reptile appeared in the river, which Carchemish them killed.

"Honestly, Miao, after what has appeared so far, a vampire would not seem out of the ordinary." Katharine commented, taking a moment to fix her right earring. Henry nodded in agreement. Wyverns, aliens, Men in Black, prehistoric reptiles, what came after that? Would that be all to this parade of the unusual?