Nothing Left To Fear

16

Dominic Hood witnessed a miracle as a child. He spent his teenage and college years convinced that this had damned him to hell. He studied biblical lore to redeem his soul. A demon thought that this was the funniest thing he'd heard in a long time. It had been a miracle it agreed, but the scales weren't that uneven. The demon let him live, albeit torn and scarred, because he had made it laugh.

So when he heard of Dean Campbell, and the gathering of Hunters in a place called Camp Chitaqua he let his apartment, lifted his books, packed his car and drove until he found it.

They don't even register the beaten up old station wagon as it pulls up into the camp. No one turns to look at the scholar with his bed head and slept in the car crumpled clothes. He leans against the car for a while, perhaps an hour, maybe two, before he begins to suspect that he isn't welcome.

He is about to pull away when a Chinese man brings him tea. "You must be here by mistake." The man says with a sweet serene smile, that is almost there, in the corner of his mouth and his one large brown open eye. The other is covered by a fall of black hair. He wears a vest and tie, but a pair of ear cuffs dominate the image of him, it is so extraneous to the perfectly pressed suit and shining shoes, his punk rock earrings. "It is dangerous, it would be safer to take the road back, but here, before you go, let us drink tea and talk of happier things."

Dominic takes the offered ceramic mug, it's chipped at the lip, and there are some faded kittens on the design, washed almost away. "I am a biblical scholar, trained at seminary and with access to the Vatican archives. I thought I could help."

The Chinese man smiles again, tilting his head as he considers this. "Leave this with me," he says, "I shall return anon with your answer. But my warning stands, this place is dangerous, there are alternatives."

"I saw a miracle." Dominic says the old words, them falling out of him before he has an idea what he is saying, "I was damned, what have I got to lose?"

At that the Chinese man stutters, his smile falters and his one eye looks pitying. "You'd be surprised." He answers, "I'll talk to Campbell for you, but even if they accept you, and they may not-for you are not a Hunter- it would probably be best to take lodgings in the town. These cabins feel the cold bitterly, and not all of them have stoves."

The winter chilling his hands, despite the tea, Dominic gets back into the car, turns on the heater and waits.