Vo'ke

Thirteen

Whatever Niall was saying to me went in one ear and out the other as I whirled around my room, throwing everything within an arm's reach into a bag I hadn't really unpacked from the first trip.

"Are you hearing what I'm saying? We can't leave until Thursday."

"I'm going now," I answered him, frantically looking around for shoes.

"You'll miss your classes, you can't-"

"Shut up," I said, turning on him suddenly. He took a step back in surprise and I wondered how I looked to him. My color had been off, hair greasy from a lack of any real motivation in my life. There was something unfamiliar in his eyes and I realized it was fear. Niall would run head-first into a battle with a gargantuan werewolf but it was I who struck terror into his heart.

I'd have to ponder that on the flight.

"This isn't one of your stupid investigations. We're not yelling into the void hoping to catch some voice on a recorder, we're dealing with real people who are dying, Niall. So when you come to Missouri on Thursday with your equipment and your cameras, know that we're not recording evidence. We're hunting a monster."

I slung my bag over my shoulder, Niall silently watching behind me. When I turned to brush past him, he'd already stepped aside wordlessly. Whatever arguments he'd had for me earlier were gone, probably with the realization that I wasn't to be dissuaded.

With my phone pressed to my ear to call a cab, I stepped into the elevator and braced for the rain.

–

Missouri was covered in a thick sheet of ice, which was why I found myself on a Greyhound bus in the middle of Kentucky at 4:17 a.m. Even from the eastern border, the state was one long slate of white, the falling snow hardening to compacted ice the moment it touched ground.

The bus moved loudly through the quiet countryside and I traced patterns on the windows with the condensation of my breath to pass the time. The driver was timidly moving us forward through the frigid morning air, reaching only half the speed limit. I tried to sleep and what little I found was hard-fought.

The sun was beginning to rise when the bus finally came to a slow halt in Jefferson City. I forced myself up and over to a phone booth, depositing the proper change and waiting for a dial tone. From there, I punched in a number I had convinced Niall to text me once I landed. It was barely 7, but the phone was answered quickly.

"Osage County Rez Services," a woman's voice answered.

"I'm looking to speak to Ray Westwind," I said.

A pause, and then, "Who is this?"

My accent had given me away. That, or the sound of a voice she couldn't automatically place. I sighed, rubbing my bleary eye with the back of my hand in the hopes of regaining clearer vision.

"I need to talk to Ray about what happened to Atian. It's important."

She sounded offended when she made her response. "Now listen here, young man-"

"Hello?"

Her tirade was cut off by Ray's voice on the line. It was silent for a moment before I could gather my words.

"Ray, it's Harry. I was on the investigation team that visited in January..."

"I know who you are. What do you want?"

I heard the other line click as the secretary most likely slammed the phone back onto the hook. I could feel the hostility from both of them, even through the receiver in a phone booth. My back was pressed against the glass of the booth, freezing cold even through my coat. When I spoke, I could see the puffs of my breath.