Misery County

Chapter 7 - Part 4

Missouri County wasn't known for being particularly heavily urbanized – far from it, in fact. In the town they were in, it felt like no matter where in town you were, you were never more than a few yards from the woods. Eric quite liked it. Except for one thing.

"That ugly mutt is staring at us."

"I'm not sure my brain is capable of computing that sentence and extracting any real meaning from it," Cassie responded without looking.

"Over there. There's a dog looking at us."

"And this bothers you because?" Cassie looked over. "Also, I'm pretty sure that's a coyote."

"Oh my God, who the fuck cares? Dog, wolf, coyote – they're all worthless, annoying hellspawn."

"Wow, don't hold back, partner. Tell me how you really feel."

"I feel like there's no greater scourge on the planet than that of the infernal canine."

"Come on, Eric. They're just animals. And besides, look how cute that little guy is."

"Cute? I'll show you cute." Eric stood up and began marching towards the coyote.

It took a step back as he approached.

"Eric, don't, come on," Cassie pleaded, following him.

"Fuck outta here you dirty beast," Eric growled as he kicked little stones in the coyote's direction.

"Stop it, Eric, he's just an animal. It's not like he's staring to provoke you."

"I don't care what its damn intentions are. I don't fucking like 'em."

Cassie put a hand on his shoulder. "Is this a werewolf thing?"

Eric looked at her but said nothing.

"It's a werewolf thing, isn't it?" she said. "You can't conflate werewolves with coyotes or dogs or even wolves. You're smarter than this. You know that's silly."

"Silly my ass. I'd feel the same way about panda bears if there were werepandas roaming around killing people."

"Hey, you don't know what the Chinese have to deal with."

Cassie's attempt at a light-hearted joke seemed to fall flat. Eric was still fuming.

"Eric, you know you can talk to me about it if you ever want to, right?"

"Talk about what?"

"You know what – Aaron's death."

Eric looked at her with surprise.

"That's what started this all, isn't it?" she continued. "Your hatred of werewolves, your hatred of canines... your dissatisfaction with life."

In his years of tracking down and killing monsters, Eric had never tried to rationalize it all, but Cassie had hit the nail on the head. The nightmares, the dull rage – they weren't for nothing. Eric sat down on a nearby bench, and Cassie sat down next to him.

"You know, the Aaron thing – it never ended. I feel like it can never end. I never got closure with it."

Cassie put her arm around him.

"I couldn't save him," Eric continued. "I couldn't fight the wolf off. Hell, how could I? I didn't even know that monsters like that existed when it happened. I emptied a magazine into its skull, and it just kept on gnawing on Aaron like he was some sort of chew toy."

"You did what you could."

"Yeah, a fat lot of nothing. You know what the straw that broke the camel's back was? The day after the funeral, I went back to Aaron's grave to pay my last respects, and some sick fucks had vandalized it."

"I'm sorry, Eric. I never knew."

"That's probably because I never said."

"Was his gravestone –"

"Oh, his gravestone was smashed up, all right, but that's not where it ended. The earth on top of his grave had been disturbed as well. It wasn't obvious what had happened at first, but when the police arrived, they got the cemetery folks to dig it all back up. At the bottom, his coffin was busted up and his body was gone. I don't know who or what wanted his corpse and for what reason, but it makes me mad. It just makes me so mad. Even in death, he wasn't allowed to rest. What kind of justice is that? Where's the cosmic balance in that?" Eric was now sobbing openly.

Not knowing what to do, Cassie rubbed his back in a circular motion and stroked his arm with her other hand. "Eric, I'm no therapist, but even I can tell that this is unhealthy. I understand what you're feeling, I really do, but this quest you're on – well, you're setting yourself up for failure. And I'm not trying to say you're not good at this, but what's the end goal? Exterminating every werewolf? Exterminating every monster? Cussing at coyotes? When does it end?"

This wouldn't do. Getting sloppy with Nevena that morning was bad enough, but bawling like a baby in public was a new low. Eric took a deep breath and tried to stop his tears. It's time to man up, boy, he said to himself. None of this pansy business.

"I've got something to take your mind off of this – a haunted house," Cassie said.

"What, like at a fun fair?"

"No, an actual haunted house. There are tons of stories about it. I think it may be linked to what's going on here."

"Do you? How so? Did the haunting only start recently? It's kinda weird for stories to pop up in such a short period of time."

"No, the stories predate the new wave of killings."

"Then what makes you think it's connected?"

"I've just got a hunch."

"Crappy mid-twentieth century noir movies called. They want their shitty and unfounded investigation techniques back."

"I'm going to give you the benefit of a doubt and pretend you meant that as a bit of banter rather than a callous insult. Besides, it's our only lead right now, so why don't you and I go there tonight and see what we can find?"

"Pass."

"Pass? Oh, that's right, you've got that date with that purple-eyed tramp."

"Violet-eyed tramp," Eric corrected. "The correct term for that eye color is violet."

"Your pedantry never ceases to amaze me. Come on, Eric, just reschedule with Nirvana if you're so desperate to see her again. Time is ticking. We've got a body count, remember?"

"I appreciate where you're coming from, Cassie, but this just doesn't sound like our thing. If the stories of the haunting predate the recent killing – and by years or even decades, I'm assuming – then this will likely just be another dead end. Besides, when have stories about a haunting ever turned out to be true?"

"Funny you should ask. I did a haunted house in Massachusetts just last month. You'd be aware of that if you weren't tripping balls when I told you last night. I don't mean to nag, but you really should cut down on the booze."

"Thanks, mom, but the only thing that'll stop me from drinking alcohol is the sweet embrace of death."

"No need to get all morbid on me, partner."

"Yeah, I'm sorry." Eric was exhausted, but he meant it. "I think I'm going to go see Nevena. It's getting late, and I don't know if I'll be able to find the house in the dark. Are you going to go check out that haunted house."

Cassie looked defeated. "I was hoping we could do it together. How about we go tomorrow night then?"

"I've said my piece on it. I think it's a dead end, and in spite of the action you caught in Massachusetts, I reckon this one isn't even haunted, just like most of them aren't. But you go do what you wanna do. If you think checking it out will advance the investigation, then go for it."

"I'm not gonna lie. That's not the answer I was hoping for."

"Get used to it, kiddo. Life's full of disappointments."