“Fine.” Was the only response to Cam’s concern for his welfare as he pushed to his knees by her, sitting back on his heels with hands open on his thighs. His gun was now next to him, bedded in the bends of long grass. He looked around in that position like a man resting on the beach and surveying the waves rolling in from the vast ocean beyond. In a short while, his eyes came back to Cam. He didn’t ask if she was okay, but the search of his eyes over her person would have made it clear to her that he was, in fact, making sure she was fine. She was. A little shaken up, but fine. There was then a following moment of, well, something that may have come across to Cam as not so typical for Jack. He raised one hand from his lap, reaching out to briefly caress her cheek, push a fall of hair back over her ear, then ended the moment by returning his hand to his lap. 

“What is it with girls and pretty boys? You need a man, not a boy.”  It wasn’t like he was propositioning himself, his words sounded more like a non-affectionate father giving his daughter some general, though questionable and rather fleeting advice. That being the case, his mind was back on the job. Reaching for his gun he returned it to his belt and shook his head like someone slightly bothered by a passing fly. 

“This is no demon.” He told her, then got to his feet while giving the situation further thought. “I was thinking it may have been a restless ghost.” He added, giving himself a light dust off. “Something simple. A dead woman needing closure before moving on. But it’s not that either….” He curled his lip while peering into the house through shattered hangs of what was left of the front door. “I’m not sure [i]what[/i] that was.” Then, after all that had transpired since the question was asked, he answered: “They’re too loud. You can’t sneak up on anything with those things on your feet. Save em for your date.” 

Jack then starts walking to the car. Apparently he wasn’t planning on re-entering the house so soon either. “We’re going back to your place. Use those internet skills of yours to do some research on this place.” He paused before entering the car. “You got beer?” 

Telling Cam that he was fine may have been a little stray of the truth. Truth be told, he was in a considerable amount of pain. Yeah, being thrown through a door like a rag doll was sure to do some damage. He didn’t expect anything serious or broken. After all, he could walk, talk and think normally, but he was damn certain a few ribs had been bruised at least. He wasn’t worried though, the pain would pass, and no doubt the alcohol in his system was inhibiting a lot of pain receptors at the moment. Besides, there were other things on his mind than thinking about his health right now:
 
Jack’s hopes for encountering a woman that had lost her son in the same or similar way to how he had lost his own family had fallen through. The circumstances surrounding the current situation just didn’t fit. The monster he was seeking would have to keep in hiding for another day. He also knew that all the salt-loaded shells and blessed bullets in the world may not have any effect on the entity that inhabited this house. It wasn’t a demon. It wasn’t a ghost. At least nothing standard of the two. Not even a hex, enchantment, heptagram, or even a prayer would work unless they knew exactly what they were dealing with. In the end Cam was right about another thing, harming the host, or whatever that was, may not have been the best course of action. 

If Camilla were willing to go along with Jack’s new plan, they would now get in the car and head back to her place. His own place wasn’t actually an option. As for libraries, well, they tend to make Jack feel uncomfortable. Cam may not have been aware of the fact at that time, since he wasn’t one for complaining about his personal circumstances, but Jack didn’t actually have a place to live at present. His car would hold him over for now, and it wasn’t really a matter that troubled him. Still, the open duffel bag of packed clothes and personal items sprawled out on the back seat, including the unframed photo of his late wife and young daughter, may have been enough for the woman to work it out on her own.