SepticGentleman

Santa Celia: Coast to Coast

Kyle and Kayla

Written with @JunkMail

---

It was a short and thankfully uneventful walk back to the motel. No surprises or ambushes, just two siblings returning to the one place they called home at the moment. And they were both fine with that. The effects of their prior drinking were beginning to return to them somewhat, now that their new friend Eli wasn’t applying an alleviating effect on their minds, and all the excitement of finding out there was a male aswang (that they, fortunately, did not have to deal with themselves) was wearing off.

Kayla was ready to hit the hay, after checking on her arm. Kyle, however, took it upon himself to ring Parker for an update, however bothered he was by a minor headache. He contacted the Center on his phone and had his call directed to the man, ready in the event that his head were wracked even more than it already was.

There was silence on the other side, then a sudden ‘Hmph!’ as if the person on the line was just realizing they had been connected to someone and was swallowing their drink. “Good evening, kiddo. Good to hear from you.”

“Yeah.” Kyle responded, rubbing his forehead with his free hand.

“To what do I owe the pleasure?”

“Aswangs are dead.”

“Excellent shooting, as always. Still coating the bullets the right way? Instead of however Rona teaches it?”

“I don’t want to get into it, Lance. Head hurts.”

“Sorry, kiddo. It’s just nice to hear from you. You two keep me young.”

“Yeah. Uh… Kayla and I are, gonna check for a nest tomorrow. The city has an abandoned metro network.”

Parker hummed on the other side of the line. “You did say Aswangs didn’t you? Did you ever find that Jäger I told you about?”

“Yeah. She wasn’t...” He sighed as he searched for fhe word. “Informed. Not that pleasant, either.”

“The enemy of thy enemy is thy friend.” Parker mused.

“I don’t think that’s the case here.” Kyle said in a rather deflated manner, “At least, she’s turned around on Kayla real quick.”

“Your sister has a way with people. I should’ve warned you about the potential of the Jäger being dormant. Witch blood and Jäger blood have history. I apologize.”

“It’s fine. There, uh… there’s some other stuff here. Vampires running drugs and prostitution rings, probably a lot more we don’t know about…” A heavy, tired sigh from Kyle. “Have to figure it out.”

“I’ve always been proud of you two. I don't have a doubt in my mind that you’ll do what you think is right. And take care of business of course.”

“Okay. I’m… I think that’s everything.”

There was a deep sigh on the other side of the line. “Ah, if you say so. Thank you for checking in, Kyle.”

“Actually, uh… there was someone else. This woman who had... mental powers, naturally. No magic at all. Metahuman.”

“Hmm. She help?”

“Yeah. A lot. She, uh… she does well, with the work.”

“Interesting. There is a small sect of other Tourists in the city exploring the metahuman epidemic - the mundane that become less mundane. If need be, I can always send you their way if you need help. Or send backup from here.”

“Okay, I’ll keep that mind.”

“This city gets more exciting by the day.”

“Yeah… anyway, that- that’s everything. Bye, Lance.”

“Have a good night, kiddo.”

With that, Kyle hung up his phone and set it aside on the nearby nightstand. He took off his glasses and rubbed his eyes a bit, about ready to get some sleep like his sister was already doing.

He didn’t know about Kayla, but he wanted to take care of that nest as early in the morning as they could manage.

Santa Celia: Coast to Coast

“You’re sure this is the right tunnel?”

“Yes.”

A young, rather short woman was making her way through one of Santa Celia’s many abandoned metro tunnels. Caucasian with a hint of Asian features to her face, pale blue eyes, black hair shaved short at the back and sides, the top still somewhat short and unkempt, a red-dyed streak above her forehead. Red shirt, black jacket, gray jeans, and black sneakers and gloves. She held a flashlight in her left hand, illuminating the tunnel. Her right hand held some form of communication device to her ear, connected to someone who wasn’t physically present.

“It’s up ahead.” The woman’s voice on the other end says. Her voice sounds aged, with an evident Iranian accent.

“Okay.” The young girl replies, “And no one’s gonna be down here, right?”

“No one. Stop worrying. I told you all the details.”

“Okay, okay, I’m sorry, I just… ju- oh my God it stinks down here!”

“That means you’re very close.”

The girl keeps moving, eventually coming up to a very out-of-place scene. A sludge-covered spot in the tunnel, a nest of a dozen large, baby-sized eggs forming a crooked circle around the spot. The girl shines her flashlight on them, a very disgusted look forming on her face as she catches sight of the infant-like silhouettes within the sanguine pods. She keeps a few feet worth of distance between herself and the nest, speaking to her friend on the line once again.

“Jesus Christ... Miss Shirazi, what do they want with-”

“Elsie, I need you to stop asking questions and just grab one of the eggs.”

“Okay! Okay… any one of them will do?”

“Yes, just be quick. We need to set it up in artificial incubation as soon as possible.”

“Okay.”

The girl, Elsie, approaches one of the eggs. She crouched down and shines her flashlight at the infantile creature inside, once again narrowing her eyes and scrunching her nose in disgusted recoil. After a moment, she regains her composure and stands up. She places her gloved hands on the egg, pulling it upward. She struggles, but with some effort, the egg detaches from its place in the sludge-nest. Else holds it in her hands, grunting a bit at the egg’s surprising weight. She contacts her friend Miss Shirazi once again.

“Got it!”

“Good. Get back here quickly”

“Okay.”

And with that, Elsie vanishes instantly, along with the egg. The space where she stood fluctuates for a split second before correcting itself. Teleportation, an apparent ability of hers. She is gone without a trace - and the aswang nest with no parents to care for it is left to its own fate.

Santa Celia: Coast to Coast

Kyle, Kayla, and Eli

Written with @JunkMail and @Skai

---

With the aswang’s body reduced to ashes, and the ashes wiped away, the Fosters and Eli considered the job done. They gathered themselves after the fight and exited the alley, heading back in the direction of the nÓg. And while Eli had released her ameliorating grip on the Fosters’ minds, the fight itself had done a bit to sober them up some. A night of rest was still very much in order, however.

“Once again, Eli…” Kyle began, as the three kept their pace along the sidewalk, “You did great.” Indeed, this was the second instance in the same day she’d performed admirably, utilizing her mental abilities. It could be seen that both Kyle and his sister were impressed even with their variangly drunken states. “You really did.” Kayla followed up. It wasn’t every day a human met a supernatural beast and walked away unscathed.

Eli smiled over at the Tourists. “Thank you. I can’t say I’ve ever done anything like that before, but I know how to handle myself.” She turned her attention back to the street and brushed her hair back from her face. The whiskey had faded, and she was just now starting to feel exhaustion creeping back in. Even after her nap earlier today, she’d just affected two humans and a supernatural creature: a feat she’d never expected to accomplish.

“Is this what you two do every day? Was that a normal evening in the Tourist world?” She asked, turning her attention back to Kyle and Kayla.

“Well…” Kyle replied, “Every... other day, more like.”

Kayla snorted. “Was that something humorous I just heard come out of your mouth?” she said, feigning surprise. “Well I never!”

“Okay, settle down.” Was Kyle’s only response, with a bit of a humored smirk.

Eli grinned, listening to the siblings. “I think he has some humor in that head of his.”

The humorous atmosphere was broken by the sounds of two gunshots in the distance. Kayla instinctively dropped her stance by a few inches as if she thought she was being shot at, but quickly realized that she wasn’t in immediate danger. She rose back to her full height, clutching her injured arm close to her chest and asked the most pressing question: “What the hell was that?”

Eli stood next to her, frozen in place. She glanced over in Kayla’s direction before looking back at the direction the shot came from, her expression showing her concern. “I don’t know, but it sounds like it came from the nÓg.”

“Move.” Kyle said sternly, quickening his pace ahead of the two. They followed beside him as they hastily made their way towards the nÓg. Once they were approaching the establishment, they noticed people filing out of the doors, most with worried expressions, concerned as to what the gunshots were for. Several were already making distance between themselves and the bar.

“Go around back.” Kyle said, and the trio did so. Cutting through the side of the building to reach the back parking lot, they came upon a somewhat unsettling scene. Ellara stood there, bizarrely constructed shotgun in hand, splattered in a familiar ichorous sludge. At her feet, the corpse of a creature akin to what the trio had just defeated - albeit lacking anything above the neck. The still-smiling head lied a short ways away, beside a nearby dumpster. Its blood made an awful mess of the parking lot.

Kayla, having done her homework on philippine folklore, was instantly on the head. “Stay back, these creatures have a nasty habit of being able to remove portions of their body and be fine. Might not be dead.” She stated, an explosive flame dancing in the palm of her good hand, waiting for any signs of life.

Eli stepped further into the alley, looking between the dismembered wing, head, and the large body laying before the bartender. “There were two of these things?” She thought aloud. Her head turned to look at Kyle, and then at the bartender.

“What happened?” Kyle said aloud, looking straight at Ellara.

@Lord Wraith

Santa Celia: Coast to Coast

Kyle, Kayla, and Eli

Written with @JunkMail and @Skai

---

“Oooh-oooh, here she comes… she’s a-”

“You two sound like you’re having fun!”

The Fosters both turned their heads to look behind them, stopping there repeated singing of the song’s refrain. A young Filipino woman had approached them, smiling as she greeted the duo by calling attention to their inebriated merriment. Kyle’s amulet began to vibrate, and thankfully, he was not too drunk to notice. He tapped Kayla’s shoulder, and then waved his hand about lightly for a moment before tapping his chest twice. Kayla responded by smiling, and laughing a little bit, patting her brother’s arm with both her hands repeatedly.

“We’re just…” Kyle said to the woman, “We’re… yeah! Fun…”

“It’s been a-uh- a great night.” Kayla said, allowing herself to slur her speech a tad.

“May I ask where you were going?” The woman said.

“Oh, we’re on our way h-” Kyle began, pausing to slur a bit. “H-home. Had a... ffffun night. That’s all.”

“Maybe you could use some company?” The woman responded, stepping towards the two, doing her best to make herself look as unassuming as possible. “I was out looking to do something fun and, here you two are.” She said, passing her gaze to Kayla. “Especially you…” Her last two words were especially… intent.

“Sure! The more the merrier!” Kayla replied, playing into the woman’s game. “We were uh, trying to get back home to get my wallet. We both flew in recently.” Kayla said, leaning against Kyle as if to stop herself from swaying. “Do you know where the closest bus stop is? Probably can't drive or afford a cab right now.”

“Yes, I know where one is nearby.” The woman replied, “We can get there quicker if we cut through a few alleys.”

“Peeeerfect.” Kyle said, nodding and giving a very wry smile. As the woman took the lead towards the nearest alley entrance, Kayla following, Kyle turned his attention towards Eli in the distance. He raised his hand and waved it back in this direction, signalling her to follow behind them. Eli, already cautious of the stranger, crossed the street and continued towards the alleyway. She quickened her pace so that she could keep an eye on them.

As the Fosters and the woman began their trek through the alley, she put herself closer to Kayla’s side, almost brushing shoulders.

“So…” She said, in a rather low voice, “Is he your boyfriend? Husband?” It was clear she was trying to keep Kyle out of the conversation.

“Brother, ‘nd best friend. We haven't been able to see each other inna while.” Kayla answered, only half truthfully. The two of them had been together from the beginning of their supernatural journey.

“Think he wouldn’t mind you and me going on once we get back to your house?” The woman said, “I know a great place nearby. You and I could have so much fun there, I promise!”

As the two spoke Kyle turned his head back around to check on Eli, still following along at a safe distance. They both nodded to each other, and Kyle began creeping his hand closer towards the pocket he was keeping his weapon concealed.

“What kind of fun are ya thinkin’?”

“Dance a little, get a drink or two…” The woman replied, “Get a bite to eat?”

“Sounds I could use a bite to eat.” Kayla commented offhandedly. She was being serious, too. She hadn’t eaten in a few hours today. Once this was done, she’d probably ask Kyle if they could get some fast food.

“Lovely!” The woman replied, “Actually, do you think your brother can handle himself from here? If you and I leave now, everything will be my treat, I promise.”

Kayla hesitated. “I’d prefer to stick with my brother. He’s the reason why I’m visiting town.”

“C’mooon…” The woman said, sidling up to Kayla and placing her hand on her arm. The skin began to morph, and her claws became ever so lightly detectable. “It’ll be worth it, I promise. Just tell him to leave, and-”

Click.

The woman’s deceitful smile dropped immediately as she turned her head, only looking at Kyle - now brandishing his gun - for half a second, before ducking low to the ground, mouth stretching into an abominable maw full of needle-teeth, tongue extending outward. She screeched, and as Kyle fired twice, both shots missing thanks to his light stupor and her freakish agility, the aswang leapt high above him, clinging to a nearby fire escape ladder.

“Now!” Kyle yelled, turned his head back towards Eli for a moment before attempting to retrain his gaze on the aswang.

A few seconds later, their inebriation no longer affected the two as Eli ducked behind a pile of trash cans. She crouched low, keeping her focus more on the Tourists than the position of the aswang. She kept her eyes open, but they glazed over as her ability affected her own vision. Her hand was tucked into the pouch, firmly grasping the grip.

“Neuma!” Kayla shouted, flexing her hands and throwing them down towards the ground, ripping the fire escape that the Aswang was clinging to clear off the building wall to prevent her from escaping. “Natua dina!” she commanded, sealing the sounds of the alleyway off from the rest of the world to prevent unwanted attention.

The aswang turned her head towards her assailants, leaping off of the fire escape ladder and onto the opposing wall. Clinging to the side of the building, she flourished her whip-tongue and swiped at Kayla.

As the sounds of the fight reached Eli, something within her convinced herself that more could be done. She inhaled, preparing herself for a moment before she stepped out from her hiding place. Standing directly behind the horrifying creature, Eli felt dazed momentarily as she tried to get a grip on the monster’s senses. She gasped as she felt the connection, an eerie feeling passing over her. Without thinking too much about it, she immediately removed it’s sight while overwhelming her remaining senses. Kayla made a split second decision to allow the tongue to land an indirect strike on her arm instead of her chest or neck. The needle like tip of the tongue dug into her forearm, but before the paralytic agent could fully take effect, she wrapped the creature’s tongue around her arm once and pulled it close to her chest with her good arm as she lost feeling in the injured limb, preventing the creature from moving without dragging a hundred or so pounds of weight. With the creature immobilized in a multitude of ways, Kyle took it as a clear opportunity to aim at the creature and begin firing.

Quickly following Kyle’s lead, Eli pulled the glock from the magic pouch and stepped to the side of the aswang. She cocked the gun and proceeded to unload it into the creature’s side. Both of them riddled the creature with silver bullets, audible screeches of pain sounding out from its mouth. The aswang quickly lost its grip on the building wall, stumbling, and then falling. It slammed into a pair of garbage cans, and immediately scrambled to crawl away from the trio, knowing this was a losing battle. Her blindness, however, caused her to make several poor choices in which direction to escape in. Several trails of black sludge followed behind her as her wounds bled into the alley.

”Entula sinome!” Kayla shouted, her good hand flexing and dragging the Aswang’s body back to them kicking and screaming with an unseen force- her telekinesis. Kyle and Eli both approached the creature on each side as she madly attempted to crawl away, her claws scratching the stained ground beneath her. The duo aimed their weapons down at the aswang, and began firing repeatedly. Bullets riddled her upper back and her head, bits of her flying off along with small shreds of clothes. Within a moment, she became still, the only indicator of her still being the slightest bit alive, a few pained breaths escaping through her teeth. Kyle made his way around the fallen creature and placed two more shots into her head, making certain she was good and gone.

“This is probably going to be painful tomorrow.” Kayla muttered, working the creature’s now limp tongue out of her arm and dropping the appendage with distaste. “Disgusting. Eli, could you help me wrap up my arm?”

Eli turned her attention towards Kayla, preferring not to witness what remained of the creatures head. She nodded, taking a moment to release her effects on the two Tourists. She’d felt the connection to the aswang disappear the moment she heard the bullets enter its head. She quickly made her way towards Kayla, pocketing the gun and helping to bandage the painful looking wound.

“Kyle, could you do the honors this time? I usually need both hands to… dispose of the evidence.” she commented, conveniently ignoring the part of the fire escape that she had pulled off the building wall. “Thank you, Eli.” she followed, giving her friend a smile for her effort.

“Yeah.” Kyle replied, reaching into his inner coat pockets. After a moment of fumbling, he pulled out a small crimson marble, with a light glow to it. “You should stand back.” He said to both Kayla and Eli. As they did so, Kyle raised the marble into the air, and then struck the aswang corpse with it. It burst into a small explosion of flames, quickly enveloping the corpse whole.

The light from the fire illuminated the alley greatly.

Santa Celia: Coast to Coast

Kyle, Kayla, and Eli

---

The doors to the Tír na nÓg swung open, and out stumbled two Foster-folk, both varying in their levels of inebriation. Kayla was snickering about something, somewhat to the chagrin of Kyle, who was simply attempting to keep a straight line in his pace. As they walked a short ways away from the bar, Kayla began to… sing.

“She’ll oonly c-heh-ome out at niiiight… the leeean and huuungry type…”

Kyle just turned his head to watch his sister waver in both step and voice, a confused and slightly worried look etched on his face.

“Nothin’ is new, I’ve- seen ‘er here befooooore…” As she finished the word, she held her hands palms-outward, motioning for her brother to join her. Something on her drunken mug made it seem as though she just knew he knew the lyrics. Kyle just stood there for a moment, silent, mouth just slightly agape. And then, it happened.

“Wwwwatching and waiting…”

Kayla smiled wide, shaking her hands in joy.

“Oh she’s sitting with you, but her eyes are oooon the dooo-hooor…”

Admittedly, Kyle’s singing was rather sub-par. But the man was a little drunk, after all. Something that rarely happened, and Kayla considered herself fortunate to behold. Even rarer was the singing, which by all reasonable accounts, should not happen.

“Ooo-ooh here she comes…” They sang in unison, skipping the latter half of the first verse, “Watch out boy, she’ll chew you up! Ooo-ooh, here she comes… she’s a maaaaneeeater!”

As they moved further away from the nÓg, out came Eli through the entrance herself. Not nearly as inebriated as the Fosters, thankfully. She kept her distance from them, as far as she could so as to keep them in her range of affect. She moved over to the opposing sidewalk, keeping her hand close to the pouch containing the handgun Kyle had lent her, and eyes scanning the surrounding area. As she heard the two Tourists sing in the distance, she couldn’t help but crack a smile.

If all their efforts would be dealt a stroke of luck, the aswang would come and make an attempt on their lives. And despite evidence to the contrary, they would be ready for the creature.

@JunkMail
@Skai

Santa Celia: Coast to Coast

The Spank Plank is a sacred artifact of the church and you are not allowed to appropriate it for your shenanigans

Santa Celia: Coast to Coast

<Snipped quote by Fetzen>

NEXT VICTIM

@JunkMail

NAIL HIM TO THE SPANK PLANK

Santa Celia: Coast to Coast

Kyle and Kayla Foster

_{Written with @JunkMail}

---

Hexenblut.

Kayla narrowed her brow at the word, hiding the rest of her apparent irritation behind a stalwart expression. Then she sighed. “Y’know, probably not the most tactful thing.” She trailed off. This girl obviously had little barrier between her brain and her mouth- if there was much of a brain up there at all. Tourists and Jagers carried a stigma to most of the undesirables in the supernatural community, and justifiably so. During their last visit, there had been one in the very building that they had removed from the premises for Ellara. “The walls always have ears.”

“Look, we…” Kyle began, motioning his hands towards Kayla in an attempt to get her to not say another word, and then looking at Ellara, “We wanted to apologize for yesterday’s incident. It was unprofessional of us, to be that confrontational with someone we’d never met before.” He passed a look to his sister, wordlessly telling her to add to the ongoing apology. Lord knows she was the one who really had to sell it.

“For what it’s worth, I didn’t... “ Kayla said, trying to find her words. “Y’know, do anything to cause such a reaction. At least, not intentionally. Sorry for setting you off, though. Honesty, I don't think any of the three of us know what that was about.” She sent a look over to her brother before continuing. “At least, not fully.”

“We just want to have a few drinks, and then be on our way.” Kyle said, “We won’t bother you beyond that.”

“Duty calls tonight.” Kayla added, not really expanding on what they were up to. “Just get us a couple shots and something to chase them with. Any spirit will do, really.” Kayla said, then quickly corrected herself, “Except Tequila. No Tequila. Fuck Tequila.”

@Lord Wraith

Santa Celia: Coast to Coast

A woman is in her car, driving through Árido Valley, late at night. Late twenties, caucasian, blond. She looks somewhat tired, though she keeps her focus on the road. There are few cars nearby, either falling back or passing her. For a while, she is alone.

She eyes the trees lining the right side of the road, if only briefly. Her mind wanders, thinking about what she’ll do when she gets to her parents’ home. It’d been quite a while since last she saw them. And she-

Clicking noise, outside of the car.

Something slams into the driver’s side.

The car swerves to the right, tires squealing. It slides off the road and onto the grass before the trees. The woman is far too panicked to attempt to regain control of the vehicle. The passenger’s side slams into a tree, and the car comes to a quick stop over shredded grass and dirt. The driver’s airbag is deployed. The woman is tossed around some, but still conscious. She breathes frantically, pushing the airbag down. Once she realizes what’s happened, she attempts to calm herself, but doesn’t quite succeed. After a moment, she wrestles her seatbelt off and slowly pushes the car door open, exiting the vehicle.

She stumbles outside, still somewhat panicked. She looks around, up the incline towards the road. No lights. No one passing by. She takes out her phone, luckily still intact. She attempts to call emergency services, but-

Loud noise.

Something hits the car.

She jumps, nearly dropping her phone. She turns around to look at her car. The first thing she notices is a pair of hands - large, gangly hands - wrapped around the top. She looks up, only seeing the faint outline of something perched on top of her vehicle, before that same outline lunges forth and wraps its enormous maw around her head.

She screams. But it is muffled, and no one is around to hear her. Her phone falls out of her hands as her arms struggle wildly. The creature’s neck stretches over her body, enveloping her completely in wrinkled flesh and red tendrils. She is swallowed whole in a manner of seconds.

The creature clicks and bellows lightly, dismounting itself from on top of the car, scurrying into the forest with its abdomen bloated and loose. The car is left as it was, headlights beaming into the dark.

No one saw.

Santa Celia: Coast to Coast

Kyle and Kayla Foster

Written with @JunkMail

---

With Kyle a few vampires higher in his kill count and Kayla having unburdened a troubled man’s psyche, the Fosters moved to return to the motel and figure out what to do next, now that they had a solid grasp of the creature they were hunting - an aswang, specifically the vampiric manananggal.

Kyle arrived first, due in part to him already being in the truck and closer to the motel, though traffic did keep him a bit. Kayla arrived not too long after via Uber. Kyle waited beside the truck as Kayla approached.

“Hey.” They said to each other.

“How’d you get along?” Kyle asked his sister.

“Got what we needed out of Mr. Whittle.” She said, placing her hand on her hip and giving him a smile. “Name’s Jane Whittle now, by the way. Hopefully, he can start making a recovery from what he’s been through. Mentally, at least. What about you?”

“Raided a small Blood Cult den. Six dead vampires, not all of which were solely my doing.”

“Yeah, tell me about this new friend of yours?”

“Inside.” Kyle said, and the two made their way up to the second floor.

...

“Illusions?” Kayla asked.

“Seemed like it.” Kyle replied, “She was messing with their heads somehow. Fooling them into traps or just incapacitating them.”

“And it wasn’t magic?”

“My amulet went quiet as soon as the last vampire was dead. It was some form of natural mentalism.”

“Huh.”

“We have heard of a few cases of them before, at the Center. Never had any around though.” Kyle stated, “They’re a phenomenon, to put it plainly.”

“I see.” Kayla replied, “Well, this ‘Vertigo’ lady… how much did you tell her?”

“Just enough. She made herself sound like a novice but she was well composed during the raid.”

“So did you give her your info, or- heh, did she give you hers?” She said hopefully.

“Kayla.”

“Oh c’mon! Honest question!” she replied, throwing her arms in the air in self defense.

“That is not what we are here for.” Kyle retorted.

“I’m just saying, it would be a pleasant surprise if one of these days, you actually made an effort to get to know a nice girl.”

“I’m gonna put a stop, to this topic…” Kyle said, motioning his hand in a halting fashion, “And ask you, politely, to move on to the more important matter. This… ‘manananggal’ creature.”

“Okay so, you know chameleons right?” Kayla began, “They’re like… lizards that were tricked out by Q Branch in James Bond. Got that long ass tongue? Imagine that, but on a vampire.” she explained. “That’s their… proboscis of sorts. The teeth just make the wound. Likely human sized, or only slightly larger. Long claws, too. Whittle was carved up pretty bad.” she went quiet for a moment, but Kyle knew better than to speak. His sister always had at least one more thing to add in situations like this. Something about dramatic flair.

“Some folklore say that they have wings too, but that could be a subspecies or an undescribed species. Either way, hope you’ve been practicing your skeet shooting.”

“Alright.” Kyle replied, taking in all the info he was dealt. He then asked, “How do we go about finding it?”

Kayla sighed. “From what I saw of Oliver’s memory, this one seems to like playing helpless and picking unprepared or unarmed victims. I have an idea, but you’re not going to like it.”

“You want to set me up as bait for a trap.” Kyle replied, very plainly. Like he’d said those exact words many times before.

“Well, it likes men. But it gets worse. We have to replicate what happened to Oliver.” She explained, motioning with her hands. “Oliver was inebriated when he was attacked. I’m not going to ask you to get drunk, but a shot or two before taking to the streets may make you smell enough like alcohol to make it think you’re an easy target.”

Kyle just blew a puff of air out of his nose in mild annoyance. “Fine.” He replied, “And you’ll be doing what, exactly?”

“From what happened with Oliver, it didn’t take issue with attacking two people at once. I’ll be right behind you as backup. Likely also somewhat inebriated.” she said, looking down and then up at Kyle again with somewhat odd mixture that could only be a distraught smile. “So, at least it’s not just you as bait. It’s US as bait.”

Kyle just shook his head a bit.

“Only been here two days and I already hate this town.”