Page 15 of Fire
ASC NEUTRALIZE LOCAL THREAT
December 15, 1989
Residents of Chestnut Acres in Clarksburg expressed relief on Saturday after the Agency of Supernatural Control secured and removed a reported supernatural from their midst.
“I never would’ve guessed there was a freak on my own street,” said Mary Bevins, who has lived on Addler Road for more than twenty years. “Thank God for the quick response.”
The tip-off came just weeks after a werewolf was apprehended in nearby Stonewood after killing a young boy in a park.
The Murphy family first noticed something was wrong when a minor in their household began exhibiting unusual behavior. John Murphy reached out to the ASC, who arrived on the scene in less than 24 hours.
“We appreciate citizens for raising the alarm and calling the ASC hotline,” said Derek Dixon, head of the ASC’s West Virginia field office. “This is exactly what we hope to achieve with our public awareness campaigns. If you see something, say something. No threat is too small. Literally, in this case. The supernatural target took the appearance of a male child. Don’t ever underestimate freaks’ ability to take on the appearance of someone unthreatening, even a loved one.”
Silently, Tobias pushed the article toward Jake, then stood up and walked out of the library.
Jake found him sitting on a nearby picnic bench, his back to the table. Without speaking, he took a seat beside him.
Tobias cut him a look. “How are you doing?”
Jake looked wary. “Me?”
“Yeah, you. You’re the one who’s been swearing up and down there was nothing to find. Me, I was ready for this.”
“We still don’t know if that had anything to do with you.”
Tobias bit back an inappropriate urge to laugh. “I guess we have to go to Clarksburg, then. Fuck.” He leaned forward with his elbows on his knees, staring at the ground, before shooting Jake a glance from under his bangs. “Do you want to talk about how—weirdthis is? If I’m really from West Virginia too?”
Jake frowned. “What do you mean?”
“Don’t.” Tobias kicked at the dirt, too frustrated to speak for a minute. Finally he said, “If I came from anywhere near Morgantown. It’s weird, Jake.”
Jake braced his elbows on his own knees, dropping his head to Tobias’s level. “I dunno what’s weird about it. West Virginia gets a bad rap, but everyone’s gotta be from somewhere.”
Tobias dug his knuckles into either side of his temple. “Fifty states in the country, and I’m from the same as yours?”
“Well, you gotta admit, Hawaii and Alaska weren’t as likely.”
Tobias was not amused. “The ASC has stations there too. They’re everywhere.”
“Yeah, I know.”
This is a bad idea. Tobias had said it enough times before, he didn’t think there was a point in repeating it now. Jake was too stubborn to turn aside now, let alone admit that something seemed off. Which it did.
Shit,everythingfelt off.
Every night on the road to West Virginia, Tobias woke up from the same dream: sitting paralyzed in a dark van rumbling down a road, shadowy figures around him and low voices growling. He didn’t feel panicked or terrified, even though he knew what lay ahead on the road. Instead he had a sense of numb resignation, a fatality that left him stiff and motionless. It reminded him of all the nights he’d lain in his bunk, weighed down by the inevitability of what awaited him the next day.
At least now he didn’t wake up screaming or choking, but it was hard to close his eyes again, even when they ached from exhaustion.
He knew Jake was worried about him, but Toby didn’t have much to say during the day, as miles of blacktop passed under them and they drew closer to more unknowns.
Unknowns were always dangerous.
* * *
Cathy Miller,head librarian of Harrison County Public Library, prided herself on her ability to read teenagers. After all, she’d had nearly three decades of experience teaching high school English. She could sort out in half a minute which ones spelled trouble and which ones just wanted to look tough.
These two young men who’d walked in just after the library opened fell somewhere in the middle. She didn’t think they meant trouble, but they certainly seemed capable of it.
