Jack And Anna - Back To Winnipeg

5. Creeptacular-1

Turning away from her husband, Anna stormed through the grass, heading back toward the road. A violent shudder went through her. To hear Jack voice all of her worst fears…She wasn’t ready for that.

“Anna?” he called after her.

She kept going.

“Anna?”

Freezing in her tracks, she raised a hand to silence him. “Sweetie, it’s okay.” Her voice shook with every syllable. “I understand. We’re…We’re both asking some very uncomfortable questions.”

Jack was a man of mist in her mind: a hazy silhouette who jogged through the grass in a desperate attempt to keep up. “Yeah, I know, but you’ve been going through so much lately. I should have thought before I spoke.”

Spinning around to face him, Anna stared up into his eyes. Despite her best efforts, a tear slid down her cheek. “Seems like you’ve been going through a lot too.”

“I know, but-”

“Jack, your feelings aren’t less valid than mine,” she insisted. “And you don’t have to hide them just because you think I won’t be able to handle it. I just…Bleakness take me. Can we talk about this tomorrow?”

“Okay, but can I-”

“Sweetie,” she said with far more sharpness than she had intended. “I can’t deal with this right now.”

can’tIt broke her heart when he wilted like a flower that didn’t get enough light. But what more could she do? She wanted to be there for him, but she wasn’t sure how. Not when her own feelings were a frazzled ball of chaos and confusion.

Seth was deeply concerned for her. Somehow, she could feel her Nassai’s emotions like a beacon in the tempest. She would probably have to speak to him later. Keepers could communicate with their symbionts by placing themselves in a deep state of meditation.

“Come on,” Anna said. “We should probably get some rest.”

* * *

When she woke up the next morning, she wasn’t the least bit surprised to find that she was still exhausted. Jack was sound asleep beside her. She thought about waking him, but Arthur had said they wouldn’t be meeting with his contact until Eleven. They had plenty of time to get ready; Jack could use the extra sleep, and she could use a little solitude.

Climbing out of bed, Anna stretched with both fists thrust high above her head. She yawned so hard that her jaw hurt. Well, that settled it then! No more hopping from planet to planet! They would have to pick somewhere and stay there for a while.

She padded across the room in her white shorts and a flimsy, gray tank top, bracing her hands on the windowsill and peering through the glass. An eager sun shone down on the backyard. The lush, green grass sparkled with dew, and the maple tree cast a lengthy shadow toward the house.

Squinting, Anna shielded her eyes against the glare. “New day, new opportunities.” She turned away from the window and hurried to the door, suppressing a groan when it creaked. She really didn’t want to wake Jack, and not just because he needed the rest. She was still trying to work through her feelings.

The hardwood floor was cool beneath her bare feet as she crept across the landing. Down the stairs she went, barely making a sound along the way. It was just instinct for her now. All those years of stealthing her way through ships and labs and other facilities where the guards would shoot her on sight had paid off.

Anna paused on the bottom step, gripping the railing with one hand and grimacing as an ugly thought occurred to her. What exactly had that damned war done to her?

Maybe it was best if she didn’t try to answer that question.

She continued through the narrow hallway toward the back of the house. When she entered the kitchen, she was pleased to find it empty. Now, if she could just remember where Arthur kept his tea.

She had to open several cupboards before she found it. And that was only phase one of a very difficult process. She couldn’t remember how these Earth appliances were supposed to work. Back home, you just put the package of tea in the hot beverage machine, and it boiled the water. So, which of these oddly-shaped devices was the kettle?

She heard Arthur’s footsteps long before he entered the room. The man had a way of dragging his feet. He shambled through the open doorway, belting his blue robe in the process, and grunted when he saw her.

Blushing, he very pointedly averted his eyes.

Anna frowned, looking down at herself. Was it the tank top? Sure, it was a little skimpy, but it wasn’t like she was walking around n***d. Was she supposed to wear a robe now? Earthers were so prudish.

“Can I get you something to eat?” Arthur asked.

“I just need to find the tea kettle.”

“Second cupboard to the right of the sink.” He went to the coffee maker and pushed a button that made it start buzzing. Flecks of dust swirled around him, sparkling in the warm sunlight that came through the window. “You can have some of this if you like.”

Resting one hand on the counter, Anna smiled and shook her head. “Keepers don’t drink a lot of coffee.”

“Right, it aggravates your…passengers.”

“Our Nassai.”

“I heard that somewhere.”

Anna retrieved the kettle and filled it with water from the tap. Then she plugged it into the wall. She wasn’t sure what Arthur had to eat around here. Maybe she could make herself some oatmeal.

“So, you had a fight?” Arthur prodded.

She froze, unsure of how to answer, and watched him from the corner of her eye. “How exactly did you figure that out?”

The old man was smiling as he pulled a mug down from one of the high cupboards. “I’ve seen that look on my wife’s face before. So, what happened?”

“It wasn’t really a fight,” Anna explained. “More of a discussion. But it did leave me feeling rattled. I’ve been having some mental health issues ever since I lost my family. All this time, I thought Jack was my rock in all this, but last night…”

“He unloaded all the things he’s been keeping bottled up.”

“Yeah.”

The coffee was percolating now, dark liquid filling the pot. It would be ready in a moment, but Arthur was decidedly impatient. He winced every time a flicker of sunlight touched his face. Anna was starting to think that he might just be a little hungover. “Well, it’s understandable that he would need some time to make sense of it.”

She couldn’t believe her ears. Was Arthur Hunter of all people displaying empathy? Until this morning, she would have sworn that he injected the toxic masculinity directly into his bloodstream.

“Be honest with me, Anna,” he said, changing the subject. “Do you really think you can help with all the strangeness going on around here?”

She answered him with a reassuring smile. “Arthur, in my admittedly short career, I’ve fought cyborgs, shapeshifting aliens, killer robots and evil Keepers. I guarantee you that whatever’s going on here, we’ll get to the bottom of it.”

* * *

The third floor of Winnipeg’s West End Police Station had gray walls and plenty of cubicles. Every desk had a polished, black surface, a monitor and a phone – and most of those were ringing. The steady trill of incoming calls filled the air.

Arthur’s contact was Detective Michael Hill, a heavyset brick of a man with a dark complexion and a beard of silver stubble. His face was an unresponsive, emotionless slab, his eyes permanently fixed in a thousand-yard stare. Somehow, Anna got the impression that he didn’t like her very much. “Really, Art?” he said. “These are the people you’ve called in to help me?”

“TheseOf course, Arthur didn’t respond. He just stood at the edge of the cubicle, seemingly fascinated by the dull, gray carpet. Anna couldn’t begin to guess what he was thinking, but she knew she’d get no help from him.

Having changed into slacks and a maroon blouse, Anna sat across from the good detective. She put her irritation aside and favoured the man with a pleasant smile. “We just want to make sure that everyone is safe and that nothing out of the ordinary is going on. That’s all.”

It sounded a little scripted to her ears, but she knew from experience that was the kind of bland, milquetoast response cops tended to prefer. She just hoped that he didn’t ask to see her identification. She had none to offer.

Instead of arguing with her, Hill opened his desk drawer and retrieved a folder that he threw down in front of her. “It’s all right there,” he said. “Every call and every report of strange phenomena in the last two weeks.”

“What kind of strange phenomena?” Jack asked.

He had claimed a chair on Anna’s right, and now he sat with hands on his knees, studying the detective like a raptor that was just begging its prey to run. Her husband had never been very comfortable around authority figures, and the last few years had only worsened matters.

Luckily, Hill wasn’t the least bit phased by his animosity. “Oh, we’ve heard it all,” he replied. “Carrie Randall claims to have seen a hairy, ape-like creature skulking in the woods near her home. Carmilla Fiorentini reported a shadowy figure in ‘an old-timey hat.’ Patrick McDonald saw strange lights flying erratically at the edge of his property.”

“And you ruled out all the usual suspects?” Jack asked. “Gas leaks, infrasound, that sort of thing?”

Hill’s only answer to that was a withering glare.

Flipping through the pages of his rather sparse police report, Anna pursed her lips when she noticed a pattern. “Wait a minute,” she interjected. “If I’m reading this right, many of these addresses are near each other. Some are on the same street.”

Hill nodded. “Out by Pollock Island.”

“Then I guess that’s where we should begin.”

“Best of luck to you,” Hill grumbled. “I don’t think anyone can solve an epidemic of the crazies, but here we are.”

* * *

Arthur’s old, rumbling car – which was really Jack’s car from his time in Ottawa – rolled along a narrow, little street. The forest seemed to have grown around the nearby houses as if the humans had intruded on some primal scrap of nature that refused to relinquish its claim on this land. Just about every front yard had at least one tree, and many had a good deal more. Some homes were hidden behind a wall of green leaves, so well concealed she had to look twice to know they were there.

aroundFinally, the car settled to a stop on the curb.

Killing the engine, Arthur shot a glance over his shoulder. His face was tight with anxiety. Was he having second thoughts about this whole affair? As far as Anna was concerned, it was a little too late to back out now. “So, what now?”

Anna was in the back seat, wistfully staring out her passenger-side window. It was beautiful here. She had come to realize that she was much happier when she was surrounded by trees. “We should start by interviewing some of the witnesses. You said you know some of these people.”