51: The Series

51: The Storm Chapter 8 Part 2

Lindsay could barely see the road in front of her and wanted to drive much faster than she safely could. She needed to get to her department and ensure everyone was safe. She hoped to get whatever it was to stop throwing things. The drive that should have taken ten minutes took almost twice as long because of the storms. As she pulled in front of the building, she could see inside and saw something fly across the lobby. She had barely put her car in gear before she was out of it and running into the building. She stopped next to the front counter and saw something flying at her.

“Stop it!” she yelled at the top of her lungs. “Just stop!”

To her relief, it worked, and once again, it stopped. She turned her head to see that a paperweight was hanging in the air near her. She heard something and looked toward her office. Max, Yuri, and Hanna watched what had happened with wide eyes.

“Put everything back now!” she ordered, looking back at the paperweight. “I said, put it back!”

She watched as the paperweight hesitantly withdrew and gently returned to the desk. Slowly, several objects that had not broken began to move back to their original positions. Lindsay looked back at her office. She saw the door open, and Max walked out toward her.

“Um…Lindsay… how? What? I uh…” Max stammered.

“Max, you may want to go back to my office and sit down. All of you go sit down, and I will do my best to explain,” Lindsay told him.

Without a word, Max nodded, turned, and walked back to her office. He pulled three chairs to the front of her desk before he sat in one. Lindsay watched the last few things move back into place and looked at all the broken glass on the floor. She wondered if all the files were back together as they should be. Lindsay walked into her office and sat down at her desk. The gaze of all three who were working the night shift met her.

“I know all three of you have questions. The only thing I can tell you is I don’t know what it is or why it listens to me. Little Bob and I had a call a while back about the same kind of thing, and when it threw stuff at me, I yelled for it to stop. It worked, and that is all I did this time,” Lindsay explained.

“It listened to you. It understood what you said,” Max said in near disbelief.

“You can control these things?” Yuri asked with wonder in his voice.

“I don’t control any of these things. I have the feeling that this poltergeist thing will listen to anyone, so please don’t think I can do any more than you guys can because I can’t,” Lindsay told them gently.

“Hanna, will you please go back out to the front and transfer the phones back to there? Max and Yuri, you two, please go back to cleaning up, and I will come and help as soon as I make a call,” Lindsay told the three.

All three nodded, silently stood up, and walked out of her office. Lindsay felt sorry for them. What had happened would have been upsetting no matter where it was, but being inside the department made it even worse. The department was supposed to be a place where they were safe and could deal with whatever happened in the county. Lindsay picked up the phone on her desk and dialed her husband’s cell phone, hoping he would answer.

“How bad is it?” Wren asked, not waiting for her to say something.

“Well, we have broken picture frames and coffee cups, but I think that is it for the damage. I haven’t had a chance to look around and take a full inventory of what was destroyed. Hanna, Max, and Yuri are all in a state of shock right now. It was the same thing that happened out at Ms. Martin’s house. Wren, I yelled at it, and it listened to me again. They saw that happen, and now Yuri thinks I can control what is happening. I don’t know what to do about this one,” Lindsay told him.

“Don’t worry about that right now. Just focus on the chaos from the weather and forget about the weirdness. I know that will be hard with it happening in your department, but try. I will be there as soon as Dillon gets on the bus. We are sitting waiting for it now, and here it is. I am on my way, babe,” Wren told her, then hung up the phone.

She hung up the phone on her desk and looked out of her office into the rest of the department. All three who had worked the night shift were watching her. It made her very uncomfortable, as if now they viewed her as a monster or freak. She got up and went out to help clean up the mess. She walked toward Max, and he took a step back. She would not have felt any different if he had just punched her in the chest but did not say a word to her friend about it.

“Is there another broom I can use?” she asked, trying not to show how she felt.

“Ma’am, take mine. I will get another from the closet,” Yuri told her, handing her the broom he was using.

“Thank you, Yuri,” She said, taking it from him.

Yuri smiled at her before he walked to the closet and took out another.

Lindsay began to sweep in front of the counter. She swept a broken coffee cup into a pile and looked around to locate the dustpan she had seen a minute earlier.

“Where’s the dustpan?” she asked.

“I’ve got it, Lindsay. I’ll be there in a second,” Max answered.

Max seemed calmer than he had been when she first walked out of her office. Max finished sweeping glass into it and emptied it into the trashcan by his desk. Just as he did, the main door opened, and Little Bob walked in.

“What happened in here?” Little Bob asked, looking around.

Before Lindsay could say anything, Max answered, “Remember the poltergeist that the two of you had?” motioning to Little Bob and Lindsay. “Well, it happened in here early this morning.”

“Did you scold it again?” Little Bob asked, looking at Lindsay.

“Yes, and it stopped again. Now, these three think I control all the weirdness or have some kind of superpower,” Lindsay told him.

“Awww, that is sweet of them. Guys, I can promise you that she does not control any of this weirdness garbage, and her only superpower is the ability to scare the snot out of people and things. That and sarcasm. She is great with sarcasm, which definitely counts towards her superpowers. Do you need me to tell them anything else?” Little Bob asked, grinning at Lindsay.

“No, I think you’ve said enough,” Lindsay said, looking at the floor and shaking her head.

“OK, then give me that broom. You have reports on your desk to review, and you had better check the weather. I will see if I can get Max to make a pot of his night shift coffee for you,” Little Bob said, taking the broom out of her hands.

He was still wearing his raincoat and hat when he began to sweep the broken coffee cup into the dustpan Max had brought to him. While Little Bob swept, Max walked back to where the coffee pot sat on Little Bob’s desk to make the coffee.

“Uh…Bob, we will need to find a coffee pot first,” Max said, picking up the glass carafe. When he did, everyone could see the large hole in the side of it.

“Oh, this one plays dirty,” Little Bob said.

“Bob, I will give you money if you want to go get another pot at the store,” Lindsay offered.

“That’s not necessary. I will run to the store, get one, and be right back. I’ve been wanting to get a new one anyway. I will be back in just a few minutes,” Little Bob told her.

Little Bob dropped the broken coffee cup in the trash, leaned the broom against the counter, turned, and walked out. Lindsay looked at her watch and saw it was a bit before 7 a.m. Little Bob was an hour early for work. She shook her head and turned to go back to her office when the department phone rang. She waited as Hanna took the call and hung the phone up.

Hanna told her, “That was one of the schools on the south side of the county. They are canceling classes because of flooding. Some of the bus drivers can’t get out to start picking up kids. I have a list of the flooded roads.”

“And so it begins,” Lindsay said. “Alright, it looks like we need to start getting barricades up in a few places. Yuri, are you good to take a car and be on your own?” Lindsay asked him.

“Yes, ma’am, I think so,” he answered.

“OK, good. Just make sure that if there is water over the road, you do not drive or wade through it under any circumstances. Only if it is a matter of life and death do you even consider thinking about it,” Lindsay told him.

“Yes, ma’am, I understand,” Yuri assured her.

“Max, is Yuri ready to be on his own?” she asked.

“Yeah, I think so. He has survived two shifts on the road and being attacked by this office, so he should be fine,” Max told her.

“OK, I will get you the keys to one of the cars,” Lindsay told him. She walked back into her office, getting a set of keys from her desk drawer. She returned, handed Yuri the keys, and took the brooms from him and Max.

“Be careful, guys.” She said as they picked up their rain gear and began putting it on.

“Of course we will be,” Max said. “That reminds me of something. I was going to ask if Cat ever told you which brother is her favorite. If I ever need to sacrifice one to save myself, I don’t want it to be her favorite one,” he inquired, struggling to keep a serious tone.

“She hasn’t, so ask her when you get back. She should be here by then,” Lindsay answered with the same seriousness Max had used in asking the question.

“You are both horrible people,” Yuri said, laughing. “I think I will like working here.”

Max and Lindsay both laughed. Yuri and Max began to walk toward the door when the phone rang again. Lindsay held up her hand, motioning for them to wait until Hanna was done taking the call.

Hanna put the call on hold and said, “Sheriff, this is a weirdness call. The woman said an alien was standing in her yard, then the lightning flashed, and it was gone. What would you like me to tell her?”

“Tell her that due to the storms, we don’t have anyone available right now. Advise her to stay inside; if she sees it again, please call back. Make sure to get the address, so I can pass it on later,” Lindsay told her.

Lindsay told Max and Yuri, “Go ahead, you two.”

Lindsay went back to cleaning up the office. She went to the supply closet to retrieve paper towels and a bottle of cleanser. Lindsay was going to sweep but began to see debris on the desks. She could have told Hanna to do it, but after the shift she had, Lindsay thought she would do it instead. She heard the door chime and looked up to see Cat and Wren coming in.

Cat looked around and asked, “What happened in here?”

“Just a poltergeist, nothing to worry about,” Lindsay answered in a matter-of-fact tone.

“I knew I shouldn’t have asked,” Cat said, taking off her coat.

To Lindsay’s surprise, Cat wore a sweatshirt, jeans, and sneakers. Her hair was back, and she was wearing little to no makeup.

“Cat, are you feeling OK? I’m not trying to be mean, but I have never seen you look like this,” Lindsay said, standing up from the desk she was wiping off.

Cat laughed, “That’s OK. I would ask the same thing if I were you. Since my dispatchers who should be coming to work are not available, I will be filling in as needed. I decided this would be more comfortable if I am here for multiple shifts.”

“I thought you said starting at midnight, there would be two dispatchers on at a time. What happened last night?” Lindsay asked.

“I don’t know. He did not show up. When I woke up around 4:30 this morning, I called, asked how things were going, and found out he was not here. Thankfully, things still hadn’t picked up by then. We should have a second dispatcher coming in soon,” Cat answered.

While they were talking, Wren had been looking around the office and taking note of the damage. He walked up next to Lindsay and looked at her.

“So, you just yell at this thing, and it listens to you?” he quietly asked her.

“Yes, do you want to talk in my office about this?” she asked.

Yes,” he answered.

“I will finish cleaning while the two of you talk about this,” Cat said, motioning around the room.

“Thank you, Cat,” Lindsay said as she sat down the cleaning supplies in her hands and walked toward her office with Wren right behind her. They reached her office, and Wren closed the door behind them.

“Can you explain why this thing listens to you?” Wren asked her. The look on his face and tone of voice indicated that he was talking business, and it did not matter that they were married.

“Are you really asking me that? I don’t even know what this thing is. Both times, it sent things flying at my head, and I yelled at it because I didn’t want to be hit. Why is it in my department? I walked in here this morning to find everyone hiding in my office because, for whatever reason, it would not come in here. Why? Why is it even in this building? Do I need to worry about the people who work here even more now? Are they not even safe in their own department?” Lindsay asked. This was possibly the only time she had ever been angry with her husband.

“I don’t know why it is in this building. Some of these things seem to be drawn to you. It may have felt that you were here or had been here, and it responded. I still don’t know how you can speak to it,” Wren said, running his hand through his hair.

“OK, you keep saying it. Is this a living entity of some kind? Obviously, it can understand me in some way for some reason, so is it sentient?” Lindsay asked.

“I don’t know. I have never had any personal contact with it. When the incident on the base occurred, it included areas where I had little involvement. I knew the area was there and what took place but little about what the individuals were specifically working with because it wasn’t needed,” Wren explained. “What you and I are both dealing with now is the result of the individual projects,” Wren said.

“How many of those projects could cause immediate injury or death if encountered?” Lindsay asked, watching him walk toward the map on the wall.

“About half,” Wren answered.

“Half? How many is half? Can you give me a number, so I can have even a faint idea as to what I am dealing with?” Lindsay asked.

“I don’t know right off, probably over a hundred,” Wren told her, still looking at the map.

“So we have had over a hundred potentially deadly whatever these things are loose in the county for months now, and you didn’t think this was information that I needed to know?” Lindsay asked, staring at the top of her desk, trying not to yell at her husband. She was stunned by what he was telling her. She was so angry with Wren that she was on the verge of tears. The one person she trusted more than anyone she had ever known had kept information from her that could have cost someone their life.

“Lindsay, I couldn’t tell because it is all classified. I had no choice. After seeing this, I don’t care if it is; you need to know what is going on. After this thing with the weather is over, we both need to meet with someone. He was in charge of the program before I took over. He knows everything, and I think he can help us both,” Wren said, walking back over to her desk. He could see how angry she was. “I am sorry about all of this. I wish I had told you everything from the start.”

“I don’t know what to say right now,” Lindsay said, looking up at him.

“I will call you later,” he said, turning to go.

“Wren, wait, I know you did this for a reason, and professionally, I completely understand. Personally, I don’t think you have any idea how angry I am about this. That being said,” Lindsay paused and sighed. “Before you leave, do you have time for me to give you the normal list? I haven’t even looked at any of the files yet, and Hanna has one that came in this morning about an alien in a lady’s yard.”

“Alien? Please, there are no such things as aliens,” Wren said with a smile to break the tension. “I have plenty of time, and for you, even if I didn’t, I would find the time. I will get the address and information about it from Hanna and help clean up some while you work on the list.”

Wren walked out to where Hanna was at the counter as Lindsay began to go through the files on her desk. There were the now routine calls about strange lights on the ground that shoot into the sky and disappear. There was a call that unnerved her a little; it was about a werewolf. She had always hated the thought of a werewolf, not the idea of a human turning into an animal. She hated the idea of a large predatory dog with human traits. She even tried to avoid werewolf movies. Lindsay was writing down the information for Wren and making tags for the map when he returned to her office. She handed him his list, stood, walked over to the map on her office wall, and began marking the calls.

“You need a bigger map,” Wren said.

“Nope, I need a countywide exorcism,” Lindsay answered as she began to put the pins in the map.

“If that would work, I would have already done it,” Wren laughed.

“I know you would.”

“Hey, are we OK?” he asked her.

“Yeah, we’re OK,” she answered.

The door chimed, and the sound of Little Bob and Viktor almost yelling at each other interrupted them.

“Oh, that does not sound good,” Lindsay said.

She was walking toward her office door to see what was happening. Wren followed her, laughing a little. Little Bob was telling Viktor about the event in the office, and it was clear he did not believe one word of it.

Little Bob told Viktor, “I’m telling you, things were flying around this office! I watched the same thing happen out at a woman’s house, and the Sheriff just yelled at it, and it listened to her.”

“Bull! That cannot happen. Things cannot move on their own. There must be something to make them move,” Viktor replied loudly.

“It does move things; we just can’t see it. I don’t know if it has hands or what it does, but it happened here in this office this morning!” Little Bob said, getting even louder.

Just then, a book flew across the room toward them. They both looked stunned as it landed at their feet. Another one shot off the shelf and went toward the door before anyone could say or do anything. Lindsay ran out of her office and stopped in front of the counter.

“I told you to stop this!” she yelled. “Stop now!”

Wren watched in amazement as a book stopped in midair and hovered there. Little Bob saw it and smiled. Viktor saw it and went pale. Cat and Hanna both watched silently, with Cat raising an eyebrow.

“Stop breaking things here. Please, just put it back,” Lindsay said calmly. The book turned and came at her. She threw her hand up, trying to keep it from hitting her in the face, but it stopped inches from her. She put her hand down. “Please, put the book back. If you like it here, you can stay, just quit scaring my friends.”

They all watched the book as it hovered in front of her, only inches from her face. It was slowly moving from side to side slightly, almost as if it were looking at her. As she stood there, it slowly began to pull away and back toward the shelf where it had been. It slowly drifted to the shelf and back into place. The book that had landed on the floor near Little Bob and Viktor moved slowly back to the shelf and into place.

Lindsay looked around and saw the looks on everyone’s faces. It was a combination of fear and amazement. She did not say anything. She just walked back into her office, where Wren was still standing in the doorway. He closed the door as soon as she walked in.

“That was…,” Wren said, pointing toward the main lobby and shaking his hand slightly.

“That was what happened earlier this morning, but it went on for a while and broke almost every picture frame and coffee cup in the office,” Lindsay told him.

“That was amazing. How do you do that?” Wren asked.

“Do what?” she asked, pretending not to know what he was talking about.

“What? That! You can talk to it. You can actually communicate with them. First, it was Bow, and now this. This is amazing,” Wren said with excitement.

There was a knock on the door. Cat opened it and stuck her head into Lindsay’s office.

“Sheriff, there might be a problem. Max just got back, but Yuri is still out, and he’s not answering his radio. What would you like me to do?” she asked with concern in her voice.

“You want to go for a drive in the rain?” Lindsay asked Wren.

“Sure, it will give us a chance to talk more about what you just did,” Wren said.

“Don’t worry, Cat. We’ll go check on him. Give me the location where he went to block the road,” Lindsay said as she picked up her raincoat.

Wren was picking his coat up off the back of the chair when Cat brought in the location for them. Lindsay took one look at it and took a deep breath. She handed it to Wren. He did the same when he saw where they needed to go. That is the same place where one of Lindsay’s worst nightmares had been seen.