51: The Series

51: The Storm Chapter 2 Part 1

Lindsay and Wren soon arrived at the scene where Little Bob and Annie had hit something. When they pulled up, Little Bob was staring at the car before he began to walk toward them. Annie was at the side of the road, bouncing up and down. As she did, her ponytail bounced up and down, making her look even younger than she was.

“When you said she was young, you weren’t kidding,” Wren said, watching Annie.

Lindsay replied, “I told you she’s barely legal to carry a gun. Did you think I was joking about that?”

“No, but good grief, she looks like she’s twelve,” Wren said.

“I know. Annie makes me feel old, and no comments from you about my age. Remember, you are older than I am,” Lindsay said.

They got out of the car just as Little Bob reached them. He just stood shaking his head. Wren reached into the backseat of Lindsay’s car and retrieved a black case.

“I hit something, and it is still there on the road, but for the life of me, there is nothing there,” Little Bob said, shaking his head.

“Don’t worry, Bob. It’ll be OK. How is Annie handling this?” Lindsay asked.

“She has been doing that since it happened. As soon as the car stopped, she got out and started that bouncing. She hasn’t stopped, and she hasn’t said a word,” Little Bob told her.

“The bouncing doesn’t worry me as much as her not saying anything. Wren, what would you like to do on this one?” Lindsay asked.

“Well, first, let’s see if we can get little Miss Jumping Judy over there to move this way. Then you and I can confirm what I think happened,” Wren answered, motioning over to Annie, still bouncing at the side of the road.

Little Bob said with concern in his voice, “Sheriff, I hate to say it, but I think Annie’s brain broke on this call. She has handled a weirdness call every day this week, but she couldn’t take this one.”

Lindsay tried to reassure Little Bob. “Let’s see if we can put a few pieces of her brain back together. I hope she doesn’t have to quit after this,” Lindsay said as they all started walking toward Annie.

When they reached her, Lindsay softly said, “Annie, sweetheart, can you stop bouncing for a minute?”

Annie turned her head and looked at Lindsay but said nothing and continued to bounce. Lindsay placed her hands on Annie’s shoulders and pushed down.

“Annie, I need you to listen to what I am telling you. You need to stop bouncing. I need you to stand still,” Lindsay told her firmly.

Annie slowly began to stop bouncing. Her eyes were wide, and she did not seem to understand what had happened. She looked at Lindsay’s face, then at Little Bob and Wren, and then back at Lindsay.

“Annie, I need you to answer me with words. Are you hurt?” Lindsay asked.

“No,” Annie answered softly, glancing back at the wrecked patrol car.

“OK, that's good. I need you to go with Little Bob. You and Bob can sit in my car and wait for Agent Gold and me to finish,” Lindsay said calmly and softly.

“OK,” Annie said.

Lindsay held her hand to ensure she was steady as she took the first step. Little Bob quickly took Annie’s other hand and helped her walk to Lindsay’s car. He had put his arm around her shoulders and talked to her the entire way to the patrol car. It was clear to both Lindsay and Wren that he was treating her as if she were his daughter.

Wren told Lindsay, “I think Little Bob might be right about her brain being broken.”

“I hope not, both for her sake and the sake of my department,” Lindsay answered.

“Are you ready for this, Sheriff Gold?” Wren asked.

“Do I have a choice, Agent Gold?” she replied.

They turned and began walking toward the patrol car sitting in the middle of the driving lane. Thankfully, the crash happened on an isolated county road, not a busy highway. They walked to the front of the car and could see there was a lot of damage. The car looked as if it had hit a large tree. Antifreeze and oil were leaking onto the pavement, but they were forming a pool around something on the ground. The problem was that there did not seem to be anything there.

Wren walked to the front of the car near where the puddle had formed and began kicking at something with his foot. Lindsay could see that he was encountering resistance with every kick, even though his foot was over a foot off the ground and looked like it was in midair. He walked over to where his black case was sitting and took out what looked like a can of spray paint.

“What are you going to do if Bouncing Betty back there doesn’t recover?” Wren asked Lindsay as he shook the can in his hand.

“I don’t know. Even with hiring Annie, we are still short a few deputies. I don’t know what will happen if we lose anyone else. We already have a skeleton crew, and everyone is racking up over time,” Lindsay answered him. “Do you need help with that?”

“I will in a minute,” Wren answered as he began spraying what was in the can on the empty space in front of the crashed patrol car. As he did, Lindsay could see a form taking shape lying on the ground. Strangely, what Wren was spaying only showed on what was lying on the ground, not on the car or the road. As he continued spraying, Lindsay could see what looked like some type of animal but could not identify it.

“Wren,” she said, looking at the thing on the road before her. “Is that thing covered in fur, feathers, or scales?”

Wren stood up and looked at her. “Yes,” was all he said and smiled.

Lindsay just stood back and looked at it. At first, it looked like a dog, but the more she looked at it, the more characteristics she saw that were not those of a dog. Around the mouth, it had a slight reptilian look. Its feet were more like talons that a bird would have. She knew that when Wren answered her question about fur, feathers, or scales with “yes,” he was telling the truth. The only thing she wondered about was if this thing had been created or if it had been found somewhere.

“I think I am about ready for you to help me with this thing. It is heavier than it looks,” Wren said as he stood up. He walked over to his case and dropped the can back in it. He then pulled out what looked like a vinyl tarp and unfolded it. “Can you grab a couple of legs and help me put it in this bag?”

“Of course, I can,” Lindsay answered.

Wren and Lindsay carefully lifted it enough to place it in the bag and carefully positioned it so they could zip the bag closed. They picked it up and put it in the backseat of the wrecked patrol car. Just as they finished and closed the door, a black tow truck came slowly toward them and stopped.

“How is it that you can call your team from my car, and they always show up exactly when they need to? Lindsay asked, looking at the truck.

“What can I say? My team is highly trained. Let me give them their instructions, and then we will be ready to head back to the office and try to debrief Little Bob and Hopping Holly,” Wren said.

Lindsay laughed, “How many names are you going to come up with for that poor girl?”

“I don’t know. I have a thesaurus on my phone, so I’m thinking quite a few more,” Wren answered, smiling.

“You are an evil man. I will be waiting for you at my car,” Lindsay told him.

Lindsay watched Wren turn and walk toward the truck that was waiting. She then turned and began walking toward her patrol car. When Lindsay got closer, she could see Little Bob sitting in the front passenger seat, and Annie was sitting in the back. Annie was still moving, but Lindsay could not see if she was saying anything. Bob was quietly sitting, watching everything that was happening. She walked up to the passenger window of her car, and Little Bob rolled it down.

“So, are you going to tell your chief deputy what that thing was?” Little Bob asked Lindsay.

“No, I can’t. Wren will explain things to you on the way back or when we get to the department,” Lindsay told him.

“OK, I understand that. Just tell me this. Are you not telling me because you are not allowed or because you don’t know?” Little Bob asked.

“Bob, even if I did know the answer to your question, I would not be able to tell you. I wish I could. If I could, then I would know more than I do now,” Lindsay told him.

Lindsay looked at Annie in the backseat and asked, “Annie, honey, how are you doing?”

“M...K…,” Annie answered.

Lindsay looked at Little Bob and then walked to the front of the car to wait for Wren. She was now very worried about Annie. She was trying to think of some way that she might be able to help her understand or deal with what had happened. Lindsay watched Wren begin to walk toward her. She was wondering if he had some way to help Annie.

Lindsay quietly said, “Wren, all jokes aside, Annie is not doing well with this. I don’t know what you can do or if you know someone who can help, but she may need it.”

“I will take care of Annie. She should be back to normal soon. I only need to get her back to the department and have access to an office that can be made completely dark,” Wren told her.

“I don’t have an office like that, but I do have a large storage closet that fits that description,” Lindsay said.

“That will work. Let’s head back and take care of that lady and Annie, of course,” Wren said, smiling.

“Be nice to Little Bob. He gets harassed enough by Big Bob,” Lindsay said, forcing a laugh.