51: The Series

51: The Storm Chapter 4 Part 1

“So, do you guys think tonight will be quiet or busy?” Annie asked Big Bob and Andy just after Sheriff Gold had left the Department.

“I can’t believe you just used the “Q” word. Didn’t Little Bob tell you never to use that word?” Big Bob asked her, shaking his head.

Andy and Madison just looked at Annie in amazement. Most people did not believe in the superstition that using the word quiet made things happen during a shift. However, they knew it was true, and it often did cause things to get busy and often go downhill quickly.

“He told me not to say quiet, but that can’t be true. Do all of you really believe in that superstition?” Annie asked in disbelief.

“Yes!” Big Bob, Andy, and Madison all said in unison.

Before anyone could say anything else, the phone rang.

“Sheriff’s department, how may I help you?” Madison said when she answered the call. She began typing as the person on the other line explained their situation and gave the address. “Ma’am, we will have someone out there as soon as possible,” she said, hanging up the phone.

“What is it, Maddie? You look a little confused,” Big Bob said.

“This is a weirdness call, so that you know. This woman claims that she just saw a dragon in her yard, and it set one of her rose bushes on fire. Sooo…, who wants to take it?” Madison asked, holding out a sticky note with the address on it.

“Annie and I will take it. Andy, you take the regular calls for the evening if there are any,” Big Bob said. “See what you did by using the “Q” word?”

Big Bob, followed closely by Annie, walked over and took the note from Madison. He looked down at it and let out an exasperated sigh. He stood and shook his head as he read the address.

“Well, at least it isn’t that far out of town. Come on, Annie, let’s get out there and get this taken care of,” Big Bob said as he walked toward the door.

The address was just a few miles west of the sheriff’s office, so it did not take long to arrive. Much to Big Bob’s surprise, Annie sat quietly on the way to the call. He wondered if Agent Gold had put her brain back the way it was or if he had made a few tweaks to her personality. Maybe she just decided that talking nonstop was not a good idea right now. He did not know, and honestly, he did not care. He had not been looking forward to the constant chatter that Annie was known for.

As they approached the address, they began to see strange lights among the trees. The lights were orange and flickered as if they were flames. They would come and go in seconds in different locations. Annie watched them intently, not saying a word as Big Bob drove. As they pulled into the driveway, they could see what remained of a rose bush in the front yard. It had been reduced to a few branches and a pile of ashes by something.

They got out of the car and walked toward the house. They could still see the strange lights flickering, but now they could also hear sounds they could not identify.

“Bob, I’m not going to lie. I’m scared,” Annie said quietly.

“Little one, if you weren’t, I’d be worried,” Big Bob answered her. “Just do your best and try not to show it right now. Let’s go talk to the homeowner and get this done.”

Big Bob and Annie stepped up on the porch. Annie continued to watch the lights flickering in the surrounding trees. Big Bob knocked on the door and called out, “Sheriff’s Department.”

After a moment, they heard someone walking toward the door. A middle-aged woman peeked out the window beside it. She opened the door only a couple of inches and left the chain lock in place.

“Sir, ma’am,” she said, addressing Big Bob and Annie. “I’m so sorry to bother you this evening, but I didn’t know who else to call.”

“That’s fine, ma’am. Is your name Billie Parks?” he asked.

“Yes, it is. I know this is going to sound completely crazy, but I saw a dragon in my yard, and it set my rose bush on fire,” she said, nodding her head toward the burned bush in the yard.

“Can you tell me what it looked like and which way it went?” Big Bob asked.

“It was bizarre. It made me think of a big lizard with very smooth skin. It was like maybe a greenish-grayish color. I know this sounds crazy, but the thing turned and breathed this gassy stuff out of its mouth, and then it burst into flames. That is what set my roses on fire. I promise you I am not crazy, and I am not on anything. I did see this thing, and I keep seeing little flashes of light from it,” Billie Parks said.

“Alright, ma’am, you just close this door and keep it locked. Deputy Huggins and I will take a look, and if we find something, we have people who can come and take care of it,” Big Bob told her.

“Thank you; I will,” Billie said, quickly closing the door.

“Time to get to work, Annie. Let’s go grab a couple of things out of the car. If this thing really is here, we will need to let Agent Gold know. Before we call him, we have to see if we can safely find it,” Big Bob told Annie.

“Do you think this woman is telling the truth?” Annie asked as she followed Big Bob back to the patrol car.

“I think she is telling what she believes to be the truth. That woman is scared and trying to understand what she saw. You need to be ready because you may need to defend yourself, and you may not understand what you are about to see,” Big Bob said as he opened the trunk of the patrol car.

He began to dig around and pulled out a handheld spotlight. He closed the trunk and walked toward the front of the car. He opened the driver’s door and reached in, pulling out the shotgun located between the front seats. He checked to make sure it was loaded with what he hoped would be the correct rounds.

“I hope we don’t need this. Maybe we will be lucky, and she just ate the wrong wild mushrooms, and it was all just a hallucination,” Big Bob said as he closed the car door.

They could still see the lights flashing and hear the strange sounds, only now they were closer to the edge of the yard. Big Bob handed the spotlight to Annie and held the shotgun tightly, ready to fire if needed. They turned and began taking slow, careful steps toward the trees. Annie turned on the spotlight and shined it toward the wooded area. Even though the light was bright, it only made it past the first few trees of the woods. They could still see the flickering of light that looked like a flame, and whatever was causing it was moving among the trees and appeared to be trying to hide.

“Annie, I want you to stay behind me. If this is an animal of some kind, we need to know, and then we can go back to the car and wait. Shine your light toward the left, and let's see if we can figure out what this thing is,” Big Bob told her.

Annie shined the light to the left, and they caught a glimpse of something moving. Billie Parks had described the same smooth, green-gray skin. As Annie kept the light on it, they saw a mist form in front of its face as if its breath were fogging in the night air. Suddenly, the breath ignited in a bright flash of orange flame.

“Bob,” Annie said with her voice trembling.

“You just keep your light right there on it and start backing up. We need to get back to the car and call the one person who can deal with this,” Bob told her.

They quickly and carefully made their way back to the patrol car and got in it. Big Bob placed the shotgun next to him and turned the patrol car’s spotlight onto whatever the thing was in the trees. He pulled his phone out of his pocket and immediately called Sheriff Gold’s house. He hoped that she was not the one who would answer the phone, and he was in luck.

“Wren, thank goodness you are the one who answered. Do not let Lindsay know there is a problem, but we have what looks like a snaky, lizardy, fire-breathing, dragony lookin’ thing out here west of town. Do you think you can get one of your teams to come out and do what you call training exercises to get this thing before it starts a forest fire? The address is 93835 Stone Drive,” Big Bob said quickly.

“No problem, I will give the information to Sheriff Gold,” Wren told him, then hung up.

Big Bob was still holding his phone when he received a text message. It read:

“I told Lindsay you called to say everything was fine. A team should be there within 30 min. Please leave as soon as they arrive.”

Big Bob chuckled a little. He did not know everything that Agent Wren Gold could do, but it was apparent that he knew more and could do more than anyone else he had ever met.

“Is everything OK,” Annie asked with her eyes wide. She was still watching the trees and the flashes of light coming from them.

“Everything is fine, Little One,” Big Bob said. “I just called who I needed to call, and someone will be here soon to deal with whatever that thing is,” he told her, nodding toward the trees.

When they had left the sheriff’s department, it was still light, but now it was almost entirely dark. Clouds had moved in, so there was not even light from the moon or stars. The house had no porch or yard lights, so the only light came from the patrol car and the creature in the woods.

Annie and Big Bob were sitting saying very little, waiting for the team to get to the house, when they finally saw lights from vehicles coming toward the address. The first vehicle pulled in, and almost as soon as it stopped, a man in a military uniform jumped out and walked toward them. Big Bob rolled down the car window as the soldier approached the car.

“Deputy Littlejohn, I’m sorry, sir, but I need you to leave this area immediately so we may conduct our training exercises,” the soldier said.

“We will leave right now. The last thing we want to do is interfere with your training exercises,” Big Bob told the soldier with a smirk.

Without saying another word, he put the patrol car in gear and began to turn around and go back to the department. He glanced over at Annie, who was still sitting quietly.

“Are you alright over there? You’re pretty quiet, and I know that isn’t normal for you,” Big Bob said to her.

“I’m not entirely sure. Is every call that we have going to be like this one? If it is, I’m not sure if I am cut out to do this job,” Annie answered.

Big Bob reassured her and explained, “This is not normal, trust me. These calls that we have been referring to as weirdness have only been happening for a few months. It started not long after Sheriff Gold took over after the old sheriff resigned in the middle of the night. We do what we can with these. I’m sure Little Bob told you this, but when we get back to the office, these calls don’t get filed quite the same as regular calls do. With these, all we will do is a quick write-up with the time, date, location, and what the call was. We add in information about who reported it if we can get it and describe what we see and hear. We then put it in a file folder and put it on the Sheriff’s desk. She then reads it, files it, and passes it on to our friend Agent Gold. Normally, we don’t call him, but that thing back there poses an immediate danger, if not to a person, then it does to whatever it might set on fire. Does all of that make sense?”

“Agent Gold was the one I met yesterday after Little Bob hit the deer with the patrol car,” Annie said, then paused. “If he was there, does that mean it wasn’t a deer? And he and the Sheriff have the same last name; are they related?”

“First, you did meet him yesterday, and if he said it was a deer, it was deer. Second, yes, he and the Sheriff are married. Do you have anything else you want to ask before we get back to the office?” Big Bob asked her.

“No, I think I’m OK, and I think I’m OK with all of this. Weirdness is a good name for what is going on, and I think I might be OK with it,” Annie said as they turned into the parking lot for the sheriff’s department.