51: The Series

51: Monsters Chapter 3

The day had started out as normal as any other, but, of course, things changed. Just after Lindsay had arrived at the sheriff’s department, a severe thunderstorm seemed to form out of nowhere. The thunder and lightning were almost continuous, causing the building to shake. She was sitting at her desk when a bolt of lightning struck nearby, making the lights flicker.

“Did you see a weather forecast that said anything about this?” Little Bob asked her as he walked into her office and sat down in the chair in front of her desk.

"I did not, but this is Missouri, so it doesn’t surprise me. What is bothering you besides the weather?” Lindsay asked, putting down the report she was reading. She looked at him and leaned back in her chair.

“I can honestly tell you I don’t know.” Little Bob told her, taking a sip from his ever-present coffee cup.

“What do you mean?”

“Something feels wrong. Ever since I walked in here this morning, I have felt like I am about ready to crawl out of my skin, and I have no idea why,” Little Bob told her.

“I have felt the same way as you. I woke up a little after three this morning with an uneasy feeling, and it hasn’t gone away. In fact, it has gotten worse. I have been hoping that it is just the weather. This storm is wicked today,” Lindsay said.

“I thought you seemed a little off today,” Little Bob chuckled. “I mean, you’re always a little off, but today, you’re a little more off than normal.”

“Gee, thanks, Bob. I love you too,” Lindsay told him, laughing. “I haven’t seen Viktor this morning. Do you know if he has the same feeling or if Cat does? If we all have it, this could be a problem.”

“I don’t know, but let’s find out. Hey Cat, come here for a minute. We need to ask you something,” Little Bob called out.

“What do you want, Bob?” Cat snapped as she walked into Lindsay’s office.

Lindsay looked at Cat, then at Little Bob. “I think we have our answer,” Lindsay said. “Let’s make sure, though, Cat, how are you feeling today? Are you feeling on edge or uneasy in some way?”

“Yes, actually I am, and I’m guessing that if you are asking me this because others are feeling the same way,” Cat answered calmly, her face showing nothing but irritation.

“You would be right. Do you know how Viktor and Yuri are feeling today?” Lindsay asked her.

“All three of us feel the same way today. We thought it was because we have been getting on each other’s nerves. I will be so happy when they move out of my house and go somewhere else. At this point, I don’t care where they go as long as it is away,” Cat said, letting out a long sigh.

“This makes me wonder if it is only in this department or if it is elsewhere in the county,” Lindsay said as she pulled her cell phone out of her pocket.

“Calling your other half?” Little Bob asked her.

“I am. Even if it is a localized event, this may fit in with all the weirdness that is going on and may even be something in one of those files we don’t know about yet,” Lindsay told Little Bob as she motioned toward the stacks of file boxes in her office.

“Agent Gold,” Wren said when he answered his phone.

“Agent Gold, this is Sheriff Gold. I need to ask you a question,” Lindsay said with a smile. Little Bob and Cat both snickered at her response to her husband.

“Sure, what do you need, babe?” Wren asked.

“This is going to sound strange, but do you have a feeling of impending doom, feel uneasy, or just feel like you are ready to crawl out of your skin for no apparent reason?” Lindsay asked him.

“I have felt a little uneasy since I woke up this morning, but I didn’t think that much about it. Why? Is there a problem?” Wren asked. “Are you OK?”

“Yeah, I’m OK, I think. Everyone who is here at the department today has the same feeling. We each thought it was because of the weather, but I am beginning to think it is a little more than that,” Lindsay explained.

“I need to leave a few instructions for some people, and then I will be there. If you were the only one with the feeling, I would say it was just you, but if everyone has it, you might be right. I will be there in a few minutes. I need to talk to you about something anyway,” Wren told her.

“OK, then I will see you soon. Bye,” Lindsay said, hanging up the phone and putting it back in her pocket.

“Do you think this feeling is part of the weirdness that has taken over this county?” Cat asked with a raised eyebrow.

“I don’t know, but I would like to find out,” Lindsay answered her. She looked at Cat and Little Bob. “I hope this has nothing to do with all of that,” she said, pointing at the many boxes of files against the wall. “But I would like to find out.”

“Well, if there is nothing else that I can help the two of you with, I will be at my desk, trying not to kill Viktor when he gets back,” Cat told Lindsay and Little Bob.

“What has Viktor done to you to make you this mad at him? I’m asking so I can make sure that I don’t do the same thing,” Little Bob said, looking at Cat.

“He is my older brother; he is living with me, and he is breathing. Right now, that is enough when it comes to him,” Cat answered Little Bob, then spun on her heel and walked back to her desk.

“Wow. Cat scares me sometimes,” Little Bob said when he turned back to Lindsay. “So, what did Wren have to say?”

“He has felt a little off, but nothing close to what we are feeling. He also said he needs to talk to me about something, so he will be here soon,” Lindsay told him. She rubbed the side of her head and reached for the bottle of aspirin that was always in her desk drawer.

“What’s going on with you? Is there something I need to know about?” Little Bob asked her. He had seen her take aspirin many times over the past few months and was becoming worried.

“I’m OK, Bob. I’ve been having headaches since I got hurt. Before you say anything, yes, I know that it has been a while. Those times that I snuck out of here were to have some tests run, and I am fine, according to my doctor. It is just some long-term effects because of what happened. I have also been having more nightmares than normal, and I am remembering extra bits and pieces from that night, so I have not been sleeping well, which is also nothing new. Is there anything else you want to know?” Lindsay asked him.

“Yes, actually there is. Would you like a cup of coffee? It might help those aspirin work faster,” Little Bob said with a smile as he reached for the coffee cup sitting on her desk.

“Thank you, Bob. Both for the offer of coffee and for not asking more questions,” Lindsay told him.

“You’re welcome. I have known you long enough to know that you would tell me if it was something I needed to know about. I also know your husband well enough to know that he would tell me if I need to watch after you for some reason,” Little Bob told her as he stood up, then frowned. “He does know about this headache thing and the doctor, right?”

“He knows. He wasn’t happy that I didn’t tell him before I had the tests run, but he does know.”

Little Bob just smiled and left Lindsay’s office with her coffee cup. She was glad that everyone in her department watched out for each other. Lindsay also became frustrated when they focused on her for any reason. She hated to be the focus of attention of any kind.

Lindsay picked up the folder on her desk and opened it to find Annie had seen the same sizable dog-like creature that Yuri had seen days earlier. She had been sent to a call about cattle on the road. When she arrived, she found the fence had been broken and saw the dog creature standing in the road. As soon as she had stopped the car, it ran into the nearby woods. She was able to contact the owners of the cattle and stayed with them while they fixed the fence and got the animals put back into the pasture. She then left the area without seeing the creature again.

“Here you go, Lindsay,” Little Bob said as he sat her cup on her desk.

“Bob, did anyone say anything to you about the call Annie had last night?”

“No. Why? Is something wrong?” Little Bob asked.

“She saw the same dog thing Yuri saw a few nights ago. This time, it looks like it may have run some cattle through a fence and onto the road,” Lindsay told him, leaning back in her chair and taking a sip of the coffee he had brought her. “I think I may need to let her know that this is something I need to know about when it happens, not twelve hours later in a report.”

Little Bob sat down in the chair across from her desk again. “Don’t be too hard on her. Remember, she is not just new to all this craziness but to law enforcement altogether. Anyway, I know you won’t fire her because there is no one to take her place.”

“I won’t fire her, and I don’t want her to quit. I do not want her to get hurt. If this thing is hanging out in the woods and the national forest doing its thing, that is fine, but when it tries to take down a cow, that could be a big threat. I mean, think about it. If it can take down a grown cow, what could it do to Annie? Pick her up and carry her off?” As she finished asking Little Bob that question, the front door chimed, and she saw Wren and Viktor walk in together.

Little Bob turned and looked toward the door. “That would be the man to ask right there. I will leave you two alone. Yell if you need me,” he said as he stood and walked out of her office. “Hey, Wren, she’s in a bad mood, so you might want to be careful,” he said as he and Wren met just outside Lindsay’s office door.

“What’s wrong, babe? Why are you in a bad mood?” Wren asked as he closed the door behind him.

“Nothing’s wrong, and I’m not in a bad mood. Little Bob is just trying to stir the pot this morning,” Lindsay told him as he walked to her and gave her a quick kiss before he sat in the chair Little Bob had been using.

“I get what you are talking about now. As soon as I walked in here, I could almost feel my hair stand on end. There is something in here causing that uneasy feeling. Do you mind if I call Randy to come over here and run a few tests?” Wren asked her.

“Be my guest. He can run all the tests he wants to run, and if you think you need it, call an entire team to run tests. I was hoping it was just the storm, but that has eased, and I still feel the same way. Plus, after speaking with Cat, I hope you find a reason and can fix it before she kills Viktor…today…in this office,” Lindsay told him as she sighed and took another sip of her coffee.

“Of course, because it would be so much better if she killed Viktor tomorrow at her house. I guess that does make sense, because that means the city would have to investigate the murder, and you would not have to clean up the mess,” Wren said with a huge smile.

“That isn’t what I meant, and you know it,” she laughed. “Before you tell me what you need to talk to me about, there might be a problem that you will need to send a team to deal with,” Lindsay said as she handed him the folder on her desk that contained Annie’s report from the night before.

“Is it that good?” Wren asked.

“I would say it is more bad than good. Annie saw the same dog creature that Yuri saw. This time, it looks like it went after some cattle. I don’t know about you, but to me, that means it moves up on the threat list,” Lindsay told him as he looked over the file.

“Oh, that certainly moves it up as a threat. I will notify a team and let them know where to go and to do it now,” Wren said as he began to send a text message to someone. “I’ll send one to Randy, too, to let him know I need him to come here as soon as he can and check out whatever is in this building.”

“Thank you, Wren. I appreciate it, and I’m not sure that I tell you to thank you enough,” Lindsay told him as she looked down at the coffee cup in her hands.

“Are you OK?” Wren asked her.

She glanced at him, and she saw his forehead wrinkled with worry and his head tipped slightly to the side.

“I’m fine.”

“Linz, I am not asking the sheriff how she feels. I am asking my wife if she is OK because I can see that she isn’t, and she is not telling me what is wrong,” Wren told her.

“Wren, I promise you I’m alright. I have a headache, and the feeling that is in this building has me ready to crawl out of my skin. Those two things combined would have anyone acting a little weird,” Lindsay told him, mustering a smile. “Now, what did you want to talk to me about?”

“Actually, there are a couple of things. The first is that your big friend is almost ready to go back home. I wanted to tell you before we released him. Are you sure that you want to have him near the house? We can put him somewhere else. I can even make arrangements for him to go to a different state, which might not be a bad idea, all things considered,” Wren told her.

“Don’t do that. I have thought about it a lot, and I want him near the house. We may never know why it happened, but his family has rejected him. He found me when he needed help. I want to give him the help he needs for as long as he needs it,” Lindsay told him.

Wren smiled at her, and his tone changed as he said, “I have to say, you still amaze me sometimes. After everything you have been through and are still going through because of him and the others like him, you still have more compassion than anyone I have ever met.”

“He isn’t human, yet he has shown compassion for me. He has never done anything to me but protect me when I needed it. Why would I not want to help him?”

“Him protecting you is the only reason he was not destroyed after showing up at the house twice because, ultimately, it is my job to protect you,” Wren told her, leaning forward in his chair.

“OK, enough of this stuff. I think we have similar feelings when it comes to him. Now that that has been cleared up, what is the other thing you wanted to talk about?” Lindsay asked, intentionally changing the subject.

“Let me say that I thought I would ease you into this with some good news,” Wren began.

“Wait a minute. That was the good news? Exactly how bad is the bad news?” Lindsay asked with concern.

“Well, it is a little more disturbing for you than me, and I’m not quite sure how to tell you,” Wren said, looking down at the floor. He made Lindsay think of Dillon when he was little and had done something wrong.

“Wren, what do you need to tell me?”

“Well…,”

“Wren, what is it?”

“My mother wants to come for a visit,” Wren blurted out, still looking at the floor.

Lindsay leaned her head back and looked at the ceiling. She let out a deep sigh and slowly shook her head.

“I know I will sound like a complete witch when I ask you this, but is there any way you could visit her?” Lindsay asked him.

Wren told her, “I tried that, and she said no. She gave me the reason that she is having the house remodeled, and I would be in the way.”

“Wren, your mother hates me, and she claims to hate the entire state of Missouri. Why would she want to come here?”

“She said she wanted to see me and have a little vacation.”

“It is the middle of winter. The middle of winter is not the right time to come to Missouri. If she wants to come here for a vacation, she should come at any other time of year. Oh, and did I forget to mention that she hates me?”

“She doesn’t hate you, Linz,” Wren reassured her.

“Did you forget her toast at our wedding? How did that one part go again? ‘Lindsay, I know what happened to your last husband. Please don’t let the same thing happen to my son.’ That was not something that I was expecting to hear at our wedding.”

“OK, I will admit that it was in poor taste. But my mother doesn’t hate you.”

Lindsay asked, “Where is she going to stay?”

“I thought she could stay in the guest room unless you object,” Wren told her.

“I don’t object to your mother staying with us, but please understand if she starts with her needling, I may be working a lot of overtime until she leaves,” Lindsay told him.

“If she gets bad, I will buy her the plane ticket, pack her suitcase, and drive her to the airport myself. I told her that if she comes here, she has to behave herself. That also applies if she says one negative word to Dillon or about him. You are my wife, and as far as I am concerned, Dillon is my son. I will always protect and defend both of you. Even if that is against my own mother,” Wren said with a smile.

“This is another time I need to say thank you,” Lindsay said as the door chimed, and Randy walked into the building. “That was fast. Randy is here.”

Wren got up and opened the door to Lindsay’s office. “In here, Randy,” he called out to him.

Cat motioned for him to follow her as she led him to Lindsay’s office. Lindsay watched the expression on Randy’s face and tried very hard not to laugh. She could see him blushing as he followed Cat toward her office, and he had a look of near panic on his face.

“Hey, Randy, come in and join us, and I will explain what is going on, or I will at least try,” Wren told him. “Cat, how are you today?”

“Good unless I kill my brother,” Cat answered, then turned and walked away.

“Well, that was unexpected,” Wren said, looking at Lindsay as he closed the door.

“It’s Cat. I don’t know why you’re surprised,” Lindsay told Wren, then turned to Randy, “Randy, thanks for coming over here and helping with whatever is going on today.”

“Yes, ma’am, you’re welcome,” he told Lindsay. “Agent Gold, can you tell me exactly what’s happening?” Randy asked as he sat the black case he had brought with him on the floor.

“There seems to be something in here that is causing everyone to feel on edge. Almost like they feel that something is about to happen even when there is nothing here,” Wren explained.

“I’m not entirely sure that I understand,” Randy answered with a confused look on his face.

“Maybe I can explain it better,” Lindsay said. “Think about how you felt this morning while you were at home. Tell me how you felt then.”

Randy told her, “It was just like any other day; everything was fine.”

“What about now? Are you feeling anxious, edgy, and maybe even there is a feeling of impending doom like something horrible is about to happen, but you can’t explain why?” Lindsay asked him calmly.

“Now that you mention it, I do have that feeling. It started almost as soon as I walked in the door,” Randy answered her.

“That is why we need your help. Everyone who works in this department feels like that, and that is not good in our profession. Do you think you can help find out what is going on?” Lindsay asked him.

“Oh yes, ma’am sheriff. I will start running some tests on things and see what I can find,” Randy told her, then looked at Wren. “I mean, if that is alright with you, Agent Gold.”

“Of course, Randy, do whatever you need to do. I will be right here, and the door will be open in case you need help, or Cat tries to kill you instead of her brother,” Wren told him.

Randy looked at Wren, a little confused and frightened. He glanced out to where Cat was sitting at her desk and blushed again. He then looked back at Wren and finally at Lindsay, with a look of only fear on his face this time.

“Don’t worry, Randy; she won’t hurt you. She only tries to kill family,” Lindsay told him with a completely straight face.

Randy silently nodded, then picked up the black case he had brought with him and walked out of her office. He did not pause when he walked by where Cat was sitting. He just turned and walked toward the hallway and storage area past where the deputies’ desks were located.

Wren sat down in his chair again and smiled at Lindsay. “You know he still has a crush on you,” he told Lindsay quietly.

“I had that feeling, but I can also tell you that Cat scares the snot out of him. I mean, he did meet her before, but that was when she wasn’t dressed like her normal self, and she was wearing a heavy coat, so seeing the normal Cat might be a little much,” Lindsay answered.

“Have you not seen her today? That is a lot even for me,” Wren said to her.

“What, the six-inch heels, skin-tight clothes, tattoos, and perfect hair and makeup are too much for you to handle? No wonder you went after me. I am pretty much the complete opposite of all that,” Lindsay replied, smiling.

“I did not go after you because you are the opposite of her. I went after you because you are perfect without that. However, if you did ever dress like that, I could not be held responsible for my actions,” Wren said with a wicked grin.

“Are you kidding? The only actions you would be responsible for would be to take me to the emergency room after I fell off my high heels,” Lindsay laughed.

Wren reached across her desk and took her hand. As soon as he did, his phone beeped in his pocket. “Well, that ruined the moment, at least as much of a moment as we can have here,” Wren said as he pulled his phone out and looked at it. He read the text message he had received and frowned.

“What’s wrong?”

“That was my mother. She has bought her plane ticket and will be here tomorrow afternoon, so I will have to go pick her up at the airport,” Wren told her.

“Now, that is the way to spoil the moment,” Lindsay said with a laugh.

“I know, and I’m sorry. To tell you the truth, I wish my mother wouldn’t come here now, but if she has decided she wants to do it, that is what she will do. I know because I have already tried to talk her out of it,” Wren told her as he put the phone back in his pocket.

“OK, so your mother is coming here no matter what either of us wants, and we will deal with that. How do we handle things while she is here? What happens if she meets one of these things that are roaming around this county? What if she comes into this office for some reason, and our little poltergeist friend starts throwing things at her? Finally, what if my big friend decides to come to the house and stand on the porch again?”

Just as she finished asking Wren those questions, there was a bright flash of lightning. The thunder shook the building, and all of the power went out.