the abandoned warehouse reeks of stale ozone and rust, tucked in a forgotten forest with the makeshift harvelle safehouse for stranded hunters. a box fan hums uselessly in the corner, swirling the same stale heat around and the barely there hint of wool blankets that were left behind for a hunter to salvage and tuck into for a good night's sleep. light slants through the shattered windows skyward. ben rolls up his sleeves with the kind of tension that makes the silence in the room heavy. his shirt sticks to his back, his ribs still ache from the last exorcism. the demon was reluctant to confess about william's deal, but once ruby got into the room, the damn thing sang like a canary.
the table before him now is cluttered with maps, salt cartridges, old radio schematics, an old hunter's journal duct taped an old leather bound book like a terrible joke jude put together. the others stand in a loose arc around the table, the air between charged and expectant. the braeden lifts a hand and taps the center of the map, an intersection deep into the woods; also abandoned, forgotten by gps, but not by the creatures that still lurk in the shadows at night.
"the shifter. we'll meet it here." jude whistles low, ben ignores him. "it's been tailing me for years, always a step behind because it can't grab memories until it settles. it only downloads the old stuff. that's why it always shows up a day too late on our hunts when we're already the hell outta dodge." ... @hcrv3lles, @rottenache, @darknesshunted