Chapter 1 - The Gathering

Natasha sighs in relief as she finally enters the staff room after another eight hour shift. She hates having to work this job now but after losing her job at the police department, fast food was the only way to keep a roof over her and her son's head until she can find something better.
She reaches into her locker and immediately takes out her phone to check if she received any updates on David. When she sees the message, she opens it and at first reading, it doesn't make any sense. Only when she reads it again and realizes that it's from Andrea, not her son's caretaker Pam, it clicks in her head.

An investigation so far from home - it didn't come at a good time for her but when is there ever a good time? And she swore herself to follow every instance of supernatural occurrences she could. You never know which one might lead to some information that could help David's situation.
Quickly, she types up three messages:
The first is to Andrea: I will be there as soon as I can. Will update you as soon as I know when
The second is to Pam: I have a job interview out of town. You will have to take care of David while I'm gone. I'll pay you for the overtime as soon as I have money
The third is to her boss: I have to take a few days off. I will let you know when I'm available again. Sorry for the inconvenience
The one good thing about her new job was that nobody batted an eye if she just disappeared for a week. Of course it means she won't get paid for that time but she will just have to work extra hours when she gets back.

After sending these messages and changing into her regular clothes, Natasha quickly leaves the restaurant and walks home. Once there, she will look up where exactly this Marion is and how to best get there. Then, after spending some time with David, she will get on the road whenever it makes sense.

Tony's little white sundress tickled her legs as it blew in the breeze. It was hot, so the breeze felt good. Tony felt like the dress was a lot shorter than it should be. She didn't feel right in it, like it wasn't hers. But she couldn't let that stop her. She had to press on.

The black swamp stretched out in front of her for as far as she could see. Over the forest of dead trees to her left she saw a vine-covered water tower. Big block letters—"Marion, SC"—were peeling off the side of the tower. The sky was an angry red.

Tony stepped into the black water of the swamp. It was hotter than the air, but it felt good. Water, even swamp water, wasn't supposed to squish between your toes, but she didn't mind. The undulation of the black bog beat against her legs, sticking to her skin and then oozing back into the swamp, leaving behind an oily film on her skin. She trudge forward. She couldn't stop now.

The black swamp water was well above her knees when it was high enough to grab the hem of her dress. She had to pull and tug the dress to keep moving forward. The swamp was hungry. She didn't care. It was too late to go back.

Tony tried to scream when she was up to her waist in the mire. She was sure the black water was inside her now. She could feel the thickness of it pressing its way in. But on she went. What else could she do?

Tony stopped just before the black water reached her elbows. She looked down at herself. The white dress and her brown skin were splattered with dark stains. The surface of the swamp was as black as ebony, and she could see her face in it against the red sky backdrop. She was white, blond, with a delicate nose. And the look in her eyes was a look of desperation she'd never seen before.

The swamp was hungry and tired of waiting. Tony tried to scream again as she slowly sank in the mire. Her mouth opened to let the blackness in. It ran down her throat and covered her eyes and stopped her ears.

~~~

At the sound of Tony's screaming Andrea rushed into the bathroom and threw back the shower curtain. Tony was collapsed in the tub. Her eyes were open but she clearly wasn't there with Andrea in the Motel 6. She was somewhere far away.

Andrea turned off the water and wrapped her arms around Tony, pulling her to a half-way sitting position. "You're okay. You're okay. You're here with me. You're here with me." Andrea knew that Tony was having a vision. "What did you see?" Andrea asked the moment the screaming stopped. "Was it him? Is her near?"

It was nearly an hour before Tony could speak coherently enough to explain what she saw. Andrea put Tony to bed on the couch and sat with her until she was asleep, Tony's wet head in Andrea's lap. A few Google searches later and Andrea was making calls to the hunters.

Buzz...buzzz...

Calvin opened a rheumy eye. Sunlight hit his eye like a spear from the space between the blinds. He groaned and tried to turn away but the sunlight followed him with wicked persistence.

Buzz...buzz...

Calvin opened his other eye. His sunglasses had to be around here somewhere. He searched blindly for relief from the burning rays of death coming from the window.

Buzz...buz...

His hand found his phone as the vibrations ceased. He picked it up and looked at it quizzically. Who would be calling him at this hour?
Calvin groaned. Another job? He'd just recovered from the last one. The cast had just come off last week.

"No rest for the fucking wicked" ,Calvin said, pulling himself to his feet.

The sunglasses winked in the sunlight from his nightstand. Calvin grabbed them and slid them on. Much better.

He walked across the room and clicked on the work station. Four monitors lit up before him. Two of them showed what the Market was doing. Futures were doing well today he noticed as he brought up the travel site he used.

He'd never been to South Carolina. He hardly went anywhere anymore. THEY were out there.

A few key strokes later the flight was booked. Calvin grabbed his go-bag and started throwing random clothes, tools, and parts into it. He pulled the 9mm from where he'd had it taped under his computer desk and shoved it into the shoulder holster he wore under his blazer.

A short Uber ride later he was at the airport. Time for a new adventure...

You never know how things can go in Los Angeles in the summer, late at night. Nine had a small place on Esterina Way in Ladera Heights. He could have afforded better but the Sheriff's Dept didn't pay all that well and he had played less than 8 years in the NBA and half of that was at the league minimum. As a boy he had been taught by his mother to be frugal and he had taken that to heart. He had money saved and more invested safely like the house. He had a decent car when his teammates were driving $80,000 cars. He flew coach which was rather uncomfortable on long flights since he was 6'9" tall while his teammates flew first class.

On this night, though, he had been called to an investigation in Santa Clarita, a supposedly safe suburb north of the San Fernando Valley. The crime was a bit strange and it involved a celebrity. That led him to the belief that the victim would be more comfortable with someone who he recognized. After about half an hour doing interviews he received a text message. It was Andrea and there was something on the East Coast that needed his attention. He finished up his business at the crime scene, called his supervisor who had previously that he would occasionally be called away on federal business that he couldn't talk to freely about.

This time he decided he may need to fly first class so booked a ticket to Columbia and reserved a rental car for the drive east.. He didn't know if he would need to rent a room and wasn't too certain that there would be much to choose from in a town of less than 7000 people.

It's almost midnight when David finally passes out and falls into a restless, no doubt nightmare filled sleep.
Natasha sits next to his bed, like she does every night that she doesn't have to spend away from their apartment for work or the hunt. She's working on her laptop, googling this town, Marion, to familiarize herself with it as much as possible before leaving in the morning.
Unfortunately, nobody seems to give any kind of thought to Marion online and, aside from some general statistics like the number of inhabitants, she can't find anything, at least nothing useful.
When she is almost ready to give up her search, she gets an idea. Remembering her days as a traffic cop, she searches for information on traffic cameras and emergency routes - information that most people probably wouldn't think of searching. This way, she manages to piece together a general map of town with all the most important streets and places.
She spends another while memorizing locations, how streets connect and where possible shortcuts can be found until she's satisfied with her preparations and closes her laptop.
She gently kisses David on his forehead, careful not to wake him up, and leaves his bedroom to sleep on the living room couch, which in this small apartment doubles as her bed. She will have to get some sleep before hitting the road early the next morning.

Tony stabbed the key card into motel room door. Room 13. Figured. She pushed her way into the room and was greeted by that all-too-familiar hotel smell. Tony shrugged. "I think they clean their rooms. That's a nice change of pace."

Andrea hurried in behind Tony and shut the door. The motel they found outside of Marion was right on the highway, so shutting the door shut out a surprising amount of noise. "And they take cash. That's getting rarer and rarer." Andrea walked over to the blinds and made sure they were shut. Then she peeked out at their car and the parking lot. "Looks clear."

"Nice tub!" Tony called from the bathroom. "I'm taking a bath tonight. An actual bath," she added as she appeared back in the main room of the motel. They had been on the road for about twelver hours straight, and it had been a rough last few days. "And yeah, Mr. My-Eyes-Are-Up-Here was loaded with cash. You're welcome."

Andrea frowned. "We shouldn't celebrate that we have to rob people. I hate it. But it's necessary. And don't get too comfortable. I need you to walk around the front of the hotel to be sure there are no cameras. You know the drill."

"It's not robbery," Tony said. "It's a monster tax. They pay for us to kill monsters. If they knew what was out there waiting for them, they'd gladly pay more." She flopped on the queen sized bed in the middle of the room. "Bed's comfy too."

"Up," Andrea said. "We need to be sure there are no other cameras. My picture is everywhere. It won't take long. Then you can have a bath. Just don't lock the door....you know...."

Tony sighed and sat up. "You mean in case my brain shits itself and I drown in my own bath water?" She stood up. "I'll take a lap, but I'm buying chips." She held out her hand to Andrea.

Andrea pulled out a few singles and handed them over. "Be quick. Be inconspicuous. And be careful. I'm here if you need me."

"If I didn't need you, I wouldn't be here," Tony said without a hint of mirth. She took the money and headed for the door.

After Tony was out and the door shut behind her, Andrea collapsed on the bed and rubbed her face. "Same here, sweetheart. Same here."

Nine received the 2nd message from Andrea while he was driving from Columbia. He pulled up to the Lodge about 20 minutes later. He smirked at the number on the designated room remembering that he had never seen an NBA uniform with that number on it. It's not as if he were superstitious but there had to be a reason that all those high rise hotels never had a 13th floor. Be that as it may he stepped up to the door and knocked three times.

When the bright neon sign of the Lodge first comes into view, Natasha almost misses it. It's very late at night and she’s been driving for over fourteen hours so it’s been getting increasingly difficult to focus on the road.
With a sigh of exhaustion and relief, Natasha turns the car onto the parking lot and brings it to a stop. She opens her seatbelt, moves the seat back as far as she can and puts it into a resting position before stretching out her legs, finally able to move them again. She reaches over to the passenger seat and sticks her hand into the bag of McDonald’s she’s picked up on the drive. There’s nothing left except a handful of cold fries.
Andrea and the others have waited this long, they can wait a few minutes longer – if they’re even already all here, Natasha thinks. She starts eating the little bit of leftover food she still has and sips on her cold mocha.

"I told you the MOTORSIDE, not the fucking Motor Inn!", Calvin snarled at the Uber driver.

It had been a comedy of errors ever since the plane landed. The flight itself had been fine. Calvin got the window seat he'd demanded (had to make sure there were no "things on the wing"). The flight attendant was pleasant; he even got Calvin extra peanuts and whiskey when asked (little did he know the whiskey went into alcohol powered zip gun Calvin had put together in his carry on and the peanuts were ammo. You never knew when the lady in the seat next to you would pull a carpet knife and slit her throat to summon Yog-Sothoth or something like that.) A little turbulence near the end, but that was to be expected and then the problems started.

The TSA wanted to detain him when the x-ray machine picked up his zip gun. He argued that it was a model for a steampunk convention he was going to. When they couldn't figure out how it worked, they finally let him pass.

The airline tried to say his luggage was on another flight. Calvin did not accept that. They found it after he screamed at them to look for a fifth time.

Now, the Uber driver...

The man did not speak English. Calvin tried Spanish. The man did not speak that either. Calvin did his best with gestures and pointing at the GPS on the man's dash. It did not help.

Finally, the driver pulled into the parking lot of the Mortorside Lodge after the third re-direction. Once he got his luggage out of the man's trunk, Calvin gave him a hand gesture that he figured was universal and walked into the motel office. The man behind the desk regarded him coolly.

"Please tell me you have rooms available." ,Calvin said, matching the deskman's gaze from behind his sunglasses, "and please tell me they are clean."

The man pushed a paper ledger across the desk and slapped a key next to it.

"One-fifty. In advance." ,the man growled, "I don't need you trying to sneak out without paying."

Calvin gave him a condescending smile. He reached into the pocket of his blazer and pulled out his wallet. He deliberately pulled out two hundred dollar bills and dropped them one by one on the counter.

"Keep the change" ,Calvin drawled, grabbing the key after signing the ledger, "you obviously need it more than I do."

Without waiting for a response, he walked back out into the night. He took out his phone and looked at it. So, Andrea was in Room 13. Poetic.

He walked around the building trying to get his bearings and find Room 13.

After several attempts at knocking, Tony finally game to the door. She opened it just a crack. The door banged against the security chain. Then she saw Calvin, so she removed the chain and opened the door a bit more. Tony looked bleary-eyed and pasty-faced. She was wearing an old t-shirt. She smelled like booze.

"Hey, Calvin," she said groggily. Then she saw the others. "Hey. Come in. No, wait. Give us a minute. Pants." She shut the door, and the hunters could here her trying to roust Andrea. Then, after a minute or two, Tony opened the door and ushered them inside. She was still wearing the old t-shirt, but this time with shorts. They could hear the sound of running water in the bathroom.

The room was small: one chair, one end table, and one queen-sized bed. It was freezing cold in the room. The AC worked great. Their bags were half-unpacked, and everything looked disheveled. "Find somewhere to sit," Tony said as she sat cross-legged on the foot of the bed.

Around 20 minutes after arriving on the parking lot, Natasha spots Calvin. His expression tells her that he must not have enjoyed his trip to Marion. She quickly stuffs the last fries into her mouth and swallows them. Then, leaving the empty bag and wrappers on her passenger seat, she gets out of the car, making sure to lock it behind her – She doesn’t trust this parking lot to be safe – and jogs after Calvin. When she catches up to him he is already knocking at the door of room 13. She announces her presence by giving him a friendly slap on the back and when he turns to look who it is, just silently nods at him.
When Tony opens to look at them and then a moment later opens again to let them in, she follows Calvin inside. Natasha has to resist the urge to hug Tony, who she knows wouldn’t enjoy it.
The young girl always reminds her of David, and not just because they’re fairly close in age. There is just something about the girl that makes Natasha think of her son. And then there’s the fact that both kids have been touched by the unnatural. She just smiles and winks at Tony, then sits down on the side of the bed.
"Did everyone get here alright?", she asks the others. "I used to enjoy these long drives but nowadays they’re more exhausting than anything."

Tony smiled back sleepily and then yawned. She scooted over to make room for Natasha.

"Exhausting. Yeah, we got here alright. We have to be careful. Heat's been bad on us lately." She glanced toward the bathroom where Andrea was getting dressed. The other hunters knew that Tony and Andrea had some trouble with the feds, but they had never been clear what that was. "It takes forever to do anything—buy gas, get food, rent a motel room. We slept in our car last night. Wait. Is it this morning? Night before last then, we slept in the car. We've been having to do that a lot. How's David?"

"It's after midnight but I wouldn't call it morning", Natasha replies with a smile. "He has better and worse days. Unfortunately, more worse than better ones recently. But there are clearer moments. Two days ago, when he woke up, I think he almost recognized me." Natasha tries to keep her expression warm but can't completely keep her sadness out of her eyes.
She quickly regains her composure, though, as she turns to Calvin and Nine to change the topic: "What about you? How was your trip here?"

Calvin walked into the room. He automatically scanned the room for hidden cameras. He made a mental note to put something together to sweep the room for bugs.

He sat down on the bed next opposite Nines. He nodded to the big man and went rummaging through his carry on. After a moment, he produced the zip gun.

"If the TSA and Uber drivers even become competent" ,Calvin said absently, "I think I will drop dead on the spot. I would have been here an hour earlier if not for that mouth-breathing dregs of the evolutionary chain. Anyhow, Andrea, what's the job?"

He started taking the zip gun apart. Once he extracted the whiskey nip, he downed it at one swallow and grimaced. Shaking his head once, he started fiddling with the spare parts. The peanuts, he replaced in the bag which he had folded neatly in his breast pocket.

"Anyone want peanuts? I was going to shoot the woman in the seat next to me on the flight. She had a look about her. I expected her to try hijacking the plane, but she behaved herself. Lucky for her."

To the sound of a flushing toilet and still pulling her shirt on over her head, Andrea stepped out of the bathroom. She was wearing jeans and no shoes.

"Hey, y'all. Thanks for coming." She took a moment to greet each of the hunters before she stood in front of the old hotel-room TV and said, "So, as you now know, Tony had a vision. At the time she was pretty sure it was a vision of someone dying. White girl, late teens or early twenties, young. She died in Marion, probably within sight of a water tower. Probably in the swamp. I did some googling and sure enough, Betty Rice, nineteen, went missing between five to seven days ago. Her body was found in the swamp two days ago by accident when some hunters hit it with their boat. This town doesn't have a newspaper that is readable online. They have a sheriff and one part-time deputy who directs traffic, so I couldn't easily dig up more. But you all know as well as I do, if Tony had a vision then her death is connected to the Other Side. Tony? Anything to add?"