Chapter 19 - This means war

Bev sniffles, her nose glistening somewhat with snot.

"I don't know... it's, like, I know something is going on. Not just weather patterns or whatever--with the birds I mean."

She puts her hands in her pockets, feeling dumb that she's wearing her coat. "I like supernatural stuff, and investigation, and I know there is more going on than most people see. And I wanted to help."

"I've been riding around town, writing down where I see bird flocks, and I thought I found a pattern that points here. Then some girl said she heard something down that hole and I had to investigate."

She pulls the fulcrum out of her pocket and holds it for Alana to see. "And I found this magic relic. I know it's magic."

"I don't even know Solmen."

"Yes... you were at Booker T. Washington, right? You're the clever one, who builds stuff?" he extends a hand too, "I'm Logan."

"I'm Bev," she says as way of introduction, but shifts her body to put the fulcrum as far from Logan as she can as she quickly shakes his hand.

Bev's never been invited to another kids house before, and she tries to keep her cool at the mention of going to Alana's.

She straightens her coat. She's also never had anyone call one of her gadgets cool before, well no one except Mr. Holmes. "Oh yeah. These are my High Beams. Just some high-powered beam style lights, you know?"

Be cool Bev--be cool.

Johnny staggers out of the hole a good couple of minutes after Logan emerged, ever late to the party and covered in mud. I don't think it's safe down there in the worm hole. It started sleeping water and mud while I was climbing out. He shook globs of blue gray mud from his arms before he noticed the girl in the trenchcoat alongside Alana, Logan and Ripper. Oh, hey!
That's the girl after the Fulcrum! he stammered, ineffectually wiping mud from his hands. That thing's dangerous, ya know...
He noticed that neither of the other two Hunters were particularly upset about her presence and had to ask,Did I miss something? Is she working for Solomon or just unlucky enough to get caught up in this like we were?

"Must admit... figuring all of that by herself... that's pretty amazing..." he says, as the concept sinks in. "Yes she should definitely come with us... we need to tell you how dangerous that fulcrum is, Bev..."

He looks up at the sky above the tree foliage. "There are crows flying over the lake... they'll see Bev if she carries the fulcrum... she's the only one without a tattoo...", showing the bracelet at his wrist, and pointing at Al's, then at Johnny's real skin tattoo.

The new info washes over Bev; destroy it, tattoo wards, etc...

She looks down at the fulcrum in her hand then back at the others. She's hesitant to let the magic artifact out of her sight, but she doesn't like the idea of being pecked to death by birds either.

She decides who to best trust, and then holds the fulcrum out to Alana, offering it up to the short-haired girl. "Promise you'll tell me about it, and what it does?"

The Fulcrum is passed to Johnny, who hides it from sight in one of his pockets.

The group make their way out of the woods, looking nervously at the black birds still circling above.

Bev retrieves her bike at the treeline, then joins the others already on their mounts.

As they start to ride together towards Al's house, the birds ignore them... for now.