Taconite Falls

John Leppik

          “Ms. Halthwatch, thank you so much for bringing this to my attention,” smiled the city councilor toothily, the facade of an otherwise human complexion broken by the presence of two grinning, reptilian fangs. Though almost always hidden by desks or podiums, Selene and I could feel the squirming shift of his snake half through the desk. “The safety of my constituents is of utmost importance, and I assure you I will personally launch a special investigation into the matter of your missing friend. Skylin, you said?”

          Selene let out a low growl, one that I felt through my chair but didn’t hear. She withdrew back into her red Ranger’s Guild cloak, her canine snout poking through the hood.

          “I want to look myself. I can’t sit around waiting,” she said.

          “Yes,” replied the councilor, his eyes narrowing as his formerly warm expression cooled. “Yes, I suppose you might want to do that.”

***

          The sharp smash of rock through glass punctuates the smell of ancient must that hits us square in the face, interrupting the dull static from our pocket radio for a moment. Selene reaches a hand through the hole, cursing as a shard of glass draws blood while she unlocks the door from the inside.

          “Not even urban explorers have touched this place,” she mutters, trying to wrap her sleeve around the wound to staunch the blood dripping from her arm.

          “Aren’t we kind of urban explorers?” I ask, pulling a roll of gauze from my bag. “The only difference is they’d have fun doing this.”

          “What, you’re not having fun yet, Ari?” she asks. She grunts as I pull the bandage tight. “Guess I’m a lefty today,” she mutters, fixing her hand crossbow to her left arm and pulling it tight with her pointed teeth.

          “Ladies first,” I offer, gesturing to the door.

          “Whatever,” she retorts with a snort, yet pushes the door open anyway.

          The dull radio static hisses steadily.

***

          “I’m afraid that’s just not an option, Ms. Halthwatch. There are procedures.” The councilor leaned back in his chair, his snake half coiling. “I wouldn’t want you to get in any more legal trouble, but I can keep you informed on the investigation, and you can do with that information what you may. How does that sound?”

          “I guess…” Selene’s righteous fury deflated somewhat. “I’m still going to keep looking though. You can’t stop me from that.”

          “I wouldn’t dream of it!” The councilor grinned toothily. “It’s your right to do everything you can to find your friend.” He leaned in close. His smile widened, but kept its predatory gleam. “Within the bounds of the law, of course. If your vigilantism breaks those bounds, then I shudder to think what might happen to you. Laws are there to protect you, after all.”

***

          Despite the midday sun outside, the thick layers of rust caking every window make it difficult to see more than a few yards ahead. Judging by the outside this place is massive, but the rotting machinery that chokes the building makes it feel cramped.

          Selene clicks on a flashlight, and a skittering is heard as dozens of fuzzy legs flee from the light.

          “Creatures of the night,” I comment offhandedly. “I guess they’d love somewhere like this.”

          “Disgusting little things,” says Selene with a growl. “Make sure the radio’s turned up.”

          I adjust the volume knob, the static echoing through the metal ruins and filling the air.

          “I feel kind of bad for them sometimes,” I say, flashing my own light around to force the creatures to scurry back into the bowels of the machinery. “I mean, what do they eat while they’re here? Nothing grows in the boneyards, so are they eating scrap?”

          “No idea,” replies Selene. “We know they’re not stealing from the city though. The Night Watch makes sure of that.”

***

          “‘Investigation’,” sneered Selene, lighting a cigarette as she leaned against a tree. Smoking wasn’t allowed near city hall, which was just as well, since this wasn’t a conversation we wanted overheard.

          “He’ll get it tied up in red tape, then use it as an excuse to keep tabs on us,” I said, holding out my own cigarette. She lit it for me, and I took a long draw. “I looked into the previous cases at the public records office. All of the investigations mysteriously ran out of funding or had a sudden emergency department reorganization exactly six months after being initially opened.”

          “Can’t believe you’ve got the stomach for that stuff.” She coughs.

          “What, reading?” I teased, elbowing her lightly in the side.

          “I mean, kind of,” she laughed, elbowing me in the side. “But I meant going through all those cases knowing they all end badly. I’d get so pissed I’d burn down the courthouse or something.”

          “Then let’s hope we’re not adding another one to the pile.”

***

          “Dammit!” yelps Selene, recoiling her leg from the darkness. “The little shit bit me!”

          “Just make sure you keep your light moving,” I say. “They’re probably just scared that someone’s here at all.”

          “Wearing a Ranger’s Guild cloak doesn’t help,” snorts Selene. “That’d scare anybody.”

          “I dunno,” I say, cautiously making my way deeper into the warehouse. “Rangers deal with external threats, right? These things seem right at home.”

          “Yeah,” she says, keeping her flashlight low in her still-bloody arm. “Lucky bastards.”

***

          “Heads up, there’s a watchman following us two blocks down behind a corner,” said Selene, pulling up her red hood. “Guess you were right that they’re using it as an excuse to keep tabs on us.”

          “Maybe they’re just here for a friendly chat. And just happened to know where we were right after I left the courthouse,” I joked half-heartedly. Neither of us laughed. “You think they know where we live now?”

          “Almost definitely. They can look that up if they want, and I’ll bet they want that very much.” She looked to both sides before ducking into a side alley. “It doesn’t smell like another wolf on duty, we should be safe to lose them in here.”

          “For a couple of people who haven’t broken any laws, being able to smell watchmen coming has sure come in handy,” I whispered. “What does Night Watch smell like?”

          “Laundered blood,” she growled.

***

          “It’s like they’re trying to get lit up,” I say. “They keep gathering in spaces we can walk through. They’re tiny, they could crawl into holes we can’t reach if they wanted.”

          The static whispers to us.

          “They’re baiting us,” replies Selene, keeping her crossbow up. “They’re leading us into a trap.”

          “I dunno. It seems more like they’re trying to show us something.”

          “You’re not the one that got bit. They’re dangerous.” The static grows louder. “We’re going the right way. We just need to push through it.”

***

          “I’m worried for your safety, Ms. Halthwatch and Mr. Glenson,” said the councilor, his omnipresent grin plastered on his face. “I’ve been told you’ve been looking into some very dangerous places. The kinds of places you should really have a watchman escort through.”

          “I’m a ranger,” grunted Selene. “I can handle myself.”

          “Ranger in training. And ranger training doesn’t prepare you for the kinds of danger you might find in, for example, the old mining district.”

          “We haven’t gone into the boneyards,” I said, raising an eyebrow. “Why would you think we’d want to go there?”

          The councilor’s eye twitched for a moment, but he quickly composed himself, his smile never dropping for a second.

          “It’s the kind of place young thrill-seekers like yourselves often go. Curious types like you need to learn the value of letting the professionals handle things.”

          “The Night Watch?” I asked.

          “Of course.” His grin widened, his fangs in full view.

***

          “It’s further in,” says Selene, sniffing the air with her snout. “Something in the air.”

          The volume of the radio static grows louder, to the point where it’s getting hard to hear.

          “Want me to turn the radio down?” I ask.

          “No, keep it on. I can tell we’re close.”

***

          “You know, Selene. There’s a saying in investigative journalism about what to do when someone tries to stop you.”

          “Oh yeah? What’s that?”

          “Keep digging.”

***

          “They’re leading us somewhere,” I whisper. “They’re not just running from the light.”

          “What? No they’re not,” scoffs Selene. “They’re just dumb animals.”

          “I’m going to follow them.”

          “Ari, don’t be stupid.”

***

          “We’re doing the best we can, Ms. Halthwatch, but progress has been slow. I hate to be the one to tell you, but it seems that your friend Mx. Suthy was involved with some less than savory types before they went missing.”

          “Skylin wasn’t a criminal. Just broke.”

          “It pains me to say, but those often go hand in hand.”

***

          Our lights shine on one of the creatures against a wall, refusing to run from the light, blinking like it’d been suddenly woken at midnight.

          I can hear a voice whispering in the radio static, louder than ever before.

          “Oh my god,” whispers Selene, dropping her crossbow.

***

          “I have to warn you, the industrial district is dangerous.” The councilor smiled. “Something could happen to you.”

          “Is that a threat?” growled Selene.

***

          “S-Selene?” whispers a voice in the static.

          Selene rushes over to the creature, soft and vulnerable in the light.

***

          “I’m just stating a fact, Ms. Halthwatch. Don’t go in there.”

***

          “Skylin,” whispers Selene, cradling the creature in her arms. “What did they do to you?”

***

          “You wouldn’t want to ruin a spotless criminal record, would you?”

***

          The radio static, previously a formless shifting static, takes shape, revealing itself to be dozens of voices, all calling out at once. They repeat one phrase, over and over, until it loses all hope of meaning.

          Selene hugs the creature tightly.

          “Help us,” they all say. “Help us.”

John Leppik is an educator at Denfeld High School, currently working on a research project with the University of Minnesota to introduce roleplaying games to high schoolers. His work has previously appeared in the Minnesota English Journal.