Here is Part 2 of The First Storm of Spring. If you haven't read Part 1 yet, you can find it here.
And if you're ready to go, Part 2 starts now…
The First Storm of Spring
By Catherine Mesick
When
Garrett awoke, he could see the sky. It was overcast, but there was still plenty
of light, and nothing in the calm, gray sky gave any indication that a powerful
and deadly storm was on its way.
Garrett
looked down and realized that he was lying on a bare patch of dirt. He looked
up again and saw that he was lying a few yards from Subee’s little house. The
front door was firmly closed.
Garrett
jumped up and hurried to the little house. He pounded on the front door.
“Miss
Subee, I know you’re in there!”
The
shade covering the window next to the door flew open, and a moment later the
window itself opened too—but just a crack.
“What
do you want?” said Subee’s voice.
Garrett
walked over to the window and peered inside. Subee was staring out at him
defiantly.
“What
I want,” Garrett said, “is to help you. It’s my duty to protect the people in
this town. And you happen to be one of them. I’m going to have to ask you to
come with me.”
“Where?”
Subee said. “To jail?”
“No,
ma’am. I can take you to a designated shelter or to family if you have any
outside the storm path.”
“And
if I don’t come out?”
“Then
I’m going to stand right here at your door until the storm carries us both
away.”
Subee
stared at him for a long moment.
“You’re
serious, aren’t you?” she said.
“Yes,
ma’am.”
“I
don’t mean about standing out in the storm,” Subee said. “I meant you’re
serious about wanting to help me.”
“Yes,
ma’am, to that, too.”
Subee
disappeared from the window. A moment later, the front door opened.
“You
can come in again, Garrett.”
“Thank
you, ma’am.”
“And
seriously, just call me Subee.”
Subee
let him in and then sat down at the little dining room table. She motioned for
Garrett to take the other seat.
Subee
sighed.
“I’ll
say this quickly. You have got to go, and I have got to stay.”
“Why?”
Garrett asked.
“I’m
trying to protect the people of this town just like you are.”
Garrett
smiled a little. “Are you proposing to stop the storm?”
Subee
did not smile back.
“Yes.”
“I
see. And how will you do that?”
“I
don’t expect you to believe me,” Subee said. She gestured to the snakeskins on
the wall. “This is part of my work.”
Garrett
waited patiently for her to continue.
“You
have a choice,” Subee said after a moment. “If you believe me, you can stay. If
you don’t believe me, then I will have to ask you to leave. And you are
unlikely to believe me. So then you really will have to leave—or I will get you
out of here myself.”
“Understood,”
Garrett said.
“Everyone
thinks that I’ve been killing snakes,” Subee said, “and pinning their skins on
my wall. But these creatures weren’t snakes. They don’t even look like regular
snakes—at least not to me. I can see them for what they really are.”
“And
what are they?” Garrett asked.
“Evil
spirits. In the guise of a snake.”
Subee
paused as if she expected Garrett to react. When he said nothing, she went on.
“This
storm that is coming is like that,” Subee said. “It looks like a regular storm,
but it isn’t one.”
Garrett
frowned. “You mean it’s a hurricane made up of evil spirits?”
“Basically,
yes. This is a supernatural storm. Or to put it more exactly, this is a normal
storm—a naturally occurring hurricane—that is being used by supernatural
forces. The storm itself would be happening anyway, and evacuation is
absolutely the right thing to do—for most people. But what the storm brings
with it, the evil presence that is opportunistically catching a ride—that’s
what I have to deal with.”
“And
how will you do that?” Garrett asked.
“I
have the ability to touch spirit,” Subee said. “When I touch it, I can make it
take physical form. Then, if necessary, it can be destroyed.”
“You’re
going to destroy the evil spirits in the storm?” Garrett said.
“Yes,”
Subee said. “Well, ‘destroy’ is actually the wrong word. The spirits can’t be
destroyed. But they can be dispersed—and sent back where they came from.”
“Why?
Can’t you just let the evil spirits roll over everything along with the storm?”
“No,”
Subee said. “That’s the last thing I can do. This is a special storm. Most
storms have very low levels of spiritual energy, but at times, evil energy
builds up—bubbling up from the earth, from the water, even from the air. And
all of this evil spiritual energy is looking for one thing: host bodies.”
Garrett
shifted a little in his seat. “You’re saying that evil spirits in this storm
want to possess people?”
“It’s
a little subtler than that,” Subee said. “True possession is extremely rare.
These spirits seek to attach themselves to hosts, sort of like a cloud—to use
their bodies to influence the physical world. The host still retains its own
spirit—but the evil one latches on to it—begins to guide it, especially when it
is at its most vulnerable. Once it has taken hold, the evil spirit is nearly impossible
to detect. Those who know the person only notice at first that the person’s
mood has grown a little darker. As time goes by, that darkness grows and
grows.”
“Until?”
Garrett said.
“Until
the person dies,” Subee replied. “Mortal flesh can only bear so much evil. Like
I said, true possession is rare. But influence can occur when evil grows strong
enough. And it can take hold of plants and animals as well as humans.”
“Is
that what these snakes were?” Garrett asked, glancing at the walls.
Subee
frowned. “No—these are a little different. They were never snakes—they just
looked like snakes. The material that held these together is organic, but there
was never an animal inside. The snakeskins were hollow—I just released the evil
spirit within. These creatures were something like scouts for the main group of
spirits.”
“Why
do you hang them up?” Garrett asked. “As a warning?”
“No—as
a shield. The snakeskins are organic but wrongly organic. I am surrounded by
their wrongness and it masks my presence—at least for a time.”
Garrett
smiled. “So the evil spirits know about you?”
“They
do. And they’ll stop me if they can.”
“So
what are you going to do exactly?” Garrett said.
“As
I said,” Subee began, “I can touch spirit—I can make it solid. I can—not
destroy it—but disperse it. I can break up its cohesion and send it back into
the air and the water and the earth. And I have my tools. They help me, too.
I’ll wait till the storm comes, bringing with it the evil spirits, and then
I’ll come out and attack.”
“What
are you? Some kind of wizard?”
“I’m
not a wizard,” Subee said. “I’m a very ordinary person with a very bad job.”
“So
why do you do it?”
“I
didn’t really have a choice.”
“Why
not?” Garrett asked.
“The
ability to do this is hereditary—and rare. Evil poses a very real threat to the
mortal world. And I have the ability to help where others can’t. I can see and
touch what they don’t even know exists.”
Sadie
shrugged.
“If
I can save people and don’t, then what am I?”
“It’s
hard to argue with you when you put it like that,” Garrett said. “And how are
you proposing to survive the storm? It’s still a real storm, and it’s very
powerful.”
“I’ll
survive with this.”
Subee
rolled up her sleeve to reveal what looked like a small tattoo of a gold leaf
on her wrist.
Garrett
looked up at Subee.
“That’ll
protect you?”
“That’ll
protect me.”
Subee
regarded Garrett for a moment. Then she became businesslike.
“So
now I’m going to have to ask you to leave.”
“Why
is that?” asked Garrett.
“Since
you don’t believe me—I’m going to have to—”
“I
believe you.”
“What
was that?” Subee asked.
“I
believe you,” Garrett repeated.
“You
can’t possibly believe me.”
“I
beg your pardon, ma’am, but I do.”
“Why?”
Subee said.
“Why
do I believe you?”
“Yes,”
Subee said. “Why do you believe me? In my entire life no one has ever believed me.
Why would you believe me now?”
“Well,”
Garrett said slowly. “There must be some reason why a perfectly normal person
has done all of this.”
He
gestured to the snakeskins on the wall and then continued.
“And
you are perfectly normal. Even if you think you aren’t. Your house, your yard,
and even your person are all clean and tidy—the snakeskins notwithstanding.
Everything’s in good shape so to speak. When people are troubled—truly troubled
in their minds, all these things start to get muddled and disordered. I know
that from experience. You might think that we don’t see a lot of trouble in a
small town, but working in a job like mine—you see everything, you know
everybody’s secrets. I know the difference between a crazy person and a sane
person. And you’re a sane person. And I do hope you’ll forgive the references
to your person.”
“Okay,
so I’m not crazy,” Subee said. “What if I’m just plain wrong? Sane people have
gotten ahold of the wrong idea before.”
Garrett
eyed her closely. “I don’t think so. You don’t look like a fanatic to me. Like
I said, even in this small town, I’ve seen just about everything—every kind of
behavior you can imagine. You don’t fit the description.”
“You
still haven’t answered my question,” Subee said. “Why do you believe me? You’ve
only given me reasons why you don’t think I’m crazy.”
“I
believe you believe what you’re saying,” Garrett said. “That’s all I need to
know.”
“That’s
not enough.”
“It
is for me,” Garrett said. “And you said the choice was mine. I choose to
believe you.”
“You
can’t stay,” Subee said. “It’s too dangerous. This storm is dangerous—even
apart from what it carries.”
“If
it’s not impolite to point it out,” Garrett said, “I already know that. In
fact, I believe this entire conversation began with my pointing that out to
you.”
Subee
sighed. “What would you do if you did stay?”
“I’m
proposing to help you, ma’am, and the people of this town. Just like I said I
would.”
“How
can you help? You can’t do the things I can do.”
“It
seems to me,” Garrett said, “that you’ve been working alone for a very long
time. And there are few jobs that can’t be improved by having a partner. I’m
sure there’s something I can do.”
Subee
was silent for a long moment.
“There
is something, isn’t there?” Garrett said.
“It
would be dangerous,” Subee began.
“I’m
a law enforcement officer, ma’am,” Garrett said. “Danger is part of the job
description.”
Subee
looked at him as if seeing him for the first time.
“That’s
true,” she said softly. “You risk your life every day. You know what it’s
like.”
Garrett
grinned. “Does that mean I can stay?”
-------------------------------------------
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