They found the park a good half-mile away from the race and while Helen felt bad for Rudy, she didn't cut him any slack. There was too much of a time crunch to coddle his nerd-conditioned body. He might be able to go forty-eight hours without sleep and stare at a screen for hours on end or decipher hidden code and languages, but physical exertion wasn't one of his strengths.
The park itself was huge and she groaned in dismay and aggravation. "We're never going to find her like this!"
"We'll find her!" Rudy countered sharply.
Helen bared her teeth at him in a silent snarl as she scanned the area for any telltale signs of Jacqueline's passage. She saw the children's area with its jungle gym and swings, but there was no one there, which figured. There were trees every so often, big ones that had tangling canopies and provided a lot of shade. Their sheer mass reminded her they were no longer in a desert climate; the trees had probably been here longer than the town.
"What the hell are you doing over here?"
Turning to her sister, Helen snapped, "Looking for Jacqueline! She's missing."
"I know. I just saw something suck her down into the ground about three miles from here!" Brenda snapped right back, agitated.
Shocked, Helen echoed, "Three miles? But..."
And then it dawned on her.
"Shit, shit, shit! Rudy, do you have a picture of Frank Wilshire?" Helen demanded.
Rudy rifled through his messenger bag and came out with a file, thrusting it out at her. Taking it, Helen swore creatively on seeing he was the helpful man who'd been 'cleaning' at the race. Frank Wilshire had sent them on a wild goose chase so that whatever he'd summoned would have time to grab Jacqueline.
"What is it?"
Taking a breath, calming herself as best she could, Helen pulled out her cell and answered, "Wilshire is the one who sent us in the wrong direction."
"Son of a bitch!" Rudy swore.
They ran back to the car, following Brenda's terse directions to the correct location. Too aware of each minute that went by, her imagination filling in all manner of horrific things happening to Jacqueline in the interval, Helen ignored the speed limit and came to a screeching halt over the curb at the right park.
Brenda vanished from the vehicle, but Helen spotted her sister off in the distance and took off after her. She stopped short by the ghost, immediately seeing the wooden boards covering a hole in the ground. She bent down and grabbed hold of one, testing it and finding it well secured. Rudy joined her and each strained to pull their own piece off, but neither budged. Thinking fast, she suggested, "Crowbar?"
"Power saw," Rudy countered.
"Power source?"
"Portable."
"Nice."
"Be right back."
She watched him run off and restrained herself from pacing while she waited for him to get back. Unable to bear the inactivity any more, Helen pulled out a bottle of Holy Water and poured it on the boards, just to try. Steam hissed on contact and she dropped back to her knees to try again, but still no luck. She bit back a curse and sat back on her heels.
Brenda shifted into the visible spectrum, her face drawn in a tight expression as she urged, "Get down there!"
"What's going on?" Helen demanded.
"The big nasty's about to make Jacqueline into an afternoon snack!"
Helen let out a wordless shout of frustration and kicked futilely at the planks with all her anger and fear.
***
Jacqueline came to just as the shadowy form of her captor came close. She jerked back, away from the fetid stench as a vaguely hand-shaped appendage reached for her. Remembering the strength in that grip, she scrambled away with her hands, legs bound together and useless. One of her hands fell on a sharp rock, the palm cut and bleeding instantly. Jacqueline wrapped her hand around it, unheeding of further, self-inflicted damage. Any weapon was better than none.
Pain lanced through her ankles again as it dangled her upside-down in the air. It shook her violently and Jacqueline moaned in pain when her neck cracked, but held tight to the stone in her hand. Then it dropped her again and the air left her in a rush. Everything was dark on darker, and it was a struggle to make out even that much with her head swimming, but the barest hint of a light source came from somewhere. It was just enough to aim the makeshift blade and smash it into the creature's face, driving the pointed end in with all her force when the thing bent over her.
It screamed in pain, rearing back until it crashed into the wall and fell to the ground. Instantly pushing herself into a sitting position, Jacqueline pulled at the ropes around her ankles. Thankfully, they were rotting or made out of something not very strong because they came apart under her frantic attack. Not waiting to see if it was alive or dead, Jacqueline crawled in what she hoped was the right direction.
She got confused when the tunnel split, unsure which way to go. Taking a chance, she went right and moved as fast as she could over the uneven ground, barely noticing the rocks that dug into her knees and shins and hands.
Brenda appeared right in front of her, scaring her backwards with a cry. She was somehow half in the ground, just the top half of her body showing, so as to be at eye level with her. The ghost exclaimed, "Stop! Stop! You went the wrong way!"
Jacqueline bit back a sob of fear and frustration before forcing herself to turn around. Her heart pounded heavy in her chest and every limb shook with exhaustion and an overload of adrenaline. It seemed to take forever, but Brenda glided beside her and encouraged her on until she reached that split again. She went the other way that time, praying wordlessly that the creature was really dead and not about to jump her. Finally, blessed sunlight fell on her face and she saw Helen crawling towards her.
"Jacqueline! Come on, hurry!" Helen shouted, turning and crawling back towards the hole up.
Jacqueline made it as fast as she could and let the other woman tie a rope around and under her shoulders, leaning on Helen completely.
"Pull her up!"
The rope went taut, pulling her up the hole to the park. Rudy and Drake helped her away from the hole and she simply lay there, panting and basking in the sunlight.
Moments later, Helen knelt beside her. "You look like crap."
"Thanks," Jacqueline muttered, unable to even summon a smile. Too much of her hurt.
Two men in EMT uniforms came into her line of sight, pushing Helen out of the way. Ignoring their professional medical jargon, Jacqueline allowed herself to fade away.
***
Helen trailed close behind the gurney holding Jacqueline, determined not to let the woman out of her sight. For all they knew, some kind of bond had been formed and whatever had taken her would try again. Rudy stayed behind to talk to the cops who had plenty of questions about Jacqueline's state. That was fine, though. She trusted him to come up with something plausible. It wasn't like they could tell the truth about what had happened, nor would it be their first time lying to law enforcement.
It was about halfway across the park that Helen saw Wilshire striding across the park towards the hole. She stopped short, torn. She wanted to get a piece of him, badly, but didn't want to leave Jacqueline.
"You idiots! What did you do? What did you do?" he shouted, loud enough to hear even from that distance.
Helen hissed in fury and stalked over to him when an explosion of dirt and grass took her by surprise. Something huge and misshapen leapt from the resultant hole. It was human-ish, but covered in slate gray, mottled skin with a bloody hole where an eye should be. The vague thought, How the hell does something like that move underground? rose in her mind as she stared at the scene that played out.
Wilshire spun and ran in the opposite direction, but the thing literally sprang towards him, closing the distance in leaps and bounds. It grabbed him, taking Wilshire between far-too-large hands and twisting his head off like an overripe fruit. Blood splattered all over the thing, but it simply raised Wilshire's corpse up over its shoulder and started back to the hole.
Before it got very far, gunshots rang out. It didn't even pause at first, though Helen saw the black dots on its back indicating bullet wounds. More gunfire erupted, but it was the shotgun blasts that finally caused it to stagger back. The howl of pain and despair it loosed raised the hair on the back of her neck and Helen glanced over towards the ambulance. The EMTs had stopped the gurney and stared at the creature in shock, just like everyone else in that park.
The thing fell to its knees and still the gunshots continued. It dropped the rest of the way to the ground at long last when another shotgun blast took out its throat. For a long minute, no one moved. Helen sucked in a breath when her heart banged against her chest, demanding its due. She watched as a couple of wary uniformed cops approached the fallen creature, shotguns at the ready.
One of them, a young guy with a hard expression that somehow seemed out of place, held the shotgun trained on it while his taller partner tapped it with his foot. No reaction. He moved closer and gave it a solid shove and it simply...disintegrated...into the grass.
Turning back to the gurney, not caring what else happened, she ordered the EMTs, "Get your asses in gear! You've got a patient, here!"
They snapped out of the fog and hopped to, swiftly loading Jacqueline into the ambulance. Helen climbed in after them and looked out the back window to find Rudy gesticulating at the cops.
A grin tugged at her lips as she thought, Maybe telling the truth this time makes sense.
***
The hospital room was crowded, but Jacqueline didn't seem to mind. Since Helen kept a close eye on her friend's mood and energy level, she let the festivities continue until the end of visiting hours. Jacqueline had been all for discharging that day, but since she'd lost consciousness at the park, the doctor wanted to keep her overnight for observation. Fortunately, the worst of her wounds were relatively minor, a score of deep gashes from being dragged over rocks and the mild concussion.
"But you didn't get any pictures!" Elliot insisted. "Unless I can see this creature I'm sorry, but I can't believe you!"
Rudy threw his hands up and exclaimed, "So, Jac beat herself up?"
Elliot wagged a finger at him as he ordered, "Don't start! The most perfectly logical explanation is she fell through the hole and got turned around."
"What about the rope marks?"
"She could've gotten caught on something!"
"And the fact that we have police giving eye witness statements?"
"Heat of the moment dealing with a really big psycho."
"No body?"
Elliot paused. "Okay. You've got me on that one, but give me time."
"All right, boys, you can debate this later. Time to go," Drake interrupted.
Chuckling, accepting that Elliot was and always would be a skeptic, Helen walked over to Rudy and asked, "Going back to the hotel?"
"Yeah, might as well. Case is over," Rudy confirmed. "Want me to wait?"
She nodded and he went to say goodbye to Jacqueline, along with everyone else. Once the room had finally emptied out, she stood beside the bed and just looked at the other woman. Taking in the bandages and bruised skin, Helen knew she wanted to say something, but couldn't figure out just what.
Jacqueline offered a tired smile and asked, "Something I can do for you?"
"I was worried about you," Helen said quietly. Her hand lifted to brush backwards over Jaqueline's cheek, one of the few clear spots, and she continued, "Really worried."
"So was I," Jacqueline replied, dry.
There was something in the air, something right there in front of her, but she didn't have Jacqueline's talent for reading emotions and couldn't figure it out. She finally settled on relief even knowing that that wasn't it, or, not just it. She moved her hand to the other woman's shoulder. "I'm glad you're all right."
Jacqueline half-smiled, looking up at her with that crooked smile that said she knew a hell of a lot more than she was saying. "Thanks, Helen."
She waited, but there was nothing more forthcoming. Feeling somewhat like she'd missed an opportunity of sorts, Helen said, "Right. Okay. I'll be back in the morning to spring you. Get some sleep if they let you."
Reaching out, Jacqueline took Helen's hand and squeezed it. "Thanks for getting me out."
"Hey, you did all the heavy lifting, I just provided backup," Helen commented.
Jacqueline grinned outright at that. "That's right. You were almost completely useless. Get out of here, Rollins."
Helen laughed softly and headed for the door. They were okay.
Better than okay, she thought, leaving the hospital room.
She joined Rudy in the hallway and frowned at his expectant look. "What?"
Shaking his head, he muttered, "And they call men clueless," before heading for the elevators.
Helen glared at him before jogging to catch up and demand, "What's that supposed to mean?"
Rudy ignored her as they reached the elevators.
Snorting in a mix of annoyance and amusement, Helen leaned against the wall as they waited and asked, "What did you tell the cops, anyhow?"
"The truth," Rudy answered, his grin getting bigger. "Not that they wrote it down or even pretended to believe me. You know, I'm always surprised by how easily people block out the truth in favor of sanity and normalcy."
Helen chuckled. "I thought you learned that a long time ago."
"Oh, I did. Still, I just keep trying."
"Glutton for punishment, huh?"
"I work with you, don't I?"
Slapping him lightly upside the back of the head, Helen followed him into the elevator. She leaned against the wall there, too, even though it would be a short ride. Her body shook faintly from a combination of delayed shock, over-extension, and the release of a hell of a lot of tension. It would be good to collapse into bed and sleep for a day or so. Then they would pick Jacqueline up from the hospital and head back home.
She realized with a start that she already thought of Los Angeles as home when she'd never really done so in Boston. For all the many years she'd lived there, Boston had simply been her residence, not her home. Glancing over at Rudy bouncing lightly on the balls of his feet, Helen smiled at the sight. Her oldest and best friend, a brother really. And what did that make Jacqueline? She wasn't sure, but suspected that best friend and soul-sister was the least of it.
Rudy caught her staring and asked, "What?"
The elevator door opened then and she slung an arm over his shoulder as they walked out. "Nothing, Rudy, nothing at all."
He gave her a look that clearly said he thought she was losing it, but that only made her smile more. The old adage was true...
Family is where they know all your faults and have to take you back anyhow.
***
Jacqueline moved slowly from the wheelchair to the car, glad they were in Rudy's comfortable 4Runner and not Helen's Mustang. Driving back in that thing would have been a nightmare, as sore as she felt.
Once they were on the road, Rudy announced, "I got the whole story about why Elliot's such a jackass about all things psychic."
"Oh yeah?" Helen prompted.
"Turns out that after his sister's death, his mother contacted a supposed-psychic and the man robbed her blind."
Jacqueline gasped in anger. "What? Do you know who it was? Is it anyone you two already know?"
Rudy shrugged and replied, "We tend to stay out of the mainstream psychic crowd. Some have real talent, some don't, and some are just really good at reading people and use it for good purposes."
Helen added dryly, "But the ones without talent tend to get pissy when you break up a fake séance and expose them."
Jacqueline snorted and agreed, "I bet."
"I doubt Elliot's going to believe us any time soon, but at least now we know why," Rudy finished.
Nodding to herself, Jacqueline murmured, "It's always good to know," her mind mostly on what had happened the day before. She finally demanded, "What was that thing? What got me?"
There was a long pause before Helen admitted, "I have no idea. We've never come across anything like it before."
"Could have been a mutant of some kind," Rudy offered half-heartedly.
When Jacqueline glanced forward, looking at Helen's face via the reflection from the sun visor's mirror, it was to find a pensive expression in place. It was something more than just a 'what the hell was it' look and Jacqueline asked, "What are you thinking, Helen?"
Helen met her gaze in the mirror, answering slowly, "There are more things in Heav'n an Earth, Horatio."
Jacqueline quirked an eyebrow at her.
"I got an email from Bigby a couple of nights ago. He said that something big was happening and would be out of contact for about six months."
"And you think whatever attacked me has something to do with it?"
Helen looked out the window for a few seconds and then posited, "What if we're not nearly as unique or even as different as we think we are? What if there's more than just ghosts out there? What if the demons, revenants, shape-shifters, and every other thing we've heard or read about that goes bump in the night, the things that we've always scoffed at...what if they all really exist?"
The silence that fell at that was an apprehensive one and as Jacqueline shivered, she knew that she wasn't the only one in the car wishing they'd never taken that case.