The Fine Line

Small towns aren't always known for the strange rumors and weird happenings until it really begins affecting everything. The most famous recorded case was of Ashley, Kansas where the entire town just disappeared under weird and mysterious circumstances. A contract was issued out of Ashwood, Oregon requesting immediate help before their situation worsened. They had asked for help from their local offices but after a few days, they would either disappear or leave the job. The price was small being a small town but the situation was turning dire. Hanson proposed the contract, and Hunter did not hesitate to take it, packing up Juliet, Adam, and their things to head to the small town of under 500 residents.

The group arrived only a few hours after the contract was taken down by them. They were greeted at the small airport by the local office which had asked for help. The one thing that Hunter enjoyed about working with other offices like his was they understood what was happening, and what resources were needed, and they could openly share a lot of critical information that can make a job much easier. The group was taxied to the small office. Unlike Hunter's with its multiple floors and big office spaces, this place was one floor with a small reception desk right in front of the boss's office. There are only three people in this building but they were very in tune with the city.

They were greeted by the police chief from the next town over who worked with the three officers who lived in Ashwood while presiding over the larger city a few miles away. They squished Hunter, Hanson, Adam, Juliet, the office organizer John, and Police Chief Dexter into the small office. Adam and Juliet were offered seats while everyone else stood. Hunter took immediate control of the situation, "From the contract at hand you have had problems with an unknown individual or individuals that have been kidnapping children ranging from the ages of four to 18. Unless this has changed there are currently 14 people missing. Has this changed?" The police chief answered, "Not as of yet but with how things are going, we do expect that to change."

"I'm aiming to help relieve that so we'll work as quickly as we can. John, quick question for you though. How knowledgeable are the officers in town and our Police Chief here?"

John was confident in his answer, "If you mean with the town, the officers grew up here while Officer Dexter often visits. If you mean about our work, they know a lot of what we do as we have had to deal with a wide array of weird and strange things."

"To what extent?"

Officer Dexter chimed in again, "Enough to know that your succubus there looks like she's about to keel over from malnutrition."

Juliet sighed, "I know! I have no idea what it is but flying just kills me!"

Hunter took back over, "Excellent, then we can make this as seamless as possible. Officer Dexter, I'm Ivan, this is Hanson, Adam, and Juliet. I will need a profile on all the children who have gone missing, where they were last seen, where they live, and any other information you can think of."

"We will have that in the next few hours on John's desk for you."

"John, ideas on where we can stay?"

John sat back in his chair much like how Hunter does when he is in control, "My mother runs a small B&B if you don't mind possibly sharing with a few out-of-town people."

"We'll make due. We'll just need to take the basement for our base to set up."

"Consider it done. Dexter can show you where she's set up. I hope we get this solved quickly. Word travels fast around here so it won't be long before the locals will begin pestering you too."

The last few groups that came through were under fire from the townsfolk to find the missing children. Being in a small town the news traveled fast about someone new coming into town. Their motives were quickly found out as they began asking the missing person's family members. This would be a very different challenge for them as lying low was incredibly difficult to almost impossible. Most of their information would be from the police reports that would be provided. Everything else would have to be found or deduced from the information at hand. Being the small town that it is, there was the advantage that everyone would know something if the need arose.

With a loaner car from John the group piled in following Officer Dexter to the B&B they would call home for the next couple of days. The outside was a sky-blue, two-story home that was a lot larger than the other homes around them. It looked as though they had bought and combined into the house next door to the original home. The sign out front looked a bit faded from the wear and tear of time yet still was able to stand out. Their car was parked on the street as they would not be staying long. They unloaded their gear and were given the second master bedroom to share between the four of them. It was set up like a smaller hotel room with two beds.

"I'm not sharing a bed with that little perv!"

"Like I would want to share a bed with a soul-sucking succubus!"

These two were at it already. Hunter let it go while he and Hanson unpacked and got ready. With most of their things unpacked the two grabbed a few of their work items to go take over the basement. They went from the second house down the extended hallway, through the main floor kitchen to the corner door that led to the basement. Normal guests were not allowed into the basement but with John's notice, his mother gave them the key to enter and leave as they needed. Once downstairs the two set up their temporary war room with a map of the city on the wall, their contract details, a small computer, and a few extra odds and ends that would probably not be needed. They began by taking inventory to make sure they brought everything before returning upstairs.

They passed a few of the guests in the kitchen who quickly took an eye on the strangers. Hunter and Hanson really did seem out of place for staying there as guests. They returned to the room to find Adam and Juliet bickering about sleeping arrangements. Hunter shut them up in an instant, "Quiet! Adam, take the bed against the wall. Hanson, and Juliet, share the bed against the window. And you two, shut up! Good god! I will not babysit you two while we are here!" The two of them did shut up. Very quickly. Hunter was not someone you want to continue to upset. He was fair-mannered most of the time but when pushed would take matters into his own hands or destroy the problem as a whole. Neither of them wanted either of those options to happen.

With the sleeping situation dictated, the group rode back to John's office where the folders they had asked for were delivered already. Hanson began going through looking for similarities between the different cases that may have been missed. Everything seemed to match the information they had been given so far. Ages four to 18, no real physical connection other than that they lived in town, they all went to the same school being the small town that it is, both male and female children, and their last known locations were scattered around town. Hanson was going to have his hands full looking for a pattern if there was one at all. Hunter began planning with the police chief to make sure that they were set up with them. That the officers would give him priority on this case while they were working around town on their usual shifts. With contact numbers in hand, the group returned to the basement of the B&B where Hanson and Hunter got to work doing their thing of mapping the town.

They began putting up pins marking them in order of disappearances and last known locations. They were really scattered around the map, mostly marked at their place of residence. While Hunter began working on finding the pattern Hanson began looking into anything strange about the town. Adam and Juliet were left to sit on the couch that was downstairs watching and listening to the two talk about anything they found. For those two, this was the boring work but planning was a critical part of any of their jobs. Juliet understood this better than Adam but she was also a victim of their ability to predict and execute their schemes.

It was a couple hours of mumbling and questions between the two before they were able to step back and look at everything they had gathered which turned out to just be a bunch of lines, no real leads, and no new information. "Well, shit. Ideas Hanson?" Hanson stepped up to the board looking at the string lines going from one person to the next, "I believe that we need a better timeline, sir. One that has when they were last seen along with where. Possibly someone other than their family saw them."

"I really want to avoid talking to people but it does look like that's what we need to do. Where do you think we start?"

"At the school. When you were a young lad did you not sneak out with your friends?"

"I… yea, I've gotten in trouble before for that."

"Then maybe the friends of the older children may know something."

"Ok, I'll get one of the officers to set up a place with the school where we can pull a few students out and ask questions. I have a feeling this will be very difficult but we'll see what happens."

Within an hour the school was able to clear a classroom for them where Hanson could sit away from the table to take notes, Juliet was placed nearby to observe for anything unusual, while Adam was placed in charge of looking over the school. Being as young as is he is able to walk around the school almost unrestricted, blending in with the other students. The school was very small. There were only about 80 students, 50-some were in the high school division of the school. He was tasked with eavesdropping on anything he may think would assist them. This was his first real job as a contractor, as intel gathering.

The officer played his part really well. They spoke with the teachers to get the names of students known to hang out with the children who were missing. From there the school would ask them to step out of their current class to the room set aside for Hunter's team. The first student who called in was nervous as he sat down across from Hunter. This was the first time that Juliet was going to see how well Hunter really works with others. More so with someone much younger than he is. As the student sat down Hunter's entire demeanor changed. The air around him seemed to lighten up creating a much more relaxing environment. The student seemed to feel it as well as they sat back in a more relaxed position in the chair. With a small smile on his face, Hunter began, "Do you prefer Matt or Matthew?"

"Matt."

"Ok Matt, I need your help and I'm sure I can guess why."

"Does this have to do with Marie?"

"It does. We need you to tell us anything you know that happened or changed before she disappeared. Any little thing you may have noticed, it doesn't matter how small. An attitude change, a change in her work at school, and outside of school. Any little detail you can think of. Again, no matter how trivial it may seem."

"Ok, um." Matt paused as he looked around trying to remember, "I think she was still like herself. She was cheery, she talked to me about how excited she was to go on a date with Mike the next day."

"Mike?"

"Michael Thomas, he goes to school here."

"Hanson."

Hanson was already on it, "Yessir."

Hunter went back to the student, "Did she show any reservations about going on this date? Anything that made her uneasy?"

"Well she was nervous but that's because she had never been on a date before."

"Anything else?"

"No, she just seemed really happy."

"Ok, when was the last contact you had with her?"

"She sent me a text asking what color dress to wear about 7:30pm the day before she was reported missing."

"That helps a lot Matt, thank you."

"Are… Are you guys the new group looking for the missing kids?"

Hunter had to pause, "We are, and I ask that you please, help us, keep that between us so we do not get bogged down with questions while we try to help. We need to focus and we can't while we are also trying to answer people's questions with answers we don't have."

"I get that. Yea, I'll keep quiet."

"We appreciate it. Go back to class. If you remember something else, just let one of your teachers know. They know how to get a hold of us."

Matt left them to quickly go over their notes before calling Michael. He entered to see Hunter talking with Hanson over the notepad. Once they heard him Hunter offered him a seat and like before he was able to make him talk with very little reserve, "Do you prefer Mike or Michael?

"Mike is fine."

"Ok. Mike, we heard that you had a date with Marie planned the day she disappeared."

"This again?! I already told everyone that I didn't meet her! That I didn't do anything!"

"And I believe that. To be perfectly honest I don't believe that you had anything to do with her disappearance which is why I wanted to speak with you. From what I gathered she was very excited to go on this date with you which is why I think it's strange that she disappeared. However, I do think that deep down you know something that you are not aware of that can help us find her. I need you to tell me everything from when you asked her out to when you were supposed to meet her."

"I asked her out on Tuesday, we were going to go out on Thursday to avoid the usual Friday crowds. She was super stoked about it. She kept texting me the night before."

"Until what time before she put her phone down?"

"I think the last message was from just after 9pm. Oh… Oh!"

"Oh?"

"Her last message was that she didn't want to wait for Thursday, she wanted to do something like a pre-date."

"What happened with that?"

"She said that she was going to get dressed and wanted to meet me by the pond near the community center on the northeast side of town."

"Northeast side of town… Did you go to meet her there?"

"No. Well… Please don't tell my parents."

"This is for Marie, we're not here to get you in trouble."

"...I did, well I went. I showed up around when she told me to but she never showed up. I left about 10 to go home and sent her a message but there was never a response."

"So the last message you got was just after 9 and when did you arrive at the pond at what time?"

"I'd say about 9:30, 9:40. Somewhere in there."

"And she was nowhere to be found."

"No, she didn't show. Which I thought was weird. She lives a lot closer to the lake than I do."

"Hanson, do you have a photo of the map?"

Hanson reached into his pocket, "Yes, I do."

Hanson stood up bringing his phone over with the picture of the map in the basement pulled up. "Mike, Marie lives at this dot here, correct?"

"Yes, that's about where it is."

"Where do you live?"

"I live…" He poked the phone moving the image around past the main street in town almost on the opposite side. "I live around this area here."

"Ok. Thank you, Mike. If we have any other questions we will contact you. If you remember anything just let one of your teachers know and they will get a hold of us for you."

"You're… You're going to find her right? Along with the other kids?"

"That is the goal. We just need you to help us by keeping it as quiet as you can that we are here. In exchange, we won't let your parents know that you did what all kids do at one point in their life and sneak out of the house late at night, deal?"

With a nervous smile and a handshake, Mike agreed, "Done deal."

They released Mike back to class to review their notes, "We have a timeline and a place for one of the students. The others will need to follow. Juliet, your job is to investigate the lake. See if you find anything strange but make sure you do it during daylight hours. No additional risk is needed. Hanson, you and I need to grab Adam and see if he found something."

"I will go find him, sir."

"I want to see your notes while you do that."

"Yessir."

Hanson took his leave handing his notepad to Hunter. Juliet sat next to him looking over Hanson's neat handwriting. They had the start of a more accurate timeline of when one person disappeared. Slumped down in the uncomfortable chair, Hunter sighed trying to put more information together with the others but they were still too fresh in this case. It was only a few minutes before Hanson brought Adam in with another student following. Adam and the female student sat down on the other end of the table throwing Hunter off his game. She seemed to be on the verge of tears. The notepad went back to Hanson to continue writing. "Hello, what can I do to help?"

"Adam told me that you were looking for the missing children."

"We are."

"Please, you have to find my little brother."

"Little brother?"

"Donavin Smith, my little brother. Please, he's only six years old."

"Woah, slow down, what is your name?"

"Anne."

"Listen to me Anne, we are trying very hard to find the missing children, all of them. I need you to understand that so please calm down. I'm going to ask you a few questions. Are you ok to answer them?"

She fought through the sniffles, "I can try."

"Ok, when was the last time you saw Donavin?"

"When he went to bed. Our parents tucked him in at about 8pm. When they woke up he was just gone!" She lost her control.

"Hanson, Donavin, when did he go missing?"

Hanson looked at the photo on his phone, "Between Saturday night and Sunday morning."

"Anne, I need you to collect yourself. I need you to think, what did you do on Saturday? Did Donavin do anything out of the ordinary or act strangely?"

"We all went swimming in the afternoon. There was a community day where we could have a free swim for anyone who showed up."

"It's a little cold to be swimming. It's only March."

"Well, the pond has always been warm. There's like a thermal vent that goes underneath or something like that so the water always seems to be at a decent temperature."

"Wait, wait, a pond? What pond?"

"The community center's pond."

With no hesitation, Hunter turned to Juliet, "Grab the officer and get there."

She gave no words. Just a nod with a quick step out the door. Hanson began collecting his notes and getting ready to leave. Hunter turned back to Anne, "You have been a big help, thank you. I want you to rest easy. We are going to find your brother. I only ask that you please keep this to yourself for now. We need to be able to work in peace. Do you understand?"

"Yes."

"Not a word. To no one. Not even your parents."

"But…"

"No buts, we know how a small town works and we need to make sure that we are not disturbed."

"O… ok."

"Thank you, Anne. We will find Donavin."

Hanson followed Hunter out of the room with no need for direction. The two made their way quickly out to the car dropping it into gear and taking off towards the community center. It was a short drive where they found Juliet and the officer already there waiting for them. The center was open but no one other than the staff was there. Hunter stepped into the building asking a few questions about the recent event they had. They mentioned that the turnout was low but there were a few people. A list was provided of all the people who checked in and the guests they brought with them. Of the list of 32 townsfolk who showed up, nine of them were children who went missing. Everyone else who checked in was over the age of 21. "I'm beginning to see a pattern here. Adam!"

Adam jerked at his name being called, "What? Yes?"

"You are going to be staying out of this case."

"Why's that?"

"You're ideal to go missing. Hanson will take you back to base. Stay there, and do not go anywhere near the pond."

There was no questioning Hunter's authority when he made safety decisions. Hanson drove Adam back to the B&B where he was instructed to stay in the basement. He was allowed to use the computer to entertain himself and was encouraged to use it to find out anything he could about the city. In Hanson's absence from the scene, Hunter began taking over the situation at hand. John and Police Chief Dexter were summoned to the community center where Hunter began working with them on a new plan. He was completely unsure of what was happening but knew that the key to finding it out would be the pond. Until this was solved, the community center would be closed under the guise that they had to do emergency maintenance and that the premise was unsafe until it was completed. This gave Hunter a second base of operations closer to the pond.

The three gathered in the meeting room with the two other officers to listen in. The meeting began with a strange request, "Does anyone have anything iron on them that they do not mind losing?" One of the officers left to come back with an old tire iron from their trunk. It was placed on the table with a penny from Hunter's pocket. "Ok, here's what we are going to do. The community center is to remain closed until we are able to solve this. We need to work on not creating a scene to avoid gossip and rumors so no more than two officers will be on-site at all times. One inside the building to deter people and the other by the pond making sure that no one approaches it. Give special attention to younger adults and children to keep them away. I am unsure of how this is happening but that is what I am hoping to find out."

John seemed a bit uneasy in his seat. It could have been that they were getting close to possibly finding the answer and he was anxious to either complete this job or worried about what they would find. Or he may have known something. Hunter was biding his time though. The main priority was to find out where the missing children went, why they disappeared, and how to get them back. Their quick meeting was adjourned. Hunter requested that Officer Dexter follow him.

The two arrived near the pond outback. With the tire iron and penny in hand, Hunter jammed the penny into the mouth of the tire iron. "I need you to do me a solid." He flipped the tire iron in his hand a couple times making the police chief a bit uneasy. "I need you to get a two-person dive team to retrieve this tire iron." With one solid throw, it went whistling through the air into the water quickly sinking near the center. "You want me to waste resources on retrieving a tire iron?"

"That and to search the bottom of the lake. You probably won't find much but I do need that tire iron back. Believe me, we'll need it."

Hunter returned to the car with his phone in hand. Hanson was on his way back to the pond which worked out well. He would be able to keep an eye on the dive while they retrieved what they could find. Hunter would take the time in between their arrival to go have a word with the local office about a few things that may have happened.

John's office was always open to Hunter, that was the agreement they had with him arriving. That any information and previous case files, all information about the city would be available at any time. John had not returned to his office yet but his secretary was able to let him in. He began going through John's paranormal cabinet trying to find anything in his older files about the pond. The only thing he had found was that one time, someone reported a strange light near the pond near dusk. Their investigation turned up that the light was the sun reflecting off a specific spot when the wind would blow. Nothing else had any note of being linked to the pond. This case may be new to everyone. The other option on the table was to check the city records to see if there were events that happened around that area. The city office was closed by this time so that would have to wait till tomorrow.

On his way out he got a text from Hanson that the dive team had arrived and was looking around the bottom of the lake. It would be another 10 minutes before Hunter got there, maybe they would be finished by the time he got there. Driving along the main road on the way to the community center Hunter watched as the sun set behind a line of trees. The light flickered through the leaves as the trees moved to the wind. There was something quaint about a small-town atmosphere but at the same time, everyone has their nose in everyone else's business. In a profession where discretion and secrecy are a high priority, it must be hard to keep certain things under wraps.

Hunter arrived just as the sun began to set. Hanson was talking with one of the officers holding a dripping bag in his hand. Hunter approached the two of them with a simple wave. "We found your tire iron. You'll really need to clean it. There was a lot of mud and gunk at the bottom.'

"Just mud and gunk?"

"Yup, nothing really stood out."

"No weird things with the fish?"

"There are no fish. This is a man-made lake that was never populated with fish. Just used for scenery and events."

"Interesting. I was not aware of that."

They nodded before returning to the car. Hanson kept the bag close to him but on the floor to not get the seat wet. "Hanson, see if you can get a hold of John. We need to stop by the church." Hanson got on the phone immediately while Hunter began driving to the small church near the water tower. They arrived with excellent timing as the pastor pulled in behind them. "Good day strangers! What can the house of the lord do for you at this fine hour?"

"We're sorry for bothering you this late but I need to cleanse my tire iron."

"Would a sink be better fitted for that?"

"Cleanse, not clean. Do you have a small washtub that you use for holy water for baptizing?"

"We do."

"Is it full?"

"It should be."

"Excellent, I need that."

They followed the pastor through the back door to his office. From there they followed the halls until they arrived in the main congregation room. Sitting beside the podium was the small tub filled with clear holy water. Hunter took the bag from Hanson pulling out the muck-covered metal rod from the bag. Some of the pond scum dripped onto the carpet. "Sorry about that. We'll clean it up before we leave." With no warning, Hunter dropped the tire iron into the pool of water with a heavy splash. The iron rang as it hit the stone bottom. The mud rustled off quickly turning the water a clear-ish mud brown. Hunter stood next to the tub looking like he was waiting for something. It was half a minute before he spoke up again, "Well, I will admit when I am wrong. My apologies, Pastor. I will get you more holy water but I appreciate you…" A large bubble emerged from the water with a light splash. Everyone turned to the pool looking onward. There was a deathly silence before another bubble emerged. "Stand back."

Everyone took a few steps back as the bubbling became more rapid. There was one large blast that threw water everywhere soaking the floor around the pedestal. The three watched, waiting for something else. There was something fighting against the forces placed upon it. The sunlight that peered through the stained glass window disappeared as the sun set behind a tree. They did not turn on the lights when they entered so the room was cloaked in a fresh darkness. One light kept the room aglow coming from the water. There was a splash as an orb emerged from the water tapering off into the air around them. Another emerged followed by a few smaller ones. They continued to come faster and faster until the light they emitted was enough to bask the room in almost daylight. They all dissipated one by one almost as quickly as they emerged till the last light was snuffed. Hunter grabbed the now clean tire iron from the water. The mud and gunk was gone. The water was clear once again. The tire iron shined better than it did when Hunter first had his hands on it and the penny looked as though it was new. On the body of the tire iron were new marks, however. They appeared to look like small claw marks scattered around the entire handle. The penny, while looking new, had a hole through the center of it. It looked like it was made by a drill with exact precision.

Hunter handed the bard to Hanson, "It was a long shot but we figured it out in one day. How about that?"

Hanson sighed, "Will-o-wisps."

"At least we can come up with a plan of action to remove them. Hopefully, when we do we'll be able to find the children as well."

The pastor stepped in, "You have been tasked with finding the missing children?"

Hunter just realized the can of worms he just opened, "Yes, we are."

"May god guide you on your journey and keep you safe. Many have gone missing doing the same you have."

"We know. If you could keep this between us though, I would greatly appreciate it so that way we are not bothered why we work."

The pastor humbly bowed to the strangers, "I will treat this as a confessional."

With the clean tire iron in hand, Hunter and Hanson returned to their vehicle wishing the pastor a quiet evening. Hudson drove while Hunter sat in the passenger seat unlodging the penny from the tire iron. Once it was free it made its home back in his pocket. With the now blessed tire iron, the two returned to base. They pulled up to the B&B where the host met them outside in a frantic state, "The boy you brought with you is gone!" Hunter leaned over Hanson to see out the window, "He what?!"

"He's gone! He just got up and left!"

"Did he say where?"

"No. He didn't seem like himself when I tried to ask him where he was going."

"Dammit. Hanson! Drive!"

Hanson slammed on the accelerator squealing the tires as they took off down the road. While Hanson sped through the city Hunter was on the phone trying to get a hold of the officers at the community center. The officer appointed to the lake was unresponsive but the officer inside answered. While on the phone with him they listened as the call died. "Any faster you can go?"

Hanson has his teeth gritted as hard as his hands on the wheel, "Trying my hardest sir. These streets were not made for speed."

The roar of the engine rattled every neighborhood they went through until they made it to their destination. The two stepped out to see one officer on the ground and the other radioing in to get help. All electronics around the pond stopped working. The screen on Hunter's phone turned black when they got too close. "Get him inside and call for help. Then call the B&B. We have another one of our people there who we need here." The officer obeyed carrying the other officer inside. Hunter and Hanson stepped into the darkness looking for Adam. The water was the only sound they could hear. With no wind, it was strange to hear the water moving. Getting closer to the lake they saw a flash of light fly into the air. A few more followed and in quick bursts they saw the shadow of a person standing near the water's edge. The lights continued until there was a steady glow from the bottom of the lake. Adam, with his eyes dull to the world around him, began walking into the water.

Hunter did not hesitate. He sprinted towards the water's edge yelling Adam's name. There was no response from him as he was no longer Adam to whatever was leading him to the light. He tried to grab him and pull him out but his body was as rigid as a stone as he continued to walk step by step into the water. With only one last option Hunter used the tire iron to restrain Adam by the throat. He began to fight trying to push it away but under his possessed state, he could not. He began to lose the fight. His feet slipped, dropping him into the shallow water and giving Hunter his chance to drag him out.

He managed to get him onto the grass where Hanson helped get him closer to the car. They were out of the dead zone but he was still trying to fight. The water at the pond began to bubble violently, releasing wisps into the air. Hunter kept the tire iron against his chest with his weight behind it holding Adam down. Looking back he could see that the activity was getting worse. He grabbed the penny from his pocket, placing it on Adam's forehead. He yelled as loud as he could over the sound of the roaring water to Hanson, "Hold him down!"

Hanson moved his whole body weight on top of Adam focusing his palm on the penny. Hunter left them there. He ran towards the water as fast as he could. With no warning, he dove into the lake. The light was enough for him to see his way to the bottom. There seemed to be just a source of the light so blinding that he was not sure where he was to the bottom. The water got warmer the closer he got until it was almost scalding. In one last ditch effort, he plunged the purified rod into the source. There was a blast wave of energy that threw water over 20 feet in the air. The blast did a number on his body. The water was violent, tossing him back and forth as he tried to fight for air.

Adam's anger subsided. His body began to give out until he was unconscious on the pavement. The water began to cascade down in a light rain unsettling the pond and soaking the ground around them. The wail of police cars in the distance began to get louder as they rounded the corner. There were four cars that came to an immediate stop in front of them. Two officers came over to check on the boy while others went into the building with guns drawn. They quickly secured the area trying to find out what had happened.

As things began to die down only a short minute later they heard a voice scream for help. Looking around they couldn't pinpoint where it was until they heard it call out, "Help! I can't swim!" All eyes went to the pond where they saw someone fighting to keep their head above water. One of the officers jumped in quickly swimming out to them. They pulled them back to dry land where they coughed up the water they had swallowed. "Are you ok? Are you alright?"

"Yes. [Cough] Where am I? How did I get to the community center?"

"What's your name?"

"Gale."

Gale was one of the names of the missing children. Hanson came over, "Gale Witherstone?"

"Yes."

Police Chief Dexter did not waste time, "Span out and search the area! Find the others!" The uniformed officers began searching around the area. There was more noise coming from the lake that sounded like panicked splashing. Someone got a flashlight on the water's surface to see three people swimming towards the shore while two others were trying to stay above water. More officers jumped into the water to pull them in while the others helped those swimming to the grass. Over a few minutes, all 14 missing children were recovered from the pond. They all looked physically ok except for being wet and cold. The young children were taken to the local medical center for examination while parents were called to meet them there. A couple of ambulances showed up to provide care to those who needed it. The children were all accounted for, all 14 but something still seemed strange.

A car drove up with two people stepping out. One was the B&B owner who gave Juliet a ride. She found Hanson with Adam on the pavement. She rushed over quickly checking Hanson who was ok but Adam looked banged up. He slowly opened his eyes in time to see Juliet grab him, "You don't ever get to do that to me again!"

"I don't know what happened but I promise."

"You better not!"

Adam sat himself up against the car looking around at the scene trying to get his bearings. Hanson helped him up to get him medical attention. With him, over his shoulder, they started towards the closest one until Juliet stopped them, "Hanson, where's Hunter?" The world around them seemed to stop. Hanson looked over his shoulder at Juliet and the pond realizing that there was someone still missing. Hunter dove into the lake and didn't surface. Juliet saw Hanson's eyes turn to genuine concern. She looked over where he was looking at the still water. "Hunter?!"

The scream shook everyone to the core. She picked up her heels as fast as she could getting to the water's edge. In front of everyone there, she broke her wings through her shirt giving herself a higher dive point to get to the bottom faster. She hit the water, throwing a plume of water into the air getting everyone's attention. Hanson quickly moved Adam to where he could sit, quickly turning back to the lake. To him, the world stopped. The sounds around then, the worry, the panic, the frantic scrambling all deafened as his worry was all on the lake.

In an ear-shattering splash-like glass breaking, Juliet emerged from the pond gasping for air. She began moving towards the edge as fast as she could but something was weighing her down. Hanson bolted to the edge stepping into the water and getting as close as he could to grab the extra weight from her. Once he was out of her hands she was able to get to land and cough up the water she had in her lungs. With his motionless body on the ground, Hanson began providing chest compressions. He wasn't breathing, his face was pale. Everything looked rather bleak for Hunter. Yet in his state, he still looked calm and collected.

Juliet got herself together enough to crawl over. Hanson finished his 15 compressions but Juliet was already providing air to him. Hanson continued working with Juliet trying to revive him. Their frantic effort caught the attention of a few EMTs who responded. They get down to take over but Hanson and Juliet shove them out of their way as they continue. The EMTs fought to take over but the two continued to push until Juliet punched one in the throat. He begins gasping for air while his partner begins giving him the now-needed medical treatment.

Their sixth rotation of air and compressions starts with Juliet beginning to tear up. He's still not breathing and his heart is still not going. Hanson begins pushing harder. One push causes Hunter's body to lurch up. His eyes shoot open with a violent cough throwing the water from his lungs everywhere. He continues to cough as they roll him to his side. Once there he holds himself up on all fours arching his back and throwing up the water in his stomach. It was a violent minute followed by wheezing while he continued to expel the rest of the fluid in his lungs. His color slowly returned to him before he fell to the ground closing his eyes but breathing deeply.

The other two could finally relax at the end of the ordeal. They gave him his moment to recover before he pushed himself to get back on his feet. He was a bit staggered but he made it back to the car under his own power before falling into the backseat. Hanson double-checked on Adam while Juliet took the passenger seat. She looked back over her shoulder at the man still panting in the back. He seemed to be a bit distant from the world around him. He stared out the window at the pond like something was still bothering him. "Hunter?" Juliet's voice snapped him back. He looked at her waiting for her to continue. "Are you ok?" He took a deep breath, "I think so." Talking still seemed to be a bit rough for him. His voice was a bit scratchy with a small wheeze behind it. He looked back out the window but this time at the scene around him instead of just the pond, Juliet turned back forward waiting for Hanson. "You're not allowed to die." Hunter thought he heard her say something but wasn't sure, "What was that?"

"You're not allowed to die, you know that?"

"Wha?"

"If you do, I go free, and if I go free I go back to where I was before so you're not allowed to die otherwise you break our contract."

It was a weak justification but the glimmer in her eyes was his hint, "I promise not to die anytime soon." She let slip a small smile before turning forward. Only another minute and the backdoor opened. Adam sat down buckling himself up before noticing that Hunter was sitting next to him, "You look like crap."

He forced his head to move to look at him, "Same goes for you."

The two both still looked like death in their own respect. Hanson just chuckled before slowly pulling away from the scene. Once they were out of the way of everyone else they headed towards the B&B. Once back at base they reconvened in the basement where Hanson began cleaning up the board. He took a roll of everyone that the paramedics and police identified at the scene. Sure enough, all the kids were accounted for. Hanson began taking down the board while packing the things away. Hunter stayed on the couch slowly falling asleep while the others cleaned up. His mind began to wander listening to the sounds of the others rustling around him. It felt like only minutes but once he brought himself back it was hours that passed. His mind was still fuzzy but he was still in a work mode, "In the morning we need to sit down with John to recap all this. For now, I recommend we get some sleep. Good job guys, you earned it."

His head fell back to the top of the couch where he began peacefully breathing again. With the few items left packed away the other quietly headed up the stairs. Hanson moved Hunter to where he was laying on his side before shutting off the lights, closing the door, and leaving him to sleep. Upstairs there were a few officers waiting for them. Police Chief Dexter was among them waiting to speak with Hunter but his meeting would have to wait. They answered a few questions but recommended that they wait until morning. Right now was not a good time for anyone to be answering anything complex or explaining what happened.

The night was quiet, quieter than it had been in a while for this town. A lot more people could sleep easier tonight with their loved ones back. Hanson slept peacefully with Juliet by his back. She tossed a bit but got comfortable while Adam snored across from them. The rest of the guests slept unknowing of what transpired that evening but the owner took peace in knowing that her special guests brought peace to a lot of people. In the basement, Hunter slept on his side almost in a blackout state from his exhaustion. His mouth twitched slightly as he caught the taste of something strange. It was enough to wake him up slightly. It was enough that he opened his eyes realizing he had a dry mouth. Struggling to sit up he managed to get there with a couple groans. His muscles were sore and fighting him to move but he forced them. He moved up the stairs into the kitchen looking for a glass.

There was the drying rack that looked clean enough for him to use. With just a quick gulp his mouth felt less like rubber. He poured the rest of the water down the drain. "I've had enough of that for today." Turning around he began towards the stairs when he stopped. It sounded like someone was whispering to not disturb the rest of the house. Whoever it was didn't need him so he continued down the stairs closing the door behind him. Back on the couch, he found the spot he was comfortable in and quickly settled in. With a deep sigh, he listened to the emptiness around him. "Mine-." His eyes shot open looking around the room without moving his body. He sat up and continued his search. There was no one around him. He laid back down a bit uneasy, closing his eyes. "Mine-." He shot up this time ready for anything that could come at him. He looked around and he was still the only one in the room. There was a hissing sound before the heater kicked on. He chalked it up to the heater trying to start. Laying back down he fell back asleep until morning.

Hanson was his alarm clock come morning. The door at the top of the stairs opened with him calling out to wake up the lump on the couch. It rolled over sitting up with a stretch. The door was left open for him to join the rest of the house at the table. The other guests were up enjoying breakfast with Hunter's group. Juliet noticed Hunter walk in still looking like borderline death. He grabbed the cup offered to him with the magical brew from the coffee pot. He began working it down while listening to the others talk about what they had planned for the day. A few people were going to just walk around the town to see what there was and do activities tomorrow. The clock rolled over to eight with a prompt knock at the door. The owner answered the door but quickly called for Hunter.

Police Chief Dexter was up bright and early even after the late night he had ready to close his case. Against his want to wake up Hunter grabbed the others packing the car before following him to John's office. The secretary was there bright-eyed and cheery. John kind of looked like he didn't sleep well but quickly cheered up once he saw Hunter's group walk in. Hunter took the chair this time across from John, "Words cannot express the level of shit this has been, John."

"Yet you got it in under 24 hours. You really are a man of legend."

"Yea, no. I'm not."

"You seem kind of sour. You should be excited that you were able to bring peace to so many people!"

"I'm just still feeling worn out and I get cranky. Anyway, we need to wrap this up so we can get back to our place."

"Ah, right. So, from what we were able to gather all the missing children have been recovered. They appeared from the lake but that is where our information ends. We do not know how they got there, how they survived that long, and how you got them back."

"Will-o-wisps, ethereal entities that lure people away. They targeted those with the most vitality, hence the children, and they lured them back to the lake where I have no idea what was going to happen to them. We asked a few students about anything strange and we ran into two who mentioned the pond. You guys recently had an event there where we took a look at the guest list. There were a few names on there that were associated with the missing persons. One we can account for being there as she snuck out of the house. The others we are unsure of. If you ask them they should be able to answer that for you. As for tracking it down, it was a long shot for us that it was something ethereal so I took a chance. They don't like metals so I took copper and iron and let them sort out which they didn't like. Turns out it was iron but when they tried to remove it from their territory a few were trapped. I hoped for that and with a visit to the church, we were able to purify the tire iron releasing the wisps that were trapped. From there we knew what we had and where we had to go."

"How did you get that far with so little information?"

"Like I said, long shot guess. Just so happened to be right. Continuing on, they settled at the bottom of the pond so those they lured away were trapped there. They could open a temporal or portal where they would trap the children, probably to turn them into wisps, but the blessed tire iron was enough to seal it, releasing what was inside including the other wisps. You should be alright but I would recommend that you remove that man-made pond and find a place to build a proper pool inside. Dedicate it to your pastor who technically blessed the tire iron."

"Oh wow, that's something I have never heard of before."

"It's something. Drain the pond, and fill it with dirt. Leave the tire iron where it is. You don't want to risk opening that rift back up. Once you guys do that you should be golden."

"It's really that simple?"

"I wouldn't say simple. I mean we did most of the hard work for you but you need to do the follow-up and finishing work."

Police Chief Dexter chimed in, "I'm not sure I feel comfortable with this being solved by a lucky guess. What kind of contingency plan do you have in case this appears?" Hunter turned around with a just plain pissed-off face, "Not to be disrespectful, but that is not part of my contract. I was brought here to find the children, which I did, find what was instigating the disappearances, which we did, solve the problem, which I did, and according to the agreement, there was nothing about long-term suppression."

"It just seems like you should stand by the work you do."

"John?"

John stopped Dexter, "No, no, Hunter is right. That is the agreement. My office will take over from here as we now know what was causing the children to go missing and take appropriate measures to prevent it from happening again. We did define that we needed to know where, how, and what, which your team did a splendid job with."

With a smug smile, Hunter turned back to the police chief. He didn't like it, but he was forced to agree that the contract was completed. John chimed back in, "But the least I can do is provide you a sizable bonus for the trouble you personally went through." Hunter looked confused at first but quickly got the hint of what he was talking about, "Oh, no, consider me almost dying for your town, a personal favor that I can call upon."

"I… Well ok. I will lend my services when you need them."

It was a rough verbal agreement but the more people working for you, the better in this business. Even if it was only temporary. The final paperwork was finished, and the police report was filed in a manner that would not raise eyebrows for anyone reviewing it. Hunter's group piled into the loaner car back to the airport where their plane was waiting. It was a short while before they were able to get going though. While they waited Hunter and Hanson stood around talking with Adam and Juliet about what they noticed, what they learned, and what they needed to take away from the ordeal. Adam, especially, Being young is an advantage as you need to be able to keep up with the world around you but being too young makes you a very easy target for those who prey on the overly confident and weak of mind. Adam would be working with Hanson regularly to learn and train himself to be a better hunter himself. His road was going to be one that very few traveled but if you can find it and follow it to the end he could become someone who is a cut above the rest.

Their plane began to pull out of the hanger signaling that it was time to go for them. Their luggage was already loaded up so they just had to board themselves but something caught Hunter's attention. Looking back past that tarmac at the road leading up to the small airport was a string of cars. They raised a few red flags but they were not matching. They looked just like regular passenger vehicles which only made Hunter edgy. "Adam, Juliet, get in the plane. If something happens you two get out of here."

Juliet raised her concerns, "Hunter?"

"No questioning it, go."

She tried again, "But!"

"Go!"

Something in his voice changed. It almost felt like a small percussion wave hit them. Even Hanson felt it catching his attention. The two no longer questioned it and bolted to the open hatch closing it behind them. The engines began spinning up to a fast idle ready to go at a moment's notice. The cars pulled around the last warehouse parking near the doors. They lined up unorganized with a lot of people coming out. Looking over the small crowd of people Hunter began to identify them as the families of the missing children. With that figured out, Hunter motioned to the pilot doing a cross across his neck, two thumbs up, and a double hold. The pilot turned down the engines to just a low roar while the jets spun down. They were safe, no need to be on alert.

The townsfolk walked up not knowing what just transpired but they seemed relieved to catch them before they left. Others began piling out of their cars. The small crowd quickly turns into almost 50 people all with gifts in their hands. "Oh no, Hanson, no."

Hanson could not hold back his smile, "Afraid so, sir. You are adored and they want to reward you."

"Aw, dammit. We have to leave though."

John was the first out of the crowd with his hand out, "I tried to keep it quiet but small town." Hunter shook his hand looking over his shoulder at the crowd, "Then I guess I should have darted to the plane sooner, huh?" The two laughed as the rest of the crowd followed behind. There were gift baskets everywhere, and people brought homemade food, at one point Hunter had to tell someone, "I cannot bring a live chicken onto the plane but thank you." The townsfolk delayed their leave by half an hour. All the children gave Hunter and Hanson a hug or a thank you. A few of the younger children made cards to take with them.

Their plane took off with the group waving goodbye as they banked around to head home. The group sat in their usual seats for the flight. Hanson was finishing up their report of their time there before submitting their request to complete the contract. Adam watched the TV on the wall showing some movies he picked. Juliet sat at the table across from Hunter who was dozing off in his chair. His color was still a bit pale but he seemed better. It was a quiet trip home for once.