The Last Dainv-Chapter 148

The Last Dainv-Chapter 148

Rachel walked up a step beside Gale, looking over his shoulder. "This is it, right? This is what the documents talked about. They called it a shard."
"It has to be. Documents also said it had an effect on dust corruption." Ollie pushed forward, squinting at the orb.
Gale focused on the floating orb and used Analyze.
[Origin Shard]
[Description: A shard of Origin.]
Gale cringed. Stupid system. He could literally already see the name of the shard. It didn't have to repeat it in the description.
"Gale, can I... would you let me take it? For research." Ollie's eyes were fixed on the orb.
Gale glanced at the divine beast still watching a couple of steps from the cracked boulder. The deer made no move, though he could tell that it was saying that he could do what he wanted with it.
"Take it," Gale said. "If it can help with your research, that's more important than anything else."
Ollie reached out slowly, hands cupped to receive the floating orb. His fingers touched the surface, and the shard's light dimmed slightly until finally falling on to his palm. "It's warm. And it feels... alive somehow."
The deer jumped down from the broken boulder, landing quietly on the grass. It dipped its head once toward Gale, then turned and walked to the edge of the clearing where spring met winter.
"So what now?" Kyle holstered the pistol back into his jacket.
The divine beast turned back and galloped to the trees. Its job was done. It had probably watched them since they first got to the hotel. Maybe even knew this would all happen. Would it have led them to this shard if they hadn't solved the wendigo's plea properly?
Gale already knew.
Probably not.
He took a deep breath before saying, "Let's go home."
Turning away from the cracked boulder, the warm pocket of spring suddenly ended after a couple of minutes once the divine beast left. The snowstorm blew through the whole clearing. The creek froze solid in a couple of seconds while the snow slowly blanketed the pocket of summer back into winter.
"This way," Gale said, pointing down the mountain. "I remember the route."
They followed him single file through the trees. Glancing back and taking in their faces, it looked like he was the only one that memorized the path back. To the untrained eye, they probably thought that the beast was just taking random directions. Dad always did say to 'lock in' the path back, whether that be in the forest, jungle, or the city.
Always memorize the path back or we'll watch you cry for hours from far away because it's funny
, Gale remembered dad's words, rolling his eyes.
"Notice anything?" Rachel asked behind him.
Gale nodded. He did notice. No wind or snowfall. The snow's depth wasn't as deep as before, now just above ankle height, far from the almost knee deep snow during the storm.
The trees finally thinned as they reached the edge of the forest. The hotel came into view against the gray sky as large flakes of snow fell softly in the calm wind. Without the storm, it looked just like a normal hotel at the base of the mountain where skiers and snowboarders would lodge.
Kyle jogged up beside Ollie. "Been stuck in haunted labs with super zombies, haunted houses with creepy dolls, and haunted churches with demonic nuns. Gotta say, this hotel's gotta be one of the top haunted ones. Like seriously, who would've thought of a wendigo that wasn't a wendigo?"
"10/10. Would watch again," Clyde said from behind him.
"I swear if I hear one more…" Ollie sighed. "Shut up, Kyle."
They crossed the snowfield towards the hotel. They walked up the creaking front porch and opened the doors, also with a creak. The warm air of the hotel hit their faces right away, a welcome sensation after only feeling harsh snow on his face for almost a whole day.
One thing didn't change. Robert stood behind the desk, looking straight at them without blinking, just like he had at the beginning when they entered the hotel, completely expressionless.
"Checking out?" Robert said.
Gale flinched and went behind Rachel. There was still no way of knowing if this man was real or a real ghost. Maybe even a harmful ghost. At least Dyani was a friendly ghost.
Rachel smiled at Gale beside her, then walked up to the front desk. "Yes, we'll be leaving today."
Robert nodded once. "I'll prepare your bill."
"Is everything okay?" Rachel eyed the broken hinges of the employees' only door, thanks to someone stupid.
Robert's face remained blank. "Just some maintenance issues. Nothing to worry about."
"Right," Kyle muttered. "Maintenance issues."
"Room 217, correct?" Robert asked, typing with his other hand. "That will be $543.67."
Ollie pulled out a credit card. The transaction went through without issue, and Robert handed over a printed receipt.
"Thank you for staying at Mountain View Retreat," Robert said. "We hope you enjoyed your stay."
"So him being creepy is just normal, huh?" Kyle said. "Clearly not a ghost, eh, sword boy?"
What's this guy talking about? There's no way someone that still and expressionless couldn't be a ghost. Maybe a ghost.
"Dude has serious 'I'll watch you sleep' vibes," Kyle continued.
"Shut up." Rachel elbowed Kyle. "Stop scaring Gale."
They walked back to the elevator and took it up to the second floor. Walking to their rooms, no one else talked except the twins, looking at each other, probably talking in twin telepathy. Kyle's snickers were stopped by Rachel shooting him a look.
The group packed their things quickly into their own bags. Clyde packed his broken rifle into his bag along with his twinkies. Kyle packed his pistol and ammunition. Rachel packed her clothes into her backpack. Ollie gathered the papers scattered throughout the living room, while Gale had nothing to pack as his duffle bag was ready to go any time. Always ready to run, just in case, and it definitely wasn't about the ghost.
If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. the violation.
"Everyone ready?" Ollie zipped up the duffle bags.
They nodded, shouldering bags and checking pockets for keys and phones.
"About a kilometre west. Not far," Gale said. The walk back to the cars went faster than he expected now the snowstorm was gone. He led the way, taking them through the forest on a direct path to the highway.
The pine trees gave way to small shrubs, then open ground. The highway spread before them, left and right. Black asphalt against white snow.
"There," Ollie pointed.
Two vehicles sat on the shoulder. Ollie's car and the SUV that had TWINS22 as the license plate, both covered with a thin layer of snow.
"Wait," Rachel said, "Didn't we park on the road?"
"Movie magic I tell you," Kyle said. "Lots of minor conveniences."
The highway showed no signs of plowing or traffic. Gale smiled as he knew. The signature of the divine beast had been here. So it
was
watching this whole time, eh.
"Weird," Kyle fished for his keys in his pocket. "Let's just go."
They reached the vehicles. No scratches, no damage. Both started on the first try, heaters blowing warm air into cold interiors.
"Turn on your walkie app," Clyde told Ollie through the car window. "We'll stay in contact."
"Got it." Ollie pulled out his phone and turned on the walkie app.
Both vehicles pulled onto the highway, heading south, back to Toronto. The forest blurred past them. Mountains gave way to rolling hills. Once they reached the rural area, the slow falling snow revealed the beauty of the countryside's snow covered fields in both directions. It was much quieter than the bustling city downtown.
The walkie app crackled on Ollie's phone.
"You guys want to stop at that diner?" Kyle's voice came through. "I'm starving. Pssht, over."
Ollie's blank, dozing face suddenly turned into a serious frown. "We should get back to the city as fast as possible. I need to secure this thing."
"Come on, man. Food first, then driving. Pssht, over," Clyde said over the walkie app.
"We should keep going. Get back before dark." Ollie sighed and pushed the button to respond.
Rachel leaned forward from the passenger seat, squinting her eyes. "Actually, maybe we should stop. Everyone needs to eat, and we're all exhausted. Look at Gale. He's a growing boy and probably hungry too."
Gale nodded enthusiastically. "Steak and eggs sound good right about now."
"See?" Rachel said. "Besides, we need to figure out what we're going to do next. Might as well do it over food."
"Fine," Ollie muttered, then pressed the button again. "We'll stop. Ten minutes max."
"Sweet! Greasy diner food, here we come! Pssht, over," Kyle said.
The diner appeared around the next curve. A long, low building with large windows and a neon blaring red sign saying: "PINE VIEW DINER." There were already a couple of vehicles in the lot, mostly pick up trucks.
Inside, warmth and the smell of breakfast and maple syrup wafted through the whole restaurant. Booths lined the windows, tables filled the centre. A counter with red stools ran along one wall. Cooks behind worked at the grill.
"Sit anywhere," called a middle-aged waitress, barely looking up from the coffee she poured.
The locals turned to stare as the group walked in, probably thinking about how they looked too much like city folks. When the group finally sat down at the booth near the back, the locals resumed their conversations and eating their meals. Ollie and the twins sat on one side of the booth while Rachel and Gale sat on the other side.
"Everyone's looking at us," Ollie whispered as he picked up the laminated menu.
"We look like we fought a deer monster and dug up a child's grave," Kyle said. "Of course they're looking."
"We look dishevelled," Ollie said. "That's why we're attracting attention."
"Maybe we look like city folks to them?" Gale said.
"How would you know?" Clyde narrowed his eyes at him.
Gale pointed to himself, "Hello? I'm one of them."
"Technically, you're worse. Heard stories from Rachel about you living as a feral," Kyle said.
"I
did not
say that." Rachel turned to Gale, giving him one of the laminated menus. "Don't listen to idiots. They'll rot your brain."
"You know what?" Ollie said. "Kyle's right. We need some good food to get some steam off."
Rachel chuckled. "Look at you, agreeing with Kyle. The world might be ending."
"If the good food doesn't come soon, it might," Kyle waved to catch the waitress's attention.
Ollie leaned back in the booth. "Fine. But after this, we're heading straight back. No more detours."
The waitress approached, notepad and pen in hand. "What'll it be?"
Each of them placed their order. Of course, Gale had to have the steak and eggs. That last diner he went in with Rachel, she barely even touched hers. It looked tasty too, such a waste he didn't take it to go if she didn't want it. Kyle and Clyde both ordered a triple stack of pancakes. Ollie ordered lots of coffee and a western omelette while Rachel ordered steak and eggs as well. If she can't finish it, he'll definitely take her leftovers this time.
She scribbled the orders without comment. Customer service here was pretty good. No small talk at all compared to the one in downtown.
"I don't know about you guys," Kyle said as the waitress walked away, "but I'm never going north in winter again or finding a hotel late at night in a snowstorm with a creepy old man. I'd rather shoot up Knights at the port in Montreal. Fucking hate those guys."
"You'd miss all the fun though," Rachel said.
"Fun? You call that fun? I'd rather kill ghosts in abandoned houses in downtown. At least make some money."
"We still doing that if this path gig doesn't hold up?" Clyde asked.
"No shit!"
"You need a third?" Ollie asked.
"Depends if you can get us unlimited supply of those 'be gone ghost' bullets of yours." Kyle laughed.
Gale's eyes turned to the window beside him as the sun broke through the clouds for the first time since they came up north. A soft tug at the end of his tendrils made him look over between the trees on the other side of the road. A small figure waved at him, dark hair blowing in the wind that didn't seem to affect the trees around her. He smiled softly. It was obvious who it was. He blinked once, and she was gone. Just trees and snow remained.
"Gale, hey Gale," Rachel said, nudging him. "You there?"
He turned back to the table, "I'm here. Just thinking."
Food arrived, and the smell of steak and eggs mixed with the maple syrup and coffee on the other side of the table. No one talked until their plates were all cleaned, except for Rachel's, who scooted her plate over to Gale's side.
Ollie then leaned forward. "So what's our plan?"
"You're the boss," Kyle said. "What do you want to do with the magic transparent floaty orb?"
"Shut u-" Ollie stopped himself as he balled his fist. "The shard needs to be studied. Properly. In a controlled environment."
"Your lab?" Rachel asked.
Ollie nodded. "The dust trade and the silver lions are connected. The containment tech at the airport. And they were probably trying to find this thing up there. I'd bet my whole ass that they made that mystic grade containment unit for this shit so it doesn't get stolen again.
In Aur
and at the scale of the Silver Lions, they aren't that dumb to keep killing innocents, in fact, they're using dust to arm them. The mundanes are also a resource. So hear me out, what if this can lead us to a cure?"
"Big if and big jumps of logic," Clyde said.
"It could be the breakthrough we need," Ollie said. "Besides, I've already analyzed this on the way back to the hotel. It has the makeup of dust itself."
"Meaning?" Rachel asked.
"Rachel, you and me both know that dust creation or where it comes from is high arcane confidential information," Ollie whispered. "And this having the makeup of dust. I'll be damned if this shard has no connection at all. They even fought a war over this decades ago."
"The Silver Lions knew something," Rachel said. "Their records mentioned shards specifically."
"Yeah, and killed everyone in the reserve to find this floating orb thingy," Kyle said.
"One step at a time," Ollie said. "First, we get the shard somewhere safe. Then we study it. Find out what it can do."
"And the dust?" Gale asked.
"Same plan as before. Track the distribution chain. Find the source. Shut it down," Ollie said. "That'll prevent more exposures."
Gale nodded. As long as the research continues, the dust problem will be solved eventually. Probably.
"Ready?" Ollie asked, pulling out his wallet to pay.
They nodded, sliding out of the booth, stretching their muscles. Exiting the diner, they got inside each of their cars and pulled out of the parking lot.

Chapter 148