Creed ran down the stairwell and burst through the door at the ground floor, nearly falling down once again. Ogre was killed by the thing upstairs but he wasn’t sure if it would still come after him. He raced down the hall, his footsteps echoing loud enough that it almost seemed as if the sound bounced off every wall in the detention center. He made it to the sleeping quarters, lamenting that the door didn’t have a lock from the inside. He ran to his cot and slid under it where he found his hammer wedged between the springs and mattress, still wrapped in a plastic bag filled with white ash. He clumsily pulled it out from between the springs, twisting it in different directions as the claw became hooked on the metal wires. Once it was free, he ripped the bag off and waited.

From the floor, he could clearly see the door to the quarters. A shadow passed along the bottom of the door and continued past the room. A few moments later, he heard a loud grunt and wet sounds not far from the door. He would later learn this was the center’s security guard who unfortunately came into contact with the Skinwalker and was ripped apart. With two bodies to devour, the beast still opted to leave them alone and continue after Creed. In the coming years, he would ponder why this was. Was his body more valuable? Was it to eliminate a witness? Its motivations were just as cryptic as the creatures themselves.

At the time, none of these thoughts crossed Creed’s mind as he saw the gnarled hooves walking across the room, nor when he heard the voice of Miss Trudy asking to “touch it” (a question she had asked in the past). When the creature whipped the cot across the room and he caught a glimpse of a mangled, hairless bear face, his only thoughts were of survival. Sunlight poured through the windows but the glow of a sunny morning somehow made the creature even more terrifying. He swung the hammer at anything he could find, hitting something in the knee region. It fell forward and he took another wild swing, likely hitting it in the head. There was an eerie howl as it rolled to the side to escape but Creed leapt on top of it in a panic and continued to swing until he found nothing but a tar like substance on the floor.

Alysa and Creed stood in front of the Winghaven Juvenile Detention Center. It was a compound comprised of a few scattered buildings wrapped in a barbed wire fence. Creed and Alysa stood at the base of the road leading up to it, the Moon hanging overhead.

“The tallest building is where they kept the kids who committed murder,” Creed pointed to the tall building at the farthest end of the compound, “I had a holding cell there for about a week while the feds figured out what the hell happened.”

“How did you clear your name after you got attacked by Miss Trudy?”

“Security footage. There’s no way they didn’t catch the thing on tape chasing me through the halls. Of course, the whole situation was kept hush-hush because the state wouldn’t want this sort of thing getting out. There were mayors and governors who wanted to get reelected and Winghaven already has a bad enough reputation. I’m pretty sure the media was told not to say anything too. The feds let me out after a while and I was just turned over to the public.”

“I’m sorry you went through all that.”

“It is what it is,” Creed set the two jars of white ash on the ground, “Let’s keep talking about the Skinwalkers. It’s bound to show up.”

“You ran into the second one on that farm, right?”

“The cattle mutilation case, yeah. That was when I knew I was cursed. I think the government had kept some tabs on the situation because an IMD agent showed up at my office after it was all over. It was some uptight lady who could walk through walls. Anyway, I didn’t give her any information so the Skinwalkers wouldn’t bother her in the future but getting the attention of Interpol and everything was what put me on Meyer’s radar for the first time. He’s been a bug up my ass ever since,” he took a scan of the detention center, “So this latest Skinwalker showed up at the last place one was sighted. I’m still not sure what the hell they are but they like to keep showing up at the same places. This one showed up at the farm so he’s liable to show up here too.”

“And talking about them enough summons them.”

“That’s the story. Saying the name really does it. Showing up here and throwing the s-word around has to work eventually.”

Alysa took note of the knife in Creed’s jar, “So why a knife and not a gun?”

“I used a gun the last time I killed a Skinwalker, actually. Guns are loud, draws attention. Then people come around asking questions about shit we’re not supposed to talk about.”

“Yeah, that makes -“

“You have no idea what you’ve provoked,” the pained voice came from behind and when they spun around, they saw a humanoid figure shuffling toward them. In the moonlight, they could see a hairless man, “There are few humans who know how to attract us,” and as he drew near, they could see the man was also, nearly skinless, much like the animal forms Skinwalkers take, “And those that do know, typically stay silent.” Alysa and Creed noticed a huge gash across its torso and while they couldn’t see it from that angle, there was another stab wound in the back. It was clearly the Skinwalker they had encountered the night before but the knife wounds had taken its toll which potentially explained why he could not fully transform into a human. Creed pulled the knife from the jar below him and held it firm.

“I just wanted the chance to finish you off,” he said.

The Skinless Man managed to smile despite having thin strips of tissue where his lips should have been, “You’ll have a chance against more than just me.”

They turned and noticed three more humanoid shapes standing nearby. They were in better shape than the Skinless Man as they looked normal but their sudden appearance and the way they were silhouetted against the moonlight made them just as haunting. Alysa felt her stomach flutter and her knee quiver. It was then that she fully realized what she had done to herself. If they ever returned to Winghaven, which was almost a certainty due to the nature of the town, this would be the memory that would keep her from sleeping. It wasn’t just the terror of the creatures. It was a psychic residue that would fill her with dread in the future. Provided they survived the night, of course. “The little one was asking about us,” one of them growled, “I hope she found the answers she was looking for.” Alysa was frozen.

“Snap out of it,” Creed warned as he held his knife at the ready, “We got a plan, remember?”

Alysa shook her head, crouched down and grabbed a handful of white ash from her jar, then threw it into the air. The Skinwalkers prepared to attack just as the ash swirled above, propelled by a mystic whirlwind. They shrank back as more and more ash flew into the air and began to cover them. The Skinless Man tried to retreat first but he was still slow and weak; Creed shot forward with a knife to the chest. He held onto the man and twisted him around, anticipating an attack from behind. Sure enough, one of the healthier Skinwalkers leapt after him but collided with the Skinless Man who was gradually melting into a dark substance. Creed hit the ground and felt something heavy grab him and force him down. He continually shoved the knife into the Skinwalker’s neck until he felt it dissolve in his hand. Alysa, meanwhile, cast a fire protection spell around herself as the creatures were too fast and just as she did, a Skinwalker inadvertently rushed into the globe of fire wrapping itself around her. A large figure let out a strange howl as it went up in flames. The final Skinwalker rose to its feet, still shrouded in shadows. It disappeared in a blur before bringing its claw across Creed’s back and he fell to the grass with the back of his jacket and shirt torn. Alysa telekinetically threw both jars at it and though it side stepped the projectiles, more ash was dumped on it. On the ground, Creed used his knife to slice through the achilles’ tendon, forcing it to the ground with a shriek. While on the ground, Creed shoved the knife into its back and twisted. Moments later, there was a dark substance on the ground where it once was. After it was over, they sat on the grass and caught their breath.

Later that night, Creed gave Alysa a ride back to her house. He stood on her front porch as she unlocked the door. “Thanks for the ride,” she turned to him with a smile, “You can finally get some sleep now, right?”

“Yeah,… And thanks,” Creed shoved his hands in his jacket pockets, “Not just for helping out with the… things, but for helping me keep my head on my shoulders.”

“You done the same for me.”

He looked up at the house as if noticing something for the first time, “Hey, how are you making ends meet nowadays? With the bills and food?”

“My dad sent some money but mostly it’s been the folks at my temple.”

“But they’re not elevating you to a priestess. Not yet anyway?”

“Eventually they will, I guess, but I don’t know any details other than that.”

He thought for a moment, then shrugged, “Come work for me.”

“What?”

“Yeah, you’re pretty good at this. I can’t pay much but you can help me out on a few cases after school. I mean, it’s that or flippn’ burgers.”

“Don’t I need a license or someth’n to be a PI? Am I even old enough?”

“Call it a paid internship. And y’know, I wasn’t much older than you when I started. I never finished school so I started doing manual stuff here and there but hated all my bosses. My mom said I was always good at figuring shit out so I got my GED and then my state license. Luckily, all my criminal charges were as a minor so they didn’t count against me. You don’t have to worry about any of that.”

She shrugged, “Yeah, I can get used to this. I kinda need something until I can finish my priestess training. Especially with me graduating soon.”

Creed shuffled his feet for a moment, “So do they have invitations to those things?”

“What? Graduations?”

“Yeah. Like, if you’re a student do you invite people or what?”

“I guess so but I think anyone can just show up.”

“`Cuz I know your mom would be there if she could,” he paused for a moment, “I-I mean, Miss Gerring and everyone else from your temple will probably be there so -“

“You can come if you want, Creed,” she said with a slight and hopeful smile.

“Yeah, I’d like that,” he nodded.

“Me too,” she admitted, “Goodnight. And get some rest.”

“I most certainly will.”