==========-< << Weathered Cabin - Cabin >> >-===========
This log cabin has one large room only, except a small bathroom. Near the main entrance there's space for coats and a shelf for hats and shoes. There's two large windows facing out towards the front of the house, with simple grey curtains and no windowsills. To the right is the kitchen/living room area, the kitchen well equipped with another window above the sink; a small cooker, a wood stove that both generates heat through the house plus serves as a means to cook if the electricity goes out, a fridge/freezer combination, a little kitchen island with one high chair where you can sit and eat if you want. There's also a small table against a wall with two chairs, the table homemade out of planks and polished and laquered, the chairs mismatching - one red and one blue. Beneath the table is a large rug in black and grey wool. At the far corner next to the fridge is another door leading out to the combined stable and garage area.
There's no couch in this house, but there is a big old very comfortable orange armchair that looks like it might originate from the seventies, but most likely is a modern copy. It sits near the fireplace, and a small table next to it has a few magasines and a few books on it, perhaps a forgotten coffee mug or glass. There's a wool blanket hanging off the back of the chair, and a small footstool in front suggests this might be a place you fall asleep every now and then.
To the left of the entrance is a combined hobby room and bedroom. The bedroom area is alcoved off with curtains and a half-wall. The rest of the area has a long workbench, with various woodworking tools hanging neatly off a board nailed to the wall. Various projects stand stacked on a tall shelf, done at the top, not finished at the bottom. They depict mostly animals of the area, but there's a few mythical beasts such as dragons, griffons and so on amongst the little figurines, most of them about 4-5 inches tall.
Having just returned from work, Jack's set up Troll comfortably outside and had time for a quick shower when Velvet shows up - she's let inside without much ceremony, Goblin also greeting the woman with cheerfulness. "Want a drink? Beer, soda, coffee?" the ranger offers, gesturing for her to take a seat somewhere.
Velvet shows up not long after the call, dressed in ber typical silk outfit and heels. She waves off the offer of drinks with a brief smile, focusing on Goblin for a moment. "You have no idea what I have done for you, little man." It's whispered to the dog before she takes a seat. "So. Tell me what you remember.
Having a beer for himself, Jack sits down at the high seats by the counter, leaning against it. "Barely anything," he admits grimly - it's enfuriating not remembering. He sips the beer, eyeing Velvet closely. Goblin? He tilts his head and looks at her too with too intelligent eyes, perhaps wondering what exactly she's done for him. "I remember that I did go see Bronwyn because... I needed to tell her something. Or warn her about something. I don't remember arriving there. The last clear memory I have is coming home in the evening and I had dinner, but that's about it."
A soft frown touches Velvet's lips as she listens. "So you don't even remember why you went there. Any bruises or signs of struggle? Did you have the shotgun with you, do you remember? If so, may I see it?"
"I woke up without a scratch, but Bronwyn had a bruise," Jack explains, thinking if over carefully. "The funny thing here is that Goblin doesn't remember anything either. They drugged him too. Which suggests... that they might've known some stuff." He gets up, and goes to get his shotgun in a weapon's safety cupboard. It's a regular Remington M870. "I had shotgun and pistol with me." He takes the pistol out too, if she wants to look at that as well.
There's a pause, Velvet's head tilting. The pieces don't take very long for her to figure out. "You can talk to animals. That's why the bear listened to you." She seems to accept it easily. "Maybe it was something airborn, so it hit him too?" She reaches for the guns. "Have you used these at all since that night?"
There's a tilt of his head and a little nod in affirmative - he seems more surprised she doesn't discard it as nonsense, than the fact she says it. Jack leans in to look at the weapons too. "Maybe," he says dubiously. "And no, haven't used them since then."
"Your secret is safe with me," Velvet assures. Clearly this isn't her psychic interaction. She lifts the gun to her nose, inhaling deeply, checking it thuroughly. "You shot at something that night," she states without question.
"Fuck," Jack says - he didn't want to hear that, staring at her. "I checked them - I wasn't missing any ammo, couldn't smell a thing, but you're sure? How?" He takes his shotgun and sniffs at it too, as if hoping he'll smell what she smells. "What the hell did I shoot?"
"I garuntee it. Besides, they replaced Bron's door hinges amd cleaned up after themselves near perfectly. Do you think they wouldn't be able to replace bullets?" Velvet frowns. "Whatever you shot was not human. I have some experiance with inhuman things.
"Bronwyn said you found an assault rifle casing. And they did all this. This isn't some little group, this is highly organized," Jack says, not doubting it. "A gigantic operation and an amazing cover up. You happen to know /what/ I shot? You say inhuman - but what?"
Velvet reaches into her purse to pull out a casing in a plastic bag. She sets it down across from him with a nod. "I sure did. I was careful not to touch it so there may be prints. I have a feeling they probably use gloves when loading to avoid that, however. But maybe you can get a friend to run a ballistics report on the casing and see if it matches any older cases? I'm guessing this group is either military or Hunters." She leans back in her seat, one lean leg crossing over the other. "Do you know what a Hunter is in the sense I'm speaking of?" He asks her what and she can only shake her head. "Nothing I've come across before. And I've come across a lot."
"I know what a Hunter is," Jack says. "In fact, I know one - I'll ask them if it could be them, to rule it out if nothing else. There might be some groups that are organised like this amongst them, but haven't heard of any before," Jack admits, taking a seat again and frowning. He rubs his temple. "Yeah, I'll ask if they can run ballistics on it," he promises. "What we could use is someone with the ability to see the past," he says with a lopsided smile.
A brow lifts when he says he knows a Hunter. "Be careful with that," she warns lightly. "They protect themselves and their organization over all else." Velvet runs fingers through that very long, white hair, sighing as she glances to the side with frustration. "My arm for a clairvoyant," she snorts. "Does it cause you pain to try to remember what happened that night?" she wonders.
"The one I'm going to ask is discreet," Jack says, nodding at Velvet's warning. Finishing that beer, he moves to put the weapons away again. "And no, no pain. Just a complete void of the whole evening and night, which is disturbing enough," he says grimly. His motions are a bit jerky. He's angry, but keeps his composure mostly. "Wait." He stops. "I went to warn Bronwyn about something. What was it? Maybe we can retrace /my/ steps, prior to going there."
"So you were going there to warn her, but you can't remember about what?" Velvet considers, her eyes narrowing. "Well, she mentioned that you were supposed to check on the murderer who tore up her place. Could that have had something to do with it?" Jack can see the way Velvet's spine threads and straightens in a sudden alertness. "She's safe right now, at the hotel. She'll be with me all night, so I'll make sure nothing happens to her. Tomorrow I'm putting cameras in her place. Though I imagine whoever these guys are, they'd probably fuck with the feed anyway.
Jack's memories come rushing back - least the part BEFORE that night. "Jesus," he notes, rubbing his temple again. "I'm the dumbest. Chris Kaplan - he drew something on the wall of his cell. It was the same date of the murders that happened, the murders he's in a cell for. He drew a monster, over the bodies of his friends. A skinny figure with a big head." He can't believe he forgot about this, blinking at Velvet. "He didn't do it, he's innocent."
"So he's innocent. But why was he tearing through Bron's plac..." Blue eyes widen. "A monster?" she wonders with a deepening frown. "Something inhuman? How likely is it that it's a coincidence?" she wonders. Her voice is chilly, deep in thought.
"Not very likely at all. He's innocent - the monster killed his friends, and he wants to go back and kill the monster. He talks about it, all the time. And the lights." Jack gets out a paper and pen, scribbling down the adress to the asylum and the doctor's name that he talked to. "To be quite honest, I think you'd be better off talking to him. They don't seemed to keen on me coming there when I went there."
"If they have the creature now, then chances are they're just going to let an innocent man rot and take the blame for it if he's not out already. Fewer questions if the blame is already on someone." Velvet gives a sharp nod. "If you set it up, I'll talk to him. But I suggest you talk to whatever cop friends you have and start putting together a case to prove he's innocent. Or he's going to pay for that monster's crimes and grow worse by the day. I've seen it." She's lived it. She takes the page and tucks it in her purse. "If you remember anything, or suddenly have new chunks in your memory, call me ASAP. I'll do what I can to help."
"Thanks," Jack says, walking Velvet to the door. "I'll see what I can do for Chris, but that's going to be tough. Maybe in the end I just gotta help him escape and set him up with some friends elsewhere," he admits, grimacing. This is a cop that isn't loathe to work outside the law, obviously. "I'll be in touch."
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