The Nightmare is Real (Zee)

[Zee Kerrick]

[zee]She actually winced, "Jesus Christ, that Norah? Well that'd fucking do it." Zee stomped over and dropped down to sit on one of the two beds, pulling a lockbox up from underneath it and starting to reload her clips with ammo that gleamed the flat pale color of silver.

While she worked, she shook her head. "Dude, Norah Byron and Lorica are, like, Vatican City for people like me. A traveling Vatican City. With more guns. And, okay, so not really like Vatican City at all." Even she had to laugh at herself at this point, she held up a hand to Will to indicate he should give her a minute to start over.

"I'm a hunter. I go out and find demons and other horrible things and I kill them, hopefully before they kill too many people. There are a handful of people around like me, who do what I do. And when hunters get hurt or pick up a warrant because funny enough small-town sheriffs don't take too well to 'I had to shoot her, officer, she was a vampire'. Anyway, when we get in trouble and need a place to disappear to for a while, one of the places we go is to find Lorica."

"The band's not hunters. But they know about this stuff, and they take us in when we need it. Give us jobs as roadies or whatever. Every vehicle in the caravan's loaded down with magical protections, everybody who travels with them knows at least the basics of what's really going on in the world and half of 'em can stand their ground in a fight. At any given time they've got hunters, psychics, witches, God knows what all else riding with them. If you just started dating Norah Byron, no wonder the eyes of Hell are on you."

She shook her head, this whole situation had just gotten both a lot clearer and a lot more dangerous and she needed to call Eve Amherst and get word on what the band was doing these days. "Still doesn't explain how you made 'em all fall down like that."[/zee]

[William Doyle]

[will]William's eyes widened as everything registered and clicked into the puzzle that was Norah. "I don't know what to tell you about what I did. I felt it, whatever is was, but surely it couldn't have come from me. There's nothing supernatural about me." Other than the fact that, as Norah had put it, he was too damn perfect. That couldn't possibly mean anything. "Could it be that there's something else at work?"

He really should be freaking out, he noted, most people wouldn't be accepting it all so logically. However, when he thought about it, he didn't really want to scream or anything, he just wanted to get to the bottom of what had happened. He could freak out privately later and then spend time learning everything he could. "In any case, I don't think I can make it happen again. And there haven't been any signs of pursuit. Maybe they were scared off? Are demons scared of anything?"[/will]

[Zee Kerrick]

[zee]"No," she said firmly. "It was you. It came from you, I saw it. Felt it. And there's only three things that demons are afraid of. You're not the gun, you're not the knife, so unless you're an angel, I got nothing."

She got the clips filled and restocked her pistol and bag. She checked the knife at her thigh and made an angry noise, then stripped off her t-shirt, revealing a slightly dingy white camisole and a small baby bump. She ignored both and pulled open the nightstand drawer, finding a spine sheath and starting to buckle it on.

"One thing I do know, you can't stay in this town. You need to get the hell out of here, drop off the map. You travel in warded vehicles, you put sigils in any room where you sleep. The eyes of hell are on you, Will. Whatever the reason why, you're in danger and that's not going to to get better any time soon, even if we can figure out why."

She tied her hair back into a bun, which only served to make her look younger than she already did. "You have anything at your hotel that you need? Anything to do in town that you can't blow off? Because if you can leave town, you should. Either I can take you with me or I can send you to somewhere that'll be safe and teach you how to ward yourself. But one way or another, you need to move. Fast."[/zee]

[William Doyle]

[will]She was right, but it was harder to swallow than the whole world-full-of-monsters idea. "This is like a bad SyFy movie." Taking a deep breath, he dropped his gaze to the floor and it wasn't until she was giving him his remaining options for the foreseeable future that he looked up again. Everything else was forgotten as wonder filled him. "You're pregnant." It wasn't a question, the evidence was in front of him. Of course, now he recognized the title of her book and realized what it was referring to.

He studied her, really taking in every aspect of her, from her small stature to the way she looked with her hair in a bun. "Is the father..? Did he die?" Will hadn't intended to pry into her life, but he was concerned. Clearly, she could take care of herself, at least for the time being. But as her stomach grew, she might not be able to move as fast as she'd moved earlier. Less than half a moment to take her words and consider before his gaze met hers decisively. "Take me with you. Please. The hotel is just as likely to mail my things back to my home. And there will be time down the road to schedule another meeting. Will they hunt down my family?"[/will]

[Zee Kerrick]

[zee]When Will said the P-word Zee flinched like she'd been hit. Actually cowered away from him for a second, shoulders hunching and chin tucking down protectively. "Yeah, I am." Not that Will had any reason to know it, but he was the first living person she'd admitted that to. "And no, the father's not dead that I know of." Not currently, anyway. "It's just, I don't know, it's complicated. He's got more important things to do than deal with me and a rugrat that I'm not even smart enough to get rid of and dear God, why am I talking about this right now?" She shook her head as though to clear it, not nearly self-aware enough to understand that she was desperate to talk to somebody, anybody about this. That it was too big and too terrifying to handle by her usual method of tucking her head down and bulling forward through the pain.

"Okay, I'll pack down and we'll get out of here." In which case she didn't pull the shirt back on, instead pulling a light hoodie out of the drawer and zipping it on. The sweater hung to her knees, which made it easier for her to shed the skirt and pull on a pair of ragged black bondage pants instead. "Where do you want to go? You want me to take you to Norah and them, wherever they're at? Or is there somewhere else you think you'll be safer? Or I can put you with one of my friends who'll put you up until we can figure out what's going on."

She thought about it when he asked if they'd go after his family. "I doubt it. It's not out of the question, especially if this goes on for too long, but it's not usually the first line of attack for them."[/zee]

[William Doyle]

[will]He hesitated. "I wouldn't mind being dropped off with Norah. I think she'll be elated that I didn't bring my entire closet." Almost absently, he checked and was relieved to find he had his wallet, with all the important things within. "I don't want my family to know. Whatever I have - am - they aren't involved. If I can protect them from a distance, I'll be happy. Which means if this drags out too long, I will have to leave Norah so I can safely attract attention without getting anyone else killed." He didn't know a damn thing about what he could do, but if all else failed, he'd do whatever he could to draw the demons to him and keep them away from his loved ones.

William politely averted his eyes while she hastily changed. "Will you tell me? About the father? And your child? I'm guessing it's going to be a decent drive, and I now have all the time in the world. Have you talked with him or did you decide that he would dismiss you?" He couldn't help himself, if it pissed her off he might back down, but he needed something else to talk about.[/will]

[Zee Kerrick]

[zee]Zee nodded. "I don't blame you. Trying to deal with family with this shit is...hard. Especially when they're not a part of the life. How much to tell them, what they need to know to be safe...it's too much."

She was moving around the room, starting to pack down the room. It was a process she was very good at, her rooms were kept with a near-military tidiness and precision that came from Paul's background in the Royal Navy. And just as well she was moving around, as it made it possible for her to talk to Will instead of snapping at him and shutting him down. "It's not something I can exactly explain. The father is...above me. A lot above me. He's important to the world in a way that I'm not and never will be. The night we--it was a fluke. A one time thing. He's got important shit to worry about. Like save-the-world important. And his own problems that are bad enough that he doesn't need me piling more on top of him."

The hunter shook her head as she broke down rifles into their cases for travel. "I'll tell him. After I do some other stuff that I need to take care of first. It's just...hard. To do this right I have to confront some shit that scares me more than demons."[/zee]

[William Doyle]

[will]William hated sitting around and not helping, but just by watching he knew he'd be no use. He didn't know her system and she didn't have the time to give him a crash-course. So, feeling useless and hating it, he remained where he was and tried not to be in the way. "Above you? Zee, I'm sorry but I don't understand. How is he more important than you? If he is also a hunter, then you are an equal terms. Saving the world on a daily basis and whatnot."

He paused and nodded. "I won't push you on telling him, you have to do that on your own terms. But...I would like to know. I'll tell you my boring story for yours." He doubted it would work, but he wanted to get to know her, to offer what support and help she needed. Especially since she hadn't told the father. While he didn't know the man, Will certainly hoped that he would prove himself to Zee when she did get around to telling him.[/will]

[Zee Kerrick]

[zee]She plumped down onto her butt and started rolling clothes into tight bundles to fit into a battered soft-sided suitcase. "This world, my world, the gods-and-monsters world, it's pretty epic sometimes. Meaning epic in its original sense, like 'The Epic of the Illiad'. As in, horrifying shit happens to people that just doesn't happen in a saner, more logical world. There are demons. And angels. And armageddons. And bad, awful, unthinkable things happen to people."

A quiet sigh as she packed up her underpants without any noticeable discomfort. "Those unthinkable things, a lot of 'em happened to--to the baby's father. And because of the whole epic-ness of this world, there's going to be more. He's like...like Agamemnon, there's never going to be a point where he gets to just sit back and relax. Adding a babymomma and a shortie to the mix isn't really likely to make his life better. And besides that there's--other stuff about me that he's better off not having to deal with."

A frown down at the suitcase. "Anyway. I--I guess if you wanted to swap stories we could. It's a long drive to Mississippi." No reason for William to know it, but that offer would have flat-out shocked the hell out of anybody else who had ever met Zee in her entire life.[/zee]

[William Doyle]

[will]Will thought back to his Greek legends, imagining a modern-day Agamemnon. Not a pleasant idea, the poor fellow. He took a breath and hoped she wouldn't get mad at him. "You should still tell him as soon as you can. He might yet surprise you." Then again, he might turn his back on her, but William was being optimistic and hopeful.

A smile, warm and guileless. "I would like very much to swap stories with you. Who knows, I might even make you laugh once or twice." He doubted very much that his story would be anywhere near as impressive as hers, but he did have a few funny stories in his past. "Can I help you put things in the car?" Once they reached Norah, he'd have to purchase himself some non-suit clothing so that he'd have something that resembled a bit of a wardrobe. Living out of a suitcase was nothing new, but abandoning his life as it had been was somewhat new. He'd have to relay messages to his family and charity partners when possible. Tell them all he was taking the much deserved leave of absence he'd never taken. It would be sudden, but he could pull it off.[/will]

[Zee Kerrick]

[zee]"Yeah, but let me get it all packed down first. I don't want you outside the wards for too long while we're still in this town."

It didn't take Zee more than fifteen more minutes for her to pack down the entire room, which compacted down to a surprisingly small number of bags. Then she let William carry stuff out to her car but made him sit in the passenger seat while she packed the bags into the trunk, arguing both that she knew how it all fit and that he was better off inside the vehicle's wards. Last thing she did on the way out the door was use a Clorox Pen to erase the couple of wards she'd put up in the room that needed her own blood, a wet washcloth to get the ones that were chalk, and drop a ten dollar bill on the dresser for the maid. Karma's a bitch, and she was still leaving a lot of salt and herbs that were going to have to be vacuumed up.

Once they were in the car and moving, Zee had a very short phone conversation with somebody called Eve, and when she tucked the phone back into her kangaroo pocket she informed him, "Okay, we're definitely heading to Mississippi. Anything you need? You want to borrow my phone to call people? You need to eat? We can stop once we're over the county line and spend more than five minutes outside of wards, I just want to put more miles between you and them before I get slack."[/zee]

[William Doyle]

[will]He glanced over at her. “I don’t anything right now. I would like to borrow your phone and, unfortunately I haven’t eaten. I’m just going to follow your lead until you say it’s safe enough for me to wander more than two feet away.” William would have to grill her about how to keep himself safe later, get a better idea of how to handle all of this. When she handed over the phone, he first dialed one of the men he was supposed to be meeting today and had a long conversation about plans for the charities future and the fact that he was taking a leave of absence. When he finally got Matthew off the phone, he called Greg and asked him to clear his entire schedule for the next two months, at the very least, and to pass on the message to his other charities. He had to explain in detail, and come up with a reason on the fly, why he was taking a leave of absence so suddenly. Once he got his assistant to understand, things rolled smoothly.

Lastly, he called his sister and told her he was going on vacation, but that he would keep in touch as he was able. She teased him about his workaholic nature and asked if there was a woman involved. When he said yes, she got all excited and he had to shut down the conversation himself, telling her that his plane was about to take off and that he really had to go. When all was said and done, he offered Zee her phone back with an apologetic smile. “I do apologize. Now, however, all loose ends are tied up.” Curiosity got the best of him, “how far along are you, Zee?”[/will]

[Zee Kerrick]

[zee]Zee couldn't help but grin behind her dark sunglasses as she listened to Will's end of the conversations. It was just so...normal. Kind of wholesome. It was hard for Zee to imagine having that kind of relationship with anyone, so safe and familial and non-violent. Even the relationships in Zee's life that were the most important and family-like were twisted off-center in some way. Paul had been father and teacher and mentor and savior to her but it had also been all tangled up with sex and need and while Zee wasn't even a little bit ashamed, she did recognize that it wasn't really healthy. And Bobby Singer was the only surrogate family she had left, but the two of them could barely make eye contact, much less fuss over one another in any way that made sense. He added protections to her car, she brought him books and groceries, neither of them said anything real about how they felt.

And maybe it was that longing for real family, the totally unacknowledged pull she'd been feeling toward Couer d'Alene and everything she'd left behind there, that had her answering Will truthfully. "Thirteen weeks. I've got to get back to Colorado sometime in the next three weeks for another exam, but...I dunno. I'm scared to miss appointments, but they're going to want some records and stuff that I don't have."[/zee]

[William Doyle]

[will]Will nodded. "Is there any way for you to track down those records?" In the back of his mind, he thought she needed at least a little support. She seemed so young and alone to him, though that was only his personal impression. The thought of others like her roaming the world, and dying, all alone broke his heart. He could appreciate the fact that, from his point of view, she had saved his life. She had probably saved countless lives; and yet, here she was facing pregnancy alone.

He had to wonder if she ran across others like herself very often. Mentally shaking himself, Will decided he would just have to get to know this new culture as he was able to. "Forgive me for saying this, but I don't think you should have to face this alone. I would like to help in any way I can."[/will]

[Zee Kerrick]

[zee]She made a pained face. "There's a way. It's just not a good idea. It's--" another grimace and she looked over at Will. "I swear to God if you tell anybody this I will kill you. Even Norah, even anybody. Do you understand me?" She waited until he gave her an affirmative, then admitted, "I can get the records, but not without talking to my parents. I'm..." she scowled, "I'm seventeen. I ran away almost four years ago, I haven't been back and I don't want to go back. But I have to get the paperwork, I've got a heart condition and I need the details of the surgeries when I was a kid. It's fucking with me, I can't figure out how to get them without their consent."[/zee]