sooo… I thought this would bring my short story to a close but the MC informed me that she needs one more section to wrap things up… we will see if she lets me stop at that… the voice may end up turning this into a novelette… 😛 if you missed the writing prompt for the word SHACK click HERE … and now enjoy the next part of my short story…

Sam didn’t really know how she ended up being driven out to the local wild preserve, a silent Nick at the wheel. It usually took her more than a day to alienate her co-workers. But what did the Captain want her to do? She was know for following her gut, and her gut told her that those lemur tracks were important to the case.

“Shake it off, Sammykins.”

Sam had difficulty unclenching her jaw. Who the hell was this guy? “There is no shaking it off. I don’t ask for the weird and unexplained to follow me to work, but it always leads somewhere. I don’t care it you believe me. Those tracks-”

“Whoa there, slow it down. I never said I that I doubted you hunch. I just want to ask someone with a little more knowledge on animal tracks than a cop with a furry foot fetish.”

Sam stared at Nick, his concentration on the road. The man looked completely serious. “Are you saying I have an animal … I don’t even know what to call it. Besides, I grew up running through the forest a lot. Never went to the beach if I could help it.”

“Get forced to go on beach vacations a lot? Most people call that good fortune.”

“What’s good about itchy, scratchy sand particles finding their way into your mouth, your hair, and managing to slip beneath skin tight bathing suits. I mean… who wants a crotch full of sand? And an hour in the sun and you have this sticky film covering your skin.”

“Then why go?”

Sam didn’t want to talk about her youth, she wanted answers of her own. “It was mandatory. Now tell me why you offered to Mastins’s place when he started bitching to the Captain? I don’t need charity. I know I’m right. And if you-”

“Again, slow down with the accusations. I wanted to stick with the only person coming up with leads. Weird or not, any lead is better than none.”

“Okay. And where exactly is this expert of yours?” The car began to slow as Nick went around a sharp curve. Pulling to a complete stop, Nick got out without answering. But really, why bother. They had apparently arrived. Sam jumped out of the car and ran after him. “What the hell is that?”

Nick walked up to the two foot shack barely visible in the side of one of the trees, and knocked loudly. “This is our experts home. So be nice.”

Sam could feel her face beginning to burn in anger. Nick was just like the rest of them. Games and tricks… let’s make fun of the weirdo with whacked out theories. What a crock? Sam had turned back to the car, fully prepared to hot wire the car and leave his ass. Hopefully an accommodating alligator would come along and eat the bastard.

Sam had started to walk away when she was jerked to a halt by a quiet musical voice. Whipping around she watched a small woman poke her head out of the two foot door. The smell of fresh backed cookies came wafting out of the cracked door. The woman seemed to be bending over to look outside, as if she was taller than her door. What the hell was going on here?

Nick knew he should have left Sam behind at the station; allowing humans to gain secrets about the supernatural world never worked out well for his kind. Humans were a blood thirsty lot, always ready to start the next cleansing. Witch trials killed innocent humans and weaker Supes, but just because they were weaker didn’t mean that the beings killed by the hate and fear of humans were any less needed for the survival of both species. By all rights, Nick should wipe Sam’s mind now and send her on her way.

Before he could finish that thought, the Brownie Elder popped in front of him moving to face to see how it happened. He could feel the magic, but didn’t know exactly how it worked. Karma was one of the first Brownies to be given the post as ambassador to the Fates.

Karma spoke fast, her agitation clear as she materialized a staff and repeatedly slammed it into his shins as she ranted. “What you do? What you do? No human, vampire. It is law. Queen’s Law. You be staked to the land for the vultures, you be thrown to the Lower Realms, you be-”

“Karma…”

“I tell the Fates. They have your house thrown into-”

“KARMA!”

“What you say for your self?”

Nick glanced over at a silent Sam. She stood there, her arms hanging limp and her jaw dropped. Turning back to Karma, he whispered, “She can see you.”

Karma jerked back as if burned. Then cocking her head, she slowly approached Sam and began looking her over. Sam closed her mouth and narrowed her eyes as she watched the Brownie, always keeping her in sight, as Karma circled.

Karma reached out and poked Sam’s side, then continued moving on to examine a different area. Sam had obviously had had enough. When Karma moved to poke her other side, Sam slapped her hand away. “What the hell? Stop all the poking and explain what just happened.”

Instead of answering, Karma threw her head back and started to cackle. This wasn’t just some belly laugh, it was a full fledged cackle. Karma was enjoying something a little too much.

Sobering, Karma wiped a tear from her eye and allowed her staff to disappear. “This be good. Yes. I will enjoy.”

Nick cringed. He had a feeling that he had just started something that couldn’t be stopped. Something that he wasn’t going to like. Definitely something that Sam wasn’t going to appreciate. If the Fates didn’t decide to tear into his ass and turn his world upside down, Sam would probably kill him if she figured out the that Fate would add her future to their to-be-tinkered-with list. And all because he wanted to see if she could spot a Brownie. She may look and feel human, but something wasn’t making sense. First a human kidnapper and now Sam. The world of humans and the world of the Supes seemed to mixing, and nothing good could come of that.