The Safe and the Unsafe

138.

"First we must establish a zone of safety." Gilbert was pouring salt in one direction while directing Clarissa to the do the same in the other direction.

"I guess if something attacks us it will be assaulted." Clarissa laughed at her joke but Gilbert did not.

"Next we'll have to pick out directions to scout from, this isn't a real building or a place, so the location will probably change, think Hansel and Gretel."

"You have some bread crumbs to leave behind Gilbert?"

"Nope we'll use climbers rope, its a bit safer than hoping mice don't eat your bread crumbs." Gilbert anchored the rope in his protection area, and then handed Clarissa a harness to and line to attach to.

"Do you have any idea what can kill spirits?"

"Well these aren't exactly spirits, these are souls, it sounds like a distinction without a difference but think of these as more raw energy with faces, and less angry people. So its less something killing them and more something siphoning that energy. I can think of a couple things and neither of them are something I hope is here, stay close." Clarissa felt a little silly attached to a climbing rope moving through a broken hallway, but having known how quickly things can go from ok to not ok, she would deal with the silliness. They weren't really talking as they went, both seemingly convinced whatever was hunting the souls could hear them even though there was no proof of that. The further they got from their "safe" zone the worse the damage looked, walls were ripped out, signs of struggle were apparent, but no "bodies" or any kind of remains of a victim.

"Maybe its just really big spirit rats?" Clarissa speaking kind of startled Gilbert.

"Spirit rats?"

"Yeah I mean rats have spirits right?"

"You know never thought of it like that, but maybe?" Just then there was a snort like that of a large bull. Gilbert took out his pistol, Clarissa readied an arrow. They crept up on the noise and found nothing, not a trace of a creature or even a foot print.

"That's just fucking weird right?"

"Could be the spirit world has a lot of residual shi... GET DOWN!" The creature appeared behind Clarissa ready for a full on charge. Gilbert only saw it for an instant before she ducked underneath its gore, but it certainly didn't look like anything he'd seen before. After dodging it the creature disappeared in a puff of black residue, aside from the lingering smell Gilbert and Clarissa could find no sign of it.

"Well that was scary."

"Quite, but at least we saw the beast." Clarissa nodded and then she looked down in a panic, while she had successfully dodged the bull creature, it had severed their climbing rope, they were now untethered and the way they had come definitely looked like it had changed.

"Gilbert we have a problem."