Aftermath

10.

"What is Santinni?" Clarissa went with the more obvious question to start off.

"He's a game warden of sorts, demon, though there are angels. Most of the creatures we end up needing to destroy escaped from one place or the other Santinni is here to make sure much like any game warden, that they are destroyed and not kept like some kind of pet or experiment." Clarissa was just so baffled, yesterday she had been a hard A atheist and now not only were monsters real, but heaven and hell? Like she'd fallen down the crazy hole, she almost worried this was a mental break and Gilbert was just a nice orderly trying to talk her down.

"I'm so lost."

"The more important thing is getting you licensed, I didn't bring it up before because I didn't know if you wanted to stick around, but much like any other trade we don't just let anyone out here to exterminate creatures, and there is a cost to be paid."

"You say cost in a way I'm not comfortable with."

"You're not going to like it."

"Hit me Gilbert, I can take it."

"You're soul." Clarissa laughed, she just didn't know what else to do.

"My what?"

"You're soul, you have to put it in a kind of pawn like situation with the eternal powers, that way if you break the covenants they take a price that no human would ever want to pay."

"So Santinni is a demon game warden who wants my soul so I can kill monsters for a living."

"Yes this is the long and short of what I'm saying."

"Man my world is so fucked up right now." Gilbert didn't say anything in response he just drove, and Clarissa her one pressing question answered went to sleep. The rest of the drive was uneventful.

****

Clarissa woke up with a start. She was in a bed that she didn't remember falling asleep in. She was still the clothes she was wearing when she went to sleep in the work van. She could tell it was dark out, but had no idea where she was. She got out of bed and saw her shoes were placed at the end of it. She looked to be in someones guest room, there were no pictures on the walls, and only a bed and small night stand with a lamp on it. Beyond the room she could hear talking and one of the voices sounded like Gilberts.

"I'm just saying you said temporary and this has been going on for six months, you have a weird definition of temporary." Gilbert had some anger in his voice. Clarissa was in a small hallway off a kitchen, she could see yellow light and a range in front of her.

"This is how you treat family? Especially after Dad died I thought you'd..."

"Don't you throw that shit at me Joseph, don't you dare try and act like he just died, he died five years ago, and it has nothing to do with your dumb bullshit."

"You're an asshole." There was a door slam and Joseph was gone, Gilbert showed up at the end of the hallway and spotted Clarissa.

"I hope we didn't wake you."

"Nah I had gotten up, I'm at your house?"

"You mentioned you didn't have a place to stay, and you were pretty tired when I pulled up, figure better in our guest room than in the van." Clarissa walked the rest of the way into the kitchen and saw it was a fairly large and older in design, something from the sixties by her guess.

"So that was your nephew?"

"Yeah Joseph, I didn't mind him being here at first, but now the little shit is setting up shop. And I'm not a halfway house for his failures. He uses my brothers death like a club against me at any and all opportunity." Gilbert looked tired to Clarissa, she wondered if he had slept at all. Before she could ask him there was a ring of a doorbell.

"You're nephew?"

"Has a key, and he never rang the bell." There was worry in Gilbert's voice, Clarissa recalled Santinni saying he had a week, but maybe the demon got impatient.

"Creatures?" Gilbert chuckled and the doorbell rang two more times insistent.

"They don't ring doorbells, but you'll learn that in time, no come on lets not leave Francis Dufton on my door step." Clarissa wondered how he knew who it was, but she figured with experience came expectation.

"Mr. Dufton this is my residence this is not how we do things in this industry." Dufton was a thin tall man, pale white skin and really black hair. He was dressed in a black suit and a had a couple of large looking men in suits with him.

"You have something for me Mr. Dunkley."

"A bill at my office which you're welcome to come get in the morning." Gilbert went to close the door and Dufton stopped it with his hand and came inside unasked, his men remained outside. Clarissa could see this upset Gilbert.

"The ax Dunkley, I'm here for the ax."

"I knew you double booked on me."

"Vasilly told me you had the game warden run him off, now as your employer..."

"You should know all my contracts say I keep what I kill, if you wanted the ax you should have specified."

"Don't fuck with me Dunkley."

"Don't fuck with me Dufton, you are an uninvited guest in my house and if you think those two outside scare me you obviously don't know what I do for a living. Keep this up and I'll add an asshole charge to your bill." Both men stood staring at each other looking for an opening. Dufton eventually put his hands up and went toward the door.

"This isn't over."

"Not until you pay my bill." Clarissa looked at Gilbert who was breathing kind of heavy.

"That was kind of scary."

"Yeah, more than a little bit."

"Is every job like this?" Gilbert smiled.

"Gods no, just the shitty ones. And this one is seeing more and more like the worst of the worst. I'm going to have get that axe in here and give it a once over, something ain't right."

"Can I take a shower first I smell awful." Gilbert laughed.

"Yeah please do, might even have a change of clothes if you don't mind wearing some of my wifes." The tension seemed more defused, still Clarissa was as interested in the Ax as Gilbert was. She figured something was wrong, and the sooner they figured that out, the sooner this whole thing would go away.

Not a Game I'm Playing

9.

"Not even if god him self comes down do I want to be disturbed! I've been up for over a day, I've been coated in blood three time and I'm just so tired Gil, so tired." It had been four hours since they killed the other creature, Clarissa and Gilbert both were caked in dust, blood, and general forest trappings. Clarissa felt drained in every way a person could be.

"I hear ya, grab some sleep, I'll wake you when we get home." Gilbert wasn't tired at all himself, he always found killing creature exhilarating, though he was hungry. He knew he'd stop at a fast food place on the way home.

"Don't even do that, just leave me in the van, I'll just sleep a day in here." Gilbert had only just gotten the van going when he slammed on the breaks and Clarissa looked at him sourly.

"What did I say Gil?"

"Armed men in the road say differently Clarissa."

"I knew it we're going to prison forever."

"They aren't the authorities, stay in the van." Clarissa could see two jeeps and a pick up truck, all told it looked like eight men with rifles and dressed like soldiers. The man in front was not armed, he looked more like an accountant with a ring of hair and a skeezy looking mustache.

"Gilbert fucking Dunkley, my man." His accent was some form of eastern european to Clarissa's ears.

"Vasilly, double booked?"

Vasilly licked his lips and looked away like he was trying to find the words, "Nah Dunkley, I'm here for the ax, give it over."

"You know the rules, this isn't them."

"My men say it is them, rules are for people playing games Dunkley I ain't playing a game, the ax." Gilbert looked pained, Clarissa remembered him taking the ax, but she didn't ask at the time why, now it appears it was a deliberate thing.

"Gent le men, pl e ase, remain civl," Everyone's attention switched focus from Gilbert and Vasilly to the new voice, a man in a bowler hat three piece suit and a cane with a crystal on top of it. Clarissa was mystified where this guy came from, he seemingly showed up from no where.

"This has nothing to do with you warden." The Bowler hatted man leaned his head back, Clarissa noticed his eyes were red, not the iris, the entire eye with just a blackness for his pupils.

"Vas sssssiii llly," Bowler smiled, it was an off putting thing to Clarissa, "Ev ery thing, interests," he paused again Clarissa felt like who ever Bowler was, he was deliberately dragging out his sentences, "Me."

"What I did was legal, Vasilly and I are just having a disagreement, that's all."

"Ahhh," Bowler looked at Gilbert, looked at Vasilly and then back at Gilbert and then smiled again, "Find yourself disagreeing with guns often Gil BERT?"

"Sometimes." Gilbert acted like he was talking to a parent who caught him sneaking a cookie.

"Vas illlllly you may go, Gil BERT you have to stay after class, we have," Bowler paused again chewing on the words, "Business."

"I'm not leavin..."

"If you will not go I will make you go, do you wish for me to do that Mr. Koblechev? I will do it." The words were fast and irritated Bowler hat no longer seemed interested in dragging out the encounter.

"This isn't over Dunkley." Vasilly spun his finger around and his men turned their jeeps around and left, with Vasilly getting into the pick up and flipping Gilbert off before he took his seat. The man in the bowler waited for them to leave, rocking back and forth on his dress shoes.

"Clarissa Shipley, please exit the vehicle." It was alarming to Clarissa the man in the hat knew her name, even more so the way he said it. She did as she was told, her previous tiredness discarded in the face of the red eyed Bowler man.

"Santinni I can explain."

"Ex plain? Unlicensed exterminators are very much not allowed. There can be pen al ties Gilbert."

"This job just came up Santinni I was just trying to."

"The smell of goblin blood on you," Santinni looked from Gilbert to Clarissa, "Milk run? Right Gilbert?" Santinni laughed and Clarissa did not like the sound. "One week, either licensed or penalties, ok? We're done here you may go."

"Thank you." But Santinni was already gone, he disappeared the same way he had arrived.

"I have so many questions."

"Thought you wanted to sleep?"

"Well not now."

Grave Digging

8.

"Why again are we dragging the body of a creature through the woods?" Clarissa and Gilbert had cleaned themselves up the best they could using an outdoor faucet. Neither one felt brave enough to venture into a cabin even with the killer dead outside.

"Got to bury these things, or they'll come back."

"But didn't he already come back, aren't we just like not actually stopping anything by doing this?" Clarissa knew Gilbert was already doing most of the dragging even with him holding two shovels, but her arms still burned from the exertion, and she was tired. It had been almost a full day since she last slept and that was catching up to her as the sun started to crest on the horizon.

"Just because the raccoons got into your garbage once doesn't mean its a bad idea to put it in the can."

"That doesn't answer anything."

"I believe it does, less talking more carrying." They eventually got to a small clearing that Gilbert felt was hidden enough and began digging. It took a couple more hours, and by the time they were done the morning sun was fully up in the sky. Clarissa threw her shovel down and just sat on the ground not wanting to move.

"So is Canada going to think we are serial killers since we came up here and killed the real killer as it were?"

"No they know what killed those people, like I said everyone knows who needs to know."

"I don't know what scares me more, monsters or the fact my government has been hiding them from me so private contractors can kill them." Gilbert smiled, and took out his pipe again, Clarissa found the smoke oddly comforting, she half believed it was some magic smoke that made things better.

"Personally the monsters scare me more, government is just something I pay my taxes to and get my pension from." Clarissa leaned back and then screamed. She hadn't looked up before, and now saw the impaled body of Frank. From his position it looked like Paul had literally tossed him on to a branch. Clarissa would have found it weird they didn't see him in the tree if not how tired they had been and how dark it was.

"How do we get him down?" Clarissa was not looking forward to what Gilbert would suggest.

"I guess cut the tree branch, I mean I'm glad I brought Paul's ax, but that feels kind of wrong to do to Fr..." Gilbert stopped mid sentence and Clarissa couldn't figure out why at first and then she felt the presence behind her.

"There's something behind me isn't there."

"Yep."

"There were two of these killers in the woods and you didn't figure on that."

"You're two for two."

"We're going to die aren't we?"

"MOVE!" Gil charged forward with the ax, Clarissa side stepped herself right into the tree with Frank's body in it. The jostling was enough to dislodge Frank's corpse right on top of her. He smelled of pine and decay. Clarissa looked up to see that the new creature and Gil we're fighting over the ax, she was surprised by how strong Gilbert was. He had to be in his fifties at the earliest and yet he was able to keep the creature tied up though he was losing. Clarissa slipped out from underneath Frank's body and she noticed clutched in his hand was one of the bones like Gilbert had used earlier. She took it up hoping that it too was laced with the virgin semen and charged herself at the monster. He had almost gotten the ax away from Gilbert when she plunged the bone into his back where she hoped his heart would be. The flesh gave way a lot easier than she expected or she was stronger than she gave herself credit for. Either way the monster relinquished its grip on the ax and Gilbert took it up and chopped its head off causing a blood geyser to erupt on to Clarissa.

"I just don't even how, how does this keep happening."

"That's not what's going to really upset you."

"We have to dig another god damn hole don't we."

"Yep, two more, have to bury Frank too."

"I hate this job."

Gilbert Vs Paul

7.

The Canadian boarder didn't really look that imposing to Clarissa. Just a couple booths with signage indicating you were leaving america. She didn't know what she expected, but something more grander than what she got. They were the only car in line to cross at just under one in the morning. Gilbert didn't even take out any kind of passport or paperwork, just drove right up to one of the booths and waited for the boarder guard.

"Evening sir." The guard's name tag read Saunders, he looked really young, younger than even Clarissa. She figured graveyard was probably where they stuck the rookies.

"Same to you young man, Gilbert Dunkley and I'm here on business." Saunders had an old fashioned clip board with actual paper on it, Clarissa thought it strange she figured everyone just used tablets now.

"And the young woman?"

"My new assistant."

"Right, destination?"

"Geode Creek, Saunders, I new a Pat Saunders once, you related?"

The young man smiled at Gilbert, "He was my father sir, he spoke highly of you."

"You say spoke which means."

"Yeah he passed a few years back, drunk driver plowed into him."

"I'm sorry to hear that Mr. Saunders."

"Before you go I have a question, how do you kill a wendigo?"

Gilbert produced a card from seemingly thin air and handed it over to the young boarder guard, "You call me Mr. Saunders, you call me." The young man smiled and waved them on. Gilbert wasted no time beyond the boarder, he once again was not concerned by traffic laws.

"Thought you were in a hurry, why not be demanding to the young man?"

"In a hurry doesn't mean you have to be rude Clarissa, I knew of Saunders daddy dying, but I never got to say my condolences." Clarissa was confused by the whole thing, but Gilbert wasn't and that would have to be enough. They made good time with it being so late at night and Gilbert seemingly knowing the way despite claiming not to, in short order they were pulling up alongside a sign that proclaimed "Geode Creek" camp site.

"Why are we parking way down here, there is still road?" Gilbert had already gone to the back of the van and was busy pulling out his tools.

"Killed something like this before, we park up there the damned thing is more likely to rip the engine out of the van and I'm not going to get that repaired again, don't have the time or the money." Gilbert had the bone of the repentant sinner and had applied what Clarissa could only assume was the virgin semen, she hoped it didn't have to be fresh for it to work. She also saw he had a shoulder holster on along with large revolver of some type that he was checking the load of.

"Thought you said all you need is the bone and some loser jizz?"

"Virgin jizz, not loser, losers can have sex as my brother continued to prove up until his untimely demise." Clarissa had gotten out of the van now though she didn't know what she'd do against whatever Paul was supposed to be.

"I'm sorry to hear that about your brother, was he killed by a monster and that's what brought you into the business." Gilbert laughed.

"Ha no, damn fool drank and drove and crashed into a telephone pole."

"That's horrible."

"Yeah I hear the power was down for a few hours, I felt so bad for those people." Clarissa didn't need to hear more to assume Gilbert and his dead brother were not friends. They moved on from the sign through the woods, avoiding the road. Gilbert once again seemed to know where he was going, where Clarissa just kept running into every tree branch possible. Clarissa had never been a fan of the woods, and skulking around them with Gilbert she felt even less happy to be there.

"How do you know where you're going?"

"I've been here before, Frank and I used to go up fishing here, I never put two and two together until on the drive. I screwed up Clarissa, I thought he just liked fishing in canada, I never put it together he was looking for this Paul thing and brought me along as back up. I bet if you look into it you could find one of Paul's victim's is a young woman named Charlene. Frank had a daughter used to talk about her a bunch when were coming up together. He stopped a few years back and I figured it was out of respect for me since my wife and I never had a child, never got around to it. I didn't think that she got killed up here and Frank was looking for her killer."

"You don't know that, you assume you can't kn..." They had broken through the forest and into the camp area. Clarissa lost the words, there were 6 cabins in a half circle. She didn't see bodies, but she saw violence. Three vans of audio visual equipment most like for the ghost show were all trashed, the camera equipment distributed near by. The Cabins themselves also looked in equal destruction. Whatever "Paul" was, he was very powerful.

"Quiet, use your ears, damned things like this sneak up on you, and stay close, we don't want to split up, that's what it wants." Clarissa felt like a little girl with her dad creeping up on the camp. She didn't even know what Gilbert expected her to do, but she felt assured he knew what to do. They approached the cabin closest to them and Gilbert went to look inside. Clarissa stayed outside but in his visual range. It was too dark for her to see anything but Gilbert.

"Oh god I think I see some blood out here Gil, definitely looks too much to just be like a cut." Inside the cabin after his eyes adjusted Gilbert saw corpses, a lot of corpses. Seven people who looked like they had been brutally hacked to death and strung up from their own entrails.

"Yeah uhh keep calm Clarissa, and don't come in here."

"Why what's in there?"

"A lot more than just blood." Gilbert backed out of the cabin. He had instinctively already pulled the bone up like a vampire hunter in an old Hammer film. Clarissa found herself backing up with him and that took her over the side of the small railing and into the dirt with a thwomp. Her butt hurt, but mostly her pride was the real injury.

"You ok?"

"Yeah just landed on my ass, you sure Paul is around here?"

"It's around, these things tend to stick around waiting for more victims, which is what we are."

"Great Gil, glad I signed on to work for you."

"It's not all goblins, you think this is bad, dragons are worse."

"Gil what would Paul look like?"

"I dunno probably big and scary looking, with something obscuring his face and some kind of bladed weapon from what I saw in there."

"Like a dude in a welders mask with a fire ax."

"That's oddly specific," Gilbert sighed, "He's right behind me isn't he."

"Yep just standing there staring at me, or at least I think he's staring at me hard to tell with the mask." Gilbert sighed again. Paul just stood there ax clasped in his hands looking at his next two victims.

"This is going to be messy Clarissa, be careful." Gilbert reached up for his revolver and made a guess on where Paul was standing and pulled the trigger. The bullet surprised Paul and he stumbled backwards. Clarissa panicked and went to run, Paul seeing his victim running away threw his fire ax at her, the handle wrapped itself in her legs and she came crashing to the dirt, the wind knocked out of her. Paul stalked towards her with Gilbert giving chase though the creature was faster than he was. Paul had already snatched Clarissa up from the ground and was preparing to give her his version of a haircut when Gilbert impaled him with the bone. Clarissa got the brunt of the blood gushing out of Paul's chest, it coated her entire face and chest. The creatures grip of her was relinquished, it collapsed on the ground and she hit her feet roughly.

"This shit never ends does it." Clarissa wiped the blood from her face and walked away from Paul's body.

"Nope not really, reminds me of the time," Gilbert took out his pipe and lit up a smoke, "I was after a Gonju." Clarissa watched on in horror behind Gilbert, Paul had started to move.

"Uhh Gil."

"Gonju are nasty little suckers, breed like rabbits, eat fucking everything."

"Gil!" Paul had almost gotten to his feet and had gotten his axe back.

"It's rude to interrupt Clarissa."

"He's," Gilbert turned around lightning fast and fired another shot into Paul, this one through where the bone had gone.

"Not fully dead yet, yeah I got that, ninety percent of the time the bone will do, but sometimes, sometimes you have to help them along the way." Gilbert popped the revolvers cylinder out and withdrew the two spent casings. He then reached up underneath Paul's mask and made a sour face as he fumbled around eventually finishing what he was doing, he pulled his hand out which was now covered in some kind of slime.

"What did you just do?"

"Put the casings in his mouth, helps complete the curse that was etched on the bullets. Now if you excuse me I have to find something to wash my hand because I don't even know what's on my hand, and I want it gone." Clarissa agreed she too would like to find a sink to rid herself of Paul. And so the exterminators washed themselves of the monster.

Proper Research

6.

"Get my laptop in the back, need to do some research." Gilbert was stopped at a light just shy of midnight. Clarissa thought it was stupid to stop at a light with no one around in the middle of nowhere, but Gilbert was the type that obeyed rules when no one was watching and she felt it was a waste of an argument.

"You're driving?"

"Yes which is why I told you to get my laptop so that you can do the research." Clarissa felt kind of dumb, but blamed it on how long they'd been up. The laptop was sitting on top of a green box that had one hand written sign on it "Do Not Open", it was a fairly large box that Clarissa had missed when she'd previously looked in the back of the van.

"What's in the box back there?"

"Don't you worry about it, now look up Geode Creek, something isn't sitting right with me here." Clarissa didn't like how he dismissed her question about the green box, but figured like everything else, she'd get to it in time.

"This is a real nice laptop." Clarissa had opened it up and was amazed at how modern and expensive it was.

"Don't say it like that, that's the way the salesman said it when I picked it out, you're implying its too nice for a dumb old man like me to have or want. I'll have you know I choose my tools carefully Clarissa, and that laptop like any other item in my kit has saved me, and just like those items I take care of it."

"I'm sorry Gil I didn't mean to imply you're old or out of touch."

"Well I'm both of those things, but I can at least figure out technology." Gilbert smiled to release the tension and Clarissa went to work on researching Geode Creek. Her initial search turned up basic information about the recent slayings. No real information on who the killer was or where they found the victims. Clarissa thought it a bit odd that information was missing, especially from the media which always tended to make killings front page stuff.

"Gilbert I'm confused."

"The media is in on it, no I'm not a psychic, you're wondering why nine people getting killed wasn't a story you heard about, why its not a bigger story in general, because what killed those people wasn't a person, or wasn't a person any longer, you'll have to go beyond the press here, crank websites and the like, I know it sounds stupid, but its how we do this job, relying on hearsay as truth and ignoring truths because those are just clever lies."

"Prior to killing some goblins with you Gil, I'd have thought you were pretty crazy with that."

"Prior to me killing monsters of my own, I'd be right along with you."

"Ok ignoring real media, there is this guy 'The real Truth of Geode Creek', he says that the nine deaths are just more in a pattern of death up there dating back to 1959. He said it started with the death of some maintenance worker in a prank gone wrong, all told forty eight people have been supposedly killed by a creature named 'Paul'."

"Paul doesn't sound threatening at all, I knew a Paul once nice guy bit of a drinker though."

"Focus Gil, reading here it sounds like Paul is."

"Some kind of resurrected vengeful corpse monster out to overly punish people who didn't actually wrong him, yeah that's a thing. I have a bone of a repentant sinner and some semen from a virgin in the truck, pierce his heart and that's all she wrote most of the time, starting to worry about where they are getting the semen though, I mean you kids these days so sexually liberated, virgins are harde"

"Gil."

"I don't think its like sexual assault, I just think it has to be some kind of false pretenses"

"Gil!"

"What? Sorry got lost in my thoughts again."

"What was the name of that guy you were looking for? Your exterminator friend?"

"Frank Murphy."

"Because it says that the guy who runs the real truth hired a supposed monster exterminator to show him the real story on Geode Creek, and he's got a picture here of a guy in workman stuff with a 'Frank' name tag." Gilbert put his foot on the gas, he didn't have to see the picture to know it was Frank.

"Aren't you worried about the speed limit?"

"Not anymore, got a creature to kill and a friend to save."

The Thing At Geode Creek

5.

Gilbert had guessed incorrectly, it had taken three hours to clear the Lovejoy's house of goblins. Ultimately it didn't mater Julia Lovejoy did not return, so Gilbert locked the house up and pocketed the key, he'd mail it back to her once the payment had cleared. He left the bill on the door with a note written by Clarissa about the key. Gilbert was thankful for Clarissa as his own hand writing was rather poor, and her's very fine, he felt at that time he'd made the right choice at taking her on as his assistant. Both of them had been covered in goblin remains by the time the job was through. Clarissa had also got a scratch that ran the length of her neck, Gilbert had done what he could with his first aid kit, but told her to watch for an infection, goblins had poor nail care.

"Are all jobs like this?" They were down the road, it was getting dark out and Clarissa could see storm clouds on the horizon.

"More or less, some are obviously harder, involve more prep work, but at the end of the day, proper technique applied properly will get you home and mostly in one piece."

"Mostly in one piece." Clarissa could feel the burn from the claw marks, she didn't even see the goblin that gave them to her, she just felt the pain and then the splatter of the goblin as Gilbert killed it.

"I'm really sorry about your neck, even small jobs in this business are dangerous, never forget that."

"I won't Gil, and don't worry it was mostly my fault, I got a little blood lusty there and I paid for it." Gilbert laughed, "What's so funny?"

"Oh just how things went, you started today not knowing monsters were real, and you end it that you got hurt because you were trying to kill goblins recklessly. World is a funny place sometimes."

"I guess that's true, so do you have any other..." Clarissa was interrupted by Gilbert's phone going off.

"Doris you know I don't like talking while I'm driving."

"I know that, client insisted."

"And I'm insisting I'm tired Doris, it was a long day, lots of goblins."

"I did not realize tired was a reason not to do work Gilbert, maybe I should be too tired to balance the books next month, or make sure that bills get paid, or answe..."

"Point taken Doris, so the client is insisting."

"Said it can't wait till the morning and you're close to Canada anyway." Clarissa got a little worried when she heard Canada, she didn't have her passport with her.

"Canada?" Gilbert sighed and pulled the van over, they were on a two lane highway and were the only car in the area, but driving safety was something Gilbert took very seriously. He pulled a small note pad and pen up from the center console area. "Ok put the man through."

"Didn't say it was a man Gilbert you know that's sex..."

"Doris put the client through and stop trying my patience." There was a sigh and then a click and then a man's voice replaced Doris.

"Is this Gilbert Dunkley?" The voice sounded upper class, just the way he pronounced Dunkley made Clarissa feel embarrassed.

"Speaking."

"What do you know about Geode Creek." The place sounded familiar to Clarissa, but she couldn't remember why.

"Nine murders, they said it was a serial Mr?"

"Dufton, Francis Dufton, and yes I heard the same thing, just some lone wolf killer, let me buy the cabins up there at a discounted rate, and rent them out to thrill seekers looking for ghosts."

"Smart people don't go looking for Ghosts Mr. Dufton, they leave that shit be."

"All the same, I made some money, everything was going fine except recently."

"You lost contact with people you sent up to those cabins, and you suspect it wasn't a serial that killed those nine people."

"Correct Mr. Dunkley, something is up in those woods that's for sure, and it killed at least nine people, and an associate of mine said you handle these things."

"And you need me up there right away?"

"Tonight if you're able, your receptionist said you were in the area." Gilbert cursed under his breath.

"Yeah I'm able, won't be cheap though, you'll get a weekend rate."

"Money is no object, success is all that matters."

"Give me the address, speak slowly please Mr. Dufton." Dufton gave Gilbert the address and then Gilbert hung up his phone and got the van going again, the windows had fogged up a bit while he was talking.

"Sorry to do this to you Clarissa, and I can let you out if you don't want to go, this will not be an easy job, and the danger level is rather high."

"As long as whatever this is doesn't explode on me I'll be ok."

"Well don't necessarily know if it'll explode, but you never can tell with shit like this." That caused Clarissa to laugh and Gilbert found himself laughing along. Just two people in a van driving down a dark highway laughing at the idea of exploding monsters. The usual.

No Love For the Lovejoys

4.

"I take it back you are a monster." They'd been driving for two hours in mostly silence. Clarissa hadn't noticed it at first, but Gilbert didn't have a radio in his van. It wasn't just turned off, it wasn't there at all. She had never been on a long drive before without some kind of background noise, and driving the backroads of eastern Washington in the van was even more boring than usual.

"What did I do now? Fail to yield for a possum?"

"Why do you not have a radio in here? Like I assumed a cassette deck at the bare min, but you have nothing."

"Oh," Gilbert laughed, "Yeah I got rid of it after Charlie and I had a fight over music. He always liked this gospel shit and having been in the air force I was pretty much all gospeled out. I tried to balance it with my own music, but Charlie wasn't a man of balance and so after the fight I took the whole thing out. When he stopped working with me I just got used to the silence, I spose I could put another radio in if it bothers you, but you'd have to commit to more than one job for it to be worth it for me."

"I'm just surprised you aren't bothered by the silence."

"Nah working alone like I have been I've just gotten used to my own thoughts. Like wondering if the M's will be good this year, or if a movie I want to see is playing close by. I even talk to myself, though I try and keep that down, you don't want to be that guy who only talks to himself."

"I'll just make sure to charge my cell phone next time."

"If there is a next time."

"If there is a next time." They made small talk on the way to the Lovejoy's mansion. Clarissa found out that Gilbert was married, but not anymore due to his wifes death of a disease he didn't want to get into. Gilbert found out that Clarissa didn't have her appendix or gall bladder anymore, he didn't know why she volunteered this information, but he suspected it was to erase the awkward conversation ender about his dead wife. Both were happy when Gilbert pulled in front of the house.

"Now I just want to warn you Clarissa, the Lovejoys are the biggest group of assholes I have ever talked to." Gilbert had gotten out of the driver seat and moved to the back to gather his stuff. Clarissa saw him take out two fairly large knives and dip them in the fluid he'd purchased at the Double O. He then put the knives into separate sheathes, he handed one to Clarissa with a brown jump suit.

"Not my fashion."

"Not negotiable, we are professionals, part of that is dressing the same, on your own time you can do whatever you want, on my time you dress like I tell you to." Clarissa nodded, she didn't want to wear the suit, but Gilbert made a good enough case why she should, an again she needed the money.

"Ok just let me have the van for a moment."

"You can show me your scar, but you are afraid when putting on a work suit I'll see something else?"

"Can you just give me the van."

"Sure." Gilbert got out of the side and looked up at the mansion. It was a more modern take on home construction. Gilbert couldn't place what he didn't like about it, but he definitely did not like it. Clarissa joined him in staring, she'd tied her dreads back with a rubber band, it didn't look great, but it looked better than it had.

"These people are assholes?" Gilbert laughed at her just picking up the previous conversation tangent.

"Huge assholes, its one reason they have Goblins, goblins are attracted to nasty people, well either that or a nasty group of assholes left you a house full of goblins, but since in my limited experience with Julia Lovejoy no one left them the goblins."

"How do we kill a goblin?"

"Iron blade dipped in fairy blood, and yes before you ask fairies are real and they are a lot nastier than a goblin." He handed her one of the knives, Clarissa pulled the knife out to look at the fairy blood and felt a part of her child hood dying.

"So we stab the goblin?"

"Yeah pierce the flesh, just a quick stab and step back the reaction can be volatile." Clarissa didn't like the the vagueness to the "volatile" that Gilbert said, but before she could ask what that meant Julia Lovejoy came screaming out of her house. She was in her mid 40's with stark white hair, almost unnaturally thin looking and being attacked by two actual goblins. Clarissa wasn't sure what she expected, she almost have expected Gilbert to have been lying about the whole monster hunting thing until she saw the creatures. They were small, no taller than a toddler and scaly, she could see they had claws because they had scratched up Julia Lovejoy pretty badly.

Gilbert and Clarissa ran to the screaming woman, Clarissa got their first and pulled one of the goblins off of her. The creature denied its prey turned and slashed at her face, she held it away, but could already feel the strength of the goblin as it was wrenching itself free, and then it exploded in green blood and cuts all over her. She wiped the slime from her eyes to see Gilbert moving from her to the remaining Goblin. He, a more practiced hunter than her, kicked the creature from Julia and then made an over head hack on the creature. It too exploded, but with minimal mess on Gilbert or Julia. The smell hit Clarissa and she almost wretched, but she wanted to appear professional for Gilbert despite how mad she was at him.

"How many more are there?" Gilbert was all business didn't even ask if Julia Lovejoy was ok.

"I dunno hundreds they are all over the house, just get rid of the bastards, GET RID OF THEM!" Mrs. Lovejoy tossed a house key at Gilbert and ran to her car.

"It should be no more than a few hour..." She was in the car and down the drive way before he finished shouting after her. Clarissa had moved up along side Gilbert, she had cleaned most of the slime from her face and was worried about how much she'd swallowed.

"Volatile? Next time Gil just say they fucking explode ok." Gilbert laughed at that.

"If there is a next time."

"Oh there will be a next time, I didn't get covered in goblin guts to give up now." They moved toward the door and Gilbert could hear more of the goblins destroying things inside. He held out his hand for a fist bump and Clarissa bumped it in return.

"Remember volatile." Clarissa unsheathed the knife and nodded.

"So am I." And so the exterminators, did as their title suggested.