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“I read once that the suicide rate up here is way higher,” she said to Macy, who walked a couple of steps behind. “And that they use bright colors to keep people happier.”
It wasn’t working.
“Why so many suicides?” Macy asked. She carried a heavier load, partially because of random monster-hunting equipment, but mostly because she packed way more clothing than necessary.
“No sun. Lots of rain.”
“Ugh. I hate the rain,” Macy said with a sigh. “It destroys my hair.”
With hair like Macy’s, it didn’t take much. At least her part of the job would keep her safe and snug indoors, or, at the very least, inside a vehicle. Miriam, on the other hand, would be spending days in the backwoods of southwest Washington, soaking up more rain and humidity than she could imagine. Her first paid job. No more stumbling into monsters. She would find this one on purpose.
Hopefully. If it even existed. So few of the purported monsters actually did.
As they made their way to pick up their luggage, Miriam reviewed the facts in her head, each one hastening her pulse. She’d been hearing stories about this one for as long as she could remember, but no one had ever found it. Only a few blurry pictures and dubious eye-witness accounts. But that tended to be the kind of “facts” she had to work with in her line of work. If people had more evidence, it wouldn’t be a mystery at all.
“I wish Tanner could have come,” Macy said after a few minutes of silent walking.
“Me too. But Gabe needed him.”
“Gabe needed you,” Macy corrected. “And you declined.”
Miriam didn’t care for the reminder. She could have spent the weekend with her boyfriend and chose not to. Partly because she still didn’t feel comfortable working with her father’s company, but something even deeper pushed her away. Separated by hundreds of miles, she and Gabe had spent relatively little time together, mostly on dates or in group settings. She’d never spent the night with him—well, except for the cave back at Gray’s Point. But to go on a whole weekend trip with him sounded downright terrifying. At least she could recognize that now: that she felt scared. A few years ago, she would have just been cold towards him without knowing why.
Progress.
They found their carousel and stopped in front of it. Eager to change the subject, Miriam asked, “They’re sending someone to pick us up?”
“Yeah,” Macy said, fishing through pockets until she pulled out a piece of paper. “They didn’t give us his name. A backwoods guide, though, that’ll be with us the whole time. I have a number to call if we can’t find him.”
Miriam nodded, just as she spotted her bag emerge from the rubber curtains into the cold white light of baggage claim. Macy’s followed quickly behind, larger, pinker, and perfectly at home in the cavalcade of colors around them.
Luggage in hand, they took off towards the exit. Through the doors, Miriam searched through the sea of travelers to find someone who looked like a backwoods guide. It turned out that whether they be hipsters or lumberjacks, the Portland airport overflowed with people who could fit that description. Then her eyes caught a white sign with “Brooks” printed on it in block letters, held by someone who most decidedly did not look like a nature guide.
The man that Macy promised was actually a woman. Sitting patiently, just looking around, not even playing on a phone or anything. Streaks of blue hair reflected the light, in playful contrast with her shoulder-length raven bob.
When the woman noticed Miriam and Macy approaching, she stood and flashed a Cheshire smile. “Miriam? Macy?”
Miriam nodded, shifted some weight and offered a hand. The woman took it with a firm but clammy grip.
“Kimiko Akana. You can call me Kim. I’m your guide.”
Babysitter, more like. Miriam hardly needed a guide to survive the woods. Kim held Miriam’s gaze with almost black eyes. The stare was intense, causing Miriam to fight the urge to squirm. But also, mesmerizing. Miriam never really found other women pretty, but Kim’s exotic features intrigued her.
Exotic? Don’t be racist, Miriam.
“Where you from?” Miriam asked. Wanting to make sure that Kim knew the area well, Miriam truly just wanted to know if Kim had grown up in Portland, but quickly realized the question could be construed otherwise. Her cheeks flushed just as Macy jabbed an elbow into Miriam’s ribs.
Kim’s smile faded to quiet anger. “Portland.”
Miriam stammered, “Yeah. That’s what I meant. I didn’t mean...”
Kim’s face lightened. “I’m just messin’ with ya. People ask me all the time. You get used to it.” She flashed an infectious smile. “I can also help with some other burning questions. I don’t speak Japanese. I hate math. And yes, of course I’m a disappointment to my parents. Backwoods guide is pretty far down the list from doctor or engineer.”
“I-I-I didn’t mean—obviously, you’re American.”
Macy placed a hand on Miriam’s forearm, silently encouraging her to stop talking. This wasn’t the first time—and most certainly wouldn’t be the last—that Miriam stuck her foot in her mouth. Macy frequently had to save Miriam from herself.
“So, this is exciting,” Macy interjected. “Our first real job. I’m so glad they hired us a guide. We’ve never been up here before, so it’ll be a huge help having you along.”
Uggh. Macy was so much better at this.
Kim switched her focus to Macy, regarded the redhead for a second, then nodded and winked.
“Honestly, you’re pretty lucky. I’m one of the best.”
She took hold of Miriam’s suitcase and started heading for the door. Miriam was too flustered to stop her, instead letting herself fall behind to take up the rear. As Macy passed, her face telegraphed the very thing Miriam was telling herself.
Chill out.
Kim led them out of the terminal, across a few busy streets, and into a parking garage.
“Have you been a guide long?” Macy asked.
“A few years. Didn’t like college. Decided to do this instead.”
“So, you spend a lot of time out in the woods, then?”
“If you consider four or five days a week a lot, then yeah. Mostly I just do day hikes, though. It’s rare that I have overnight clients. Should be fun.”
“Oh, I’m not going with you.”
“No? Just your awkward friend then?”
Kim shot back a teasing look, which Miriam felt certain she didn’t receive properly.
“Uh... yeah. I don’t do fieldwork anymore,” Macy said.
“Why not?”
Macy didn’t answer immediately. They waited in silence for an elevator.
“Bad experience?” Kim prodded.
“You could say that.”
In fact, Macy had almost died at the hands of a madman and his murderous pigs. Miriam had barely convinced her to go on the hunt at all, but Macy’s will seemed to overpower the fear. Perhaps all the monster hunts helped. Miriam liked to think so, to believe that her obsession had brought at least some good to her best friend’s life. For the first few months, Macy had become despondent and inconsolable, crying more often, jumping at every sound. Miriam had had no idea what to do with all that, but with therapy and time, Macy had finally started to learn how to cope with the incident. Perhaps she’d never be over it, but she certainly seemed to be handling it better than before.
Kim led them to an ice-blue Prius and popped the trunk. Their stuff didn’t look like it would fit, but somehow Kim made it work through an intricate game of luggage Tetris. When they went to get in the car, Macy staked a claim on the backseat and motioned Miriam to the front. Miriam tried to protest, but Macy tilted her head towards Kim and climbed into the backseat. Miriam took a deep breath and slid inside.
“So, the devil. At Misty Lake. Have you seen it?” Miriam asked.
Kim started the car, though it didn’t really make a sound like a regular engine. “Of course. Lots of times.”
“Seriously?”
“Yeah. If you spend any time at all out on Misty Lake, you’ll see it eventually.”
Miriam looked back at Macy, who shared her shock. A firsthand eyewitness to the monster in question? That never happened.
Kim continued before Miriam could respond. “You’re not going to hurt it, are you?”
Miriam considered the question. She hadn’t been hired to kill it, but her track record so far had forced her hand. She had no compunction with going that route if she had to, but the job was to find it. Catalog it. She doubted it would be that easy. Likely this thing came from a line of undiscovered animals, but people called them monsters for a reason.
“I hope not.”
“Good,” Kim said. “Because it’s not dangerous.”
“What do you think it is?”
Kim put the car in reverse, backed up, and got it going forward again. “Honestly? I’m not sure. My mom thinks it’s a kappa, but she’s never actually seen it.”
A Japanese water demon? In Washington?
Oh. This was gonna be fun.
