(co-written by O)
Tom and Garrett were still searching around the forest in Connecticut without so much as a hair sighting of the Wendigo. Garrett looked down and was a little nervous at what he saw, his own shadow was getting bigger meaning that the sun was beginning to set and they weren't going to have much time left to find the creature.
"Don't worry, if it gets too dark, we're out of here, I can promise you that." Tom assured his cousin.
"Yeah, but you didn't go up against this thing. It slammed both me and Lynne onto the hard ground, we're both lucky we didn't have any worse injuries. I've gotta say, Lynne can certainly fight, you should have seen her using her magic on this thing." Garrett said to Tom praising Lynne's fighting before Tom held up a hand to him and they both listened hearing a snoring that sounded like a cross between a bear and a lion sleeping.
Tom motioned for Garrett to follow him and a little ways away from them, they saw the Wendigo sleeping near the outside of what the two recognized to be the hermit cave and they both thought themselves lucky that there weren't any civilians there that night.
'Yuriko, Garrett and I found it. He's by the hermit cave, come over here and quietly, sunset is coming fast and I don't want this thing waking up before we trap it.' Tom said contacting his sister through their psychic bond.
'We're on our way bro.' Yuriko responded back as Tom and Garrett waited quite a ways from it cautiously.
"Alright how is this going to go down?" Yuriko asked.
"Well, I don't like to say this but....Garrett, I think you should be the distraction. You can lure it out and we'll trap him." Tom explained.
"Tom, what kind of Scooby-Doo bullshit plan is that?" Lynne whispered loudly. "You're not going to have my boyfriend be bait!"
"I'm thinking logically, Garrett has had good combat training from dad, as well as had some training from the Morelands. But when it comes to being proficient in magic..." Tom whispered back.
"Look I get it, you three are much better than me at that stuff, I get it. Tom, I'll go along with this plan, but if this thing slaps me around again, then you better be buying me a round of drinks to make up for this." Garrett agreed as Tom nodded.
Lynne held Garrett's cheek and kissed him gently on the lips. "For luck." Lynne said as Garrett headed towards the front of the cave entrance while the others went around to the back.
Already Garrett felt as if his heart would leap out of his chest. This was insane! Sure, he could handle himself in a fight, his parents allowing him to learn from his Uncle Cole, but this was beyond Marine basic training. Holding his breath, the young man approached the sleeping creature as he withdrew his staff.
"The hell am I doing," he thought as he stared at the sleeping Wendigo. Reaching out with his staff, Garrett began to poke at the sleeping creature. Maybe it was dead? After poking at it for a moment, Garrett gasped as the creatures eyelids flew open, Garrett staring into the milky white eyes if the Wendigo.
"FUCK!"
Scrambling backwards, Garrett listened as the creature roared. Sprinting towards the others, Garrett could hear the creatures heavy footsteps, it's hot breath caressing his neck. Thoughts of this Wendigo's razor sharp fangs only inches from him front and center in his mind.
"Get down!"
Garrett dove for cover, watching Tom, Lynne, and Yuriko jump from the bushes. Immediately Tom cast a spell, chains erupting from the ground and wrapping around the Wendigo's neck. The others watched the creature thrash wildly, looking to escape or tear the group to pieces.
"Yuki, the cave," Tom bellowed.
Yuriko looked between her brother and the opening to the Wendigo's hiding spot. Tom was straining, his brow furrowed as he summoned more chains to restrain the creature. The Wendigo was vicious, thrashing and howling like a wild animal, clawing at the air as it gnashed it's teeth. Already one of the chains had broken. If the remaining chains broke, the Wendigo could retreat further into it's den.
Gritting her teeth, Yuriko now focused on the roof of the cave. Internally she cursed herself for not practicing more diligently. Trying to cause a cave in was difficult, forcing tons of rock to bend to her mental abilities. Already she could feel beads of sweat forming on her brow. The sounds of shifting rock, urging her on as she let out a yell, watching triumphantly as the entrance collapsed blocking the Wendigo's escape.
"Lynne, you're up," Tom ordered.
Lynne nodded, focusing on a spell as she glared at the Wendigo. Although she and Tom were no longer an item, she always admired his leadership. Tom was a natural tactician, understanding everyone's strengths and weaknesses in this situation.
The plan, while haphazard, played to everyone's strength. Garrett was quick and agile, Tom and Yuriko suited best as support roles, and Lynne was the heavy hitter. That was understood in these situations. Lynne, despite her cocky and impetuous nature, was seen as the strongest. The young woman's power rivaled, perhaps eclipsed both of her sisters, which was saying something considering Katie was seen as the Catalyst while Gloria was the manager of the Magic Shop. Eyes glowing a brilliant white, Lynne began to charge a spell, one that would incapacitate the Wendigo. With a yell, Lynne unleashed a blast of pure magic, striking the creature with enough force to knock everyone back.
Tom, Garrett, Yuriko, and Lynne were all breathing heavily after the entire ordeal of restraining the Wendigo down. Garrett was a little more bruised than the rest of them and Lynne stood by him, letting him lean on her as his leg felt a little limp after the fight.
"What was this thing's name again?" Tom asked looking over at Garrett and Lynne.
"I think the woman said his name was Wendell Santiago." Lynne remembered.
"Alright then, Wendell Santiago, can you understand me?" Tom asked as the Wendigo roared at him. Tom now looked at his sister nodding towards the creature.
"What? You think I speak Wendigo all of a sudden?" Yuriko sarcastically asked.
"I meant can you make him sound human instead of animalistic." Tom clarified.
"Oh, yeah, that makes more sense." Yuriko blushed feeling ridiculous.
"Let....Me....Go....Assholes!" The Wendigo yelled in clear English speaking slowly.
"I think you're quite literally the biggest asshole here. You try to kill a woman and her child in an old cemetery? It's not being a Wendigo that makes you sick, it's just you being a piece of trash." Lynne said.
"Am...I....In....The....Wrong?" The Wendigo asked he looked at Garrett and Lynne. "I....Remember....Seeing....You....At....The...Old....Church." The Wendigo said recognizing Garrett and Lynne.
"You....Spoke....With....That....Bitch....Before....She....Died...And...You...Made....Me...Lose....My....Property." The Wendigo explained as Lynne, Garrett, Tom, and Yuriko's eyes went wide as he said that.
"Property? You mean the baby? He's a human being! Not some piece of furniture you paid for!" Garrett said angrily as Lynne nodded in agreement.
"I...Paid....The...Woman....For....Her...Time....Then....She...Comes...Back....To....Me...With....That....Little Monster. She...Was...My...Whore...Just....Like...This...One...Is....To....You." The Wendigo said as both Garrett and Lynne punched the Wendigo in the face and Tom restrained the creature tighter as well.
"I've dealt with plenty of human criminals, but you are the worst kind of criminal: a monster inside and outside.I promise you you'll never see that baby again and I'll make sure you're put in the darkest cell imaginable." Tom said as Yuriko helped put the Wendigo to sleep.
Tom was able to make a call to S.P.E.A.R. to pick up the Wendigo and the four of them headed back to S.P.E.A.R. headquarters where Garrett's parents, Derrick and Morgan Harris along with Lynne's parents, Jason and Lisa Turner were waiting for them with Morgan holding baby Tim.
"Garrett, Lynne, we know you're both grown adults, but....do you two really feel like you're up for raising a baby? I know you two made a promise to his mother, but...." Morgan looked down at the smiling baby as Lisa continued on for her.
"We know you two like to have fun, but he would be a big responsibility for you both. Do either one of you feel like you're really up for the task?" Lisa asked as them as Garrett and Lynne looked at baby Tim and each other and frowned.
"No, no mom, I...I don't think we are." Lynne replied sadly as Garrett held her arm.
"Alright, well, we know a young couple a few house down from us in our neighborhood, the McKennas, they've been trying to have a baby for a while but....have been unsuccessful. I'm sure they would love to have little Tim in their home." Jason suggested as both Garrett and Lynne nodded.
"Do you two want to say goodbye to him before we bring him over to them?" Derrick asked his son and Lynne as Morgan held baby Tim over to the two of them as Lynne and Garrett held him carefully together.
"Tim, we're...we're sorry we couldn't save your mom." Lynne apologized to the baby sadly.
"But....you're going to have a new mom....and a new dad, and they'll both care for you and raise you up to be a good man." Garrett said trying to raise Lynne's spirits a little bit.
"Yeah, they'll raise you right and love you, just like....just like how we love you. You'll make friends, find love....and have a family of your own one day." Lynne said smiling with tears in her eyes.
"We love you Tim, and we'll never forget you." Garrett said as pointed his finger at baby Tim who held his finger for a moment before letting go.
Lynne now handed baby Tim over to her mom as they both looked lovingly at Tim and sadly waving goodbye.
"Do...do you want me to take you home?" Garrett asked Lynne.
"Actually, do you think....do you think we could go out and look at the stars? I feel like looking at the stars." Lynne replied as Garrett nodded.
Garrett and Lynne stopped before Tom and Yuriko as Yuriko held her arm feeling sympathetic towards Lynne having had to say goodbye to Tim.
"Hey, Lynne, sorry you had to go through that. Do you....maybe want to grab lunch another day and...talk?" Yuriko asked.
"Y-Yeah, I...I think I wouldn't mind that. Bye Yuriko, Bye Tom." Lynne said to the two of them as Garrett nodded goodbye to them as Tom nodded back.
Tom now made his way over to Director Myer's door and knocked before opening the door.
"Come in." Hailey Myers could be heard saying from the other side of the office door as Tom opened the door and entered Director Myers's office was decorated with books on different mythologies and cultures from around the world, as well as having memorabilia of her adventures throughout the world.
Tom noticed that Hailey had a few pictures on her desk of her with other people that had been influential in some way of her life. There was an old picture of her with Jacob Moreland when she started out, a picture of herself with Sarah McMillan, and one that interested Tom a little bit was a picture of her with a handsome looking man.
"Who's this guy?" Tom asked showing her the picture frame.
"Oh! That's me and....Lancelot, one of the Tepes's vampires, I've....encountered him a number of times over the years when dealing with supernatural worldly affairs." Hailey said grabbing the picture from him and blushing a little bit. Over the years in her business of dealing with assignments from S.P.E.A.R., she and Lancelot would frequently encounter each other and sometimes team-up if it benefited the two of them.
"Worldly affairs or romantic affairs?" Tom asked with a smirk.
"I'm sorry, did you have something you wanted to ask me? Or did you want to butt in on my personal life?" Hailey asked getting red in the face both from anger and embarrassment.
"Alright, I'm sorry about that." Tom held up his hands apologetically. "I did have a reason I wanted to come talk with you"
"I'm listening," Haley said. "But do you mind if I go first?"
Tom nodded, watching as Haley took a breath, the vampires face stoic. "I know you've said you weren't interested in working for S.P.E.A.R," she said. "But I have to say, you're a natural. Your instincts, your skills. I think you're wasting them working for the P.D. in my opinion, if you joined S.P.E.A.R I think you could go far. Make a solid career for yourself. Hell, maybe run the agency someday."
"That's kind if what I wanted to talk with you about," Tom began. "Helping deal with this Wendigo case, it...it made me realize that there are probably more people out there, even kids who are caught. I didn't expect to enjoy this work, to feel like I'm making a real difference, but...I am. I'm...I'm hoping the offer still stands."
"I wondered when you would ask. Welcome to S.P.E.A.R. Tom Harris." Hailey said shaking Tom's hand as he smiled back knowing he'd made a good decision.