Kane Owen (sellingsouls) wrote in shadows_rpg, @ 2020-03-03 12:07:00 |
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Entry tags: | #january 2018, bailey, bailey x kane, kane |
Who: Bailey and Kane
When: late night, Tuesday, Jan 16th
Where: near the cemetery
Warning: some gore
Status: complete
It had been a beautiful day. Still snowing at dawn, but then the sky cleared, leaving the air crisp, sharp as knives. Kane had still been awake, his ass planted on the motel room chair as he sat with the door open, smoking cigarettes in just a thermal shirt, his underwear, and feet stuffed into boots. He liked the cold, especially with a bottle of whiskey in his hand. Having spent a good chunk of the prime of his life stuck in one of the hottest goddamn places on earth, he could appreciate it properly. As he watched the just-born sun start to peek through the clouds, a cigarette smoldering between his thick fingers, Kane decided he would hunt that night. It was time, and he had some ideas. Ideas .. and a craving that he could never shake for long.
Kane slept like a baby for most of the day. When he got up, he showered and brushed his teeth, then started putting on gear. He made a couple of trips out to the SUV, then set out as the sun he’d watched rise began to disappear behind the treetops. It took him hours and hours of watching and waiting, then moving to watch and wait somewhere else. Kane was keenly focused the entire time, drinking nothing but bottled water, all of his senses focused on the outside world and what he suspected it would hold. He had tools, like binoculars and even night vision goggles to pull out, but he also had a few tricks up his sleeve. He’d taken herb mixtures to boost his senses, had protective symbols and talismans on his person. But his skill would be doing most of the work. This was it, this was part of the job and part of what he so thoroughly enjoyed: the hunt.
When he spotted the kids near the fence of the cemetery, Kane’s entire being seemed to shift into something else. It was a predatory feeling, where only the strategic part of his brain engaged and the rest of it shut down. Kane pulled the appropriate tool out of his belt and cut through the darkness like a cat, honing in on his prey. He knew what they truly were -- not true children, monsters. When one finally heard him coming and turned, Kane got a glimpse of the all-black eyes, just before he swung the iron-headed axe in his hand. They were preternaturally fast, but he was faster, and by the time he was done, there was black-red blood everywhere, and three mostly-together bodies scattered around him.
Kane could see their souls slowly rising into the air out of their bodies, more thick and oily than the ones that came out of humans. They would slowly coalesce into the shapes of the boy-things and expect to be shown the door to the other side. Kane had to work fast. He dropped the axe and pulled three glass bottles out of a padded pouch on his belt and stepped over to the first floating black blob of monster soul. Murmuring the Arabic incantation under his breath, Kane held the bottle over the oil cloud and watched it start to slip into the neck of the bottle. The symbols etched into the glass started to glow an icy blue.
One would think in a sleepy, small town like Point Pleasant, there wouldn't be much to do for the police department. She had once lived in a town where the local cops used to drive around at night and check parked cars for expired tags to ticket, that's how boring the place was. Point Pleasant did have its quiet days, but she knew better than to get complacent and take a nap in her patrol car, especially after dark. She was sucking on one of her mints as she drove down the street, gaze scanning the area as she passed. Bailey was already thinking about pulling over to have a quick cigarette when she spotted movement in the distance near the cemetery. Instinctively she pulled over and turned off the car, watching for a moment before she saw something blue shine in the darkness.
Given the location, and the time of night, she knew it wasn't likely to be anything innocent, so she climbed out of the car, ignoring the instinct to radio for backup. Keeping her hand on the butt of her gun, Bailey began to walk quietly toward the sight. She was calm, but knew better than to simply assume it was a bunch of teenagers getting high, or causing mischief. Besides, the closer she got, the more Bailey realized the figure was definitely a man and not some gangly teen.
Not only that, but he wasn't alone. Bailey could see the bodies, the blood. Her throat tightened at the sight and she pulled her gun at the same time she finally recognized the figure holding the blue glass. Goddammit. "Drop whatever you have," she demanded firmly, feeling oddly out of sorts now that she was pointing a gun at her own brother. "What the fuck are you doing?"
Kane was so engrossed in what he was doing, guiding the dirty souls of the not-kids into his jars, that he didn’t notice the headlights arrive near the cemetery fence. Nor did he hear the footsteps or sense the presence of someone else until he heard a voice. Kane flinched and instinctively ducked as he turned, his free hand dropping to where he had a gun of his own holstered, the pulsing blue glass vial clutched tighter in his other. It was worth tens of thousands of dollars, no fucking way was he dropping it. Kane recognized his sister in the dark the millisecond before he drew his weapon, and he froze. “Bailey?” he asked, his tone uncertain at first. “That you? You alone?” He ignored her question for the moment, needing to quickly suss out if he should run or not. Fuck.
Bailey hesitated. If she confirmed that she was alone, what then? Did he run? Did he try to hurt her? That was an odd thought to have, because even if they weren't close, she had never imagined Kane would physically harm her. But maybe he would. They shared blood, but that seemed to be it, especially lately. So sure, maybe he would try to get out of this unscathed, maybe he would use his own weapon. He could try, anyway. She would pull the trigger if she had to. "What are you doing?" she asked again, angrier this time. Stepping toward him, she wanted to get a better look at what was happening, but she couldn't bring herself to look away from his face. Some part of her didn't want to look, because she knew it would be horrible.
Kane happened to know that the Point Pleasant Police Department was spread thin, so it was unlikely that Bailey had a partner with her. That was good, that was good. He could maybe talk his way out of this with his sister, but not likely with anyone else. Kane stood up straight again, slowly moving his hands away from his body and turning his palms toward her. He was still holding the vial, but she could at least see he wasn’t armed with anything else. The last thing he wanted to do was hurt her, whether she would believe that or not. “It’s not what it looks like, Bailey,” Kane said, forcing his voice to stay calm and collected, even if his heart had doubled in speed. “They’re not what they look like.” He gave a tiny nod down toward the slaughter around him. “I’m working.”
He wasn't holding a weapon, although Bailey wasn't entirely sure what he was holding. She didn't lower her gun yet, but finally found the courage to look at the space around him. It was gruesome, but she was used to gruesome. What she wasn't used to was dealing with the knowledge that her brother was responsible for something this heinous. Her stomach seemed to flip and bile rose in her throat, but Bailey swallowed it down quickly, her hand tightening around her gun. "You're working?" Bailey's gaze shifted back to Kane, her tone hard and incredulous. "You know, I would love for you to tell me what this is. Start talking, and talk fast. And don't you dare try to bullshit me."
Kane had known this was a possibility. He and Bailey had been forced back together by their mother’s situation, and he knew that her line of work might make them cross paths in a completely different way. While he supposed he didn’t have to hunt in Point Pleasant ... well, that would be like taking a starving man to a buffet and telling him not to eat. This place was a gold mine, and the bottles in Kane’s pockets and hand would fetch him a high five figures on the black market. He couldn’t let her take them. Wouldn’t. “You know what this place is, Bailey,” he said, his gaze never straying from her and her gun. Even though she’d told him to talk fast, his words were unhurried, just serious. “And you know what’s in it. Unnatural things, bad things, things that hurt people. These weren’t kids, not human, they’re little fucking monsters, and I eliminate them. I take what’s valuable from them and sell it. Everybody wins.” He uncurled a couple of fingers from the glass bottle so she could see the glow, thick darkness behind the icy blue symbols.
Yes, Bailey knew what this town was, and what it harbored. She had known since she was a kid. But that wasn't what was tripping her up. It was everything else. The blood, and the glass bottle in his hand, burning a bright blue and the bodies on the ground that looked like children, despite what he was telling her. The rest made no sense. What on earth could possibly be valuable enough in this town to sell? Could someone bottle up evil and make a profit off of it? Bailey said nothing for a moment, her gaze locked on his before she began to walk over to the bodies on the ground. They looked like children to her, not monsters. What if Kane had gone crazy? What if he had somehow managed to justify slaughtering these kids to make it less heinous in his own head? There was blood everywhere. "What the fuck did you do," Bailey whispered. "Jesus Christ, Kane." She finally lowered her gun and crouched down beside one of the bodies, trying to get a better look, needing to see the monster Kane claimed they were. "What do you mean you take what's valuable? Are you some kind of... fucking hunter?"
Kane dropped his hands as soon as Bailey wasn’t aiming her weapon at him anymore. His deepest instinct was to take it from her, whip her upside the head with the butt of it, and then make a run for it. But he could recognize what was his training and what were real desires, and he didn’t want to do that to his sister. “That’s one way to put it,” he muttered as he stepped in closer and crouched as well. Kane pulled a small flashlight out of one of his pockets and clicked it on. The gore was much more garish and shocking in the concentrated bright light, but if he needed to prove himself to her, she would have to deal with it. Kane reached for the head of the body they were crouched over and lifted the face up out of the dirt. The eyes were halfway open but showing nothing but black. No irises, no sclera, just darkness. A few pointed teeth were visible through the slack lips. The skin was weirdly shiny and pale without a single blemish or freckle. Kane shone the light pointedly at those things and looked at Bailey. “Check them, they’re all the same,” he said. “They’re psychic little monsters, they’ll talk you into going somewhere with them and light into you like a buncha piranhas. Look at this --” He dropped the head back into the mud and reached for the “kid”’s hand. “No fingernails, no fingerprints, all smooth. I’m tellin’ you, they just pretend to be kids.”
She was still unnerved, and not overly certain of her brother at the moment, but Bailey slid her gun back into the holster. Stupid, maybe, but she didn't think he would hurt her. Not yet, anyway. The moment the light shone on the bodies, Bailey grimaced, but she didn't back away, or call him crazy. She had seen something horrible and unnatural as a girl, and this could be horrible and unnatural too. Bailey said nothing as Kane showed her the eyes, the teeth and fingers. Her chest felt ice-cold and tight and she did her best to keep her breathing steady. She was in desperate need of a drink. Children with black eyes and sharp teeth. Hadn't she heard that story long ago? Somewhere in the midst of local legends and urban myths. Bailey swallowed hard and stood, trying to wrap her mind around what was in front of her. Then her eyes were drawn back to the bottle and she exhaled sharply. "What is that? You said you take what's valuable from these things and sell it? What are you selling?"
Kane didn’t stand when Bailey did, not yet. Not that he loved wallowing in the mess he created, he just wanted her to feel the least threatened as possible. He didn’t mean her any harm, she wasn’t a monster. Maybe someday he would be there to escort her across the veil, maybe not, but he would never be the cause of her crossing. Kane wet his lips and glanced down at the bottle he was still holding onto, trying to get some words sorted for his sister. Showing her the monstrosities on the ground was much easier than trying to explain what he was, what he could do. Bailey was a cop though, and they were good at questions, so maybe he just needed to provide her simple answers. “I’m selling their souls,” he said after a pause, looking up at her shadowy form. “Which are real, just ... FYI.” Kane gave a huff that wasn’t exactly amused. “They get used in ... dark magic and shit, I dunno, I don’t ask questions. You live longer that way.”
It took a few moments for Bailey to form any semblance of coherent thought. She stared at her brother for a moment before rubbing her hands over her face. Turning away from him, she reached into her coat to find her cigarettes in the inside pocket. She got one lit within seconds and Bailey took a long drag before turning back to Kane. "You kill those things, and sell their souls. For profit." Bailey exhaled the smoke into the cold air. "How do you do that? How do you... do that." She motioned at the glass bottle in his hand. "It's not as if souls suddenly become visible when somebody dies, Kane." She wasn't entirely sure she even believed in souls as a real thing. People were people. They didn't have some different entity living inside of them, guiding their choices and feelings. At least she didn't think that was the case.
Kane did stand up when Bailey turned away and reached into her coat. His heart rate spiked briefly again, but then he saw she was only lighting a cigarette. He clicked off the small flashlight and slid it back into his pocket. Her questions were reasonable ones, but they weren’t very easy to answer under the best of circumstances, and these definitely weren’t the best. Kane sighed and rubbed at his forehead with one arm. “They do to me,” he told her. “But look, Bailey, this ain’t ... it would take me way too long to explain it all to you, okay? I still got a lot to do here before sunrise.” He almost gestured down at the bodies around him, but Kane just clenched his fists instead. “Later though, I’ll explain, I promise. Just ... please trust that I’m not fuckin’ crazy for the night and let me do what I do.”
Bailey stared at him, her cigarette at her lips before she lowered it abruptly. "Are you kidding me right now? You want me to just go on my way and let you do what you do, when I don't even know what that is?" He dropped this on her and now he didn't have the time to explain it? There were bloodied bodies on the ground. "If I was doing my job properly I would be arresting you right now," Bailey pointed out coldly. "How do I know you're not going to ditch town as soon as you're finished with... this." She gestured to the bodies. "This is insane, Kane."
Sure, hunting in a town where his sister was part of law enforcement had been risky, but it wasn’t like Kane had done it in her damn backyard. She had rolled up on him while he was working, how was that his fault? “Yeah, it is,” he said, his tone tighter now. “And it’s gonna stay insane to you until we can sit down for a fuckin’ Metaphysics 101 class, which ain’t easy to do right here and now, for obvious reasons.” Kane was not used to having to explain himself to anyone at all, much less someone whose opinion he gave any sort of shit about. But here he was, starting to regret that he’d ever come back home. She was getting pissed though, so he lifted his hands again. “It’s complicated, Bailey. But I’m not ... entirely human. Or I’m, I dunno, human with extra juice? A duty? I dunno what to call it. But they call us reapers. I escort the newly dead through the veil -- I don’t kill people, just monsters. And them, I store and sell. That’s as short as I can say it.”
Bailey almost regretted that she had asked. Hearing her own brother claim not to be fully human... Bailey was torn between rolling her eyes and hitting him square in the face. There was a part of her that felt like he was fucking with her, trying to cover up his psychopathic tendencies. Sure, there was the evidence of Other down there on the ground, but what was she supposed to say to him now? "Reapers," Bailey repeated. She tried to reason it out in her head. Escorting the newly dead. Killing monsters. But what did he consider to be monsters? Just creatures like the black eyed kids on the ground? She had more questions, but she knew Kane was impatient now, and frankly, she was having a lot of difficulty believing any of this, despite what she had seen with her own two eyes, not only tonight, but when she had been younger. Bailey tossed her cigarette to the side, desperately trying to cling to any semblance of logic in this entire conversation. She didn't understand any of it. She didn't know if she wanted to. Bailey brought her hand up to press the back of it to her eye before she shook her head. "Get this shit cleaned up. And you know that if someone else catches you doing this, I won't be able to help you."
Kane didn’t really expect her to believe him, he just hoped she would swallow enough of it to believe he wasn’t a serial killer and wouldn’t arrest or shoot him. He didn’t want to have to hurt his own sister, but he couldn’t be taken captive either. Kane thought he could handle a bunch of hick cops, but he knew too many powerful people who would consider him a liability if he ended up in any criminal databases, and he would be proper fucked if that happened. And so would Bailey, because it wouldn’t take much for the wrong people to link them together. “I don’t need your help,” he told her shortly. “And cleaning up was what I was about to do, so unless you wanna grab a shovel and pitch in, just get the fuck out of here, all right? Death attracts a lot of shit out here that you don’t wanna tangle with.” Kane could take care of himself, but he wasn’t sure he could take care of both of them if the wrong entity took interest, especially tonight. His enhancements were wearing off, and he still had a lot of digging to do.
Of course he didn’t need her help. He never had. Sometimes Bailey forgot that the only thing that bound them to each other was blood. Honestly, she was fairly sure that once their mother was gone, she’d likely never see her brother again. Bailey paused briefly at the tone of his voice, a sharp retort burning on her tongue. Did he think she didn’t know what she was dealing with, living in this town? “You forget I grew up here too,” she said as she headed for her abandoned patrol car. “I know what the fuck is out there.” Christ, he could be infuriating sometimes. But she knew she had to leave. Staying any longer meant getting angry enough to do something stupid. And if anyone was calling for her on the radio, they’d send someone out to find her if she didn’t answer. Leave it to Kane to come back here and make everything feel infinitely more complicated.
Kane watched her go, his jaw tight and lips set in a firm line. She could say that, and he knew she believed it, but if his hunting monsters was such a shock to her, it made him doubt just how much Bailey did know. It made him want to stop her, start loading her pockets and her patrol car down with protective talismans, try to make her as invisible to the local threats as possible. Kane didn’t like that she was a cop here, and he had a very uncharitable thought that their mother needed to hurry up and die so they could both leave Point Pleasant. Maybe not for good, because this town’s reach was long, but for now. Soon, Kane told himself, soon he would pass along as much protection as he could to his baby sister. For now, he had bodies to bury and a sale to set up.