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Officially, Elliot was not under arrest. Officially, she was a witness, and the police wanted a statement. Officially, they could keep her there for days and no one would miss her.
Elliot waited in the cramped interrogation room. She knew how this would work, and she opted to nap instead of sweating out when the detectives would show up. The door opened with the smell of stale cigarettes and staler coffee. She didn’t bat an eye, but her ears perked as the chair across from her was pulled out. Elliot lifted her head, meeting the gaze of the cat in front of her.
The cat was orange, with a inverted white V of fur running from the top of her head to down below her neck. She wore a dark blue suit and looked well composed for stupid o’clock in the morning.
“You’re not my lawyer,” Elliot said.
“I am not,” the cat said. She opened a manilla folder and began to examine the papers inside. “Technically, under the Hunter Act of 1799 I don’t have to get you a lawyer. But you’re not a suspect, we just want a statement from you, and then you’ll be free to go.”
“So,” Elliot started, “I’m not an idiot, I know how this works. Get me a lawyer.”
The cat tilted her head at Elliot. “I forgot to introduce myself.” She retrieved a badge from her pocket. “Special Agent Gabrielle Lebeaux, Homeland Security.”
“What part?” Elliot would have crossed her arms over her chest if not for the handcuffs. Special Agent Lebeaux raised an eyebrow at the cuffs. She dug in her pocket and produced a key, and unlocked them. Elliot rubbed her wrists.
“Department of Extranormal Circumstances.”
“So what, like shitty X-Files?” Elliot said.
“That’s right, the really crappy ones,” the agent conceded.
Elliot stood. Agent Lebeaux watched her carefully.
“I’m not under arrest,” Elliot said. “I’ve been up since five o’clock yesterday. I want to go home.”
“I just need to know what you saw,” the agent said. “I promise you’re not in trouble.”
Elliot took a step back from the table, still rubbing her wrists. She considered this.
“Let me show you what we have,” the agent said. She pulled a photo from her briefcase. It was a blurry picture of Elliot and the woman, and the thing, but that was barely in focus. Elliot tried to concentrate on the thing, but her head started to hurt.
“Look,” Elliot said, “I can’t explain to you what this is.”
“That is you, is it not?” The agent asked.
Elliot stared.
“With evidence like this, we could charge you for releasing a banshee into a population center.”
Elliot’s ears twitched. “What do you do at the Department of Extranormal Circumstances…?”
“Crappy X-Files,” the agent said.
“She called it a banshee too. I thought those were fake. Like stories.”
“What else did she tell you?”
“Just that. And that someone from Scotland brought them over?” Elliot thought a moment. “I don’t even know her name. I don’t… This isn’t about the monster, is it?”
The agent raised an eyebrow.
“Okay, so clearly you know more about this than I do. I don’t even remember how this happened. One minute I’m in Pioneer Square, and the next I’m running from an actual banshee, which I’m told in actuality ARE SHY.”
“Not really the nesting season for them either,” Agent Lebeaux said.
Elliot threw her hands up in the air.
“Nevermind the monster,” the agent said.
“So then who is she?”
“Wrong question.”
Elliot folded her arms over her chest.
“My question for you is, what is her interest in you?”
“I don’t know,” Elliot said. She turned away from the agent.
“You attracted a banshee. Did she tell you why?”
Elliot didn’t answer.
“But you know why.”
“No, I don’t.” Elliot turned back to her. “And I am invoking my constitutional right to a lawyer.” She sat down on the chair, her arms still crossed, and started hard at the agent.
“No need for that,” the agent said. “You’re free to go.” The agent stood up. “I appreciate your time today, Elliot. I’ll escort you out of the station.” She gently but firmly guided Elliot through the police station, and a moment later they were standing on Pine. The agent handed her a card. “If you see anything else weird, call me.”
Elliot gave a half-hearted nod and set off into the city.
The morning sun cast pink light onto the clouds over the trees. Cal Anderson Park was still, and she could meander across Pine, hurrying only at the slightest threat of a number 10 bus, gliding down the street, its trolley poles sparking every so often. The Link would open soon, and she thought of nothing but crawling into bed, pulling the blanket over her head, and sleeping for like eight days.
Her phone vibrated. Elliot checked her messages. The sole message was from Zerina. She opened it.
“How was your night :3”
Elliot wanted to chuck her phone across the park.
“How did you even find a banshee nest?”
Elliot stopped. She nearly dropped her phone. A thousand questions barreled through her mind, a thousand doors opened. A thousand obvious answers reappeared, and waved at her.
Shaking, Elliot responded, “afdagrrega.”
Zerina’s reply: “>:3”
“How long? HOW LNOG?”
“>:3c”
Elliot collapsed onto a bench. “When I see you again I’m going to punch you in the throat.”
“Honk honk”
A car pulled up to the curb in front of her. It was an old BMW from the 70s, the realization of trapezoidal design, and a maroon Elliot was sure made sense at the time. The window rolled down and its passenger hung out of the side. Elliot didn’t look up. She didn’t want or need to.
“Get in, loser, we’re going to Beth’s!”
Elliot moaned, and looked up, right at Zerina’s smile.
“You promised me a punch,” Zerina said.
“I did.” Elliot held up her fist. “Get ready, here it comes.”
Zerina opened her door and got out, letting down the seat so Elliot could climb into the back. Elliot felt her shoulders go slack, and dutifully climbed in the back of the car.
She didn’t know what else to do.
Also, there were bacon waffles to be had. So there was that.
Beth’s was always open, and surprisingly crowded for this early in the morning. Zerina asked for crayons and paper right away, and began doodling as soon as they arrived. Ty had driven them there, and she sat next to Zerina in their booth. Ty was wolf, but her large ears and big fluffy tail betrayed some fox in her too. She was tall, her headfur cut close to her head, and she sipped her coffee confidently. She gave Elliot a friendly smile and said, “Sorry about the job.”
Elliot shrugged. “It happens. I’m sure I’ll find something at Lemuria or something.”
“I’ve heard they suck to work for,” Ty said. “Like, they’re a very ‘oh, you don’t want to work 70 hours a week’ sort of place.”
“What else am I going to do with my life?” Elliot asked.
“Literally anything else,” Zerina said, sketching out a sun on her paper. “None of us were born to work, pay bills, and die.”
“Hmm,” Elliot said. “You’re right, that could cut into my YouTube time.” She sat back as her bacon waffles arrived, watching hungrily. She wasted no time tearing into them.
“We’ll find you something,” Ty said. “Are you good at cars? Vic is always looking for Out of Towners.” Her ears twitched, and she looked around. Elliot’s ears perked. Ty leaned a little closer, and quietly said, “you are from Out of Town, right?”
Zerina elbowed her.
“I mean, this is Seattle,” Elliot said. “Everyone is from out of town.”
“True,” Ty said slowly. “I’m from Gateway City myself.”
“Delta City, Illinwah,” Zerina said. “Well, the crappy suburbs thereof.”
Elliot nodded. “Spokane.”
The conversation died when the rest of the food came. For a moment, Elliot just stared at Zerina. She was too tired to process what should have been obvious. Zerina ignored her, obviously so, and Elliot could feel herself fuming.
She thought about what that woman had said. She already had a guide. They wanted her to join them. And she put together things about Zerina, that she could see her when no one else could, that she knew about the banshee, and that she found her this morning.
Was Ty one of them too? She seemed nice enough, but everything felt so weird right now. If Ty suddenly pulled her face off and revealed herself to be a bird person, Elliot wouldn’t have been surprised.
She knew the answers to her questions and she hated them. So she concentrated on the bacon waffles instead.
Zerina and Ty gossiped about other people, other Out of Towners, Elliot assumed, whatever that meant. Ty talked about Vic’s Garage, where she worked, and it sounded legitimately cool. It was all women and/or LGBTQ people, and if Elliot had a car, she would have taken it there. Elliot didn’t have much to contribute to the conversation, but she was happy to listen, and Zerina and Ty seemed happy to have her.
Zerina finished her picture, a smiling sun sinking below the horizon, behind a cloudy sky. It said, “See you in eight months!” And Elliot remembered Autumn was almost there, and thus Seattle’s wet season. She didn’t mind it so much, actually. It was solid hoodie weather, and compared to where she grew up, she didn’t worry about freezing most of the time, or having to shovel snow off of anything. They stuck around Beth’s a little longer, and drove her back when Ty started to get antsy about getting to work.
They dropped her off at the University station, and Elliot settled into a Link seat, right before the rush hour crowd piled in. She closed her eyes and decided she could nap on the way back home.
As she dozed off, she felt something prickle on the back of her neck. Her fur stood on end, and her eyes shot open. She had felt it before, when that woman had arrived. She scanned her eyes over the passengers on the train, looking at all the women she could see. None of them noticed her, none of them stood out.
Elliot closed her hands into fists. She was sure she was being watched. She just didn’t know who was watching. And by the time they reached Capitol Hill the train was full. She watched the crowd shuffle on, and scanned who stayed behind. This time around she caught someone staring, a nerd in a green jacket. He looked like a dog, chubby with grey fur and darker grey headfur. He wore a pair of glasses on his muzzle, and a bandana around his neck, and he was watching her very carefully.
Elliot’s ears perked. Had he gotten on at the University station? Was he staring because she was having a minor freakout? It was about to be a major freakout if he was. She started planning her escape. She went unseen, and watched the nerd carefully.
The train pulled into Westlake, and the crowd piled out. Elliot watched the nerd go, relieved. She slid back in her seat, her eyes closed, and let out a long sigh. But when she opened them, he stood on the platform, watching from a distance, staring right at her. She was supposed to be unseen, but he had locked on to her.
And then the train was out of the station.
Elliot wanted to throw up. She lay back in her seat, looking up at the ceiling and willing her stomach into submission. She closed her eyes, and waited for her stop.
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