Something's There - Utah (Open)

[evelynarcher]

Evey awoke in the night from the middle of the dream, her body laying still as stone except for her breathing. It was dark, here at this small hotel in Utah, along her way to Washington state where she had been requested to help with some restless, native spirits. The hunters wouldn't be there for a few more days, but that was fine. It would give her enough time to figure out where the source was and perhaps pinpoint the burial ground, of course while being extremely careful about it all. She wasn't as young as she used to be.

Then again, none of the upcoming ventures explained why she was awake in the middle of the night in Utah. There wasn't a sound, or at least, no sound that others could hear. Slowly sitting up, she listened in her own way, her hair mussed from the low threadcount of the pillow. Sitting still and silent, she focused herself to try to catch the sound again. It was distinct, but not exactly what she could call familiar. Most of what she heared on a regular basis was the murmuring of spirits beyond the corporeal world. This was clearly within this world, but supernatural in some way. However, the harder she tried to listen to the sound, to pinpoint it, the softer it became until it faded altogether.

Frustrated by this, Evey looked over at the digital alarm clock on the bedside table. It was 3:20am. Rubbing her eyes, she released a small yawn and lay back down. It seemed as though this was something that could wait, since it faded again. After all, there were more haunted and supernatural things in this world than the so-called "normal" things, and she knew that the vast majority of them were not hostile in any way. Then again, that one did not feel so much like a spirit. Either way, she needed to try to catch a bit more sleep, since she would be driving out at around 7am. So, she nestled back down onto the pillow and slowly let her eyes close again.

Minutes passed, and she felt herself drifting off again. The usual whispers passed through, curious spirits drifting around the hotel rooms and even one on the highway down below, from a car crash many years ago. Sad, but not hostile. That was good. They were all curious, though. Apparently, she was the first psychic to pass through in quite some time, a very first for many of the younger spirits. They tried to ask her questions and she did what she could before sleep took her again. This was quite normal for her. Then, they all went quiet again. Suddenly quiet. Deathly quiet.

The same, inaudible sound she had heard and felt before returned, this time louder...closer. Waking again, this time she turned on the light. Whatever it was, it was not in the room. She had a difficult time telling whether or not it was in the building, but she assumed that it was, or at least, it was very nearby. Still being less than fully awake and very tired from the long drive that day, she lowered her legs over the side of the bed and moved over to the chair where she had laid her clothes. Sliding on her trousers and slipping on her shirt and jacket, she fingered the hex bag in her pocket. If it was something dark, it would not be able to detect her with this near her. She felt the pentagram ring on her right middle finger as she gripped the bag lightly for a moment. After seeing too many dark things happen to her hunter friends and even the unknowing civilians, she knew it was best to be protected.

Sliding the room key down into her other jacket pocket, she fished around in her duffle bag for the Randall knife given to her by a hunter, back when she first started doing things on her own. He said that even though she was not out hunting the supernatural, it didn't mean she should go unprotected. The blade was a salt, iron, and silver inlay, so while it wouldn't kill anything, it would definitely put some hurt on it and make it think twice. That was all it would need to give her a chance to get away. Once she found it in its sheath, she slid it down in her inside pocket, along with a small flashlight. After all, as optimistic as she was, she doubted whatever it was would be waiting in the light of the lobby.

Quietly, she exited her room, gently closing the door behind her. The lights seemed normal, no flickering at the moment, which was generally a good sign. Looking each way, she closed her eyes, trying to pin down the sound again. It was gone, but to her left was a rather cool, prickly sensation. She rubbed her fingers against her palm to see if it was physical, but it wasn't. Something was definitely here.

"But, what are you you?" she murmured, opening her eyes again and turning her head to the left. Slowly, she went along the hallway, keeping all of her senses open for the time being.