The next day was rough. I had a hard time sleeping that night. Every time I'd close my eyes and drift off, I would jump awake within twenty minutes. In my dreams, the Aevis grew long sharp teeth and, similarly, long sharp claws, reaching out to me. The split second before I woke up, was when it's teeth were about to connect to my face.
The drive to the cabin was arduous. Long country roads curved in and out of the trees, we passed fields and farmland. The entire time Hades kept looking over at me between long stretches of staring at the road. God, how I wished the radio worked in this beat up blue truck. I once tried to request a newer, flashier model, but Hades refused. "I love that truck," he protested. So here we are.
"Why do you keep looking at me?" I finally snapped.
"You look tired," Hades said after a pause.
I knew he was probing for more, but didn't know how to ask. He's been my faithful partner for years, but personal stuff? Not his forte.
How was I supposed to tell him about an Aevis in the diner? Dressed in relatively normal clothes? Ordering a fuckin cheeseburger? And if I did, how would I explain to him that that was the reason I couldn't sleep?
More uncomfortable silence followed.
Finally, we reached the address to the cabin, except there was no cabin.
Before us lay an empty field, surrounded by trees with one road leading in and out.
"What a bust," I said.
Hades pointed up at something in a tree. I followed his finger, and strapped to the trunk was a camera. It was a trail camera, one that someone would have to come out and check every so often, not one that was connected to anything.
That camera said there was something here. Not sure what, but something requiring further investigation.