Ketch Me if You Can

Chapter 11

I'd cleaned myself up by the time Elly had come back to the room. The cold water had helped me sober up a little too and I was able to sit at my laptop and pay attention to the research. Although now I was more wanting to just get some sleep rather than stare at the screen. A light depression had set over me now and I could feel it tugging at my bones.

"I got some more towels," Elly said as she entered the room. "Do we still need to.."

"I took care of it," I replied softly.

"Oh," She said, a small smile on her face. "I'll put these away then. Did you find anything new?"

"Not really," I said as she walked to the bathroom, fresh white towels in her hands. "There was a young girl in her twenties or thirties who worked as a prostitute. She was murdered while on the job one night on the third floor. No one ever saw her attacker and they never convicted anyone. So now her spirit sits on the third floor and kills these men after they pay for a night with her. It's pretty cut and dry."

Elly wandered back into the room and sat on the edge of her bed, "Why is she called the blue handkerchief ghost then?"

"She was found with one over her face," I answered, getting up from my chair and going to sit beside her. "This case sounds pretty textbook. We'll look for her grave in the morning, salt and burn tomorrow evening. No fuss." I laid back, "We probably don't even need to go to the hotel. But we should stick around for at least another day to make sure we did the job."

"That's boring," Elly pouted.

"Not every hunt is exciting, Elly." I smiled, "Some are simple. We couldn't be luckier for your first hunt."

"I know," She sighed, "I was just hoping to learn something."

"You will be learning." I said, "We'll still take care of the problem. You'll still see how to.."

"I need to learn, Alex." She fell back beside me and stared at the ceiling.

I looked over at her, but she kept her gaze focused upward. "Why do you 'need' to?" I looked back towards the ceiling, "I would much prefer you didn't. You'd be safer that way."

"The more I know the safer I will be." She stated.

"Elly..."

She laughed nervously, "I'm not going to just go out and look for hunts. But I can't shoot a gun, I can't use a knife without hurting myself and I barely know how to tie knots. I need to know some of those things. My life here depends on it. What if I end up on my own?"

She was right. Of course, she was. I wasn't ready to openly admit it but she was right. And I was the reason she needed to know those things. Her life being stuck to mine was the reason why she was a target in the first place. And for the rest of her life, we had to deal with that. I still wanted to do everything I could to keep her safe, but I needed to teach her those things too. But I also knew as soon as I did, she would end up dead. They all ended up dead after they learned how to hunt. It was just written that way. A double-edged blade. I knew she wouldn't be safer just by ignoring her and keeping her in the bunker. As much as ignorance was bliss, it was also the way people most often found themselves the subject of a monster killing. Her connection to me meant she needed to learn. So she would. That was the only answer.

"Alex?" Elly asked, her voice breaking through my thoughts. "Please teach me something. I want to be able to protect myself."

I sighed and opened my mouth the respond, but she continued before I could.

"I don't know how long I'll be here. This world is so different from mine. Everything looks the same, but the average Joe next door could be a killing monster in disguise. I feel like a sitting duck. I'd never be able to leave the bunker."