Misery County

Chapter 4 - Part 2

Day had turned to night, and Cassie and Eric were still sitting at their comfy corner table at the bar, many drinks down and at least a couple of bowls of cheesy fries to boot. The afternoon and evening had been spent reminiscing over old times together, from when a ten-year-old Eric held a baby Cassie, to when he had gone to see her in her first year in college as moral support, in place of her father who had just passed away.

"And what is it you're doing here then?" Eric asked, slurring his words courtesy of the many beers he'd consumed.

Cassie wasn't sure how to answer. "I might ask you the same thing, partner." She hoped her deflection would work.

"Don't dick around, Cassie. This is serious."

It did not.

"You're going after monsters again, aren't you?" Eric was now deadly serious.

"It's not like that," she responded weakly, gaze firmly on the ground.

"Isn't it? Pray tell, how did you present yourself to the Sheriff's Department when you signed in?"

Cassie looked up at him with guilty eyes.

"Signed in with your real full name, might I add," Eric scolded.

"I can do it just as well as you can!" she responded indignantly.

"No, you can't. Last we went to the range together, you could barely even hit the targets, let alone nail the bullseye. You're inexperienced."

"Not as much as you think, Eric. I've been keeping real busy lately."

"Oh, have you? So what happened to college then? Is this just an extra-curricular activity of yours?"

"That place just wasn't me. It was like a prison, listening to some idiots ramble on about topics that they don't know shit about. God only knows how they became professors."

"So what? You're there to get a degree and then use it to get a good job. Who cares whether you like it or not?"

"I do. More than that, I wanted to do something useful for this world instead of writing pointless papers. I save lives, Eric! I'm not a helpless little girl anymore. Haven't I held my own when we've worked together?"

"You mean all those times that I've had to clean up after you?"

"That's not fair. Just because I've needed a second pair of hands, doesn't mean that you've had to 'clean up after me,' as you so encouragingly put it."

"Cassie, look," Eric sighed, resting his forehead between his thumb and forefinger, "what I do -"

"What we do," Cassie interrupted.

"What I do," Eric continued, "is nothing to take lightly. You don't just walk into it. I lean on my past expertise very heavily, and even then, I don't know if I'll make it out alive every time."

"You've made it out alive so far. For that matter, so have I."

"Listen, Cassie, do you remember the revenant we took down in Nevada?"

"How could I forget? I put a bullet right between his eyes - put him down for good."

"Is that how you remember it? Do you remember the part where he snuck up on you while I was getting my rifle ready? Do you remember the part where I had to abandon my post and wrestle him off you before he could snap your neck? Do you remember the part where I couldn't get my pistol because you..." Eric dragged out the last word with a venomous drunken slur. "...because you knocked it out of my holster while I was getting you free?"

"Maybe you should get a better holster. Start with one that isn't just a glorified giant leather condom. And besides, it worked out all right. I grabbed your gun and put the revenant down."

"After almost hitting me! After almost emptying the entire magazine! The gods themselves must have been watching over us that night, enabling you to hit it in the head with the last bullet. Fuck knows where we'd be at if you'd missed that one too."

"What does it matter? We won in the end." Cassie was feigning righteousness, but she knew Eric was in the right, and her refusal to make eye contact with him was a tacit admission.

"This is not a game, Cassie. You can't just throw yourself into it, hope for the best, then cheer in victory when you luck out."

"Fine, maybe that one went a little... sideways. But I've been doing well on my own lately. I cleansed a haunted house in Massachusetts just last month."

"Did you?" Eric raised an eyebrow.

"Yes, as a matter of fact I did." Cassie was puffing out her chest in pride.

"Uh huh. And you did so on your own?"

"Well... I - I needed a priest," Cassie stuttered.

"And who did the cleansing? You or the priest?"

"I mean, I'd never actually cleansed a haunted house, so I suppose that -"

"So you suppose that the priest did the cleansing and you did jack shit," Eric interrupted.

Cassie's face was glowing a bright red. "I found out about the haunted house. I found out what the spirit was. I brought the priest there. I -"

"I'm gonna stop you right there. You think that taking credit for -"

"No," Cassie came in. "I'm gonna stop you right there. You think you can boss me around because you're older than me or because you've been doing this longer than me or because you have some sort of big brother complex, but you're not my guardian. I'm here, Eric. You can't get rid of me. I'll be working this case just like you will, and we'll see who comes out ahead."

"Who comes out ahead? Is this a competition now?" Eric groaned, though Cassie couldn't tell if it was a result of the conversation or acute alcohol poisoning. "I've got a better idea," he said after a couple of seconds of introspection. "Hopefully this isn't just the alcohol talking, but why don't I take you under my wing?"