Balam, Spring (1 Ustlian) by Travis M. Riddle

Author:Travis M. Riddle [Travis M. Riddle]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2018-02-13T05:00:00+00:00

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Ryckert had spent the remainder of the previous day resting at home after he left Aava’s clinic. His body was stiff and sore after his night with Michio (which was not the type of soreness he typically enjoyed after spending a night with a handsome man), and all he had wanted to do was lay in bed.

But Bernard Tilling had come by only an hour into Ryckert’s nap, knocking politely but with a sense of urgency. “Ryckert, you in there?” he’d called, every other word punctuated by his fist pounding the door.

Reluctantly, Ryckert had answered, and Bernard had explained to him that they had the corpse of a strange creature stored in his freezer that no one could identify, and if you’re not busy, could you come by and take a look?

Ryckert was exhausted and therefore cranky, but Bernard was one of his few acquaintances in town, so he agreed to come by the following day. Bernard had looked unhappy about having to wait, but thanked Ryckert all the same and went on his way.

So now Ryckert, feeling only mildly refreshed after a full night’s sleep, was headed toward the upper level of Balam to visit Bernard’s shed and try to parse out the origins of whatever monster they had stumbled upon.

When he arrived at the Tilling household, Bernard was outside, hard at work chopping wood for his fireplace. “Hullo!” Bernard waved, wiping sweat off his brow. “Give me a second.”

The sound of the wood splitting was strangely calming to Ryckert. It reminded him of his nights spent on the road, traveling for jobs. He had always had a taste for camping.

It didn’t take long for Bernard to finish up. “That should do it,” he said, tossing his axe into the grass. “How’re you doin’ this fine day?”

“Just fine,” Ryckert replied. “Yourself?”

“Just fine,” said Bernard. “Didn’t expect you so early. Not even noon yet.”

“Apologies,” Ryckert said, taking a step back. “Can come back later. Schedule’s open all day, it’s not a problem.”

“No, no! Didn’t mean it like that,” Bernard assured him, chuckling a bit to himself. “Was just surprised, is all. You seemed pretty out of it yesterday, so I thought you might be off to a late start today.”

“Not really one for late starts these days.”

“Me neither,” Bernard said as he pulled off his protective gloves. “Never have been. Used to piss off my ma and pop, to be honest. I don’t think they got any sleep until I moved outta the house.” He laughed at this, and Ryckert joined him. “Anyways,” he went on, “let’s get to it, I guess. The ugly bastard’s back in the shed. Don’t know if it oozed everywhere already. Hoping not, so I don’t have to replace a bunch of equipment. That stuff costs more’n an arm and a leg.”

As they approached the shed, Ryckert asked, “Where did it come from? Was somebody attacked?”

Bernard stopped and faced Ryckert, giving the rocyan a quizzical look. “You didn’t hear?”

“Hear what?”

Bernard’s brow furrowed in confusion. “Guess you weren’t at the meeting yesterday.

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