“Ident code?”
“Yeah,” the operator replied. “It’s short for identity code.”
“Clever. Who are you?”
Unlike the last time he’d asked questions, the operator responded as if he actually had some interest in helping, rather than just tolerating him. “We’re the Midwest Ectological Group. We cover reports of paranormal activity throughout the U.S. and Canada. Maybe you heard of us?”
“Nope.”
“We’ve been on television a few times. Well, cable television. Are you one of those…you know?”
Guessing it was easier to lie than try to figure out the proper response, Cole said, “Yeah. I’m one of those,” and hoped for the best.
“Perfect! This is great! I’ve never actually caught one of these calls before. According to this code, this phone belongs to Gerald Keeler? Oh…you said…”
“Yeah. Gerald’s dead.”
The silence on the other end of the connection was almost thick enough to seep through the device in Cole’s hand. The words that broke it were meek and genuinely regretful. “Right. You mentioned that. What about…Brad Books?”
“Brad too,” Cole replied somberly.
“Jeez, I’m really sorry to hear that,” the operator replied.
Despite the awkward situation, Cole was grateful just to hear someone else’s voice. “What’s your name?” he asked.
Judging by the silence on the phone, the operator wasn’t used to hearing that question. “I’m Stu.”
“Hey, Stu. My name’s Cole Warnecki.”
“Oh…uh…you’re not supposed to use last names on these calls.”
“Really? Why?” Cole asked.
“I don’t know. That’s one of the rules you guys use.”
“Fine. Gerald gave me this phone and this number so I could get in touch with a woman named Paige. She’s supposed to be in Chicago.”
There were more clicks and clacks as Stu’s fingers flew over his keyboard. “That would be Paige…well…yeah. I’ve got a Paige listed in Gerald’s file and she’s in Chicago.”
“I need to talk to her. Actually, I need to see her. The only problem is I’m kind of a long ways from an airport or anything.”
“I know. The phone has a GPS in it and I’ve got your rough position on my screen right now.”
“Nice,” Cole said as he closed his eyes and pictured himself as a brightly colored dot on the display screen of the global positioning system that had recently been installed in Jason’s company car. As much as Cole got lost, he still hadn’t gotten high enough on the Digital Dreamers ladder to warrant such a fancy expense. “You guys have any way to get me out of here before I get ripped to pieces?”
“Oh sweet! You mean you’re on site with one of those creatures?”
“Sure. Maybe I can snap a few pictures for you before I get eaten,” Cole growled. “Why don’t you just tell me what the hell I’m supposed to do to get out of here? Gerald was pretty adamant that I don’t wait for the cops.”
“Yeah, that would be way too messy,” Stu chimed in. “There’s someone in the area that should be able to meet you somewhere within a mile or two of your location. Up for a walk?”
Cole didn’t answer right away because he was distracted by the sound of what might or might not have been distant thunder. When the sound died away, he whispered, “I’m up for a run. Just tell me where I need to go.”
“I’ve already sent word to one of Gerald’s contacts in that area. Head due south until you meet up with a paved highway that’s running from northeast to southwest.”
“Hold on a second. I’m a city boy. We don’t come equipped with compasses.”
“You don’t have a compass on you?” Stu asked.
“Just a minute.” Without waiting for confirmation, Cole set the phone down and started rooting through Gerald’s bag. Sure enough, he found a survival knife complete with a compass in the handle. Just what every boy wanted for Christmas. Picking up the phone, he announced, “Found one.”
“Good. Head south until you hit that highway. It shouldn’t be more than two or three miles.”
“Two or three miles?”
“Yeah,” Stu replied. “Maybe four. No more than five, though. I can’t get an exact fix on your position.”
“Never mind. I’m on my way.”
“Do you need them to bring anything?”
“A division of Marines and a tank would be nice,” Cole replied.
Stu chuckled and capped it off with a snort. “I mean like a medical kit or food or anything.”
Checking the phone’s screen, Cole saw that there was still plenty of life in the batteries. Apparently, Gerald was one of those rare, mythical breeds of men who had a thousand dollar phone and didn’t have it surgically connected to his ear long enough to wear the charge down.
“What’s the matter?” Stu asked intently. “You sound hurt.”
“Not hurt,” Cole gasped as he zipped up the bag, then hefted it over his shoulder and started running. “Just moving faster than I have for months. I really need to start going back to the gym again.”
“You’re pretty high up and it must be cold there. Let’s see…yep. I just checked the weather in your area.”
“And?”
“It’s cold,” Stu reported.
Now it was Cole’s turn to laugh. With his legs churning through the snow and his feet already tingling within his boots, he didn’t exactly have breath to spare. It did, however, feel good to take action rather than just try and piece together what was going on. “What about Paige?” Cole asked. “I still need to get ahold of her.”
“I can try to connect you if you don’t mind holding.”
“I’ve got nothing else to do right now. If it sounds like I’m dying, just ignore it.”
As Stu clicked away at his keyboard, he said, “You gotta tell me more about that creature sometime, dude. I’ll bet it was awesome.”
Now that he’d cleared the trees, Cole was dashing through a wide-open field of snow. He could still hear the occasional roar in the distance, but it sounded like it was getting farther away rather than closer. When he thought he heard another animal’s growl mixed in with the first, he put some more steam into his strides and kept running. The compass in the knife handle rattled noisily within its plastic casing, but indicated that he was more or less southward bound.
“Awesome isn’t really…the word…that comes to mind,” Cole wheezed.
Gerald’s bag was strapped across his back, and the knife stuck out from one of his jacket pockets like a mutated pen. Having seen a few models similar to the old man’s satellite phone, Cole quickly found the earpiece in one of the carrying case’s little pockets. Once the piece was plugged into the phone and his ear, Cole gasped, “Hello? Can you hear me?”
“Yeah,” Stu replied instantly. “What’s wrong?”
“Just checking the equipment.”
“You sound a little rough, but I can hear you.”
“That’s not surprising,” Cole said. “If my legs don’t freeze, they may just fall off in protest. Not to mention…the very distinct…possibility of a heart attack.”
“Eh, don’t be so hard on yourself. So is something chasing you? What is it?”
Before Cole was forced to make up a story that didn’t end with him being slapped around and tossed aside, Stu interrupted.
“Just a sec, Cole. I’ve got Paige ready to join in. Here she is.”
The next voice that filled Cole’s ear was sharp and concise. Compared to Stu’s easy rambling, this woman sounded more like something stabbing him through the eardrum.
“Who is this?” she snapped.
“My name’s Cole. I’m a friend of Gerald.”
“Never heard of you. How’d you get this phone number?”
“Gerald gave it to me.” He had to stop so he could catch his breath. Thankfully, the terrain was kind enough to slope downward and give him a few tall trees on either side for cover, so he wasn’t charging like a dark dot in the middle of a white field. The cold air must have been doing him some good, because his breath was coming easier and his limbs weren’t killing him. Either that or his body was just numb enough to keep working through the agony that he’d earned from years of sitting on his ass with a video-game controller in his hand.