Three Lefts

[Teagan]

Lawsuits, Keith Hudson could handle.

State rangers, Keith Hudson had handled.

But the punk a third his age who flipped the mood of a conversation as easily as giving the bird to a rabid driver, Keith Hudson could not handle. Peacefully, that is. When Aiden rose out of his chair, he followed suit and responded in a harsh tone that would remind the time bomb exactly who was in charge here.

"Listen, young man. My entire staff is highly trained and I have full trust in every single one of them! The issue was not with them seeing as they are only assigned to watch their cabins, and since the children aren't required to keep tabs on their counselors in the middle of the night, the issue must be with Teagan. You shall not put down any of them, nor do you have the right to question camp regulation. Cameras are prohibited from the area due to the negative effect they have on the campers. Many of them come from broken backgrounds and hard lives, and a lack of cameras allow them to freely enjoy the camp without worrying. As for the matter of the search for your cousin, it is completely within the jurisdiction of the local authorities, of which your rangers are included. "

Keith placed the pad of paper back on his desk and took a deep breathe, trying to calm his anger.

"I know it's rough. And I'm truly sorry about Teagan's disappearance. I wish there was more I could do to help. But more lives are at stake here. I don't think you realize the gravity of the situation. I have seven campers who won't wake up, no medical explanation necessary. Weigh the importance of seven innocent lives versus one. Go next to them, try to wake up each tiny body and understand the devastation to know you failed. Then come back and see if you can still look me in the eye and tell me there are more important matters."

[Aiden]

Keith Hudson was playing with the wrong teenager. Aiden had a responsibility to protect Teagan, and thus far he had failed. Now he was so close to finding her, to finding the truth, but this man was preventing him from moving further. It was only a matter of time before Teagan was killed, if she was still alive that was. He couldn't sit there and argue, and even though he wanted to make his point, he knew that what he was doing was foolish, he was just being a hot-head like always. But the anger had manifested, and now he needed something to take it out on. The best target, aside from the supernatural monster, was in front of him, the man responsible for the inaction taken in Teagan's case. When the man stood and challenged Aiden, he stood at his full height, over the man by a few inches, and glared down upon him as the man tried to argue. He was not going to win this fight, and even if he really wasn't going to file a lawsuit, oh the strings he could pull to cause this man hell...

His brows furrowed down sharply at his words. He did not just blame Teagan. Did not. Aiden might have gotten mad at her, thrown her out, but he knew when people were wrong about her, and that was just uncalled for. "What kind of nerve do you have to sit here and tell me that this was HER fault?!" He roared, slamming his hands down onto the desk, sending a few pens rolling off of the edge. "I know damn well that she can protect herself, she took karate," he continued, leaving out the part about him training her, "and she wouldn't just go wandering off into the frickin' woods, no right-minded person would! If you could just get over your little frickin' insecurities and install some damn cameras, this would have gone far better. I'll put down whatever I fucking want, because you have NO idea about beaten and shattered lives," he yelled, angered by the idea that he believed cameras would further harm a child. "Do you have any common sense?"

Sweeping his hands back upwards, he scoffed at Keith. "Bullshit you're sorry, if you were, you'd be out looking for her, or at least helping, even if you've got sick children. As a head of camp, you're responsible for everything, not one thing at a time. Seven lives, plus one, that's what you've got on your plate. So what the hell are you doing about it? You're doing what's convenient for you. What a goddamn coward," he went on. He was fuming, his breathing was hard, his face was glaring, sending looks of death at Keith. "Now, I'll ask again. Where are the cabins that these guys watch? I'm sure I'll have more luck with them, they'll probably be more willing to cooperate," Aiden said, cracking his knuckles. "And just for your information, there wasn't a damn cop car in sight when I pulled up, and last I checked, cops don't take breaks in these kind of things, explain that." This guy was about done with Aiden, it wouldn't be too long before he stormed out of the place.

[Teagan]

Mindy rushed through the door of the main office and slammed it quickly behind her before sighing with relief. At last. A moment of peace. Slowly, she slid down against the cool, steel door and rested her head in her arm. There was no way she could take much more of this. The stress was overwhelming.

Kids falling ill day by day. Counselors disappearing into thin air overnight. The police and rangers had just left hours before, calling off the search for poor Teagan.

That poor girl. Sure, she could be odd sometimes, like the day she had unscrewed every light bulb in the hotel room. Jumpy even. But that didn't mean she deserved whatever had happened to her. Rumors floated around among the counselors about what had happened. Everything from sleepwalking to kidnapping for a large ransom. The only problem with the latter assumption was that no one was quite sure if her parents were rich. The jeans with torn knees Teagan loved didn't fit the bill.

Mindy closed her eyes and rubbed her temple. She would have to stop thinking about these things. As she started to relax, raised voices echoed from the direction of the Director's office. Funny, she thought. I've never heard Hudson outraged before. Quietly, she rose and slipped next to the door to eavesdrop. Her mother had always told her that everything said in heat was, in one shape or form, worth listening to. You never knew when someone might let something forbidden slip in the heat of the moment.

Mindy's eyes lit up when she realized that the unfamiliar voice belonged to the girl's cousin. Maybe he would help resume the search for Teagan. Mindy had originally decided the young teen needed to get over whatever incident had led her into a small depression, and once Teagan had taken Mindy's advice, she was actually pleasurable to be around. The Director had a point though. One person versus the safety of seven didn't compare. It pained Mindy to agree with him because she understood a fragment of the stranger's frustration.

When she heard the argument reach levels of questionable language content, Mindy realized that if there was any chance of getting this guy to help, it wouldn't be with the Director. She burst into the room, startling the two enraged men in the process.

"Excuse me, Mr. Hudson, I don't mean to intrude-"

If looks could kill, the happy-go-lucky man would've been charged for her murder. "I'm a little busy now, Mindy."

"I couldn't help but overhear that Teagan's cousin had arrived, and I figured he would need someone to help him familiarize himself with the camp. It's free time and I have a moment, so why don't I take him off your hands, hm?" She moved in his direction, and slowly pulled him toward the door. Her cousin? Really? The height, hair color, and overall facial structure lent nothing to hint that they were related in any way. "Come on now, boy."

Once again, Keith bit his tongue, recognizing there was more harm in answering the boy's outrage than in keeping silent. "Alright Mindy," he forced through gritted teeth.

Mindy allowed the tall teen to walk ahead of her. As soon as she shut the door, she turned to him with concern written all of her face. "Aiden, right? I'm Mindy, one of the other counselors. Sorry to pull you out of that interesting discussion, but I'm sure you'll have better luck finding whatever you need somewhere else."

On second thought...

"Anywhere else."

[Aiden]

He was a lit fuse, this man had no regard for the fact that Teagan's life was at stake just as the children's were, and that it would be Teagan that would aid in the destruction of the shtriga. The mere idea that he couldn't get off of his lazy rear and wade out into the woods himself was infuriating enough. The children, well, the staff would have to deal with their parents, but with Teagan, the staff would have to deal with Aiden. If Teagan came back in one piece, he firmly believed that a little late night pranking was in order. These people would experience hell, they messed with the wrong group of people, even if Teagan had just walked into the woods to find the thing. More could have been done to help her, and this man had the nerve to sit there and argue with him. Yes, the children were important too, but a hunter's life was at stake, she had valuable information, and time was running out.

The door to the office burst open, and Aiden too turned his death-glare in the direction of the newcomer. It was a woman, Mindy apparently, and she had come when she realized that Teagan's cousin was there. She wanted to help. "At least one person around here cares about her," Aiden growled, only low enough for Keith to hear. He nodded at Mindy as he forced himself out of the room--he had a strong urge to hit something, that man had just set him off. He slowed his breathing, although it was still moderately fast. He walked back into the first, main room of the building, glancing at a map that hung on the wall, detailing the surrounding area. "Thanks, that man did not get what he deserved in there," he said, his fist still tight. "Listen, that old man didn't tell me where I could find these guys named Lucas and Scott. They hung around Teagan, and I need to talk to them," he explained. "And any information you've got would be great. Why aren't there any police around here anyway?"

[Teagan]

Mindy stepped back and let the young man before her cool down. How did someone so young have such a temper? Inwardly she questioned his upraising, and what parent would ever let something like that fester within a child?

"The police?" she responded. "You just missed them, kiddo. They've been here every day since Teagan vanished. Poking around, asking questions and such. They brought in the State Rangers to help them search the local forest." None of the commotion made the camp a pleasurable atmosphere. Groups of volunteer searchers had ransacked the camp and all surrounding areas. The trained dogs were what gave Mindy a headache. She didn't like dogs much. Too jumpy for her taste. For three days an exhaustive search rampaged the forest. Her expression softened a bit as she remembered the announcement to stop searching earlier in the morning. "Darling, I know it seems the Director hasn't done anything from your conversation, but trust me when I say that all natural resources have been pulled out to try to find your...cousin." Mindy gave him another one over. "Some family resemblance though. Regardless, Keith has done everything he can do for her. You should save your yelling for whatever officer or Ranger decided the search was futile.

"As for Scott and Lucas, I can tell you where they are. Just know that those are two good boys right there. Harmless. Be a little nicer when you talk with them, alright?" She gave him a pointed look. If Aiden decided to blow up at them too, she couldn't stop the Director from kicking them off the property.

From a desk to her right, Mindy pulled out a map of the camp and pointed to two sections. "It's free time right now, so you'll find Scott at the pool. He's scheduled to be a lifeguard today. Lucas will probably be over here at the archery range. It's his way of relieving his frustration that the search was called off."

[Yuki]

After spending some more time with Elsie (of whose name Yuki discovered within a couple minutes), she had asked the girl where her friend was being kept while she was "sick." Elsie had pointed to one of the cabins, and when Yuki finished picking enough flowers for practically a dozen necklaces, she bid farewell to the child and made her way across the grass, headed in the direction Elsie had told her.

Just as before, everything about the cabin was normal. No sign of scratches from some animalistic creature or sulfur residue to suggest a demon's presence. Yuki knew that if what Aiden had been told was correct, then it had to be a shtriga, but it didn't hurt to double check. She hadn't brought an EMF reader, as that would have been to conspicuous, but she wished she had. She wondered if there was one in Aiden's car...what was taking Aiden so long, anyway?

And then, she paused in her thoughts as her brain worked speedily like clockwork. If Teagan had gotten kidnapped by the being, then it must've known she was a hunter, or had at least associated with them. It had to have known, or else any other camp counselor would have been the one whisked away. Of course, it could have been coincidence, but when was that ever the case when it came to these sorts of situations? Assuming that the creature had known, if it had picked up on Teagan's status as a hunter early on, then it would have also known about her call to Aiden. Unless, Teagan had made that call discreetly, careful about who overheard. Even so, Yuki was concerned that the shtriga would know Aiden's true identity. It was better to assume the worst so that one could be mentally prepared.

And if this was the case, then Yuki imagined that if the shtriga had known about Teagan from the start, and had overheard her conversation with Aiden, it probably had kidnapped her in order to lure another hunter...but why would it do that, if it's mission was to consume children's spirits? Unless, it hadn't known about Teagan's call...or, if it did, it was probably preparing to kill Aiden. And what if the shtriga was the head of the camp, and had planned to eliminate Aiden the minute he got arrived? Would it see Yuki as an unexpected variable? Or had it known about her as well?

With these new thoughts, she walked briskly back in the direction of the building Aiden had entered. Although she was sure Aiden could put up a steady resistance if the shtriga did indeed reveal itself to be the head of camp at this very moment, again, it didn't hurt to double check.

[Aiden]

As he and Mindy stood in the main room of the building, Aiden glanced outside a nearby window, watching as a couple of children streaked by, laughing and pushing each other playfully. Beyond them, a few were returning from the pool, dripping wet but looking overall refreshed. These kids...they were defenseless, and the only person that even realized that there was something more going on was now taken out of the picture. The children needed protecting, and even though he had planned on killing the shtriga anyway, he made himself a personal promise to make sure the deed was done while he was there. No child, no matter the circumstance, should have to suffer. Aiden knew what it was like, and he sometimes hated that he couldn't have grown up in a normal childhood. It was a little sentimental, but it kept him going on hunts, especially ones like this one.

Aiden returned his attention to Mindy, who began speaking to him. He, as a good hunter would, listened to every word, looked for openings for questions. But something still didn't make sense in his head as she continued on. Why had the police left in the first place? Did that jackass of a camp director call them off? His brows furrowed, and then he caught the last words. Something inside of him sank, surprisingly, it was like a blow to the stomach. Teagan was just someone he was training, and yet the news...it hit him hard. "They....no, its only been a few days..." he breathed, remembering news reports of people looking for a missing person for weeks at a time. "And she could still be alive...they're just giving up on her?" he asked, his voice rising with anger again. Teagan was out there, with a supernatural being, and now she was...no, he wouldn't let it happen.

Looking dead on into Mindy's eyes, Aiden spoke in a very cold manner. "You never rule anyone out," he said, rather more as a growl, and a dark one at that. "When you're protecting someone, you save them." With that, Aiden turned on his heel with the knowledge of where to find these men. Outside Yuki was headed his way. Aiden was fuming, probably almost visibly, and he stared straight ahead of him as he joined Yuki by her side. "They called the search off. The camp is more concerned with the kids. I know where to find the guys she hung out with, but we need to see the kids first, to confirm. And please, please don't say anything to piss me off. I [really want to hit something," he warned, keeping his fists clutched at his sides. There was just something in the way the camp so disregarded Teagan, it bothered Aiden immensely.

[Yuki]

As she was heading back, Yuki caught a glance of Aiden leaving the building he had entered.

So the shtriga hadn't attacked, afterall...

With that concern dispelled, she continued towards him. She immediately noticed by his contour and the tone with which he spoke that he was fuming. She had seen a glimpse of this side of him quite a few times, but she knew that his feelings of anger must have been doubled this time due to the guilt he was carrying over Teagan. He had probably exploded on every single person within a three feet radius of him inside the premises. This was exactly what she had meant when she thought that emotions could only get in the way. By the looks of it, he hadn't drawn much from the head of the camp, other than another reason to escalate his mood. If the man did indeed hold an essential component to the equation that Aiden hadn't extorted, it would be futile now to go back. She doubted the head of the camp would want to see Aiden again, but she knew better than to state that obvious fact at that current moment--Aiden needed to cool down in order to think clearly,

After stating that he knew where to find Teagan's companions, she followed his lead and walked calmly by his side. "I am concerned as well, but arguing with the ignorant will not help our situation. Our duty is to find Teagan, and to discover the shtriga's identity and execute it. We must proceed with increasing caution and a level head. Aside from that fact, perhaps we are not placing enough faith in Teagan. I am sure that although she is most likely in a disadvantageous situation, she is still alive," Yuki said confidently. "And," she paused, forcing herself to continue, "...although she seems completely absent-minded, she is a quick-thinker. She wouldn't let herself be harmed without putting up a resistance."

A few seconds passed before Yuki added with an icy glare, "And when we see her again, if you dare breathe a word of that compliment or of the fact that they came from my lips, I shall proceed to deny ever doing such and personally make your life a living hell."

[Aiden]

Yuki was still outside when he left the building, not really wanting to talk to anyone other than her. The hunters' business would keep his mind off of things, refocus him on finding Teagan. He felt stupid for having been so angry, but deep down he knew it was because it was his fault that Teagan was in this mess in the first place. If he hadn't have thrown her out, and he hadn't ignored her call when she placed her complete confidence in him, she would be fine. If he wasn't such a hothead...Yuki was looking him over, and he knew it was because of how he was acting. He was quiet now, his fists still balled up as he walked across the camp with her in the direction of the parked medical vehicle. His breathing was slowing, though, and his vision not so red anymore. He didn't want Yuki to say anything to him, tell him he was being foolish, even childish, and thankfully, she didn't, at least not in a way that angered him further.

"I know finding Teagan is our duty!" he snapped, though he followed it with an apologetic sigh. "Yuki, you didn't hear that guy. They've given up, and imagine if we took the other five hours. You give her the credit she deserves, but with a shtriga, I don't know how long she can last, resistance or not. That man was...infuriating," though his last statement was blatantly obvious. "I just...I need a few minutes, and I'll be fine," he said quietly, he could feel his body cooling down as they walked, the sounds of the camp growing quieter as they got closer to the infamous cabin, where there were several small children inside. He held up a hand in front of Yuki, indicating her to stop. "You said they leave marks on windows usually, right?" He pointed to a black mark on the side of the cabin, though from most angles the window would be hidden from view by the car. "Looks like its a shtriga for sure."

He walked over to the window, examining the mark, and peering in to see the children, nestled in their small beds. There were only two adults in the room, both medical staff by the looks of it. "Come on, let's go inside," he said, now calm and collected again. He walked around the cabin, through the door into the main room, and then knocked on the door where the children were being held. A voice rang out at the door swung open. "Family and camp personnel only."

[Teagan]

Lorena Mendoza tapped absentmindedly on her clipboard with one of the official Big Brothers Big Sisters pens. The over half-dozens campers in front of her retained their silence and source of her frustration. She had examined them dozens of times, but nothing out of the ordinary appeared. Her knowledge of medicine wasn't as extensive as it could be, but camps hired anyone who had passed Biology in high school.

Regardless, her training in medical school should have prepared her for moments like these. Moments where an emergency arose and a trained professional could appear to save the day. But here and now, there was nothing the dark lady could conclude. Blood pressure? Normal. Pulse? Slightly low, but nothing severe. No head trauma, nor any history of neurological abnormalities. Long story short, there was simply no explanation for the lack of brain activity within each child. It was as if their souls disappeared and left the body to slowly fade away.

Which was a ridiculous theory. The Doctor shook her head and marked that thought down as a result of a sugar overdose. Lorena had been awake for nearly twenty four hours, monitoring the status of every child and attempting to write a prognosis.

And how well is that coming along?

The blank paper in front of her revealed her not-quite-started status. What was she supposed to do? None of it made sense. All they could do was wait, she supposed. Let whatever was happening run its course. Or finally call for help. She'd tried arguing with the Director, but he dissuaded her with promises that if anything happened within 24 hours, action would be taken. It wasn't smart to wait until the event took place though. What would be smart was to pick up the phone and recruit those who could do something about the situation.

The sound of the door opening caught her attention, and she was slightly surprised to see two young people standing in the doorway. They seemed a bit too young to be any medical professional...

"Family and camp personnel only," Lorena coldly told them as she sat up in her chair. Really, the last thing she need was to have some wanna be helpers interfere with her work.

[Yuki]

Yuki sympathized with Aiden's frustration, though she was much more outwardly adept at controlling such anger, at least in this case. Acknowledging his need for a moment to cool down, she remained quiet for the rest of the walk, her eyes fixed upon the cabin where they were keeping the comatose children.

As they neared their destination, she had just noted a black mark on the side of the cabin when Aiden spoke up about the same thing. Which meant...the confirmation in the identity of the creature as shtriga. This being the case, she knew it wouldn't be long before the two hunters would have to discuss and choose a method for killing it. She did not want to get an innocent child involved with such a dangerous mission, but could not see any other available option of executing the task.

Her thoughts were cut short when a mid-aged woman opened the cabin door. She seemed to be some sort of doctor. She spoke with a tired, yet keenly apathetic tone when she answered the door. Yuki imagined that she had been flipping through hours of research, but to no avail--no medicine was going to bring those children back to life, nor would the woman discover the real cause in any medical textbook. Yuki peeked through the small crack in the door, and managing to catch a glimpse of a list of the children pinned to the back wall, she searched through it quickly. Before Aiden could say anything, Yuki spoke.

"Yes, I am the older sister of Yukito Kirishima," she said, hoping her tone sounded somewhat sad or concerned.

[Aiden]

In his own mind, he knew what he was doing was foolish: he was focusing too much on trying to be right in the case of Keith that he wasn't giving Teagan the priority that she deserved. He was letting his emotions get the best of him, and while that sometimes helped in the midst of battle, this wasn't battle. This was just the investigation, and there was still so much more to undergo. So not only was he angry with himself for letting Teagan get into this mess, angry at Keith, but now he was also angry with himself for being so angry. I feel so stupid, he thought, as he replayed that line over in his head. The medical car parked outside the cabin wasn't the only thing that marked it as the one with the comatose children; there was just an air of negativity around it, and the children wouldn't go near it. Preparing for some more interaction, he was calm now, more collected. It was time to play a character, and that would be the concerned cousin.

However, before either of them could say much of anything, a woman came to the door telling them only family and camp personnel were allowed. They couldn't use the camp personnel identity, since they hadn't been there, but the family...how would they get the names? From his position somewhat behind Yuki, he couldn't see the names, so when Yuki spoke, it took him somewhat off guard. He made sure the woman could see him, too, standing at the door. "And I'm Teagan's cousin, Aiden." Yes, Teagan wasn't in there, but it might grant him access. "Kisa here needs to get in to see her sister," he said, giving Yuki a name from one of the shows he'd heard her watch.

[Teagan]

Family then, were the two young adults standing before her. That was acceptable, although Lorena did not feel like answering questions that had already been asked dozens of times. Inevitable as they were, she would probably tear her hair out if one more person asked for her theories or symptoms and their antidotes. The amount of people she had already answered to were not satisfied with her vague responses. What did they expect? Nothing like this had been recorded in any medical history she had read! No, they couldn't expect much. On the other hand, her heart would break if another child approached her and asked when their friend could come back to play. Lorena hated lying, and lying to children? Mmhmm, seeing their disappointment when she told them they would have to wait a few more days she did not enjoy.

"Alright, come on in then. Take care not to disturb anything though," Lorena motioned for the uptight girl Kisa to enter. The boy behind her tried to follow, but she blocked him with her arm. "She might be related to Yukito, but you related to Teagan?" She gave him a once over. "Not so much." The hair, eyes, facial structure...nothing matched. Even vaguely.

[Aiden]

He was thankful that Yuki had been so resourceful and was jumping into action as soon as she could, and the woman, this doctor or nurse or whoever she was bought it. But there seemed to be some running joke against him in this camp, and no one believed that he was related to Teagan when one didn't need to look like a person to be related to them. He frowned as he was stopped, gazing past her at the children that lied still, looking dead, for the rise and fall of their breaths was minuscule. After only a mere split second, Aiden reached back to his back pocket, careful not to disturb the gun that was nestled in the waistband of his jeans, and pulled the emergency card he'd lifted from Keith's office out, along with his ID, clearly titled with the same name. He held them out to her, showing that he was who he was.

"Look, if you want to be technical, I'm her step-cousin, but we grew up so closely together from a young age, we never really knew the difference, all right? Is this really the way to treat a family member of someone that this camp has given up on and left to die?" he said, his voice growing slightly dramatic--but for good cause--towards the end. "Just let me in, before I get lawyers all over this place. I'm sure there are other families that aren't so happy, right? We just want to know whats going on here."

[Teagan]

Lorena didn't exactly know much about big families, mostly because she had grown up in the quiet house of a family of four. Although Aiden could've been tripping her on his "step-cousin" card (she wasn't quite sure how that worked), the emotion buried beneath his reply and her weariness led her to reluctantly shrug and move her arm to allow him in.

"Don't touch anything, alright?" Lorena tiredly returned to her chair. "Doesn't matter how loud you talk; heavens knows it won't wake them up. Questions can be directed to this clipboard. All I know medically I jotted down. So don't make me repeat myself." She waved her hand in the general direction of the board on the counter. "As for Teagan, no one's leaving her to die, champ. Trust me boy, we searched. And the only reason we didn't find her is either because she ran off or something's hiding her, alright?"