Star Harbor Nights

"And this has what to do with us?" D.J. asked.

"When crime happens, you go around asking your underworld contacts if you don't have any better leads," Perfect said. "What kind of contacts do you turn to when supernatural stuff happens?"

"Mystical ones," D.J. said. "But the only magic user you know is Ray..."

"I don't think Ray knows that much about magic," Perfect said. "He's as much a victim or a bystander of it as he is a user... that's why I want to cultivate my own contacts away from him."

"You really think this ghost'll know something about the church fires?" D.J. asked skeptically.

"That's kind of a long shot, I guess," Perfect admitted. "But we have to start somewhere... and I've got zero experience investigating the supernatural. Tackling a ghost sounds like a better first step than my other idea."

"What's that?"

"Finding the Demonatrix and asking her help," Perfect said. "I saw her once, at Broker's. Ray tried to keep me away from her..."

"Probably a good idea," D.J. said.

"Probably because he'd slept with her, or something," Perfect said sourly. "Anyway, she's never been sighted during the day, that I've heard of... so we don't lose anything by targeting the haunted park first."

"Don't all these stories say that the spooky park sightings happened at night, too?" D.J. pointed out.

"You know, that's a good point," Perfect said. "I guess I'm going to have to take a rain check on..."

"Oh no," D.J. said. "We are going to the party, and you are going to have a good time hanging out and meeting new people, even if it kills you."

"Fine," Perfect said. "We'll still go down and try, then, but I don't know if we'll be able to make contact during the day."

"Couldn't you just buy a Ouija board?"

"You know, I once considered buying one of those just to see if there was anything to it," Perfect said. "Just because there are so many documented instances of the supernatural out there... but Mr. Buttons convinced me it was just a mechanism people used to express their subconscious in words, and I couldn't really see any use for that."

"Mmm hmm," D.J. said evenly. "This is interesting, but all these archives are available online," she noted. "Wouldn't it have been easier to do this from home?"

"Believe me," Perfect said. "I know exactly how easy it is to stay at home. I'd rather do it here."

"Okay," D.J. said quickly, not pressing the matter any further. Unsatisfied with the view over Perfect's shoulder, she copied the URL from her visual memory and surfed along internally. "It looks like reports of 'manifestations' have been picking up lately."

"Yes," Perfect said. "Normally, it makes the paper maybe once or twice a year... usually when somebody happens to claim to see something on what happens to be a slow news day. Most of the accounts don't amount to much. Somebody glimpses something out of the corner of their eye, or has a vague feeling of a 'feminine presence.' Over the summer, though, they've really been picking up... people have reported seeing strange figures moving around in the trees around sundown... branches waving against the wind... fairy lights... all kinds of things. Some of the sightings have been corroborated by multiple witnesses."

"I guess that ups their credibility a bit," D.J. said. "But still... every city of any size has a well-known local 'haunted' spot or two. How can you be so sure that there's something there to 'make contact' with?"

"I've been in the park after dark," Perfect said.

"Seriously?"

"Well, on the edges," Perfect admitted. "I kind of use the bathroom there as my base of operations, some nights."

"So many wrong ways to take that last sentence," D.J. said.

"But, anyway... I had the park staked out for like a week before I started using it, and it's true what they say about nobody ever doing any maintenance work," Perfect said. "Nobody ever cleans or weeds or anything, but it's always in perfect shape. So, something's going on."

"Okay... well, did you learn what we came here for, then?" D.J. asked.

"Oh, well... not really," Perfect said. "I mean, this is all old stuff. I just wanted to go over it again... besides, you're not from the city, so it's new to you."

"You could have just told me this stuff on the way to the park," D.J. said.

"I like reviewing things," Perfect said unapologetically. "I'm about to take a big step into the unknown, so I want to check in with my comfort zone first. Besides, my daddy may have photographic memory, but the inside of my head's a bit more jumbled... I need to do something to get the details fresh and clear in my mind."

"Fair enough," D.J. said. "So, we ready to hunt down this snipe, or do you need a few more minutes in your comfort zone first?"

"Not at all," Perfect said, picking up her stuffed rabbit from the chair next to her. "Let's roll."

Having a friend with a car was a very handy thing, Perfect realized. It would have taken nearly an hour for her to get from the public library to Harbor Hill Park if she'd been relying on the city buses.

"I've been thinking about paranormal research techniques," Perfect said as they headed up the unpaved path towards the tree-covered hill which dominated the landscape of the park. "Using thermographic imagers to look for hot or cold spots... measuring electromagnetic disturbance... monitoring audio recordings for phantom noises, stuff like that. Assuming any of that stuff works, I don't think there's any reason your gear couldn't handle that."

"Might not have to," D.J. said grimly. "I'm already picking something up."

"What?"

"Screaming," D.J. said, looking up in the direction of the heavily wooded hill. Perfect followed her gaze, and then her stride as D.J. took off running... though Perfect couldn't see or hear whatever she was responding to.

Moments later, a half-dressed young woman came into view, flying down the hill with speed that was all the more remarkable for the fact that she had somehow managed to keep one high-heeled shoe on. She was, as D.J. had said, screaming her head off... as was the man who tore down the hill after her. It was the latter that D.J. was running towards.

"Stop right there, dirt bag," she yelled, throwing herself into a flying tackle. Even in the heat of the moment, she still processed Perfect's cry of "D.J., no!" with perfect clarity... but was unable to alter her course or momentum through the air.

As advanced as they were, her computer systems still fed into a human brain... she could look at a lot more input at once than most people could, but she still had to sort through it and make the decision on how to act herself. Thus, it wasn't surprising that she didn't immediately spot what Perfect had seen.

"She wasn't running from him," Perfect explained, catching up to her as she and the man tumbled heavily on the soft grass. "Look at him, he's as scared as she is."

"Sorry!" D.J. said, mortified, but the man was up and tearing off for the edge of the park as soon as she shifted her weight off of him. "Why do I have the feeling we're not going to have a hard time making contact after all?"

"During the daylight hours, the hill's supposed to be a popular trysting spot," Perfect said. "There's always a lot of condoms and junk in the trash cans by the restrooms."

"People actually carry their used condoms out to the trash?"

"Not that I've ever seen, no," Perfect said, heading up the path towards the top of the hill. "I've also never seen or heard of anybody freaking out like that."

D.J. fell in step alongside her.

"Is it just me, or are the tree branches drawing closer together?" she asked, eyeing the canopy of foliage overhead. It was getting steadily darker as they progressed up the moderately steep slope. The trees grew more densely the further up they went, and the leaves seemed to her to be forming a protective shell that actively screened the hilltop from sight.

"It's your imagination," Perfect said.

"Yeah, well, my imagination's accurate to twenty-seven decimal places," D.J. said, her brain reporting a sensation like a chill running down her spine, "and it's saying something's up with those leaves."

"What do you mean? They're not moving... at... all..." Perfect began, then trailed off. She realized that although she could hear the wind rustling among them, the leaves and ranches were indeed completely stationary. She froze.

"Exactly," D.J. said, coming to a halt as well. They were about halfway up the hill at that point.

"We haven't seen anything hostile... yet," Perfect said. "But something scared the proverbial pants off those guys, so we should be ready for anything.."

"Wishing you'd brought your weapons?" D.J. asked.

"It's a forest," Perfect said. "There's sticks everywhere."

"That could end up being a problem," D.J. said darkly.

"What do you hear?" Perfect asked.

D.J. turned up her audio pickups as high as they'd go. There was no sound but Perfect's breathing within the confines of the trees... and very little outside noise reached them.

"Nothing," she said. "It's like the trees are holding their breath."

"Come on," Perfect said. "We're not going to learn anything hanging around."

They walked on in silence. Though D.J. could hear every footstep, she was impressed with how stealthy Perfect was, even in her street shoes. She fought the impulse to stand in front of her unprotected, unpowered friend... especially since she'd seen her so grievously wounded the night before. She didn't think Perfect would react well to being coddled, nor did she think that Perfect actually needed much protecting, but friendship was a debt that D.J. took seriously, and she would have struggled with the desire to go first even if she didn't have the protection of her artificial body.

They approached the crest of the hill as one, each moving away from each other by a mutual instinct not to present a single target as they came into view of the top. The woods opened up into... not exactly a clearing, but a less crowded space. More sunlight reached the ground, though it was tinted a distinct greenish-yellow from filtering through the leaves. It was like they had stepped into another world. It was only that moment that it hit both of them how late in the season the park had held onto its green. While the leaves of other trees hadn't fallen yet, they were already turning.

Perfect shot a questioning glance at D.J., who gave a quick shake of her head to indicate that she wasn't hearing anything unusual, then returned the look as if to say "What now?"

"Check infrared, ultraviolet, EMF... anything you can think of," Perfect said quietly. She could hear her pulse pounding in her ears, though she wasn't sure why. "Just look for anything at all out of the ordinary."

"Nothing on all bands," D.J. said, turning her head to survey the whole site. "This is one eerie-ass copse of trees, but that's my opinion, not the computer's."

"Maybe this was a mistake..." Perfect said.

"You said it yourself," D.J. said. "Those kids were running from something."

"So what do we do now?" Perfect asked.

"Make contact," D.J. reminded her.

"Yeah," Perfect said.

"So, uh... go on."

"What... I am. I will," Perfect said. She took a few steps closer to the center of the space and cleared her throat. "Uh... hello? Is, um... anybody... there?"

"We come in peace," D.J. said. Struck by the absurdity of talking to an empty stand of trees, she added "Take us to your leader."

Perfect gave her an irritated look.

"I'm speaking to the spirit of Harbor Hill," Perfect said louder and more clearly. "Are... you... here?"

There was a sound like wooden floors creaking in the night mixed with a branch being stepped on. Perfect felt a static charge course over her skin and hair.

"Where'd that come from?" she asked D.J.

"Fifteen different trees at once," D.J. reported. "All around us."

"We mean you no harm!" Perfect said quickly. "We'd like to talk to you about... well, about some fires."

The creaking, cracking noise repeated itself, louder than before. This time Perfect didn't have to ask where it had come from, because several of the trees around them had visibly shifted... their trunks leaning in towards the two heroines, their limbs bending and reaching out for them.

"Somehow, I don't think you said the secret word," D.J. said.