Page 9 of (Mostly) Human Resources

Of course they could: factor in her dad’s legendary reputation as a Warden and the sad state of her bank account.

“But you’re the best at what you do, Zach.” She tried to sound enthusiastic but the words fell flat. She could feel a headache forming at the base of skull.

“You’re not wrong.” He offered a weak smile. “But I can’t perform miracles.” He hesitated, and Alexys knew what he was going to ask before he even asked it.

“No,” she said pre-emptively. “No chance. You know I don’t want to file an official request.”

No matter how miserable she felt, that was a hard no.

“It’d make your life easier,” he pointed out. “And mine. I could put in real information requests and actually find something for you in a reasonable amount of time. Maybe even enlist the help of the whole team. Plus, the consultation is free, you wouldn’t have to pay anything at first.”

“But I can’t afford the premium package yet, and a consultation won’t be enough.” Alexys raked a hand through her long auburn hair, pulling it free of it’s collapsing ponytail. “Replacing the transmission in my car and helping my mom pay for her operation last year set me back.”

Zach nodded thoughtfully. “The woes of adulthood. A never-ending cycle of tragedy and bills, eh?”

“Just don’t bench the research. Please?”

“I won’t, I promise. Besides, this is the only thing saving me from my slow assimilation with the filing cabinets.”

Alexys cracked a smile. “Well, I know it’s been a few months, and Nic works his team to the bone, but any time you can spend on mine is really appreciated. Just don’t overwork yourself.”

“You got it, Alexys.” He shoved his hands into his pockets. “You do know that Nic would be feral for this if he knew about it. A new discovery? It’s exactly the kind of thing he talks about during our weekly catch-ups.”

Alexys grimaced. “Yeah, I bet he does.” The last thing she needed was Nic’s involvement. He’d sit her down like some sort of science experiment and put every minute detail into a company report. The thicker the report, the thicker the price tag. Zach, on the other hand, was a friend, so she knew her case would stay between them.

Nic would always put his research first. And it didn’t matter to Alexys that he was the best in his field, she wanted to keep Nic’s nose as far away from her business as humanly possible.

CHAPTER 5

“Entity would cease to operate without the Archives and its Research and Cataloging department. Knowledge is the first line of defense and often the only thing standing between a Warden and danger.”

Entity Employee Handbook: R&C Edition

After five years in Entity’s Research and Cataloging department, Nic Dyre believed he’d seen it all.

Granted, the odd noteworthy report did cross his desk—like the confirmed Jersey Devil sighting the week before last—but they were hopelessly outnumbered by the endless stream of false leads and routine inquiries. The sheer volume of requests for files on ghosts was enough to drive any man spare.

So, when Alexys Keane had come to him with her Silver Giant case, it caught Nic’s attention. Not because he had any interest in Silver Giants—he’d spent enough time researching those elusive creatures during his master’s program. He’d exhausted all research endeavors in that respect.

But Alexys’s choice of Quadrant in West Virgina? Now that piqued his interest.

The Appalachian Mountains were one of the most fascinating regions when it came to cryptology and the supernatural. With mountains older than fossilized bones and the highest percentage of cryptid sightings in Entity’s records, Nic was absolutely fascinated by the place. Not only did the mountains have a diverse population of monsters, there was also a rich history of magic and Native American folklore.

He flicked through Alexys’s proposal again and opened up a blank report.

The Silver Giant case was a clever idea, using a guaranteed non-case rather than merely a simple one to test her Warden. Nic was also impressed that Alexys appeared to possess a wealth of information on Silver Giants. The HR team had a tendency to be so wholly focused on their human employees that they neglected to learn what he and his team deemed to be obligatory information pertaining to creatures. Unsurprising, of course, but he had to give credit where credit was due.

Nic split his report into two sections, and for the time being, he skipped over the Silver Giants. There was another creature from Elliot’s Quadrant that fascinated him so much more. The thing that really drew his interest to West Virginia’s mysteries and was the true motivation behind his willingness to write the report: the Hollow Walker.

Classified as a Singularity and a Class F (Unconfirmed) cryptid by Entity’s standards, the Hollow Walker was an entirely unique and compelling creature. There was only one, it was barely ever seen, and they had virtually no records on it. Nic was certain Alexys’s team had never even heard of it. After all, the creature barely even had a formal name. ‘Hollow Walker’ was colloquial, and it raised more questions than answers. All legends surrounding its existence confirmed it to be deadly, and if the handful of stories he’d heard were to be believed, it was well over a century old.

Company policy mandated that a creature couldn’t be classified as a Class E (Extinct) cryptid until at least ten years passed without a confirmed sighting. Nic refused to reclassify. Sure, there hadn’t been a confirmed sighting in the last nine years, but Nic wasn’t giving up just yet. He’d been praying for years that a new sighting would cross his desk and keep the creature profile active.

Nic knew he shouldn’t include the Hollow Walker in his report, but a small part of him hoped Alexys would read it and have her Warden ask the locals about it while she was in the area. There was hardly a chance of her Warden actually seeing the beast, but any new story or sighting would be happily added to his dismally small collection. He’d acceptanythingso long as he could keep the casefile active.

His enthusiastic typing was interrupted by the ping of an incoming information request. He frowned.

One thing after another.