Page 21 of Trolling For Love

“If it wasn’t they would not have allowed it. There are many rules here,” he said, and led us up to the nearest building. “Do not leave me.” I nodded and gripped his hand.

We entered through a door that looked more like the side entrance to a warehouse rather than the entrance to a medical or biomedical facility. I still wasn’t sure exactly what it was or what to call it. Inside was a large open area with a desk to the left and a seating area to the right. The guard at the desk ignored us and another man wearing a lab coat entered from a side door hadn’t noticed. He looked to be in his forties with greying blond hair and black framed glasses.

“Gunnar how are you doing?” he asked before shaking his hand.

“I am well, since I left the facility there have been many changes in my life. I have found my mate,” Gunnar said and tugged me forward.

“Excellent, and what is your name?”

“I’m Flynn Davies, I work for the same lumber company Gunnar does,” I said and shook his hand.

“Oh yes, nice to meet you,” he said before focusing back on Gunnar. “I’m a bit surprised to see you so soon. Is everythingokay?” He seemed in a hurry, and in a rush to find out what was wrong which annoyed me. Gunnar wouldn’t have come here if he didn’t think it was necessary.

“Something has happened, and I wasn’t sure how to handle it. I remembered you said if we ever felt unsafe or that there could be a conflict with humans we should contact the facility. So that’s what I did.”

“Come this way,” he said and led us back through the door he’d entered from. Inside was a small waiting room but it was empty. We sat down while Gunnar explained everything that had happened since he’d first arrived. “Has Vince Drummond approached either of you?”

“Not yet, but I can feel he’s planning something, and I know the leshy wouldn’t have approached me if there wasn’t a reason for doing so,” Gunnar said.

“I’m not sure what to think. It is strange that he would suddenly come back to town but I’m not sure it’s an indication that he means to harm either of you.”

“What about the logs that fell on Gunnar at work?” I asked.

“Do you have proof that another worker was involved?” he asked.

“No. We don’t,” I said, and realized how weak our evidence was.

“Look, I’m not telling you something isn’t happening. For all we know your uncle could still be hunting monsters but he’s not doing it here and that’s our main focus at this time. I’m not saying to ignore it. Be careful, be vigilant and if anything, else happens please contact me,” he said.

“If he threatens my mate . . .”

“I understand, Gunnar. But until we have more proof other than the word of a leshy and a worksite accident there’s not much we can do.” We spoke for a moment longer before Gunnarstood and after a rushed goodbye, we were out the door and walking back to the truck.

“What do we do now?” I asked Gunnar.

“We protect ourselves,” he said, and I worried about what that meant.

Chapter 19

GUNNAR

As we drove back to the camp all those old instincts I’d worked hard to bury deep started to come to life. Every movement and sound were magnified a hundred-fold, and my senses were on high alert. Something was coming but I wasn’t sure what or when.

“Did you know there’s another portal in the woods?” Flynn said.

“No, I only know about the main one at the facility. There are many portals through both our worlds though.” I didn’t know where they all were but there were many ways to cross into each world if a being wanted to make the effort. “It is said there was a map that showed all the portals but I’m not sure it exists. The portals are not always stable.”

“Frank told me about it the other day. I guess he discovered it when he was out exploring where we’d be working next. It is guarded but it’s not nearly as secure as the main portal in town. Could there be other portals that no one has discovered yet?” he asked.

“It is possible. Especially if it was remote,” I said, and wondered if this was why Vince Drummond had been gone for months and then suddenly appeared.

“Why don’t we explore the woods around camp and see if we find anything. We could even pack enough to stay the night so we can spend a little more time out there,” Flynn said.

“I wonder if your uncle has been using the portals to keep hunting monsters without the facility knowing what he’s doing,” I admitted.

“As long as I can remember he’d always be gone for months and then he’d show up out of the blue. He’d never say where he was or what he was doing and never talked about it. He’s always been horrible to anyone unlucky enough to cross his path, but he always had a group of a few members of the community that seemed to flock to him. I could never understand why.”

“I trust the word of the leshy. He would not have come out here to warn us if there was no need. He has nothing to gain and everything to lose by this,” I said. “Monsters do not as a rule help other monsters.”

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