Of Blood Moons and Hearses

Meet a few members of Hourglass Inc. and begin the journey into their lives.

Music drifted slowly from the television in the living room. In the back bedroom, the ambience of the chirping birds was disrupted by silly cartoon music. The girl sitting at her computer desk let out a heavy sigh and turned in her swivel chair to look at the door. Listening closer she heard snoring coming down the hallway. She pushed herself up and stretched out her tired muscles only achieving the look of a zombie ballerina as she yawned and tiptoed toward the door The music seemed to get louder for a few seconds and then softer. Frowning, she peered down the hallway into the living room. Someone was lying on their stomach on the couch. On further inspection she found Ross passed out holding a half eaten sandwich. His disheveled haired head was buried into the cushions. Looking at the tv she witnessed the volume going up and down on its own accord. Every time he would inhale, the volume went up and every exhale quietened it. She kneeled down beside him and looked him over trying to find the remote.

"Casey, what are you doing?" she heard a voice say from the kitchen. 

"I think Ross ate the remote," Casey replied taking the sandwich and placing it on an empty plate on the floor. 

"What?" the voice emerged at the doorway. A tall, slender girl walked out carrying a coffee mug. She had her auburn hair in a ponytail and welding goggles on her forehead. Her overalls were covered in grease as was her face making her blue eyes sparkle in the afternoon light pouring in through the window .

"Look at the tv and listen to him breathe," Casey continued and started shoving her hand under the cushions.

"Amazing," Amber said and walked over," You could move him. I don't think he's waking up. He was downstairs all night going over the security footage of the park." Casey gingerly pushed on his hip to lift his body up and found the remote pinned under his stomach. She took it and hit the power button. Silence filled the living room save for the muffled snoring from the cushions. 

"Did he tell you if he found anything important?" Casey asked picking up the plate and walking to the kitchen.

"I haven't talked to him since he came upstairs," Amber followed," I'm guessing he got something to eat and passed out on the couch as soon as he could." Casey put plastic wrap over the plate and set it in the fridge. She grabbed a thermos cup from the cabinet and reached for the kettle on the stove. As the tea poured into the cup she stared at the bright lettering on the side. 'Witches Brew' was painted in wicked green on the purple and black vessel. 

"So what's the damage to the hearse?" she said turning and leaning against the counter. Sipping the hot liquid Casey watched as Amber sighed and sat back at the table. 

"Two new tires, new radiator, new belt, a few fuses busted, new spark plugs, and a leak in the transmission," Amber grumbled giving an annoyed smile up at Casey. 

"I'm sorry?" Casey said smiling into her cup.

"Oh, that's not all," she said leaning forward. Casey could tell the smirk on her face wasn't helping the situation. "I had to call three different junk yards to see if they had any doors and windows for a damn hearse. Do you know how hard that is?"

"Judging by how pissed off you are, not as easy as it sounds."

"Damn right it's not that easy. The closest one I found with a hearse or two was in Jackson County. I'm taking the truck tomorrow to get them."

"The whole hearse or just the parts?"

"You wanna fix the damn thing?" Amber said spreading her hands in exasperation. Casey chuckled and shook her head.

"No. You're the mechanic, remember? And was it not you who volunteered with a skip in your step to fix it?"

"Yeah, but I didn't realize the damage Sparky did to it was that extreme." Casey snorted into her cup at the nickname. Hopefully the junkyard's selection matched the hearse in the garage. It would be a pain in the a*s to paint it again. 

"Why are you two fighting like a married couple?" they heard a voice say from the doorway. Jesse's figure blocked any view of the other room as he stood against the door frame. He walked into the kitchen and sat at the table pulling his long brown hair into a hairtie. 

"Casey thinks it's funny what that fleabag did to the hearse," Amber said getting up and grabbing a cold bottle of beer from the fridge. Casey watched as she popped the cap and tossed it to Jesse who placed it in his shirt pocket. 

"That's not funny. That's terrifying. If Micah hadn't found the mace then we'd all be fucked and buried," he said. Amber sat back in the chair and took a long drink. Condensation from the bottle began to mix with the dirt and grease on her fingers causing dark liquid to drip onto the table. 

"I find Amber's frustration comical. She's cute when she's flustered," Casey ripped a paper towel from the roll and set it under Amber's now dirty beer bottle. With her mouth in a thin line, she wiped the water away glaring at Casey. 

"If looks could kill," Jesse chuckled," I'll go with you tomorrow to get the parts. Ross should be rested enough to help put them on." 

"Let's hope Amber calms down before he wakes up or we'll have two grumpy grease monkeys," Casey said walking toward the doorway. Before her feet met the carpet of the living room a cold wet smack met the back of her neck and a surprised yelp left her throat. Ice cold water started to drip down the back of her shirt as she flung the towel to the floor. Turning she saw Amber scramble out of the door back into the garage. Jesse gave a laugh before picking up the wet towel and throwing it away.

"If anyone else watched you two, they would think you never got along," he said and used his hand to wipe the back of Casey's neck clean. 

"We're the only ones who can give each other a good kick in the a*s when we need it," she said to him as they walked back to her bedroom. The summer air danced in through the open window bringing the smells of cut grass and sunshine. Soon the sun would set and the smells would change. Every night was different for Casey. Sometimes it was river water and alcohol from the Riverside Club. Other nights filled her senses with blood and gunpowder. She was never particularly fond of those nights, but it came with the job. 

"Are you done with the reports?" she heard Jesse ask as he fell back on the bed. She looked over at the computer desk littered with papers and rubbed between her eyes trying to ease the dull throb that started. 

"It's hard to put into words how we managed to kill a lycan in a park with mace and shear luck," she said sitting in the chair. The previous night was messy and a pain in the a*s. The police didn't help either. Always wanting in on what was going on and causing more stress than what was called for. Most of the time, they were good meat shields for the general public and Casey was grateful for that. Luckily, the wolf wasn't a local. He was a homeless man who had went through his first change without one of the Sparta pack to keep him in check. She hated that it had to end in death, but his change was during a blood moon and it made it all the more violent and confusing. No humans ended up dead, thankfully, but the Sparta pack was on edge. 

"I have to talk to the Alpha tonight," Casey groaned and thumped her head on the desk. The Sparta Alpha wasn't the best man to get along with after an incident. 

"Well, good luck with that. I hear the wolves are always grumpy the night after a full moon," Jesse chuckled looking over. He was right. They got downright ornery sometimes. Hopefully she would have backup

Author's Note

Second draft.