There was a long silence around the table. “Julien, are you saying we’ve found where these people hid for all those years?” Dr. Warner finally asked. “That’s a wild theory, even for you.”
“I know, even I think it sounds a little crazy, I’m sure they’re just stories,” Julien said, shrugging his shoulders. “But it would be kind of cool if it were true.”
“I don’t know, it might be scary. Just think if shifters were real, one of us sitting here could be one,” one of the women said, then shivered. “We could be having pizza with a human one second and an animal the next.”
The conversation continued around him, but Cooper wasn’t really listening; he was thinking about a legend he’d heard once growing up about his ancestors having to hide to avoid persecution. It was a story told to young children so they’d understand the importance of keeping their magic a secret, and he’d never imagined that it might have been a true story. Reeling a little at the thought of what they might have uncovered, he looked over at Dr. Warner, but her face was full of doubt, and he breathed a sigh of relief.
Even if Julien had uncovered something, it was clear that no one was going to take him seriously, but he still needed to do some digging, find the old story in the clan folklore, and make sure what he was thinking wasn’t crazy. The only problem was the feeling in the pit of his stomach that the settlement in the cave was exactly what Julien said it was, a hideout for shifters on the run from regular people and the fear that drove them to do horrible things to innocent people whose only crime was being different.
***Stephanie***
It had been another long, frustrating day, and Stephanie was more than ready to go home and forget about the entire project for a few hours. As she walked down the tunnel toward the surface, all she could think about was a hot shower, a good dinner, and bed. She was covered in a layer of fine dust from spending the day digging around in the dirt on the perimeter of the cave, looking for any clues about the people who had lived there, with zero success.
After two weeks of exploring the site, digging test holes and combing every inch of the buildings, they’d come up with almost nothing to explain why the settlement was there. She still hadmore questions than answers, and it was driving her crazy that Julien’s crazy theory was the only working one they had, but she wasn’t ready to give up. The next day she planned to start exploring the area outside the cave. Garbage was going to be the thing that saved them, she was sure of it; they just had to find the dump, and they’d have a view into the lives of the people who worked so hard to live deep inside the earth.
She emerged from the tunnel to a world bright with the setting sun, and for a moment, she was blinded by the light. “Dr. Warner, if I could just get a word with you,” a man said, shoving a microphone in her face. “I’m Jeremy Gilbert from Channel Two News. We heard about the ruins found in the cave on campus and wondered if you could answer a few questions.”
The last thing she wanted to do was appear on camera all filthy from a day crawling around in the dirt, but the reporter was there right then, and she knew better than to try and put him off. “I only have a few minutes, I have a meeting to get to,” she lied. “What would you like to know?”
“Is it true that this was once a hideout for paranormal creatures?” the man asked. “We’ve heard from a very reliable source that you believe witches and vampires once used this as a hideout.”
She could only stare at the reporter for a second, too dumbfounded to say a word, then took a deep breath and quickly tried to figure out how to handle such an outlandish suggestion. “Well, Jeremy, I’m afraid your source got it all wrong,” she said, keeping her voice level. “The truth is, we don’t really know that much about the people that lived here yet; it takes much longer than this to fully explore a site like this. It will be months before we have any real information to share, but I promise when we do, your viewers will be the first to know. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I really must be going…”
Before the reporter could stop her, she walked away, hoping he wouldn’t come after her, then slipped into the white tent and closed the flap tightly, wishing she had an actual door. Sitting down behind her desk, she watched the clock, expecting the reporter to barge in on her any second, then finally began to relax when the flap stayed closed.
When she was sure that it was safe, she got up and peeked out of the flap, relieved to see the reporter and cameraman were gone, then went back to her desk. Booting up her computer, she logged the encounter and put in her notes for the day, hoping she wasn’t going to be on the news that night. Finished with those tasks, she grabbed her phone and called Kendra, hoping she was still in the office.
“Hey, boss lady, what’s up?” Kendra asked. “I was just about to leave; you caught me just in time.”
“Sorry, this won’t take long,” she said, feeling a little guilty. “I just had an encounter with a news reporter. He was waiting for me when I came out of the tunnel. I got rid of him, but I think it’s time we got some security.”
“I told you not to stay down there alone,” Kendra scolded. “I hope it wasn’t too bad. I know how bad reporters can be.”
“It was fine, he was spouting some nonsense about us believing witches and vampires used the settlement,” she said, then sighed. “I’m sure he was just hoping to get me to talk, but I gave him my usual speech. I’m hoping that will shut him down.”
“Well, if not, we’ll have a welcoming committee ready for him next time he shows up,” Kendra said. “We don’t need that kind of publicity; we’ll have all the crazies showing up at the site wanting to get inside.”
“Let’s just hope it doesn’t get that bad,” she said. “Will you handle getting someone out here in the morning? The number for the security company is in the big binder; it should be easy to find.”
“You got it,” Kendra said. “Is there anything else you need before I go home?”
“No, that’s it, thanks a lot,” she said. “Have a good night.”
“You too,” Kendra said. “We’re all going out for dinner if you want to join us.”
“That’s okay, all I want is a shower and my bed,” she said. “Maybe next time.”
She was surprised to find Cooper waiting for her in the parking lot, and it took her a second to get past the butterflies in her stomach when she saw him lounging against her car, looking very sexy. Knowing how tired she was, she knew that she had to be careful, couldn’t let herself get swept away. She might not be able to stop if she did.
“I was on my way home from class and I saw your car,” he said, pushing away from her car and walking toward her. “Hattie, our housekeeper, has been bugging me to ask you to dinner. She thought you might like a home-cooked meal, and it’s her night to cook, so you’re in for a treat.”
“Oh, Cooper, I don’t know. It’s been a long day. There was a reporter bothering me when I came up from the settlement,” she said, then looked down at her clothes. “And look at me, I’m a mess. I’d have to go home to shower and change before I could even think about it.”
That’s okay, dinner isn’t for a couple more hours, so you’ll have plenty of time, he said. “Please don’t say no, Hattie will have my head if you don’t agree to come. She's been bugging me for days, and you have no idea what she’s like when she wants something.”
CHAPTER 7
***COOPER***
