Daywalker: Under a Bridge

Beneath the Hill-to-hill bridge, a homeless camp had taken root. Most of the homeless were new arrivals in the city. Among them, about half were Extranormals and few of them trusted law enforcement. Grey Walker drove his SUV down the narrow-paved road that bordered the river until he arrived a few yards short of the overpass. He had come looking for an old friend, hoping to get some information on someone who may very well have cost him his career.

Grey was aware of the dangers of walking into a camp like this. He had left anything of value locked in his SUV. The key dangled around his neck on a chain. As he neared the camp, he tucked the key inside his shirt. Most of these people were honest, but he had been working in law enforcement long enough to guard against those who weren't. At the edge of the bridge's shadow, a large figure stepped forward to block his way. "Move out of my way, troll, or I will move you." The troll's laughter was cut short when Grey kicked him on the side of his head. By the time the troll recovered, Grey was on the other side of him still being trailed by the pickpocket who hadn't had the chance to ply his trade.

As the small pale hand reached into Grey's pocket, Grey grabbed the waif by its wrist. "Lucky for you, I'm on leave or I'd be slapping a pair of cuffs on you." The waif tried to pull itself free, but Grey had a tight grip. "I'm looking for a friend. I heard he was hanging out down here helping people. His name is Duncan. Any idea where I might find him?" The waif pointed up the slope toward the top of the bridge. "Thanks," Grey said as he released the waif and started up the hill.

The shade beneath the bridge grew darker with each step upward. Grey's eyes gradually adjusted allowing him to focus on his old friend. Duncan had changed little over the years, but he was twice as wide as Grey remembered and completely devoid of hair anywhere on his head. Duncan was smiling and busy clearing space for Grey as he approached. Grey sat where he was instructed, on the ogre's knee, and laughed as he bumped his head on the bottom of the bridge. "What brings you here?" Duncan asked being careful not to let his voice boom in the confined space.

"Yesterday, I was attempting to rescue a possible jumper from a building. Just as I grab hold, she pulled us both over the edge. When I landed, she was gone, vanished on the way down. The only person who remembers her is my partner who was on the roof with me at the time. I can't make any sense of it. I was hoping that you could help me."

"That's a lot to unpack, but I think I can help. I just need to ask a few questions. Before the fall, had other people seen this jumper?"

"Yes. She had caused a traffic jam from all the gawkers blocking the street."

"When you grabbed her, did she grab you back?"

Grey paused for a moment. "Yes, she grabbed my wrist before leaning backwards over the ledge. I thought that I had a good footing, but it didn't seem to matter."

"I think your jumper was an imp. They are strong as oxen, can vanish and appear at will, and can sense things about people even after they have left. They can also influence people making them forget things."

"Like being on top of a building all morning?"

"Exactly."

"But my partner wasn't affected."

"Are you sure that's really your partner?"

"I'm not sure I know what you mean..."

"Imps can influence what you see, what you remember, and sometimes how you feel. They are mostly solitary creatures, but once they make contact, especially physical contact, they become attached to the person."

Grey came looking for answers and walked away with more questions. As he pulled away in his SUV, he thought he saw the woman from the ledge looking down at him from the bridge. She was smiling.

Daywalker: Inside the Freak House

Delivering a prisoner to Special Lockup always made Officer Grey Walker uncomfortable. Most Normals wouldn't enter the place. Officer Lucas Marshall opted to remain in the car while Grey took the prisoner inside. Grey signed in with his palm print before escorting the shifter to his holding cell. He unlocked the specialized handcuffs and shoved the man inside the virtually escape proof cell. The cell door latched shut as soon as Grey was clear. Grey stood for a moment to watch the prisoner test the confines of his cell. The prisoner could pull his disappearing act all he wanted. Grey made sure that the cell was marked as occupied. On the way out, he informed the office that he had just locked up a shapeshifter for attempted robbery.

Back inside the car, Lucas sighed with relief. "What was that for?" Grey asked.

"Oh, you know, I'm always afraid that you'll go in there and they won't let you leave." Lucas laughed nervously.

"Me, too, partner. Me, too," Grey muttered.

As they drove away, Grey remembered the one time that he had been locked up there. He had just turned sixteen and his schoolmates had managed to get their hands on a case of beer. It was his first time out drinking with his schoolmates and they cheerfully passed him a fresh can every time he finished the last one. When he needed to pee, he chose to relieve himself on a nearby car that was blocking the alley. It wouldn't have been so bad, except the police car was occupied at the time. He probably would have outrun the officer chasing him if he hadn't been certifiably drunk. The officer didn't know that Grey was a daywalker at the time. He took Grey to the Special Lockup with the intention of scaring him straight. It worked.

Grey shared a cell with other drunk Extranormals, one of which was a belligerent troll, who was half as broad as he was tall and covered with a thick coat of brown hair. The breath of a troll is bad enough, but when combined with alcohol, it becomes absolutely foul. Most of the other cellmates kept their distance from the troll. But the beast had cornered Grey and was looking for a fight. That was the day Grey discovered that he was more than a fast runner.

Deciding that he couldn't take any more of the troll's foul breath, Grey raised his feet off the floor and kicked the troll in the belly. The beast was sent sliding on his ass clear across the cell. The troll picked itself up off the floor and charged at Grey, who dodged the creature's fists as they hit the cell wall. Before the troll could gather its wits for the next attack, both it and Grey were tasered by the guards.

Grey woke up in a cell opposite that of the troll. Both had been sentenced to another night in Special Lockup because of their fight. The cells in which they were locked were secured with both self-latching and deadbolt lock mechanisms. The bars were barely two inches apart making it nearly impossible to pass an arm through. Instead of iron, still a standard in Normal jails, the bars securing the prisoners and the bed frame were made of heavy steel.

Grey and the troll stared at each other for several minutes before the troll broke out in laughter. "What's so funny?" Grey shouted at the troll.

"I got my ass kicked by a mere boy. That don't happen often," the troll smiled. "You got a name, boy?" he asked. "Mine's Duncan Riddle."

"I thought trolls didn't give out their names," Grey replied.

"You've been reading too many fairy tales, kid," Duncan laughed. "C'mon, I know you got a name."

"It's Grey," Grey replied. "Grey Walker."

"Well, Grey Walker, I'm pleased to meet you. What did you do to get in here, Grey Walker?" They talked for hours. It was the beginning of a long friendship and the only time that Grey was locked up in the Freak House.

As the two police officers pulled away from the Special Lockup, a call came through requesting their assistance at an abandoned building scheduled for demolition.