Chapter 8 Agent Laurel

Agent Laurel immediately left back for Enchanted once the preparations were finished, taking Greenhouse's fastest horse. Typically, it'd take half an hour to reach the desolate part of town, but with this horse, Strawberry, Laurel knew, would shave off at least ten minutes.

But it wasn't like she needed to hurry. Laurel smiled. She just liked the excitement of the chase. The batbane would have no idea she was coming. How could she? The batbane didn't even know who Laurel was. She had thought her just another annoying old hag breaking things in her shop.

Laurel had played her act perfectly. She just knew. No one ever saw through it. She was the best, after all.

Then again, Magic-folk was just stupid, in her opinion. She had hunted enough of them through the years to know.

They predictably rely too heavily on their magic than their heads. Laurel thought and gloated. But that made things easier for her. It gave her the advantage of always being a step ahead. Because, compared to them, she never took anything for granted.

One should always keep on their toes. So Laurel thought, then laughed to herself.

She was already imagining how the batbane would look once she realized what was happening. Would she cower? Or cry? And what of the other two? The familiar and the gnome? Would they scream?

Yes, what about them, Laurel reflected. She knew they would need to be dealt with as well, but there needed to be a sense of order to these types of things.

It was obvious to her that the batbane was going to be first. She had to be. It was the whole reason Laurel was even involved.

Yes, Laurel thought, I'll capture her first and bring her back to Greenhouse until she could be picked up.

"Picked up, like she's a child at school." Laurel joked to herself aloud. It was a silly idea. Batbanes didn't go to school. Vali forbade it. They weren't even supposed to know how to read. It was an act punishable by death.

"I should be done within the day. I should think," Laurel spoke with a sense of ease. It wouldn't take long to apprehend the creature, even if she struggled.

Batbanes, Laurel knew, was weak and pathetic. It all had to do with their parents. They had powers from their Vampire fathers but frail bodies from their human mothers. Together, they created a toxic combination of what would be an imbalanced being.

In the grand scheme of things, Laurel almost felt a sense of pity for them. Somewhat.

She couldn't help but see them as sad creatures. They aged too fast to live, died too young, and died even quicker if they used their vampire abilities. Their frail bodies couldn't handle it and would fall apart after a while. They held no benefit to being alive.

"And it's not like they are loved, either-" Laurel told the horse as if she were telling an amusing joke. It was both sad and funny to think about.

"Their human mothers are paid surrogates who leave once they're born. And the vampires work them like slaves in their factories or use them like cattle to eat. The only reason they exist is to keep Vali going." So she voiced to the horse.

She then leaned in to whisper into his ear. She was now feeling giddy. It had been a while seen she had felt the adrenaline rush of the hunt.

It was a more than welcomed feeling for her. She thrived on it.

"I bet you don't know this, but- Vampires are terrible when having their own children. Infertility issues, you know. Their women are barren compared to us. Thus, there are few pure-blooded ones around. But plenty of batbanes." Laurel said and pulled back.

She tsked.

"A waste of time and life batbanes are. The bloodsuckers should just give up and let themselves die off." Laurel spoke and looked at Strawberry.

"It's better than creating such pitiful creatures. Seems rather sinful, doesn't it?" Laurel asked the horse. The horse merely looked back at her. He could not talk. He was just a horse.

Ahead, Laurel could vaguely make out the outline of the store.

We are already making a great time, she thought. They had now entered the poorer part of Terra. Laurel thought only the old and forgotten things stayed here with a memory.

She caught sight of a familiar place coming up their way.

Laurel instinctually pulled on Strawberry. The horse came to a halt. She took a moment to study the old brick building now before her.

Even after all this time, she noted as she peered at her childhood place, it still stood. But it was worse off than before.

The orphanage sign used to display over the entryway but now lay carelessly off its hinges on top of a rotten door. All the windows she could see were murky with soot and fingerprints. They were thick with dirt, so she could not see inside. But then again, she didn't need to.

She had a good idea that it was no longer in use. Hadn't been for a long time.

Laurel laughed at that. It sounded bitter.

"Good riddance," Laurel said and sneered at the building. The building loomed back at her in return. It seemed out of place even among the other desolate buildings.

It felt ugly. Not just looked it, Laurel realized and took in the surrounding buildings. They, in turn, were in bad shape too but didn't appear so...corrupted. They didn't vibrate like the orphanage, like a rattlesnake's tail. Warning all trespassers that it was toxic.

And it was a toxic place.

Laurel still suffered from the nightmares of her time there. They sometimes left her awake the rest of the night, shivering and crying, filled with a fear that would not leave until the sun came up. Only its' golden streams could burn away the past terrors.

It was a constant reminder of her time there. Sometimes even the sun didn't help, and Laurel would have to force the feeling away by drowning herself in work. She would go on mission after mission, exhausting herself, pushing herself up until collapsing and falling into a dreamless sleep.

This extreme way of self medicate had only begun to affect her severely. Her body was older now and was not recovering like it used to, but what was the alternative? Talk about it.

What a stupid idea, Laurel instantly thought.

It wouldn't change anything, Laurel thought and pulled on the reigns. Strawberry began to pace faster and away from the orphanage. Laurel took one last look at it with cold eyes before turning back to peer onward.

It was all in the past. Nothing could fix it now.

She would do better just to ignore it, Laurel thought.

The two rode on in silence for a time. Laurel watched listlessly as familiar buildings drifted past her. They were all in a decayed state, and people scattered about. From the looks of it, they were human. But there could be a few witches mixed in, but one couldn't tell straight from looking. There was no way to tell the difference if they weren't wearing their uniform.

Witches seemed no different from them, Laurel thought. And it didn't help that they never seemed to wear the damn things.

Why was that, she questioned and then yawned. She'd like a nap as soon as she returned.

As they continued, they rode past a middle-aged woman carrying a small ruddy-faced child. Both stopped to look up and smile at Laurel.

"Look at that red coat- She's a Gleamer. They protect us from bad Fae." The mother informed the little girl. Laurel could see the girl's face to be dirty and both to have teeth missing.

"Hello, good people!" Laurel boomed and waved her clean gloved hand. She smiled at them sincerely. Her chest began to fill with pride.

She loved moments like this. It reminded her of how important her job was. She was their protector. They were safe because of her and because of Greenhouse.

Laurel couldn't be more pleased to be a part of it. Because of her and Greenhouse, there was still some defense against the fae. Since the fall of the Church, Greenhouse was the last line of defense to keep all the Fae in line and accountable.

Laurels' grey eyes moved to linger on the child a moment longer before turning forward. She couldn't help but feel a longing for one of her own. She thought it would have been nice to have had a daughter. She knew she would have been a good mother. Despite her upbringing, she would shower the child with affection and warmth.

She would never abandon her like the human mothers did their batbanes in Vali. Nor mistreat her like the vampires with their manual labor. They didn't even give them names—just numbers.

No, I would give her a rich name and be stern with her but encouraging, Laurel knew. And Hector would have been the father, of course. They would have married young.

Laurel would have given up her work to be a stay-at-home mother. Hector would have been the breadwinner. And together, they would have watched their daughter grow up into a fine lady and start a family of her own. And in their golden years, Hector and Laurel would spend their short time uninterrupted, playing with their grandchildren.

Oh, what a life she could have had, Laurel thought dreamily.

But none of that happened. It wasn't going to happen. That chance was missed.

Laurel felt a raindrop fall onto her bare head. She peered up to see the full grey clouds. It began to pour on them. And in a short time, the horse and woman were drenched.

The horse seemed immediately appalled and began to grunt sounds of distress. Laurel could see his breath fog out in the now chilly air. It reminded her of the dragons of Freet. She had never seen one of those and likely wouldn't. She had heard they were dying out-hunted to the point of disappearing entirely.

It would have been nice to have hunted one herself. So Laurel thought as they made their way to the front of the store.

Once I finish capturing the batbane, I'll have to call Foxpure again to report, Laurel thought and frowned. She did not want to do that again. It was unpleasant enough to have to do a search and retrieve mission.

"Can't I just kill'em and call it a day?" Laurel groaned and jumped down from the horse. She landed in a deep puddle that gave a large splash. The water seeped into her boots and soaked the only dry part of her socks left. Laurel pouted.

She was bothered now.

Agent Laurel strolled to the purple door with a wet squish on each step. She hated that. And she hated this. She paused to stand exactly in front of the door.

Why can't I just kill her? Laurel began. Vali never asks to have any runaways brought back. Few there were. They just want them dead.

That's the majority of their missions, Laurel thought.

Vali did not tolerate runaways.

So, why was this one an exception? What hadn't the vampire told her? Why was this batbane important? Why am I being put through all the trouble of just apprehending her? Laurel thought she was only a batbane after all but couldn't shake the feeling of being uninformed.

Laurel narrowed her eyes. She'd have to figure it out for herself now, wouldn't she?

Agent Laurel then smiled. She moved to retrieve from her large backpack her favorite weapon. It was named Betsy and was an automatic explosive projectile launcher.

She flipped on its red switch. It gave a sound of a hummingbird as the electricity ran through it. This was one of Vali's best.

Laurel moved to pull on her gas mask with her free hand. She would need it. Things were going to become quite messy with fire and smoke. This was her favorite part of being a gleamer, and she thought—the destruction.

Laurel jumped back to give herself enough space before pulling the trigger. Out of the barrel came a small blue pellet that flew gracefully to touch the purple door- then violently tore apart the wood with a fiery rage upon impact.

The attack brought up a cloud of fire and smoke that Laurel calmly traversed. Her suit and mask were fireproof for this very reason, and those left her comfortable and unafraid of what would otherwise be death for those without.

She entered the store with Betsy still in hand. She called out.

"Greenhouse- Everyone's under arrest!" Her voice screeched. In the far back, she could hear the sound of wood creaking. She narrowed her grey eyes at the sound.

"..." Laurel listened and waited for the smoke to clear. Once it had, Laurel could now identify her surroundings. In the dim light of the gas lamps, she could see how a door lay open in the back.

They must be there, Laurel thought and laughed. How stupid. Were they trying to hide from her? It wasn't like there was some other way out. Just the front door. Laurel knew this as she had checked the surroundings before engaging the first time. She had seen just the purple door.

The old gleamer scuffed at their idiocy. She then took her time, putting one steel-toed boot in front of the other to drag out and savor the final moments of her hunt. She halted before the doorway. Inside the open way, she could see it to be some type of living space.

Rather like a rat's nest, Laurel thought with disgust. It was so cramped for a place and held just three rooms: a bed, bath, and kitchen. Laurel decided to check the bedroom first.

When she did, what she saw made her panic. The room was empty of people and things. It was just as if-

Laurel widened her eyes in shock.

"No. They couldn't have-"

Laurel quickly turned to check the bath next to the kitchen. Both had been picked clean. Nothing was left. Laurel peered over at the empty cupboards and let out a yell. But how could they have known? She had been perfect. She knew she had. No one saw through her acts. She was Agent Laurel, Greenhouse's best!

"Damn it!" Laurel exclaimed in a fury.

The batbane somehow had seen through her- and had managed to pack up everything and run away. It was obvious. But how?

"Shit." Laurel cursed. If they weren't here-where?

Laurel stormed into the kitchen and rammed her steel-toed boot into a lower cabinet. The wood cracked upon impact. She took a step back and ripped off her mask. Her face was red and sore.

If they weren't here, she'd have to look for them. That meant she would need more time. She wasn't going to be able to finish her mission today. She was going to have to do more work.

This was just rotten to hells, she thought.

She was NOT in the mood to chase after a stupid batbane.

The Gleamer gave out another scream. Her whole body shook as she did with energy.

She moved to attack another cabinet, then another. Soon, she had broken into all of them but still felt unsatisfied. Finally, Laurel turned her head, searching for what else she could destroy.

This was when she finally noticed the pushed-away rug. The only thing still left in the room. Her eyes glided from the carpet over to see something unexpected. She smiled darkly at it.

It was a trap door.

"Hello there," Laurel said with an even wider smile.

"So, you're the noise I heard before." She said with realization. They must have just gone down as she came it. Laurel took in a deep breath and felt satisfied.

This couldn't be any easier, she thought.

The old woman pulled Betsy back up and jumped back a step. She aimed its' scope onto the floor.

"3...2…- Laurel trembled with excitement. She LOVED her job.

"-1"

Laurel finished and pulled the trigger. Then, in delight, she watched as the blue puff gently drifted down to destroy the floor in a hells rage of fire.

Laurel moved on her mask and went straight through the flames. She no longer wanted to savor the moment. This was getting exciting. She had lost her patience.

Instead, she ran at full speed and dived into the black hole.

The gleamer landed with a sharp "umph" and cried a little after her legs. They had not appreciated the harsh landing at all.

My body is getting a little too old for this. Laurel thought, then dismissed it. What did it matter if I was? It wasn't like she planned on retiring.

She couldn't think of what else she could do if she weren't working. This was all she had. Everything else was too late.

Laurel took a moment to right herself and stand. She silently watched the smoke and fire draw away. Once gone, she now faced a dark and long tunnel. It looked intimidating.

Who knew what lay inside it? Laurel gave a shiver at the idea of the unknown.

She had not known about this. It wasn't in any of the blueprints of the store she had studied before investigating the batbane. This was uncharted, likely done by the old witch who owned the store. It seemed endless and even had stairs carved in the stone.

"This is just getting better," Laurel said with another of her monstrous smiles. She felt another dose of adrenaline roll through her. It made her giggle.

She felt as though she had just dropped ten years, maybe more. She had stepped back to the time when she was still new and was still trying to make a name for herself in Greenhouse. Those were the best years of her life, Laurel sadly knew.

"Ready or not- I'm coming." Laurel sang out to the darkness. She then worked her hands to shake up a vial of glow worms. They arose from their slumber with an irritated hiss and began to emanate a red aura.

Once the glow worms were fully awake, the red aura became a massive light and illuminated the tunnel. Now able to see where she was going, Laurel took off down in a run. Her steel-stoned boots made a sloshing sound with each step.