Chapter 9

"That was our seventh snatcher! Can we take a break?"

Jasper sighed with a nod. "Yes, I suppose I'm asking too much of you today."

Angie groaned and slumped down against a building wall as Jasper let time flow again. They were at this since five in the morning. Jasper had wanted to check out the shoreline. He had said something about having this problem a few years ago and the problem had been at the water. Angie, on the other hand, wanted to go back towards the sushi place that they had gone to the first day that they arrived in Seattle. However, Jasper was the senior in this pair, so she went with what he wanted to do even though she had a feeling he was going about this the wrong way.

"The alleyway is filthy," Jasper said, holding out his hand to her. "Come on. Let's go find a bench."

Angie grabbed his hand and he pulled hard to get her up off the ground. She groaned and leaned herself back by the waist and they could both hear her back crack multiple times.

"That's disturbing."

"You're disturbing."

Jasper shook his head with a sigh. "That doesn't make any sense."

"You don't make any sense."

Jasper rolled his eyes and snorted. "Alright, I can see that you're exhausted. Let's go back to the hotel and relax for a bit."

"I'm hungry," Angie said. "I want to go back to that sushi place."

"You're willing to walk all the way there right now?" Jasper asked with an eyebrow raised.

"Hey, I went along with you this morning to try and get this problem solved and we failed. Now, I get to eat and see where my hunch gets us!" Angie huffed, cheeks puffed out in a pout. "And that's final!"

Jasper stared at her for a moment in amazement, then started howling in laughter. Angie's cheeks turned red as she watched her partner practically keel over. Angie's arms crossed over her puffed out chest and she stamped her foot hard on the cement, which she immediately regretted after pain shot up her leg but it didn't phase the way that she was glaring at Jasper.

"What's so funny?!" She asked, practically barking at him.

"You're having a temper tantrum!" Jasper said through his booming laughter. "I know you're furious but you're not scary or intimidating at all!"

Angie scowled at him, huffed and turned on her heels to start walking towards the sushi restaurant. "Well! I'm glad that my anger can satisfy you! I'm leaving!"

"Wait! Wait! Angie! Hold on!"

Angie didn't wait or hold on. She trudged through the streets ignoring her partner that was on her heels yelling to her to practice teleportation. He didn't even say he was sorry! Well, she didn't quite expect it given that he was a demon for god's sake, but hell he could have said something that would have been considered an apology! She would have even taken 'I'm sorry but seeing you like that was hilarious!' But no! Not even that! Just him going on and on about practicing her magical abilities like this was a video game!

"Ang! Angie! Ang!"

She snarled through her nose and whirled around to face the demon. "What!?"

Jasper pointed to the building next to her and grinned. "We're here."

Her face relaxed and she gazed up at the sign for the sushi place; a tinge of a blush spreading across her cheeks in embarrassment. "Oh. Right."

But she didn't move and Jasper started towards the door first. "We're going inside, right?"

Angie chewed on her bottom lip, looking both ways down the street. Something was off she just didn't know what. "Yeah, I guess."

Jasper quirked an eyebrow, stepping away from the door. "Is something wrong?"

Angie was quick to shake her head and proceeded to open the door for them. "No. I just have a weird feeling. That's all."

"Oh! Welcome back!" The hostess greeted them and led them to the same table as last time.

Angie seized Jasper's hand and squeezed. "Jasper."

"Hm?"

"Something's not right."

"What?"

"Would you care for some drinks while you wait?"

"Angie looked up at the hostess and nodded with a blank stare. "Lemonade please."

"I'll have some tea."

The hostess bowed and went off to get their drinks. Meanwhile, Angie stared at the other diners in the restaurant. Nothing was wrong with them. No sleeping snatcher and no active ones. She balled her fist up tight against her chest and let out a shaky breath.

"Are you okay?" Jasper asked, trying to keep his voice down. "You look like you're about to pass out."

Angie shook her head. "I feel something that I didn't feel last time, but I'm not sure what it is."

The hostess came back with their drinks and Jasper thanked the woman for them both since Angie was too preoccupied with scanning the room every few seconds. Jasper frowned and snarled at her to get her attention.

"You're acting weird. People will notice."

Angie suddenly got to her feet and slid out from the booth. "I'll be right back. I... have to use the restroom."

Jasper's eyes narrowed at her but he gave a curt nod and went back to examining the menu in front of him. As she swerved through the other tables towards the back, she made note of who was eating what and who was giving off those bad vibes that she didn't feel the last time she was here. Everyone who gave off those vibes were eating some kind of noodle from udon to ramen. The dishes looked to be normal Asian noodle dishes. They smelled great too. What could be in them causing such a ruckus among the snatchers?

She scooted past a waitress heading towards the bathroom, but when she was sure no one was looking, she hopped through the kitchen door instead. Shining pots and pans lined the kitchen walls while delicious steam wafted towards her from a few different directions. No one had noticed that a stranger had waltzed into the kitchen and she took advantage of that by dipping down low to sneak around the room. There were only two chefs working to fulfill orders as they came in so they were too busy to notice the woman crawling around the room. These two chefs didn't give off those bad vibes that she had felt from the guests in the dining area though, so she wandered off from them and made her way to the storage room in the way back of the building.

Angie turned the handle as gently as she could in order to not be heard, but the door squeaked when it opened. Angie bit her lip and looked over her shoulder at the chefs who were still too busy with orders to process that there was someone else in the room with them. She turned her attention back to the door, opening it just enough to squeeze through, then quickly shut it behind her.

In the storage there were the necessary ingredients for a restaurant; vegetables, oils, some fruits, refrigerators for things needed to be kept cool, and of course grains like bread and rice. The rice was stored in big wooden barrels and there were at least seven of them scattered throughout the room. Some of them had their lids pried off.

As Angie stepped closer to one of the rice barrels that had their lids pried off, she could hear faint grumbling noises. They were definitely out of place and she had never heard such a noise except maybe in video games when the enemy is nearby. Although, she didn't see anything once she peered into the barrel. With her hand, she smoothed out the top of the rice pile and while she didn't feel anything, the noises grew angrier and louder the more her hand occupied that space. She pulled her hand back and took a step back away from the barrel, but the noises didn't cease or lower in volume.

"Okay, well...," Angie inhaled, quickly looking back towards the door then back at rice barrels. "Here goes nothing."

The room's colors faded and the noises throughout the kitchen went silent. The only thing she could hear were the angry whines and growls coming from the rice. Peering back into the barrels, Angie could see a small, angry looking, black hairball with long arms and a pair of razor-like fingers at the end. Angie squeaked and backed away from the barrel lightening fast. The monster poked its head from the barrel and made a noise kind of like a dog's bark. From the other open barrels popped out a few more of these creatures.

"What the hell?"

Cordelia shot out from her chest and immediately went after one of the creatures in the barrel. The monster yipped and ran from the flying weapon, but it wasn't quick enough. Cordelia crushed it under her hammer head and it dissipated into dust.

"These are what snatchers look like without a host body," Cordelia told Angie who was still frozen in place near the door. "They are weak little buggers, but don't turn your back on them. They will get you."

"They're really... weird looking," Angie said, watching Cordelia go after another one like a cat hunting a mouse. "Why do they look like hairballs?"

"To hell you go!" Cordelia yelled as she smashed another one under her hammer. "I am pretty sure those hair-like tendons spread throughout the host body in order to control every part. They also get a better grip on the heart of the host so that the host can't get rid of them itself."

Angie blinked. "What?"

Cordelia smashed another under her hammer then turned towards the woman. "Ah... yes, there was a time where humans could dispose of these creatures without our help. Although, demons were still around to exorcise them, humans were able to get rid of them with a change of heart. But now a days...," She destroyed the last snatcher before continuing. "Snatchers have these tendons... not to mention, it is quite difficult to change the hearts of mankind."

"Quite so," Angie mumbled in agreement. "Well... I guess we better get back to Jasper before I end this session."

"Right," Cordelia bowed to her and disappeared back into her chest.

Angie all but ran back to the dining room. Actually seeing those things without a host triggered something within her that made her incredibly tired. She thought they had looked like the shadows that she fought when they were actually within a host. She really went into this without much information from her mentor. It didn't totally surprise her now. Jasper was a creature who liked to experience things rather than teach, which works for some, but she's learning that it isn't exactly for her.

When she got back to the dining room, Jasper's weapon was disappearing and a few snatchers had just turned into dust. Jasper groaned, rolling his neck and shoulders, then stretched his arms up and Angie could hear pops going up all along his back.

"So, you found the source, huh?" Jasper asked, turning to Angie who stood frozen with her mouth hanging open. He cocked his head with a wry smile. "Snatcher got your tongue?"

"I'm leaving," Angie suddenly stated, pushing past him and once she was out the door, she dropped the still of time.

"Angie! Wait!" Jasper yelled, dashing after her. "Why are you pissed all of a sudden?"

"I'm not pissed," She said and it wasn't technically a lie. "I'm just tired. Snatchers don't look the way I thought they did when they didn't have a host body and I wish you had told me. They were freaky looking. This whole mission was draining in the first place, but that was the kicker."

"I really don't understand-."

"Of course you don't," Angie interrupted, rolling her eyes with a snort. "And I didn't know that there was once a time that a simple change of heart could remove these things from humans without the need of demons. Honestly, I don't know anything about the history of this stupid mess that I've just thrown myself into."

"Damn, you are tired," Jasper said. "A nap will reset those emotions of yours. We'll have dinner after and then we will be leaving in the morning."

"And you'll tell me everything during the car ride home... correct?" Angie asked, giving a side-eyed glance towards Jasper who merely sighed.

"You know that experience is the best way to learn in this field."

"Somehow I knew you would say that," Angie said with a click of her tongue. "Whatever. I don't expect much from you in terms of actually teaching me."

"Smart," Jasper laughed with only annoyed Angie more. "Come on. Let's get you to bed Miss Grumpy."