Chapter 8: Disconcerting Discovery

Lecia arrives at the warehouse where they had performed the first Stonehenge ritual last night. When she heard from her college friend and fellow archeologist, Mike Sanders, that something appeared to have happened after they finished, her heart almost leaped out of her chest. She had to end her meeting with Daniel quickly after that, although she wasn't too worried about his effort to capture the magic.

Stepping out of the car, she lifts her sunglasses to spot Mike near the steel entrance. He's nearly the same as she remembered from college with his barely combed hair and goatee, except with some added grey. His eyes gleam appreciatively towards his friend as she approaches.

"I'm surprised. I thought you intended to leave today to head back to Washington," Lecia begins before twisting her lips. "You couldn't even bother sharing a drink with a dear friend last night, you heartless asshole."

Mike rests his hands on his hips as he snorts. "Yeah, well...apologies. I only go dancing with those who enjoy digging."

Lecia hums, raising an eyebrow. "Is that so?"

With a chuckle, she leans closer to her friend and presses her hand on his chest. Her friend stiffens at her close contact as she brings her lips closer to his ear. "I'm digging right now, aren't I?"

The archeologist clears his throat, gently pushing her away. "As much as I'd like to banter with you, Lecia, We really do have a potential problem."

Lecia curls her lips before letting him go for now. "Alright, business it is. Secret business, of course."

"It might not be secret for long," Mike corrects, his voice turning grim as he proceeds inside. That seems to shake his friend, who stops briefly and widens her eyes at his back before following.

"Seriously, no need to create suspense. What happened?"

As they walk into the center of the building and stop in front of the snuffed fire pit, Mike pulls out his phone and hands it to her.

"It's better if you see it for yourself."

Lecia shuts her eyes and sighs before taking the phone. Before hitting play on his prepared recording, she glances up at him. "Did we fuck up?"

"Possibly."

The former archeologist curses under her breath. With no time to delay, she taps the screen. A camera stationed in the corner replays the moments after the last person in their group laid a fire blanket down over the pit. When the lights shut off, causing the camera to switch to night mode, nothing appeared out of the ordinary for a minute until...a rustle.

Lecia pulls her face closer to the screen as she stares hard at the pit, finding that something has slipped out. Unfortunately, she couldn't make it out, even though the pit and blanket were visible. Was it some sort of critter? If that were the case, there should've been some movement before...or even a scream during the fire.

"You see it too, right?"

Lecia looks up from his phone. "Yes, but...how can we know it's not something like a rat?"

Mike nods. "Swipe left. I also downloaded from the IR camera we set up."

Seeing how her friend already anticipated her question, Lecia grows more anxious and follows, moving on to the next video. Hitting play, she sees the same rustling of the blanket but now colored yellow-orange thanks to the heat; however, when the creature exits, her mouth hangs to see a round, undefined creature completely black — devoid of any warmth that should've been impossible for any mammal, especially one coming out of a burning pit!

Slowly, Lecia hands the phone back to her friend and stares blankly at the fire pit with him. "Holy...shit."

"Yep, that was my reaction."

"N-no, no...we need to keep this quiet from the others!"

Mike raises his eyebrows. "Are you sure? We have others that might be able to give more possibilities or insights."

Lecia quickly presses her fingers to her nose bridge and breathes in deeply. "I'm not saying we won't eventually disclose, but...whatever came out of the pit has clearly left. We need to find more evidence to be sure so we're not mistaken. The last thing I want is to scare our group members that we might've unleashed something."

Knowing of some individuals who felt worried about the effects once it became clear the teachings of the Stonehenge book showed some phenomena, Mike nods and rubs his forehead.

"It's really insane how quickly everything is unfolding."

"Overwhelming, isn't it?" Lecia laughs dryly. "Don't get me wrong, though. I want this to turn out to be nothing. We know far too little about the book, plus having something living to deal with at this point is...too much; dangerous even."

The group leader lets out a depressed chuckle, biting her lips. "Look at us — a bunch of fools who might be in and over their head."

Mike quickly straightens and stares firmly at her. "Lecia, don't ever regret what we've accomplished. The fact that the ritual had some effect means we're getting closer to correctly understanding the language!"

The president nods but can't shake off her concern. She takes a deep breath, then clears her throat. "You're right. I know we've done a lot so far. First, we'll need to check other cameras, starting with the ones nearby this area. For that, of course, we will have to reveal this information to a few people around who can help."

"I'll organize a couple of seniors who will understand."

"What about you?"

Mike blinks, then realizes Lecia is referring to his plans. Unlike her, he still works for a university up in Washington state. With conferences and a family to get back to, he knows his visit can't be for long.

"Although I wanted to leave today, I'll have to delay my trip till the end of this week to help where I can."

Lecia's heart beats to hear this. Needing his presence more than ever, she leans against Mike, who allows her to rest her head against his chest.

"...Thank you."

Mike smiles bitterly and wraps his arms around her shoulders to calm his friend. It might be better to say she's a little more than a friend, but...it's complicated. While things haven't worked out how he wished, but he can't sweat the details for an old love.