My Dungeon's Keeper - Chapter 4 - Aftermath (Patreon)

I kept going back and forth on how big I wanted the town they're in to be. Tiny, where everyone knows each other, or a decent 'we have a wallmart' size. I went with the latter.

I have a good idea of the immediate setting now, and I may go back to chapter 1 to name drop the town a little earlier. Mirror Lake, Montana, a smallish town surrounded by woods and (suprise suprise) on the edge of a lake.

Anyways... I think one, maybe two setup chapters, then I can start revealing the magical side of things to you guys. Can't wait.

“Can you describe the ‘creature’?” Officer Hawkins asked. His voice practically dripped with sarcasm when he said creature, and considering he was about the fourth person I had to describe it to I didn’t know if it was for his report, or if rumors of my run in had already gotten around at the station, and he just wanted to hear the story for himself.

“Do you have to do that right now?” Dr. Bernard hissed from my other side. The crotchety old man had been the head doctor of the tiny local hospital for as long as I could remember. I’d heard that he’d semi-retired earlier this year, but as soon as I walked in and he saw the state of my arm, he practically threw me into the nearest examination room so he could stitch me up.

“Sorry, Doc, if what the little lady is claiming is true, then we have a genuine cryptid running around town,” Hawkins replied, not bothering to look up from his clipboard. “And if she panicked, and was seeing things, then we still have a dangerous animal running around.”

“I never claimed that I saw a cryptid, mythical creature, monster, or anything stupid like that,” I growled. “All I said is the thing looked like a scaly chicken.”

“Which is exactly why we’ve had to get you to confirm your story a half dozen times already,” Hawkins replied. “You know how crazy you sound? Claiming a mutant chicken jumped out of a basement, that didn’t exist yesterday, and mauled you before you knocked it out of the window. If you didn’t have those wounds I would have dragged you down here to get a drug test instead of stitches.”

“Did you ever consider that maybe it wasn’t a mutant,” I asked. “Maybe it was a regular chicken with some sort of infectious skin condition. You’d all look pretty stupid if you let something like that run loose and infect some farmer’s flock, wouldn’t you?”

“Right,” the officer replied slowly as he reached up and scratched the top of his balding head. “Well, I didn’t say we weren’t going to look, just that your story sounds a little…”

“I know how my story sounds,” I muttered. “I hardly believe it myself, and I was there.”

Hawkins levered himself out of the chair and stumbled to his feet. “Well, I better get out there. With Mason on vacation, we’re short-staffed at the station; And while I don’t know if I believe your chicken-lizard stoy, I admit whatever attacked you is dangerous.”

“What about my house? My cats?” I asked just as he turned towards the door. 

“We left Becky there. She’ll tape up the scene and block up the window before looking for evidence. Once you’re done here, you’ll be able to pick up your keys at the station,” he replied. 

“Thanks,” I muttered as he sauntered towards the door.

“I’m guessing what you saw wasn’t just some chicken with a skin condition,” Doctor Bernard said, once the deputy had left.

“Of course not. It had a lizard tail and claws at the end of it’s wings,” I snorted. “I don’t know what it was, but I know it wasn’t some sick chicken. The officer wasn’t going to believe me, so I told him something plausible, so he’d stop pestering me. Besides, they’ll see what it actually looks like when they catch the thing.”

“So, what makes you think I’ll believe your story when the Deputy doesn’t?” the doc asked.

“Oh, I don’t think you believe me, at least not completely, but I also know that you have an open mind,” I said, trying to ignore the constant dull prodding sensation in my arm. I had a crick in my neck from staring away from the old man for so long, but there was no way I was going to look while he went to town on my arm with that needle. “What is it you used to say when I was a kid? ‘I’ve seen enough unexplained shit in my time to completely rule the unexplained out’.”

“That’s back when I was convinced there was some sort of cryptid running around in the forest behind my house,” he grunted. “I’m older and wiser now.”

“Still, I can’t believe that someone who once believed a cryptid was stalking him would completely discount my encounter with some strange creature,” I said.

“Got me there,” the doctor muttered. There was a faint tink of metal, and a second later he patted me on the shoulder. “I’m all done here.”

I lowered my arm, then rolled my shoulder to get the cramp out, before finally raising the limb where I could see it. “It looks like I lost a fight with a wood chipper,” I said, wincing. Most of my forearm was some combination of blue, red and purple, and there had to be close to a dozen stitched-up gashes across it.

“You’re lucky that thing didn’t hit anything vital; some of those cuts were pretty deep,” the doc said as he reached into the pocket of his lab coat and pulled out a pack of cigarettes. 

“Don’t tell me that you’re going to light that up in here!” I exclaimed. 

“Relax. While I would have lit one up in here a couple years ago, I’m well aware of the healthcodes. I managed to break the habit before completely loosing my medical license,” he replied, popping one into the corner of his mouth. “I’ll light it once I get outside.” He shoved himself to his feet and shuffled over to the sink to wash his hands before turning back to me. “Now listen here. That thing did a real number on you; Some of those wounds were pretty deep, and I had to give you nearly a hundred stitches. No lifting, twisting, or straining that arm under any circumstances for at least a couple days. I don’t want you popping those stitches.” He paused. “You’ve had your shots, right? Tetanus? Rabies?” 

“Got em when I was working at the shelter,” I confirmed. 

“Good,” he grunted. “I tried to clean out the wounds the best I could, but who knows what that thing could have been carrying. If you feel even the slightest bit sick over the next few days you come straight back here, understand?”

“Yup, better safe than sorry,” I replied.

“Good,” he said again. “I’ll ask one of the nurses to bring you a sling. You don’t strictly need one, but the less strain you put on your arm the better. You have a ride?”

I reached up with my good arm and rubbed the back of my neck. “I… Uh… don’t actually. Between my arm getting messed up, the hole in the window, and the sheriff showing up, I haven’t had a chance to call her,” I explained. “Plus I left my phone at home so…”

“So? You’re arm might be messed up, but your fingers aren’t broken,” the doc grunted. “There’s a phone mounted on the wall just outside. Just press nine to get the outside line first.”

“Thanks doc,” I said, relieved. “You know how fast gossip travels around here, and the last thing I need is for her to find out about all this through someone else. She deserves to hear it from me.”

“You better hurry then, we’ve been here around half an hour, and between the entire police force being out on the streets, and your front window being broken, I’m sure it won’t take too long for the news to get out,” he declared before throwing open the door. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I really need a smoke.”

Shifting slightly, I used my good arm to push myself off the examination bed. Even though we’d just talked about it, the only reason I remembered to not use my injured arm was because of the dull ache which was creeping in. Not a good sign, considering how much anesthetic the doc had pumped into me just so he could suture; I was going to be sore tomorrow.

Cradling my injured arm I padded to the door and peeked outside. The tiny hospital was a remenant of an earlier time, before they’d built the new one across town. It only had one emergency room, four examination rooms, and two actual hospital rooms; In a larger town, or city it probably would only be considered a clinic, but it was just big enough to handle non-critical medical emergencies for the north side of Mirror Lake. 

Both nurses seemed to be occupied by something at the front desk, a couple feet down the hall, so I slipped over to the phone and picked up the receiver. Hitting nine caused the phone to switch from the strange, dull dial tone to the more familiar universal one; I immediately punched in the number I knew off by heart, and waited. 

It rang for several long seconds before finally going to voice mail.

“Hi Honey, it’s me,” I started, before kicking myself for the fake chipper voice I was putting on. “I was really hoping to catch you, something happened shortly after you left this morning and…” 

The phone suddenly clicked, and Nicole’s panicked voice came on the line. “Sarah? What’s going on? I just got a call from the police asking if I was going to arrive in time to pick up the key to the house, or if I want to pick it up later!”

“Ah, yeah… With everything that happened this morning I didn’t have time to grab my phone,” I replied.

“With everything that happened this morning? What happened?” Nicole asked, her voice quivering.

“Now, don’t freak out, but…”