This is a series of short stories, detailing the adventures of Chelsea Childling. You can start with her origin story or pick something from the index.
***

Chelsea settled against her car, bottle of beer in hand, and watched the sun head for the horizon as she waited. Out here in the desert, it was quite the production. While some trees had been planted around town, this was big sky country. Different from her beloved South Dakota, but still breathtaking.

The desert spread out, empty and raw, no grass or fields here, just dirt and air. Above her, stretched forever red and orange, a blazing sea of fire in the cloudless sky. She tipped her bottle to the sun, one artist to another, as it sank into the ground. Her giant mutt leaned against her legs, a comforting weight. She scratched at his ears, eyes locked on the horizon.

Eventually, her partners for this hunt closed up shop at the tourist trap they ran and joined her in the parking lot. Jim pulled the hair tie off the end of his long black braid and shook out his hair. “Nice sunset.”

Chelsea nodded her agreement. “Beer in the trunk.”

His sister Kristin smirked. “Should you be drinking?”

“Probably not.” She was supposed to practice her route again tonight, in preparation for the hunt for Spring-Heeled Jack. “But this sunset deserves a beer.”

The siblings nodded and got beers from the cooler in her trunk. Jim popped himself on the hood of her car, but Kristin leaned beside her to watch the night come on.

Once the reds had faded to purples, Chelsea dumped the last of her beer on the ground. She’d only had a few sips and did have to practice. “Ready for the run when you two are.”

Jim slid off the hood. “Eh, you’ve got it, I think.”

Kristin nodded. “Yeah, besides, Ma wants to meet you.”

Apprehension filled Chelsea immediately. “Sure, okay.” 

The four of them immediately started for the road, with one small argument over which sibling got to sit in the back with Bentley. Chelsea tried not to be jealous of her dog as Jim pouted in the front seat and gave her directions to their house. Bentley always made friends easier than she did.

Some of the neon was on tonight, and for a moment, Chelsea could see the desert town as it had been decades ago. The motels and murals, the respite from the glare of the flat, hot plains. But the broken and abandoned sat between the bright, breaking it into even smaller oases as they made their way along the main boulevard. Stark reminders that the world had moved on. It was a relief when the dark of the desert overtook them.

They drove a while into the night. Chelsea’s breath caught at stars. They blazed a trail in the purple-black sky that she nearly turned off road to follow. 

“You ever camp out here?” Jim’s voice was soft and barely disturbed the night.

“No, but I’m thinking about it right now.”

“We’ll take you to a great spot once this hunt is over.”

“Good.”

After that they rode in silence, enjoying the night sky and stars. Eventually, they came to a dirt road, and she followed Jim’s directions deeper into the desert. The dark of night gave way to rambling one-story house, warm light spilling across the hard-packed earth. Chelsea pulled into the driveway and followed her partners inside..

An old woman stirred something savory delicious smelling in the kitchen. Two long, grey braids hung down her hunched back, and she wore a bright red skirt with beautiful embroidery. “‘Bout time, you two. Hope you gave her gas money.”

Kristin smiled as she settled at the table. “Nah, Ma, but we will tomorrow.”

She’s far too old to be their mother.

The old woman finally turned away from her food and eyed up Chelsea. Bright black eyes studied her in a face surprisingly clear of wrinkles. “Rita says you know your way around a car.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

The old woman’s eyes widened. “They never mentioned you was Southern.”

Chelsea shrugged. “I spent a lot of time up north the last few years. The accent got diluted. Most of the time.”

Jim smacked her shoulder lightly and handed her a beer. “Ma has a way of making everyone feel like they’re kids again.”

The old woman snorted and turned back to her food. “Git her and the dog settled. They’ll stay here tonight.”

Chelsea took her beer and followed Jim to a back room. “I can help.”

Jim handed her a blanket from the closet. “I’ll get the rest or Ma’ll have my hide.”

“So um…”

Jim chuckled and gave her a knowing smile. “She’s our… great-aunt, I think. She raised us after our mom died in a hunt, and everybody calls her ‘Ma’.”

Chelsea gave a quick nod and chose not to ask about their dad. She was well aware that her own happy nuclear family had not been the norm for most.

By the time she and Jim had changed the sheets on a small bed in the back, Kristen yelled for them to eat. The stew was simple, beef and root vegetables, but she hadn’t eaten so well since she left Pittsburgh. The stew was a delightfully well seasoned and welcome respite from days of fast food dinners and vending machine breakfasts. It went spectacularly with her beer.

She was on thirds when Ma finally spoke again, “When you kids killing ol’ Jack?”

Kristin put down her bowl of stew. “Chelsea’s been practicing the route all week. I think we can go this weekend.”

Nodding swiftly, Chelsea swallowed. “I’ve got it down. I’m scaring Jim shitless on the turns, anyway.”

Ma snorted a laugh. “Boy’s got good sense. Don’t trust nothing m’canical.” She huffed to her feet and took Chelsea’s bowl. “Eat up. You need a good feeding.” Once she had refilled Chelsea’s bowl, she scraped the remains of the pot into a low, shallow bowl with a paw print on it. “Don’t got no dog food no more.”

Chelsea did have dog food in the car, but something about Ma made her reluctant to speak up. Not to mention, Bentley’s immediate tail-wagging joy. She mentally resigned herself to nasty dog farts and thanked Ma.

The old woman just grunted before patting her kids on the head. “I’m tired.” With that she headed to the dark, quiet back of the house.

Confused and a little concerned, Chelsea looked to Jim. 

He shrugged. “She likes you.”

“How can you tell?”

Kristin giggled and handed her another beer. “She didn’t threaten you before she went to bed.” 

Chelsea drained half the can, then joined the siblings in the kitchen for clean up.

The three of them and Bentley stayed up late into the night, discussing the upcoming hunt. Eventually, Jim and Kristin headed off to bed as well. 

Chelsea stepped out of the house and into the desert proper. The night sky was black velvet and diamond chips. Alone, but for Bentley, she suddenly felt very small. Just a mote in the universe. A cold and lonely universe that wouldn’t notice or care when she was gone. 

“You should sleep, girl.”

The black sky seemed so close and so far away at the same time. “I will, Ma.”

A strong hand gripped her arm. “The road in the sky will be there tomorrow. Sleep now, safe.” 

Suddenly exhausted, and full of good food, Chelsea let Ma lead her to the back of the house. There the small bed waited, warm and soft. She curled up immediately, one arm around Bentley. She thought she heard Ma say, “Poor thing. Just a lost little girl and her dog.”

A part of Chelsea wanted to argue, but it was buried in a comfy bed, under a large meal. Besides, it was nice to be worried and cared about. So she let herself drift off to sleep instead.