“Well that definitely does have me worried,” Cricket said, “but so far, I haven’t heard anything that would make me worry about Sarah in particular. It sounds like she’s depressed from prolonged isolation. As Mittens said, humans are a very social species.”
“Well, yes. That’s what I thought too. So, I was giving her extra attention and being extra playful, and eventually, things kind of evened out. She’d grown a bit sterner, more serious, but she was still my Sarah. That was until last week. Last week, she brightened up again, like her old self, and she kept talking to me about something called… what was it again? A promo… promotion? Yeah, I think it was a promotion, whatever that is.”
“I believe a promotion is something to do with human currency,” Sir Reginald Senior proclaimed. “Humans trade these strange leaves and rocks for items, and a promotion is when they trade fewer leaves for the same item. It’s quite a big deal, from what I understand. Mrs. Taylor gets very excited about the promotions. Sales is another word for them.”
“Right, okay. So Sarah was very excited about this sale, and she said it would be ‘a little more work, but it’s a great opportunity’ or something along those lines. She seemed very happy about it. But precisely three days ago, when the promotion officially happened, she spent the entire night crying! She told me when she was cuddling me that she didn’t know why she was so upset because everything was going her way, but she just couldn’t help it. And that’s continued every day since.”
“That sounds more like it,” responded Cricket.
“So I started looking. The first night of searching, I found a couple of unnaturally cold patches along with the smell of ozone, both definitive Signs, but nothing that indicated any Greebles were close. I figured I could take a couple of days, maybe a week or two, to organize a large Hunt. That was until last night. I was up on watch in Sarah’s bedroom, and I heard an unnatural sucking and popping noise from downstairs, followed by a large squelch. I immediately sprinted downstairs, and to my horror, I found a puddle of some sort of ectoplasmic goo. In the center of it was a disgusting, slimy hunk of rubbery flesh, writhing and twitching like a spider after it’s been squished.”
“Really?” asked Cricket. “If what you say is true, this might be the fastest breach I’ve ever heard of. Usually, it takes at least a week for a Greeble to break their way through The Gate after they’ve found a target.”
“Yes,” Salem answered definitively. “I mean, I suppose it’s possible that I missed some minor Signs before her mood shift, but I can definitely say for certain that Sarah’s mental health started declining exactly three days ago.”
“Well in that case, we all had better be careful,” Cricket croaked gravely. ”Either this Greeble is incredibly strong, or something is pulling it here. Neither would be good news for us.” She looked to Salem. “So, you’re leading this Hunt. What comes next?”
“Well, I think we should probably look for clues. We’ll try to figure out where this thing is trying to breach so we can confront it. So far, most of The Signs and noises have been coming from downstairs, but earlier today, I started smelling ozone and feeling cold patches upstairs as well, so I don’t want to rule anything out. I think we should split up and search the entire house. We’ll meet back in half an hour to discuss what we find. Does that sound okay to everyone?”
Salem looked mostly to Cricket and Mittens for approval, since he knew that they’d both attended Hunts before. They flicked their tails playfully and purred, indicating Salem’s plan was exceptional. The Reginalds seemed equally approving, with Young Sir Reginald even rolling on his back and playing with Boris’ tail, which was wagging just a bit too hard as he seemed to be restraining a bark. Craig said, “Yeah, makes sense to me.”
“Okay,” Salem continued, seeing no opposition. “I guess the only other request I have is that… Boris, sorry buddy, but I don’t think you should come to the second floor. Sarah’s not a light sleeper, but she’s not a heavy one either. I’m worried she might hear your collar clinking if you’re walking around her room.”
“I understand. Downstairs is fine for me.”
“Thanks, Boris. Otherwise, I don’t really have a preference on how we split up. Does anyone have any requests?”
“Can I go with Cricket, dad?” pleaded Young Sir Reginald. “She’s so cool!”
“All right, son. Just make sure to listen to her closely, and do whatever she tells you to. She’s an expert Hunter, so you don’t want to make her angry.”
Cricket growled playfully at the adolescent, pouncing on him with claws retracted as he lay exposed on the ground. He startled and attempted a counterstrike, but by the time he swiped, Cricket was halfway across the room already, cleaning herself.
“I’d like to search with Sir Reginald,” Mittens mewed, sliding up against him. “It’s been a while since we’ve caught up.”
With no other requests, Salem decided on the grouping and floor placement. He and Craig, probably the quietest members of the group, would head upstairs. Mittens, Sir Reginald Sr., and Boris would all stay on the first floor, the biggest floor, and Cricket and Young Sir Reginald would take the basement. They hoped that if anything happened on the second floor or the basement, the three on the first floor could hear it and run to help, and if something happened on the first floor, both of the other groups could hear it and run to help.
Theoretically, they had all of their bases covered.