our hospital facilities are nationally acclaimed

[cross_and_bow]

Bella wakes up a day and a half later, a medical miracle with a splitting headache. (Between what she knows about her own construction and what the doctors mutter to the nurses, the demon stepped on her, it broke her spine, she passed out from pain and shock, and she could have easily died if she weren't blessed or the Slayer - both were probably called for.)

[Sherlock? Giles?] she attempts, when she's solicited and received pain medication.

Comments

[pythbox]

[Definitely sounds like bee-killing to me.]

[cross_and_bow]

[Mmmhm. They're very mechanical about it. They run up to the first un-smashed hive, punch it for a minute, then run past all the others who've gone beyond them to get to the next un-smashed hive.]

[pythbox]

[I'm finding references to bee-killing as a prelude to apocalyptic rituals,] he says. [Although usually it would be the future participants in the ritual who would kill the bees. How many did you say there were? Six?]

[cross_and_bow]

[I count six. There could be more I can't see from the road. I could drive into the grove if you need an accurate count.]

[pythbox]

[I don't think that information would be worth the risk you'd take to get it.]

[cross_and_bow]

[Yeah, I'm not sure I could time it to not get in their way, although they do seem to quite ignore anything that doesn't get in their way and isn't a beehive.]

[pythbox]

[The overall conclusion in the literature is that bee-killing is not a powerful activity by itself, but amplifies the power of certain kinds of malevolent magic.]

[cross_and_bow]

[Maybe I should just see if I can follow them home. I have more than six squares on me, if they turn on something other than the hives.]

[pythbox]

[...I shouldn't feel the need to tell you to be careful, and yet.]

[cross_and_bow]

[I will be careful. I no longer expect to be able to maybe punch them into submission.]

[pythbox]

[Good. Thank you.]

[cross_and_bow]

[You're welcome.]

Follow, follow, follow. It's rather a lot of hives. Hell, she might need to stop for gas soon.

[Your opinion on squaring gas into the truck versus pulling into the next rest stop and risking losing them?] she asks Giles.

[pythbox]

[...One way, you risk losing them; the other way, you risk spending a square you'll need later. How's your supply?]

[cross_and_bow]

[I've got hundreds. Shell Bell was here for a while. But only thirty on me right now.]

[pythbox]

[I'm not sure,] says Giles. [I'm really not sure.]

[cross_and_bow]

[...Well, I just saw a sign saying the next rest stop is in twenty miles, so, I think I'll go with wishing some gas,] says Bella. [In the tank and I may as well fill up the back of the truck with cans of the stuff while I'm at it, if I can get it all on one square. If I head for the stop I'll lose them anyway. But I'll wait till I'm a little lower on fuel than this in case they're about to make a hard right and lead me to where they're going before I even need the fillup.]

[pythbox]

[...All right,] he says. [Where are you exactly?]

[cross_and_bow]

Bella looks out for the next mile marker, names it. [On the Five.]

[pythbox]

[And at what point should I contact emergency services if I don't hear from you?]

[cross_and_bow]

[Mmm, ping me by brainphone every ten minutes, if I don't answer you with even a "still alive" twice in a row I'm in some kind of trouble.]

[pythbox]

[Will do.]

[cross_and_bow]

[Thanks! Also, consider asking directly for my dad - Chief Charlie Swan, "it's about his daughter" should get you past the dispatcher.]

[pythbox]

[I'll remember that.]

[cross_and_bow]

[Charlie knows I'm up to my ears in weirdness but he trusts me and is more comfortable not knowing all the details. If he has questions you can answer them and he won't think you're nuts, but there's no need to go out of your way to volunteer peripheries - oh, there they go.]

The Defenders have left off their beehive-destroying. Bella navigates off the road and into the grove after them, following the dirt path. If its owners haven't noticed the seven-foot-tall white demons smashing their property, she doubts they'll notice her trespassing.

[pythbox]

[Where, exactly, do they go?]