Chương 26: Claire Gets Clarity

"The person you saw on YouTube wasn't me," I said slowly. Claire's hand moved back toward her radio.

"Explain. Now."

"I died," I said, meeting her eyes.

"Heart attack. Right in my garden, just like you probably heard. But something happened. I came back. Just... not in my original body." She frowned, clearly suspicious. Luke moved slightly in front of me. Even I could tell he was trying to take a protective position between us. Naturally, Claire noticed.

"You're telling me you're Abraham Pratt? The cranky prepper who used to argue with me about property easements and hunting regulations?" A small vibration shook the web, Suspicion. Yeah, thanks, really helpful. At first, I thought I'd acquired a 'golden finger' with the Web of Wisdom. Now, I wasn't sure if it was mocking me or not.

"The same one who listened when you told me that weird shit was happening in these woods and nobody believed you," I said. I couldn't help myself and tried to alleviate her suspicion. That was actually true. She'd told me about a few things she'd seen. In fact, what I saw could at least be written off with farfetched explanations. What happened to her was different. It was like she was some type of weirdness magnet.

"Do you remember that time you found the fox with the glowing eyes? Or the rabbit with the horn buds? You filed reports and your boss laughed at you." Her expression flickered, as if recognition was fighting with disbelief.

"You brought me a casserole last Christmas," I continued.

"I said I wanted to eat something that wasn't freeze-dried or canned. It was terrible, by the way. Way too much salt. But I appreciated it." I didn't mention that Shelly had been at a family get-together last year. For some reason, the two women were like oil and water. For the life of me, I had no idea why. They are both such nice people. Weird that they don't get along. As for one of those people, she started to say something, then swallowed hard.

"That recipe was my grandmother's." Belief, the web vibration, with Suspicion fading away.

"Your grandmother couldn't cook either," I said.

"Sorry." A strangled laugh escaped her. Then she shook her head violently, like she was trying to wake up from a nightmare.

"This is insane. You're a raccoon. Raccoons don't… people don't just…" She grabbed the back of the big recliner, steadying herself.

"The mana tide is real," I said quietly.

"Everything you've been reporting? It's all real. And I'm living proof."

"Then who…" She stopped, her face going pale.

"The person on YouTube. If you're here, who's wearing your face?" Luke and I exchanged glances. This was the part I'd been dreading.

"That's... complicated," I said.

"Let's just say my body got repurposed for a greater purpose. By a spirit much older and scarier than you want to know about."

"Repurposed." Claire's voice was flat.

"Your corpse is being puppeted by something supernatural, and you think that's an acceptable explanation?"

'It's doing good work," I protested weakly.

"Warning people. Preparing them for what's coming."

"What's coming?" She practically shouted it, then caught herself. Her radio crackled again. She grabbed it and spoke quickly.

"Base, this is Claire. False alarm. Disregard previous request for backup. Just some wildlife making noise. I'll file a report later. Over." I guess she called when she saw an unknown car in front of my house. Paranoid, but she does have some trust issues. Claire turned the radio's volume down and glared at me.

"Start from the beginning. And I mean the very beginning. Because I'm about three seconds from having a complete breakdown, and the only thing stopping me is that I've known something was wrong in these woods and nobody listened." So I told her. Not everything though. I left out the part about being a potential god. But I told her about dying and waking up as a raccoon. I even told her about the system notifications. Then I told her about the supernatural summit. I mean, in for a penny, in for a pound.

I just don't think she's ready for a ton of other information yet. And carefully, very carefully, I explained that an entity named Raven had taken my body to warn humanity about the mana tide.

"So you're just... okay with that?" Claire asked.

"Some spirit is wearing your corpse like a meat suit?"

"I wasn't using it anymore," I said, echoing Raven's exact words.

"And honestly? If it helps people prepare for what's coming, I can live with it. Or un-live with it. Whatever." Of course, since I was a guy, I was lying through my teeth. Men didn't expose their soft belly to women. Also, talking about feelings just felt… wrong. She stared at me for a long moment, waiting for me to break. Then she did something I didn't expect. She started laughing. Not hysterical laughter. It was the kind that comes when your entire worldview shatters and you either laugh or scream.

"Five years," she gasped between laughs.

"Five years I've been filing reports about impossible things. Glowing animals. Creatures that shouldn't exist. My supervisor said I was stressed. My boss suggested counseling. And the whole time, I was right. I was right."

"You were right," I confirmed. Apparently, a few creatures had been splashed with mana before the main mana tide arrived. I'd seen a little of this myself, but I'd mostly ignored it. It wasn't like I left my cabin that often, which made ignoring what I didn't want to notice even easier. She wiped her eyes. The laughter faded into something harder, more focused.

"Okay. Okay. So the mana tide is real. Magic is returning. Supernatural beings exist. You're a talking raccoon. And Raven is using your body to make YouTube videos."

"That's the basic gist, yeah." I had to admit, I was kind of impressed by how well she was taking it. Then again, it was all over YouTube nowadays and she'd always been 'unlucky' enough to encounter those mana-imbued animals. Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

"And the animals I've been tracking? The mutations?" Claire asked. I could tell she already knew the answer, but I replied anyway.

"All real. And it's going to get worse as the mana levels increase." She sat in the big recliner heavily.

"I need to document this. I need evidence. Proof. Something to show my superiors so they'll actually take this seriously."

"No labs," I said immediately.

"No government facilities. No dissection. That's the deal-breaker." After saying that, I felt embarrassed. As soon as I said it, I knew that she wouldn't rat me out.

"I'm not going to let them turn you into a science project," Claire said firmly.

"But we need to coordinate. If the mana tide is causing widespread mutations, we need to track it. Study it. Figure out what's safe and what's dangerous."

"She's right," Luke said quietly.

"We can't just pretend this isn't happening. People need to know. Some of the mutations are even dangerous for…," he paused for a second before adding, "wolves and bears." I almost asked if there were werebears in the mountains, but quickly stopped myself. I needed to focus.

"People are already finding out," I said.

"That's why Raven is using my body. To warn them." Claire pulled out her phone, scrolling through something.

"These YouTube videos. He's been making them for days. Talking about ancient powers returning, supernatural communities organizing, and the need for humans to adapt." She looked up at me.

"Is he telling the truth? Is it really that bad?" I thought about Grandmother Spider's warning. She'd mentioned that the mana tide might attract attention from beings that made Raven look like a minor inconvenience.

"It's worse than he's saying," I admitted.

"But panic won't help anyone. That's why he's framing it as preparation, not apocalypse." Claire was quiet for a long moment, processing. Then she straightened, and I saw the ranger reassert herself. The professional dealing with a crisis.

"Alright. Here's what's going to happen. I'm going to file a report saying I investigated the Pratt property and found everything normal. No talking raccoons, no supernatural activity."

"Thank you," I started to say. She held up a hand.

"But. You're going to help me. When I need information about what's happening, about the supernatural communities, about threats, you tell me. No secrets. We work together to keep people safe."

"That's fair," I said.

"And Luke." She turned to the werewolf.

"I'm assuming you're one of the Moonbound? The werewolf pack that's been doing conservation work in the area?" Luke's eyes widened.

"How did you…"

"I'm not stupid. I've been covering for you guys for the last two years."

"Oh," I asked. I wanted to ask what exactly she had been covering up. It must be good the way Luke is responding.

"Yeah. Oh." She stood up.

"So here's the new arrangement. The supernatural communities work with me to manage the mana tide effects in my territory. I keep the government off your backs. We prevent panic and keep people safe. Deal?" I looked at Luke. He shrugged.

"Deal," I said. Claire headed for the door, then paused.

"One more thing, Abe."

"Yeah?" I asked. I was genuinely curious.

"I'm glad you're not dead. Even if you are a raccoon now." Her voice softened.

"And for what it's worth, that casserole wasn't terrible. You just have no taste."

"It was seventy percent salt," I protested.

"You ate three servings," she said, while looking at my belly.

"I was being polite!" I hid my slightly larger than last week belly behind my paws. She smiled. It was the first genuine smile since she'd arrived.

"Welcome back, Abe. Try not to cause too many problems."

'No promises," I said. I think we both knew I wouldn't be able to keep that promise, even if my life depended on it. After she left, Luke let out a long breath.

"That went better than expected."

"She's practical," I said.

"Always has been. That's why she's good at her job."

"Still. You told her everything, or almost." Luke seemed a little confused about why I hadn't told her more. It actually made me smile. Maybe he's not as smart as I gave him credit for, I thought.

"Well, she deserved to know at least that much," I said.

"Anyway, let's get back to what we were doing." Luke shrugged, as if I was the boss, and picked up the Team Edward jacket, holding it like it was evidence.

"So we're still doing this to Pierre?" I grinned.

"Oh absolutely. Just because I had a near-death experience doesn't mean I'm forgetting about revenge. I'll text you exactly what to say later." I wanted to tell him now, but I was worried Shelly might be home any moment and run into a second godlike hunk of manhood. Also, I wasn't sure what to say yet.

"Fair enough," Luke said.

"I'll give it to him as soon as I get your message." With that, he left with the sparkly merchandise while I settled back into my new chair. The voice assistant beeped helpfully.

"You have one new notification. Would you like me to read it?"

"Sure, why not," I told my watch.

"Message from an unknown number: 'Nice save with the ranger. By the way, I'm enjoying the YouTube channel. The human comments are fascinating. -R'" I stared at the ceiling.

'Of course Raven's watching. Of course he has my number. Why wouldn't he?" The assistant didn't respond to that, which was probably for the best. Outside, the Ozark woods hummed with mana. Creatures were changing. Powers were awakening. And somewhere out there, my body was making social media content about the apocalypse. My life is so fucking weird. But at least Claire knew the truth now. At least someone in an official position understood what was happening and was willing to work with us instead of against us.

That has to count for something. I grabbed the remote and pulled up YouTube, searching for my own face. Sure enough, there were a dozen videos.

"Abraham Pratt" talking about supernatural preparedness, community organization, the mana tide's effects. Raven was actually doing a decent job with my voice. Creepy, but decent. Well, except he was also apparently talking about some of the animals starting a church. What the actual freak did he mean by that? Annoyed, I clicked on the most recent video. My face filled the screen. Although I hadn't noticed before now that Claire had mentioned it, the expressions were off.

"The world is changing," Raven said with my mouth.

"Those who adapt will thrive. Those who deny reality will suffer. Prepare yourselves. The mana tide is only beginning. Soon, even humans will begin to experience systemic changes." The video ended. Curious, I looked at the comments. Some were calling it a hoax. Others were taking it seriously. Some even suggested that people might soon become superheroes or gain some type of system. Maybe Raven knows what he's doing after all, I thought. My phone buzzed. It was a text from Shelly, "Did Claire really just leave?

Luke said there was almost a disaster." I could almost hear the way she says Claire's name even in the text. I then typed back with my tiny paws.

"It's fine. She knows. She's helping."

"What?!" I saw some dots appear. Then they disappeared. Then they appeared again only to disappear once more.

"Long story. I'll tell you more when you get here," I said.

"Almost there," she replied. For a second, I wondered. Is she texting and driving? I need to talk to her about that. I settled deeper into my chair, exhausted but oddly satisfied. Claire knew. She was helping. Raven was handling the public awareness campaign with my borrowed face. And somewhere out there, Pierre was about to receive a package that would make his life spectacularly miserable. All things considered, not a bad day. The voice assistant beeped.

"Incoming call from Tala." Ugh. Why did Shelly have to give Tala her old smart watch? I was tempted not to answer, but I knew that would just make things worse. Fuck. She's going to kill me for talking to the ranger without her supervision. I also wondered how she knew I'd done anything. And if she knew that, why didn't she know everything? Finally, reluctantly, I said, "Answer."

"KIT! WHAT DID YOU DO?!"

"Define 'do,'" I said weakly. This was going to be a long conversation.