Chapter 3
And so Korra finds herself on a car bound for the tiny town of Beaver Crossing, Nebraska to talk to an Ex-Vietnam war nurse. She lets Sato do the driving and regrets making that choice immediately, as the woman's music of choice turns out to be New Wave, something that makes Korra want to tear out her ear drums.
Sato sings softly as they make their way down the highway. “Take on me (take on me), take me oooon (take on me)”
More like take me out of this fucking car, Korra crosses her arms and slouches in her seat like a child who was just told that they're going to the dentist instead of Disneyland. At least they'd made it out of the D.C. traffic though. That had been an utter nightmare, as Sato had taken the stop and go traffic as an opportunity to test out her very off beat drumming skills on the steering wheel.
But now, at least, they were on the open highway, smack dab in the Middle of Nowhere, USA. Korra looks out her window, staring at the rows and rows and rows and rows and rows of seemingly eternal corn. At least Sato didn't try talking to me, and Korra finds herself lulled to sleep by the endless corn and “Lullaby” by The Cure.
-
Asami pulls up to the trailer park and checks the address of the nurse in her notebook. “Okay,” she whispers and pulls up to the third trailer from the front, a quaint looking mess of homey decorations, Bible verses, and bird feeders.
She parks the car, turns off the cassette player, and looks over at Korra, who, in sleep, looks more content and peaceful than Asami has ever seen her before. It almost seems a crime to wake her, but Asami does it anyway, gently tapping Korra's arm. When Korra doesn't so much as stir, Asami shakes her, and Korra jolts awake, her hand instinctively going for her gun.
“Whoa,” Asami pulls back and then chuckles at the look on Korra's face How cute, “It's fine, Raava, we're here”.
-
Korra huffs angrily and opens the car door, slamming it shut. Sato follows suit and walks up to the trailer's door. Sato is fucking infuriating. First she wakes me up and then she laughs at me? What the fuck.
Sato knocks on the door, and a man opens it, shakes Sato's hand, and introduces himself as Ian Brosch.
“Come in, come in, Agents,” the man motions inside, “She's having one of her good days today, so she should be able to answer any of your questions”.
'She' is an elderly woman who sits on a floral patterned couch in the corner of the living room, watching M.A.S.H quietly.
“Ma?” the man walks over to the woman and kneels down, “These are FBI agents Sato and Raava, they're here to ask you some questions about the war, okay?”
The woman nods silently and turns of the television with a remote.
“Agents,” Ian turns to them, “Can I get you anything? Water, some iced tea?”
Korra opens her mouth to ask for some tea, but Sato interrupts.
“No, we won't have anything, thank you,” she says distractedly as she digs in her briefcase and brings out a tape recorder.
“You're taping her?” Ian raises an eyebrow.
“Yes,” Sato answers as she inserts a new tape into the recorder, “For posterity's sake”.
“Ah,” Ian shrugs and leaves for the kitchen.
“Hello,” Sato says softly, turning on the recorder, “I'm Agent Asami Sato, and this is Agent Korra Raava. We're here to ask you some questions about your work during the war, if that's okay?”
The woman nods.
“Thank you,” Sato answers as Korra sits on the couch and pulls out her notebook, “Now could you please state your name and your job during the war?”
“Daisy Brosch, Head Field Nurse,” the woman replies in a frail voice. In spite of the fact that the war ended about 30 years ago, Daisy looks as if she's aged fifty in the time since.
“And,” Sato looks up at Daisy, “Do you remember a patient named Robert Laughlin? He was in your hospital, if the record is correct,” Daisy doesn't answer, “He was an American journalist? He would have come in towards the end of the war”.
“I remember,” Daisy nods, “I remember that young man, he was in such a state when they found him, rambling and raving”.
“Then what happened, Daisy?” Sato prompts her gently.
“Why, we brought him into the hospital of course. I was the head nurse at the time, so I took him under my special care. No one knew what was wrong with him, he seemed fine, just a little dehydrated, malnourished maybe, but something in his brain, something had broken. He was mumbling the whole time he was there. That's how we knew he was gone, when the hospital was quiet. I ran to his bed, and he was gone. All that was left was his camera with those horrid photos he took”.
Asami nods and then says, “And Daisy, do you remember what he was mumbling about?”
“Now let's see,” Daisy closes her eyes, “Something about some kind of, of a beast hiding in the shadows, about faceless babies, about a beast, a beast”.
“What kind of beast?” Asami says softly.
“A-a body like a gigantic centipede, long and writhing like an earthworm in the rain”
Korra shivers involuntarily.
“And the face?”
“The face, the face,” Daisy starts to cry, “No! I won't tell, I won't! I won't!”
Ian comes running out of the kitchen as Daisy screams.
“Shh, shh,” he calms her and then looks up at Korra and Sato, “I think you'd better go, my mother's been through enough”.
Sato nods and stops the tape recorder, making for the door. Korra follows her, almost forgetting her notebook in her haste.
“What was that?” she asks her partner as they walk through the car.
“What was what?” Sato looks over at Korra.
“You knew she was distressed, but you pushed, you pushed her until she fucking cried!”
“Raava, this is bigger than us, than her! We might have evidence of some kind of extraterrestrial intelligence, this is huge!”
Korra looks over at Sato in disbelief, “Forget it,” she scoffs, taking the keys from Sato, “I'll drive”.
“Hey!” Sato reaches for her keys, but Korra is already in the driver's seat.
“Let's go,” Korra starts the engine.
“Sure. Fine. Whatever,” Sato mutters.
It's going to be a long ride back to D.C., Korra thinks as she backs the car out of the driveway.