Triskaideka

Redeemer walked through the forest holding out a small device with lights and an antenna. He swung it slowly back and forth and it made a low frequency hum, barely audible over the rustling of leaves. Occasionally one of the lights would light up and the hum would change pitch and Redeemer would stop to listen. After a few moments, the light would always fade and the stallion would resume walking.

“I don’t know, Deem, I think we can rule out vengeful spirits.” Cold Case kicked a pinecone as he kept pace with his brother. Redeemer shook the device angrily before putting it in his jacket pocket. They continued walking through the woods and came across an area heavily sanctioned off with police tape.

“Looks like we found lover’s point,” Redeemer said, crossing into the clearing. He stood and looked out over the lake as a breeze rippled the surface. The oak tree nearest him was covered with the initials of lovers from across the years and he bent down to read them. In the center of all the carvings was a large heart with “CK+L FOREVER” painstakingly engraved deep into the tree’s trunk. It was easily a hundred years old and likely the first thing carved into the tree.

“I’ve got something down here.” Cold Case held aside some bushes and waited for his brother to pass in front of him. Redeemer pushed through the undergrowth into a smaller clearing. A large pool of dried blood stained the forest floor and the two lowered their heads to examine it.

“I don’t smell any sulfur…but…there is something.” Redeemer wrinkled his nose at the smell. “Gah, that stinks.”

Cold Case took a deep breath through his nose. “Yeah, I smell it too. It’s kinda familiar, but you’re right, it isn’t sulfur, so I think we can rule out demons.”

“I hate dealing with them black-eyed freaks anyway,” Redeemer grumbled.

“Wait. Do you hear that?” Cold Case perked his ears up. Both stallions held their breath to listen and a muffled whining could be heard over the sounds of nature. “I think it’s coming from you,” Cold Case said, tracing the sound to his brother.

Redeemer patted his jacket and fished his EMF reader out of his pocket. “I musta forgot to shut it off,” he said, holding it down to the ground. The lights lit up red and the whining grew higher in pitch. “Looks like we may have restless spirits after all.” He held the device up and the signal’s strength weakened. It spiked again after he brought back to the dried blood.

The two stallions got on their knees and began rustling though the blood covered pine needles and leaves. “You think something’s buried here?” Cold Case asked after they had completely exposed the ground and still the device whined.

“Only one way to find out,” Redeemer replied, moving a pile of dirt with his hooves. A black electrical wire lay less than an inch from the surface and became exposed. “Bah, so much for that.” He stood up and brushed himself off, the EMF reader continuing its incessant call.

“Hold on, what’s this even doing out here?” Cold Case grabbed the wire and yanked upward. Several feet of the wire surfaced, leading further into the woods. The brothers looked to each other then back to the ground.

“Guess we’ll find out.”

An hour of excavating led the two to a rundown shack in a remote part of the forest. Redeemer let the wire fall and looked at the place skeptically. “Place doesn’t even look like it has electricity.” He walked up to a foggy window and put his face against the glass. Inside were a few pieces of broken furniture and dozens of empty glass bottles.

“Hooves where I can see ‘em, boys.” The gruff voice’s command was immediately followed by the sound of a hammer being cocked. Redeemer and Cold Case turned to see a large uniformed unicorn stallion levitating a pistol at them. “What are you two doing out here?”

“I’m, uh, Special Agent Springsteam,” Redeemer said, slowly reaching into his pocket for his badge.

“I said hooves where I can see ‘em!” The officer pointed the gun at Redeemer and took a step forward. Redeemer swallowed the lump in his throat and raised his hooves back into the air. The officer slowly approached the two and reached into Redeemer’s jacket.

“The Hell is this thing?” he asked, pulling out the EMF detector.

“That’s my scanner. Damned thing doesn’t get any service out here.” Redeemer chuckled nervously. The officer flipped it over until he found the power switch and went back to digging through his suspect’s pockets. When he finally found the badge he held it up to confirm the photo was really of the stallion before him.

“Spruce Springsteam? Like the singer, right?”

“Yeah, I get that a lot, ha ha.”

The officer turned to Cold Case and pointed the gun at him. “And who’s he? Meat Loaf?”

“Freed Mercury, actually.”

“Ah, that was my next guess.” The officer sheathed his gun and returned Redeemer’s badge. “So tell me, agents, what brings you two out here?”

“We’re investigating the murders that happened—”

“Whoa whoa whoa, weren’t no murders out here, just animal attacks. Ain’t you read the papers?”

“It’s not in our job description to trust what we read, sir.”

“And I’ve already spoken with the coroner, last I checked, animals didn’t wield machetes.”

The officer took his hat off and wiped the sweat from his forehead. “Look, I’m just trying to keep the ponies calm during the celebrations. I’m Sheriff Alcatraz, if I can help you with this investigation, just let me know.”

“Tell me, Al, has anything like this happened before? You know, string of gruesome deaths right around Nightmare Night?” Redeemer asked, finally back on offense.

The sheriff groaned and rolled his eyes. “Are you really gonna question me about that silly Triskaideka myth?”

“The Trisca-who-now?”

“Tris-kai-dek-a, “the sheriff annunciated. “It’s just a story that mares tell to keep their little ponies out of the woods during Nightmare Night.

“Haven’t heard it. Wanna enlighten me?”

“I haven’t got time for this. I have REAL police work to do. Good day to you, agents.” The sheriff huffed away from the two and disappeared in a grove of pine trees.

“Well, looks like we know where to start,” Cold Case said, stepping forward. The hairs on the back of his neck stood up and he turned to look back in the shack.

“Something up?” Redeemer asked, nudging his brother.

“No, no. Just thought I saw something.”