Chapter I- We Warn You
…Our next story this morning: county authorities are investigating what appears to be yet another case in a string of brutal murders and disappearances that have plagued the area for the past several weeks. Surveillance footage indicates that the assault occurred at around 2:00 A.M. outside this local convenience store. The video shows a customer in the back parking lot after exiting the store. Said customer was then immediately attacked by an unknown assailant.
We warn you, what you are about to see is disturbing…
A young, brown-haired boy with green highlights in his bangs sat across from the television on the living room couch, his mouth rejecting the marshmallow cereal he ate onto his lap as the footage unfolded on the Channel 4 News Network.
In the recorded footage depicted on the screen, a middle-aged male with short brown hair had just set his groceries in the truck bed behind the cab of his Ford Escalade, just seconds before getting jumped by an unusually tall and very unusually hairy-looking intruder. The soundless footage reflected a man-sized object, at least six feet tall with striking muscular features and long fingers landing atop the unfortunate man, pinning him to the concrete while raising a long middle finger high in the air. Blood sprayed violently from the man’s neck as the digit stabbed into his jugular artery. Finally, in a hold akin to a cradle, the assailant buried his face into the wound, stopping the flow of blood as it trickled down the man’s neck. Mere fractions of a second later, neither victim nor attacker remained at the scene, leaving a scraped-along pool of blood on the concrete next to the truck.
…At this point, police are continuing their search for both victim and assailant. The identity of the attacker remains unknown…
“SAM!” demanded a shrill feminine voice, causing the boy to jolt his head towards the origin of the sound. In the doorway to the living room stood a woman in her mid-forties, average height with short, brown hair. One could tell by the way she folded her arms around under her breasts, hidden by a white and purple floral dress, that she was not pleased.
“M-Mom!” Sam sputtered, causing even more cereal to spill from his mouth. “I didn’t-"
“Save it. I come down here for my morning coffee, and I find you with cereal spilled all over your lap! On top of that, you know you’re not supposed to be eating in the living room!”
“Sorry, mom…” Sam knew he had been caught with no way out.
“You had better go upstairs and get some new pants, mister!” his mother commanded. “Hurry up, you have school in twenty minutes, and… are you watching the news again?!”
“…yes.” sighed Sam.
“Sam, you know you’re not supposed to watch the news!” his mother commanded.
“But mom, some guy just got jumped outside the gas station on the corner! There was more blood than you would believe!”
“Especially not that type of story!” reprimanded his mother. “You’re only ten years old! This stuff could really mess you up! Do you want to have nightmares from television?! You’re lucky your father…”
Her voice trailed off as she too glanced at the T.V., continuing to watch the newscast.
“…I'm Deborah Dunhamm, and we have an exclusive interview with county police chief, Michael Reiley and his son Seymour, an up-and-coming star for the county department. Sir, can you tell us exactly why these cases are so unusual for murder and kidnappings? How about a scoop?”
“Well, Deborah…” Michael began to explain. “…the reason that we’ve taken special interest in this case if for the same reason we take any case- the health and safety of the community and our department. We just don’t understand how this could mark the eighteenth confirmed killing in only twenty days. It’s baffling, the numbers, the lack of conclusive evidence, the method…
“MOM! We’re out of toilet paper upstairs!” cried a slightly younger voice, much akin to the middle-aged woman accompanying Sam in the living room. Surely enough, the figure bypassed the two with a cup of coffee in hand, only to crane her neck around at the T.V. to see what all of the fuss was. She spoke in a cute, somewhat geeky voice, wore a purple fleece hoodie, grey sweatpants, and shoes accentuated by her long, brown hair, one pink and one lavender streak presented itself from her bangs to the ends above her lower back.
“…Um… mom?” she chirped. “Are you listening to me?”
“…Methods? How are they strange? Seymour, how about an opinion from you, the star rookie of the county S.T.A.R.S. team?”
“…Um… actually, I’m not officially a S.T.A.R.S. team member yet. I just applied for a position. But the methods the department has found evidence of do strike us as quite unsettling…”
“Hey, Amber, it’s your boyfriend!” Sam teased, snickering as he pointed to the handsome young man on the television.
“SHUT UP, SAM!” Amber Simmens, now blushing furiously, commanded at the joking ten-year-old. The girl, however, did lean in to see the newscast herself. The screen in her view revealed the person in question- a young man in his early twenties wearing a white regulation police uniform with two grey stripes on each shoulder, the front fitted with four pockets of equal size. The white color contrasted his tar-black hair quite well, his bangs parted in a way that portrayed his forehead while covering his temples and half of his cheeks, while the back remained straight and relatively ordinary. One could just barely make out his white undershirt, as well as the upper portion of his black uniform pants.
“Amber, be nice!” their mother interrupted. “And Sam, stop teasing your sister.”
“Fine…” groaned Sam in defeat.
“…How exactly do you mean ‘unsettling’?”
“Well, because we’ve never seen anyone be attacked or killed like this. The markings on the concrete, the weird fur left behind… it’s almost as if some animal has been doing this. But even then, we can’t figure out why they would kill seventeen others in the same way so quickly.”
“Correct.” Michael, the black-haired, slightly overweight mid-forties father of the twenty-one-year-old spoke. "The county police department have therefore put out a number of advisories instructing citizens to stay away from any wild or stray animals they may encounter. We’ve also put up a rabies advisory with the help of the city health department.”
“But Mr. Reiley, that does not explain the images on the videos we’ve recovered from the crime scene. Whatever did this looked to be at least six feet tall. What type of animal around here could do something like this?”
“It could have been a black bear. But the assailant looks a bit too… lean to be a bear. We’ve seen mountain lions, but only very rarely in this area. And coyotes don’t do this sort of thing alone.”
“Officer Seymour, could this at all be a rabid man?”
“Likely not, as a man at this stage of the rabies virus would be incapacitated from pain and seizures. Aside from that, humans infected with the rabies virus typically die long before twenty days, once symptoms appear. Violence and erratic behavior last less than that period as well, as after a few days, the human body will go into a coma in most cases.” spoke Seymour. “I’ve seen a case of clinical rabies in my line of work, it definitely is not pretty.”
“Furthermore, the most important advice we can give our citizens at the moment is to stay out of the woods, and not to wander around at night…”
*Click*
“Aaaw, what?! Come on, Mom!”
“Alright, you two.” the woman in question spoke. “Finish getting ready for school. That means you, Amber. And Sam, go change your pants for the love of God.”
“Alright mom…” Sam grumbled, having to get up from the warm spot on the couch he had created over the past twenty minutes. Within a few seconds, Sam had begun walking upstairs to his room.
“AND NO MORE NEWS!” his mother called. “YOU’RE TOO YOUNG TO UNDERSTAND THAT STUFF!”
Their mother then turned to face amber, still beet red from the earlier comment.
“Amber, you really need to lay off that boy.” she spoke.
“…Who now?” Amber questioned. “Sam?”
“No, that Seymour kid you’re always looking at. And yes, I’ve seen you staring at him when you walk by the police department. I was driving that same road.”
“MOM…!” Amber began to defend. “I am not always looking at him…”
“Oh please, I know you’re going to go try to talk to him after school today.”
“Wait, how did you figure that out?!” Amber asked, worried about her mother’s answer.
“I you forget that I can hear you in the next room over… Once you’re a mother, you’ll understand that we can be everywhere at once, kiddo.”
“I’m just going to meet him! We’re just going to be friends!” protested Amber, blushing lightly. “Well, hopefully… if he can see past my social insecurities.”
“Amber, he’s four years older than you.” reasoned her mother. “You could always find someone more your age if you tried.”
“Mom, I’m eighteen.” grumbled the teen, turning around to face the wall. “Aren’t I allowed to choose who my friends are, even if it’s just a little bit of choice?”
Her mother looked down with a cocked eyebrow at the teenager’s butt crack.
“Then what’s with the thong?”
Amber’s heart skipped a beat, leaving her face even redder than before.
“I-I am not wearing a thong…!” she lied.
However, this tactic appeared to be too little too late, as her mother had already snuck up behind her, quickly grabbing the strap of a bright red thong, letting it snap back against her skin like a rubber band.
“AIIEEE!” Amber shrieked, rubbing the new red line on her lower back. “Ugh, rude!”
“Amber, I know you better than anyone else in this world. You don’t ever wear sweat pants… Believe me, I was there too at your age. But I don’t want you just parading around in skimpy underwear causing a pep-rally in some boy’s pants. Besides making you look like you come from a family full of immorality, you look like a slut yourself.”
“…Mom… who are you to tell me who I can’t be friends with?” Amber protested. “You aren’t in charge of my relations with my friends and acquaintances!”
“That may be true, Amber, but I am in charge of how you are to present yourself to the outside world.” her mother explained. “And as your mother, I am telling you that romance can wait. You need to keep on top of your school work like you’ve been the rest of your life if you want to get into Harvard on a full ride, don’t you?”
“Mom, there are no romantic feelings emanating from me at this time! I don’t even know the guy!” Amber denied, turning toward the kitchen and away from her prying mother.
“…Are there now?”
Chapter II
Friends, Just Friends
For the average student of Sycamore High School in Bridgton, Maine, the school day had just ended. A long and arduous day filled with simple but seemingly complex algebraic formulas, mountains of English writing assignments and papers to procrastinate on, and enough science vocabulary to be stacked to the moon and back. To some, this was a release from torment, to others an invitation to even hasher outside lives with jobs, family, and misunderstanding. But one factor remained throughout the populous exiting from the prison-esque public school- that the school day had finally ended.
Somewhere in the obnoxiously small boat of “work waiting ahead at home” sat Amber Simmens, a new senior living within walking distance of the institution. It was a curse which all those with an incredible intellect were familiar to- AP Psychology, AP Calculus, AP English Literature, the works. Begrudgingly, she traveled the paved footpath from her school to her new home, but not alone today.
With the young and charming student walked two of her close companions of which she had met in the last three weeks. One, Faith Summers, an only child who stood a tad taller than her with the help of her billowing blonde hair. Her bright green eyes and yellow dress reflected a homey southern look which she had attained from her years of caring for various animals on her father’s equine ranch a mile from the school. The other, Roxanne Drayton- daughter of local artist David Drayton- took on a more confident and competitive appeal, essentially tomboyish in nature. She showed her cut athletic body through tight black yoga pants, and a sky-blue tank top. She wore several long rainbow skrunchies and cut-out rainbow stockings on her legs and lower arms, and an exposed stomach was hidden behind a zipped-up denim jacket.
“Yo, Summers!” Roxanne called to her friend in an obnoxiously loud voice. “When are you gonna stop by my place for some soccer practice? I can’t use the field on weekends, you know.”
“…I-I’m not so good at soccer.” Responded the quiet woman in the yellow southern dress. “…I’m scared that I might get hit in the face with the ball… like I always do.”
“Aww, come on! That had to be decades ago! When are you gonna get over your fear of athletics?”
Amber Simmens shook her head in frustration. Figurative wording always got her riled up, being the grammar Nazi she was.
“…First off, Roxy, she’s only 18 years old.” Amber began. “Second of all, you realize that you’re just doing more damage by pressuring her into doing what she doesn’t like to do. Who knows? She could have had a traumatizing experience from early in her childhood, something she just can’t ever grow out of. It’s very rude to rush into a complex emotional situation like that.”
“…U-um actually, that was last year…” Faith confessed. “…I-I’ve been afraid of anything larger than a kick-beanie ever since that incident.”
“Faith, this isn’t army training…” Roxanne tried to reason. “You’re just trying to kick a ball into a net. It’s easy once you get the knack for it.”
“No, in correction, you will be just trying to kick the ball into the net, while I’ll be cowering in the corner of the goal frame.” Faith countered. “I’m just not going to do it, and that’s final. I think you’re great at what you do, and you don’t need someone like me to slow you down…”
“Grooaan…” Roxanne grumbled, putting an actual word to her emotion.
“Aaaanyway…” Amber began, rolling her eyes at the tomboy beside her. “Faith, how were things at the animal shelter going last weekend?”
“…Oh… not too good.” admitted Faith, twiddling a lock of her hair in her fingers. “I was really hoping that my favorite little pit bull might get adopted by a family who said they might be interested in him. He’s so sweet, but I guess he got scared at the sight of new people.”
“What happened?” asked Amber.
“He… he just started barking and snarling like crazy once they came into the kennel to see him. He scared them out of their previous interest in him.”
“Eh, no big deal, right?” Roxanne chuckled. “Guess they can’t handle a real dog like that, huh?”
“Roxanne, it’s a really big deal!” Faith protested, a sad expression creeping onto her face. “If they don’t find a home for him in two weeks, they’re going to kill him!”
“Faith, I had no idea… I’m so sorry.” Amber consoled, placing a hand on Faith’s shoulder.
“Dude… bummer.” Roxanne sighed, scratching the back of her head. “Wait a second… Hey, Ambs!” Roxanne interrupted. “Isn’t that…”
“Roxanne, that was incredibly rude!” Amber spoke before Roxanne could finish her sentence. “Faith here was speaking, and about something deeply important to her at that. And here you go just shooting your mouth off yet again…”
“Oh sticks and stones Amber.” Roxanne defended, grabbing the top of Amber’s head, placing it in a headlock to point her in the direction of where she wanted her to look.
“AAAH-! Roxanne!”
“Shhh!” she commanded. “Isn’t that the guy you keep ogling over? You know, the cop guy?”
Indeed, Amber Simmens had been pointed in the direction of the rookie cop from the television earlier that morning. He was dressed in a white police uniform with black pants and a utility belt at the moment, standing just outside of a white squad car, lights flashing behind a pulled-over pickup truck. Silencing Amber with her finger over her lips, the two could just make out what was going on the other side of the street.
“…Sir, I’m issuing this traffic citation to you for running a stop sign three blocks back.” the young cop, Seymour Reiley, spoke to a disgruntled white man in his forties driving the offending pickup truck. “Failure to pay the county court by the allotted due date will result in greater legal consequences.”
“Come on, I didn’t see the sign! The branches are in the way!” the offender protested.
“Sir, the sign is bright red. Against a green background. Even through branches it should have been obvious.” Seymour explained.
“Well, I ain’t paying!” the offender continued. “And I don’t like your tone!”
“Sir, I assure you that I do not have a tone right now. This is purely policy.” Seymour tried to reason. “Everyone must abide by the same set of laws in order to ensure the safety of the community.”
The truck roared to life as the throttle was pulled. Soon, the offender screeched off leaving a trail of diesel smoke behind.
“Yeah? Up yours, buddy!”
Once the smoke cleared, the rookie cop coughed out his next few words.
“…Ugh, you have a nice day too, sir…” Seymour grumbled as the truck drove off toward the school. Closing his citation booklet, he began to travel back to his car.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the road, Roxanne and Amber both watched the young police officer collect his belongings. Of course, Roxanne was the first to speak after witnessing the display.
“He is cute…” she whispered. “I can totally see why you’re so obsessed with the kid.”
*CHOMP*
“OW!” Roxanne exclaimed as Amber bit the finger which had previously silenced her. “Not cool, Ambs!”
“Serves you right for being an ass.” chuckled Amber.
“Well, you’re still obsessed with the kid…” Roxanne grunted, massaging her finger.
“Roxanne, I am not obsessed with him.” Amber refuted. “I don’t even know the guy!”
“Well, I think you should go and get to know him!” Roxanne suggested with a devious expression.
“W-What?!”
“You heard me! Go talk to him before he drives off!” Roxanne furthered, shortly before shoving he friend into the road in the direction of the officer.
Surely enough, Amber fumbled back onto her feet. Shortly thereafter, and quite predictably, another vehicle blew its horn at the girl as is screeched to a halt.
“S-Sorry…!” Amber yelled back. “Sorry, sorry!”
After a rather obscene hand gesture and another horn blast, Amber scrambled to the squad car, hoping that Seymour hadn’t seen her embarrassing moment. Almost on cue, she was greeted by his voice.
“Whoa, You alright?!” he questioned.
There it was. That voice which flowed over her. His voice was both sweet and mature, with a very noticeable accent of cute trepidation.
“I-I-I-I…!”
“Hey, hey, slow down!” he tried to calm, placing a hand on her shoulder and kneeling to meet her at eye level. “Take a breath!”
“…uhm… I-I’m sorry, did I startle you?” Amber finally spoke. “I-I didn’t mean to get in the way of…”
“Naah.” the officer answered. “I just didn’t see you coming is all. You’re not hurt are you? That Honda nearly flattened you.”
Amber took a moment to assess her body for damage, only to find that she had indeed just dodged a car-sized bullet. No scrapes, no bruises, just a bit shaken up.
“…No, I’m fine.” she sputtered. “Just a little bit shocked is all.”
“I’d say! You were almost road kill!” Seymour laughed. “Anyway, glad to see you’re alright.”
“T-thanks, Officer Reiley.” Amber continued.
Seymour had noticed the subtle curvature of Amber’s body, also taking in the violet and pink streak in her long brown hair. He had thought she looked familiar, but now he could finally put his finger on it.
“Say… I know you!” he announced. “You’re the daughter of Nigel Simmens, that new lawyer who just moved in. It’s Amber, right?”
He knew who she was! He even knew her name!
“Y-Yes!” Amber answered as calmly as she could, her insides knotting around themselves as she stood shaking on the spot. “That’s me…”
“I thought you looked familiar. I remember your family coming into the station before you moved in on my street to get some paperwork done.”
“Wait, you live on my street?” Amber questioned. “Why haven’t I seen you around for the last few weeks?”
Seymour shook his head.
“We live two blocks down from you, on the opposite side of the street. We probably leave and come home through different routes.” he explained. “Other than that, I pretty much know where everyone lives in the neighborhood. N-not to be creepy, or anything.”
“No, no… It’s fine!” Amber giggled. “I-I mean, I moved into your neighborhood, so naturally you might have, um… taken notice.”
The two shared a moment of awkward silence as Amber patted the ground with her shoe, hooking into the blacktop with her toes. Meanwhile, Seymour shifted his focus to a pretty birdie in a nearby fountain.
“…Um, well, it’s been nice meeting you, Officer Reiley.” Amber spoke. “…Um… Officer Reiley?”
“O-Oh, sorry…” Seymour stammered, snapping back into reality. “I-I was looking at that bird in the fountain over there. The pretty blue one…”
“Oh, I guess that is a… pretty bird.” Amber chuckled. The way he handled the moment of trepidation between the two was rather cute, much to her surprise.
“Oh, yeah!” he answered. “Our olice department is actually putting on a public awareness block party this evening in the neighborhood. You should come stop by!”
“…Really?” Amber questioned. “What’s it all about?”
“Well, we need to inform people of the recent murders and kidnappings going on.” Seymour explained. “If we can put on a big social event, people will come in droves, and we can get our message across.
“...I see.” Amber continued. “I guess that if I do go, we can get to… know each other better. I’m sure it will be fun!”
“I’m sure it will be! I’m actually the tumbler crank for the prize roulette. We’re raffling off a bunch of prizes. Other than that, we’ve got plenty of coupons and gift cards from local stores and restaurants to compete for.” Seymour added. “I… hope we can meet up there. If you’re interested, it’s at 4:30 in the first cul-de-sac of the neighborhood.”
“You know… I think I might just be there!” Amber spoke, rather excited at the news. “I guess I’ll see you there, Officer Reiley.”
Seymour couldn’t help but feel elated at her courteous rendition of his name and position.
“Just Seymour, thanks…” he offered. “…Officer Reiley is kind of my dad’s title more than it is mine.”
“…Okay, Seymour.” Amber corrected. “I’ll probably be there around five… Will all of the events still be going on?”
“Sure, we estimate a two to three hour event.” Seymour answered. “I have to be there until the raffles are done, and we have 40 spaces right now that can be signed in…”
The conversation was cut off by a loud crackle from the CV radio in the nearby squad car, easily head through the open door on the driver’s side.
Bridgton dispatch- we need available officers to 10124 Jefferson. We have another 2502 (a) Outside of gas station. All available units report. Repeat 2502 (a) probable homicide, massive blood loss from neck.
“Oh, shit… um, I need to take this. Why don’t you head on home now, I’ll see you at the party later.”
“Okay… I’ll see you then…” Amber had barely been able to get a farewell in before the squad car sped off, sirens blaring. Turning around to look for her friends, however, she swore she could feel something.
Something just… observing.
“Woohoo!” hooted Roxanne, currently laughing hard enough to cause stiches, while Faith simply stood hiding behind her long hair, blushing at the sight before her. “Way to go Simmens!”
“O-Oh, be quiet you!” Amber demanded.
“Hahahaha…” Roxanne finished, regaining her composure. “Yo Amber, I gotta get Faith to my place so she can babysit my baby brother. I’ll see you tomorrow at school!”
“Yeah, yeah… just go jump in a lake why don’t you?”
“At least I’m a good swimmer!” Roxanne shouted back, taking her blonde friend by the wrist and yanking her along with her.
Chapter III
A Cause for Concern
Amber Simmens had just barely gotten home at her normally scheduled time, provided she did have to exert herself a bit more than she was used to. Partly due to the fact that she felt somewhat uneasy after her run-in with the young but adept police officer, Seymour Reiley. After she had left her friends Roxanne and Faith to their respective treks home, another feeling had washed over her all the way back to her house. A feeling of suspicion mixed with a hint of dread… like someone, or something, was watching her every move, stalking her all the way home. She had turned around several times to look, but she could find nothing. Fearing that she may have just exhausted herself from her schoolwork, Amber thought she would have a nice, relaxing bath once she did get home.
Walking up to her cracked driveway, weeds still in need of a good Round-Up application sprouting through the concrete fissures, Amber turned to greet her irritating but lovable green-haired little brother Sam, who had just gotten out of his carpool with a friend.
“Hey, Lettuce Top!” Amber yelled, quickly joining her brother, putting him in a headlock whilst rummaging through his hair. “How was school for you today?”
“…Unngh! Caaan’t breathe…!” Sam protested, finally squirming out of his sister’s grip. Once free, he began to talk to her again. “uugh… is that how you say ‘hi’ to everyone?”
“Only irritating younger siblings.” Amber mused.
“Ha-hah… so hilarious.” Sam panned. “And to answer your question, no… nothing happened. Ms. Franklins just kept on ranting about the history of the word ‘ambidextrous’, expecting us to be able to spell all of these words about the body. I already knew them, of course, but that didn’t stop her from yapping. ‘Blah-Blah-Blah-Blah-Blaaah!’ It was torture…”
“Aww, welcome to middle school, Sam.” Amber teased.
“Is middle school really worse than her?!” Sam questioned, now concerned for his well-being. “Please tell me it gets easier!”
“I’d be lying if I did.” Amber confirmed.
As the two ventured back into their house, that same presence of dread hit Amber yet again. Only this time, whatever it was seemed to take a focal point in her younger brother.
Her sweet, innocent, rambunctious, vulnerable little brother.
“…Hmm..."
Amber stood in silence, observing her surroundings one last time before heading inside, closing the heavy, worn-out white door behind her quickly.
After grabbing a sack of chips from the pantry, Sam Simmens had wandered upstairs to his room, where he picked up a small, brown stuffed puppy from his bed. He had always wanted a dog, but due to his allergies to animal dander, he knew that he just couldn’t ever have one without the miserable symptoms. Ever since he found out, he had been somewhat sad over the fact. Every day since the revelation, as a tribute to his desire to own a dog, Sam kept a video recording of whatever he and his stuffed pup would get up to in their spare time on his brand-new camcorder.
“…This place… is horrible Ruggles…” the young boy spoke, a first person view from his camera catching a glimpse of his room. Other than the fading paint, and a few small cracks and spots in the corners of the ceiling, the room looked like a typical bedroom for a young boy. A fish-shaped clothes basket sat in the corner of the room, and a dresser with a lamp sat on the left of his bed next to the door.
“…huuuummm….” he sighed, clearly lamenting over the fact that he was still in this new place as his father continued to find a job. Fortunately enough, being a specialized defense attorney had its perks. The family never seemed to be in any financial danger due to the money that their father earned, paired with their mother’s job an accountant in the city of Pittsburgh where they once lived. But due to economic downsizing and relentless assaults from a new and aggressive law firm causing their father to lose his job, the family decided to play it safe with a relatively good deal on an old fixer-upper estate. The place was much larger than their old home, but in need of several renovations and repairs.
*Skritch* Scrape*Scratch*
A sudden thumping and scratching noise emanated from the ceiling near the closet door, causing the young boy to freeze in his tracks. Now very scared, Sam turned to face the closet door and the ceiling above as she shuffling noises trickled down to just behind the door. Sam could feel his hair stand on end as he began to shiver, clutching Ruggles tightly to his chest.
“…Ruggles…” he whispered just as the door to the closet creaked about a third of the way open on its own, still revealing nothing. The knob even slightly turned to signify that there was definitely something behind the door.
Whatever had been doing this, Sam had never been more terrified in his life than at this moment.
“Hey, I thought you were supposed to be fixing up this room!” spoke Sam’s mother, who had just entered the room through the main door.
“M-Mom!” Sam sputtered, quickly turning to face his mother.
“Honestly, it’s been almost a month since we first moved in. How have you not unpacked everything yet?” she questioned. Soon after, however, she could see something was wrong with the ten-year old. “…Honey, you don’t look so good. What’s the matter?”
“…I hate this place!” Sam groaned.
“…Well, maybe if you finished setting up your room, you wouldn’t feel so uncomfortable. It’ll be just like your old room.”
“No, mom it’s creepy, I’m hearing weird noises!” Sam protested. “The closet just opened up on its own! The knob turned and everything!”
“Sam, that’s silly. Are you sure you didn’t just open it and forget it?” his mother reasoned.
“N-no, it’s not! It happened!”
“Ugh…” his mother grumbled. “I told you not to be watching the Crime Stoppers segment on the news! Look, Sam, you know what I think happened? I think you opened it up yourself, and forgot that you did a few moments later. That’s all it was honey…”
“No it wasn’t!” Sam barked back.
“Sam, what makes you think you can raise your voice at me, young man?!”
“BECAUSE I SAW IT!” he yelled back at his mother.
“…You kids and your imagination.” his mother finally conceded. “Okay, come with me, let’s go see what’s in the closet.”
Sam sat on the bed, shaking his head from side to side.
“I’m not going in there!” he complained.
Haze filled the air in the upstairs bathroom. The mirror had completely fogged over with steam from the bath tub, where an exhausted and very much naked Amber Simmens lay in relaxation. A hot bath was just what she had needed after her stressful encounter with Officer Seymour Reiley earlier that afternoon. At the time of her soak, she had been in the tub for just a few minutes. Her eyes lay closed and her face was plastered in a glazed over expression of complete bliss as she lay in the bubbly water. She let out a soft moan as she slowly fully extended her legs so that only her shoulders breached the water, the soap suds congealing just perfectly as to cup her shoulders. Utter silence served as the only backdrop to the foggy realm of warmth she was blissfully awash in…
…Until a couple of odd scraping noises were heard, seemingly emanating from the ceiling above her, causing her to stir a little. Craning her neck upward, she surveyed the room up and down for the source of the noise. Once she had determined that it was probably the wind making the old house groan and creak, or maybe just some poor squirrel in the attic or walls, she shrugged her shoulders and went back to her luxurious, hot heaven.
“Hmm…"
“See Sam, there’s nothing in the closet to be afraid of.” Sam’s mother spoke. “Look, I’m standing in the closet right now, and I’m still just fine.”
Stepping carefully into the closet, Sam joined his mother, clutching his stuffed puppy, Ruggles, to his chest out of fear. However, his mother did seem to be right. He looked all around the closet, only to find nothing but walls and boxes from their recent move. One thing stood out though- a 2-foot by 2-foot square on the opposite side of the wall. The square seemed to be cut from the surrounding drywall, and had hinges and a latch on it.
“Mom… what’s that door over there?” Sam questioned, causing his mother to look in that direction.
“…I don’t know. I didn’t know that was there.” she answered, walking up to the door and kneeling to its level. Once she was at level with the hatch in the wall, she opened up the small door, revealing a long, dark chasm leading to a grey stone floor.
“…Mom…?”
“It looks like a laundry chute to the basement.” she explained. “That could be handy!”
Sam rolled his eyes as his mother exited the closet. Soon after, he followed her out into his bedroom, only to observe her standing on a chair while attempting to fix something to the wall. To Sam, it appeared to be a small mounted camera.
“Mom, what are you doing?” asked the ten-year-old.
Sam’s mother turned around slightly to answer his question. Before the family moved into this new house, Sam had had a history of potentially dangerous bouts of sleep walking. At one point nearly two years ago, the boy had somehow wandered out of the house and into the backyard of their old home, where he was found several hours later the next morning, soaked and freezing cold from a late autumn rain shower. Naturally, he couldn’t remember a thing once he had woken up at sunrise. Ever since the incident, and the few less-severe occasions afterward, the family had always kept a close eye on their youngest member.
“…Well, remember when you used to sleep walk?” she asked.
“Mooom…” Sam whined.
“Well, it’s just that this is a new place, and I wanted to make sure you were safe.”
“Mom, I haven’t done that since I was nine!” Sam protested at the prospect of having his privacy invaded. “I wanna be treated like a ten-year-old, not a baby!”
“Oh, honey, I know…” his mother consoled. “You are a big kid. But can we just keep this camera up for me? So mommy can sleep easier? Please?”
Sam just sighed, he knew his mother wouldn’t take it down, no matter how much he pleaded.
“MOM!”
Both Sam and his mother turned to face the source of the voice which called to them. Exiting the room, Sam dropped his still rolling camera on the bed, to which it faced the opened closet door once again.
“Hey, careful with that! That was a nice gift from grandma!” Sam’s mother instructed as they walked away from the room and down the hallway.
…And then, just as it had opened, the door’s knob turned as it slowly creaked shut once more.
*Creeeeaaak*
Soon after Sam was ushered to go find something to do while his mother spoke with his elder sister, Amber, the remaining two women conversed in the hallway.
“Mom, I found out at school today that there’s supposed to be some sort of block party at 4:30 today.” Amber Simmens fibbed, wrapped in a pink bath towel, her hair kept in another balled up towel. “My friends are going to be there, can I go out with them?”
“A block party?” her mother questioned.
“Yes, they’re going to have free stuff all day, plus the police department are saying that they have a few announcements there.” Amber explained. “I’m really burned out from school today, so can I go?”
“…I don’t know, dear.” her mother responded. “Sounds an awful lot like you’re not going there for your friends’ sake. It sounds more and more like you’re still stalking that police chief’s kid.”
“Ugh! Mom, I told you, we’re just friends!” Amber protested. “Really, look at me! Do I look like some catty teen-girl who just follows boys around all day?”
“Amber, you know that you’re a terrible liar, right?” her mother continued. “Honestly, I’ve know you for 18 years; ever since you popped out of me, you’ve been bad at telling stories.”
“Mom, I’m just going with…”
The conversation between amber and her mother was cut short when the front door to the house creaked open, and a peppy, masculine voice announced the arrival of Amber’s father, Nigel Simmens.
“Velma, I’m home!” Nigel called. “And employed!”
“You got another job?!” Velma cried back. “That’s wonderful honey!”
“Yep!” the man exclaimed, heading up the stairs to meet his wife and almost nude firstborn. Nigel had worn a black business suit with a red, checkered tie to accentuate his closely cropped and smooth black hair. Such professional clothing was usually his own personal style anyway. Once at the top of the stairs and in their sight, he continued his explanation. “Got a position as a public attorney over at the court house. I get full benefits too!”
“Oh, Nigey, that’s so wonderful! We’re back on our feet again!” Velma continued, walking over to plant a kiss on her husband’s cheek. Even though the two were in their forties, the Simmens parents were still quite romantic, even sexually active, in their advancing age.
“Ugh… get a room, you two!” Amber complained.
“Oh please, Amber.” Velma countered. “You don’t think I can hear you moaning and groaning at night in your bedroom?”
“Eww, mom! I don’t do that!” Amber lied, obviously nervous at her mother’s suspicion. “Look, can I just go to the party or not?”
“Honey, I also heard about that block party. And Amber’s been working so hard lately with her school work...” Nigel tried to reason with his wife. “I think she deserves a night to rest that big, bulbous brain of hers, don’t you?’
“See? Dad knows how hard I have it!” Amber added. Truth be told, she had always been “daddy’s little girl”, and everyone in the house knew that the two had a close bond due to their intellectual pursuits, as well as her interest in her father’s career field. She had always wanted to join her father’s business of legal practices and archiving from her love of all things written on paper and bound to a hard cover since she was only a year old. “Can I? Please?”
Amber’s mother finally had had enough of her daughter’s pleading. In her eyes, she had always seen the cute little girl begging for another cookie, another bedtime story, another trip to the library. Finally, Velma Simmens caved in.
“…Oh, alright…” she answered, smiling to her daughter.
“Yes!” Amber exclaimed, jumping into the air, almost losing her towel. “Yes, yes,yes,yes,yes,yes,yes,yes,yes!”
“…As long as you take Sam with you.” her mother interrupted, causing her eyes to shoot open as she stopped bouncing.
“AWW, MOOOOM!” Amber protested. “I don’t want to babysit him all night!”
“Actually…” Nigel spoke up. “That sounds like fun! Why don’t we all go?”
“DAD!” Amber whined again. “Who’s side are you on?!”
Finally, the time had come for Amber Simmens to attend the block party in hopes of finding more time to be with the police chief’s son, Officer Seymour Reiley. Unfortunately for her, this personal meet and greet had turned out to be a family outing. Not only would she have to constantly babysit her lovable but irritating little brother, but she would also have to endure the displeasure of her parents constantly breathing down her neck.
Her parents had left to sign up for the raffle which Seymour had explained to her earlier that day, leaving her on a community bench, disgruntled, with her little brother who was now gorging himself on free popcorn and cotton candy beside her.
“…MMn! This party…*gulp* is awesome!” Sam spoke through mouthfuls of sticky, sugary, and salty snack foods. “Why didn’t you want me to come here? It’s great! Free games, candy, snacks, everything!”
“…Yeah… great… just great…” Amber grumbled, holding her chin in her palms, a soured look plastered her face as she blew a lock of hair off her forehead. Her eyes slanted upwards as her parents soon returned. However, Amber’s expression soured even further once she witnessed that her mother was wearing a novelty arrow hat with multiple fake Hawaiian flower necklaces around her neck, while her father ate from a bucket of popcorn whilst sporting a Spiderman pattern of paint on his face. Worse than that, her two friends Faith Summers and Roxanne Dreyton followed closely behind them.
“Hey, sweetums!” her father announced so that half of the party could hear him. “We found your friends over by some girls by the bounce house! We thought we’d bring them over to see you!”
“Oh… no…” Amber winced.
“Gee, thanks for bringing us over to see our super bestest friend Amber Mr. and Mrs. Simmens!” Roxanne thanked in a tone that Amber could clearly tell was all a façade.
“Oh it’s no problem girls!” Velma replied. “Perhaps I could get Amber to invite you over for her birthday party next month! We’re all making the cake!”
“Oh, I’m sure that would be wonderful.” Faith confirmed in a more sincere and sweet tone.
“MOM!” Amber whined. “Not in public, please!”
“Oh Amber, lighten up!” her mother offered. “You don’t see Sam complaining about… Hey, where is the little goober anyway?”
“…I don’t know. He was here a moment ago.” Amber lied, she knew he had just gone to get more snacks. “I think he might have gone over to that bounce house you were just talking about.”
Glancing in the direction of her fib, all three members of the family were surprised to see that he had indeed gotten side tracked, and ended up inside the bounce house. Nigel and Velma looked on as their son bounced nearly as high as the ceiling of the bounce house, oblivious to all outside.
“HAHAH!! Atta’ boy Sam!” Nigel shouted, rushing to see his athletic young boy, much to his following wife’s dismay.
“Oh dear, honey! Be careful in there, you could bump your head!” Velma shrieked over her husband’s encouragement.
Amber Simmens could only shake her head in disbelief at the embarrassment her family had caused her. Her parents were stuck in an age where families regularly played games together on Tuesday nights, went on hiking trips together, and did many other things most in the twenty-first century would call “lame” or “old-school.” Upon looking up to see her two friends, she discovered Roxanne looking down at her, snickering loudly with a hand over her mouth, while Faith cast her a questioning glance.
“Oh, what are you laughing at now?” Amber demanded from her giggling friend.
“Pffffffsh… Hahahaha!” Roxanne continued, forcing all subtlety out the window. “I thought my parents were embarrassing! ‘Oh, let’s invite them to her birthday party! We can all make the cake!’ Come on, Ambs, what are you, four?!”
“Roxanne, stop it!” Amber demanded again. “They’re my parents!”
“…Um… I-if it counts for anything, I thought they were very nice…” Faith commented, trying to ease the situation. “…I think it’s great that you all have such a close family, it makes me kind of jealous knowing I don’t have a mom anymore…”
Suddenly, the atmosphere of the conversation grew very quiet.
“…Well, way to kill the mood, Summers…” Roxanne chuckled nervously.
“ROXANNE!” Amber shouted. “That’s just mean! Faith tells you she doesn’t have a mother, and you joke about it?! That’s just not right!”
“What?! I was gonna give her something nice to say after!” Roxanne defended.
“That’s still… You should be ashamed of yourself for even thinking that would be funny!” Amber continued. “That’s one of the saddest things I’ve ever heard!”
“…O-Oh, it’s okay Amber…” Faith interrupted. “I-I’m not mad or anything, I just thought I’d put it out there…”
“Faith, are you sure?” Amber asked her blonde-and-pink-haired friend. “We can talk about it if you want to.”
“No, I’m okay.” Faith softly affirmed, giving a gentle smile. The rather somber moment was soon interrupted again, however, by a sudden series of quacking sounds emanating from the shy girl’s pocket.
“The ducks have spoken.” Roxanne mumbled.
“Oh my!” Faith squeaked, looking down in horror at her flip-open phone. “My cousin is here!”
“Your cousin?” Amber questioned from her bench.
“Yes.” Faith answered. “My cousin’s cat had kittens, but she can’t take care of them all. I promised to help her give them new homes today at the fair! E-Excuse me…”
With that, Faith Summers was off.
“Kittens?” Roxanne spoke up. “Wait up!”
And with that, Roxanne Dreyton had also fled the scene.
“…The attention span of a squirrel.” Amber huffed, leaving to go find her brother to make sure he wasn’t causing anyone any trouble. “Little brothers… who invented them anyways?”
*THUD*
Once out of her temporary daze, Amber had realized she was on the pavement, having just collided with something tall and rather weighty. And also rather masculine.
“Whoa!” the bleary form in standing above her spoke.
“I-I…” she sputtered, trying to collect herself. Once she could see straight again, the figure looming over her became clear- Officer Seymour Reiley.
“Here… need a hand?” he offered, outstretching a muscular but lean arm out in front of her.
“Y-Yeah, just lost my balance…” Amber spoke, grabbing onto the hand with hers. His hand easily encapsulated her own, giving a sturdy pull which put some pressure on her shoulder, causing her to be pulled upright at last.
“Huh, well if it isn’t Amber Simmens!” Seymour greeted. “Glad you could make it to the party!”
“O-Oh! Hello Seymour!” Amber nervously giggled. “Sorry for bumping into you like that.”
“Naah, don’t worry about it.” Seymour dismissed. “Say, you’re not hurt or anything, are you?”
“Oh, n-no, I’m fine…” Amber hastily responded. “Anyway, I’m glad to see you again, too!”
“Well, thank you.” Seymour responded, taking a moment to admire her rustic choice of party clothes. “Say, you look good. I like what you did with the sweat pants and the purple hoodie.”
“Oh, thank you!” she thanked. “So, why are you here again? I would imagine you’d be busy lately, what with all of the weird murders and kidnappings going on in just a couple of weeks. I thought for sure you’d be out there, you know, busting bad-guys?”
“Oh, yes, we are very busy with that.” Seymour spoke. “Anyway, that’s one of our main focuses this year actually. I’m here because they said they want to announce something in front of me and my department partners. After that, I’m here to call out the raffle winners, then to discuss that matter of the strange killings and disappearances.”
“Oh.” Amber nodded, somewhat disappointed. “Well, it looks like you have a full plate right now. I was really hoping that we could… do something fun together, but I don’t want to hold up your work.”
“Well, actually, there’s about an hour or so left after those announcements each year, so I can take you up on that offer after I get done on stage, if you’d like.”
“O-Okay, sure…!” Amber agreed, now back to her plucky attitude from a few moments prior. “We can do that after all of those stage events!”
“Great!” Seymour proclaimed. “Now, I’d better get on up to the stage. The speech starts in a few minutes.”
“Alright. Good luck!”
By the time the police department was scheduled to present the prizes announced for the winners of the raffle, as well as a state of the city address, most of the patrons of the block party had seated themselves in the fifty or so chairs in front of the portable stage, with a few others, such as the Simmens family, standing off to the side. Faith Summers and her cousin sat at a nearby booth with the several kittens of which they tried to find a home for over the course of the event. Roxanne Drayton knelt down near the two, rubbing two particularly cute kittens against her face. Once most of the party was confirmed to be in attendance, a relatively overweight and middle-aged police officer, Michael Reiley, took to the microphone.
“A-Ahem…” the chief of the department grunted, clearing out his throat for the announcements he was planning to make, before handing the mic over to his first-and-only born. “Um, may I have everyone’s attention, please?”
The rumble of the crowd lowered to a manageable level at the chief’s request.
“Thank you.” the senior officer Reiley spoke. Now, before we begin with our announcements, I would like to thank each of you for coming out this afternoon to our annual party. It really is very wonderful to see such an actively participating community thriving under our ordinance.”
The crowd gave a short golf-clap over the good turnout.
“Yes, also, we have received a request for a special announcement at the request of two members of our local ranch-workers, the Summers family. They currently have several kittens, all have been vaccinated and are free to a loving home. For more information, please speak to Faith Summers at the booth nearest to the stage as you would like.”
“Aaaww…” the crowd simultaneously cooed.
“Now, since we’ve gotten that out of the way, I’d like to turn the microphone over to my boy Seymour here. But first, I would like to make one more special announcement concerning my son.”
Seymour looked at his father, somewhat confused at this news. He hadn’t expected something regarding him directly to be discussed by the department at the presentation. Being the obedient and well-mannered young man he was, Seymour took to the stage beside his father anyway.
“Now, as all of you may know, my son here is one of the finest young officers in the city. He’s always gone above and beyond the call of service when needed, and is a very adaptable, intelligent, and quick-thinking man.” Seymour’s father boasted, earning a blush from his son.
“…Um, thanks dad…” he nervously chuckled.
“Yes, ever since he joined the department as a recruit at the age of sixteen, he had served his community well, and always put the needs of family, neighbors, and friends before himself.” Chief Officer Michael continued. “But, even more recently, in response to current events which I am sure most of you are aware of, he has really buckled down and aided the department to the best of his abilities- outclassing most of the department with his skills of advanced tactical formation and operation, incredible marksmanship, and amazing resourcefulness.”
The crowd continued to listen on in admiration that such a young member of their city had such a powerful presence in the department of apprehension. Finally, Seymour asked his father what the big deal was.
“Um, dad, I appreciate your praise…” Seymour spoke. “…But what is all of this for? I don’t recall doing anything too significant lately.”
“Oh, but you have son.” his father countered. “Your skill and dedication is why I’m still up here presenting. It is for these reasons that your efforts should finally be rewarded. Ladies and gentlemen of our great and humble city, I am here to announce the newest tactical specialist to enter our elite Special Tactics and Rescue Squad, or S.T.A.R.S. team as you may be more familiar with… My outstanding son, the new Agent Seymour James Reiley!”
Finally, the crowd began to cheer and admire the new member of the city S.T.A.R.S. team. All of the attention filled Seymour with an overwhelming sense of pride- he hadn’t thought he would actually make it this far, at least not this soon. But with his father’s confirmation, Seymour found himself having to wipe away a few stray tears of honor. Of course, he had turned his head to the side, he had to look somewhat tough, right?
“Wow, thank you, everyone…!” Seymour thanked. “Let me say what an honor it is to be given such a promotion! I never thought I’d get so far at my age…”
“Well, Special Agent Reiley…” Seymour’s father continued. “…It looks like you have a few things to say, so I think I might just get out of your hair for now.”
“Thanks dad…”
Just past the corner of the stage, Seymour could see Amber Simmens with her family. She looked to be deep in thought, but offered a smile of admiration nonetheless. In her own shoes, she quickly began to think of her new acquaintance as quite the haul. Cute, sweet, and incredibly talented… was there anything he couldn’t do?
She had never been the biggest fan of the stereotypical “perfect boy”, as a previous but short-lived pseudo-relationship in her last high school the year prior hadn’t really gone anywhere. She had dismissed the scenario prior to this one as a simple crush which didn’t last; her previous “Boyfriend” was very sweet and understanding, much like the young man up on the stage. The only downside, which proved to be a fatal road block for the two, was that he hadn’t the stomach to argue against her due to his paranoia of screwing up. But now, Amber Simmens, about as romantic and sexually active as a seabed sponge, began to see that maybe, just maybe, Seymour was different.
Now that his promotion had been cleared by the head of the department, it was finally time for the address in which Seymour was offered to give. Adjusting the collar on his regulation white police shirt, the young but experienced officer began his address.
“…Alright, first off, I want to thank the department for this great privilege, and I want to thank you all for coming out tonight.” he began. “However, the most important part of the evening needs to be discussed now. As many of you could have guessed, this is on the topic of the recent compromise of the city’s security over the last 20 days.”
A rumble of concern emanated from the gathered crowd as the particularly frightful events of the past three weeks would be brought to light.
“So far, we’ve confirmed that nineteen murders have occurred in our city, many even in this area, in just three weeks. This is likely to be an incorrect number, as we are still dealing with several more disappearances- specifically in the population of young, able-bodied men and women.” Seymour explained. “The latest murder took place, we believe, early this afternoon in a wooded area nearby the corner store at the gas station of Fifth and Ninth Avenue. We have found a body, bearing striking resemblance to the several others we have located in terms of physical damage.”
Amber, somewhat awestruck, couldn’t believe that Seymour was currently on the search team regarding the grisly killings and kidnappings which had begun to plague the area. Knowing that he likely left her earlier in the afternoon to investigate the same murder her has currently discussing, a certain deal of concern began to manifest in the intelligent young woman.
“Given the certain number of ‘rest days’, we are seeing an average of one to two killings each day in our once peaceful community. We still have no idea as to the whereabouts or identity of the assailant, or assailants.” Seymour continued. “Due to this alarming recent development, the police department is here to advise as many as we can about how to protect against these heinous and atrocious acts of violence. The most important things that you all can do to protect yourselves and your loved ones are as follows: one- do not travel on streets you are unfamiliar with unless inside a vehicle. Two- use the buddy system. It is highly advised that no one travel without someone with them, a murderer is much less likely to target even a small group than they are to go after an individual. Finally, if you must go out alone, make every effort not to go out at night.”
As many of the concerned citizens native to the area grumbled on about what they should each do individually, a sudden, low but powerful rumble of thunder echoed from a fair distance to the north- proof that the party might soon be rained out. Noticing this, some of the police officers near the stand viewed their phones in order to get a rough estimate of how long they had left to finish the proceedings, only to find out that the storm looked to be upon them in just under half an hour.
“Oh great… Honey, we didn’t bring an umbrella, did we?” mumbled Velma Simmens to her husband.
“…Nor did we bring a car to get home in.” Nigel responded. “Looks like we’re going to have to call off this little outing earlier than we thought.”
*Chew* *Chew*
“Hey, mmmrm, I fink if goingh trrr rrrin!” warned Sam Simmens, mouth still full of free snacks from the various stands around the party. *GULP* Aah… I think we should get home soon…”
“Yeah, you aren’t kidding Sam…” Nigel confirmed, continuing to monitor the grey clouds in the distance.
“A-Ahem…” Seymour called through the microphone once more. “It looks like we’re going to have to wrap things up a little early tonight, folks…”
A groan of dissatisfaction rose from most of the crowd at this news. Amber was particularly disappointed upon hearing this news, for she now probably would not get a chance to spend time with Seymour before they all would have to leave. On top of that, she hadn’t even given or received any means of contact, meaning that she would just have to bump into him again to do so. But who knew how long that could take?
“Sorry everyone… but even the police department can’t protect us from the weather…”
Seymour apologized, trying to be as cheerful as he could, knowing now that he wouldn’t be able to keep his word with the sweet girl he had just met earlier in the afternoon. “…Well, given the situation, I think it might just be time to start announcing the winners of our raffle!”
Finally, some clapping from the crowd rumbled after an announcement session full of frightening news and premature disappointment.
“Yes… why don’t we turn this around and announce our first winner.” Seymour offered, now spinning the tumbler of labeled Ping-Pong balls which had just been hauled out from backstage. After a good few turns, one ball popped out of the chute, rolling to a stop in the collection bowl. The crowd waited in anticipation of the news, waiting ever so patiently for the first name to be called as the rumbling in the distance grew louder and nearer. Reaching to pick up the ball, Seymour began to select the winners of the day.
