Chapter 1

When the car hit me, everything flashed white hot, then quickly switched to black. I was dazed, completely caught off guard. How could I be so careless? How could I let this happen? I felt so tired, I didn’t want to move. I felt my leg had been broken. There was no pain, but an odd coldness where the bone was exposed to the cool night air. I could feel the warm trickle of blood down my arm, out of my mouth. Cracked fingers and skinned knees, my neck bent the wrong way. I felt humiliated, knowing I had been reduced to roadkill. I heard footsteps. They stopped, replaced by a muffled dialogue. Three males, two females. Their voices all conveyed different emotions; one panicked, one angry, and one oddly calm and certain. The fourth was silent, probably in shock. After some time, I was hoisted up, and placed inside of a car, the same car that had turned me into roadkill. They wrapped me in a tarp like I was some sort of deer. I wondered why they even had a tarp in this car, which smelled strongly like alcohol. I don’t know how much time passed, but the next thing I knew, I hit the ground and tasted dirt. I heard scraping, then the moist Earth surrouning me. It had already been nighttime, but somehow beneath my closed eyelids I sensed the darkness had intensified. The voices faded. It was silent all around me. I felt warm under the Earth, like I was in the womb. It enveloped me, and the thought of remaining there for all of eternity sounded pleasant to me for a moment. But the image of me broken, flat against the road ripped me away from that feeling. The reality of what had just happened bored its way into my heart, burning in my chest, defrosting my frozen extremities. Those people probably felt relief knowing I was down here. In these winding mountain roads, there were no traffic cameras. No witnesses. Their recklessness and selfishness would go unpunished, and I’m sure they relished the fact. The discomfort I was beginning to feel soon turned to anger which viciously transformed into rage. I could no longer lie still. The energy radiated throughout my body. My arms began to move, to dig, claw, and tear their way through the Earth, my movements growing ever more frantic. I reached the surface, the freezing air penetrating down my throat and into my lungs. My eyes flew open, and the brightness of the full moon glaring through the pines was a stark contrast to the deep darkness of the underground. I lifted myself out of my grave using my unbroken arm and leg. My fingers were already healed, but that leg still had a ways to go. But it was fine. As long as I could still run, it didn’t matter how many bones were exposed. I felt the air becoming colder. It had been 40 degrees when I had left the house that night. I had a thermometer in my pocket, miraculously unbroken, and it now read 20 degrees. My mind had been cloudy and muggy ever since I was hit. But now it felt perfectly clear, and I had one goal. Pursuit. Earlier, when I was in their car, I had smelled more than just alcohol. Each human had a unique scent, and their collective scent was particularly easy to spot, especially given the small population of this area. I set off doing what I do best; hunting. Following their footprints, I reached the road, and caught wind of their scent, faint, yet enough for me to decipher which direction they had taken off in. As soon as I had caught wind of them, I set off after them. The trees and scenery whirled by me in an indecipherable blur. I had nothing on my mind but my target. Nothing could stop me until I caught up to them. Nothing. I could feel no sensation in my body. Nothing else mattered. Soon enough, I saw headlights, and their scent was stronger. It was them. I swerved in front of the car, and flew in through the windshield. As I did so, it was as if time slowed down. I could see their calm, perhaps grim expressions transform into expressions of shock. Their eyes widen, their mouths slowly fly open. Some dumbstruck, some terrified. I grabbed the driver by the cuff, and threw him out of the door. He landed on the side of the road, bouncing roughly. I jumped out after him, and watched the car crash into a tree. Without hesitation, I lept upon the ejected driver. I didn’t waste any time ending him; he didn’t matter enough to me to make drawing out his death pleasurable or rewarding in any significant way. I looked at the car. A few of the passengers had survived; a young man, tall and thin, and a young woman with crimson hair. They struggled to lift their friend out of the wreckage, who was clinging onto life. I wasted no time. As I rushed at them, my mind was beautifully clear. Time seemed to slow as I took out each one of them in succession. I loved the progression of their facial expressions, how panic turned to shock which turned to stupor. One of them was tall, and wearing a blue parka, now torn. As I removed his head, I appreciated the way the blood soaked into the parka, not turning it red, but a deeper shade of navy blue. The feeling of bones cracking, of viscera slipping beneath my fingers was familiar and oddly soothing. I killed the two girls differently, experimenting with how I could inflict destruction upon their bodies. When you’ve been at it for a while, using the same methods grows boring. The smell of blood, the taste of blood, the texture of flesh made me feel more alive than I had all night. The various holes and openings I tore into their bodies were so perfectly crafted I felt almost like an artist. While some might see the destruction of these bodies as purely wild and random, that couldn’t be farther from the truth. The dissection of the body, the consumption of the body, had become my craft. And I was a master in my field. As I finished my work and had eaten my fill, I was feeling a peculiar sort of high. Maybe it was the activities I had been up to prior to being run over, perhaps it was the odd perfection of this encounter, or perhaps it was the striking beauty of the moon on this particular night; but I simply had no interest in cleaning up after myself this time. The qualms that would routinely lead me to do so seemed insignificant at that moment. Cleaning up this mess would ruin the perfect rhythm I had evoked, spoil the mood. It would be like denying the perfect, efficient, flawless predator that I am. I decided to let it remain, as a homage to my ferocity and precision. I looked at my thermometer. It had hit 0, but seemed to have stopped its descent. I looked up at the gorgeous moon. Maybe on the way home I would snap a photo over Skar lake. I got on all fours, preparing to sprint, and as my nose neared the ground, I could smell the remnants of my prey. And I smiled, my laser focus finally releasing its grasp. I couldn’t help but notice that despite what had just happened, I was still so hungry. Maybe even hungrier than before. But nothing could be done for it, and so I sprinted home.

As the sun rose over the mountains, it cast a warm shadow over a sea of pines and oaks. Fog retreated over the horizon, and the sparrows and warblers began to sing and flutter about. Morning dew shone on the field aster and gamagrass, and deep in the woods the light green mosses were exposed to the morning sun, their softness cushioning the dark and jagged stump they grew upon. The light crept up a small dirt road that, when followed, would eventually lead to a singular house. It was quaint and modern, certainly out of place in this deep wilderness. With its light blue coloring, suburban garden landscaping and well kept porch, it looked like it belonged somewhere like Brentwood, or Palo Alto. On the second story, a bedroom light flickered on. Freshly awake, Molly walked to the window, taking in the morning scenery. She saw the same thing every morning, but she would always appreciate the beauty of her view nonetheless. “This is the perfect weather for a run. But I’ve got to grab some coffee first.” She turned to her closet. “I’m so happy, ‘cause today I found my friends, they’re in my head. I’m so ugly, that’s okay, ‘cause so are you…” she sang, dressing herself. How was it that she always had so much energy this early?

“Light my candles, in a daze, ‘cause I found God…” she continued as she made her way down the stairs. Turning down the hallway she arrived at the kitchen, where Oscar was standing at the white counter, drinking coffee and reading the newspaper.

“Morning Molly,” he greeted her softly, briefly looking up from his article. “Hey. Did you make any for me?” She pointed at his red mug. “Yes, there’s still water in the kettle. Just make sure when you heat it, you point the spout away from the cabinet, the steam will worsen the wood.” “I know, you tell me that every time I touch the kettle.” There was a brief pause as Molly prepared her cup, and the living room grandfather clock ticked conspicuously, echoing throughout the house. “By the way, Molly, did you go out last night? I noticed the door was unlocked this morning.” “Nah, last night was streaming night, ‘member? I was playing Valorant all night. I was too busy for any of that.” “Oh, that’s right, I forgot that’s your new routine. Maybe I left it open when I took out the garbage.” “Or maybe it was Momo sneaking out to do drugs again.” Molly said, widening her eyes jokingly. Oscar shook his head at that.

Momo the cat emerged from the office, and hopped onto the counter to see what Oscar was reading. “Oh, can you believe that? You’d think that after all this time they’d learn that hosting those sorts of parades will always end in controversy. I can’t think of a single year they hosted one of those and somebody didn’t get shot. I mean, come on,” Momo mused, tracing the article with her paw. “Oh, you know those people, they’re so invested in their traditions, the shootings are just a part of the package.” Oscar replied, petting her. Momo chuckled at this, and they both continued to read. Molly chimed in, “Oscar, I know I’ve asked this before, but where do you even get the newspaper from? I mean, first of all, who even reads those anymore? And second of all, who on Earth is travelling all the way to our house just to deliver the paper?” “I have my sources. It’s really not that interesting.” He always replied the same way. And not just about the newspaper. Their surprisingly strong internet connection, their specialty food, and his supplies for his research were just a few other things with origins that he would be very vague about. Oscar was generally a simple straightforward guy, but he still liked to be mysterious about things on occasion.

Molly enjoyed her coffee while reading pirated manga on her computer, and soon decided it was time for her run. But as she mumbled goodbye and prepared to exit out the front door, they were met with unexpected visitors. The county sheriff, Aleks, and the deputy, Spike, appeared at the door. So unexpected was this that Oscar almost forgot to place his mug on top of a coaster before making his way over to the door and standing beside Molly.

“Good morning officers,” he greeted them, shaking their hands. “Is everything alright?” “Morning, sir. We’re going from house to house asking about a group of university students who recently went missing. They were last seen Tuesday night. You know Mr. and Mrs. Bergman?” “Yeah, fuck them,” said Molly, remembering how . “Molly, why don’t you go feed Bean, he’s probably hungry.” The warning look Oscar gave her was enough to prompt her to do just that. Oscar turned back to the officers. “Yes, I’ve known them for years. Why, are they doing alright?” “Their son, Mark, had been visiting from school with his friends. The last they were seen was Tuesday night. They were reported missing yesterday, and we haven’t found any leads yet. All we know so far is that they had driven in this direction for a day hike Tuesday afternoon, and had planned on returning the same day. And as you know, that never happened. And that’s all we know. No hikers or campers we’ve interviewed so far have seen any traces of them after the fact or on the day they disappeared, and we sure as hell haven’t found anything useful. Any information you might have would be great.” Oscar paused, thinking.

“I truly wish that I could contribute, but unfortunately I knew nothing of their arrival in town, and I certainly haven’t seen them around my property. But officer, I will be sure to keep my eye out for anything that may be of use to you. Do you have photos of them?” “Yes, right here.” Deputy Spike brought out a collection of printed photos, each a former high school yearbook photo of one of the students. “The Bergmans are good people, so I will be praying for them.” Oscar said, nodding to the officers. “Thank you, sir. Sometimes that’s all we can do. Take care now.” And they left. As soon as the door shut, Oscar turned to Molly with an accusatory glare, who was sitting on the couch holding Bean, her miniature hellhound. They stared at each other for a moment, and Molly broke the silence. “What?” “...” “What??” “...” “WHAT? God, okay, I told you, I wasn’t out last night, I was playing Valorant on my PC!” “He didn’t say last night, he said they went missing on Tuesday.” “Ok, and I didn’t go out on Tuesday night either!” “You didn’t go out Tuesday night.” “No!” “Even though I remember you walking through the front door at 12:32 at night on Tuesday telling me how nice the moon had been that night, and that it was the perfect lighting for a photoshoot over Skar Lake, and we looked at the photos you had taken together on the couch for 20 minutes.” “...” “But you didn’t go out on Tuesday night.” “Well technically at that point it's already Wednesday. And you know what? Maybe if you weren’t always focusing on your work so much and you actually paid a shred of attention to me once in a while, I wouldn’t feel like I have to TRY so hard to be SEEN by you. I feel invisible sometimes, and it’s like, I only went out on Tuesday because I wanted SO BAD to make you proud! But it’s like you don’t even care! It hurts me…” As Molly sniffled and Oscar looked at her, Momo walked over. “But I thought you didn’t need our approval? Last week you said our opinions don’t matter, because you broke 2K followers on Twink or Twitch or something, and you’re on a “whole new new level-” “Okay, how come everyone has 20/20 memory all of a sudden? And I just said that, c-cause, well, I didn’t think so that time, but I was lying and I know that now!” “What?” Oscar and Momo asked in unison. “God, I HATE THIS FAMILY!”

Molly threw her napkin on the floor, grabbed Bean, and stormed upstairs, slamming the door. Momo and Oscar looked at each other, sighed, and went back to the newspaper. In her room, Molly tossed Bean on the bed, crossed her arms, and glared at the floor. After a huff, she put on her tennis shoes and opened the window.

“What are you doing?” Asked Bean inquisitively. “Going on my run. I don’t want to go back downstairs, walk in front of those fascists, and leave out the front door. This way’s better, I’ll save face.” “Yeah that makes sense. Can I come? You know I love to go on runs with you!” Bean stood up, wagging his fluffy tail, his floppy ears uplifted. “I don’t think that’s a good idea today. I have to take care of some business on the way. I want to see if I can find those police officers, and beat them to a certain location. I may have made a stupid mistake.” “Really? How bad?” “Really fucking bad, dude. Like, ‘the demon core’ bad.” “What’s the demon core?” “Just nuclear lore, you wouldn’t get it. Anyway, see you around Bean. I’ll let you know how everything goes.”

And with that, she leapt out of the window, to the ground, and took off in a casual jog. The sun was fully rising, and it was growing warm. She checked her thermometer as she ran. 59 degrees. On any other day, she would be content to enjoy her run and perhaps go all the way to town, where she could stop by a cafe and get breakfast to refuel. But not today. At least not until she had dealt with this issue. And as she ran, she found that she could only hope that it was not already too late. As she drew farther from the house and toward the direction of where her error had taken place, she increased her speed, eventually reaching close to her top sprinting speed. The forest whorled past her and transformed into a blur of green, brown, and mustard. She soon caught the scent of many different people, more than are typically gathered in one area in this neck of the woods. She also caught a very trace smell of something-someone-familiar. And in a split second, she realized that it in fact was too late. They had found what she feared them discovering most. “God damn it, I hate it when it’s too late,” she hissed as she drew nearer. She followed the scent until she approached a clearing. And here county police cars were parked, and cautionary tape posted on surrounding trees enclosed what could only be a crime scene. A few dozen officers were conversing amongst each other, taking notes, and observing the scene. Among these officers were Sherriff Aleks and deputy Spike. Were they telling the other officers they had questioned her and Oscar? Maybe they already suspected her, and were crafting a narrative. Molly needed to get closer. She quickly diverted her path to a nearby sycamore tree, quickly and silently darting to its top. She hopped silently and discreetly from tree to tree until she was within earshot of the sheriff.

“...definitely human. The skulls and hip bones are a dead giveaway. I’ve just never seen an animal pick bones clean like this. It’s strange, whatever did this left behind odd things. Just the feet, intestines, and bones. And the strangest part, no scavengers touched them. Not even ants.” “We’ll run a DNA analysis and evaluate the dental records, figure out who these people were. Can I be honest with you, Smith?” “Of course, Aleks.” “I have a sinking feeling that we’ve finally solved that case of the missing students. I mean, the freshness of this flesh definitely matches up with the timeline of their disappearance. These remains couldn’t be more than a few days old.”

Smith nodded grimly, looking down. “And if it is them, I have no idea how to break the news to Mrs. Bergman.” “We can just get Speagel to do it,” said Smith playfully, nudging Aleks. “Haha, wouldn’t be the first time. But hey, it’s his fault for being such a pushover.” “He has a good heart though.” Molly glared at the officers with resentment. She sat back in the tree, and stared at her hands, mulling the situation over in her head. And after some thought, she looked toward the direction of home. She knew what she had to do. Aleks shivered. “Phew. Is it just me, or did it just get really cold? Damn!” “Gosh, you’re right, I can see my breath. Strange, because the forecast said it should be 60 by now. It’s June after all! I know it’s early in the month, but come on…” As the officers continued to talk, Molly carefully snuck back to the main trail, about to make a break for where she had come from. But then she paused. There was no rush, so she might as well go about with her regular day plans. Plus, if she wanted to carry out this plan, she would need Oscar out of the house. And she knew that he happened to have plans that night, around 5:00 if she was not mistaken. “Good things come to those who wait,” she said under her breath, apparently thinking she was as wise as Sun Tzu. She changed her direction, and made a break for town instead, where she would pass the time. This scenario bothered her; she hated having to kill time, and preferred getting things over with as soon as possible. But she would have to find a way to be patient.

After an eternal day of wandering, window shopping and exploring town, it was finally time to return home. And when she got there, to her delight Oscar was nowhere to be found. She entered the living room to find Bean watching reruns of How I Met Your Mother. “Have you seen Oscar anywhere?” she asked, sitting beside him. “No, he went to town to help prepare for the community potluck. Oh, and he wanted to tell me that you are invited.” “Great, ok, and where’s Momo?” “She went with Oscar. Are you going to go? I kind of wanted to see if-” “No, fuck that! Remember that business I had to attend to this morning? That potential massive fuck up? Well turns out it’s not potential, and I actually got fucked.” “Oh no, really?” “In fact, I’m actively getting fucked as we speak.” Bean looked her up and down in panic. “Really? That- that’s terrible…” “I know. Let me be honest with you, Bean. I killed those college students.” “Yeah.” “...” “Go on.” “Why aren’t you surprised? I told you guys earlier that I hadn’t. Are you calling me a liar?” “Well, you’re not always truthful, and it was pretty obvious you were deflecting.” “You weren’t even there! Momo told you all of this, didn’t she. You’re using her words, aren’t you. Heh. ‘deflecting.’ Don’t listen to what she says, she’s vindictive. Anyway, I left their remains in the gray patch, and usually I’m pretty good about cleaning up after myself, but for some reason I just couldn’t be bothered that night. Maybe I’m getting too comfortable after all this time, or maybe I just assumed the scavengers would get it…” “But Molly, the animals never touch anything left behind by you. You know that.” “I just wasn’t thinking. And now the remains have been found. And once they run a DNA anal-ysis on them, not only will they know who the remains belong to, but they’ll definitely find a trace of me on it. And my DNA is different from humans, and any other animal they’re used to. This could snowball, and it wouldn’t be pretty. So I’m going to do what I do best.” “What?” “Deflect.”

And with that, Molly beckoned Bean to follow her as they headed down into Oscar’s workplace, a basement room with an entrance adjacent to the lounge. Of course it was locked, but Molly had snatched Oscar’s backup key, and in its place put a fake. It would be a long time until he noticed. Once inside, there was a noticeable increase in temperature, and drop in humidity. The room smelled of smoke and pine, and was eerily silent. Their footsteps and pawsteps echoed as they crossed the black tile floor. Oscar’s workspace was vast, its size much larger than what could reasonably fit into a home such as theirs. The ceiling reached as high as in a palace, the ceiling swallowed by darkness. On the right, rows of bookshelves reached back into depths unknown. On the left side of the room lay a cauldron over a flame pit, which was surrounded by shelves of glassware, ceramic jars, dried herbs and stirring materials. On the wall were cabinets housing various specimens. Some living, some taxidermied, and some preserved in jars. Some creatures appeared Earth-like, such as the aquatic tanks housing large brown fish and anemones. Other creatures looked not of this world. A creature resembling a spider mixed with a lamprey prowled in a large enclosure, and hissed at the opening of the basement door. An iron chandelier hung dimly over the entrance. Molly walked to the far side of the room, and toward the bookshelves. As she went, the torches along the wall lit up with blue flames. She made a beeline for the “curses section” of the library, which Oscar had been cheesy enough to adorn with chains and useless locks shaped like skulls. Without saying a word, she grabbed her favorite book which she knew held just the spell she was looking for. She skimmed quickly, and soon found the right page. “This one right here,” she showed the page to Bean, “it never fails me. I can’t even begin to tell you how much of a lifesaver it is.” “What does it do? I don’t remember…” Bean said, getting ready to turn a page. Molly pulled away the book. “You’ll see.” And then she set to work. Gathering various ingredients, and being sure to leave things exactly how she found them, so as to not give Oscar even the slightest inkling anybody beside him had recently accessed the potion inventory. Bean was silent, not wanting to break Molly’s focus (that never ended well), and decided to stare at the fish. The fish stared back. “Do you want me to bring you anything?” Bean whispered, glancing at the sad bottle of spirulina pellets beside the tank. “We have Nilla wafers that nobody’s touched in like a week. Or if candy’s more your style, I think we have a ton of Hershey Kisses. I’m not allowed to eat those, so I’d have to be really sneaky or they’d know I’m getting it for you…”

“Hey Bean! I need you over here,” Molly said, looking proud of her progress so far. “I need one last ingredient, and only you can help me. I know I can count on you.” Bean looked nervous, but nodded assuredly. Molly picked him up and placed him on the small table next to the now steaming cauldron. Bean stared at the blue-green concoction in wonder. Molly pulled out a utility knife from the tool drawer. “Okay, now just stay right there. It should be around here somewhere… Ah, there!” Beneath the dried herbs was a miniature refrigerator, in which Molly found a large onion. She placed a rag from her pocket in between Bean’s paws, and proceeded to chop the onion aggressively. And Bean began to sniffle and cry. Molly collected the tears with a teaspoon, filling it. She added them to the potion, which immediately flashed, and a maroon swirl began to appear. “Yes. The last ingredient was the tears of a bloodhound. Thanks, boy.” They both gazed into the now glowing potion, which began to grow glossy, eventually resembling a television screen, through which the county sheriff’s department was visible. Inside, employees could be seen going about their daily business. And Molly recognized all of them. “This is perfect. Are you remembering what comes next now, poopsie?”

“Poopsie? Yeah, I think I remember now. I can’t believe you’re doing this again! Oh my God…” Bean looked around and snickered. Molly was giggling too. “Shhh! Ok, here we go. “Kahk shalota, eta poc. Menda lo nil. Sangrae, destrae, corruae. Eta! Eta!” She then spoke the names of each of the officers (which she had triple checked online while she was in town). The potion glowed more intensely, then steam rose out of the cauldron. Wind blew throughout the basement, and the torches all flickered out. This made Bean scream, and Molly cheered triumphantly. “And now my dear, we wait.”

After a meticulous cleanup, the two of them headed back upstairs, taking care to lock the door behind them. They placed themselves inconspicuously on the couch, and turned on the TV. And not a moment too soon, for just five minutes after they settled, Oscar arrived back home. Always in high spirits after a community gathering, he couldn’t help but smile as he greeted them. Oscar was usually expressionless, so seeing him smile always caught Molly off guard. His pointy teeth and reptilian eyes may frighten most, but seeing his eyes crinkle and his teeth shine was rather cute to her. So she smiled back. And contrary to her usual patterns, this smile was genuine. Oscar could sense this genuine love coming from her, and was also caught off guard. Sure, he was in a good mood from the get-together he had just attended, and the sight of his precious family is one of the few things known to make him smile. Everyone knew this. But what could have made Molly so happy? Could it really be that she just loves him that much? This caught him off guard. “Why is everyone so caught off guard?” said Momo, hopping on the couch. “We smile at people we love, it’s not that big of a deal. Look-” she smiled at Bean. “And I don’t even like him. See? No big deal.” “Who’s caught off guard?” Molly said, blushing. Momo gave her a knowing look. “I told you to stop reading my mind!” “Yes Momo, these things you listen to are private.” Oscar remarked, who was expressionless as usual. He joined the others on the couch, suggesting that they “turn off this vulgar nonsense” (they had been watching Family Guy) and instead watch NOVA. Molly initially protested, quickly acquiesced. And although she didn’t say it, she secretly enjoyed watching these things. Never alone, though.

The day came and went, and it was Friday morning when officer Wendy Jerrod went out for her morning traffic patrol by the highway. She sat on the side of the road, her radar sitting on the dashboard. It was already 8 a.m, but she still felt so exhausted. Her daughter had recently started up at elementary school, and today was her birthday. She desperately wanted the other children to like her, and had begged Wendy to help her make cupcakes to bring to the class. And since Wendy hadn’t gotten back from work until 8 p.m that night due to the recent investigation, the project ended up taking most of the night. But she didn’t mind; it was worth it for her girl. But she still wished there were more hours in the day, or in the night for that matter, so that she could balance her work life, family life, and sleep life.

Just then, a car whizzed by her, going 20 over the speed limit. Wendy sighed, taking one more sip of her coffee. “Well, at least I’m not out here for nothing,” she mumbled, turning on her siren and pulling out. Seeing her, the driver slowed and pulled over to the side of the road reluctantly. Wendy pulled over a few hundred feet behind him, and put her vehicle in park. She unfastened her seatbelt. “Well that was easy. I think I’ll let them off with a warning.” The car erupted into explosive flames just as she reached for the handle. The explosion was contained, but hot enough to have killed her instantly. All that remained were traces of human remains, scorched and turned to ash. And although all that remained of most of her body were bones, peculiarly her feet and organs remained unabashed in the passenger seat.

The driver of the car in front of her looked on in shock, unsure of how to proceed. He happened to be a lawyer, and had been running late for an important meeting at his firm. Glancing at his watch, he thought to himself that there wasn’t much that he could do for her at this time. So, after a bit of hesitation, he turned on the ignition, and drove down to the office. He would report the accident to the authorities after recieving a promotion after his meeting.

Across town, Officer Brady was scolding a trio of kids from Willis Middle School who were playing hooky. As they made their way back to school, their annoyance turned to terror when a deafening explosion occurred behind them, followed by blood and viscera raining down from the sky. They screamed, staring at the pair of lone feet standing where Officer Brady once had.

By 10:00 down at the sheriff’s office, Officer Dave had begun filing papers, and four other officers were at their respective desks completing their paperwork. At 10:06, all that remained of them were their skeletons, organs, and feet. Debris and smoke were all that remained of their desks. But on the bright side, none of Dave’s completed paperwork had been completely destroyed.

The rest of the day was filled with several other officer explosions, evenly spaced out and completely unexpected each time they occurred. Emergency responders quickly caught wind of the theme, and immediately informed Sherriff Aleks of what was going down. In response, all of the remaining officers were summoned to take refuge in town hall. They had come to the conclusion that some sort of terrorist had been planting bombs, targeting local law enforcement. The nature of the explosions all had a peculiar trait in common; the bones, organs, and feet were always perfectly intact. Something that had also been seen in the recent remains found in the woods, remains likely belonging to the missing students. And whoever those remains belonged to, one thing was clear; these were no ordinary bombs detonating. Their effect on the body and surrounding environment were much too strange to be explained by commonly employed bomb technology. They were dealing with a criminal mastermind. Aleks and Spike would from then on rack their brains trying not only to pick the nature of the bombs apart, but also the motivation of the terrorist; what could law officers and a few college students possibly have in common? The person, or people, they were hunting down could possibly be ex-military, or some sort of highly educated former university student, maybe even akin to the unibomber. One thing they were certain of; they certainly were from outside of town.

The next day, the events that had transpired were presented on the news, with Aleks and Spike being interviewed on the matter. Their investigation would focus on discovering who this outsider was, and what their motivations could possibly be. Memorials for the deceased officers would be held in two weeks.

“Wow. Six officers, all blown up in the same way. Where have I seen this before…” he looked at Molly, seeming to expect an answer. But she didn’t respond. She just shrugged. “Deja vu. It happens. I think I’m going to take Bean out for a walk. See you.” I know he knows I did something, she thought. But he has no proof. Did he get me on camera? No. Do I have any bomb-making supplies at the house? No. And I know I didn’t leave any traces of myself in the basement. You ain’t got NOTHING on us, Oscar. You got NOTHING ON US. So she had gotten away with it. But something still bothered her. Six officers exploded, but she had fed the names of eight officers to the potion. The two that remained were just being interviewed on the news. And she knew she had indicted Spike and Aleks. In fact, they had been the two she had been channeling the most murderous into. So how? It would stay on her mind occasionally for the next few days, but at that point it was no more than a mystery. She had pointed the suspicion far away from herself. So now all that was left to do was watch the entire department confuse itself into another cold case, something that never failed to amuse her.

And she had learned a lesson; even if you don’t feel like it, always clean up the remains of your prey. It’s very easy to come up with excuses not to, but it’s much more difficult to come up with excuses for yourself once your secrets have been discovered by the wrong people. Never again would Molly be so careless.