Westbane

Episode 3. 9 The Night Monster

Elfrida

You would think Brody Huffins was the mayor's son, considering the amount of people in attendance at his funeral. I could only stare, as both his mom and dad accepted condolences from everyone while the rest stood around, making small conversations and consoling each other at the town's loss.

I let out a shaky breath.

It never does get easier, no matter how many times I attend these sorts of things, that sickening, gut-churning feeling never actually leaves. This was yet another soul leaving the world the moment I stepped into the little town, yet again another soul damned by my presence. This would have been when Beverly would tell me things happen by chance, and has absolutely nothing to do with me.

At the thought of the girl who I would never forget, the one who always had my back, my team, my partner; My chest tightened, if she were here, she would have pulled me away from all the grieving and the pain, telling me I had a fetish for witnessing unsettling things.

I smiled a little at the memory, my eyes going around to find Picklewod coming over to my direction.

"Hey Elfie." She looked pretty bored, her hair up in a really tangled looking bun, the bangs at the front looking rougher than ever as the camera around her neck dangled lightly. "Funerals right?"

"What?" I asked, unsure of what she meant.

"You have that look." She pointed out.

My brows pulled down at the confusion swirling through me. "What look?"

"The one that clearly spells, 'When will this end, again?'" she answered, her tongue coming to poke her inner cheek as her squinted eyes surveyed the area. "Carly couldn't make it?" she asked, sounding a bit disappointed.

"She was around a while ago, but she left pretty early."

Picklewood sighed. "She ran from me again..." I heard her mutter underneath her breath.

"What do you mean?"

She snapped out of her daze, her eyes coming to meet mine again. "Confessed my feelings to her, and ever since then, she's been avoiding and ignoring me. Says she's too old for me."

"Age is just a number." I said to her with an encouraging smile.

"See, you get it... you are like a cool deputy, and she's like so old school." she said. "I wonder why age matters that much to some people. It's not like my dad would care about who I date." She scoffed at that. "Besides, what's wrong with a little six year difference? There are couples out there with an age difference of more than double that number." She voiced out, sounding frustrated.

"One thing I've learnt about Westbane is that people care a lot about what and how the society would view their actions, perhaps Carly is scared of that."

"It's not a matter of perhaps, she is scared of that." Picklewood confirmed. "But I know how she feels about me. She really does care, but she has always held herself back from me."

"Time will tell, Picklewood... time always tells." I heard myself say, my thoughts also lost in itself.

The sound of a car stopping just at the gate of the cemetery, had almost all heads turning in that direction, including mine.

It was a sleek black car, one I hadn't seen in town before. Last I checked, I didn't know anyone rich enough to afford such an expensive car in Westbane.

Could it be the Mayor whose name and face still hasn't been illuminated by the spotlight? Or someone else?

Right then and there, I felt it again. That strange feeling that slipped into my veins, sending my heart into an uncoordinated, dangerous beating, like rolling your ankle during a race. I could feel the hair on my skin rising as I looked around, searching for something I couldn't identify yet.