Paranelope, a ghost hunter who's been cancelled for faking evidence, must discover the truth behind a local cryptid in order to clear her name.
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Penelope, better known as the ghost hunter PARANELOPE to her millions of followers, has only ever want...
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The crowd roared as Penelope stepped on stage. The onslaught of the bright stage lights kept her from seeing too far into the crowd, so she couldn't be sure if they were excited to see her, or...
Gunnar grabbed her arm, dragging her back. "Stay here," he hissed, holding her in place in the shadow at the edge of the stage, "until I call for you."
Penelope did as he said, lingering at the edge as he rushed out to the centre of it, right under the brightest spotlight.
"Welcome! Welcome! Welcome, everyone!" Gunnar's voice boomed out. He now had a purple microphone in hand and all the noise echoed from the massive speakers right next to Penelope, sending his voice rumbling right through her ribcage. She wished she had earplugs.
"Thank you for joining us for the Fortieth Anniversary of the Ridgestone Raven Festival! For those who are not aware, I'm Gunnar Christensen, mayor of the beautiful town of Ridgestone and the mastermind behind The Raven Festival," Gunnar said with a wink, striding confidently across the stage like he was giving a TedTalk. "Of course, you're not here to see me," a small bout of laughter sprang from the crowd, "you're here to celebrate our beloved cryptid, The Raven!"
A wave of responding cheers from the crowd rose up and crashed over them. The light changed and Penelope turned. She realized then that the huge back wall of the stage was actually a projector screen. A giant image of The Raven—the same pulp-fiction style monster from the back of Liam's work shirt—was now splashed across it.
More cheers washed over the stage.
Gunnar's tone shifted then, his usual manic smile dropping into something grimmer. "But while this was supposed to be a time of celebration, unfortunately, a shadow has been cast over our festivities. I'm sure you know by now, but our original special guests—" Gunnar turned, motioning to the stage screen behind him. The image on screen shifted, panning over photos of Xander and Daevon and the rest of the crew. The background music shifted to something sombre.
Penelope's stomach clenched as she watched the slideshow play out on the massive screen. She pressed her lips together to stem the flow of vitriol that bubbled up her throat. Or maybe it was just puke. Either way, she wanted nothing more than to rip that stupid purple microphone out of Gunnar's hand and spew it all over him and everyone who had gathered to witness this farce.
