Roswell; Entropy Arc

Chapter 3; A Monthly Catastrophe

As Aron and Alice were heading down towards the market, many questions started to surface in Aron's head. Most of them were questions he had already thought of, but this was the first time he could get an answer from someone who actually knew what they were talking about firsthand. Despite all the questions swarming around, Aron had a hard time finding the right timing to ask, or how to phrase it correctly and precisely. But Alice seemed to have caught on.

"What's up?" She asked, giving him the same comforting smile that she had given him when they first met.

"Oh uh- well I... I'm just very curious... And confused about all of this." Aron said, looking up to make eye contact with Alice. "Ah, well most visitors are." She assured him, probably knowing exactly what Aron was talking about.

"Wait so... Is it true? About the legends and stuff?" He asked, tilting his head slightly.

"Depends. All we really know is that something or someone is causing the suicides. Or murders. Whichever one it is." Alice said in a thoughtful manner, as she rubbed the dark crooked handle of her umbrella. "Although it is true that this case has been a problem for over 150 years by now." She added, not seeming as disgusted by it as one would expect. But it was obvious that she had great sympathy for those who had been unfairly killed off.

"But... Why? Isn't there anything else to the myth? It seems weird that people are just getting killed off randomly like this." He pried further, now more curious than before.

Alice let out a light scoff, as if Aron had asked something stupid. Which he probably did. "They're not random, Aron. There is one murder every month. Usually at the very end. Didn't your father come here because of the February murder?"

It had never really occurred to Aron to ask his father why they were leaving at the beginning of the month. Mostly because it wasn't a very suspicious time to leave. However, it did occur to him after Alice's explanation that Detective Lowell had also arrived under similar circumstances.

"Didn't that detective called Lowell also arrive here at the beginning of a new month?"

Alice nodded, sighing with relief. "Now you've caught on. This pattern happens every single year. Except during New Years Eve. There are usually 3 murders around midnight on that exact night. Detective Lowell found this change of pattern weird, hence why she arrived at the beginning of December to investigate this. Unfortunately, she became one of the three victims that night 23 years ago."

Aron opened his mouth to say something as a reply, but quickly shut it as Alice pulled him along into the market area. "Here we go!" She said, gesturing towards the different stand.

The air was filled with scents from newly baked bread, roasted almonds, cinnamon and dark Americano coffee. The market seemed to have everything from meat, eggs, potted plants, milk and much more. A lot of it were things Aron could recognise, but some of them weren't. He couldn't really recognise some of the fruits that were stored on the exotic section for example.

Upon further inspections, he noticed that there were a lot of potatoes and wheat products. That was probably to be expected though, as Roswell produced a large portion of potato and bread, that they then exported out into other nearby cities.

Alice still hadn't let go of Aron's wrist, and kept pulling him along through the busy crowd. "Alright then... Wheat, milk and butter right?" She asked Aron, and he nodded in approval. "We have some dry ingredients at home, like sugar in salt." He said in an assuring manner, and Alice only nodded in return.

Despite how cold the wind and snow usually were, the crowd, the smoke from the nearby bonfire and Alice's hand kept Aron rather warm. Most of the people seemed to know Alice, which was to be expected, since she was the chief's daughter. This probably explained why Alice seemed to know so much about the murder cases. Or maybe it was just common sense in this odd but friendly town.

"I think that should be everything, right?" Alice asked, as she brushed the ash blonde locks out of her face, and behind her ear. "Yeah I think so." Aron confirmed, taking one final look at the list before nodding. He then stopped in his tracks, and turned towards Alice with a friendly grin.

"If you want, you could join us in making waffles?" He suggested, discreetly fidgeting with the bag for the ingredients that he was carrying. Alice's eyes lit up with happiness and satisfaction, before she chuckled.

"I'd be honoured. Cottage number 6, right?" She said, already heading back towards the long row of cottages. Aron nodded, a little more hesitantly this time, before following. He still didn't know exactly what kept lurking and creeping him out in the back of his mind. Perhaps it was Alice's flawless porcelain skin. Or the overly friendly, but eerie atmosphere that kept simmering in the air. Or maybe the smaller things, like Alice knowing exactly which cottage Aron lived in.

Or maybe he was just overthinking all of this.