a deadly storm, an unsolved disappearance, and a small town brimming with secrecy;
an outcast girl, a boy who only knows how to hide, and the world against them;
what could go wrong?
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Boo's quest for knowledge begins with Harry's notebook tucked into a small black bag, a lock-picking set discreetly filched from the hardware store's tool aisle, and a thunderstorm strong enough to send God to His knees.
The rain seemed to come every day now, bringing with it a constant reminder of the deep rift caused by Monroe. It wasn't just Boo who felt different; Jack Creek as a whole had evolved into something much darker and more paranoid than before. A beast now sleeps beneath the city and lingers in the empty stare of every resident Boo passes on her drive to the police station. At any moment, it could awaken and unleash a rage that has been brewing for decades.
First Martha, then the nameless bodies from the tape, and now maybe Damien. Even with Monroe long gone, the threat of a life ending still presses down on Jack Creek. Boo's stomach twists into knots as she approaches the station, crowned by a literal ring of dark clouds.
Her plan is the epitome of stupid; almost downright suicidal. Breaking into a locked room of the Jack Creek police department, a place swarming with people who only wish her harm. But if there were any place to begin, it would be to find out what the police already know-about Martha and about Damien. Despite Harry's persuasions, Boo still can't escape the thought of Damien vanishing. Surely there is more to his story, and she can't help but think the police hold more answers than they're willing to share.
The parking lot is mostly empty. She'd waited to go until the early evening, when the morning shift would be leaving and the evening shift would just be starting. Boo knows the inner workings of the station like clockwork; one thing she could thank Lori for.
She parks Tabitha across the street and cuts the engine, bathing the cabin in the dull light of dusk. Rain beats down on the windshield, splitting her vision with writhing rivulets of water. Two officers come marching down the front steps of the station, one of them none other than Nathaniel Waters himself.
Prey watches predator with bated breath. Nathaniel splits off by himself and ambles to his cruiser, his slow gait unbothered by the rain. Once his car is gone, Boo makes her move. The dying sunlight paints long shadows through the rain that shift across the parking lot. Boo's silhouette flickers along the gravel, racing towards the front entrance. She slips inside, careful to tiptoe so the desk cop doesn't hear her.
By a stroke of luck, the desk is empty. Seizing her moment, she makes a beeline for the office on the left, where the blinds are still drawn tightly shut just as they'd been weeks before during Lori's arrest.
A sign by the oak door reads "RECORDS ROOM". Her heart pounds against her ribcage like a frantic drum. She knows she only has mere moments before someone walks into the hall and catches her with her hand in the cookie jar.
The door swings open with relative ease once she picks the lock. She makes a mental note to thank Mikey for showing her how as she slips into the room and shuts the door behind her. Darkness swallows her up immediately, broken up only by the flashlight on her phone. Surrounding her are dozens of tall metal filing cabinets, each labeled alphabetically. Her eyes sweep the room, eventually landing on what she wants.
