I Was a Teenage Necromancer

Chapter 10-Rotten Revelations

On the dark streets near the cemetery, illuminated by the nearly full moon more than the unevenly-placed streetlights, a pale girl walked unsteadily all alone, shivering in her too thin jacket for October's chill. Periodically, she stopped to scan the streets, as if looking for someone. An observer would have to be looking extremely hard to see the glazed, unfocused look in her eyes. Or notice the fact that her breath wasn't turning white. In a parked car two blocks down, Detective Cross watched the zombie like a hawk through a pair of binoculars.

"Can't believe you managed to get it so lifelike." she said, taking a sip of coffee. "But her gait's still too unnatural."

"Hey, Victoria's just fine. You wanted her to seem unsure of herself, this's what you get." Scott countered, finishing a doughnut. They had stopped at a doughnut shop for what Cross had deemed were "stakeout supplies": a dozen doughnuts and roughly a gallon of coffee. The necromancer had already scarfed down six, and both he and Cross were downing the coffee like no tomorrow. Amber just shook her head.

"I wanted her to look like a half drunk girl coming home from a party that went too late, not lurch from side to side like a drunken cat driving a robot." she snapped back.

"The correct word is 'pilot' a robot. Do you know nothing of anime?" he teased.

"No. I don't." she said flatly. A moment of silence passed in the car.

"Hey. You were supposed to meet with the mayor today, for reinforcements. How'd that turn out?" Amber said at last. Cross snorted.

"Don't remind me. That pompous...windbag threw me out and threatened to replace me if I couldn't find the Craven Falls Killer. Hmph. He and Chief Mason only brought me in because I have a reputation for being tough and fierce-"

"No, really. I can't see why." Scott said. Cross took a moment to glare at him.

"But it turns out it was all a political maneuver, just a play to make it seem like they were doing their best to catch this guy. They're announcing a big party for the whole town on Halloween night. It's suspicious as all he...ck." she said, still trying to hold her tongue.

"Detective, we're aiding you in an unauthorized, illegal sting operation. We can handle swearing." Amber pointed out. Cross coughed.

"Anyway," she said, cheeks turning red. "They seem more into this party than trying to stop the killer." She sighed. "At this point I wouldn't be surprised if they had connections to whoever it is."

"They probably do." Scott said nonchalantly. Both women turned to face him.

"What?" Cross said.

"Think about it. They put on a show trying to catch the guy, but don't actually care, and they're both in the perfect position to bewitch an entire police force. Ten to one that one of them is actually the killer himself. My money's on Chief Mason." he said.

"And how do you know that, you brat?" Cross snapped, worried that he might be right and beating herself up she didn't think of it sooner. Scott shrugged and took another doughnut.

"I don't, not for sure. Ooh, frosted sprinkles. But it does make sense, and in my experience people in authority either look the other way or use it to cut down people that they don't like." he said, a trace of bitterness in his voice.

"Scott?" Amber said softly, looking concerned. "Is there-"

"Hold on. Holy crap, look alive, people! We've got a live one!" Cross suddenly said, throwing the binoculars in the back and starting the car.

Two blocks down, a shadowy figure dressed all in black, with a blank mask covering its' entire head seemed to coalesce from the night itself, quickly approaching Victoria form behind, darting form shadow to shadow. When it was close enough, after looking around to see if anyone else was looking, it abandoned stealth and ran up to the "girl," tackling her into the cemetery gate with enough force to break it open, a cloth filled with chloroform over her mouth and nose. It dragged her deeper into the shadows of the cemetery.