Wild and Wicked, Nerdy and Nice

Chapter 2: Beta

Beta: Second letter of the Greek alphabet. Has a value of 2. Second in command in a wolf pack. A star that is usually second brightest in a constellation.

Day 2: April 4

Maya's POV

It feels weird. Things are weird and different. I never would have thought that I would be working with Sabrina again. It reminds me of the good old days with her. Unfortunately I can't dwell too much on the past because there is danger in the present.

Today at lunch Alex sat with us to discuss our investigation. The other half of the team was on their usual table, with a bunch of other jocks and preps. We couldn't just all sit together, or else people would notice that something was going on. The day popular guys sat with the nerds would be hell for the high school social pyramid.

So we know that the killer leaves clues in the form of Greek letters. It just feels weird, you know? It's like he wants to be found; to be remembered and go down in history as an unstoppable serial killer. People are so sick sometimes.

We know or at least believe that the Alpha written across Nolan's chest means that he is just the first victim and that he is going to kill 6 more people in town. The circles were located in the 5 sectors of town: Clareridge, in the northwest; Ancegate, in the northeast; Oakburg, in the southeast; Aresshire, in the southwest; and the three central circles were located in the Middle, which is mainly covered by the Wild Woods. It probably means where people are going to be killed. The big problem? We don't know when he is going to kill where.

We have a bunch of clues, and yet I feel like we're missing the big picture. We have to go back to the cabin because I feel like we missed something.

But what could the Greek letters possibly mean? I'm referring to the other ones on the map: Delta, Theta, Mu, Pi, Upsilon and Omega. If we can figure it out we'll have a big clue in figuring out this whole thing.

"Guys," I started, "we need to go back to the cabin." Immediately all three heads turned in horror, confusion and shock.

"What?"
"You can't be serious, Maya."
"Are you out of your goddamn mind, sis?"

I looked straight into my brother's eyes after that last comment. "No, Alex, I'm not. We need to go back in there to see the map again. The pictures are not enough evidence. There must be something else in that cabin that might give us a lead."

"But what if the killer returned to the cabin?" asked Carson. "We could be in danger."

"Actually, Cars, Maya's plan is not that crazy. The cabin is now a crime scene, and therefore he wouldn't venture there just to get caught. And we can't get in trouble since we are now working on the case," Mads intervened. I sent a silent thanks to my best friend. She tried to wink and failed miserably but I still appreciated the help.

My brother and my other best friend thought about it and considered the options. The bell rang and everybody at the cafeteria stood up to get to class.

"Okay, Maya, we're doing this. But you must tell the others to tag along. 8 heads think better than 4," said Alex.

"Not that they're that smart, though," joked Carson. Mads smirked and they fist bumped. I laughed along them and Alex just rolled his eyes. They were adorable dorks.

It was finally time to find out the next clue in this mystery.

Sabrina's POV

One of the things I wonder the most is who the hell created school because they created exactly that, literal hell. Fortunately the bell rang and our teacher dismissed us from our last class of the day because boy was I getting sleepy. I wasn't a bad student in terms of my school work but I only did the work cause I had to.

So I walked out of the class to go to my locker and I encountered Alex Clarke, clearly waiting for me.

"What do you want, Clarke? I already have enough on my hands with your sister following me around like a stray dog."

"Yeah, like I care, Bryan. Maya wants to go back to the cabin. Tomorrow," he responded.

Bitch, what? The girl has lost her mind. I actually can't believe I was best friends with a crazy genius, although right now she isn't acting like a genius.

"Are you kidding me? Is this a joke? Hell no." I walked right past him after that. But of course he followed me.

"Sabrina, you know pretty damn well that my sister is cuckoo, but maybe she's right about this one. She has seen a lot of detective shows, she knows what she's doing," he countered.

I turned around to face him fully. "Even if she does watch a lot of shows, they aren't realistic. Know your facts and when you do you can talk to me, Alex." I kept walking towards my locker.

Once again he ran after me and said, "She says we may have missed something important. We need to check it out again. You know she's right 90% of the time. She ain't stupid and neither are you. Please, Sabrina."

I sighed. The things I do for worthless people. "Fine," I told him. "I'll tell the rest of the group. You owe me one, Alex."

He smiled. "I sure do. Thanks, Bryan." And with that he ran away.

I opened my friends' group chat on my phone and texted them about what Alex had told me.

Me: Hey guys. Maya Crazy Clarke has said she wants to go back to the cabin.

Alli: Excuse me?

Em: Why was she your best friend again?

Tommy: I mean we could use another trip there. She ain't wrong

Me: I told Alex we were coming. It's tomorrow night. Come to mine at 9

Everyone said ok and I turned my phone off.

As I did, I realized something. We had tried to figure out what the killer would do next, not who the killer was or why would this person kill. I mean, it's a small town, you'd say, it's not that hard to find a killer. Wrong. Haven't you seen any TV or movies? Riverdale, Pretty Little Liars, Twin Peaks, Scream, Murder on the Orient Express, Zodiac, basically anything? Everyone is a suspect. Everyone has a motive. Anyone could be the killer. It's just a matter of finding out who had the greater motive and who actually had the balls to carry the plan out.

Could be a rich guy, a poor guy, a middle class guy, you never know. Could be many people, like with Ghostface from Scream, or everyone has a bit of the story, like in Murder on the Orient Express. Or it could just be one person. I don't know. I'll have to ask the sheriff to start interrogating people.

But first we have to go to the cabin to see what happens and if there's anything we missed. Tomorrow, then.

Tomorrow.