Dr. Shayna Wells is a tenured professor of anthropology, specializing in American lore and legend, who regularly consults with FBI Agent Sean Bryce on the odd case-load he handles. A current case involves a serial killer profiled as a "beast", one...
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A/N: My brain doesn't seem to want to work very well for my other in-progress stories. So, I figured a reset, writing the darker elements it wants to focus on right now, might get me back to writing regularly, period.
I have thought about writing a story centering werewolf lore and the paranormal for a bit, but I wanted to avoid and subvert certain tropes in the genre that I'm not overly fond of...make it adult. So, think of this as more of a gritty FBI crime procedural, set in the world of the paranormal. It still has a nice little romantic action set-piece angle, but (trigger-warning) there is quite of bit of descriptive violence, gore, and adult themes as well.
Also yes, this mostly takes place in the present, but the 'rona doesn't exist in this story, as this is meant to be an escape from this real life mess.
My MC's (so far) are imagined as:
Ashleigh LaThrop (Shayna Wells),
Oliver Jackson-Cohen (Agent Sean Bryce),
Derek Theler (Jackson Teague),
Nick Robinson (Thomas "Tommy" Marten) ,
Anson Mount (Sergeant Derek Meyer),
Debra Messing (Julie "Jules" Meyer),
and Ian Teague (young teen back in the day, Henry Cavill)
...but you, dear reader may imagine whoever you'd like.
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SEVENFALLS, THEN
Prom night in Sevenfalls is very much like it is in any small town in America, save for a glorious spread of untouched woodland and mountains... -and making a habit of carrying bear-mace somewhere on your person if you plan to walk any distance.
Because spotting a bear out and about isn't that uncommon.
Ian had already picked up his date, Shayna and they posed for the requisite amount of time, so her folks could take plenty of photos to document her first time in semi-formal finery. Yes, the dress was black, and her make-up was it's usual somber tones, but they took what they could get.
Ian stopped by his own home, so his family could do the same while his mother and father made awkward small-talk with his girlfriend. Not that she wasn't friendly, but she wasn't exactly the super-talkative type either, and being black... Well, even the most liberal of white midwestern parents are awkward when their kid brings home a date who isn't white.
Ian's younger brother, Jackson, peered between the banisters from upstairs with interest, his glasses gone crooked as usual. The pre-adolescent harbored a crush on his girlfriend. Ian couldn't fault him. He was mostly quiet and introverted, wholly focused on his construction toys. So, there wasn't any harm in it. And honestly, he couldn't blame the kid. Shayna was very pretty, and a good girl. One who avoided the silly school drama, and kept her grades up. They were seen as a respectable shiny dream teen couple among their peers. The quiet little bookish goth girl and the star football quarterback.
