The day had started in a completely typical manner. Raelle didn't know how it had come to this. Her small part of The Cession never saw any trouble, and generally, that was how she liked it. As sheriff, up until now she only ever had the lightest of peace-keeping duties. Now she sat across an interrogation table from the hottest piece of trouble she had ever seen, holding an ice pack to a swelling eye.
"Ms. Ramshorn, you were found near a dismembered corpse off of the interstate in the forest. According to reports you were found mentally incapacitated, unresponsive, and aggressive. The officer in question is still in the hospital." Raelle did her best to maintain a dour expression. There was something in this young woman's eyes that had her hypnotized. She couldn't seem to look away. "However... all of this is only circumstantial. Do you have anything to say for yourself?"
"You are truly one of the most gorgeous people I have ever seen. How have we never met before?" Scylla seemed to completely ignore everything Raelle had said, dark blue eyes twinkling with mischief. There was something unnatural about them, almost animalistic. Raelle was nervous just sitting across the table from her. Adrenaline flooded her system, her heart wouldn't stop racing, and she kept her hands beneath the table to hide their shaking. The worst part was how much she liked the way she was feeling.
"You do know that there are wolves in those woods you're talking about, right? Big ones with sharp and pointy teeth. I would hazard a guess that they tore that 'poor young woman' apart... as they would anyone else who dared to encroach upon their territory." Scylla continued with that same unshakable confidence. Raelle could feel herself losing control of the room.
"I have been aware of that for a long time. Everyone who lives in this town is, which makes it all the stranger for us to have found you there. Why would you risk it if you weren't high out of your mind? There was something off when we found you." Raelle's voice held more concern and less authority that she would have liked. Scylla was in a cold metal chair, wearing a tight black tank-top and a small pair of black compression type shorts. It was a wonder she wasn't still shivering. Raelle gestured for a cup of coffee to be brought in by one of the deputies she was sure were watching from the other side of the one-way window. She stood and draped her jacket across Scylla's shoulders.
"I hate to break it to you, gorgeous, but a lot is going on in this town that you have no idea about. It is no fault of your own. You're just... uninitiated and that is likely for the best. For your safety and everyone else's." Scyla insisted, pulling the jacket tighter around herself.
"Ms. Ramshorn..." Raelle began by saying, her voice tired and sad.
"Scylla." Scylla cut the other woman off and corrected her.
"Scylla... if you're in trouble somehow, I can help you. It doesn't matter what kind of trouble. I am here because I want to protect the people of this town and I cannot shake the feeling that something is wrong here... there's something you aren't telling me. I need to know. Whatever it is, I need to know." Raelle was annoyed and confused, going stonily silent as Deputy Swythe delivered the coffee and took her leave once more.
"Maybe one day, Sheriff. You don't want to know. I promise. Once you're in this, the only way out is through." Scylla said with a warning in her voice.
"I am Sheriff Raelle Collar. This is my town. My home. My responsibility. You are in my town. That makes you my responsibility as well. If I can help you at all, I will. If you'll let me." Raelle sighed and leaned back in her chair, tucking some blonde hair out of her face and behind her ear.
"Oh, I can think of a lot of things you can do for me." Scylla chuckled and stood. "Given that I am here of my own volition, I would like to head on home. It's getting late."
