Autumn Love

- Chapter 1: A Killer? -

Aubrey Tanner was sitting by the front bench of her porch, her small, brown, petite toy poodle sitting by her side. The season of Autumn had just kicked in, allowing winds and soft breezes to pass by every so often, carrying bouts of leaves as it did so. There was even a blanket of them by her feet right now.

Her gray laptop sat on her lap, warm on the tips of her knees as the speakers sounded with her mother's voice. Judy's face lay worried through the screen, her red-brimmed glasses covering the wrinkles on her brow. Her father, on the other hand, seemed particularly fine, although she could see him reading a newspaper in the far corner of the room, unbothered by her presence.

"Have you settled in? How's your new job?" Her mother, Judy, asked, her thin lips moving as the loud crinkle of paper from behind her remained imminent. "I could send you money if you need anything?"

Aubrey scoffed, "relax, mom, I'll be fine," she laughed, waving a hand in front of her face. "If I managed to buy a house on my own, I'm pretty sure I have enough money to take care of myself." She answered, a sudden light breeze causing her hazel locks to waver.

"I guess so," Judy admitted, wincing as another loud noise of crinkled paper was heard. She turned, muting the microphone as she said something to her husband, albeit a bit annoyed. He nodded in response before continuing to read again.

"Sorry," she replied, "you know how your father is, with his newspapers and all."

Aubrey chuckled, "yeah, I do," she said, tilting her head to the side as a form of a nod as she smiled.

As her laptop's fan whirred on, her mother's look shifted to worry. "Be careful, alright?"

Aubrey chuckled, waving a hand in front of her face as she laughed, "I'm a twenty-two year old who's taken karate lessons since the day I was born. Heck, I'm even an instructor" She grinned, "what would I need to be careful about?"

Her mother sighed, getting up from her seat and snatching the newspaper from her father's hands. ("Hey, I was reading that!") She flicked through the pages, stopping as her face rested before showing the page to Aubrey.

Although the bad pixels barely picked it up, she could see a face. It was a man around his twenties, the same age as her, she figured. A hoodie was draped over his head, making Aubrey barely able to see a few wisps of his brown curls.

She raised an eyebrow at her mother, "what is this supposed to mean?"

Judy gave her daughter a solemn look, throwing the paper back to her husband, "he's a recent ... " She paused, her wrinkled lips thinning to a line. "No, I can't tell you. Not when you've just moved into Damford – I can't ruin your happiness like this."

Aubrey sighed, letting her lips form an o-shaped hole so she could blow the air out. "What is it, mom?" She asked once again, "whatever it is, I won't be sad, or scared," she comforted. Although her tone said differently, she was technically frightened. Just a bit, though. She wouldn't let some sort of fear shackle her from staying in Damford.

Judy took in a breath, her inhale shaky, "he's a serial killer, Brie," she said with a concerned tone. "And he was recently spotted in the town you just moved to." She bit her lip from the inside of her mouth, avoiding eye contact with her daughter before glancing away.

Aubrey blinked, twice, then thrice. "A serial killer, huh?" Her thoughts questioned themselves. She glanced at her mother. "I'll be – "

Suddenly, a loud screeching noise halted in front of her. A well-sized, black car stopped at the front of her garden; coming to a halt as it finished bobbing up and down.

From it, emerged a girl with raven hair cascading around her shoulders, coming out from the driver's seat; waving towards Aubrey with a smile. A yellow towel hung around her neck, and a large bottle was gripped in her right arm.

Aubrey glanced at her mother through the screen, "we'll save this conversation for later, 'kay?" And as her mother nodded, she blew her a kiss. "Love you," before shutting the laptop to a close.

"Who was that?" Olivia asked, raising her eyebrow as she walked towards her friend.

Aubrey glanced at her, watching the girl's braids bounce up and down with her cheerful skip. "Just my mom. Apparently, there's a new serial killer in town," she stated calmly, getting up before picking up her device and heading inside. She looked around, past Olivia, beside her, around her – "where's Cookie?"

"My little poodle?" She questioned rhetorically with a laugh, smiling as she clicked her bottle open. Somehow, she had not heard her friend's remark about the killer. "He's off to his vet appointment. My sister's taking him."

"Huh," Aubrey answered shortly, a hint of acknowledgment in her voice. She placed her laptop down by her desk, hidden under the piles of paper inside her office. She switched the topic, "so, where're we headed to this morning?"

"Capermount Canyon. Pretty fun, if you ask me," Olivia answered, taking a step inside her friend's home as she slammed herself down on the gray couch.

Aubrey's ears perked up at the word: 'fun'. "Hold on," she paused, exiting her office and quickly facing Olivia. "Anything entertaining for you is always dangerous." When the girl gave her a nervous side-eye, she crossed her arms, sighing, "what'd you do?" She deadpanned.

"It isn't that bad," she replied, her voice high-pitched. "It's just that – you'll find out later — point is," she took a breath, "you'll love it. Trust me."

Aubrey gave her a questionable look, but shrugged it off as she closed the door to her office. It shut with a quiet click, and as it did so, she sighed, "I better love it," she answered, grabbing her duffel bag from the counter.

They both exited the house as Aubrey turned the lock to the door, giving it the last glance she'd send its way before heading off.

Olivia parked by the foot of the canyon, wrenching the car's lever so it came to a halt. She unbuckled her seatbelt, glancing at Aubrey — who seemed to be in a sort of trance. Her mouth kept open, and her eyes were wide, showing her dark irises properly.

"What's the matter?" Olivia asked her shocked-looking friend.

Aubrey's jaw clenched as she let out a low hissing noise, "we're hiking by the edge of the canyon?"

"Yes ... and?"

"There isn't a fence lining it!" She protested, throwing her hands in the air as she quickly snatched her tumbler for the side-holder. "We could fall, you know?"

Olivia rolled her eyes, clicking and pushing the car door open as she shut it back, shoving the keys into her pockets as she made her way towards Aubrey. She opened the door for her, "I thought you were brave?"

"I am, but not when I'm hiking on the side of a steep cliff that could break into a landslide at any moment," she explained, annoyed. Although she was, albeit, a little frustrated with her best friend, she did love it. The spot was perfect, and if they went along the road for long enough, they could see the sunset melt through the other canyons.

Aubrey sighed, "I guess it isn't that bad," she said, remembering her friend's remark from before at the house. She snatched her water bottle from the door. "Let's go."