Shadow Angel: Volume 1

In the Sand: Part 3

The seven left the station immediately, followed by Hailey and the woman who sought the lifeguard's help. The woman, Alexa, explained that she was a traveling photographer who came to Morningstar City to take photos of Haven Beach. She had brought her seven-year-old son, Chance, with her, and they had been walking on the beach for about an hour. Their time at the beach was fun until Alexa looked away from her son to take pictures of the ocean shore. When she was done, her son was gone as if he vanished out of thin air.

As the group listened to Alexa's story, their belief of a possible Eldritch hidden in the sand grew. When Alexa finally finished, they went to work. They split into groups; Scott took Lynn and Mia sided with Pearl, leaving Cody, Lucien, and Tilly with each other. As Mia, Pearl, Cody, Lucien, and Tilly took off, Scott and Lynn stayed behind with Hailey and Alexa.

"Alexa, do you have anything I could use to track down your son?" Scott asked.

"What for?" Alexa tilted her head, confused.

"I have a heightened sense of smell. The scent of the ocean might hinder our chances of finding your son, so I need at least one of his belongings to make things easier."

"I see. Hold on." Alexa reached for her bag and pulled out a small, sun-yellow bucket hat. "This is Chance's favorite hat. By the time he was gone, this was all that was left of him."

"Thank you." Scott took the hat and brought it to his nose to sniff at it. From it, the scent of hair oil and laundry detergent lingered. Pulling the hat away from his face, Scott looked up, closed his eyes, and sniffed the air. He turned away from Alexa and Hailey, repeatedly breathing in the salty air until he found a trail of the exact smell he was looking for going west.

"Sir?" Lynn said, waiting for her first order.

Opening his eyes, Scott turned to the brunette and said, "Parker, let's go! We have a lead!"

With a nod, Lynn ran with Scott, leaving Hailey and Alexa with each other. As the women watched, the lifeguard placed a comforting hand on the photographer's right shoulder.

~~~~~

Mia, Pearl, Cody, Lucien, and Tilly found themselves standing in front of a crowd of visitors. Some of them were sitting on beach towels and talking and some were children making sandcastles and burying their parents' bodies into the ground. Others were regular teenagers who were playing volleyball and dancing to loud EDM, which was being played by a young man holding a boombox over his left shoulder. The sight of the sea of visitors was making Cody anxious, making him hide behind Lucien and Tilly. Pearl only watched as the freshman hid and shook her head at the sight of it. As for Mia, all she did was frown at the throng of people.

"This is gonna be a problem," Mia said with a huff.

"I know. There's just so many people here!" Cody whimpered as he looked over Lucien's shoulder.

"Yeah, that, and this many people equals a lot of noise. Using my ability at a place like this will only make my job harder."

"Is there anything you want us to do about it?" Tilly asked.

Mia sighed, "Cody, Lucien, Tilly, go look around for an area in the sand to dig or something."

Cody, Lucien, and Tilly looked at each other with confusion before shrugging and going off to do as they were told. Once they entered the crowd, Mia and Pearl were left with each other.

"So, now what?" Pearl asked.

"Rockwell, you stay by my side and keep watch for any irregularities," Mia replied.

"And what about you?"

Mia scoffed, "Something I usually don't like doing when using my power."

"And that is?"