If I Die Young

28. Rook

His face was plastered all over the news for the next week and a half. School was back in session and and we were nearing May when a break finally came in the case; there was a piece of a tooth lodged in Ezra's trachea but it didn't match any known species of animal on the planet. The locals were starting to label this the next Jersey Devil sighting when word got out about the creature in the woods. Not to mention something else became competition for the top news story.

Three dead and two missing, there was a killer loose on the streets of the state. The police cars that we passed the night of the party? They were going to answer a 911 call that got cut short when the caller had their throat cut open and their eyes gouged out. There was a signature calling card each time, the forking of their tongues. My mind always flashed back to my cousin, how she'd said hers was done against her will. I felt like I needed to get the story behind that to ease my suspicions.

Everyone in the house was uneasy, always looking over their shoulders at every turn and most of them wouldn't even step foot outside unless we were heading to the bus. I was sitting in the living room, looking outside as I waited for a white Porsche to pull into the driveway. The moment I saw a flicker of the cloud color I dipped out the door and made a break for it, dressed up in combat boots and dark clothes. I'm not sure why I felt the need to be as sneaky as I was being, but I just didn't feel right being around here anymore. I practically slammed the door shut after I tumbled inside and Kathryn took off into the forest.

"I'm so sorry about your friend," she started off, raising her glasses above her head. I realized she wasn't wearing makeup and she looked a lot less fierce like this, "he's all over the news upstate. It's getting to the point where I'm worried the police aren't going to do anything."

"They're trying their best, but it looks like an animal attacked him, so they don't really have much of an open mind for other options." I admitted unhappily as we relaxed into the seats. "You don't think it was an animal, do you?"

"It wasn't." She shook her head. "Animals don't drag their prey where something else can find it. They found him near the road in plain sight."

"How do you know that?" I asked.

"They have it all taped off. You can see it from the road, I saw it passing by." Kathryn told me and I nodded, turning my eyes to the forest outside.

It was quiet between us as we drove into town, the sun out and shining, but no one seemed to be out and about today. I'm sure everyone was absolutely terrified to even open their doors in this town, let alone go out in the streets and play. Things were too dangerous now and it was best to just play it safe.

"Have you heard about the other bodies?" I asked her gently. "There's three dead and two missing. They were killed by a human though, there's no doubt about it."

"I've seen it on the news," Kathryn nodded sadly, "it's a pretty big coincidence that all this happened at the same time."

"I have to agree," I laughed darkly, "you know, you never did tell me the story of what in the hell happened to your tongue."

"Oh, that's a fun one." She grinned suddenly. "The last time I got drunk I was with Cindy and Harper, you know them, they're impulsive as all hell. They convinced me to get my tongue split that night at a shop and I woke up with it in two pieces. That's the last time I hung out with them."

"That would be the last time I would too." I gawked at her as she parked, exiting the car and leaving me in shock. I finally snapped out of it and took off after her, trotting on her heels as we ducked into a boutique.

"It's not all bad, I've been having some fun with it." Kathryn grinned at me as she pulled a dress off the rack and held it up to my frame. "This would be cute on you, you don't wear enough dresses anymore."