CITRON: Cryptid Intervention and Response Unit

Prologue

Greenvale, Gunnison County, Colorado
United States of America
October 31st, 2021
9:38 PM

Halloween in the Greenvale was something the entire town celebrated. It was a time of the year where the kids could go trick-or-treating for all the candy they could dream of, and where the adults could sit back and get drunk off Bloody Mary cocktails or something similar. Night had fallen over the small and rather isolated town, the half-moon in its last quarter of the month.

A large variety of decorations were on display, largely ranging from simple and cheap plastic skeletons to far more intricate and complex candlelit carvings of jack-o'-lanterns which seemed to have been done by professional artists. Most, if not all, students at the local high school were out celebrating, partying as typical high schoolers did.

For Liam and Claire, they'd decided to venture into the surrounding woods under the cover of darkness to do something far more... passionate.

"But what if someone catches us out here, doing... you know?"

"Oh, come on, Liam. We're all alone out here. Our only company's probably the animals that live here. Can't you hear them?"

"I don't know, Claire. I mean, what about all the stories of some crazed killer just watching a young couple like us just doing it and then deciding to kill us both while we're in it?"

Claire snorted and threw her head back in frustration. "You watch too many horror movies. Come on, don't you like what you see?" The girl stood up and twirled around, displaying her vampire Halloween costume in full.

Perhaps 'costume' was putting it lightly, for her apparel largely consisted of a tight red and black corset, an incredibly short ruffled skirt, a pair of gloves, knee-high boots, and of course, fishnets. Her whole outfit showed off an excessive amount of skin, and the dim moonlight only served to further accentuate her bright blue eyes and flowing blonde hair.

Liam, in comparison, looked much more conservative. He'd taken the liberty of dressing up like a Jedi, although most of his costume was mismatched pieces of apparel taken from his parents' wardrobe. Overall, it could still pass as a decent costume, even if his tunic was made from an old burlap sack and his lightsaber from a flashlight and coloured plastic. Even then, he sat on a fallen log, awkwardly and looking rather uncomfortable. "Uh, yeah, I guess."

Claire huffed. "You guess? I wore this just for you!"

"I mean I do! I do like it!" Her boyfriend cried. "You look great in that."

Giggling softly, Claire sat down next to Liam and let her blue eyes meet his dark brown ones. "Liam, you know I love you. From the way you looked at me in class on the first day of school, I knew you were the one."

"Well, the clock is next to you." Liam muttered.

"I know that." Claire grasped Liam's hands in hers. "But let's face it. You know that's not why you look at me."

His grip tightened, and he gave a small, soft smile, the kind that Claire loved. Nervous and frankly quite awkward for sure, but the tenderness was still there. "Claire, I... uh, really, really like you."

"Like me?" Claire grinned. "It's three words. Just replace the 'like' with 'love'."

"Uh, okay." Liam cleared his throat. "I li- er, I love you."

They gazed at each other a while longer, and then they closed their eyes and leaned forwards.

Only an inch apart did Claire's iPhone start to ring, blasting some new Justin Bieber song at full volume. She reached into her pocket and pulled it out, answering the call. "Hello?"