She's a real mystery.

I look her up and down gaze narrowed as I thought before replying " I'm sorry I don't know who you are"

She crosses her arms as she spoke " It's me! Celia!"

Then it hit me. How was she alive!? Of course it was her, what child 14 at the oldest had tattoos. " How are you here?" I question, Baffled

She unsheathed her sword holding it to my chin as she gestured in a derection and we began walking as she spoke. " You remeber the univere I was from yes?" I gave a nod and she went on " well it's time for you to go through that same place" She shoved me onwards before continuing "I killed my parents by pushing them into roamers because you decided I needed some dark secret" She hollered before knocking my feet from underneath me causing me to land with a thud.

"You wernt the only character I made for that Roleplay yknow" I grumbled sitting up gazing at a large ship my gaze widened as I watched two large irish wold hounds racing across the deck with a young boy in tow

" Griffin?" I breathed before getting to my feet as Celia brought me on board

I turned to look back to the dock baffled to see a village from the 1800's

But what was worse was people were being torn apart by Zombies!

And thats when I was shoved off I turned to look back but Celia was already lifting the board which I tumbled off of. " Wait! Celia, Griffin!" The shout drew the attention of the Zombies I scrambled to my feet and took off running only to find myself cornered.

One of the zombies grabbed a hold of me and bit down on my arm tearing a chunck of flesh out fausing me to cry out fumbling in my pocket I grabbed the switchblade and stabbed it through the head gazing around the alley I saw a ladder and quickly took to scrambling up it but upon being half way up It fell down into a pack of the zombies and I was ripped apart.

Thanks! I was hoping it didn't seem too overdone. Glad that's not the case.

Well usually creatures dont like competion for resources, so each spore colony could be viewing the other colonies as threats.

The “you” was a bit confusing and I had to reread it twice before I got it. Honestly there are tons of random name generators out there! Some you can even specify time periods, genre of work you are using it for, and locations.

Create a nuclear warhead out of bananas.

Thank you for writing this! It was so much fun to read. What a unique idea with the mold. I would love to read more 😁

Queen Larissa humms thoughtfully and sips her wine, considering each line of the prophecy she had received earlier that day. She wanted to believe it false, that her reign would end at the hand of the baby she had been shown, but her sister’s prophecies had always come true.

“Are you alright my love?” her husband, Cedric asks.

“Do you think I’m cruel?” Larissa replies, gesturing to one of her slaves to pour her more wine.

The boy is shaking and wine splashes out of the goblet. Larissa glares at the boy and grabs his wrist.

“Useless child,” she snaps, “guards take him to the dungeon. He’ll be hung tomorrow at noon.”

The guards obey and drag the young slave away. The other slaves shrink back, trying to hide from the Queen’s wrath. Larissa takes another large sip from her goblet.

“You’re not cruel to me,” Cedric speaks and Larissa glances at her husband, having forgotten she had asked him that question. He fiddles slightly with the chains that wrap around his wrist.

“So you do believe that I’m cruel,” Larissa comments and Cedric nods slightly.

“Larissa stop asking ridiculous questions. You’re rule has been plagued by blood and suffering of course you’re cruel. You just sentenced a boy to death for spilling some wine, I can only imagine what you’ll try to do to escape your fate,” her sister, Arella says from the other end of the table.

“Aren’t you the one who is always telling me that once a prophecy is willed it’s fate is unavoidable?” Larissa mutters.

“Yes, but you don’t usually listen to me, why should I expect this time to be different.”

“Because I’ve decided I’m going to raise this boy as my own. If I’m too be overthrown by this child then it will be on my own terms. I sent Captain Carter to retrieve the boy for me,” Larissa says.

“You’ve always tried to cheat your fate in whatever way possible,” Arella sighs and stands to leave.

There is a knock at the door and Captain Carter steps into the room, holding a sleeping baby. Larissa smiles and the Captain bows deeply.

“I found the child your Majesty. Would you like me to dispose of it?” He asks.

“No. The boy is my son now,” Larissa says and takes the baby from Captain Carter, uncaring about the blood stains on the thin blanket.

“Do you have a name for him my love?” Cedric asks.

“I was thinking Ezekiel,” Larissa replies and hands the baby off to Cedric, “find a wet nurse and make the announcement that my son has been born.”

“I look forward to the day your reign ends sister,” Arella says and storms out of the room.

The bang of the door wakes Ezekiel and his cries echo around the dining room. Cedric rocks him gently and Larissa smiles at her new son.

[removed]

I'd just be thankful, probably, or tell my current MC (the one that would most likely emerge; I have an ensemble cast for my current work) that I'm taking a break for NaNo in order ot make sure the story stops going the direction it's headed becaue it's going insane. Seriously! I was literally this close to adding a twist straight out of Agatha Christie's >!Hercule Poirot novel from the 60s;Third Girl !<but I managed to take a break for a month. You seriously want that?

I think that her revenge would be something like punching me in the face and then ad hominem attacks.

Oh that's good. Thank you for writing it!

GOC base I'd guess

The rainforest, a lush but harsh environment. Home to a variety of species of creatures large and small. Upon first glance, all one may see is vegetation but with a closer look you will see that it is teeming with life.

We will begin our journey following the daily life of the rare beauty known as Burnicus alivicus, it being more commonly known by it's nickname, Dragon. This dragon in particular has just gotten out of a fight it seems. It walks with a limp, many of it's scales are either damaged or missing. Dragons use their scales for regulating their internal temperature, if they lose too many they are unable to produce their fire. In such an environment where injury could be decisive factor on whether one gets their next meal or not, losing one's only means of defense could prove disastrous. The dragon slowly observes its surroundings before taking a sip from the oasis. Though they choose their dens in secluded areas, they are known to be the most cautious animals on the planet. After all, one can never be too sure if they are next on the menu.

Unfortunately for our friend, it looks like they are not alone. It seems that a Monsticia hunta, otherwise known as Monster hunter, has managed to slip past its detection unnoticed. Dragons have gone through many millennia of evolution and have developed higher brain functions than most creatures. It would only make since that for such a creature to have a predator, that predator would need to evolve to be smarter. You see, the monster hunter is quite an intelligent creature as they have developed their usage of tools. When combined with the reproductive feature they have, known as opposable thumbs, they can create a quite deadly combo. Deep in the brush, we see the monster hunter utilizing its excellent camouflage. Now watch as Monsticia hunta takes out its Magnum VK11 Spartan Railcannon and takes aim. It must be precise, if it misses, its quarry could escape again.

The dragon reels in pain, but is still able to fend for itself. Fortunately for it, its natural armor proved tough enough to withstand yet another blow from Monsticia hunta. The dragon seems to have expended too much of its energy and is now too weak to fly away. The Monster hunter is not backing down, the Dragon will have to fight if it wants to continue living. Battles like these are often one sided you see, as the Monster hunter and Dragon have a bit of an evolutionary arms race going on and currently Monsticia hunta is winning it. As the two fight, the Monster hunter's tough plating proves to be too resistant to the Dragon's weakened flames and talons. With a shout of victory, the Monster hunter climbs atop the Dragon's belly and prepares to finish it off with a final blow to the jugular. The dragon has closed its eyes, resigning to its fate. This is the way of nature, kill or be killed, only the fittest will survive.

However, nature always has a funny way of keeping itself in check. While Monsticia hunta are near the top of this ecosystem's food chain, they are not its apex predators. For you see, the strength of the Monster hunter has ironically made it the main prey item of this ecosystem's apex. The Monsticia hunta in it's moment of victory has failed to notice it's natural enemy, Hunta hunta a.k.a. the Yautja or Predator, materializing behind it. Boasting flawless camouflage along with superior strength and intellect, the Yautja are an opportunistic species that only prey upon the strongest and most abundant of prey items. It extends its metal claws and, in one swift blow, skewers its prize onto them. It will feast well tonight; one Monster hunter can feed a Yautja family for up to a month. Yautja do not recognize the dragon as a worthy prey item due to their scarcity, so it will only leave with one meal this evening.

The Burnicus alivicus will live to see another day. Though this does not ensure the survival of its species and many others as a whole. This beautiful forest may not remain the way it is if things continue at this rate. If we can do something about it, then do it. We can do it. We must do it. Then there will be a future for this planet.

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Child gET THAT OUT OF YOUR MOUTH! DROP THE GOBLIN! DROP IT NIGEL! My stars, you really are a strange boy. No please don't - and he ate it. Disgusting. You weird werecat you.

DeeDee. DeeDee no. I said NO! Well, there she goes, no stopping that fight.

Oops, now Li is involved - BOY IF YOU HELP HER IMMA MAKE YOUR LAST DEATH SEEM AS EASY AS A FLU SHOT NEXT TO WHAT'S COMING!

Well, nothing to do now except let you finish that fight. See, this is why I left you guys do deal with things on your own. You never listen to me. Absolutely pathetic.

Good luck, my babies. I'll check in on you soon. Let me know if one of you dies.

You heard it right, that's my job. Killing warriors. That's what i do for a living. He says to me: "But i thought warriors are good guys?" I shake my head and smile. Also brainwashed. I decide not to tell him the story right then and there, but i take him to a private place, and there i decide to tell him the whole story.

The warriors brainwashed civilians. They began hunting on what is arguably the most important thing on this planet. Manticores. You proceed to tell him how the warriors work for the government and they are profiting. But they failed to brainwash 2 people. Me, and Culuthon. Who he is and how i met him doesn't matter. All that's matters is that he is the one that gives me my missions.

You decide to tell him absolutely everything you know. And then he asks you if he can help. You kindly tell him no. He starts to get angry, and makes a bit too much noise for my liking. As an experienced hunter, i understood that there are probably warriors that heard us. So i tell him to shut the fuck up, or he will die. At that point, i hear a few walking up the hill, to where we are. They are coming from behind, so i camouflage myself. I tell him to do the same, but he doesn't listen.

And there they are. Two big guys, with a smaller one in between them. Only the big ones carry weapons.A weak formation, so probably amateurs. Thank god. Whilst i have my hand on my gun at all times, i'm still worried what will happen if they find me. I'm highly experienced with camouflage and know how to make them walk past me. Anyways, they start asking the standard questions. "What are you doing here?" "You shouldn't be here." And when the question "Is anyone else with you?" Comes, i'm begging for him not to snitch me out. He doesn't.

I can see them getting annoyed. You don't wanna annoy these guys. I know how powerful they are. He doesn't. Fatal mistake there. He gets them really pissed and eventually they kick him to the ground and shoot in his head. I do my best not to reveal myself by blowing the guy's head off right at that moment.

I wait what they will do. I hear them saying: "We can't report that." Eventually they walk over to the corpse and start fucking playing. I completely lose my shit, jump out of the bush, knock a big guy down, shoot the second big guy in the head while on the ground. I then get up, knowing i can take the small one on one. He tries to reach for one of the guns, but i put a bullet through it and neutralize the weapons. He then tries to wrestle me. This small guy thinks he can wrestle me? Sure. I wrestle him for a while and i win. I shoot him through the head, take 2 steps back, and salute the dead. It's what i always do.

Then i discover something i have never seen before. On their uniforms i found little recorders. The lights are still on, meaning they are probably still recording. I get out 3 notes and all write on them:

"We can't report that."

"Yes, I'm the one that's been killing your men for years now. You might be the next one."

I all lay it on their bodies. I take the corpse of the guy i was talking to, and get out of there, knowing if i stay there longer they're gonna find me. I go to my house, and bury his corpse close to my yard. You will be remembered. The next day i get a mission from Culuthon. It's important. This is one of the highest ranking warriors. We can't fuck this up. You see, i live in the woods near the city, which is at the coast. Culuthon tells me that this time i will have to shoot near the city, something i always hated. This was the plan:

• Target comes out of the city and comes in a convoy of security into the woods.

• He is gonna come next to a hill, which is perfect for camouflaging.

• He will come in the late afternoon, meaning i can easily camouflage myself on the east side of a hill, which is opposite to the path he will be walking on.

• I then strike on the target and using the cover of shadow, i stay still. After they leave, i go home.

Fairly straightforward, right? This is how it went. I arrived at the hill i had to shoot from. It was very steep, and there were probably 2-3 spots i could fire from. I chose for the best one, lined up my gun, and waited for him to come. You see, i always bring my sniper, a shotgun, and a classic AK-47.

It took an hour longer than expected, but they finally arrived. I decided not to waste any time, and fire straight through his neck. Killed in 1 shot. Only when i saw the backup security i realized in how much trouble i was in. We had though there were less than 10 people I'd have to deal with, but there were more than 30.

After i confirmed i have enough rounds for everybody, i began firing like crazy. They didn't know what was hitting them. They looked so damn confused they began firing in all directions. Eventually one hit the grass besides me. I knew to stay calm. These creatures have inhumane sight. If i move a single bodypart more than my finger they would see me. The last did. He missed his shot. I didn't.

"If you kill one, i'll kill 30."

Oh damn, this was really good! Keep it up! Love the ending.

You got my up vote

“Just a few more minutes… There we go,” I ran my scarred fingers over the griffon’s plume of chest feathers, soothing her into kneeling. We both watched and listened with silent breaths, three nestlings cooed and slumbered in the nest that lay just a few hundred feet below us in the dense foliage. Curling my fingers I dug down to the majestic creature’s skin to scratch at the base of its feathers, the hulking body edged closer to me.

Very few had the privilege to feel the heartbeat of one of these creatures, as my left arm sat against its torso I remarked at how pure this moment truly was. Light thumping slowed as my hand retreated back to the cold stony perch. Sweat began to pool on my collar as the radiating heat from my stakeout partner permeated through my linens. Clicking tore me away from the moment, irritation expressed through the chattering of the beast’s beak.

“What is it girl?” I asked in a hushed tone.

Bowing her head, she indicated towards the clearing beyond the nest. As soon as she had leaned forward, figures began emerging from the tree line.

First to breach from the forest was a scrawny man with deep wrinkles decorating his forehead and underlining his sunken eyes. “This must be it, look at the deep claw imprints in the mud.” The explorer announced to no-one in particular, tipping his hat to block the sun from his eyes. Two brawny warriors clad in scarlet brigandine knelt beside the discovery, one traced an excessively armoured hand through the track whilst the other prostrated himself further to smell the surrounding earth.

In a husky chipper accent, the first voice rattled from the helmet on the left. “Good work. Young, not able to take flight just yet.” Reaching into his back pocket he produced a drawstring pouch, as he dropped it into the bony hands of his guide the man buckled forward to maintain his balance, yelping in surprise. Straightening himself up he brushed the twigs and debris from the tail of his cloak and stored the pouch within the concealed wrapping of his shawl before turning back towards the forest.

“Not staying for the hunt?” Echoing from the second helmet came a younger voice, my recent experience in the West was limited but it reminded me of a boy I met from North of the Ugnis Straight. If this was right, the second tank was quite far from home.

“I need the coin, but I can’t abide by what you are about to do. I must respectfully ask that you delay your slaughter until I am out of earshot.”

Both men nodded in agreement, before each whistled out a grossly over-complicated birdsong from their cupped hands. Bodies piled out of the undergrowth, a quick estimation had their count at sixteen to our two. This time it was the griffon’s turn to console me. She released the grasp of a single talon, its gigantic claws resting delicately on my knee. For a creature that eclipsed me five times over, she was also capable of such grace and delicacy.

“Their nest is up in the fork of those two oaks, the mother should be at least five leagues away in the mountains at this time of day but don’t get complacent. Doyle, Crike, first and foremost your duty is to watch the skies. Got that?” Two battered and bruised companions nodded in response. “Good. Alice, Petyr, Ash, Nikol, you’re with me. The rest of you are setting the perimeter fire with Warren.” The second warrior raised his hand as a group flocked to him for more detailed instructions.

Patiently we sat, how my own partner remained calm at the sight of a mob of hunters surrounding her nest I may never understand. But she did. Gently I clambered into position, with an arm around the beast’s neck and the other tightly grasping onto my hooks. As the sun reached its peak over the scene, the fire was lit. Erupting around the twin oaks it encircled the nest to the cries of the three inhabitants.

With a sudden rush we dove, our combined shadow put the mob in a sudden state of shock. Before they had any chance to react the ground shuddered as we crashed down to the earth. A single beat of the griffon’s wings turned the roaring flames to flickering embers with a great plume of smoke spreading out to disorientate our enemies, the offensive charcoal smell clung to my nostrils with a vengeance.

I leapt from her back, brandishing my hooks towards a helplessly confused Doyle. With an over-arm swing the first hook caught around a rough scaled pauldren, dragging him forwards off his feet and back towards the griffon’s waiting talons. The second hook I rose in defence of an oncoming axe, in power alone it had no chance, however pivoting around the point of contact I was able to lock its wielder’s hand in place.

“Got you!” I roared, applying pressure to the exposed wrist his grip loosened with a scream. Planting my right foot I prepared to close the distance between us before a blur of barbs entered the space I hoped to be. Whipping back the griffon’s tail becoming clearer, her head dipped slightly in apology for the near-miss.

My role diminished as a threatened mother tore through the warriors like a fox might terrorise a rabbit’s hovel. I would distract any attackers at the griffon’s flank, disarming them if possible and throwing them to the ground for her to easily dispatch of. It didn’t take long for the outnumbering force to dwindle to a handful of seasoned soldiers.

“Lay down your arms!” I demanded, “Lay down your arms and you may leave this place with your lives.”

Lifting the visor on their plumed helm, the crimson warrior referred to as Warren stepped forward from the cornered pack. “I have seen what you do to hunters, we would not retain the dignity you are promising!” His accent became more clear. He was not simply from North of the Ugnis Straight, but to the far North of the Ugnis Plains. He was highborn.

“I never promised dignity. However, you will live I can guarantee you that.” I responded.

“We will take our chances,” He pulled his visor back down, the metallic echo punctuated his final words. “I’d rather take my chances against two beasts than surrender!”

"I shouldn't need that much," I chuckle stepping over the threshold, "I hate to be a bother."

"No bother at all," a smile plays across her face as she shuts the door, "I have all the time in the world."

"You must never run out when you're cooking," looking into her light brown eyes I stop. Golden flecks in her eye sparkle giving the illusion of them travelling from the top of her iris to the bottom.

"I am always running out or I have too much. I know it doesn't go bad. But they say it loses its potency. Who really needs a quart of rosemary? Sure I've run out a few times. I don't know what I was thinking when I bought it. It wasn't even a deal," I babble.

"I'm not sure anyone would," her smiles reached her eyes, the flickering gold increases speed.

"How are you liking the neighborhood? When I moved in I wasn't so sure. I used to live on a farm. Well it wasn't really a farm. But there weren't nearly as many neighbors. At least none you didn't have to drive to get to. Ten houses, all within walking distance? Remarkable! It took me two months before I got used to locking my front door. Not that I didn't lock my door before."

She laughs, the gold slows, it feels like a warm breeze has enveloped my body on a fall day.

"That does sound like quite a change. You should slow down, I'm really in no rush."

"Sorry."

"No need to be," she motions for me to walk beside her into the corridor with her hands clasped behind her back.

"I am finding the neighborhood different then anywhere else I have lived. Yet at the same, it feels as if I have always lived her. How long did you say you've been here?"

"Uh," I run a hand through my hair then start counting on my fingers, "About five or six years I think."

"Yet you don't need much time?"

"No, I only need a quarter. I had some at home but not enough."

"A quarter?"

"Yes."

"A quarter century? Day? Millenia?"

"What?" I stop to look at her. There is no movement of gold in her eyes as she pauses walking too.

"You say you need a quarter. A quarter of what?"

Chimes sound in the hallway around us.

I look around to see we are surrounded by clocks of various sizes and makes. Birds begin to chirp shuddering in and out of their clocks. Wooden figures dance to off kilter music in windows beneath their clocks.

Each clock announcing the hour builds to a cacophony of sound. Six chimes later, what may have been an hour itself, the corridor is once again silent.

"What was that? Why do you have so many clocks?"

"How else would I keep all the time in the world?" Her lips quirk in a grin that does not reach her eyes, "Now how much time do you want exactly?"

"I... I only need a quarter teaspoon," I take a half step back, "I apologize for wasting your time. We were talking about two different things."

I continue to back down the corridor, she follows a couple of steps behind.

"I'll just let myself out. I'm sure Mrs. Johnson on the corner has some I can borrow," I begin to turn as she reaches out and takes my hand.

"You haven't wasted my time. I told you, I have it all," she gives my hand a gentle pull as she turns and grasps a clock with her other hand. The clock turns and a door opens beside us.

"Let's get you that quarter teaspoon. Do you have a preference of region?" She asks pulling me through the doorway. Inside the room is another corridor wider and taller. Plants with grown lights above them make up two aisles down the cleft side and the center. To the right are shelves of hundreds of bottles of dried herbs in jars.

I turn to look at her eyes. They are not brown but a deep pine green. Gold still shimmers within them.

"I did say I have all the thyme in the world."

Ah, I see.

[removed]

I, my friend and a co-worker were on a research trip to some planet a few Lightyears away. I was taking notes, my co-worker was reading, and my friend was i thought examining an animal. We needed to go to a next location, so i say that to my friend. No response. I say it again, harder now. No response. That's when i see him there, crouching over it. That's when i realize.

I grab my co-worker's arm and tell him that we need to go. He looks at my friend and doesn't hesitate. We pack our shit as fast as we can, get on the ship and get the fuck out of there. We needed to do that because we knew what would've happened if we stayed there any longer.

You see, when we first observed this substance, only one member of the research team of 300 got back to tell the story. It was fucking horrifying. He said that one person drank it, and the substance infects them, and the people that touch that person. But that's not all. If you become infected, you won't be saved. It looks exactly like water, but it's camouflage isn't the most dangerous. He died only seconds after he told his story to me. Nothing seemed wrong, he just..... dropped.

When it infects you, you are instantly braindead and it controls you. The problem is that this thing isn't stupid. In fact, it's main tactic is to stay where it is, and eventually people are gonna gather around you. It keeps it's head down, because the eye color changes. When there are enough humans standing around, it starts to attack. And it's fast. Faster than we thought the human body could physically move. That is why I told my co-worker that we needed to get the fuck out of there, because who knows what it's gonna do.

Gio took one more drag on his cigar as the car lurched to a stop. Looking up into the rearview mirror his eyes connected with Vinny.

Vinny cleared his throat, “Erm… Boss? Are you sure this is such a good idea? I mean she *is* a detective.”

Gio popped open his door and flicked his cigar out. “Ah shaddap Vinny. Just take a spin around the block would ya.”

Gio slammed the door and faced the modest house at the end of the walkway. It was a cute home, standard for the suburbs, but it had a bit of charm to it. Her charm. There was a bright red door and potted plants everywhere. An old tabby darted through the ferns, its tail flicking in joy.

Gio twitched and began to rehearse lines in his head. Again. He was only up-all-night practicing. Letting out a big sigh, he knocked on the red door.

The sound of someone stumbling inside was followed by the fumbling of locks. The door lurched open revealing the source of his angst.

“Er… Hi Jenny” he fumbled.

“GIO! What are you doing here? She all but shouted. She leaned her head out of the frame and quickly looked around before she grabbed his arm and drug him inside.

“Gio why are you here? What would happen to you if the Mob knew you were leaking information!” She groaned and began to drag him toward another room. “Gio, I know we talked about what it means to be an informant. Were you not listening?” she chided.

Despite the irate lecture, Gio couldn’t help the flutters in his stomach. The way she had a firm grip on his hand was making him shake almost as much as when he whacked Old Marco.

Pushing those thoughts out of his head he continued, “Jenny we need to talk…”

“You’re damn right we do Gio! I’m so close to solving this damn thing. I just need you to give me one more hint to tie it together. If I can take down the Infantino Crime Family that would be the biggest bust this century!”

“No, Jenny it’s not that I…” he froze. Jenny had led him into a dark room and flicked on the lights. Gio’s eyes widened in disbelief. The wall was covered in blurry photos. Red string intersected the room connecting the photos in an undecipherable mess. The floor was even worse. Papers were cluttered on the floor, each containing what appeared to be the ramblings of a mad woman.

Gio refocused on Jenny. She was a mess, to say the least. Her normally stunning brown hair lay tangled and greasy, her glasses were smudged, and her white shirt sported a yellowish stain. Gio was pretty sure that was her favorite spicy brown mustard he gave her last Christmas.

Even worse, her eyes darted back as if she was desperately looking for an escape. Gio placed his hands on her shoulders and looked her in the eyes. “Jenny you're twitching. When’s the last time ya got some sleep?”

She shrugged him off and collected some papers on the floor before pinning them against the others.

Gio sighed and started to clean up some of the mess. Papers, old plates, and clothes were shoved in a pile. On the desk were 7 empty cans of the latest energy drink.

He held one up and shook it, “Jenny don’t tell me ya drank all of these. You know how bad those are for ya.”

Jenny ignored him and began to gesture at the wall, “Look Gio, this is that café. The first clue.”

“Our first date.” He mumbled.

“I wasn’t sure how to tie that one in yet. But if you look over here this one is when you showed me that pier! I know you can’t say why, but I’m pretty sure that’s where the bodies would be right…” she continued rambling.

“…the fireworks” Gio groaned.

“… and over here! When we went to the top of that Ferris wheel! That one was a real stumper, but I figured it wasn’t about the wheel at all!”

Gio’s eyes perked up in hope.

“It’s the carnies! They must be on it. I always thought those clowns seemed extra shifty and come on what type of woman can even grow a beard? She’s in the mob I tell you!” Jenny raised her hands in triumph.

Gio rubbed his eyes in despair, “Or it was the romantic view.”

Jenny continued to ignore Gio as her ramblings increased until Gio clapped his hands together in frustration.

“All right Jenny, what’s it gonna take? Do I need to take you to a jewelry store and just put a ring on it?” he flustered.

Jenny’s eyes perked up.

“Oh, Gio that’s it!” she grabbed a piece of paper and slapped a crude drawing of a ring on it before taping it to the wall. “It all makes sense now; the jewelry store is a front! That’s where they're cleaning all their money!”

Gio’s quiet sobs of despair filled the room as he collapsed on Jenny’s bed.

Jenny hummed, “Wait.”

For a split second, hope poured into Gio’s soul as he lifted his tear-filled eyes from the pillow.

“Gio with this new connection… I don’t believe it Gio! Gio it’s a pentagram!” she sounded amazed as she traced the lines with her hands. “Gio do you think they are working with Satan too? My my…” she stroked her chin. “… this might be above my pay grade after all.”

Soon the room was filled with only frantic scribbles and Gio’s muffled sobs.

Ha, scary!