Flambeaux & Staug Ch. 02

Officer Richard Littel was patrolling the outskirts of Hillton with his partner Dan Freese. They had received a call regarding suspicious activities further up the road and had been called upon to investigate. So far, however, they had found nothing. The dark and rainy environment did not make looking out the window easy, and the light did not help much. Overall, Richard and Dan were about to give up.

"Shit, Richard," Dan muttered. "You could've let someone else take the call."

Richard shook his head at this. "Otherwise we'd have nothing to do. Hillton is strictly for high class families who at the worst have a son that drinks once in a while." he looked over at his partner. "Or a daughter that flaunts it about town and complains about being harassed."

Dan and Richard shared a laugh at this. He of course was referring to Katherine Florentino, a woman of about Twenty three who was physically perfect and knew it. Men were always picking up on her, (more prominently married ones) and eventually police officers dove into the fray. If she acted the least bit bothered with a flirting policeman's presence, he was not in the least taxed to find a reason to give her a ticket of some sort. Both Richard and Dan had done such, and in their mindset she had no reason to dress as she did without expecting that sort of attention.

Soon Richard and Dan approached a sign they'd never noticed before.

"Aftersun city limits?" Dan read. Richard saw it too, and was as puzzled as his partner. "Check the map for Aftersun, Dan."

Dan pulled a map out of the glove compartment and looked it over carefully. He looked at Hillton and looked all around it, finding no Aftersun. "Nothing," Dan told him. A tad shaken but still determined, Richard drove onward on the slim path, not sure what exactly he was moving towards. Soon the path widened, but for the past half hour they had seen no other cars or pedestrians. The anonymous informant, however, had specifically stated that the apparent disturbance was on this very street.

Within the next five minutes Richard and Dan arrived in a small town they assumed to be Aftersun. It was dark and empty, and it sent a chill down both cop's spines.

"This is crazy," Dan commented. "I know," Richard agreed. "It's like a modern ghost town."

Soon they found a man in a dark coat stumbling down the street, seemingly drunk. "Is this what the call was about?" Richard wondered aloud. Stopping the car at the curb, Dan and Richard got out and confronted the strange man. His black hair was slicked back, but it contrasted greatly with his tired brown eyes and black goatee. He gave a seemingly drunken smile. The fear faded from both Richard and Dan as they approached him. "Excuse me," Richard began. The man smiled. "Hah, offishuh," he mumbled. Dan suppressed a chuckle as he neared him. "Sir, have you had anything to drink tonight?"

"Pshh, don't be silly," the man mumbled, stumbling towards Dan. Richard let out a laugh. "I'll handle this," Dan told him with a grin. "Would you like to take a sobriety test?"

The man gave an odd look. "Ah don't need tah take no test. Ah quit hah school long ago."

"Alright," Dan responded. "In that case I'll need you to turn around and place your hands behind your back."

After making a strange face, the man slowly and clumsily complied, allowing Dan to cuff him. As he pulled his handcuffs out and placed them on the man's wrist, his head suddenly slammed back into Dan's face. Before Richard could react, he grabbed Dan's gun and held him in front of him at gunpoint. Those dull, tired eyes quickly became sharp and piercing, shooting a menacing look at Richard. A look spread across Richard's face as if to say, 'I thought you were drunk'.

"Okay, calm down, buddy," Richard said, raising his gun. He knew that a guy like this was surely going to kill them both, and that his best option was taking him out. "You don't want to do this."

The man smirked with disdain at Richard. "That was a stupid move, pal." He laughed. "The next time you decide to have a little shoot out, don't select an opponent with a human shield."

With that, the man shot Richard directly between his eyebrows and Dan right above his ear. Trading clothes with Dan, he carefully set a fire on Dan's chest and laid Richard next to it. He waited patiently leaning against the police car until both bodies were aflame, then got into the car and drove further into the city.

* * *

Nick sat on the sidewalk trembling from the cold and his immense fear. Slowly he rose, trying not to look at the hung body, and continued in the direction he'd been moving. Soon he noticed a shop called "Aftersun Barbershop." He walked over to the window, rereading the sign. "Aftersun," Nick muttered to himself. "Why does that sound so familiar?"

He continued down the street apprehensively, keeping a keen eye out for any other horrors he'd find. He'd already encountered more in this one day than he'd ever dreamed of. Suddenly a wave of relief rushed over him as he noticed a police car turning onto his street. The car slowed down as it neared Nick, and he approached it hopefully. The door read "Hillton Police". Apparently this was Aftersun, so this car must be from the next town over. Nick sighed with relief. Everything was probably going to be explained, and he'd be able to get back home. The car parked on the side of the street as Nick waited patiently on the other side of the road.