Fortunately, Sunset didn’t catch sight of any Mustang swerved off to the side of the road. What she did catch sight of was every damn detail because Rainbow suddenly seemed very interested in obeying the speed limit.
The foliage started to recede from the road the further they went, gradually fading into dirt that abruptly dropped down into a shallow river with a short bridge crossing over it.
Parked along the bridge and curved off the edge of the road were two brown and white police cruisers with the title of the Hollow Shades Police Department along the left side.
A blue car was also present on the bridge. It was swerved at an angle where only a person could squeeze past it.
Rainbow pulled over to the side of the road, careful not to steer the Impala too close to the bushes or trees or the police cars.
There was a police officer wearing a bulky jacket (it was November, after all) and peering over the edge of the bridge and shouting. Rainbow leaned over, popping open the glovebox and retrieving a scratched wooden box. Sunset found herself fondly smiling at the familiar object, although it turned somewhat bittersweet when she caught sight of the variations of Twilight’s stoic (or barely hidden smile) face staring back at her.
“Twilight’s badges?” Was out of her mouth before she could think.
“I swear to God, your mouth works faster than your brain sometimes.”
“Oh, yeah. Some of them.” Rainbow muttered distantly, grabbing one already in a small, worn leather wallet. Sunset caught the glint of the silver star seal. Equestrian Marshals Service. “Here it is. Let’s go.”
Rainbow slipped out of the car and Sunset followed her, briefly wondering if Rainbow had kept her fake IDs. Probably not.
Sunset zipped up her leather jacket, realizing that it was a lot colder here. Rainbow shoved her hands into her own jacket as she came to the same sudden realization.
Now that they were closer, Sunset could make out that the officer was shouting at someone in the river.
“Anything?”
“Nope!” Two people called back in sync that were still out of Rainbow’s line of sight, thanks to the abrupt drop off of the grassy bank and the railing of the bridge.
Rainbow managed to look more fit for the role of (fake) Equestrian Marshall than Sunset did. Maybe it had something to do with the look in her eyes.
Sunset decided not to think too much on that.
The officer turned his head at the sight of Rainbow and Sunset approaching. Once they were on the bridge, Sunset could take a glimpse over the side of the bridge to see two men wandering around in the shallow waters of the river in wetsuits. She shivered in sympathy.
“Who’re you?”
“Equestrian Marshall Blitz. This is my partner.”
“You two look a bit young for Marshalls.”
“Deputies, actually. And thank you.” The officer took a brief moment to stare at Rainbow’s face. Maybe he picked up on the look in her eyes, or maybe he was just too damn tired to care if the shadows under his eyes were anything to go off. “You’ve had how many other cases like this?”
“Three in the past month... This would be the fourth.” The officer gestured to the car.
“Who’s the victim?” Rainbow asked, trying to peer around the officer at the car, despite the fact it was clearly empty.
“Troy Polis. Poor kid…” Sunset’s shoulders relaxed.
“You knew him?”
“In Hollow Shades, you have to make an effort not to know anyone. The neighbor’s dog dies, you can get a tragedy in the papers. You can make a guess how five people going missing feels.”
Sunset nodded, hoping she projected sympathetic and not ‘yeah, life sucks, get on with your explanation.’ The officer briefly looked at her and didn’t seem offended, so Sunset took that as a success.
“What’s the popular theory?”
“Serial kidnapper. Left the cars behind, not the people. Issue is, no sign of struggle. Just that the car went out of control.”
“And all the victims were male?”
“So far. Ages and occupations don’t seem to matter.”
“Mind if we go back to the Sheriff’s Department, get a look at what you’ve got?”
“At this point, a fresh pair of eyes might do some good. Two FBI agents dropped by but they didn’t ever get back to me. Just tell Perry that Officer Tang sent you to look into the missing persons case.”
“Thank you.” Rainbow said with a nod as Sunset spun around on her heel and started walking back towards the Impala with an unsubtle burst of speed. Rainbow nearly had to jog to catch up.
“He mentioned FBI agents. I’m thinking it was Twilight and Shining.” Rainbow said, once she was sure they were out of earshot. “They haven’t gotten back to him, yet, though.”
“So they haven’t gotten very far ahead, then, or they would have left behind notes or something, right?”
“No, actually. They might have the stuff we’re missing with them.”
“Dammit.”
“Yeah, our luck hasn’t exactly improved over the last three years.” Rainbow muttered as she wrenched open the driver’s side door of the Impala and dropped into the seat. The moment Sunset was in the Impala and her door was shut, the car was pulling back onto the road towards the Sheriff’s Department.
“You know, that was kinda… Easy, all things considered.”
“The getting info part or the lying part?”
“Both.”
“He’s tired, I don’t think he really cares as long as they find everyone. Even their bodies, I bet. Anything, as long as he knows. It’s better than not knowing.”
“Yeah, I hear that.” Sunset muttered, pressing her fingers into her eyelids in an attempt to lose the suddenly provided images in the vibrantly painful spots. Werewolves, vampires, every monster Sunset had ever heard about (even zombies and rabid birds) were suddenly spilling into her mind’s eye with a vengeance for Twilight and Shining and, by extension, her.
“So, this is the fourth victim in the past month. Last victim was just a couple days ago.” Rainbow said, whether or not she was aware of Sunset’s current mental struggle with reigning in an imagination she was despising the existence of didn’t matter. Sunset had a feeling she was talking just for the sake of it.
“How long has this lasted before?” Rainbow took a moment to think, chewing on her lip.
“About a month before it stops, last I checked. For some reason, they haven’t linked the pattern yet. Then again, they usually don’t.”
“I see your opinion of law enforcement hasn’t gotten any better.”
“And yours has?”
“You were breaking laws since before I met you.”
“Only sneaking out and being places I shouldn’t be. You were the one impersonating government agents.” Rainbow shot back.
“And look how bad of an influence you were.” Rainow said with a smirk.
“I told you not to get involved. You wouldn’t like it.”
“Yeah, well, its better than getting into some lame trade school.”
“You’re crazy.”
“Must be contagious.”
“Ass.”
“I have a very nice ass, thank you.”
Sunset snorted, head lolling toward the window. “Yeah, right.”
It was a comfortable minute before Rainbow spoke again.
“So, you have a girlfriend now?”
“Yeah.”
“She reminds me of Twilight.” Sunset stiffened, turning to look at Rainbow.
“What is it?”
“Nothing, nothing, just… She seemed to really care about you.”
“She does. And I care about her.”
“Then why haven’t you told her?”
“Because I care about her!”
“That’s not a good idea, Sunset.”
“I don’t care.”
Rainbow was silent for a moment.
“So, you’re just gonna keep this a secret from her? For how long?”
“Forever.”
“Forever… So, are you gonna go on to get your degree or whatever, get married, get a job, and have a house with a white picket fence?” Rainbow asked, almost sounding like she was trying to make casual talk about Sunset’s future. As a normal person.
“Uh, yeah, I guess. Not, counting the picket fence.”
“Sounds nice.”
“I know. I’ve… Thought about it a lot.”
“You gonna invite me to the wedding?”
“I dunno.”
“I’ll bring some of that hard cider.”
“Huh. Didn’t think you’d know anything about weddings.”
“I’m offended that you think I’d know so little.” A retort came quickly to Rainbow’s mind, but she managed to stop it before she could even start to voice it.
“Offended, yeah.”
“So, is that an invite?”
“Have you ever even been to a wedding?”
“Have you?”
Rainbow pulled the car into the small parking lot for the Sheriff’s Department without answering the question.
“Here we are. Come on, Sunset, we got some evidence to check out.” Rainbow hummed, checking to make sure she still had the fake Marshall ID.
Perry, as it turned out, was a middle-aged woman (older than Rainbow by only a few years) with a messy bun and sharp eyes set in a narrow face. She was several inches taller than either Rainbow or Sunset. When Rainbow showed her the ID, she squinted at it from behind her leopard-patterned glasses.
She relaxed somewhat when Rainbow told her that Officer Tang sent them, leading them to a small room in the back with ceiling-high locker units covering two of the walls and a metal table in the center.
“Here’s all we got for the missing persons case.” Perry said, handing Rainbow a clipboard and stepping back, hands resting on her hips. “Which is a load of absolutely nothing.”
Sunset decided to analyze the things spread out over the table. Most of it was typical roadside trash. Soda cans of both big brands and knock-offs, food wrappers, and some scraps of fabric. She leaned forward a little bit, keeping her left arm close to her side.
“So, Officer Tang said the popular theory was a serial kidnapper?” Sunset asked, trying to find something noticeable among all the garbage.
“Yup.”
“No eyewitnesses?”
“None that saw anything important.” Perry huffed, her arms shifting to fold over her chest. “Only people that have been going missing in the past few months are the ones in the vehicles. Last time anyone knows, the victims are always heading to Centennial and then we find their cars. Either swerved off the road or blocking it. No trace of any of them in the car or out.”
“And none of the cars have been tampered with? At all?”
“Had the local mechanic check every single one. I checked every single one. Cars are all in the same condition as when they were last seen. Whoever kidnapped these people just wanted the people.”
“Yeah, these are nice rides.” Rainbow muttered, reading the provided list. “None of the valuables were taken?”
“Nope. Cash, keys, everything is in the cars except the driver. It’s like a sick joke.”
“And none of this fabric belonged to the victims’ clothes?” Sunset asked, leaning back.
“Far as we can tell, no. Makes it even worse, honestly. No traces of any kind. You can’t just snatch four people and not leave behind some sort of trail.”
Sunset and Rainbow shared a look that Perry didn’t catch. As Sunset’s gaze briefly shifted to Perry, Rainbow’s eye caught on something and her shoulders went tense. Sunset followed her gaze to the evidence table.
Dog tags.
Pulling a pen out of her pocket, Sunset lifted up (so quickly she almost dropped them) the dog tags by their chain so she could read the engraving. She tilted it so that Rainbow could read it, the light glinting on the scratched metal.
Sparkle
Shining A.
“Where does Centennial Road lead?” Rainbow asked, managing to not sound the way Sunset’s insides felt.
“Well, it originally was used to get to the lumber mills. Then they stopped using those. Then there were some residences built down there. Then those burned up. No one wants to live there anymore. They think it’s cursed land or something.”
“Cursed land?”
“It’s a bunch of stories. I don’t know the details, you’d have to ask one of the older locals, but it’s all a bunch of paranormal crap. The town’s history is full of it.”
Rainbow nodded at that, but Sunset noted the sharpness of her eyes, still focused on the dog tags. She wasn’t genuinely listening to Perry anymore, Sunset guessed.
“So, the last person to see the victim? Troy Polis?” Perry’s breath suddenly left her lungs. She closed her eyes, taking a deep breath before opening her eyes.
Small town, Sunset reminded herself.
“His girlfriend, Lily Mythic. She’s putting up posters downtown for him. She said she was on the phone with him when the connection cut out.”
“The connection on Centennial isn’t good?”
“No, actually, it’s nearly as good as downtown’s. We think it might have something to do with the bad weather.”
“Let me guess. You found his phone in his car?”
“Left on the console.”
“Damn…”
“I think that’s all we need for now.” Sunset interrupted, suddenly regaining her ability of speech.
“You sure you got everything you need?”
“Absolutely. Thank you for your time.” Rainbow said, handing Perry the clipboard. Perry gave her a curt nod, watching as they slowly walked out of the room. Her eyes followed them from her desk until they left the station and any available line of vision from the windows
Miraculously, they managed to get to the Impala before talking or even displaying one sign of internal panic. At least Rainbow did. Sunset had no idea if she was managing it well or if anyone who looked at her for longer than fives seconds would know there was a massacre of Twilight and Shining doubles via any paranormal (and normal) methods Sunset knew trying to form in her head. Maybe not in those exact specifics, but something close.
“They were already out there hunting for it.”
“What?”
“They found Shining’s dog tags. Think about it. He’s a guy. He fits the description for whatever it is catching people off of Centennial.”
“They didn’t find his car. There wasn’t a 1970 Mustang on the list.”
“Dammit!” Sunset growled, hitting the top of the Impala with a pale fist. Rainbow scowled at her.
“Come on. We’ve got some kids to talk to.” The way she talked, Sunset would have assumed (if she couldn’t understand English) that Rainbow was planning on going to shoot someone, not talk to a bunch of kids.
Rainbow slid back into the driver’s seat and Sunset took her place in the passenger seat.