Kylie parked outside Woodsbury High right after the school period was over.

She watched the younger students leaving together while the older ones stayed behind, smoking or playing basketball. She would take out a cigarette herself, but she didn’t want the teachers to reprimand her for being a bad influence.

She leaned against her car, arms crossed and continued to observe the crowd of teenagers scattered in the courtyard. Her eyes scanned around for bullies; the only clue she has for the murders. It didn’t take long for her to see a pink-haired girl being followed by two boys with a slingshot on one of them. She scowled and immediately marched towards them. Neither of the boys noticed the woman as they snickered and aimed for the girl’s head.

A shot was fired but the pebble was caught right in Kylie’s palm. The boys jumped at her sudden appearance and the pink-haired girl stopped to turn around, surprised to see them.

“I will personally report you to the principal for attempting to harm another student,” she growled and flicked the pebble to their feet, barely missing them. They jumped again when the pebble reflected off the ground and scurried away. She huffed and turned to the girl. Her brows raised at her hair colour.

“You’re not from here, aren’t you?” Kylie asked, only to receive a blank stare from the girl. The woman raised a brow and approached her. “Are you alright-...”

The moment she reached her hand out, the girl pulled back with a gasp. She looked at Kylie’s hand and then at her eyes. There was fear and caution in them. 

“It’s okay, I’m not-...”

“Amy!”

The blonde woman looked up towards the source of the voice and saw a brunette boy, girl, or person, approaching them. The pink-haired girl, Amy, immediately lit up and turned to them with a smile.

“Jane!”

Kylie watched Jane. The briefcase in her grip caught her attention. She didn’t see any backpack on Jane either which seemed odd for a high school student like her.

When Jane looked up, her gaze was sharp. It threw the officer off guard for a moment. That gaze… almost like a predator looking at their prey. Then, the gaze quickly turned silly; eyes grow wide and Jane froze like a statue for a good second.

“Hoh! Pretty lady!” She exclaimed.

Kylie had never seen someone slide on their knees other than on televisions and yet, here was a high school student sliding on her knees and opening the briefcase to reveal roses and a… metal dice. She raised her brow and peeked over the briefcase to Jane, who was grinning.

“Pretty lady like you should have something shiny to compliment your hair!”

“Cheesy,” she huffed, “but sorry, I don’t date kids.”

And just like that, Jane’s grin dropped and Kylie could see her heart breaking into pieces on her face. She snorted at her reaction, slightly entertained by her shenanigan. Amy just face-palmed.

“How many pants you’re going to ruin, sis…?” Amy said.

“Hey, this is just my fifth one!” Jane exclaimed and brushed her knees which, to Amy’s relief, weren’t torn. The older girl turned to the woman, “Never seen you before, ma’am. Who’re you?”

“Kylie Davis. Police officer. Came here because of the murders.”

Kylie watched their body language. They both perked up. It was almost common to see the townspeople have similar reactions. No one wanted to believe that there were murders going around, after all.

“S-so, is it true?” Amy muttered, “T-the Stitched-Mouth Man is real…?”

“It’s only an urban legend, Amy! There’s no such thing as Stitched-Mouth Man!” Jane quickly said.

The Stitched-Mouth Man again… 

“What can you tell me about that legend?” Kylie asked.

The siblings fell silent. They looked at each other and then back at the woman. Jane had a creepy smile stretched on her lips.

“Why, I’m glad you asked…”