The winter cold was a brutal assailant, burning my lungs and stealing feeling my skin. Each desperate gasp for air puffed out as a cloud of smoke. I ran, driven by the primal fear of the tall, dark figure looming behind me. My small steps pounded against the concrete, a frantic, futile race against the shadow’s unnaturally long stride. My escape from home had been a childish delusion, a desperate yearning for the quiet I imagined filled other kids’ nights, a stark contrast to the screams and crashes that echoed through our house. Even then, my young mind wrestled with adult anxieties. Why the daytime smiles, the nighttime fury? Was I to blame? Was there some unseen duty I was failing at? Or was the poison solely theirs, a mystery locked within the grown-up world? That night, propelled by terror, I ran back towards the broken pieces of my family. But I felt a cold that was more than just the winter air; it was the dawning awareness that the darkness wasn’t contained within our walls. It tainted my safe place, a space that flickered between comfort and fear, and I now understood, with chilling certainty, that it was nothing compared to the boundless darkness that stretched beyond our door. 

The glow of the screen illuminated yet another grim headline: a teenager assaulted on their way home. It reminded me somewhat of experiences from my childhood that motivated me into my current career. However, every fresh story that surfaced gradually diminished my idealistic belief in a world guarding innocence. The rising tide of crime felt relentless.

A digital chime sliced through the quiet. Email. Michael’s name. Background checks on the victims from yesterday. The forensic analysis was still pending. My focus, however, kept returning to the unsettling appearance of my name in that terrible place. The mystery clung to me like a shadow.

Friday evening stretched, heavy and long. My vision blurred at the edges of the screen’s light. The protesting squeal of my chair accompanied my shift to a standing position. The setting sun cast long shadows into my office, a brief respite. A soft knock at the door. “Enter,” I said, my gaze already fixed on the interruption.

I straightened, forcing a semblance of composure, trying to mask the lingering anxiousness in my expression. My fingers danced across the keyboard, clicking on random files, a flurry of meaningless activity meant to project an air of busy professionalism. The door opened, and I saw Avery poke his head in. 

“Hey Sel. The new guy’s here. I brought him for introductions.”

I sat up in my seat, taking a deep breath before the mysterious figure walked in.

“Good morning, I-”

Our eyes met. His familiar gaze locked with mine, and a slow dawning of recognition spread across both our faces.

“No freaking way,” I breathed, the surprise stealing the air from my lungs.

I pushed back from my desk; the chair’s wheels scraping against the floor, and circled around to get a closer look, disbelief warring with a strange sense of familiarity. 

“You’re the guy from Delightful, aren’t you?”

A slow, enchanting smile spread across his face, the same one that had caught my attention earlier. He answered, his tone laced with playful amusement. 

“You forgot my name already, Ms. Selene?”

A soft giggle escaped me; I almost forgot Avery was in the room. I motioned them both towards the small couch in my office and poured some glasses of water from the carafe on the side table.

“Of course not,” I said, a small smile playing on my lips. “Just a bit surprised by the… momentary shock, Mr. Eric.”

He settled onto the seat next to me, Avery sitting beside him. Unlike our earlier meeting, his suit jacket was gone, revealing a crisp, well-pressed shirt.

“So,” I began, leaning back, “I’m Selene Ray, the lead detective here. I’d like to formally welcome you to Unit 1.”

He nodded, taking a slow sip of the water. The delicate clink of the glass against my low coffee table echoed as he set it down.

“It’s a pleasure to be a part of the team. I’m assuming we’ll be working together quite a bit from now on. Ms. Ray,” he inquired, a hint of amusement in his voice.

 A small smile touched my lips as I answered. “Just Selene or Sel is fine, whatever makes you more comfortable. We don’t stand on formalities unless we’re speaking with the director.”

“Sel it is then.” He studied me for a moment, his gaze intent, as if weighing unspoken words. His eyes moved to Avery next.  

“I’m not sure if he already introduced himself, but this is Avery. He’ll also be your coworker, and we have one more coworker… but she’s off today. You’ll get to see her once she’s back.” I stood up, straightened my shirt, and gestured Eric toward the door. 

“I can show you where you’ll be working and then get you everything you need to get spun up.” 

They both followed behind me, heading over to the general office space.

“This is your desk or that one over there; it’s up to you.” I rest my hand on the rolling chair, spinning it around for him to sit in. He thanked me with a small smile before sitting down.

“The team should have handled your accounts yesterday, so you should be able to log in straight away. Now… for getting you spun up on the case, once you’re settled, Avery will help you out. Anything else I can answer for you before I head back?”

He paused for a minute in thought before answering.

“I’ve been busy with the move, so I was wondering if we could get some lunch,” he said glancing at me.

Avery’s brow twitched a bit before sitting in his chair. “Oh yeah, we know a few spots around here. Got any preferences?”

“I’m not picky; anything that tastes good is fine by me.”

I smiled at him, giving a slight nod, seeing as things had worked themselves out.

“Alright, I’ll be heading back to my office now. Please let me know if you need anything else.”

The silence stretched a bit as I walked back to my office, before I heard his voice directed at Avery behind me. “So… what is this case we’re working on?”

The lightness in the air vanished. Avery’s low voice, answering his question, “It’s a serial murder case.”

----------------------------------------------------

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Art: Petra Eggert