Ravenshire

Chapter One

Sage stretched her hand forward, wondering who could be calling her at this time. Taking a quick glance at the clock, it could be her brain playing tricks on her, and she might be late for work. Seeing the time, she knew her brain wasn't playing tricks and someone was really calling her by 6 in the morning.

What could be the reason for the call? This was Ravenshire, and she could check in for work by 10, and it wouldn't mean anything.

Trying so hard to clear her head and the sleep from her eyes, she answered the call.

She could barely place what the caller was saying and all she wanted to do was crawl back into bed.

It was the dead body that jolted her. She couldn't believe what she was hearing.

“Get here now Sage, a dead body has been found”, she heard Gavin say.

This had to be a prank. Gavin knew how she had hoped for something exciting and this could be his own way of teasing her ,trying to get a reaction from her, but this wasn't what she meant. She valued lives and the thought of someone killing a person sickened her.

“I am going to give him a piece of my mind when we meet”. She whispered to herself.

She was torn between taking a shower, getting dressed before heading to the scene, or heading to the scene the way she was.

After much contemplation, she grabbed the mouthwash on the counter, took a quick rinse, and headed out the door. She will take her shower when she gets back, now she needs to head to the scene as far as she can. She had reached her car when she realized she had forgotten her keys and had not locked her doors.

Taking a quick jog back to her house, she grabbed her keys, then made sure she locked her door. If Gavin was telling the truth, it meant there was a killer on the loose and she couldn't take chances.

Sage Flynn got into her Dodge Durango, admiring the car as she always did before driving off. She had been using the car for 3 years and counting, and she had never had issue with it.

Ravenshire, a beautiful, mysterious town, nestled between the dense misty forest of the siskiyou mountains and rugged coastline of Oregon, 152-305 above sea level, surrounded by steep cliffs, hidden coves, tall trees and isolated beaches along the coast.

It had mild wet winters, with frequent rain and mist, and cool foggy summers with occasional sunny days.

A population of 5000 people, Tall Victorian era worn buildings, Rustic homes and cabins. A peak trail, cutting off from the main rain, waterfront district with shops, eateries and galleries.

Ravenshire was a peaceful town with hospitable people. Tourists were usually drawn to the town, especially artists, writers and musicians, due to its unique structure and different way of life. They had visiting hours and days though, due to the fact that they didn't want outsiders coming to disrupt the serene environment of their town. But they also allowed tourists to spend a month or more if they weren't causing trouble. Signing a citizenship form was also granted. That way, they were sure you would treat the town how they wanted it to be treated.

Sage sped through this building, admiring its beauty and uniqueness, her mind going to when she had first been moved to Ravenshire. She shook her head, bringing her mind back to reality and the road. That was a memory for another day, now she needed to increase her speed and get to the scene fast. Gavin had called her again, and she didn't want him thinking she was stalling. Turning on her police siren, she stepped on the gas, preparing her mind for the worse.

Gavin Pierce, A tall, handsome man with sharp brown eyes stood on the paved road, moving back and forth. He had got a call from his best friend Caleb Sawyer earlier that morning asking him to check on one of his staff members, Emily Windsor. He had tried reaching her at around 4 to remind her of the stuff he asked her to get while coming to work and also tell her to open the bar early. It wasn't part of her job, but he was running late, and she was the only one he could trust to get the bar functioning before he got there.

She was young and hardworking, and he was starting to take her as his younger sister. When she hadn't answered her phone after calling three times, he had gotten worried and told Gavin to check on her. Gavin had tried to convince him that it wouldn't be necessary, besides it was just 4, and maybe she was too tired to hear the phone ring, but he needed to be sure she was alright, besides the bar opened by 5 and there was no way she could still be so deep at sleep when she was meant to have started preparing to go to work.

Gavin had eventually agreed after much persuasion and now here he was, some meters away from her house, wondering what could have happened to her, if she had been killed or if she had died naturally.

On his way to her house earlier, he had hoped it would be something quick,

“He would check on her, see that she is fine and Caleb had been worried for nothing, be back to his house, and to his bed, so he could go back to sleep”. Those were the exact words he had said.

But when he got there, rang the bell for a long period of time, proceeding to knock after getting no response, he knew he wasn't going to be getting his sleep anytime soon. After much contemplation, he decided to break the door and get in.

That was going to be some cost on him, but he needed to be sure she was fine, the sleep had left his eye and he was starting to fear Caleb was right.

His eyes landed on her stiff body when he finally got in, she looked peaceful, like she was asleep. Moving closer, he saw she looked pale, and her lips were dry. He was shaking now, he felt his legs were going to give up on him, like he was going to pass out, but he needed to be strong. After all, he was the Deputy Sheriff, and it was his duty to make sure the town's people were safe.

Raising a shaking hand to her head, he felt her temperature. She was ice-cold.

He needed to leave, he couldn't spend another minute alone with her. Heading outside, he called Sage, a lot of things on his mind, but only able to form the word.

“Get here as fast as you can, there's a dead body”.

He didn't know how he was going to tell Caleb that Emily was dead, and he had been right. He couldn't think of anybody to call right now, and he was hoping Sage would know what to do. After all, she was moved from the FBI.

What was keeping her? It was almost an hour since he last called her. He had sent her his location and asked her to get there as fast as she could. He wasn't shaking anymore, and he was a bit more composed than before. He was sitting now inside his car, his eyes fixed on the now broken door, hoping somehow that Emily would walk out and it would all be a prank.