INCIDENT TWO:The Weirdo

The heavy wooden frame of the window creaked as Nancy slipped back into her room, her eyes straining to adjust to the dim, suffocating light. She frozen. Her father, Chief Matt, was already there, standing by her bed like a silent monument of authority.

"What did I say about going out this late?" he asked. His voice wasn't loud, but it carried a razor-sharp firmness that cut through the quiet.

Nancy ignored him. She moved past him, her boots thudding softly on the carpet as her inner world simmered with a familiar, bitter heat. She knew he was right, which only made the intrusion feel more like an interrogation.

"I am talking to you, young lady," he said, his volume rising to match his frustration. "You know it's not safe."

Nancy spun around, the movement sudden and jagged. Tears welled in her eyes, blurring the stern lines of her father’s face. "When is it ever safe, huh? When your carelessness leads to Mum and Sarah's death?"

The air seemed to leave the room. Chief Matt’s expression faltered, his shoulders sagging as he took a tentative step back. "Nancy, I'm sorry. I know you're still hurting. But with everything happening..."

"Oh, you mean with your girlfriend Gloria? Right," Nancy spat, her voice laced with venom.

Matt’s eyes widened, a flicker of genuine shock crossing his features. "What..."

Nancy didn't wait for the explanation. She turned away, flinging the bedroom door open. "Just leave."

He hesitated, a heavy, palpable disappointment trailing behind him as he finally stepped into the hallway. Left alone, Nancy collapsed onto the bed. The silence of the room was quickly replaced by the ghost of memories—her mother’s laugh, her sister’s voice—until a sob finally broke through her throat, her heart leaden with the weight of grief.

In the basement of Richard’s house, the atmosphere was thick with a different kind of tension. The only light came from the flickering, sickly glow of a television, casting long, dancing shadows behind Richard, Robert, and Gary. They stood in a semi-circle around the girl they had found, their shadows looming over her like giants.

"Did you escape from the Asylum center?" Richard asked, his tone demanding.

The girl remained a statue. Her gaze was fixed on a point in the air somewhere between them, seeing something they couldn't.

Robert tried a softer approach. "Can you speak? What's your name?"

Gary, unable to contain his restless energy, leaned in closer. "Wow, is that a tattoo?" He reached out, his fingers inching toward her hand, but the girl snapped. Her head whipped toward him, eyes flashing with a predatory warning that made him recoil.

"Stop it," Robert intervened, shoving Gary back. "You're freaking her out."

"She should be freaked out!" Gary snapped back, his face darkening. "We went out to find answers about your mum, Robert, not to bring home another problem."

The girl watched the exchange, her expression a blank, unreadable mask.

"We’ll hide her here," Robert said, his voice dropping into a tone of finality. "In the morning, we talk."

Gary’s eyes narrowed as he looked around the cramped space. "The weirdo at your house, Richard. Great."

Richard turned to him, a silent warning burning in his stare.

"Remember," Robert added, his voice calm but authoritative, "I am the king for seven days. My decision is final."

Gary’s jaw tightened. He snatched his bag off the floor, the nylon strap digging into his shoulder. "Whatever." He stormed out of the basement, leaving the heavy door to rattle in his wake.

The next morning, a pale, clinical sun rose over Maple Street. The bright yellow of crime scene tape fluttered in the breeze, cordoning off the area into a grisly theater. Chief Matt stood amidst the morning chill with his assistants, Jerry and Bobby.

"Chief," Jerry said, his voice barely a whisper. "You need to see these people."

Matt followed them to where the bodies lay. Bobby reached down and pulled back the white sheets, exposing the victims to the daylight.

The sight hit Matt with the force of a physical blow. He felt the air leave his lungs as he stared at the faces. They were all Gloria. Every single one of them—identical, eerie, and frozen in the same expression.

"What...?" Matt’s voice trailed off. His mind raced, trying to find a logical tether to a reality that was rapidly unraveling. Jerry and Bobby exchanged a look of pure dread. The investigation hadn't just changed; it had twisted into something unrecognizable.

A few miles away at Pineview High School, the morning sun felt much warmer as it streamed through the windows of an empty classroom. Eric sat at a desk with Julie, his arm draped casually over her shoulder with an air of ownership. The door swung open and Scott burst in, wearing a wide, predatory grin.

"It's tonight," Scott said, his eyes gleaming.

Eric grinned back, clapping hands with Scott in a sharp, triumphant smack. "Yes, baby!"

Julie’s brow furrowed, her fingers twisting nervously in her lap. "I'm really worried, Eric. What if he beats you? Then what?"

Eric leaned back, his eyes flashing with the easy arrogance of a boy who had never known defeat. "Trust me, babe. I am a King. The King of Pineview."

Julie managed a small smile, but the concern in her eyes remained.

At the Middle School cafeteria, the social hierarchy was on full display. Nancy sat with Tammy and Tracy, their eyes locked on the "losers' table" across the room where Robert, Richard, and Gary were huddled together.

"Nance," Tammy said, her voice low and calculating. "I told you to be friends with one of them. We need to know what happened to that loser's mum."

Nancy felt a cold knot of anxiety tighten in her stomach. She looked between her two friends, her voice small. "But... but... why me? Tracy should do it."

The temperature at the table seemed to drop. Tammy’s eyes narrowed into slits. "How dare you question my authority."

Tracy didn't say a word; she just smirked at Nancy, a slow, cruel smile that confirmed the trap was shut.

The sterile, chemical scent of the Pineview Mortuary was a slap to the senses. Matt stepped inside, Jerry and Bobby flanking him like shadows. James, the coroner, was waiting near the steel tables, his face as grave as the room itself.

"Chief, the dead body... she changed," James said.

Matt’s eyes narrowed into a glare. "What do you mean?"

James led them to the cooling unit and pulled the tray. Matt’s jaw dropped. The woman they had recovered from Gloria's house—the one who had looked exactly like her—was gone. In her place lay one of Gloria's neighbors.

"Why is the corpse changing?" Matt whispered, his voice trembling with a mix of shock and growing horror. "Where is Gloria then?"

Back in Richard's basement, the TV hummed in the background, a low drone beneath the silence. The girl was now dressed in Julie’s clothes, sitting awkwardly as she ate a sandwich. Robert, Gary, and Richard watched her every move.

"Look," Gary said, leaning forward. "If you don't talk, we're telling an adult about you."

"We can't help you if you don't talk, okay?" Robert added softly.

Richard paced the small room, his frustration boiling over. "This is stupid. Let’s just tell my mum already."

The girl’s eyes widened at the word 'mum.' Her lips began to move, dry and hesitant, as she struggled to force a sound through her throat. "E... EVE... ZERO."

The boys froze. Robert’s face lit up with a spark of excitement. "Oh, so you can speak! Your tattoo—Eve-zero. What does it mean?"

The girl looked terrified, her gaze darting between the three of them. She struggled with the mechanics of speech, her voice a fragile whisper. "Me... EVE ZERO... pls... Richard... no... adult."

The words were halting, like a child learning a foreign tongue. Robert leaned in, his voice gentle. "You're in trouble, right?"

Eve-zero nodded slowly, tears finally spilling over. She sniffled, her face twisting in a mask of fear. "Bad... adult."

Suddenly, she raised her hand, pointing her fingers at them like a gun. Her eyes were wide, and the boys exchanged a worried glance. Whatever she was running from, it was far more dangerous than they had imagined.

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