The Shadowhelm Wolves

Rain pounded on the window of a small detective's office. Its occupant, Detective Brynn Frost, was sitting inside and while waiting for the storm to pass, reviewing a case file that had been thrust at her by one of the lieutenants. His exact words had been 'You like weird cases, Frost. This one should pique your interest.' The lieutenant, a spry young buck by the name of Jackson Harding, had been right, but still, something didn't sit right with Brynn. Something felt off. The file folder told her one thing, sure, but her mind was telling her something vastly different. It was practically shrieking 'Something doesn't feel right, Brynn. Stop reading, go back and forget about this case!'

But of course, Brynn wasn't one to ever give up. She had always been the follow-your-gut type. At that moment, her gut was telling her to go to Pennsylvania and solve this mystery already. The folder that Lieutenant Harding had so brashly thrust at her told her that a string of murders had taken place in some Pennsylvanian town she'd never heard of in her thirty years of living in the good ole U.S. of A. - Shadowhelm. Reportedly, people from several cities in several states- including Brynn's own hometown and current stomping grounds of Austin, Texas - had either gone missing or had been found dead. Those found dead had varying degrees of wounds, ranging from lacerations to a missing appendage or limb.

Brynn sighed and called up her partner, who also happened to be the Austin PD's medical examiner, and explained the situation before going down the three flights of stairs to the medical examiner's lab. When she got there, he had a goofy smile on his face like he'd just won the lottery or an all-inclusive cruise. As she rounded the corner, she heard "Is it Christmas? This is the best damn gift I've ever gotten!"

'Glad he's happy,' Brynn thought before chuckling. "No, Rex, it isn't Christmas. I'm guessing you saw the file, and that's why you're happy?"

Rex Snow, the medical examiner for the Austin Police Department and Brynn's partner-in-crime (or rather, solving crimes) was a blond-haired, blue-eyed dreamboat of a man. But what was Brynn thinking? He was way out of her league, even by Texan standards, or Southern standards in general. But she knew that they'd always just be friends, as Rex was only attracted to men - not that it mattered to Brynn, though

Moments later, she was snapped out of her reverie by Rex's voice. "Hey, Brynn, are ya okay? You spaced out for a sec there." He looked concerned, his brows mashed together. He genuinely had a heart of gold, Brynn thought to herself before replying.

"I'm fine, but thank you for showing your concern; I appreciate it." She took a look at the copy of the file that Harding had no doubt faxed to Rex. 'Damn that guy,' she thought. Did he think she was incapable of filling her own partner in? Whatever the case, it wasn't worth her time worrying about it.

Rex smiled again. "You're welcome," he said before turning to the desktop computer. "Look at this, Brynn," he said, "this is the most beautiful thing I've ever seen." He motioned to the image of a blood spatter that was on the computer screen. "It's like a Rorschach test, but darker."

Brynn rolled her eyes and sighed. "You're so dorky, Rex," she said while chuckling. "But you've got that classic Southern charm, so you get bonus points.

Rex just laughed. "Glad to know ya think that, Brynn. Means a lot, y'know?" He flashed a grin that showed teeth white as fresh-fallen snow before turning back to the monitor. Dang, was it infectious, because Brynn laughed a little as they both smiled. "Anyway, we should get back to the, uh, the case," he said, rubbing the back of his neck. "I'm gettin' this real weird feeling that ya wanna check it out in person."

A smirk played on Brynn's lips. "You know me well, Dr. Tyrannosaurus," she teased. "Of course I wanna go check it out; how else am I gonna know what's going on in this Shadowhelm place?"

Rex shivered a bit, but not from the cold. "Not gonna lie, Brynn, that sounds spooky as hell. But you'll obviously need me to examine the bodies."

"As far as I'm concerned, you're the best at it," she replied, nodding. "It's getting late; I should probably head home, and so should you. Our best bet is to leave in the morning. If we split driving fifty-fifty, it should work out to about eleven hours each, minus any stops we have to make."

Rex nodded. "I'll get us some coffee in the mornin' on my way in and then meet you back here."

With that, they parted ways, intent on continuing in the morning.