The Nest: A week or so has passed since Jess, Becca Seely, and James Mason Park and his cousins escaped the clutches of Christopher Leeds in the cave beneath Redford Vale Secondary School. Thinking they would take the time to readjust to life, a man goes missing; what the group believes to be by supernatural means. Can the group find the peace they sought out since the beginning of the previous attacks? Will the man be found, or is the group too late? And what will they make of the riddles given to them by the eccentric Estelore Mahoney?
I
Appearing: Tyler as Tyler Allen
: Terenia [Teach] as Jessi Anderson
: Myitt as Maia Flint
: KitCloudKicker as Jess Shalner
: Frank as Frank Reeve
: Esplin 9466 as Captain Russell Teague
: Broken as Cody Duchamp
: Estelore as Estelore Lane
Tyler fancied himself a ladies man. And this was obvious when he walked out of the Galaxy’s Edge Bar with two women on each arm—the third left in a huff after being told there wasn’t enough room on Tyler’s arm for her. Tyler didn’t mind. Redford Vale was a small town, and the Galaxy Edge bar was the most popular pub for miles. The girl would come back soon enough, and he’d have an arm for her. Tonight he would enjoy the blonde and brunette he had picked up. He wasn’t sure if he was drunk, hard of hearing, or just forgetful, but he wasn’t entirely sure of what the names of the girls were. Tyler would be the first to admit that he was a womanizer; but he was at least decent enough to catch the name of the girl beforehand. And he’d remember their names for nights to come.
Of course, remembering a name wasn’t too difficult. Redford Vale was quite a small town.
The bar was relatively full for a Thursday night. Normally, Tyler saved his exploits for Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays, and the occasional Monday. He had a day off the following day, however, and decided the fates wanted him to spend the next few nights hammered out of his skull. Hammered, but well-dressed of course. Tonight he would go black—that is, he’d be dressed in the most alluring of all shades. Or so he believed it to be.
He left his home at Finch apartments at about 10:00 at night, and strutted his way to Galaxy’s Edge on Sycamore Street a mere five blocks away. Strut would be the most appropriate word to describe the way he gyrated down the streets to the bar. Tyler was like a pea****: suave, flashy, and eye-catching—the only man in town who could get away with wearing sunglasses at night. This had more to do with his confidence than it did his looks; he had a demeanour that better looking men in Redford—and there were better looking men—did not. And just like with any other place in town, when Tyler walked into the Galaxy Edge bar, immediately all eyes were on him.
He flashed a smile and took off his sunglasses. The ground was, as previously stated, decent for the night. He walked over to an empty stool by Jessi, the barmaid and part-owner of the pub. Before he had even sat down Jessi put down a drink for him. “The stud’s all ready for you, Ty.”
The stud-- that’s what Jessi called his drink. It was always the first of many for the night.
“Good crowd tonight.” Tyler said after a nice long drink. “What’s the occasion?”
Jessi shrugged. “Beats me. I guess people in town are celebrating.”
“I can’t imagine why.”
The co-owner, Maia, appeared holding a tray of empties. “Celebrating life, I reckon.”
“Ah. That kind of crowd.” Tyler nodded.
“It’s true, Ty.” Maia said, while Jessi filled fresh glasses. “After all that’s happened with the Leeds boy a few weeks ago, people are in a cheerier, more thankful mood.”
“I’m thankful.” Jessi said, handing her partner one of the mugs. “Thankful that my pub is still in business. Some of the guys who got killed were regulars.”
“Wasn’t the Leeds kid one of your students?” Tyler asked, swiping one of the mugs that had been poured for a customer at one of the other tables.
“Ty, come on!” Maia groaned. “Hand it over.”
“I’ll pay for it, Mai.” He winked. “Jessi can just pour another one.”
Jessi shook her head in disapproval. But she poured another glass anyways, because it was Tyler. Maia took the glass, placed it on the tray, and stuck out her tongue at Tyler as she walked over to her table.
“So, about the Leeds boy.” Tyler said.
“Yea. He was in my English class.” Jessi said. “He was good friends with Becca Seely and that Shaw boy. The one who moved into 4D.”
“Ah. He was there, wasn’t he? Down in the caves, I mean.”
“Sure was. As were both of his cousins. Becca, too.”
“Interesting.” Tyler noted.
“You on Jess’ side then?”
“How do you mean?”
“Jess Shalner hasn’t taken too kindly to the Mason kid.” Jessi said. “She figured he was behind the whole thing for a long while there. She had to finally admit that James had nothing to do with it.”
“I don’t know the guy,” Tyler shrugged. “It’s none of my business what he gets up to.”
“HA!”
Tyler turned to the large man who had taken a seat across the counter. A heavy-set man with a gruff and greying beard, clearly balding, and dressed almost entirely in denim.
“Oh…Hey, Rob. How are you doing tonight?” Jessi asked, slightly embarrassed.
“Just get me a beer and I’ll be out of your hair.” He grumbled. “I just couldn’t stand being in the house with Angie.”
“How is she?” Jessi asked, handing him a pint.
“As well as you’d expect a woman whose son has been murdered.”
“I’m sorry to hear about Christopher.” Jessi said, genuinely. “He was a great boy. Smart as a whip. I liked him.”
“Yea. So everyone keeps saying.” Rob Leeds mumbled. “And yet, he’s lying in a hole across town. I guess that’s what being nice, good and smart as a whip gets you nowadays.”
“I uh…heard you and Angie are planning on moving out of town.” Jessi said. “That’s brave of you. It’s a big step.”
“I’ve been telling Angie we should get out of here for over a year. After all the chaos with that punk in the overcoat, I figured it was only a matter of time before something similar happened. History repeats itself. I’ve been saying it for years.”
“And you two are sure you want to take that step?” Jessi asked. “I mean, Christopher was buried here.”
The man shrugged. “He’s not going anywhere.”
Tyler threw the barmaid a look that suggested she drop any attempt at making small talk with Robert Leeds. The man was clearly grieving, and obviously wanted to be alone. Jessi took the hint and continued serving her customers. Tyler, on the other hand, figuring the old man’s mood was turning off all the women from approaching the counter, grabbed a third pint from Jessi and went to scout out the talent.
They were playing pool across the room—a blonde and a brunette; both very attractive, both looking as though they were in their early twenties. He decided not to approach the girls yet. They would have had guys approach them all night long. He needed to make eye contact with at least one of them, and then drift about the bar for a bit, to give the impression that he had places to be, people to see, and other talent in mind.
The brunette was the one who looked first. She had just taken a shot and missed the 8 ball. It was a quick look, but eye contact had definitely been made. She walked over to her blonde friend and stared to whisper into her ear. Then the blonde looked up.
It was ridiculous how easy it could be sometimes. He flashed a grin and moved on.
As he was making his rounds around the bar he noticed Frank and Jess playing darts and acting cute. Tyler walked over to the couple and leaned up against an empty table.
“How’s my favourite couple doing?” He asked with a smile.
“We’re good, Tyler.” Jess said. “You up for a game of darts? I’m kicking Frank’s ass.”
“She really, really is.” Frank admitted. “I would not hold it against you if you asked to take over.”
“No problem.” Tyler grinned. “I’ll show you both up.”
As Tyler stood up to take the darts from Frank, a girl bumped into him. His mug tipped, and the beer spilt over on to the hardwood floor. He looked back at the girl, expecting an apology. He would accept it, of course—after all, he had bumped into many a large man and tipped over his beer.
The girl looked up at him, sullenly. She looked almost as depressed as Rob Leeds. “You’ll be missed.” She said, walking away.
“What the hell was that about?” Frank asked after about a minute.
“I’ve no clue. But I’m almost 100% sure I was threatened just now.” Tyler said, feigning a laugh. “Who was that?”
“Estelore.” Jess said, slightly aggravated. “Probably just sore about getting evicted from Finch.”
“What she do, kill a guy?” Tyler asked.
“No. She and I got into a fight. It was this whole mess.”
“Estelore wasn’t evicted so much as she moved, and a few people were rather pleased about it.” Frank said. “She’s a nice girl, really. Just a tad eccentric.”
“That says something, given where we live.” Tyler remarked. “Sometimes I think I checked into the loony bin when moving into Finch.”
Frank grinned. “It has that effect on people.”
Frank offered the darts to Tyler.
“Nah, I’ve changed my mind.” Tyler said, politely. “I’m just gonna get a drink, make another round, and call it a night.”
“You aren’t worried about what she said are you?” Jess asked.
“Me, worried?” Tyler scoffed. “I’ll catch you birds later.”
He walked back over to the counter, where Jessi was calmly dealing with an enraged Robert Leeds. Tyler saddled up next to the two.
“I’m honestly sorry about your loss, Rob.” She said. “But that doesn’t mean you can shout at customers. I’m going to have to ask you to leave if you don’t wise up.”
“Don’t talk to me like I’m one of your school children, Teach.” Rob snapped. “I’m not just gonna sit around here while people talk about me and my family behind my back.”
“Nobody’s been talking.” Jessi said.
“You were talking about my son when I got here.” Rob retorted. “Doesn’t anyone in this stupid town have anything else to talk about other than each other? I didn’t see anyone concerned about Christopher the night he was taken.”
Tyler put a hand on Rob’s shoulder. The man looked as though he was about to hit Jessi.
“You’re drunk, Leeds. Go home.”
Rob Leeds turned to Tyler and gave him a cold, hard stare. “You touch me, and I’ll bash your skull in.”
“I’d like to see you try, bud.” Tyler replied.
“Do we have a problem here, fellas?”
Captain Russell Teague and his partner, Cody Duchamp had arrived. Tyler guessed Maia had called them when Rob Leeds started throwing his tantrum.
Leeds scowled at the people around him. “Fine.” He snorted. “Just fine. I’ll go. You all band together and gang up on the guy who lost his son. Figures.”
Rob handed Jessi a wad of cash and shoved his way through the crowd.
“We’d better keep an eye on him.” Cody suggested. “No telling what he’ll do.”
Teague sighed. “He’s just buzzed and grieving. He’s not going to cause us any trouble.”
“Fancy getting me another drink, Jessi?” Tyler asked. “I mean, if you can.”
“Well, it is my job.” She mumbled.
She walked over to the counter and poured another pint from the tap. She handed it to Tyler. “You gonna call it a night, then?”
“Soon.” Tyler winked.
“Blondes?” She asked.
“One of them is.” He grinned. “The other one’s a brunette.”
“Well. You have fun with that.”
He downed the pint, gave the barmaid a wink, and walked over to the pool table where the two girls were chatting with a third. He walked up to the girls, struck up a conversation. Turned out the girls were roommates, and had a place not too far from the bar. The blonde was taking the brunette out for a girls night to make her feel better about her bad breakup. Twenty minutes later, Tyler was walking with said girls to their apartment.
