The heat haze of summer had finally left, welcoming the crisp bite of Autumn back once more. Colourful leaves blew through the city sidewalks, painting them in splashes of orange, red and brown. Stores began to set up wonderfully spooky Halloween displays, a sign that September had reached its closing days. Fall had truly blown into the city of Hiapul.

But the true arrival of the season for them was the lovely taste of a pumpkin spice latte from their favourite cafe, Pink October.

Sitting at the back in a dingy (but cozy) old booth, the atmosphere was just perfect. Cradling a paper cup in their hands, they savoured the sweet taste. Welcoming Fall to their taste buds as well as their heart.

Truly, humanity’s greatest invention was coffee.

An impatient tapping broke their pumpkiny haze as they lowered their cup to the table.

Across from them sat a disappointed-looking man with dark skin and dark blue hair. He was dressed far too warmly considering the mild fall day they were having. A sharp, blue coat, covering a warm, black sweater with orange pumpkins sewn in lovingly. His medium-length hair was pulled into a tight ponytail behind him. He had ordered some sort of iced coffee that he had been nursing throughout the hour, as opposed to themself, who had been taking generous swigs from their own Pumpkin Spiced Latte.

He looked like the spitting image of a well-off college student. Fitting, as he was. It didn’t take a detective to figure that out.

That was what they were, by the way. A detective. Taking a break before their next job.

“I’ve lost you to coffee again.” The man sighed dramatically. “I can’t believe I got up early for this!”

“It's only 10 AM.” They spoke coolly, causing the other to laugh.

“That’s way too early to be expected to be a functioning being.”

“Perhaps you wouldn’t feel this way if you slept at regular hours.”

“Oh yeah?” He scoffed. “Drop the coffee and then lecture me oh dear elder.”

They pulled the cup away defensively, leveling a glare at the bluenette across from them.

He snickered. “Seriously N, did you really miss my question?”

“Sorry.” N shrugged, taking another tentative sip of their latte.

“You said you were going out of town?”

“Yeah, I leave in an hour.”

“An hour- what are you doing here then!?” He looked at them, flabbergasted.

“The bus won’t be hard to get to. Plus, I’m already set to go.”

He rubbed his face. “I suppose. Where are you going anyway?”

“Innsmouth.”

“I don’t believe I’ve heard of it.”

“It's a small fishing town. Population of around 200. Not much going on.”

The man quirked an eyebrow. “Until?”

“I guess I’ll find out.” N lifted their cup, only to find it disappointingly empty.

“You take the weirdest jobs.” He swirled his own iced drink. “Good luck then, I’ll see you when you’re back.”

“I’ll see you next weekend then, Aden.”

The man, Aden blushed and turned to the window. “Don’t call me that in public.” He huffed.

They hated having to cut their monthly excursion with him short but a job was a job. And luckily they had an understanding family.

N let out a small amused breath as they stood, taking the empty cup with them. They raised their hand with the intent to ruffle Aden’s hair, before hesitating and putting their hand in their pocket instead.

“I’ll see you later.” They said, tossing the cup out and leaving the cafe. Checking the time, it was 10:45.

Their bus would arrive soon.

***

The bus to Innsmouth could be classified as “eerily quiet.”

Or, at least they wished it was. As the only passenger, it should have been.

But alas, the driver appeared to be the chatty type, much to N’s dismay.

“I haven’t seen you around before. You new to town?”

N sunk into their seat at the question. It wasn’t that the man seemed like trouble or anything, quite the opposite in fact. He reminded them of Santa Claus. With a curly white beard, red overalls with a matching paperboy cap, he could be mistaken for an off-season St.Nick. He even asked the question with a jolly inflection in his voice.

It’s just that they really didn’t want to have to interact with people until they arrived. They had even sat right in the very back of the (frankly, small) bus. Couldn’t this pleasant older gentleman take that as a sign?

“I haven’t been to Innsmouth before.” They answered truthfully. “I have business there.”

The bus driver tensed up at the remark, gripping the wheel tighter.

“What kind of business?” He asked, a sharp edge to his voice.

Great Old Ones, they missed their precious latte already.

The driver’s grip remained firm and tense at the wheel, and N decided to choose their next words carefully.

“My…stepmother was from Innsmouth. I suppose I wanted to see what it was like myself.”

Not entirely false, but why would they care where she had come from? At least it seemed to ease the man, as he visibly relaxed.

“I see. It’s a beautiful town, but of course, I’m biased.” He chuckled as the bus turned onto a side road. “Don’t mind me. We don’t often get city folk coming in unless they were little fish that swam from the waters of home, ya know?”

“Oh?”

“Nature of being in a small town, oddly dressed strangers like yourself can bring trouble. Don’t take it to heart.”

“I’ll try not to.”

They really weren’t worried. They did their research beforehand and knew that they wouldn’t be able to keep a low profile anyway. It’d be best to just power through and hopefully finish the job in a night.

Especially if men like this bus driver, who appeared to be perfectly pleasant, were gonna be this suspicious of them. They didn’t need that extra headache.

They frowned as they took in his prior remark fully. They weren’t wearing anything new today. Their standard grey trenchcoat with their black with a single stripe sweater vest. A pair of blue jeans, purple sneakers, and leather gloves. Nothing extraordinary, and nothing warranting being called oddly dressed.

They glanced in the window, catching their short, bright lilac hair and ruby-red eyes in the light. They blinked and then turned their head back away. That part didn’t count. The man was still wrong, they decided with a small huff.

Luckily, the bus came to a stop soon afterward. The door swung open and N quickly made a beeline to the front, giving a passive “thank you” to the man. Unfortunately for them, their hasty escape was stopped.

“Your stepmother’s name, I don’t think I caught it.”

Of course. Why wouldn’t a town this small have everyone knowing anyone who ever lived in it?

“Her name was…Ilula.” N swallowed harshly.

They didn’t make eye contact with the man.

“I remember her! She was a sweetheart. Heard she had a little baby girl, how is she anyhow?”

“She…passed away.” They cringed at the silence that followed. “Thank you for the ride.”

Bowing their head, they walked out of the bus rather quickly to avoid the awkward fallout of a bomb like that. Silently, they apologized to their sister for using her mother as an excuse as they ducked into the streets of Innsmouth’s downtown.

The bus driver was right, the town was beautiful. N’s research hardly did it justice.

It was a small fishing town, right on the seaside. Well-loved cobblestone tiles met their feet. Stores and houses alike went up the stone hillside in a lovely display. It was like stepping into a vintage postcard. Not a vehicle was in sight, the town appeared to be completely walkable.

The only forms of transportation appeared to be boats upon the shoreline, which were presumably for fishing purposes as the town's biggest source of income was fishing imports. You could really tell it in the atmosphere. The air smelt of the seaside, salt, and (unfortunately) fish.

The only downside to a town this small, (population of 200, if they recalled) was it meant they stuck out even more than they would have liked. Since walking into town, eyes had been upon them the entire way. At least in big cities like Hiapul, everyone was too busy to notice you. N really wanted to turn around and go home.

What was that phrase again? Big fish in a small pond? That almost felt ironically fitting to their current situation.

Regardless, they had a job to do. And despite how awkward they felt, they were nothing if not professional. So they resolved to just power through to their objective, pulling out their phone and selecting a song as they popped their earbuds in to ignore the world around them.

The distinct vocals of Redbone’s “Come and Get Your Love” was more than enough to lead them up the busy street and towards the wooden sign of Innsmouth General Store. They scrolled back to their business email, double-checking that this was the meetup point their client discussed, before letting the song finish and heading in as they slipped their earbuds back into their pocket.

The shop was the ideal version of a “General store.” Small yet packed to the brim with all sorts of daily wares. The kinda shop you’d expect to be family-run for generations. Comfy cozy, with a lovely view of the shoreline as it was right near the top of the hill. It even had a little bell that rang upon entry. Surely, to the town of Innsmouth, this was a wonderful little place to find a silly trinket or pick up a homemade cookie after work.

But to N, it felt like entering into a different world. Something about the sentimentality of it all felt strange to them.

They almost wished they had walked into a gas station back home, at least attempting questions there wouldn’t get a second thought from a “checked-out-at-10 am-and-now-it’s-3pm” employee.

Speaking of employees, they weren’t met by any immediately. Pushing down the thought of “Oh god, they’re not open and I broke in,” N made their way to the counter to investigate.

“Hey there!” A gruff voice called from the back. “What can I do for-”

A man arrived at the front of the store, younger than the bus driver, appearing to be in his 50s. He had stained blue painter overalls, curly red hair, sun-tanned skin, and a wide sharp-tooth smile that dropped as he saw N standing at his counter.

“What can I do for you, stranger?” The man asked, voice strained and sea-green eyes wary.

N stiffened at the attitude, the man had a good inch or two over their 5’9” and they had never felt smaller. Their eyes drifted to the back where the door the man had stepped out of was. The man stepped in front of it as if sensing their gaze. He raised an eyebrow expectantly as he crossed his arms, clearly holding little patience for them.

“I’m looking…for Miranda…?” They said slowly, avoiding eye contact.

The man leaned over the counter as he gave them the stink eye.

“No one named that is here. You’ve got the wrong place kid.”

His tone held a hint of a threat that completely went over their head as they considered their next course of action.

They couldn’t be in the wrong place. They had checked. The client- Miranda had even sent a picture of the front of the store.

People here were far more nosy than they were used to.

Maybe if they were honest, the man would be kinder? If their client’s information was right, then she wasn’t the only one who noticed the Oddities…

Attempting to stand up straight, they looked the man firmly in his eyes and said;

“I’m a detective. I’m here to investigate the lighthouse-”

And just like that, they were being pulled down by their collar by a very pissed, (and fairly strong, holy shit) shopkeeper.

Barely a nose away, the man snarled at N. Teeth reminiscent of a shark, glinting at them through his sneer. His grip shook with a barely contained rage.

‘Well.’ N thought. ‘This is embarrassing.’

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“Listen, kid. I’ll gladly give you one chance to get the Hell out of my shop and out of my town. I don’t know what sort of media circus you want to bring over here, but it won’t be happening in my town-”

Luckily for the detective, help came from behind the man. A young woman, likely in her 20’s burst out of the same door he had made his entrance from in a frenzy.

“Papa no! I called them here! It’s okay!”

The man’s grip slacked a bit. A tired look crossed his previously enraged face.

“Miranda, what did I tell ya about using those interwebs! Brings nothing but trouble! You could put the whole town in danger!”

Miranda pushed past her father, forcing him to let go of N.

“I’m so sorry Detective! I shoulda told him you were coming!”

N readjusted their collar, feeling the tension drop.

“Not the worst welcome I’ve received. Miss Miranda?”

Miranda waved sheepishly, her father crossed his arms again.

“Papa, I’m tired of sittin’ around and watching people go missing! No one here can handle it, so why not ask for help?”

“And how do you think they could help?”

“...Good reviews?”

Miranda’s father face-palmed at that. N took the momentary silence to plead their case, now that they had an ally on their side.

“I’m a paranormal detective. Freelance. No government connections. Your daughter-” They gestured towards Miranda. “Reached out to my business email inquiring about my work. She talked to me for a while and asked for examples. Not many people would background check so thoroughly. Your daughter is very smart, sir.”

“If you’re trying to butter me up, it ain’t gonna work.” He huffed in a way that said “Damn right she is!”

“Besides, I don’t take work unless I deem it serious. And Innsmouth’s lighthouse is one of those cases.”

Miranda nodded in encouragement, but her father didn’t seem to budge.

“Kid, I’ll admit it was unfair to assume you’d bring “big city news” here, but you still gotta go. Whatever you think is happening, is an Innsmouth issue and we’ll solve it on our own.”

‘10 people missing doesn’t seem like solving it.’ N thought as they pulled out their wallet in a last-ditch effort to get the man off their back.

Pulling out something green, the man scoffed.

“Ya trying to bribe me, kid? You’ve got some nerve-”

The man’s remark died in his throat as he took a look at the small card N presented to him. It was the size of a regular business card. Light green with a dark green border. The middle held its defining feature, an ornate green tentacle.

“I can assure you,” N drawled. “I can’t just leave a job unfinished.”

The man took the card with a scowl. “Fine. Just don’t cause a ruckus.”

Miranda smiled widely, making her way towards the door. “Great! Let’s go, detective!”

Her father opened his mouth in protest, but she cut him off instantly.

“I just need to lead them to the lighthouse and tell them what I know! I won’t go near it! Gosh!”

Her father made a “hmph” noise, shaking his head.

Miranda gestured for the Detective to follow, and being grateful for the reason to leave, they did. As they pushed open the door, however, the gruff shopkeeper called out to them;

“Hey, kid! Tell your boss I don’t like him.”

N sighed. “Welcome to the club.”

The door closed with a satisfying click and they finally relaxed their shoulders. Never had the salt-water-infused air felt so welcoming.

“I’m sorry about him,” Miranda broke the calm with guilt lacing her voice. “Most people in town are really unkind to newcomers.”

“I know.” They said bluntly. “...It’s fine.”

Silence fell over the two as Miranda let N gather their bearings, so they finally had a good chance to take her appearance in. Like her father, she had short curly red hair that reached her shoulders, styled in a bob-like way with bangs. Unlike him, however, she was rather short. They estimated she was maybe around 5’2”. She was paler than her father too. Her face was dotted with orangish freckles and round, gold-rimmed glasses sat on her small nose, covering sea-green eyes.

She reminded them of a librarian in a way, even dressed in pale yellows and pinks to boot.

She adjusted her yellow cardigan with a determined look, “Shall we?” She nodded towards the visible lighthouse.

N nodded in return. “Let’s see what the fuss is all about.”

The trek back down the hill was a lot less intimidating when someone else was there to share it. Probably because as a local, Miranda wouldn’t be getting stares. Regardless, it eased N.

“I want you to run everything you know by me.” They said, shoving their hands in their coat pockets.

“Right, well…two weeks ago…um…we lost communication with…an…island off the coast that we um…connect with? Lotsa of us happen to have family down there, you know?” She waved her hands around anxiously with her words.

“Right.”

“So…some of us tried to sail out there and…”

“Your boats came back empty.”

“Yes. ten people have gone missing, seven from the boat, three from just investigating the lighthouse.”

“And why do you think the lighthouse is related?”

“Um…the lighthouse has been…off at night. Which it really shouldn’t be. My cousin took a look two days ago. And…if you get close enough you can see this…substance on the building.”

N made a face in response. “Charming.”

Miranda let out a small, sad laugh. “Yeah.”

“...And your cousin, she was the last missing person?”

“Mmhm, that’s when I contacted you. And that’s all I know, sorry.”

“It’s fine, I think I can work with that.”

Finally, they hit the beach where the lighthouse stood. Rocks littered the shoreline, both big and small. The warm autumn sun reflected off of the sea, making it look like it was glittering. In the summer, it would likely be a wonderful place to take a day out. Hell, even today’s mild Fall weather should have had tons of people dotting the seaside. But it was quiet, deathly so. N and Miranda were the only occupants.

“If you wish you can stay, but please remain back by these rocks. If there’s something over there I’d rather you not get involved.”

“Detective,” She urged quietly. “I dunno if this’ll be helpful to you but…Some folks say they’ve seen large movement at night.”

N raised an eyebrow in curiosity.

“Like...I heard that it looks like eight tentacles.” She looked around as if someone would suddenly appear. “You ever heard of the Kraken?”

“The…Kraken.” They deadpanned. “In Innsmouth.”

“You don’t believe me either!? Look, my great-grandpa had stories about how the Kraken required sacrifices yearly or else it would bring ruin! It’s plausible!”

“The Kraken.” They stressed. “The giant squid infamously found in Northeastern waters. That Kraken?”

Miranda looked down with a huff. “What else could be in the sea?”

“That’s what I’m about to find out.” They sighed, turning towards the lighthouse. “With all due respect Miss Miranda, squids do not have eight tentacles.”

They made their way towards the lighthouse, only glancing back once to make sure Miranda stayed by the large rock formations. Thankfully, she had the sense to remain behind it. She watched them intensely, and their shoulders slumped.

They really, really weren’t used to people watching them work.

The lighthouse itself was fairly standard. Large, red, and white striped. At night the light was likely incredible, but during the day it made no sense to check for that. They rested a gloved hand against the exterior before quickly pulling away in disgust.

Although it was near impossible to see in the sunlight, there was some sort of sticky, stringy substance all over the lighthouse. Oddly enough, it only appeared to be up the side of the building that faced the sea. Which was still an impressive feat, as the lighthouse was clearly above 30 feet tall.

They took another look at the substance coating their hand. Its stringy nature created a webbed appearance in between their fingers.

All at once it hit them. They wiped their hand off on their coat and made their way quickly back to Miranda.

“Miss Miranda. When’s nightfall?”

She blinked in surprise. “Around two-ish hours?”

“Something tells me we’ll catch our “Kraken” then.”

***

Two hours and a cup of coffee brought by their client later, N was feeling rather energized to return to the lighthouse. In the time waiting, nothing about the building had changed. It wasn’t the worst stakeout ever or anything, but it was awfully boring. Even with a nice caramel coffee. They wondered if Miranda had bought it or made it herself, but in the hours of conversation, they couldn’t find it in themself to ask.

Speaking of Miranda, she had filled the hour talking about Innsmouth. Nothing remarkable, just common stories of a childhood in a seaside town. N returned her words with affirmative hums, but they appreciated the chance to take a breather.

“You didn’t have to stay here.” N said as they looked up into the setting sun. “Won’t your father get upset?”

“He’d be upset either way!”

“Right well, let’s not make him furious by disappearing hm?” They stood, dusting their pants off. “Stay here, just like last time.”

“Sure, be safe.”

“I’m not worried about myself.”

“Detective? Do you really believe it’s the Kraken?” She asked hopefully.

“No.”

Miranda deflated instantly and leaned against the rock formation.

“I can’t be certain, but I have an inkling of an idea.”

Instead of laughing, Miranda blinked slowly at them.

“Right. Anyway, Stay here.” They coughed awkwardly into their fist.

“Right.”

They avoided eye contact as they escaped the awkward situation and returned to the lighthouse. As Miranda had said, even though it was night, the light hadn’t turned on. And N was certain the substance was to blame.

They rolled back their shoulders and tapped the tip of their foot. Then, they swiftly kicked the side of the lighthouse, causing a loud, metal CLANG to ring out. The substance fell off of the building and into a white stringy clump.

"Gross," N said, scrunching their nose as a tiny bit got on their coat. "I just did the laundry too…"

Behind them, the water rumbled unnaturally. A dome formed and burst as a creature slammed out of the water, sending droplets down on N like rainfall.

Eight legs pierced the sandy shore, as unnerving red eyes appeared to glow down at N. It was likely around 50ft in size, and its black fur seemed to darken the sky.

A gigantic spider had risen from the seaside of Innsmouth.

It waited as the water settled and surveyed the area. Miranda ducked further behind her rock, attempting to not make any noise. N, however, stared down the beast, unimpressed.

"Human," it snarled as its focus settled on N. Its voice rattled unpleasantly against their ears, a mix of hissing and whispers. “Pathetic, weak, little thing, was it you who touched my web?

Staring up directly into the many eyes of the beast, N huffed in annoyance.

“My coat.”

“...What?”

“You got my coat wet.” They frowned. “First you got webbing on it, and now it’s wet. I’m wet. What kind of spider hides in the ocean?”

The beast paused for a moment, as if taking in their audacity, before laughing. Its laugh sizzled like the rain, and would undoubtedly leave a chill down any mere mortal’s spine.

Except N, who seemed rather unamused at the display.

“I am no mere spider, Human.” It snarled, leaning down until its pincers nearly touched N. “I am the great Yarg, and you, little weakling, are about to be the next sacrifice to-.”

“Oh. That was easy.” N said as they pulled out a pen and paper. “Yarg. Attempting sacrifice.”

Yarg took a small step back (as small as a giant spider could) in disbelief.

“What.”

“I do hope you realize that Innsmouth is protected ground. Like, it has some pretty clear rules about who lives here.” They finished writing on the pad of paper and clicked their pen. “You’re trespassing.”

Yarg seemed to lose all humour in the situation rather quickly, a choked noise rumbling out of the monster as it leaned back.

“You insolent-!”

“Am I to assume,” They drawled, red eyes peeking over their notepad into eight confused ones. “Your mother has no clue you’re doing this?”

Yarg proceeded to respond to their question with a guttural yell as it raised its front legs, smashing them down onto the detective.

Somewhere distantly, N heard Miranda scream.

‘That’s silly.’ They thought. ‘What is there to scream about?’

With only a second to spare, they grabbed its left front leg and pulled. The beast toppled over with a (frankly pathetic) yelp. Dazed and confused, Yarg could only watch as N grabbed its fallen webbing and tossed it onto the beast. It began to panic, thrashing in the ocean as it desperately tried to break out of its own trap.

N took a step back to lean against the lighthouse, watching as Yarg shrunk to a far more manageable 10-foot height.

“Some Kraken.” They mocked as they watched the creature claw itself back to shore, tangling its limbs further.

N gave it five more minutes to attempt an escape before kneeling down to the fallen beast’s level.

“Innsmouth is protected land. I’m going to take a wild guess and assume you tried to claim its waters. You do understand the severity of what you’re doing, right?”

The beast was deathly still, pathetically beady eyes staring up at the detective. They began to count on their fingers.

“Trespassing, vandalism, squatting, sacrifices-”

“The sacrifices are alive!” It wailed in a far more humanoid voice. N paused their count. “On the ocean floor!”

“I figured. Couldn’t find out how to drown fishmen, could you?”

The spider blinked helplessly at them, and they sighed. It was always the dumbest Oddities that caused the most trouble. It was hardly worth the headache.

Reaching into their coat pocket, they pulled out a soaked paper. Frowning, they gave it a shake, before slapping it on the side of the spider.

The spider looked horrified at the symbol that resided on the wet piece of paper. A single eye, surrounded by two wings. It let out another choked sob.

“Please! Fuck dude I’m going to get killed for this! Mom can’t find out!”

That was an interesting change in character, but not one they had to deal with past this point.

N gave the weeping spider a side glance. “You should have thought of that before you decided to do all this. I hope she’ll be willing to repair the lighthouse.”

With a shake of their head, they made their way back to Miranda. Yarg began to cry desperately for them to let it go, but N paid it no mind.

“What in the fuck even are you!?” It cried out in a last attempt for their attention.

They turned back with a shrug. “I’m just a detective.”

They made their way back to Miranda’s rock, sitting down to take off their left shoe and shake the sand out. Miranda only dared to peek her head out once they had settled in.

“Um-”

“I told you it couldn’t be the Kraken, Miss. Just a spider infestation.”

Once again, she seemingly ignored their attempt at a joke as her eyes trailed to the spider.

“Is…is it safe to leave it there?”

“Yeah. Someone will come clean that up later. It said it left “sacrifices” at the bottom of the sea, so there’s your missing 10. You should probably go back into town to get a search party, Yarg will be gone before you’re back.”

“U-Um-! Thank you!” Miranda popped into view with her hands clasped and leaning way too close. “I dunno what you did exactly, but you did it! Thank you!”

N cleared their throat and looked away. “Miss- you have a little…” They trailed off, tapping their cheek.

Miranda brought a now scaly hand up to her cheek, finding a spattering of lovely teal scales had found their way across them.

“Oh!” She gasped, covering her face, now golden glowing eyes wide. “Detective-!”

“It’s fine.” They said awkwardly, pulling their now sand-free shoes back on. “I knew.”

“You- did?”

“I do my research, Miss Miranda. Innsmouth is full of Fishmen. It’s not the weirdest thing I’ve seen on this job.”

“Gosh, I don’t know what to say!”

“You’ve said enough already.” They took a stand. “Happy to help. I’m going home.”

“Detective!” She called out as they began their sandy trek down the beachside. “I’ll- I’ll leave a good review!”

They turned and gave her a thumbs-up, before pulling out their earbuds to drown out the sounds of the sea.

As the melody of “Come and Get Your Love” played through their ears once more, they thought about what they’d do when they got back home.

It’d been one hell of a night, and they could not wait to get some coffee.