Falreath stood as he watched his friend take his final round on the eighteenth hole. His fists opened and closed as the ball flew into the air. He took in a breath, his body felt more energized than he’d remembered in a long while. There was this faint tingling as if his limbs were asleep and finally started to wake up.

The ball missed the fairway by a good amount and Falreath couldn’t help but chuckle. There was no doubt in his mind that they had won the event, though he seriously hadn’t wanted to. After the first hole in one, and the struggle of his friend, something came over him. It was just too much fun giving Eldridge a hard time.

More surprising however, was the fact that his friend had started to show marketed improvement. When he’d ask for a handicap, he meant it, he never expected his friend to get an eagle much less three. Though, on the other end he had holes like this one where he was far over par.

“Sir,” one of the groundsmen said as they walked up next to Falreath. “We’ve searched the groves and found no animals. Though there were a few deep imprints. Probably a deer or something along those lines.”

“Let’s hope so, Lugu,” Falreath replied with his eyes forward. “Tell grounds to keep an eye out just to make sure. We don’t need anything to happen tonight.”

“Understood,” Lugu said with a bow before he turned and left.

Falreath’s eyes drifted towards the darkness beyond the lights of the course. For some reason he felt on edge, the hairs on his skin standing firm. He wasn’t the brightest and he knew it, having had it pounded into him throughout college. His strength lay in his instincts, that gut feeling that guided one.

Throughout his life he could trust that feeling to let him know when to react. It is that which he trusts when it comes time to make a pass. It was his gut that told him it was time to grin, bear it, and charge through the nearest hole in hopes for a gain of any kind. And right now, it was telling him that something was out there, a predator biding its time.

Eldridge let out a sigh as he walked up next to Falreath. The two men stood there examining the course and groups around them.

“Well I think that could’ve gone worse.” He said as he broke the silence of the night. Falreath looked towards the hole then back towards his friend, he paused as he realized he had not seen how his friend's last hole concluded.

“Yeah, I might need a good massage,” Falreath said, as he shifted his mind from that which prowled in the night. “My back aches from all that extra weight I’ve been carrying.”

“Then you wouldn’t mind carrying me back as well,” Eldridge said as he jumped on his friends' back. “To drinks!” He said, his arm outstretched.

Falreath contemplated dropping his friend on the ground, but his infectious tone won him over. He neighed and started to galop towards the club house. The two men charged down the hill, the golf still going on behind them.

“I feel like I was on the wrong team,” Marius laughed as he watched the two men charge towards him.

“I think he just gets a pass because it’s his course,” Adel replied as she stood next to her husband.

“Marius, Adel,” Falreath said as he bucked to the side and knocked Eldridge onto the ground. “How did you do?”

“I can’t say we’ll win but we did get a combined seven under par,” Marius replied, his mountain of an arm pulled his wife in close.

“For a center that’s not bad,” Falreath said as he turned towards Adel. “Though I’m sure it is all Mrs. Cherno’s doing.”

Adel broke into a slight laugh. “He’s got you pegged,” She said as she leaned into Marius side. “Honestly though, I’d hoped to do a bit better than minus seven. My front game was on fire, I just couldn’t keep it up on the back. If I had, we might’ve gotten an under ten game.”

If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

“From your celebrations I assume you did well,” Marius asked.

“Cherno, Falreath!” A loud voice yelled down the course. Everyone turned to find Tomas holding one of his clubs in the air. “I heard you two dominated the course.” The man was as boisterous as Falreath remembered him to be.

“Oh, I’m sure we couldn’t compare to a pro like you,” Marius replied. “What did you guys pull?”

“To be fair,” Tomas said as he held up his club. “The two of us handicaped ourselves through this. As you can see this is a lefty club. Though, had I known Falreath was going to try to go pro I would’ve brought my actual clubs. Seriously, you two pulled an under eighteen how is that even?”

“Under eighteen,” Adel said as her eyes widened. “I guess homecourt advantage is a serious thing in golf.”

“It wasn’t all me,” Falreath replied, “My partner did manage three eagles.” He didn’t go on to talk about his holes in one nor his own eagles. “It was the most insane bout of beginner's luck I’ve ever seen.”

“Oh, and where is your partner?” Marius said as he started to look around. Falreath glanced around slightly, finding exactly what he’d expected.

“He’s a bit shy around Marcus,” Falreath said as he held back the truth.

His friend was a conundrum of conflicting personalities. Though he was one of the most energetic people he knew, he was also one of the most held back. If he was around those he knew, he would be crazy random. Around strangers he was almost a shadow on the wall.

“What, what did I do to him?” Marcus asked as he quit looking around and faced Falreath.

“Not enough points,” Falreath replied as if it was the simplest thing in the world.

“What, I’m a center, we don’t score points.” Marcus replied, “Or is he speaking of in this game.”

“No, he had you on his fantasy football team,” Falreath explained. “You didn’t get him nearly enough points.”

“Who puts a center on their team?” Marcus said, slightly frustrated. “And then gets outraged because of the lack of points.”

“I think Cee is goading you,” Adel said as she hugged her husband around the waist. “Just look at the smile he’s trying to hold back.”

At that Falreath broke out into laughter, followed by Tomas. Soon the entire group had a good laugh.

“Well, we best be heading to the award ceremony,” Tomas said as a few more groups passed them by. As each team started on a different hole to allow the night to go faster, most of them were ending around the same time.

“You guys go ahead, I need to pick up my partner,” Falreath replied as he walked towards the VIP room he was in earlier. As he walked around the corner, he found his friend holding a small shot glass worth of wine in his hand.

“You know, you’re normally supposed to drink that in a bigger glass,” Falreath said as he entered the room. “Or was it simply that the larger glasses were too hard to find?”

Eldridge looked at his glass and didn’t answer. Falreath waited as it was clear his friend was lost in thought. He continued to swirl the small amount of wine as he spoke. “how’d we do?”

“Came in first by a decent margin,” Falreath answered. “by six strokes if I read it correctly.”

“I see,” Eldridge commented as he proceeded to pour the entire shot into his mouth. “That’s good, I guess.”

Falreath sighed as he saw his friend like this. Though rare he was known to sink into these moments. It normally happened when he made some minor breakthrough on the case he’d been working on for years.

“C, why would there be a cover up on a quadruple homicide.” Eldridge asked as he looked at his empty glass. “Especially from some small-time gang that wasn’t quite a gang. It makes no sense.”

“Perhaps he did do it,” Falreath answered as he lifted his friend up out of his seat and took the glass from him. “I mean it is the easiest answer.”

“I thought so too, but it just doesn’t add up.” Eldridge answered. “From the witnesses that saw the group prior to the incident they seemed jovial. Yes, moods can shift, but shift so much in that short of time that you will kill? Then there is the lack of surveillance evidence on a street with three cameras. Two ATMs and one stoplight.”

“You’ll figure it out,” Falreath answered. “Just not tonight.”

“You’re right of course, It’s just my mind won’t let it go.” Eldridge said. “There is some piece that I am missing that is preventing me from seeing the whole picture.”

“Well we’ve got an awards ceremony,” Falreath said as he started to corral his friend down the hall. “Then we can hit the Twisted. Let your subconscious have a tug at it”

Eldridge sighed before he nodded his head. A moment later he straightened himself and his clothes. “Let’s do this,” The man said as he set his mind right.