The two officers in charge of staking out the old church in the woods decided to check out the place for themselves. They considered this 'part of the job' and were also sickeningly curious after hearing about it but didn't have a chance to take a look. Brushing the twigs and leaves aside the officers went deeper into the woods along the trail soon coming up to the decrepit church ominously coated in shadow, surrounded by tall trees in this clearing. Being cautious, the burly officer lead the way under the police tape and into the building. They were stunned by the creepy interior with rotting pews and peeling walls. Up ahead beyond the steps was the pit where the trap door lay wide open.

"The fact that murdered children were in here just... Makes me feel sick to my stomach." The portly officer groaned.

With a nod of agreement the burly officer marched onward up the stairs, grazing past the lectern towards the pit. The portly officer followed right behind. Each step creaked against the wooden floorboards making a sound as if they would crack open at any moment. When the two curious police officers reached the pit their hearts immediately sank into their stomachs. Shivers ran down their spines. Their mouths were hanging open and their eyes couldn't look away. Lying inside the pit was the lifeless corpse of a teenage girl in normal clothing. Her throat had been slit open with freshly-dried blood coating her neck and chest. The officers were baffled and frightened by this horrific discovery. The burly officer reached for his radio without averting his gaze from the body.

"D-dispatch this is unit two. I-I need direct contact with the chief at once." He stammered with shaking hands.

"Roger that. Pitching you through to the chief." The female voice spoke through the radio.

Several seconds nearly reaching up to a minute passed before a gruff voice began to speak;

"Unit two this is the chief. What's going on? Do you have a status update? Did you spot the culprit??"

"N-no sir. We... We came to check up on the crime scene and... There's a body in the pit here."

"What in the hell did you just say?!"

"Send... Send the detective right away. We have another victim here sir... A young girl."

"Jesus Christ I can't believe what I'm hearing! I'll get a hold of him and officer Kojito at once! Hold your positions until we arrive! That's an order damn it!"

The line of communication went silent. All the officers could do was standby, horrified and sickened.

Daiki, Aoi, Kaito and Senji all hung out in Daiki's room playing their favorite fighting game together. After several matches had come and gone where Senji and Kaito were battling head-to-head for the first place spot, Daiki ended up making a comeback and winning against both of them. Aoi had accepted this victory after having beaten Daiki for third place multiple times. The group decided to take a break when Daiki broke the ice on something he had been wanting to ask since Monday;

"So Kaito what did you and Yunaka do huh?? You said you two hung out together for awhile at the party, yeah? I think you're leaving out juicy details!" He exclaimed pointing a finger at Kaito.

Senji and Aoi both looked at Kaito whom let out a deep sigh, running a hand through his messy hair and clearing his throat.

"This stays between us guys. Got it? Any of you spill what I say and you're getting my boot shoved way up your ass." Kaito jeered. They all nodded with no response. "Okay... Me and Yunaka had sex at the party. She dragged me into a room and let me pound her brains out..." He crossed his arms.

All of their jaws dropped to the floor. His expression and tone of voice came off nonchalantly like it was no big deal to him. Daiki was seething to the point where he could explode with anger and jealously at a moments notice.

"W-wait are you serious?? Was she... Was she your-?" Aoi started to speak before being cut off.

"First time? Nah. Second, actually. Remember that one bitch from freshman year that kept hanging around my locker after every class? The weird one who dressed in all black and was obsessed with that gothic crap? Before she moved to the city that summer, we ended up doing it at least a few times."

"You slept with Marika and never told us?! You bastard I was wondering why you never talked about her to us!" Daiki spat.

"Because I didn't wanna bore you. Her taste in music was putrid and her style was weird. But, she was chill I guess. Leave the past buried six feet under already. Point is... Yes that's what happened with us at the party."

This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

Daiki couldn't even figure out what else to say. Aoi was stunned at this revelation. Senji was flabbergasted. He was still going to keep his intimate moment with Ayame a secret for now, fearing how she would react if he shared it with them and told her about it.

"I had no idea... So that's why you vanished for some time after your experience with those volleyball guys." Senji said tapping his chin.

"Yup. I know you idiots are wanting details and that won't happen. All I'll say is... That girl is wild. Underneath her preppy, uptight demeanor is a total freak. Considering how I know for a fact that Emiko wants me bad, I wasn't expecting Yunaka to steal me away and practically beg me to lay it on her. The worst part is that she definitely has been around the block more then a few times if you catch my drift." Kaito snickered.

"Okay okay stop! I don't need to hear any more! I can't even get a girlfriend dude. You don't even have to try and you landed the hottest and most popular girl in school! Bastard..." Daiki huffed before standing up. "I'm grabbing some snacks. Be back in a minute."

Daiki stormed out of the room. Aoi patted Kaito on the back.

"He's happy for you I assure. He just... Let the jealousy take over when he spoke out there."

"It's fine. He'll get over it. If he lowered his standards maybe he'd find someone." Kaito sighed.

The boys hung out until the sun began to set. Once everyone departed from Daiki's home, Senji found himself walking home alone. He needed the fresh air to shake off the fact that his best friend admitted to having sex at the party. He was still reeling from that information. Regardless, he was confused if he should've been happy or concerned for Kaito. Letting his mind clear up he was walking past Ayame's home where he could faintly hear shouting coming from within the walls. Curious he approached the house where the shrill, angered female voice could be heard more clearly. In his gut it felt wrong to eavesdrop but his curiosity led him to put his ear up to the door for a listen;

"-and I know you can do better then this! There is no reason for your grades to be lacking like this! You think your parents would be happy to see what a piss poor excuse of a student you are?! Huh?! And don't you dare say that you're still 'getting over losing them' as an excuse when it's been years now! Your grades never used to drop below A's and B's and I'm seeing C's and D's now! Unacceptable! You better put your mind to the fucking grindstone young lady or I'll disown you! You understand??"

Senji felt his heart sink. He was horrified at what he was hearing and disappointed in himself for even doing this instead of just going home.

"Good! Now go to your fucking room and get your damn homework done! Then just hide away like you always do! If you're such a recluse then instead of wasting your time doing nothing but sleeping and doodling in your stupid notebook, actually study and get your work done! If I see one more bad grade on an assignment you are grounded! This is the last straw your hear me?? Yeah go on get out of here! Lazy little slut!"

Senji stepped away from the door and the house itself. He retreated back to the sidewalk to continue on home. His mind was trying to comprehend what he had heard. He had no idea what kind of life at home Ayame was living in but it sounded miserable. It reminded him of what Kaito had told him about his own home life. Hearing about 'getting over losing them' after mentioning her parents sent chills down his spine. He wouldn't be able to admit to her that he eavesdropped on this conversation. So he would have to just be supportive and treat the girl with the utmost care and respect as he has been doing since their first meeting.

Katashi and Isamu sat alone inside of a cafe located downtown. The two sipped on their coffees trying to make sense of what they had saw earlier. Isamu was irritated knowing yet another family has fallen victim to losing their child to this mysterious murderer. Katashi was deep in thought.

"It doesn't make sense. We've upped our patrols throughout the suburbs... We have officers on rotation watching over that pathway leading towards the church... So how the hell did another body end up at the church?? It just doesn't add up at all." Isamu gritted his teeth pounding a fist down on the table. The employee wiping down the counter glanced over at him for a moment before she turned away.

"So whoever is behind this not only managed to murder another victim, but also managed to slip right under our noses and leave yet another body at the crime scene. In all my years of being in this line of work even I am baffled. I refuse to believe they were killed at the church. It's as if the church is some kind of dumping ground that was being used to prevent their victims' bodies from being found by anybody. Or rather... Is still being used." Katashi muttered.

"What are we doing wrong detective? Do we need to change the patrol routes and schedules? Maybe we... I don't know. Ugh this is frustrating."

"Hmm. My theory is that this culprit has studied the patrol routes and deduced when the best time would be to transport a body. Most likely in the dead of night or early at sunrise. As for how they eluded the officers at the trail... Either they know another pathway into the woods or the officers were incompetent. Fell asleep or were too occupied to notice them slip by. This is all just speculation of course. This also means that three murders have occurred this month... Assuming when the victims were reported missing they were murdered not too long afterwards. The conditions of some of the bodies upon first discovery did show signs of aging and decay. So this leads me to believe they are getting killed shortly after vanishing from the public."

"It could be safe to assume we won't have any more young girls go missing and end up murdered. But we never know... I suggest we keep up the search for now. The pattern this culprit had going has changed slightly with this new discovery. It's only getting worse from here on out."

"Agreed. Looks like I'm sticking around this town for a while then. I'll have to extend my stay at the hotel it seems."

Katashi and Isamu remained silent for the rest of their time in the cafe, unable to exchange pleasantries or have a normal conversation at this time. When the drinks were downed and the clock reached seven-thirty, the two went their separate ways for the evening. Both of them had this case weighing down on their shoulders now more then ever. With three victims meeting their bloody ends this month the following days that remained further escalated the growing fear the public had dwelling on their minds.