The Key Chased the Blade

We got out of the car and onto the icy sidewalk. The snow had let up and now there was just packed, dirty snow and ice everywhere. I swore I'd probably slip and fall today. Simon tucked his notebook under his arm and gestured to a bench outside Winco. Two boys were sitting there.

"That's them," he said. "C'mon, let's go."

We approached them and I waved. They knew Simon was coming along because I told Tyler we were a package deal so he knew beforehand. He told me he was going to bring Alex anyway. Alex was apparently the smart twin, according to Tyler.

"Hey!" One of the twins raised his hand in a hello. I couldn't tell which one was which. Though I assumed the other twin was Alex, because he did the douchey head-nod thing and smiled at me like he recognized me. He had a mole above his lip and I made sure to note that for future reference. They were both wearing practically the same thing anyway. Sporty sweatpants - the kind that had our school mascot on it - and track jackets. The only difference was that one was wearing a baseball cap and the other wasn't. That confirmed that the one with the mole was Alex, because I recognized his hat from before.

We introduced ourselves and then I knew for sure who was who. Baseball cap mole guy was Alex, and the slightly buffer one was Tyler. Simon said, "Thanks for meeting us."

"No problem," Tyler said. "Let's get down to business."

I let Simon explain everything because I felt like I'd get everything messed up if I did. I noticed Simon left out the supernatural parts when he gave them the information, though. He didn't tell them anything about the banshee, and he didn't tell them about the key we found in the bird underneath Jefferson Bridge. Though I'd entirely forgotten about the key anyway. I realized, however, I still had it in the pocket of my hippie jacket still in the plastic bag. Because I rarely put my hands in my coat pockets, it never crossed my mind. I figured he left it out because it wasn't relevant, though.

Because it had crossed my mind then, I shoved my gloved hands in the pockets of the hippie jacket and felt for that key. Simon concluded his explanation. He also left out the part where John was a suspect and ran away, but I figured he did that for my sake. Alex asked, "So you're saying the murderer is the same guy that vandalized the town that one day?"

Simon nodded. "It's really possible considering what happened to me. I took pictures of outside after it happened in case it was needed."

Alex said, "Can I see the pictures?" at the same time Tyler asked, "Can I see the wound?" Simon ended up showing them the wound first and then pulled out his digital camera he brought. Tyler commented on how gnarly the scar would be and I watched as Simon turned on the camera. I hadn't seen these.

"After I was attacked I ran back inside and got my camera to get this evidence," Simon said. "I was kind of bleeding bad and panicking, so some are blurry, but you'd get the gist of it."

Simon showed us all the pictures. Simon had turned on the flash so that the picture could turn out in the darkness. Some of them made me sick to see. There were dead birds of all kinds on the ground. Some were something that could be found outside, like robins or jays, but seeing the chickens and roosters just made me sick. Their necks were twisted and their legs were broken. It was disgusting. I was surprised Simon retained his composure when he showed them it.

"I haven't gone back to the spot, but I assume that the birds aren't there anymore," Simon said and turned off the camera. He had gone really pale. "That's basically it, for now. This is all we know."

"You heard some commotion outside, so that's why you went venturing out?" Alex asked. His eyes were resolute, like he was thinking hard.

"Yes."

"Maybe we should head over to where you were attacked and have a look."

Tyler looked at Alex like he was opposed to the question, but Alex ignored him. I almost saw a parallel between them and Simon and I.

"That's a good idea," Simon said. "You can tell us about John's prank while we're going there."