Overheard at Harbor Hearth
At Harbor’s Hearth, the usual crowd gathered after a long day, but Old Joe had something different on his mind. Leaning in, he whispered, “You lot hear about what I found down by the shore this mornin’?” Tommy, the youngest, laughed. “Another big one that got away, Joe?” Joe’s face was serious. “Ain’t no fish, Tommy. This was somethin’ else… somethin’ unnatural. A body, washed up on the rocks. Pale skin, eyes that glowed even in daylight. And… fangs.”
The laughter died, replaced by uneasy glances. Mick, skeptical as ever, scoffed. “Glowing eyes and fangs? You been listenin’ to too many ghost stories, Joe.”
But Joe held firm. “It wasn’t no ordinary corpse. Looked like one of them creatures from the old tales. But here’s the thing… it was gone by morning. Vanished.”
The group fell silent, tension thickening the air. Sam, usually the voice of reason, frowned. “If there was somethin’ like that, we’d know. Right?” Joe shook his head. “Maybe they’ve been hidin’ in plain sight, waitin’ for somethin’. Keep your eyes open, all of ya. And don’t go wanderin’ off alone after dark. Whatever’s out there… it ain’t friendly.”
Glowing eyes and fangs... Sounded like a vampire; however, she had never knowingly met one, much less got a good look at it's teeth. Iris moved to pour out her now chilled coffee; Joe had called it a corpse, a corpse with glowing eyes. Surely this should have been enough of a sign the thing wasn't truly dead... right? She wanted to lecture Joe on leaving the scene without a proper examination, but knowing the older man, he hightailed it upon discovering the body.
Part of her, a recently developed side, wanted to brush it off as just another weird, special to Crestle Cove occurrence. Anytime she had gleaned some knowledge about the towns history and it's current narrative, only more questions arose, questions she didn't even fully understand.
Dropping the dirty mug in the sink, the strap of her camera stood out in her peripheral vision, it lolled out of her open bag like a temptation. Joe's warning about wandering around alone could be heard clearly from her spot behind the counter, in the past Iris would have paid it no mind, but Crestle Cove wasn't her usual playing field. According to Joe's words, the body wasn't even there anymore, so there was hardly a point of nosing around...
When has that ever been the case Iris...
Her mother expected her to call tonight, it had been sometime since they talked, and that should take precedence over looking into Joe's story. Her jaw tightened as she looked at the clock, a sigh of surrender leaving her nose as closing time ticked closer.
...maybe her mom wouldn't mind moving their call to tomorrow.