mausoleum

“That makes two of us.” Coming back home was a mistake. Standing here in front of Rainer only proved that. From the looks of things, Aurora and the people in her life had closure. And her presence was only going to rip open scar wounds. But, Sarah Woods was a selfish woman, and the moment all she wanted was not the absurdly large sum of money awaiting her on a successful delivery, but to have Rainer Mortensen in her life, standing by her side again. “That uniform looks good on you. Can’t say I ever imagined you walking on the straight side of the law, let alone enforcing it though.”

He folded his arms over his chest, guarding himself from whatever stood before him, or trying to keep it inside. He glanced down at the cross one last time, eyes tracing the outline as he listened to her voice. It was exactly the kind of comment she would have made, and Rainer often found himself wondering what she would have thought about where he ended up. Where she would have ended up. Where they would have ended up. “You, and just about everyone else in this town. Me too, sometimes. You know, there’s mornings I look in the mirror and barely recognize myself. I’m surprised you recognize me.” Or he would be, that is, if she was anything but a figment of his imagination.

        all things considered, she probably should’ve expected to see him here. he was the sheriff, after all - this was his problem, not hers. but this was hardly the first time he’d found her nosing around a crime scene, and she doubted it’d be the last. they hadn’t really seen each other since she’d been back, other than to deal with the fallout of her parents’ car accident. his voice brought back memories of that fateful day when she’d answered her phone to an unknown number, hearing his familiar tones deliver the worst possible news. it’s easier not to think about that, though - what right does she have to grieve for the parents she’d cut out of her life? ‘ that’d be a waste of time, though, wouldn’t it? ‘ lia shrugged. ‘ you already know why i’m here, sheriff. so do you want to give me any info on what happened here, or what? ‘

Heaving a sigh, Rainer shook his head. Lia was too smart for her own good, in his estimation. There was no way she would let this go without explanation. As far as he could see, telling her a lie would be what was best for all of them, to keep the town safe and to keep the scene locked down. “Equipment malfunction. The team that put the ferris wheel together did a shoddy job and it came down. Everyone panicked and stampeded, but thankfully no one was killed, as far as I’m aware right now. We got lucky.” As the sheriff, it was his job to work with his team to cover up magical disasters like this one, and the story was a plausible one, and not entirely a lie. They had gotten extremely lucky that the Aurora coven had managed to stop the spell when they did. “You can’t be here, sheriff’s office personnel only. We’re not sure what else is safe or if the rest of the structure is going to collapse, so we’re keeping the area clear.”

Once upon a time, Sarah loved this ravine. Just outside of town limits, it was the last place anyone thought to look for her when she was young, provided she made it home before dinner was on the table. When she was young she’d come out and climb trees or bring a book and sit in the shade and read to her heart’s content. In her teen years her interests changed to drinking and smoking and she was willing to bet good money that there was still a stash of shitty raspberry wine buried beneath the third tree to the left. And then she died in a heap of metal and bad decisions and had to leave her grove behind.

If anyone asked (not that they would since nobody knew she was actually back in town) Sarah would claim simple curiosity about her wine bottles. Truth was, she wanted to see if anyone still remembered. Parking the rented car about half a mile away, reaching the grove took no time at all. The first thing that caught her eye was the simple cross bearing the name “Sarah Woods” and adored with a string of wild daisies. Fresh daisies. A smile crossed her lips as she bent down and brought one up to her nose. So she was remembered after all. A car engine clicking off caught her attention and she stood up and turned around only to have her breath pulled away by the sight of him. The dark hair and glint in his eyes were the same, but the lines set into his face and facial hair were new. “Hey, Rain.”

Her voice sounded different than he had remembered, the years distorting all the memories until he had barely remembered if the voice he sometimes heard from the passenger seat was ever hers. He'd never had the nerve to listen to any of the recordings their friends had made together, the box still buried somewhere underneath the backseat of his truck. Maybe this was more similar to the real thing than the voice had been last time he'd spoken to a memory. There was no point in staying to chat to a figment of his imagination, Rainer knew, but maybe it was a sign that he was seeing her here and now. Maybe this was the closest chance he would ever have for closure, to make amends in whatever way was left to him. Mrs. Smith and her garden dispute could wait five more minutes.

"Long time, no see." It was true, in a way. Although Aurora was littered with memories of Sarah, the ghost of the first girl he had ever loved was somehow something he had never seen around Aurora in all of his time back. His eyes dropped to the white cross bearing her name— a new addition to him, but it looked like it had been there almost as long as she had been dead. He took a cautious step back, distancing himself from the cross and the girl and looking back to the road, briefly considering escape once more. Maybe facing demons could wait for another day. After all, she was dead. He had carried that with him daily for eleven and a half years. It wasn't like it was going anywhere or changing any time soon. "I shouldn't be here."

Climbing down into the ravine, Rainer peered around. “Anyone there?” He called out, not really expecting to hear a voice in return. He had been about to turn and leave when he spied her, blonde hair gleaming in the sunlight. Of all the places he had seen her over the years, this was somehow the most unexpected, even though it was the last place he had really seen her. Blinking once, twice, didn’t send her away, and he heaved a sigh. “Hi Sarah.”

Jeremy answered Rainer first with a nod of his head. “Yea, all good.” He took another step back, letting the bigger picture fall into view. With all it’s dents and rust, he would have thought crashing into a street sign would have done something. But no. The hunk of junk had to go and prove him wrong. “It’s a pain in my ass,” Jeremy replied, watching as the other gave the car a once over, “but it gets me from place to place. Well, usually. Anyways, if you need the help I can probably get this thing back up… I’d say by tomorrow. Just need to get my hands on some concrete.”

The damage to the sign didn’t look too bad; the pole was intact, unbent. Jeremy was right: concrete was probably all it would take to put it back together, good as new. “That would be great. I think we have some concrete hanging around here somewhere, I can bring it to you whenever’s convenient.” Looking again at the car, Rainer smiled. “Sounds like my truck. Pain in the ass, ‘bout as old as this.” He patted the hood. “I’m Rainer, by the way.”

Hours could pass by when she was working a case without her noticing that time had gone by. The weight of hours of work, the tired eyes and muscles, all of that could be ignored and forgotten as long as she kept going. It was easier to let go of the cases, of the work, when it wasn’t a life or death situation. Crime wasn’t high in Aurora and the normal work could easily be done. But every time something supernatural appeared, things got different. 

Beatriz had no idea what time it was until Rainer sat down at her desk. Tearing her eyes from her work, she looked around, a little stunned to realize she was alone with the sheriff. “Is it that late already?” she asked, a little daze. The deputy sighed deeply before answering his question. “Not much. But it’s coming, I know it.”

The coffee was bitter and hot, just the way Rainer liked it. Already he could feel the caffeine roaring through his veins, pushing the fatigue away again. Still though, he found himself fighting back a yawn as Bea spoke. “Yeah, it’s 12:07. You and I are the only ones still here.” Scanning down over the work laid out on her desk, he nodded. “I believe it.” Bea was, in Rainer’s estimation, by far the best deputy, the most hard working one among them. If anyone could crack this single-handedly, it would be her.

“Do you want to go through it together?” He was sure she’d pored over this case even more than he had, and he’d gone through it so many times he could practically recite the witness statements from memory. “Maybe together we’ll pick up something both of us missed. Maybe then we’ll get out of here and be able to grab a few hours of sleep, come back refreshed.”

      after the disaster of a carnival, lia had a lot of questions. she’d felt something there, a strange magic that had felt like it was everywhere. there was no doubt in her mind that this was no accident. someone had been behind it - a witch, almost certainly, or maybe more than one. someone had tried to cause a disaster, and people had been hurt in the process. at the time she’d done her best to limit the damage, to make sure people had gotten out, for all the good that’d done. now, lia was determined to find out who was behind it. she couldn’t help it, really - wherever there was something unexplained, she looked for answers. it was what made her a good detective - or so she liked to think. it’s probably a tiny bit suspicious to be wandering around near the wreckage, but how else is she ever going to find out what happened? her eyes scan around, searching for some evidence of what had happened here - all while her senses are on high alert, seeking out traces of the magic that had caused this. it’s how she feels a presence nearby, turning to see who’s there with a slightly defensive stance. ‘ come to check out the damage? ‘ she asks, faking a casual smile.

After the choas had all settled and the scene had been cleared out, Rainer made his way back to the wreckage of the festival, the faint scent of disaster and tingle of magic still hanging in the air. A deputy had already begun putting up crime scene tape, drawing a line that most of the public wouldn’t dare cross. It would be easier that way, he thought, to start covering it all up. It was all familiar, uniformed faces, just as it needed. And then he saw her. Lia Avery, in the flesh, on his crime scene. On any other day, in any other circumstance, the sight might have made him laugh. Back in New York, she had often driven his superiors nuts with her persistence, and he had often fueled it. Karma was a bitch, he supposed. Walking up alongside her, he forced a polite smile and nod, hoping to hide the irritation and the fact that— even deeper down— part of him was glad to see her, a shred of normalcy among all that was happening. “I should really be asking you that at this point.”