AUSTIN PARK || ANDRE KIM || OPEN
18 year old student from Aspen Hollow, WY
Others in the town would mistake Austin as a cold, aloof young man. In reality, Austin simply saves all of his warm, caring energy to use on his friends alone. Jackson, K.P., and Ellie were always there for him--and he for them. Ever since childhood, the four of them would do anything for the other. Maybe it was because there weren't too many options in a town as small as Aspen Hollow, or maybe it was their made up detective agency that kept them on their toes, but Austin and his friendswere nearly inseperable; you would very rarely find one without the others nearby. But then, Jackson disappeared--and with him, their friendship. Ever since Jackson's been gone, Austin has barely seen Ellie or K.P. A lot of the blame can rest on him, preparing to leave for college far away, but he knows the two of them are avoiding him, too. No one knows what to say or how to acknowledge the elephant in the room, so they just don't.
But, Austin has more on his mind than just his impending departure from Aspen Hollow--he has what he believes to be knowledge of Jackson's ultimate fate. The night his friend went missing, Austin had snuck out of his house to just wander around town. He'd been hoping to calm his mind and deal with his insomnia, not witness a crime. But, his walk led him into the woods and down many twisting paths and, most strangely, towards a light. It wasn't often that there were lights so deep in the woods, but Austin thought that maybe it was someone he knew, hunting under cover of the darkness. But, what he saw instead was a ring of people in golden cloaks, heavy lanterns and candles placed in a weird pattern, and the limp body of Jackson Byron carefully laid out in the middle. Of course, Austin left before he saw anything happen, lest he get caught, too, but the image has haunted him ever since. There's something bad going on in Aspen Hollow, and he wants to get out as fast as he can. But, he can't leave his friends behind--especially not Ellie, who's hellbent on staying put. So, he has to make a choice--come forward and risk his own neck, or leave Ellie to maybe suffer the same fate as their best friend?
Ellie Ferguson: Ellie is one of Austin's closest friends, but they've recently been distant. Austin wants to protect her, but he doesn't know how to do that when she's insisting on not only staying in Aspen Hollow, but on keeping him there, as well.
K.P. Mendoza: K.P. is Austin's other close friend, having spent most of their lives together. He respects her and looks up to her as a leader, but they've had a falling out since Jackson disappeared. He doesn't want K.P. getting mixed up in anything dangerous, but he feels like if he tells her what he saw, she'll lead the charge.
David Morgan III: Austin's never really interacted with the police chief, beyond a cordial greeting every now and then. Now, he feels obligated to tell Chief Morgan what he saw...if he could just figure out how to make it sound less like one of Ray Jacobs's conspiracy theories.
