Paranelope, a ghost hunter who's been cancelled for faking evidence, must discover the truth behind a local cryptid in order to clear her name.
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Penelope, better known as the ghost hunter PARANELOPE to her millions of followers, has only ever want...
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Penelope waited for a scream, a crunch, something... But there was nothing.
Just silence.
Frozen in place, all she could do was watch as the stranger closed the cell door and latched it. He lingered at the cell's edge; he didn't seem to be afraid of whatever it was inside. In fact, he leaned forward, closer, so that his head was pressed right against the bars.
Then he spoke. "You led them here, didn't you?"
There was no response. The low buzzing, like the frantic rubbing of insect wings, had returned. Was it flies? Or was it...
The stranger just clucked his tongue, like he was a disapproving parent. "Then it's all your fault," he said. "You know I don't want to do this. But if you keep bringing them here... Well, then, I'll keep doing what needs to be done."
He spun around, turning his back to the cell. As the lantern light flashed across the bars again, Penelope caught another half-second glimpse of the cage's resident. The cage's interior looked no different than before. There was no sign of Xander. There wasn't a single scrap of flesh, a splash of blood, or even a shred of clothing.
He was just... gone.
The light faded as the stranger headed back across the cellar. He stomped up the stairs, leaving Penelope and Liam alone in the darkness.
Almost alone.
Once again she felt the press of eyes on her, only this time she knew where exactly it was coming from. She turned to gaze into the cell, back at her observer. It was too dark to even see the bars of its cage, but she knew they were looking back at her. The buzz in the air continued, like static.
That is... The Raven, she thought, staring at the cell. Her thoughts were slow and thick, like tree sap, as the realization slowly took hold... That's the Raven!
And that guy... whoever he is... is feeding people to it.
That thought was enough to snap Penelope out of her daze.
