Legend of Kataria (Draft Version)

Chapter 4

"Remind me what we're looking for again?" Greeny questioned.

"Anything that might help us understand what happened here," Leah responded.

That narrows it down, he thought sarcastically as he scanned the deserted clearing, a four-mile rectangle of lonely, empty stands. It didn't look at all like it had on the security cameras. Then again, that was what would be expected after such an explosion. Everybody would be too afraid to come out of their homes, let alone come to the fair where the attack had happened in broad daylight.

It doesn't make any sense, his brain tried to argue with him, repeating the same statement for the fourth time since they'd arrived. Why cause a disturbance at a fair? There's nothing here. There is no reason to attack this place. And the King isn't even due to arrive until next week...

The king. Was he the reason for all of this? Had someone been trying to take out Morto? If so, why reveal themselves in such a spectacular fashion? Did they think they could get away with it or did they simply have a death wish?

"Okay," he said slowly, hurrying after Leah as she moved off toward what had been a stand for a lemonade shake-ups. "So how can I help?"

"Here." Leah pulled off her backpack and dug around for a minute until she found what she was looking for. A pair of plastic gloves and a bunch of sandwich-sized zipper bags. "Bag and tag."

He made a face. "You enjoyed saying that, didn't you?"

"I did," she agreed. She kept on working, but Greeny had no doubt she was smiling.

He rolled his eyes, scanning the clearing for anything that might be considered a clue. Without the mob of civilians swarming the streets, he figured they should find something in no time. He stared down the main street, taking in the two columns of empty booths and the deserted stage where the King was to stand in only a week. Again, doubt flashed through his mind. Why would anyone want to attack this place? It was in the middle of nowhere! It seemed very unnecessary and very inconsistent compared to the other attacks.

Recalling the notes in the paper, he moved off toward the right wing of the stage. In his mind's eye, he began retracing the events. He watched as the boy darted through the crowd and then blew up some sort of flashbang. His eyes fell on a small vehicle that was parked off to the side. He frowned. It was positioned directly in the possible escape route. A coincidence? He doubted it.

After glancing back toward Leah's crouching figure, Greeny decided that he needed a closer look at this car. He didn't know why, but something felt off about it. He hurried toward it, watching as the scenes unfolded before his eyes. He knelt beside the back tire and pulled out his pocket knife and laptop. He spotted something against the ground and he prodded it with the blade curiously. It was a small piece of metal covered with a strange kind of putty. What is this?

Curious, he took a picture of it on his phone before carefully sliding it into the baggie and tucking it into his backpack. He would look up the substance later when he got back. It wasn't C4, that much he knew by looking. Though the thickness was the same, the color was wrong. He'd never seen anything like it.

Thunder rumbled in the distance. He flicked his attention toward the heavens, where massive storm clouds were building and turning an ugly shade of green. Well, that's not good. The rain would wash away any clues the police might have overlooked during their investigation. And by the look of it, he estimated they might have ten minutes max.

"Leah!" he called, eyeing the sky nervously. "I think we need to g--"

"Greeny!" her voice interrupted him. "Come check this out!"