"Alright, guys." Ghosty said, glancing at the clock as the chatter in the room ceased. The clock read 11:58. "We're gonna start the meeting soon."
Ghosty looked around the room. The old town hall of Salem was meant for three times as many people as were currently in the room, even when everyone was here.
"Hey, Ghosty," a voice in the crowd said, "Why do you always start the meetings?" A few chuckles could be heard.
"Because no one else does." Ghosty countered, searching for who was talking.
"What if I wanted to?" The voice said back.
Ghosty smirked. "We all know how that would go, Spicy." More laughter came from the group.
Spicy opened his mouth to say something, but Ghosty continued as he looked out to the crowd again. "Is anyone not here?"
"Shadow ain't here." Sondz spoke up, leaning back in his chair.
"Eclipsa isn't here yet, either." Addfire added. "I told her to go take a nap, she was acting kinda... odd when I talked to her this morning."
Ghosty nodded. "Anyone else?" Pause. "Well hopefully those two will be here soon." He looked down at the podium for a second, then back up. "Anyone want to start off a discussion?"
Chengsha leaned forward, setting her elbows on her knees and her head in her hands. She could bring up the break-in last night. The person she saw last night was most likely here in this room.
Her eyes searched around her for possible suspects. She wasn't much of a person to investigate something like this, but this was personal. The problem was, she couldn't think of anyone who would have the motive.
Just as Chengsha was about to say something, the doors at the back of the room opened. Heads turned, seeing Eclipsa in the doorway. She stood there for a second, then shuffled over to take a seat next to Addfire, who was sitting in the second to last row.
"Do you have any news on Shadow, Eclipsa?" Ghosty said.
Eclipsa looked down at the floor, then looked back up at Ghosty to shake her head.
Ghosty stared for a second longer, then went back to looking at the group as a whole. "Anyone? I don't have anything to bring up, so if there's nothing to say then this meeting will be a fairly short one."
Chengsha breathed out, then spoke up. "Someone broke into my house last night."
Ghosty blinked in surprise. "Are you sure?"
"Yes." Chengsha said, standing. "Just before one o'clock this morning. They didn't steal anything, from what I know, but I saw them running out my door after I woke up from a pretty loud noise they made. I can't imagine what they would want from me either. And, I don't want to create suspicion on other people for bringing this whole matter up, but I know for a fact that the person who broke into my house last night is here in this room."
An overly dramatic gasp came from someone in the crowd. The crowd glanced toward Mush with a collective sigh. Mush laughed awkwardly, then said "I thought we were all going to... nevermind."
"It could've been Shadow, too." Sondz said, bringing the conversation back on-topic. "He stays up late a lot."
"Well, yeah." Ghosty added, nodding. "As much as I wouldn't want to believe it or single him out, he could be as much of a suspect as everyone else here."
"If he did it," Spicy added, "that might be the reason why he's not here."
Ghosty nodded solemnly.
Eclipsa sat in her chair quietly. The discussion went on as she kept to herself, leaning forward and putting her head in her hands. She knew exactly why Shadow wasn't here. And the Mafia did too. Shadow was dead. She flashed back to his corpse, lying on the floor of his bedroom. The puddle of dry blood that had soaked into the carpet. Two bullet wounds in his chest, coming from the gun of a person whose twisted mind thought killing people was how you got your way.
The note, scribbled in Shadow's handwriting, felt heavier in her pocket at every passing second. His will. His last words. Written on a piece of paper she had found on the desk in his study. Thoughts ran through her head as she reread every word of it in her mind.
"Chengsha: didn't find much, cut my hand on shattered glass from a picture frame, covered in ink, to be investigated later"
It was fairly vague, but to Eclipsa, it seemed like Shadow might have been the culprit to Chengsha's break-in. The problem was, she couldn't find this picture frame with shattered glass anywhere in his house. If Shadow took the frame, it should've been somewhere in his house. There's a chance that the person who had murdered him took it, but what kind of importance would it have to them? What importance would it even have to Shadow? Why was it covered in ink? She could ask Chengsha, but she knew that Mafia guy would be right on her tail.
No one but her knew what was going on in the darkness of this town. An uprising of murderers who wanted to spill the blood of innocent townspeople like Shadow. The friends she thought she knew best could be a part of it. She couldn't trust anyone. And the worst thing was, she couldn't do anything to stand against it.
Eclipsa had sat with her head down for the entire meeting. She didn't realize Ghosty had dismissed it before Addfire elbowed her lightly in the arm.
"Hey," Addfire said, standing up as she ran her hand along Eclipsa's back. "What's wrong? You've never acted like this..."
Eclipsa continued staying silent in her seat. She couldn't talk to Addfire. She didn't want to risk anything. Not for her best friend's life. Not for anyone's life. If she had to stay quiet just to keep everyone she cared about alive, she would do it. No matter what she was put through.
As she finished that thought, Eclipsa started to cry quietly. Addfire tensed up, then sat back down. She wrapped her arm around Eclipsa's shoulders, then said, "Eclipsa... Tell me what's wrong. Please."
Eclipsa whispered, "I can't." She sat up just to look around them. They were the only two people in the building. But a presence was there. It haunted her like a demon.
"Why not?"
Eclipsa paused. She could never tell her, despite however much she might want to. "I can't." Eclipsa whispered to herself again.
"That's what this is doing to me." Eclipsa thought. "It's tearing me apart." She had no more control over her life. The only thing she could do was protect others... all by staying completely silent.
Suddenly, Eclipsa stood. She told herself to sit back down, but her legs disobeyed and she started walking. She pushed open the door and walked outside, leaving Addfire alone and confused.
Just as Eclipsa exited the town hall, she stopped as she noticed something. The gallows. They'd always been next to the town hall, and everyone noticed them every time they came by, but no one had been alive at the time they were used. No one knew the history of this town well enough to remember who they were used for, or even when.
Eclipsa thought of having that rope around her neck, then shivered. That was a bad way to die. Public execution; in front of the whole town, even...
"Maybe that's how we have to do it." A thought came to her mind. The rest of the Town wouldn't just sit by and wait for death, they would do all they could. This was the way. The Mafia wanted justice in this town? They could get it. The Town needed to find these evildoers.
Eclipsa got discouraged as she realized the most important note: No one else knew of this uprising. No one else knew the real reason Shadow was gone. No one else knew that others would have the same, brutal end that he died, either.
But someone, at some point, was bound to go to Shadow's house today. They would want to ask him why he was gone.
But the Mafia could've removed the body by now. She was at Shadow's house until she had gone to the town hall, so one of them would've had to have gone there right after the town meeting had ended. She needed to get there, and fast.
Just as she was about to start walking, Addfire came out of the town hall and stood by her. She saw that she was staring at the old wood structure. "What's so interesting about this thing?"
Eclipsa continued staring, a plan being made in her head. "I'm just... thinking..." She looked at Addfire, back at the gallows, then out to the street in the direction of Shadow's house.
"Well, obviously." Addfire said. "What about?"
Eclipsa hesitated and chose her words carefully. She didn't want to bring Addfire into this. "You'll be confused if I tell you."
"Oh, is that right?" Addfire said, sighing inwardly. "Should I be expecting this from now on?"
"Yes." Eclipsa looked back at her and smiled. "I'll see you later, okay?"
The two girls hugged and went their separate ways. Eclipsa walked down the street, more confident than ever as she clenched her fists in determination.
She had some investigating to do.