Seattle sits on the northwest Pacific coast of Washington State, the biggest city in the state. It's home to a ton of high-tech companies and boasts some pretty sweet environmental perks, making it the 18th largest city in the U.S.
But when Roy rolled into Seattle, it was 3 or 4 a.m., so there wasn't much scenery to catch.
Of course, Seattle wasn't their final stop. They were headed to a small town called Ravensfall, tucked at the foot of the Rocky Mountains in eastern Washington.
The four witches from the Apocalypse Coven had gone wild on the plane, and now they were all passed out cold. Roy and Jennifer spent a good chunk of time getting them dressed and loaded into the car.
Good thing the private jet's crew and passenger areas were separate, with solid soundproofing. Otherwise, the ruckus from their that party would've definitely been busted by the staff.
In this state, they couldn't keep traveling, so Roy booked a hotel near the airport. The hotel staff thought they were a bit odd—some even considered calling the cops.
Roy had to flash his FEA badge to prove he was an agent, which smoothed things over for the night.
After all that, Roy collapsed onto the couch in a total Ge You slouch, utterly wiped.
Mainly because yesterday's high-intensity underwater battle with the demon queen had drained him, though the late-night "thousand-mile dash" wasn't too bad.
Jennifer was just as beat, curled up in Roy's arm on the couch.
"Should've brought Niddy instead of those four," she mumbled.
Jennifer was starting to see her mistake. The four Apocalypse witches had grown a bit, but in some ways, they hadn't changed much.
She'd invited Niddy, but the gamer girl was obsessed with a new game and stayed home to play.
"If we didn't bring them, they'd sneak after us, and that'd be more trouble," Roy said.
The Apocalypse Coven girls weren't exactly angels, especially Madison and Maria as a duo.
Madison's fearless, up for anything.
Maria's the queen of bad ideas, always egging Madison on with some wild scheme.
Zoe seems like a good kid, but deep down, she's got a wild streak—she just hides it. So when Madison and Maria stir up trouble, Zoe usually goes along with it, half-reluctantly.
In the end, Carrie's the only real "good girl" in the group.
But Carrie's super passive. If you don't tell her to do something, she won't. Unless you specifically ask her to stop the other girls from joining Jennifer's mission, she'll just sit there.
And even then, Madison and Maria might talk her into it with their twisted logic. Carrie's easily swayed.
Roy glanced at the time—4 a.m.
"Jennifer, let's crash."
The bed was taken by the four witches, so Roy and Jennifer made do on the couch.
Jennifer didn't mind, though. The tight space meant she could snuggle up with Roy.
Breathing in his scent put her in a great mood.
"Mhm," she hummed, resting on Roy's solid chest. His steady heartbeat was like ASMR, lulling her to sleep fast.
Roy, smelling Jennifer's hair, drifted off too.
Around noon, everyone started waking up.
The four witches were all chipper, their chatter waking Roy and Jennifer.
The six grabbed a quick bite at the hotel and set off for Ravensfall.
Their ride? Transformers. The five girls piled into Bumblebee, while Roy rode Crowleya.
Since Google Maps didn't exist yet, and Ravensfall was pretty remote, the online map only gave a rough location. They had to wing it.
The U.S. is full of small towns like this. As cities grow, these places get abandoned, turning into natural haunted house spots for explorers.
At dusk, they passed through a small city. The group decided to grab dinner and ask around about Ravensfall.
"Ravensfall? Never heard of it. Some backwater spot? You might wanna check with the police," a waiter said.
They asked several servers at the restaurant, but no one knew Ravensfall. Some suggested hitting up the police station.
"Roy, that's not a bad idea," Jennifer said. "If the online map's right, Ravensfall's near this city. The cops should know how to get there."
Unlike some places, Americans don't usually go to the police for help, but Roy's official badge meant they'd likely lend a hand.
"Let's finish dinner and head to the station," Roy said.
The city was about the size of New Centralia in Maine, with maybe 100,000 people, so the police station was small.
Roy walking in with five gorgeous women turned heads at the station.
He went straight to the front desk and showed his badge.
"I'm Roy Black, FEA agent. I'm working a case and need to get to Ravensfall. Anyone here know the place?"
The desk clerk got all starry-eyed at Roy's face until Jennifer coughed a few times to snap her out of it.
"Ravensfall? Never heard of that town! Hang on, can I see your badge again?"
Roy handed it over. The clerk didn't recognize the FEA but made a quick call to confirm.
A middle-aged man came out.
"Where's the FEA agent?"
"That's me," Roy said.
The guy looked at Roy, surprised, probably because Roy seemed young and movie-star handsome, not like a typical agent.
After checking Roy's badge, he nodded.
"Hi, I'm Sheriff Hoffman."
"Roy Black."
They shook hands, but Hoffman paused, like something clicked.
"Wait, you look familiar. You're not…?"
Roy quickly gestured for quiet.
"Let's talk somewhere private."
"My office is quiet," Hoffman said, grinning.
He led Roy and the five women to his office, closed the door, and immediately pulled out a notebook.
"Mr. Black, can I get an autograph?"
Turns out, Hoffman was a boxing fan.
No surprise there—boxing's the fourth-biggest sport in the U.S., especially among middle-aged white guys like Hoffman.
After getting the autograph, Hoffman gushed about Roy's Olympic performance.
Roy regretted not wearing Niddy's nerdy glasses to the station, but the FEA badge had his real photo. Glasses would've made him unrecognizable.
"Ahem! Sheriff Hoffman, let's get to business," Roy said.
Hoffman snapped back, but then made another wrong assumption.
"Right! The case is priority. I didn't expect you so soon, though. I only reported it tonight, and you're already here. Are these young ladies FEA agents too?"
He eyed the five women curiously.
The four Apocalypse girls looked like college students, not law enforcement. Jennifer seemed sharp, but her youthful face didn't scream "agent" either.
Roy was confused. "What case?"
"You're not here for the case?"
"No, I'm just asking about Ravensfall's exact location."
Hoffman realized he'd made a huge mistake.
Here's the deal: earlier that evening, a bizarre murder happened in town, so Sheriff Hoffman reported it to the FEA.
When the desk clerk called him, he didn't listen closely—heard "FEA" and rushed out.
"My bad, my bad!" Hoffman said.
Madison, standing in the back, got curious.
"Can you tell us about this weird case?"
"Sure! Tonight, a young guy reported his wife was murdered in their apartment. When my team got there, the victim was on the bed, covered in wounds, mouth wide open, but her tongue was gone.
"We checked the scene. There were signs of a struggle, but no trace of a break-in. So we suspected the guy who called it in, but he had a solid alibi. He was at a flower shop buying flowers when she died. Unless he can teleport or clone himself, he couldn't have done it.
"The case felt too strange, so I sent it to the FEA."
Pretty weird, alright. No signs of forced entry, and the only suspect had a airtight alibi.
This kind of case would stand out even in a Detective Conan episode.
But the victim's death sounded oddly familiar to Roy.
"Could the killer have hidden in the apartment, then slipped out while the guy was shocked by the body?" Maria piped up, raising her hand. She seemed super into this murder mystery, probably a detective story fan.
"Ma'am, we considered that," Hoffman said. "We checked everything. It rained that night, and the suspect left a ton of rainwater at the door when he came in. Unless the killer could fly, they'd leave footprints too. But the only prints at the door were the suspect's."
With modern forensics, pulling off a perfect crime is tough. If the police dig hard enough, they'll find something.
"The weirdest part? The suspect swears the case is tied to a puppet delivered to their home today. In his hometown, puppets are a symbol of death and bad omens. Oh, and get this—he's from Ravensfall. What a coincidence!"
Roy and Jennifer exchanged a look. That was too much of a coincidence.
"Sheriff Hoffman, can we meet this suspect?" Roy asked.
Hoffman hesitated. Roy wasn't assigned to this case or a lawyer, so technically, he shouldn't see the suspect.
But Hoffman was a boxing fan, so he caved.
"Alright, but too many of you. Only two can go."
Roy and Jennifer followed Hoffman to see the suspect, while the others waited in the lobby.
"Jamie Ashen?" Roy asked.
"That's me. I've said everything. I just want some peace. Why drag me out again?"
Jamie Ashen was a decent-looking young guy, his face heavy with grief, clearly still torn up over his wife's death.
He didn't seem like the "kill your wife to prove a point" type, but you never know.
Some real-life killers deeply love their victims but still murder them.
Hoffman tapped the table.
"Jamie Ashen, until this case is fully investigated, you're a suspect. The police can question you anytime."
In work mode, Hoffman dropped the friendly vibe, exuding the intimidating aura of a seasoned detective.
But the grieving Jamie didn't seem to care, looking almost sickly.
"Sheriff Hoffman, let me take it from here," Roy said, pulling a chair up to Jamie.
"Mr. Ashen, I hear you're from Ravensfall?"
At the mention of the name, Jamie finally looked up, his eyes glinting strangely.
"Why do you ask?"
"I'm an agent with the Federal Emergency Agency, working a case that requires a trip to Ravensfall. Can you share its exact location?"
Jamie's face twisted with conflict, like Ravensfall brought back bad memories.
"If I were you, I'd steer clear of that cursed place."
(Bet you've guessed it's Silent Hill vibes, right?)
belamy20