Chapter 3: Mob Mentality

A/N: Thanks all for the reviews. Also a big thank you to those who came to check this out after reading my other story. I do not, in any way own Charmed. I promise that this story is going somewhere. Please R&R!

Leo and the Charmed Ones were oblivious to the thunderous applause that followed the end of the fireworks display. They were terrified. Phoebe was the most terrified of all. She had felt someone die, and it was horrible. Her sisters had believed her without question. This murder had to be demonic, there was no question. Now they all knew one thing. There were innocents in trouble, and as the Charmed Ones, they had to do something about it. This would be much more difficult then they had anticipated.

The moment the show had ended; there was a mad rush for the exits. People flooded the streets, cars weren't moving in the streets. The police on hand for the event had given up on controlling the crowd. Everyone was walking in the street, around the cars. The traffic signals were all but ignored. It was quite a scene to observe. All laws were forgotten, and it was like a party with a million guests. Piper, Paige and Leo were supporting Phoebe through the crowd. The middle Halliwell was weak from the experience of death.

Out of the mass of moving bodies the Halliwells heard a blood curdling scream. There was a moment of silence. Everyone in the crowd appeared frozen, although Piper assured them that she hadn't done a thing. What followed was a state of extreme panic. The crowd ran wildly to the exit. They were all running in a single direction, yet they all pushed each other out of the way. The Charmed Ones and Leo held onto each other as the crowd pressed in upon them. They began to move to the point every single person in the crowd was running from. They all knew that it was in that place that they would find their innocent.

Although they couldn't hear each other over the constant yelling of the crowd, but they knew where they were going. It took them much longer to get there because the mob of people was extremely pushy. People they had never met shoved them out of the way. The mortals were running as fast as they could. The witches and the former whitelighter did all that they could to get to that place the mere mortals feared. Phoebe was right in what she felt, and the man was indeed dead. They could no longer help him. However, there could still be a demon about, and if there was, they had innocents to protect.

They finally reached the place where the man's body lay. It was a small clearing, mostly free of trees. By now it was free of bystanders, all of them having quickly run away. Piper, Phoebe, and Paige had to fight the instinct to run away. What they saw was certainly a gruesome sight. Blood formed a puddle that was seeping into the lush green grass. More Blood had sprayed in all directions, sticking to the trees. Their eyes were involuntarily drawn to the gash in the man's abdomen. It was truly a horrid sight.

Phoebe knelt down beside the man. She felt like this entire thing was all her fault. She didn't know the man, but she felt an unexplained sadness for him. Phoebe knew there was something she could have done. Why else could she have felt his pain? Hot burning tears flooded her eyes and she hurried to wipe them away. She didn't want her family to see her stupid crying. She had no reason to be crying. She felt a strange connection to him. Phoebe felt as though she should have been able to meet this man, to know him.

Her family was oblivious to the pain Phoebe was inexplicably feeling. They were oblivious to the crowd still panicking around them. They knew only one thing. There was a demon out there who had brutally murdered this man. What they didn't know was why. Demons didn't usually kill a single average person in such a way. The nature of the murder suggested that this man was a target. He had to have done something, or have been someone that the demon saw necessary to kill. This murder wasn't just some random killing. If it was, the demon would have killed more people in such a crowd.

Who was this man? Was he a mere mortal, working with demons in some way? Could he perhaps be a demon himself? Was he a fellow witch? Perhaps he was something more. Knowing who this man was would help them find the demon who had done this, and vanquish it. Paige had the idea to find the man's wallet, to see if there was some ID. She didn't want to risk touching the body, so she put out her hand and called, "WALLET!" No wallet appeared.

Piper said, "Good idea Paige, but I guess he didn't have a wallet." Paige nodded dejectedly. They continued to think of what they could possibly do to. Their thoughts were interrupted by the sound of sirens. The sirens soon got louder, which meant they were getting closer. Someone must have called the police on a cell phone. The Charmed Ones didn't have much luck with police. The police would find it suspicious that they were there. They had been at the scene of a few too many crimes.

The only member of the force that knew they were witches was Inspector Darryl Morris. Unfortunately, Darryl was no longer speaking to them, let alone helping them, so they couldn't really count on him to bail them out if things got tough. They couldn't really blame him, but it had been nice to have him as a friend. Little did they know, the police were the least of their worries…

TBC…

Up next… Chapter 4: Darryl's Woes … Darryl is upset to see the Halliwells at the scene of yet another crime. He won't cover for them any more. He tries to treat this like any other investigation. His resolve is tested when a demon attacks the San Francisco Police Department.