*AN* The character "Katie Knight"- does not exist in any of my stories (at least for the time being.) Any mention of "Katie" is an OC based off me.
Just a heads up, I will be changing the titles of some of my stories soon. As I mentioned in a past AN I was trying to make a series and then use only one word to describe the story as a whole and that word would also be used as a revelation or opening/closing line. I got a little bored with this one and it was getting hard to come up with clever names.
This is going to be longer than I thought, only because the plot is starting to come together and I want to try my luck at throwing in some clues/twists/turns/cliff hangers. Bear with me as I take a slow stroll through this story. *
*NEW* The annual summer festival is starting again and this week will be full of work and I am on call. Updates, and new stories may begin to slow down until after the festival is all done and cleaned up which will go into early next week.*
The first night out was unsuccessful but after further research, Logan came up with a slight pattern in its path. It often went down Hollywood ave, the only road that leads to the hills of the Hollywood sign, in fact, it was the only place it led. However they couldn't be so sure, with it's new height and power, it could easily jump and dodge its way back to the main road. The second night they retraced their steps and after no findings, went down Hollywood ave carefully and quietly and as they approached the base of the mountains, they realized there was no turning back. This could very well be where the animal lives between appearances.
They didn't get far before police spotted them and told them to go home. Even after they stated their business, the officers told them not to worry about it and to just mind their own business. The group left unwillingly but were determined to come back some other time. They began to walk back and were eventually back in town where they ran across something strange. They found large prints that weren't there before, they followed them to a clearing where the animal was laying down, resting and alert.
It's super sense of smell and hearing told it that the group was near but it ignored them until they got closer. When it turned to them it didn't growl or bark or whatever noise it might have made. Instead it just watched silently as they approached with their paintball guns pointed ready to strike. Logan and Carlos approached it without weapons and the beast outstretched its neck to greet them. It wagged its tail lightly but remained cautious. Logan pulled out a syringe in hopes of getting a blood sample, he new it was dangerous but they all wanted to know. He felt his way along the animal as it lay in silence, and gave a small pinch in a fleshy area before sticking it in.
Despite its sheer size which had only gotten bigger, it still jumped at the pinch of the needle. It didn't kick out or bite, instead it just let out a low growl and huff. In seconds Logan was done and capped the syringe and pulled out other collection containers for other samples. Everyone was surprised at not only Logan's ability to work without fear but the animal's willingness to let strangers touch and handle it. Although something in it's eyes was familiar.
The next day Logan and James snuck into the science lab set for the show Criminal Investigation. It was a real working set and Logan used it to his advantage. He ran all the samples that he had and each one came back different, however they all had a common element. James kept watch and peeked in to see Logan sitting in a slump.
"Did you fin anything?"
"I ran the test several times and they keep coming back the same. There is human DNA in these samples. I don't believe myself but I think Carlos may have been on to something when he said maybe this thing was human."
"You're saying that human mutation is real?"
"I don't want to but it's staring me in the face right here." Logan pointed. James took a look as well but really didn't understand what he was seeing. "it's a big step in solving this mystery but at the same time, it opens so many doors."
"Hear me out, this is crazy but tell me if you've noticed anything strange or familiar about this thing?" Kendall began after hearing Logan's news.
"Strange how?" Logan questioned.
"The pictures you showed me; the animal had red streaks in it's mane, a pendant that looked similar to Lucy's and not to mention, and this is a stretch, it's eyes were familiar." Kendall explained
"What are you getting at?" Camille asked.
"Every time the animal appeared, where was Lucy?" Kendall finally said. The room went silent as they all thought it through and then came to realize Kendall's suggestion.
"What! You think I'm the demon! What the hell, I thought you guys were my friends and now you accuse me of being a monster!" Lucy yelled
"Lucy, the evidence is right there, the red streaks, the pendant you wore, and the eyes looked just like yours except for the color." Kendall began
"Not only that, but every time it appeared you were no where to be found." James added
"Plus you were the first one to defend it." Carlos reminded.
"I dont believe this…" Lucy said hanging her head in frustration. "Do you really believe that I'm the monstrosity that everyone has been talking about? What about the first time it showed up? I was at the cast party with you guys!"
"You were the first one to leave." Kendall accused
"Kelly, Katie and Dak weren't there either you know. Why not ask them?" Lucy defended
"Because the profile fits you better." James added
"You came in on crutches the same week we came back from the UK. You had the same type of injury on the same foot in the same place even!" Logan recalled
"Oh…my god you guys are out of your minds." Lucy said "I told you about that, I didn't see where I was running and got jabbed in the foot with a slab of glass!"
"Just tell us that you're the demon and we'll call it a day." Carlos said
"I'm not the demon!" she yelled
"Maybe she doesn't remember." James offered
"That is a possibility, she may have no recollection of anything after she transforms between formations." Logan admitted
"Ugh!" Lucy said in frustration. "You said you found human DNA in this animal but did it occur to you to cross reference it and found out who's it was?"
"We tried but no matches came back." Kendall said.
"Fine, I'll give you my DNA, in fact, get everyone's and put it in so we can found out once and for all who it is and that you will believe me when I say it isn't me!" Lucy said. After a moment of silence as Lucy stared at them, Kendall gave Logan a nudge to get the DNA he needed. He was a bit scared but managed to get it done. He also went to everyone else in the cast, saying he was conducting an experiment for a college class he was taking and they happily obliged. He had several dozen samples to work with and spent the next 3 hours in the CI laboratory, running all the initial scans and then running each sample against the DNA they already had.
"Hey, Logan, how's it coming?" Kendall asked
"I havent gotten very far, I'm just starting the cross referencing." Logan replied. A ding from the computer made him turn back.
"What is it?" Kendall asked curiously, walking in.
"Lucy is a negative match." Logan stated
"So she really wasn't the demon?" Kendall sighed.
"I guess not. We have some sincere apologizing to do." Logan said
"I'm already on it." Kendall said scrolling on his phone. "What's her favorite flower?"
"Orchids." he replied. He turned to Kendall, leaving the machine going as he waited to see what Kendall was up to. He helped him put in the order for Lucy's flowers and then offered to order her favorite cupcakes. An alert interrupted their discussion and Logan turned to see the screen flashing in urgency.
"Match found…" Kendall read. "I thought Lucy wasn't a match?"
"She isn't."
"Then-"
"It must have went on to the next sample. If Lucy isn't a match then I don't understand how anyone else would be-uh…" Logan paused as he opened the results. Kendall looked up from his phone and walked to the computer to read what Logan was seeing. Both stared at the screen for a while in shock and awe, not sure where to go from here, they just looked at each other hoping the other would know what to do. It was silent for a long time before Carlos broke the silence, checking in on the two of them. Carlos was keeping watch and got curious. Before he could say anything, he saw the screen and his friends' looks and it told him everything.
*AN* Bear in mind this story is different than things I have written before for this website. This story could be considered an experiment on my own behalf. I'm publishing it here just for a safe place so to speak. whether readers like it or dont, doesnt matter to me, at least not on this story. I'm trying different things on this one so it really is for my own benefit. Feel free to leave feedback thoughts opinions, foreshadowing, let downs, changes etc. I'm not going to go back and change what I wrote but I can always use suggestions in future stories but no promises, sorry. This is also a reason as to why the grammar, spelling and overall outline and setup are the way they are, I'm treating this as a rough draft story, published for safe keeping/feedback. No need to leave comments on the bad spelling, punctuation, capitalization and what not, I'm aware of it but like I said, this is just a rough draft story since I am trying something new.*