Coffee World was unnaturally quiet that night, the usual croaking of frogs and the rustling of leaves stifled by an eerie stillness. Deputies Mulligan and Thornton had driven there in tense silence, their patrol car's headlights cutting a sharp path through the dense woods. In the trunk lay Monica Thompson, her lifeless body wrapped hastily in a tarp. The deputies stopped at the park's main gate.
"This isn't right," Thornton muttered, his voice trembling as he looked past the small ticket window. The weak flashlight in his hand wavered, casting jittery shadows over the gaping void.
"You think I don't know that?" Mulligan snapped, his hands shaking as he hefted the body out of the trunk. "But what are we supposed to do? Tell Sheriff Breaker we messed up and killed an innocent girl? He'd throw us to the feds faster than you can say 'Taken.'"
Thornton's eyes darted around nervously. "I still think she… she looked like one of them. Maybe she—"
"She wasn't," Mulligan interrupted sharply, his voice cracking. "No black smoke, no unnatural strength, no… none of that. She was just scared. And now she's dead. Because of us."
The two deputies maneuvered the body through to the park to the Huotari Well. Sure, they went through the park to get to the well in order to avoid a certain workshop just a hair closer to the far end of Watery, they couldn't avoid it completely. The deputies struggled to lift Monica's body over the edge of the well. Mulligan looked away as the body disappeared into the blackness with a sickening thud. "It's done," he said grimly, his eyes fixed on the dirt beneath his boots. "No one's gonna find her here."
Unbeknownst to the deputies, just beyond the maintenance gate leading to the Kalevala Knights motorcycle club workshop, Ilmo and Jaakko Koskela were crouched in the shadows. The twins, known for their constant local presence and sharp wits, had been finishing up a late-night repair job when the sound of a car engine had drawn their attention. Now, they listened intently, their faces dark with anger.
"Idiots," Jaakko growled under his breath, his knuckles tightening around the wrench he held. "They killed an innocent girl and think dumping her here will solve their problem? As if that didn't end well in the old legends…"
Ilmo's eyes narrowed as he watched the deputies stumble back to their car. "They're more reckless than I thought. But we need them. The Cult of the Tree can't afford to lose our eyes in the sheriff's department."
Jaakko spat on the ground. "They're a liability."
Ilmo's voice was cold. "Mulligan and Thornton are useful, even if they're cowards and fools. Without them, we'd lose our foothold in law enforcement. Besides, if they screw up again, we'll deal with them ourselves."
The twins shared a grim look before slipping back through the gate. They'd keep this secret for now, not for the deputies' sake, but for the Cult's. Getting rid of the Taken demanded sacrifices, but it also demanded strategy. And the Koskelas were nothing if not strategic.
Meanwhile, Mulligan and Thornton drove away, the weight of their actions settling heavily over them. They didn't notice the faint glow emanating from the well as they left, nor did they hear the distant whisper that carried Alan Wake's name through the night.