Tales from Brewsburg

“Oh, you want to bake a cake, do ya? And a chocolate one at that? Well, do I have the recipe for you!”

The cutesy anthropomorphic egg farmer tilted his hat and shined a toothy grin albeit gapped.

“Hi, my name's Farm Fresh Petey and I’ll be your guide into the wonderous world of baking!” Petey stepped around the expensive looking countertop and continued to speak.

“Today we’ll be baking my world famous red velvet chocolate cake with edible candles.” The sound of shuffling can be heard from around the room.

“The first thing you need to do before you start baking is to make sure that your workplace is free of clutter like dishes, knives, hands, and other such things.”

10-year-old Steven paused the cooking video and he looked around his surroundings as per the video’s request.

He quickly removed all of the dishes from the counter, making sure to clean them for later.

“Mom’s gonna love this!” Steven said as the lights flickered slightly

Back inside the kitchen, the small screen shimmers in the empty room as the video suddenly resumes. “After you’ve done that your next step is to gather all of your ingredients. Remember, the best cakes have the freshest ingredients.” The same phrase appears in fancy lettering above the figure’s dome-like head.

“For this cake we’ll need a few things to start us off '' A bright green glow emerges from outside the room followed by the sound of metal dropping. Petey then gestures to his left as the same green light appears from off-stage. “And to help me with that is our guest, Steven Kroger!”

Steven stared at the studio lights, he could hear his heart beating rapidly in his ear. Sweat dripped down his face and onto his bright green T-shirt. Petey turned to the terrified child. “Well what are you waiting for, Steven?” The egg smiled, eyes glinting in the light. “Go on, say something.”

Steven tried to listen to Petey but he wouldn’t move, no, he couldn’t move! After a few moments of silence, Petey’s once bright smile was now a frustrated grin. “Cmon kid, work with me here.” He said through clenched teeth. The red blink of the camera was the only thing keeping them in this situation.

Having run out of patience, Petey grabbed the kid’s arm, Steven let out a small “ow”. Petey chuckled. “So you finally said something kiddo,” his smile widened. “Let’s get baking shall we?” Steven stared helplessly into the camera as he let out one final plea “Sombody, help me.”

~

Steven had been missing for weeks now, his file laid untouched on the policeman’s desk. A thick layer of dust had formed on manilla folder. Cup marks were found strewn about his desk, almost making it look like a pointillism art piece.

Her fingers traced the rim of the empty mug. The first glimpses of sunlight snuck their way into the nearly empty office. Vermillion rays of light shone on row upon row of lawn chairs. She cursed the commissioner several times before peeling herself off her chair.

It wasn’t long before she could hear the jingling of keys at the front gate. Oh shit she thought as she frantically raced back to her desk. In an attempt the look busy she opened the file in front of her.

The photo on the file was that of a smiling 10-year-old boy with wild blonde hair, his slim figure in comparison with his head made him look like a popsicle. She read the name on the page “Steven Kroger, huh.” It wasn’t strange that nobody had seen him for weeks, but what had made it strange was the fact that there was no mention of forced entry or any alarms being rung. “Almost like he just vanished into thin air,” She jumped at the voice behind her, fully ready to defend herself. “easy Lex, don’t go karate chopping my throat.”

Lex turned to face the voice. To her surprise it was her partner in crime-fighting Victor. He flashed a grin as he handed her a bag. She could immediately tell what it was by the nutty aroma.

“Mmmm, is that?” She asked, excitedly. Victor nodded. It was two chocolate covered donuts topped with crushed hazelnuts, her favorite.

“So,” Lex asked as she wiped the crumbs off of her face. “You think there’s something strange about this Steven case?” Victor nodded.

“Yeah, I mean how does a 10-year-old child just disappear in broad daylight?” Lex looked closely at the document. There were no known signs of forced entry or even camera footage of anyone else interacting with the victim.

Lex continued to stare at the document. "I don't believe this, Victor." He stared at her "What do you mean, you don't trust the report?"

"It's not that I don't trust it, I just need to see it with my own eyes is all." Lex said as she gathered her things. " Now come on!"

Steven's neighborhood was....quiet. It was eerie how just unfazed the adults seemed were by the fact that there was yet another missing child report. A middle-aged man was mowing his lawn atop his rideable mower. Lex and Victor continued to walk down the street.

"Hey Lex?"

"Yeah Vic?" She quizzically looked at him.

"Why aren't we taking the squad car?"

Lex put a finger up to Victor's mouth. "Shhh," she said. "we're here." The pair walk up the front steps to find Steven Kroger's mother weeping on the front porch.

"Ma'am?" Lex said quietly. "Hello, ma'am?" She knelt down beside Mrs.Kroger. She placed a hand on Mrs. Kroger's shivering ones. For a moment there was no sound other than the hum of lawnmowers.

Victor was the first one to break the silence. "Ahem," He looked at the pair. "Mrs. Kroger? We have some questions for you regarding the disappearance of your son, Steven Kroger."

Mrs. Kroger said nothing as she cried harder. Lex put her other arm on Mrs. Kroger's back.

Victor took a step back, holding his clipboard to his chest.

Lex gave him a look that seemed to say Let me handle this. With that, Victor walked past them and into the house.

The floor creaked underneath his shoes. As he walked through hallway, he noticed the many family photos hanging on the wall beside him.

The only thing that stood out to him was the apparent lack of a father.

“A single mother,” Victor said. “Of course, and she had lost her only child. What was I thinking?” He turned the corner.

It was there that he entered the kitchen.

~

“Ma’am it’s alright,” Lex said in a calming tone. If she was going to get any information from Mrs. Kroger, she needed to calm down.

“Please call me Shelley, Officer…” Her voice quivered as she spoke.

“Rutledge, Officer Rutledge.” Lex flashed a smile towards her. “Now what can you tell me about the day you last saw your son?”

“Well,” She began. “it was my birthday and Steven had closed me off from the kitchen for the entire day.”

Lex made a note of that.

“He said that it would ‘ruin the surprise’ if I did. So I just relaxed in my room until I eventually fell asleep.”

“Were you awake when he went missing?” Lex asked, thinking she was on to something.

“No, it wasn’t until I heard the bowl drop did I wake up.”

Shelley’s eyes began to whell up again. “By the time I got to the kitchen, he…he.”

“Was gone?” Lex finished, feeling sorry for woman.

Lex continued to comfort Mrs. Kroger until she had noticed something in her hand.

It was a phone.

The report said that was the only thing that was present at the crime scene, beside the metal bowl on the floor.

“This was Steven’s.” Shelley wiped her eyes and sniffled. Lex helped them to their feet.

If she was lucky, it would have some charge left. She tried to turn on the phone. Nothing.

Lex let out a sigh as she followed Shelley into the house.

~

Victor knew that he shouldn’t be doing this, it was a crime scene for gods sake. And yet, he couldn’t help it. “God, Lex is going to freak out if she finds me like this.” He said as he opened the fridge door.

It wasn’t until he had scarfed down two whole slices of pizza that Shelley and Lex came into the room.

Lex couldn’t understand what she was seeing. The only thing to come from her mouth was “What the hell are you doing Vic?”

“Eating,” he said, absolutely aware of his actions. “why, do you want some?” Victor took out yet another piece from box and held it out towards her. Pepperoni and mushrooms covered each section of the slice.

Lex rubbed her temple. She turned to Shelley and sighed “I am so so so sorry about my partner, Shelley.”

Mrs. Kroger looked at her, then at Victor, and back at her before saying simply. “It’s fine, it’s not like I was going to eat it anyway .” A mournful smile crossed her face. Lex’s brows furrowed even more as she stormed over to Victor.

“So,” he said after swallowing the piece. “Is that a no on the slice?”

Lex grabbed Victor’s arm and began pulling him away from the fridge. “Thank for your time, we’ll be on our way now.” Shelley waved goodbye to the pair and shed a single tear.

~

“What the hell was that?” Victor tried to keep his balance as Lex continued. “Do you always gorge on other people’s food when you search someone’s home?”

“Ah, well,” Victor struggled to come up with a reason. “You see, it was weird.”

“What was weird?” Lex looked back at him.

“The kitchen, I don’t know what it was, but the longer I was in there; the hungrier I was.” Lex narrowed her eyes. “Which is strange because I don’t even like pizza.”

Victor was right. It was strange, she had never once seen him gorge on anything, especially pizza.

The door to the police station opened with a creak as Lex walked inside, Victor in tow. She walked right up to a big burly looking man in the center of the room, he had a whole lumber jack look to him. As soon as the man turned around Lex's voice started shivering. "G-good morning, s-sir," This man was none other than Jerome Richter, the Brewsburg county police chief.

"Good morning to you too, Rutledge." His stone cold expression told her that this morning was anything but good for him. "Any progress on your new case yet?"

Lex nodded and handed him the folder. “The Kroger case, huh.” Richter boomed. “Abducted in broad daylight, were you sure there weren’t any other witnesses?”

Victor chimed in. “There was nobody except for Mrs. Kroger, who Lex spoke to this morning.” He gestured to himself as if to shift the chief’s focus away from Lex.

“Was there anything useful?” Lex began fidgeting with her pockets, Chief Richter raised an eyebrow.

“Yes there was,” She then pulled out the phone that Mrs. Kroger gave her. “This is Kroger’s phone, it’s dead unfortunately.”

He examined the phone, turning it in his hands. The cracked screen glittered under the fluorescent lights.

After awhile he handed the phone back to Lex. He then pulled out a white cloth from his front pocket and rubbed his hands through it. “Take this to the lab and see if they can figure anything out.”

“Well, now we know where to go next.” Victor rested his hand on her as he walked past- shoes clacking on the linoleum tiles.

~

The duo pulled up to the laundromat turned forensic lab as the sun sat on the horizon. The smell of laundry detergent seeped through the cracks under the door. Victor covered their nose, their face crumpling into a grimace. “You go ahead, I think I’m gonna stay in the car.” Lex shrugged and opened the door.

Due the relatively smallness of Brewsburg, their police force hadn’t received much funding, opting instead to fund the local school systems. Because of this, they weren’t able to set up a proper facility to house the forensic unit of the team.

The center corridor was bathed in a dark violet light. Rows of broken-down washers sat dejectedly to the far right.

The first thing that caught her eye was the lone figure across the hall. As she approached the figure, her senses were assaulted with a mix of bleach and peppermint. Her eyes began to water as she reached out.

To shield herself from being completely overtaken by the assault of scent, she covered her face with part of her collar. She took slow and shallow breaths, pacing herself.

She couldn't speak, let alone open her mouth. Her cheeks became wet with tears as she felt the slick material of the figure's coat. Tapping on their shoulder, she signaled her presence before backing away.

With a bit of distance between the two, Lex let go of her collar. Her shoulders rose and fell as she stood there, gasping for air.

Having taken a moment to collect herself, she focuses once more on the person standing in front of her. It was the head researcher for the Brewsburg Forensics lab.

~

The trees of Whitiket Forest laughed at the small shack that hid behind their trunks. The sun seemed to disappear beneath the treeline, bathing the world below the branches in eternal night.

To each side, old wooden walls heaved a heavy sigh at the blood that decorated its planks. Old stage lights decorated the ceiling. However not a speck of dust fell from above, despite how old they were.

However the wall facing the door featured a meticulously painted mural of a farmhouse sitting in a field. Colorful animals dotted the landscape.

The chickens herded around the feeder, their faces hidden from view.

Pigs happily gorged themselves on the heap of slop in their trough.

A dutiful rooster perched itself on fence, it’s eyes clouded by a false sense of justice.

The horses in the barn snickered as the lazy farmhand laid upon the hay.

Just beyond this farmland was a kitchen countertop, one much like the islands often seen on cooking shows. Appliances stood at attention in rows, their handles raised high in salute. The blender silently shouted with glee as its master returned.

The lone figure, illuminated only by the thorny uncaring light of the moon, entered the room like college graduate would visit their 'Old Stomping Grounds' from their time in school. The myriad of cooking utensils hung expectantly above the figure, crying out their want to be used in the preparation of their master's next dish.

The figure ignored the cries of his metal companions instead taking interest in the door that laid to the right of the entrance.

Despite being neglected, the instruments of sang from their resting places in the rafters, the clang of swaying metal rang out in a chorus of death as the figure stepped towards the battered wooden door.

The latch begged for mercy as the blood-covered hand reached towards it. In a desperate attempt to prevent further atrocities, the latch refused to move. Even if it couldn't condemn the figure for the horrors they've committed behind this door, it could sure as hell try and stop anymore from happening.

The figure twisted the latch once, twice. Still it held strong. The latch smiled as the figure tried and failed to open the door several times more. It was sure that no matter how hard they turned, there was no way this monster would get past this door today.

The figure began to turn the latch one more time, before stopping halfway through. Had they finally given up? Was it successful? It huffed smugly as the figure turned away from the door, not caring as to what tears they will shed to their assorted band of blades.

A passing gust of wind saw the figure as they reached up towards the hand-axe overhead the stone island. It scoffed at the latch, knowing what was to come. The other weapons booed and cursed the hand-axe, their blades glinting with jealousy. The gust of wind bid the poor latch a final farewell as the figure approached the door once again.

The latch was too busy celebrating it's triumph over that monster that it couldn't even remember the moment when it no longer sat upon the only thing separating this predator from their prey.

It stared in horror as the figure stepped past the door, hand-axe calmly resting on their shoulder.

~

The room was almost barren, the only pieces of decoration were a single wooden chair in the middle of the room and the boarded up window on the rightmost wall.

Inside the chair sat a battered looking boy. Bruises littered his arms and legs like spots on a cheetah. Dried blood clutched to the boy's shirt, which shone a distinct bright green in the moonlight.

"Howdy-doo, let's get baking... Shall we?"

~

Victor looked off into the distance as he waited in the car. The sky was an unusual dark blue. But he didn’t think it was as strange as the crackpot abandoned laundromat in front of him. The county never had enough of a budget for the police force. They always had to run fundraisers whenever a new branch was needed. He chuckled as memories of bake sales and sack races passed through his eyes.

He leaned back in his seat as the radio crackled to life. "Officer Barns, Roswell do you copy?" Victor lazily picked up the receiver, pressing the button to the side.

"This is Officer Roswell, what's going on?" He said sitting up in his chair.