8
October 11th – 9:03 AM
The police department was quiet. Not everyone had yet arrived for the day. Bethany Kidd’s desk sat empty in the front of the office for the first time in months, and Kristen Keller was sitting the in the corner of her cell, still awake and consumed by fatigue.
Sheriff Carter sat in his office, trembling as he held the envelope in his hands. He was afraid to open it. He was afraid of its contents and what they may include. He made eye contact with pumpkin sticker in the bottom corner; he feared it.
Deputy Reed stood in the doorway waiting for Carter to open it, as was the rest of the antsy department.
“Do you want me to open it?” Reed asked.
Carter shook his head, and forced himself to tear the envelope at the top. He pulled out another folded sheet of notebook paper. He pushed the empty envelope to the edge of his desk.
“This gets examined as soon as possible, you hear me? I want fingerprints, DNA – I want everything from it.” Carter demanded.
He gently unfolded the paper to reveal another handwritten letter. This time, the page was full. It wasn’t a poem this time; it was more in depth. It was something more sadistic.
Reed watched his Sheriff read and absorb the entire letter before dropping it to the desk. Carter rubbed the bridge of his trembling fingers.
“What did it say?” Reed asked calmly.
“It’s not over.” Carter replied. He handed Reed the letter and left the room. Reed proceeded to read the thick, dark and menacing handwriting:
‘The Legend of Stewart Hollow’ dates back decades. The legend tells of a crazed local who targeted a group of people and stalked them throughout the month of October. One by one, as the month continued, he murdered the group. Each murder was increasingly more brutal and vial than the last. As the middle of October arrived, the myth grew even more eerie. Strange sightings around the town, and mysterious encounters with the local legend begin to surface. The legendary madman is known to Stewart Hollow as The Harvest Slasher - a mysterious entity who hides in the shadows of the night, striking quickly and silently before vanishing back into the dark. The legend is said to continue year after year, with more and more innocent residents of Stewart Hollow falling victim to The Harvest Slasher. It starts with a puzzling poem, and culminates on Halloween, when the unexpected is the center of a horrific scene of repulsive horror. October, in Stewart Hollow, belongs solely to its’ legend. The Harvest Slasher will continue to live on for eternity.