The Oaktown Municipal Archives were in the basement of the public library. And the basement, Kraven decided, was where old, damp, forgotten things went to die.
It was 4:13 AM. His office was a prison. His car was a prison. His mind was a prison. He couldn't... stop.
He had The Hunch.
This... is... a... war.
He needed... proof. He was a cop. Cops needed proof.
"Evening, Detective," the night librarian, a young woman named Sarah, had said, her eyes wide with a mix of fear and curiosity. The whole town... was... buzzing. The library-alley-murder... the high-school-explosion...
"Just... research, Sarah," Kraven had grunted, his voice a sleep-deprived rasp. "Town... history."
Now, he was alone in the smell. It was the smell of a million, slow, acidic... deaths. The smell of... paper... mildew... dust.
He was at a microfilm... reader. A huge, beige, ancient... machine. Its... light... was a... sickly... yellow. The... whirr-CLICK-whirr... of the... spool... it... it... it... was... the... only... sound.
He... was... not... looking... for... anything. He... was... looking... for... EVERYTHING.
He... was... scrolling... through... old... Oaktown... Sentinels. 1950. 1920. 1900.
"...Church... Bake... Sale..."
"...Barn... Fire... Deemed... Accidental..."
"...Mayor... Promises... New... Roads..."
Nothing. Nothing. Nothing.
His... eyes... burned. The... chalky... pink... taste... of... the... Pepto... it... it... it... was... still... in... his... throat.
He... was... a... fool.
Magic. Monsters. He... was... insane. He... was... chasing... ghosts. He... should... be... looking... for... a... black... sedan... with... front-end... damage.
Wait.
He... stopped... scrolling.
He... had... gone... too... far... back.
The... Oaktown... Sentinel. 1890.
The print... it... it... it... was... different. Ornate. Hard... to... read.
He... scanned.
"...Harvest... Looks... Promising..."
"...New... School-marm... Arrives... by... Train..."
He... yawned. His... head... hit... the... desk. He... was... so... tired.
He... jerked... awake.
...A... DARK... PLAGUE... UPON... OUR... TOWN...
Kraven's... heart... stopped.
He... leaned... in. He... fumbled... with... the... focus... knob. The... blurry... words... snapped... sharp.
It... wasn't... a... headline. It... was... a... letter. A... screed. From... a... Preacher. A... Reverend... Thaddeus... Blackwood.
...I... warn... you... again... Citizens... of... Oaktown! This... is... not... a... sickness... of... the... body! It... is... a... sickness... of... the... SOUL! Three... more... this... past... week! MEN... of... good... standing... FOUND... in... their... beds... with... a... HOLE... in... their... chest... AND... THEIR... HEARTS... RIPPED... CLEAN... OUT!
Kraven... stopped... breathing.
"...ripped... clean... out..."
He... scrolled... frantically. More... letters. More... articles.
"...Sheriff... Finds... No... Clues... in... 'Heartless'... Murders..."
"...Witness... Claims... to... See... a... 'Shadow'... on... the... Rooftops... of... Main... Street...'
"...Vagrant... Describes... a... 'Tall... Man... with... Eyes... of... COAL'..."
No.
No. No. No. No.
This... wasn't... new. This... wasn't... a... spiral.
This... was... a... RETURN.
He... had... to... know... more.
He... left... the... microfilm. He... went... to... the... archives. The... real... ones. The... ledgers. The... dusty... boxes.
He... found... it.
The... Township... Record. 1890.
He... blew... a... century... of... dust... off... the... cover. He... opened... it. The... acidic... smell... of... decaying... paper... hit... him.
The... handwriting... was... a... faded... brown... spider-scratch.
He... found... the... names. The... "heartless"... victims.
Jedidiah... Smith. (Farmer).
Thomas... Able. (Blacksmith).
Elias... Groome. (Tanner).
And... then... he... found... the... other... names.
He... found... a... report. From... the... Sheriff.
"...Called... to... the... OLD... CROMWELL... HOUSE... on... the... edge... of... the... woods... Violent... disturbance... A... light... in... the... sky... like... an... AURORA... Neighbors... report... a... sound... like... a... CANNON... blast... The... house... is... GONE. Utterly... OBLITERATED. Nothing... but... a... smoking... CRATER. And... the... family...
Kraven's... finger... traced... the... name.
...the... entire... CROMWELL... family... GONE. Vanished.
Except... for... the... girl.
A... young... girl. Found... wandering... in... the... woods. Mute. In... shock. Her... hair... turned... white. The... ONLY... survivor.
Her... name...
Kraven... read... the... name...
...Anah.
Anah... Cromwell.
Kraven... stumbled... back... from... the... book. He... hit... a... metal... shelf. Boxes... of... tax... records... rained... down.
He... didn't... notice.
Anah.
His... Anah. The... town... witch. The... old... woman. Whose... 'kid'... Bruce...
..."blew... up"... a... car.
She... wasn't... a... descendant.
She... was... HER.
The... dates. 1890... to... now. She... would..." be... 140... years... old.
Impossible.
He... looked... at... his... hands.
Impossible... extraction.
Impossible... explosion.
Impossible... age.
"This... is... not... a... town,"... Kraven... whispered... to... the... dust... motes.... "This... is... a... goddamned... epicenter."
He... had... to... talk... to... her. He... had..." to... talk... to... the... kid.
He... was... no... longer... a... cop... investigating... a... crime.
He... was... a... man... trying... to... stop... a... sequel.