Rose stared at Sarah as if she had just suggested the most insane thing imaginable.
"You want me to be the bait?"
Silence.
"You've lost your mind!"
She stepped backward, shaking her head over and over.
"Have you even seen that thing?"
"I have!"
"I've seen those red eyes!"
"I've seen that disgusting smile!"
"It just stands there..."
"Watching me."
Rose hugged herself tightly.
"No."
"I'm not doing it."
"I'm not standing in front of that monster just so it can kill me!"
Sarah slowly stood.
"If you don't do it..."
"...then no one else can."
Rose let out a bitter laugh.
"Then let your precious boyfriend do it!"
She pointed at Adrian.
"He's right there!"
Sarah looked toward Adrian.
Adrian lowered his head.
"I don't think it'll work."
Rose frowned.
"What?"
"It's not after me."
"Not yet."
He looked at the upside-down tattoo on his arm.
"The old woman said I'm its target."
"But ever since Kim died..."
"...it's been following you."
Rose's face slowly turned pale.
Sarah nodded.
"We're not asking you to fight it."
"We're asking you to lure it."
"That's all."
"And once it reaches the field..."
"I'll end this."
Rose stared at both of them.
Neither Sarah nor Adrian looked like they were joking.
Her breathing became uneven.
"But..."
"What if I die?"
Nobody answered.
Rose gave a broken laugh.
"If I die..."
"...you both know you're next, don't you?"
The room became unbearably quiet.
...
Meanwhile...
Inside the town's police station...
Stacks of files lay scattered across a crowded desk.
One detective threw another folder onto the pile in frustration.
"This Kim case doesn't make any sense!"
He rubbed both hands over his face.
"No enemies."
"No debt."
"No criminal record."
"No reason anyone would want him dead."
"So who killed him?"
Another officer sighed.
"Maybe we should close the investigation."
"What?"
"We can't just close it!"
"The victim's family deserves answers."
"The killer knew his routine."
"Knew where he'd be."
"Knew exactly when to strike."
"Whoever did this..."
"...had been watching him."
At the corner of the room, another detective suddenly froze.
He slowly stood up.
"Everyone..."
"Come here."
The room fell silent.
He placed two photographs side by side on the table.
One was Kim's autopsy photograph.
The other...
A photograph of Sarah's mother taken after the attack at the psychiatric hospital.
"Look carefully."
The detectives leaned closer.
One of them frowned.
"The wounds..."
The detective nodded.
"They're identical."
He pointed toward Kim's neck.
"See these marks?"
"They're long."
"Thin."
"Almost like branches wrapped around his throat."
He moved his finger toward the second photograph.
"The same marks..."
"...appear on Sarah's mother's neck."
The room fell silent.
One detective slowly picked up both photographs.
"You're right..."
"They're exactly the same."
Another officer folded his arms.
"So you're saying..."
"The person who attacked Sarah's mother..."
"...also murdered Kim?"
"I don't know."
"But I know these two cases are connected."
He paused.
"Do you remember what Sarah's mother kept saying?"
Another detective laughed.
"You mean that nonsense about the scarecrow?"
"She was mentally unstable."
"Maybe."
The detective looked back at the photographs.
"But something tells me..."
"Sarah knows more than she's letting on."
He looked around the room.
"Who attacks a hospitalized teenager..."
"...and leaves behind the exact same wounds as a woman attacked months ago?"
"No robbery."
"No witnesses."
"No fingerprints."
"No evidence."
"It doesn't feel like ordinary murder."
"It feels..."
He hesitated.
"...like someone is hunting people."
No one laughed this time.
For the first time...
Every detective in the room wondered if this case was far stranger than they had imagined.