An Averyverse Mystery
Summer was in full swing in the State of Social Media, while deep inside Malevolent Mountain, the CaTS had gathered at the table near the magma vat. Laura was standing at the head of the table, going over her nefarious plans, while Salty Pete, Dr. Lawrie, Ramsey, and Jeff listened intently.
“It has been one year since I killed Valerie B. and began this series of sinister schemes. We may have lost a couple people along the way, but look what we have accomplished”, Laura said while gesturing to the many dangerous and dastardly features of their underground lair.
“My surveillance has told me that most of our targets have taken jobs in town since their headquarters burned down”, Laura continued, while Salty and Dr. Lawrie gave each other knowing smirks. “Avery’s taken a job at the local newspaper, so I did some recruiting to make sure we have an inside man”.
At this point, Laura directed her gaze at Jeff. “Avery and the CCC are weakened right now with their missing member. Now is the time to strike”, now moving towards Jeff’s chair. “As our newest member, you haven’t really proven yourself yet. Have you prepared any plots and/or schemes?”
All eyes at the table are now on Jeff, while he looks up at Laura standing beside his chair looking back down at him. Jeff lifts his notebook and looks it over quickly, then looks back up at Laura, smiling.
“Ok, I’ve been thinking of some ideas…bear with me”, Jeff said looking back at his notebook.
“What if we ordered a bunch of pizzas and had them delivered to Avery?” Jeff asked and then looked up at Laura.
“Poisoned pizzas?” Laura asked.
“Oh…uh” Jeff stammered, looking uneasy. “Well she’d have to pay for them…and we could put toppings she doesn’t want on them”.
Laura shook her head, annoyed, not saying a word.
“Ok, I’ll keep working on it”, Jeff said, scribbling in his notebook. “I know I keep harping on this, but training videos would be really helpful for members who lack natural villainy, that’s all I’m saying”.
Laura rolled her eyes and walked away.
When Laura returned to her chair, she looked at everyone at the table. “We will attack soon. We must take advantage of their disadvantage, so this Summer, we will have a showdown, and Stillwater Bay will never be the same again!!!” Laura slammed both her hands down on the table, exclaiming this.
Everyone at the table stared blankly until Laura finally sat back into her chair and began to laugh maniacally. Salty Pete, Dr. Lawrie, and Ramsey joined in with their own maniacal laughter, but then everyone fell silent allowing a single jovial laugh to be heard.
Everyone turned to stare at Jeff. He was sporting a sheepish smile at first, but it melted into a discouraged frown as the stares continued.
“Training videos…” Jeff said finally.
Miles from Malevolent Mountain, the sun had only risen over Stillwater Bay a couple hours ago. Avery was bustling around her apartment getting ready for the day. She was pouring coffee into her travel mug, while reflecting on what her life used to look like.
A year ago, Avery would be on her way into Scribe Noir, ready to work alongside her good friend. No one could have predicted that Laura would commit murder in that same store, starting a chain of events, ultimately resulting in the total destruction of the business they had built together.
Avery also never imagined that she would meet a group like the Canadian Conundrum Committee, and start running into dangerous situations, chasing mysteries. She finished making her coffee, put the lid on the mug, and headed for the door.
When she stepped outside, she turned on the sidewalk and started walking towards the center of town. As she neared the fountain, she couldn’t help but wonder about Dani. Avery and the CCC believed Laura had taken her, but they didn’t know if she was ok, or when they would be able to get her back.
As Avery crossed the street, she glanced over to a construction site where they were close to finishing a new building. Before the building had burned down, it had become the CCC’s headquarters, and Avery wondered if it would return to that or become something new.
Without their headquarters, the CCC craved some direction, resulting in some of them finding odd jobs around town. Myles took a job at the malt shop, Classic Fountain Spouts. Kubey-Doo started working in the kitchen of Harriet’s Le Pooch Patisserie. April had started getting into real estate.
Aaron did not find a job. Aaron did not look for a job. Aaron looked for Dani. Sometimes he spent days on end, holed up in Avery’s apartment, scouring the internet for any evidence of the location of Laura’s lair. Other times, he disappeared for days, searching for her on foot.
Avery snapped out of her thoughts and found she had reached her destination. She looked up to see a white sign hanging over the sidewalk, with a lighthouse on the left, saying “The Stillwater Bay Beacon”. Avery hoped working for the local newspaper would help her stay on top of the town’s going-ons.
Avery opened the door, stepping into “the bullpen”. It was a small room with three desks lining two of the walls, creating a walkway down the middle of the room, which led to a door with the word “Editor” printed on it. There were a couple chairs near the door to accommodate visitors.
It seemed Avery was last to arrive. Two desks were occupied already. In the desk along the left wall was Alexander, the Senior Journalist, sitting at his typewriter furiously hitting keys. Avery’s title was Junior Journalist. She sat down at the desk closer to the front door along the right wall.
At the desk next to hers, sat the paper’s photographer, Jim. He was cleaning his camera, when the door in the back suddenly swung open, and the paper’s editor, Gino, stepped out.
“Everyone get in here!” Gino shouted.
Everyone got up from their desks and filed into the office.
The meetings were Avery’s least favorite thing about working at the newspaper. She always tried to push for a better story, something related to what’s going on with Laura, and the attacks on the town, but those stories always went to the Senior Journalist. It was infuriating.
The editor’s office was a tiny room with a huge desk, and three small chairs arranged in front of it. Gino sat behind the desk smoking a cigar, filling the room with pungent smoke. The staff sat in the chairs, and looked to Gino to begin.
“Alright, to start…” Gino said, shouting. Always shouting, the editor continued, “The town has broken ground on construction for a new prison, here on the outskirts of town. The mayor designed the prison to house maximum and minimum security prisoners”.
Gino explained that the maximum security prisoners would be held in the building named…
The BLoCK (Baddest Lot of Criminals & Killers),
…while the minimum security prisoners would be held in the building named…
The MUTE (Minor Unlawful Transgressions & Encounters).
“There will be a lot to cover as the construction progresses, so get yourselves ready!” Gino continued shouting. “Avery, this could be your chance to prove you can handle bigger stories”.
Avery, with nostrils flared and one eyebrow raised, responded dryly, “Thanks”.
“Alexander!” Gino shouted. “I heard from the fire department that their crew has finally finished their arson investigation at the CCC headquarters. I need you to interview them, and find out what they found out!”
“Maybe, I could do that”, Avery interjected. “I was there that night”.
“So what?” Alexander sneered. “You trying to take my job or something?”
Avery rolled her eyes, but didn’t respond. It was obvious that she wasn’t well liked by other members of the paper’s staff, but she didn’t care. She wasn’t there to make friends. Gino seemed to pay no attention to the tension.
“Jim!” Gino continued, still shouting, with small puffs of smoke emphasizing each word. “Have you brought me any pictures of Laura or the other CaTS members?”
“I’ve tried boss”, Jim replied meekly. “I haven’t been able to find them”.
Gino slammed both his hands down on the desk, shouting “What are you doing sitting here then?! Get out there and bring me pictures of spiteful villains!!!”
At that, Jim immediately left the office, stopping at his desk only to grab his camera, and then heading out the front door.
Avery braced herself, knowing it was her turn to be shouted at, she looked to Gino.
“Avery!” the editor started. “I want you to meet with that new real estate agent in town, and help her write some “for sale” ads”.
“That’s not even news”, Avery responded defensively, but knew it didn’t matter.
“Why are you still in my office?!” Gino suddenly shouted at the two journalists. “Get out there and start writing something!”
They both left the office and returned to their desks.
Alexander picked up his notepad, and headed for the door. “Have fun with your ads”, he said snidely as he left.
Avery felt deflated, but gathered her things, and made her way out. She found April, the “new real estate agent in town”, standing outside the building where Avery lived. April was hanging a sign in the window of an empty storefront, which was below Avery’s apartment.
“Hi Avery” April said without looking away from what she was doing. “How have things been going at the paper?”
“Not great”, Avery replied. “The other journalist hates me, and no one takes my ideas seriously. I’ve been assigned to help you write ads today”.
April turned to Avery now with a knowing smile. “Well then I guess it’s a good thing I’ve already written my ads”, April said. “Now we have the time to head down to the docks and look for any clues we may have missed. We need to figure out where Laura is holding Dani.”
Now, Avery smiled too.
The two women made their way to the docks, heading first to the kiosk, now for sale, but previously the home of Mistina’s Bay Boat Rentals.
“I’m going to search here”, April stated. “Maybe you should walk along the shore to see if you find anything”.
Avery nodded in agreement.
Avery started walking along the shore, looking out into the water. Not too far off the edge of the shore, she could see the dock where Laura tried to kill Kubey-Doo and Chef Rob. The dock where she thought she would die too. Where that snitching man, Konstantine, did die.
After some time, Avery had walked as far as she could along the shore. She had reached the old lighthouse. It hadn’t worked in decades, and a more modern one had been built, but the town kept it as a historical landmark. As she turned to walk back, she saw something stuck to some rocks by the water.
Avery carefully stepped out onto the rocks, reached down, and grabbed the paper, being very careful not to tear it. It was a thick piece of paper, folded, and sealed with a wax stamp that displayed the image of a mermaid sitting on a rock near an old lighthouse. Avery looked it over carefully.
Walking quickly, almost running, back to the kiosk, Avery calls out to April.
“What is it?” April asked as Avery approached, and took it from Avery. She looked it over as well, studying the wax seal.
“I’ve lived here my whole life and have never seen anything like this”, Avery said, confused.
April reached into her purse and pulled out a switchblade. She flicked the knife open, placed it under the wax seal, and opened the folded piece of paper. Once it was open, April put her knife away, and the women stood next to each other and started reading the paper over intently.
It was an invitation, but written in a way to keep away any uninvited guests. It alluded to an event, without specifying what it was. It indicated a location, without identifying where it was. It noted a time, without clarifying when it was. The one clear part, it was signed at the bottom, “S.U.S.”.
“What is this?” Avery asked.
“I don’t know”, April answered, and put the invitation in her purse.
The two women both shuddered suddenly. There was an eerie feeling someone was watching them. Avery and April looked around, but saw no one. They decided to head back into town.
As Avery and April made their way back into town, April stopped and pointed towards the clocktower, above Town Hall.
“When did they put that up?” April asked, pointing to a large digital screen that now adorned the front of the clock tower.
“I don’t know”, Avery answered warily.
Something didn’t feel right. April and Avery now moved towards Town Hall, but cautiously, looking out for any sign of danger. Suddenly the screen flashed on. There was Laura, sitting in a large chair. Behind her was a giant window, where you could see two sharks circling each other in the water.
Avery and April watched with concern on their faces. Laura’s mouth was moving, but they couldn’t hear a thing. Confused April and Avery looked at each other, then back at the screen. Laura had stopped speaking, and was looking off to one side. A crackling sound of static rang out loud, then stopped.
Then, a distant voice said “You should be good now”. Avery recognized it was Jeff. Laura shook her head, then looked back at the camera.
“Citizens of Stillwater Bay!” Laura said, her voice now echoing through the whole town. “The time has come for you all to feel the wrath of my revenge”.
At this point, many of the citizens have started emerging onto the street to watch, including Mark and Myles, who found April and Avery, and were watching together.
“We have quite a few surprises for you all today!” Laura continued taunting, letting out an evil, but short, chuckle.
Avery started looking around, and noticed high in the clocktower, Salty Pete and Dr. Lawrie were looking down on the crowd watching the screen. Avery made a subtle cough to get the others attention, and then indicated for them to look up as well.
“That means that Ramsey is probably here somewhere too”, April said, starting to reach in her purse.
By this time, Laura has introduced Pete and Dr. Lawrie, and they’re standing in the clocktower, shooting flames in the air and laughing, terrifying the townspeople. Laura began to introduce Ramsey.
April had pulled her bag of raisins out of her purse, and was handing some of them to Avery, Mark, and Myles. “Put these in your ears”, she said. “We won’t be able to hear it if she sings”.
Now, with raisins in their ears, they couldn’t hear Laura, again.
They couldn’t hear her as she explained that she found someone wandering around Malevolent Mountain, searching for someone. Even though they couldn’t hear what was being said, they knew to look with the crowd when their gaze shifted to the front doors of Town Hall.
The doors opened and Ramsey stepped out, just as they had expected, but they did not expect that Aaron, under hypnotic trance, would step out behind her. Ramsey started singing, although Avery and the remaining members of the CCC couldn’t hear, the rest of the townspeople could.
With the town entranced, Ramsey finished singing, and the group of detectives removed the raisins from their ears. Now that they could Laura again, they listened, pretending to be entranced themselves. Laura was instructing the hypnotized townspeople.
Laura was explaining that she would display a word cloud on the screen, and whatever the two biggest words in the center were, the entranced townspeople were to fulfill that task. Suddenly the screen went blank.
Small colorful words started rapidly appearing and changing on the screen. As the seconds went by, some words started getting larger, and some of those even larger still. Then it was obvious which two words were the largest, and in the center…
“KILL AVERY”
Avery and the CCC could see the citizens were turning to find Avery.
“You need to run!” April screamed, pushing Avery away. “Get yourself to safety. We need to get Aaron”.
The mob of people were now moving towards Avery, and the CCC disappeared into the crowd.
Terrified, Avery turned and ran as several of the townspeople she had known her entire life chased her down with the intent to kill her. She didn’t know where to go. She tried to stop at her apartment door, but couldn’t get to her keys in time.
Mike, the firefighter, swung his ax at her, nearly taking Avery’s head off, and smashing her door. She continued running. She made her way down the road, towards the docks for the second time today. She rushed past the rental kiosk, heading towards the old lighthouse.
Avery realized she had made a mistake and was stuck in a dead end. The only thing she could do was try to hide, so she ran around the old lighthouse, out of view, and pressed herself as tightly against the wall as she could. She could hear the crowd closing in on her.
Avery closed her eyes tight, and waited for her inevitable death. Suddenly, the wall she was pressed against opened, causing Avery to stumble backwards and fall to the floor. Then the opening closed, and everything was in darkness. Avery listened as they searched for her outside the lighthouse.
When it was quiet again, a torch suddenly ignited, lighting the small circular room. A woman wearing a hooded robe stood there, holding the torch.
“We’ve been watching you Avery”, the woman said as she opened a door on the floor, exposing a stairway down.
The woman was already starting to descend the stairs, while Avery was still trying to process everything.
“You have?” Avery finally asked, now following her down the stairs.
“Yes. And we’ve been nursing your friend back to health. She was burned quite badly” the mysterious woman replied.
They were still descending what seemed to be never ending stairs.
“What is this place? Who are you?” Avery asked, now feeling flustered with confusion.
The hooded figure answered plainly,…
“This is where we live. We are S.U.S.”.
Averybody Writes 
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