Snippet #2810139

Sheriff Mill's eyebrows rose even further at these revelations, the troubled look on her face growing all the more. After a moment she gave an abrupt nod, a look of determination and vigor in her eyes. "Yes, of course. I'll do everything I can to help. I have no idea how such a cult could have grown underneath my nose...still, it will certainly not stay that way for long. You have my word."

Then the Sheriff glanced over to one of her deputies, and gave a nod. Then in the blink of an eye, she had her pistol in hand, and fired a shot straight into Anna's chest. The bullet pierced her heart and killed her in an instant, before she or any of her comrades could react: and then, before Margaret, Charles, or Sonia could make sense of things or return fire, the deputies had already gunned them down as well.

Margaret was the last to cling to life, her body crumple onto the floor. Her eyes were wide with shock and horror as she stared numbly at the deceased Anna. Dimly, she was aware of Sheriff Mills barking orders, making preparations to dispose of their bodies...

But none of that mattered anymore. Unable to remain conscious anymore, Margaret Thorne felt the world fade around her as she died.

....

....

....

"...We'll have to be quick about it. Update the sheriff, let her gather her posse while we send that telegram, and then search the hotel down to the floorboards....They must have found what we have thus far, yes. This darkness is more than enough to have waylaid them from their orders. The Lord led them to uncover this, and now we must finish their work." Anna said to her Pack, hurrying down the street. "Everyone in that hotel is suspect, and we shall bring the truth from them soon."

And just like that, Margaret Thorne returned to life.

She stopped short for a moment, her eyes widening in minute surprise as a rush of memories came to her: memories of a death five minutes from then, that only she would ever recall. A death so sudden and abrupt, that it had caught her totally off guard. But...that was not an issue she could focus on. The more pressing matter, in fact, was the issue of how to address the trap she now knew laid with the Sheriff and her deputies.

"How do we know we can trust the Sheriff, however?" Margaret spoke up, quickly resuming her walk with Anna and the others. Past experience had taught her the futility of warnings others of her knowledge...but, with the right words, perhaps she could avert disaster. "Clearly this cult has infested this town root and stem. Or so it would seem. How do we know that they have not corrupt the Sheriff in some way? In fact...it would make a disturbing amount of sense for this cult to bring the local law enforcement into the fold."