Ryner skidded to a halt in front of the police station, panting from the sprint. The front entrance stood ajar, creaking slightly in the night breeze. His eyes narrowed.
"That's not a good sign," he muttered.
Rita floated beside him, her expression taut. "It shouldn't be opened up like this so late."
Turning to Thomas, Ryner gave a quick nod. "I need you to scout ahead. Look for Charlotte—go through the walls if you have to. Let us know where she is exactly."
Thomas raised an eyebrow. "You're sending me into a building with unknown danger again? Why not send Rita? Do you even care for my safety?"
"I would care for your safety but you're already dead so I don't," Ryner replied, trying to keep his tone light despite the tight fear in his chest.
"You keep saying that like it makes me expendable," Thomas grumbled as he phased through the wall with a reluctant sigh. "Fine. But if I find any blood, I'm filing a ghostly HR complaint for abuse."
Without hesitation, Thomas vanished through the concrete wall, his figure absorbed by the station's shell. Ryner broke into a run, his footsteps echoing through the stillness. Rita hovered above him, silent and tense. "Just hold on, Charlotte, I'm coming" Ryner said to himself.
Deep within Charles Buchanan's office, Charlotte crouched behind a filing cabinet, back pressed against cold metal as muffled voices continued their cryptic chanting. The three cloaked figures stood motionless, encircling Charles' desk like priests at a profane altar. Their masks were etched with writhing serpent patterns that shimmered faintly in the dim light. They're not leaving anytime soon, Charlotte thought, wiping sweat from her brow. What do they want? And how long before they realize I'm here?
Her hand hovered over the taser on her belt. She wasn't afraid to fight, but a single mistake could get her killed. She shifted slightly, attempting to peer around the cabinet when a voice rang out from the corridor—
"Charlotte! Are you here?!"
Ryner's voice echoed through the station like a flare in the night. The cloaked figures froze. Without a word, they turned and sprinted from the office toward the sound.
Charlotte swore under her breath. "Idiot!" she hissed. She exhaled, drew her taser, and slipped from cover, trailing them cautiously.
In the hallway, Ryner slowed his pace, glancing around, every sense on high alert. "I wonder where Charlotte could be…" he said aloud, inching forward.
A figure exploded from the shadows and swung a blunt object toward Ryner's ribs. He barely dodged, stumbling into a filing cabinet with a loud crash. Another attacker moved in from the side.
Charlotte struck fast. She lunged from behind and drove her taser into one of their backs. A crackle of electricity surged as the man spasmed and dropped, twitching.
Rita surged forward, her ghostly form flickering. Her leg phased into one of the attackers and solidified just enough to deliver a fierce kick to his temple. The man crumpled with a groan.
The last figure swung again. Ryner ducked low and tackled him, both of them hitting the ground hard. The attacker's head smacked the corner of a desk with a sickening thud, and he went still.
The corridor fell silent. Only Ryner's uneven breathing remained.
Charlotte rushed to his side. "Ryner?! What are you doing here?"
Ryner sat up and dusted himself off. "I came because it sounded like you were in danger. Looks like I was right."
Charlotte scowled. "As if there was anything you could've done to help. I'm an officer, remember? That makes me better at defending myself than you."
Ryner gave her a crooked grin. "Alright, I'll remember that for next time."
She sighed and motioned toward the unconscious cultists. "Go get some rope from our storage room—it's across from his office. We need to tie them up. I'll drag them over in the meantime."
A few minutes later, the three attackers were bound and lined up against the wall. Charlotte checked each for a pulse. "Still breathing."
Ryner pulled out his phone and made a call. "Jack? I need you at the station. We've got a situation."
Not long after, Jack arrived, his long coat dusted with night chill, eyes flicking across the scene with a smirk.
Ryner stood to meet him. "Charlotte, this is Jack Crow—an exorcist."
"And Jack, this is Officer Charlotte Buchanan. She's been giving me inside info."
Jack snorted. "So this is the inside man you mentioned? Doesn't look too promising."
Charlotte's brow twitched. "You're one to talk, you con man. At least I don't trick people with fake exorcisms. Even your name is cringey."
Jack folded his arms. "Touché."
"Enough," Ryner said. "We need to get answers from these people. They might be tied to Rita's missing body."
"You're right," Jack nodded, crouching beside the unconscious figures. "Let's see what we've got."
He removed the first mask—an older man with greying hair. Then the second—someone younger, a deep scar marring his jaw. Lastly, he peeled away the final mask, revealing a woman with auburn hair tied into a sleek ponytail.
Ryner's heart dropped. "Wait… Isn't that—Chloé? The woman who visited my sister about Rita's death? She used to be Rita's classmate."
Jack arched an eyebrow. "Oh, you don't say."
Rita drifted closer, eyes wide. "No… it can't be Chloé…"
Charlotte's frown deepened as she studied the woman's face. "I remember her. She used to visit the station—talked to Charley a lot. I eavesdropped a few times… it was about the case from five years ago. Rita's case. And now she's breaking into a police station in a cloak?"
Charlotte ran a hand through her hair. "This is deeper than we thought…"
"So the hot blonde is part of their cult?" Thomas asked, wide-eyed.
Jack leaned against the wall, arms folded. "Looks like our ghost problem just got a lot worse. But hey—we've got cultists in custody now. It's only a matter of time before we find Rita's body."
Rita hovered near Chloé's face, her voice quivering. "Why… why would she be involved in this?"
No one answered.
The only sound was the low hum of a flickering hallway light, humming above them like an omen.