“And please remember curfew, Steven. Don’t want another five a.m. call from your mother in hysterics again when you decided to sleep on the porch, yeah?”<br/><br/>“Yeah, no problem Miss Davis,” the kid sighed, looking up at her with a hint of tears welling in blue green eyes that were reddened in something she was familiar with, “I jus’ get so angry when she gets drunk and has boyfriends over. I can’t sleep and I can’t think even when I’m awake.” This was the third time recently Cedar had picked the wayward boy up along Greyson Street walking from his friend’s house with reluctance back to his mother’s abode. There was genuine pity for him as she was familiar with the turbulence of a broken and unstable home and part of her wanted to take him home and give him a safe place to be but she was an officer and not an orphanage.<br/><br/>“I know, Steven. I will see if I can get in contact with a social worker and see what I can do to help you out some, alright?” It was late and they were sat around the block from the house he was terrified to return to and she felt guilty, but there was nothing more she could do. The boy didn’t respond, eyes shifting out of the patrol vehicle’s tented window to stare along the street where his mom surely awaited passed out or infuriated.<br/><br/>“Sure, Miss Davis, thanks again. If I need anything I will call that number you gave me. I got homework to finish so gunna try and do that.” There was a hesitant moment but the boy pushed opened the door and didn’t wait any longer before he was down the road and tugging his backpack onto his shoulder. Being in and out of homes with her younger brother, Cedar was all too familiar with the sense of not belonging somewhere someone was desperate to. The familiar pain had turned into motivation that put her through the military then police academy right outside Brannon City where she’d intended on being on the force. However, it seemed a stroke of odd luck landed her in the backroads community of Keystone Peak and with the title of sheriff. It was an extreme shift of environment, however, it was a place to grow and learn with a lower crime rate - so she thought.<br/><br/><br/>~10-91v over at willards ranch. Might be coyotes getting at his chickens again. Please respond.~<br/><br/><br/>The static click then buzz brought her back from her thoughts just as Steven disappeared around the corner.<br/><br/>“10-4, Davis heading over. About five minutes out,” the response was given brief to the radio at her shoulder. So far there had been little in the way of issues in her first week in Keystone, mostly paperwork and meeting new people - however things seemed to slowly ramp up. There was no telling if it was something anxiety was brewing up inside of her or simply a coincidence, but she was eager to perform and keep her new home safe as long as she could and as long as the people allowed her to. The position itself was a surprise and she’d slept on the offer for a night as the country didn’t seem the most attractive for someone like her. A clearly ethnic woman now with some power over a backwoods community, but to her surprise there was far less toxicity than she had expected. The military and city had shown her more spite than the ones she’d met in Keystone. All of her expectations had been subverted and it a new inspiration to do well in the position she had been blessed with.<br/><br/><br/>There was no immediate rush on her way to Willard’s ranch, as a coyote would be easy enough to take down if it were still lurking in the chicken coop. As she neared the ranch, it was quite obvious to see someone else had arrived there prior though there had been no response other than hers on the radio.<br/><br/><br/>“10-23, at Willard’s seems someone got here before me, going to provide back up.” Just as the button on her radio was released, an awful noise came from the looming barn followed by several gunshots. Though the sounds should have been relayed there was a tug in her gut that caused her to bolt from her vehicle, pistol removed from its holster and approaching the scene with caution. Fear was a terrible feeling, it had always been the hurdle that she struggled most with despite what it had in turn pushed her through. It was an emotion so strong that it used to break her down into fits of tears and curling in corners and each step she took closer to the barn, the stronger that need to hide away grew. Moonlight drenched from behind the silhouetted barn, obscured her view just enough to be uncertain of what she was seeing and why. Something big - more than a coyote or even a bear taking wobbling foot steps back and responding to the man in front of it with a guttural sound. It was a deep and bass filled sound that gripped tighter at that innate fear that she had pushed away to the back of her mind. Viscous liquids dripped from the beast’s maw as it was utterly focused on the man in front of it, a man she was unfamiliar with but she was dedicated to protecting. Just as her lips began to part, to announce herself to the man, the creature that seemed to be made of shadow and hatred flicked it’s head back and from it’s soaked muzzle came the most sickening sound. A howl. It was unmistakenly a howl but not of a simple timber wolf or anything she had heard before. It erupted that sense of fear in her, causing that dark looming essence to jolt through her.<br/><br/><br/>The reaction was immediate. Without further hesitation, a rapid succession of bullets were aimed at the creature’s upright head. Four of five landing. One through its throat, one through its chin and the other that seemed angled perfectly to fly through its cranium. The howl was interrupted and the sound that followed a gurgle and heave that made the creature stumble back, it’s large form swaying, clawed arms swinging out before it as if trying to take the man down with it.<br/><br/><br/>“Sir! Back away from the animal!” Finally did she announce herself, gun still aimed at the beast as it fell to its knees, blood moving in glittering streams down its now broken visage.<div class="messageTextEndMarker"> </div>