All of this prompted more than one phone call to the police, which was why one police car showed up at the park, to see what all the fuss was about. The stories sounded rather...ridiculous to send a crowd.
Officer Kurt Maybourn and his partner, Officer Danielle Chase headed to investigate. They were already having an odd day. The two parked outside of the park and walked inside. This was a nice area, so, story or not, two hookers hanging around was not typical.
An older woman came up to them. "I wouldn't have believed it unless I saw it with my own eyes," she said. "There's something...scary in the woods...Everyone who has gone in there has come out strange."
"We heard what you told the dispatcher...."
"I know it sounds crazy. But...you need to cordone off the area or something. Before whatever it is hurts anyone else. I tried to stop him from going that way...I tried to stop the last few people...but they didn't listen to me."
"I went in there..." the woman said. "I had a bit of a drinking problem...but...now...My mind hasn't been this clear in years...I'd say it's a miracle, but...I think...for me..it's like all the bad decisions I made never happened. For some of the others...it's like the opposite...or...I don't even know. But there was a mist, and..."
Kurt squined, suddenly recognizing the older woman. He'd seen her before...much less put together. He frowned. "What do you think, partner?"
Danielle looked at him. "Sounds pretty crazy."
"You may think so, Officer," the woman said, "but do you want to take the risk of finding out?"
