Chapter 1 Chilling whispers

The nights in the town of Sleepy hollow are usually lively with tourists and natives filing through the beautiful streets. Riya stood in the middle of it all and took it all in, she loved this town from the moment she stepped into New York, it was lively and the natives around were pretty warm unlike where she grew up.

She walked towards her favorite bar around the corner. The Five Penny pub was a pretty nice place where you could have a decent tequila with ice and every other booze you can think of, but most importantly the owner Mr Andrew Penny an average man who looked to be in his mid fifties was a very nice man and was very jovial, he has been like a father figure to Riya since she got here. Riya pushed the door open and walked into the bar and headed for the counter, as usual Mr Andrew spotted her first and shot her a smile

"Riri!!!!! it's always so pleasant to see you" said Mr Andrew

"Mr Penny pen!!" Riya smirked, reaching out to poke him on the shoulder

"What would you be having today?, and don't tell me the usual, I'm definitely not serving you the usuals today" he said firmly

Mr Andrew wasn't really a fan of Riya's favorite cocktail Aunt Roberta which is a mixture of Gin, vodka, absinthe, brandy and black berry liquor.

"Tonight you get a Tequila sunrise" he said with a smile that said she couldn't argue.

"Yeah right, not like I've got any choice" she muttered.

"Ohhh don't sulk, you'll like it Riri, it's okay and it doesn't knock your entire brain out which is totally and averagely a good thing" he said and turned to get her order and trying to not laugh because of the scowl on Riya's face.

After a while Riya finished her drink and said goodbye to Mr Andrew because the bar started to get busy and crowded.

Stepping out of the bar, Riya continued to walk down to her apartment which was just around the next street. Crossing an alley to take a short cut to her street, the wind started to pick up and Riya immediately regretted not wearing a Hoodie.

"Shitty brain" she muttered, "Just a few walks and I'll be ho...

thud!!!!!!!!!!!

She turned around startled to find someone had dropped something from the top of one of the buildings she was walking in between. She walked towards it in curiosity and almost screamed at the sight of a dead man. He....

Riya started to throw up until she could almost throw up her intestines, the man wasn't just dead, but his body wasn't really left in a sane condition. His chest had a big hole where it seemed like his heart had been pulled out, his intestines were out too and his eyes were gauged out from the sockets, there was also a cut from both sides of his lips up to his eyes that made him seem like a more twisted joker character.

Suddenly, the wind picked up again and this time it was heavy. Riya immediately stepped away from the dead man and just then she started to hear whispers, not very distinct but it seemed like they were flowing with the wind and it suddenly made cold air creep up her spine.

Just then, she felt like someone was watching her and has in fact been there for a while but she was too engrossed in staring at the dead man in front of her to notice. She then remembered that the man's body was thrown from the top of the building and looked up just in time to find a pair of red eyes staring at her. The person was wearing a cloak and the only thing she could make out was those red eyes. She blinked twice and the person was gone like it was part of her imagination.

Wait what!!!!! she thought.

She immediately ran back towards the way she was coming from to Mr Andrew's bar. She met the place still crowded and he seemed busy, she immediately ran to the counter while avoiding the weird stares she got.

"Mi mi mi Mr Andrew!!! she yelled even though she was already close to him, she was that freaked out.

"Riri I thought you went home" he said looking worried.

Riya then explained everything to him and Mr Andrew just sat there shaking his head with a look of shock and disgust in his eyes then he Said, "So you think the man in cloak killed him?".

"Yes definitely Mr Andrew, but he seemed to be a figment of my imagination, he just seemed to vanish into the air" she said thoughtfully, still shaking from the sight of the body and her race here.

"Let me talk to the local cops" he suggested warily

She nodded and just sat there while Mr Andrew made a call to the police reporting what she saw in the alley.

In less than an hour, three officers from the SHPD arrived outside and walked into the bar briskly heading to the counter where she sat with Mr Andrew.

"Good evening Mr Penny"

"Good evening Josh, this is Riya Sindell my regular customer and bosom friend, Riya this is Sergeant Joshua Bents, he's with the SHPD"

"Good evening miss Riya" Josh greeted half smiling.

"Good evening sergeant" Riya said

"This is Detective Kol Marshall and Private John Kennerson" he said introducing the men standing behind him.

They both gave a slight nod to acknowledge her and Mr Andrew. After series of more questions, Sergeant Josh made a call for other officers including Detective Kol and Private John to check the scene while the siren of an ambulance could already be heard outside.

Mr Andrew left her in the safe hands of sergeant josh who offered to ask a patrol officer to give her a ride home to ensure she was safe. As they stepped out of the bar, she could see the ambulance heading to the alley close by and other patrol cars too. One of the patrol cars stopped in front of her and the sergeant and he spoke with the officer for a while and asked her to get in, she got in the car and thanked him as the the car started.

"You okay miss?" the officer asked, " I'm Kennedy".

"I can't say I'm okay but I'm trying" she said trying to smile, "I'm Riya, and thanks for the ride".

He nodded in return smiling.

They got to her house and the officer parked in front, she got down and leaned on the window of the car and said, " thanks again for the ride Officer ".

"You're welcome, and do have a nice night" he said smiling then drove off.

She stood there for a while before stepping inside her house.

"what a night" she breathed.