The Stillwater River descended serenely from Bluecrest Mountain until it emptied into a crystalline lake that shimmered peacefully under the GreenTown sun. Everyone knew that if someone wished to chat with a fish, they only had to sit by the shore and wait patiently. Fish were not the brightest creatures, but they harbored an ancestral courtesy that was slowly disappearing with each new generation.


    There, by that calm stream, rested Alexander Mason. His morning patrol shift had been longer than usual since that macabre crime had shaken the heart of the town. Alexander absentmindedly dipped his feet into the cool water, trying to clear his mind of the horror he had witnessed days ago.


    "Who could be capable of something so atrocious?" he asked himself bitterly. He had been born in GreenTown, and for as long as he could remember, it had been a simple paradise where violence seemed inconceivable. He knew every inhabitant, both human and animal alike. In reality, they were only a few hundred, a quiet community where nothing extraordinary ever happened. Until now.


    As he watched the small ripples formed by his feet, Alexander reflected on how GreenTown was slowly heading toward modernity. The dusty streets of his childhood were gradually being replaced by gray pavement, and the sound of car wheels was beginning to drown out the peaceful trot of horses and their carriages. Would this progress inevitably be accompanied by cruelty? He shook his head; no, human evil needed no excuses to emerge.


    After a few minutes, he decided to get moving again. He had promised to keep this small community safe, especially now that he was expecting his first child. GreenTown was his home, and he would not allow fear to devour it from within.


    On his way back, Alexander passed by the Hudsons'' house, still cordoned off and guarded by other officers. The scene remained steeped in an unsettling tension, a strange, dense, and suffocating silence. The most striking thing was the unusual behavior of the birds that still lingered there, motionless, watching from the power lines and nearby trees. That immobility was strange, even disturbing. Birds never stayed in one place for so long, especially not near humans.


    Alexander recalled the many theories about these creatures. Some said they couldn''t talk, others swore they had heard fragments of conversations between them, and a few suspected they simply despised the rest of the land creatures for being unable to fly. The only clear thing was that no one had ever heard a single word spoken directly by a bird to a human.


    He stopped for a moment, carefully observing how those birds remained perched, unmoving, as if mourning deeply. For a moment, his detective instinct, cultivated since childhood through Sherlock Holmes novels, kicked in. With a barely perceptible smile, he murmured:


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    "Of course, now I understand. They have been so terrified by what happened that they forgot how to fly. Or perhaps they are silent witnesses, incapable of narrating the horror they have seen?"


    The gruff voice of Officer McKorny abruptly pulled him from his thoughts.


    "Hey, Alex! Could you cover for me for a few minutes?"


    "Something wrong?" Alexander asked, turning to his colleague.


    "I need to drop off an urgent package at the post office before they close. If Reynolds finds me away from my post, I’ll be in deep trouble. I’d really appreciate it, I won’t take long."


    "Alright," Alexander responded with resignation, "but hurry up. My shift isn’t over yet, and I need to keep patrolling."


    McKorny nodded quickly, disappearing in a rush toward the town center. Alexander sighed, hoping he wouldn’t take too long. He felt uncomfortable being alone in front of that desolate house, still impregnated with the nauseating stench that reminded him of the brutality that had occurred.


    With slow steps, he began to circle the property. The old wooden house, with its worn-out doors and neglected windows, was one of the town’s first constructions, now deteriorated and forlorn. Alexander gazed at an old tree in the small backyard, recalling his childhood, when it was still common to see squirrels, birds, and rodents peacefully coexisting in its branches.


    As he walked that improvised perimeter, he noticed unusual movement near the tree. A rat was frantically digging into the ground, throwing small piles of dirt behind it. Upon seeing him approach, the rodent stopped and stared at him defiantly.


    "Hey! You shouldn’t be here," Alexander exclaimed, frowning. "This is a restricted area, a crime scene."


    "Who are you to tell me where I can or can''t go?" the rat replied defiantly.


    "I’m the law in this place; animal or human, everyone must obey."


    "Go to hell!" the rat snorted before disappearing quickly into some nearby bushes.


    Alexander shook his head in disbelief. This was the last straw. However, looking down, he noticed something strange. The soil beneath his feet seemed freshly disturbed, forming a small mound right where the rat had been digging. His police instinct made him crouch cautiously, slowly moving the dirt with his hands.


    The smell, suddenly stronger, caused immediate nausea, but he kept digging until his fingers brushed against something hard and cold. His heart stopped for a second.


    It was them. The Hudsons'' Labradors lay buried, motionless and grotesque in their final rest. A wave of horror and sadness washed over Alexander as the world darkened around him. As he lifted his gaze, the birds, silent spectators throughout the day, simultaneously took flight, as if they had been waiting precisely for this moment to leave.


    The sound of flapping wings resonated violently in the air, leaving behind an absolute silence. Alexander remained kneeling in that yard, surrounded only by emptiness, now knowing with terrible certainty that the horror stalking GreenTown had only just begun.


    There, under the heavy silence of the evening, Alexander Mason grasped a bitter truth. Something darker and more dangerous than any animal had taken residence in his beloved town, something capable of cruel acts beyond imagination. And now, as the only living witness in that desolate place, Alexander would have to face it, knowing that GreenTown’s peace might be gone forever.