Chapter Text
2:53 AM, August 19th, 2020
12 months, 6 hours, 22 minutes, and 34 seconds.
Theodore Spankoffski had been missing for an entire year and nobody cared. Hatchetfield’s resident creep. Why would anyone care about that sleazeball? And besides, it’s Hatchetfield. People go missing every day. Well, Peter Spankoffski cared. He cared so much, in fact, that he’d researched every trail, every loose thread, tracked down every suspect and witness, trying to piece together a story.
There was a knock on his door. At this hour? Pete set his pencil down, trying to pretend that he hasn’t been up all night. “Come in,” he called quietly. His mother stood in the door. “Oh. Hey, mama,” Pete waved. He turned his chair around and sat to face his mom. Her eyes darted around the room, and he noticed how her eyes widened at the sight of Pete’s “conspiracy board.” She sat down on Pete’s bed.
The two stared at each other, before his mother eventually spoke. “I know you miss him.” Great. One of these talks. Pete resisted the urge to roll his eyes. “We all miss him,” she continued. “Then why aren’t you-” The words got caught in his throat, and he choked back a sob. He let her continue. “This isn’t normal, sweetheart. All this..” she gestured to the cork board, the mess of papers on his floor, the scribbled sticky notes covering his walls. “..This stuff! It’s not normal to obsess over someone like this.” Pete opened his mouth to argue, but she held up her hand. “Even if they’re someone you love very dearly.” It’s also not normal for a grown man to go missing without a trace.. Pete thought.
Pete looked at the ground like it was the most interesting thing in the world. “...The police found something.” Pete looked up, curiosity and relief and fear flooding his mind. “They..” She hesitated, her gaze falling to the picture frame on Pete’s desk. The picture was from the fall of 2004. Pete and Ted were on the bench at Oakley Park. It was shaky, but a photo that Pete liked. Ted had shoulder-length hair and a significantly smaller mustache, but he was smiling. Pete was sitting on Ted’s shoulders holding a popsicle. His mother looked back to him, tears threatening to fall from her brown eyes. “..They found a body.”
***
October 15th, 2004
A young Pete Spankoffski was playing at the park with his older brother and his older brother's girlfriend. Well, Pete assumed Jenny was Teddy’s girlfriend. The two were practically made for each other! He explained all this to Teddy as he held his hand and walked to the ice cream truck. “Your names both end with a ‘y,’ and when we play house, you two are always married!” Pete pointed out. “That’s a nice thought, Petey. We’re just friends, though,” Teddy smiled sheepishly. “Well in my mind you two are gonna get married next summer!” Pete smiled.
Teddy’s face was flushed red. “A- anyways.. What flavor of ice cream do you want, Petey?” He asked. “Orange dreamsicle please!” Pete smiled. Teddy ordered himself vanilla and Jenny a chocolate soft serve- her favorite. Teddy crouched down with Pete’s ice cream. “Now, remember. What do we say to the workers?” Pete looked at the ice cream truck employee. “Thank you!” He said. “Very good!” Teddy handed Pete his ice cream.
The brothers walked back to the bench where Jenny was seated. She had on an orange sundress that complimented her ginger hair. Teddy couldn’t help but grin when he saw her. “Hiyah, Jenny! I got you some ice cream. Chocolate soft serve, your favorite.” He handed her the cone, and she flashed that smile that made the world just a little more colorful. “Thank you, Teddy,” she thanked, taking the cone. Despite being so young, Pete remembered the scene so vividly. It was like he was traveling back in time. “Let’s take a photo!” Jenny smiled again, taking out her small camera.
Jenny stood up, backing away. Something changed this time around. Ted wrapped one of his arms around Pete’s shoulder, and held up two of his fingers as bunny ears. Pete froze, brows furrowing and a frown forming on his face. “Oh my, Pete! You look like you’ve seen a ghost! What’s wrong?” Jenny asked. Pete shook his head. He must’ve been remembering it wrong. “It’s nothing, Jenny,” he brushed it off. “Jenny?” She questioned, tilting her head.
She no longer had an ice cream cone, and her long red hair turned into thick brown curls that grayed near the roots. Her sundress turned into a sweater and floral skirt as the leaves around them fell and a light snow dusted the frozen ground. The moment flashed into another memory of a day in the park. November 2017. They were at the park in the winter. The woman taking a photo of the two brothers wasn’t Jenny. Charlotte Sweetly, Ex-wife of Police Chief Sam Sweetly.
Ted tensed up, jaw clenched as Charlotte continued talking. “Do you have another lady friend that I don’t know of?” She teased, smirking as she approached Ted. Pete tried to signal to her that she shouldn’t tease him about Jenny by shaking his head aggressively. Charlotte noticed this and her smirk fell. “Oh, I- I didn’t mean to make you upset, Teddy,” she apologized.
Ted balled his hand up into a fist. Charlotte recoiled from him. “Sorry..” her voice got small. Pete looked at Charlotte with sympathy. Ted relaxed his muscles, sitting up straight. “You have nothing to apologize for, Charlotte!” He tried to assure the woman, who looked close to tears. “I.. I’m sorry, baby.” Ted made eye contact with Charlotte. “I love you.” Ted said.
At the time, Pete thought it was disgusting. Looking back, Pete would do anything to experience a cheesy moment with his brother like this. Charlotte looked up at him, tears welling up in her eyes. She smiled, laughing happily. “I love you too, Ted,” she responded. Pete stood up, offering to take a picture of them instead. Charlotte nodded aggressively, snuggling into the side of Ted as Pete steadied the camera on his phone.
As he snapped the picture, the moment froze. And then it started changing like it did before. A rancid smell filled the air and the snow around him melted, leaving only thick mud. When Pete looked up from the screen, he dropped his phone and screamed. On the bench was Charlotte. Or, what was left of her. Her flesh was gray and rotting, old blood staining her tattered sweater. She had been dead for a long time.
Beside her corpse was the source of the horrible smell. An ugly humanoid goat sat in Ted’s place. Its fur was yellow but tinted sepia with age. The face was an ancient white goat skull, dusty horns twisting into a spiral. Pete couldn’t move. Tree roots had grown over his feet, trapping him in that wretched scene for the rest of time.
“H- HELP!” He cried, like that would do anything. He did his best to twist around and find someone- anyone -to help him. The park was empty, his pleas only echoed through empty space. The goat thing leaned forward, empty eye sockets staring into Pete. Its jaw opened. “Do you wanna see your brother again?” It asked, its voice too light and joyous for the scene around it. Its words echoed around Pete’s skull, time progressing around him as it spoke. Charlotte’s body was down to a skeleton, the trees and foliage dead or dying. Pete nodded, feeling like he was submerged in syrup with every small movement he took. The goat creature held up a yellow box which looked a lot like a rubix cube. It unhinged its jaw again.
“Pete?” His mother’s voice came from the skull. Time seemed to rewind from that moment, and then he was back in his room. He was on the floor, eyes wide and breathing heavily. “Pete, are you okay?” His mother dropped to the floor with him. “No..” He whispered. “No no no!” Pete cried. “There’s no way he’s-” Pete cut himself off with a loud sob. His mother was crying, too. “I’m so sorry, Pete.”