There was something so satisfying about peeling off the plastic of a brand new phone. Penelope had stopped in at Ridgestone's local electronic store—a mom-and-pop shop that looked like it had opened in the nineties—the first thing that morning, even before coffee. Despite the dated exterior, they had a good selection of tech, including a display on cameras, night-vision goggles, and other gear for 'Raven-hunting.' Penelope avoided that particular setup and just asked for the newest iPhone, which now sat in her lap.

She hadn't been able to wait to get back to the cabin to open it. It was a pleasant enough day—clear skies but not too hot—so she had ventured over to the park in the centre of town and sat down on the nicest bench she could find. The bench was right in front of where the Ridgestone Raven statue had once been, the empty concrete platform still waiting for its eventual return.

As she pulled off the box lid and admired the shiny device within, she thought of the old phone she had used to film her first videos for YouTube. It had been second-hand, her mother's old smartphone with a potato for a camera. This new phone, its metal frame cold in her hand, was a definite upgrade.

She turned it on and watched the screen spring to life. The phone asked for her account info, and then, after she'd entered it, asked if she'd want to set up her phone from a backup. Her finger hovered over the options. Her breath hitched for a moment before she pressed down on the 'No' option. She'd miss some of her messages and app data, but she didn't want to import all the ugly hate that would come with it.

She wanted a fresh start.

A small knot of nervous energy had settled in between her ribs, making her heart beat faster. Here she was, making the conscious decision to reengage with the world at large. She'd be lying to herself if she said it didn't scare her. Hiding from all her angry fans had kept her safe for a while, but she couldn't hide forever.

Especially not if she was going to start filming again.

The phone finished its setup and the home screen apps came into view. It was only the basics, but it was enough for now. She opened the camera app, swiped to video mode and hit record, to test out her new camera. She raised the phone and began to pan it around the park. The view through the app was nice and crisp and—

Something flashed across the screen, startling her. The phone almost slipped from her hand but she caught it just in time, pressing it tight to her chest. With a shaky breath, she looked up to see what had shot past.

Another raven was sitting at her feet. This was not the squat, pudgy raven from the campsite. This one was huge and sleek, its black-eyed gaze sharp and serious. It ruffled its feathers indignantly as if she was sitting in its spot on the bench.

Penelope glared back. She thought of shouting at it to scare it away, but she remembered Liam's warning when they had first crossed paths...

Ravens remember those who mistreat them.

"What do you want?" she asked the haughty bird instead.

The bird shifted itself, keeping its gleaming eyes fixed on her. "FOLLOW. ME."

Penelope's eyes went wide. One bird saying that strange phrase was one thing. Now a second? That was just plain weird. "Who the hell is teaching you all that?" she wondered aloud.

"Teaching who what?"

The bird broke its stare and flapped away as Penelope looked up.

Liam had appeared around the corner of the trees, carrying two cups of coffee.

"How—?" Penelope sputtered at the sight of him.

"...did I find you?" Liam said, finishing her sentence. "I ran into your dad and he said you were picking up a new phone in town. You weren't at the diner, or the café, so I figured I might find you here."

"Not that, but I guess that answers my other question," Penelope said, shaking her head with a sigh. Her dad was such an oversharer. "I was going to ask how you keep doing that." She motioned to him standing there.

"Doing what?" he asked, tilting his head to the side.

The way he did it, with his glossy dark hair and dark eyes, kind of reminded her of a raven. "Popping up out of nowhere," Penelope said, narrowing her eyes at him.

"Used to go out hunting with my dad," Liam said, coming over and plopping down on the bench next to her. He offered her one of the cups of coffee. "Learned how to walk softly."

Penelope took the cup with trepidation. He got me coffee? "Why were you even looking for me?" she asked.

"I thought we were going to make that video about the Raven," he said like it was obvious.

She blinked at him. We? It had been his idea, but she never imagined that he'd want to actually be involved. "Who said I was making a video?"

Liam pointed towards the new phone in her hand as he took a swig from his coffee.

"I needed a new phone," she said, but it was a weak lie. "But why do you care? Do you want to help or something?"

"Sure," Liam said with a shrug. "Figured you'd need a guide or something, someone who actually knows their way around this place."

Penelope fidgetted with the cardboard sleeve on her coffee cup. A local guide could be useful... But after Daevon, Penelope wasn't sure she wanted to work with someone else again.

"By the way, who were you talking to?" Liam asked, interrupting her thoughts. "When I came by?"

"Huh? Oh, it was a bird," Penelope said, her cheeks heating up as she admitted it. "A raven. They've been... saying stuff to me." Saying it aloud made her feel stupid. She took a drink of her own coffee to distract from her reddening face. She was sure he'd laugh at her.

As she expected, Liam snorted. "Oh, yeah. They do that," he said. "A few years back Gunnar was on about getting someone to teach them how to talk. I don't think he got very far, but they are very good mimics and they learn from each other, so every once in a while you'll get one that says something weird. It definitely helps sell the Raven story, though."

Penelope shrank in her seat. Of course, this is just more evidence that Gunnar faked.... "Is there anything in this town that's legit?" she huffed.

"Sure," Liam said, turning to her. His dark eyes glinted in the sunlight. "Where do you want to start?"

She looked at him, studying his face. Up close, caught in the light, she could tell that his eyes were a very dark brown, flecked with amber and gold. When he wasn't staring her down, he looked a lot more friendly. Maybe it'd be okay to rely on him, just a little. Some part of her felt like she owed something to him, to all her subscribers...

"Nowhere. Not yet," Penelope said, putting her coffee down and gathering the trash around her on the bench and shoving it into her bag. "I need to make a introduction video first. Or a re-introduction, I guess."

"Ah, yeah," Liam said. "I guess you've got to tell the world what a dickhead Daevon is."

"That's not the point of the video," Penelope said, but as she thought of Daevon, of how he spoke to her yesterday, she felt a flare of anger. "But maybe a little, yeah."

"Then I'm happy to help with that," Liam said, smiling wide. Penelope didn't think she'd ever seen him smile that big. It looked good on him. "What's your plan? Do you have a script?"

"No script," Penelope said. "I hate scripts. Daevon always tried to get me to use one, but they make me sound so stiff. I need this to be simple, natural. I need people to know that I'm real—that I believe what I'm saying. As for a plan, I was thinking of maybe just filming," she looked around, "here."

Without the statue's looming figure, the bench's spot was actually quite nice. It was set back from the main path, in a curve of the trees that usually made way for the statue. And the trees offered shelter from wind and distant sounds, which would be good for audio.

"Sure," Liam said, standing up from the bench. He held out his hand for her phone. "Want me to hold the camera?"

Penelope gingerly handed over her new phone. "Be careful. It's brand new."

As soon as Liam got his hands on it, he spun around, winding up and swinging his arm through the air, as if he had thrown it—but he quickly revealed that it had stayed in his hand. It still made Penelope jump. She scowled at him.

"Kidding!" he said with a smirk, then got into position, a few feet back from the bench. He held up the camera but made a face. "Is this good?"

"Let me see," Penelope said, jumping up from the bench too. She went to Liam's side and peered over his shoulder.

The camera was focused on the bench, but the angle was all wrong. The bench sat in the exact centre of the frame, but he was too far away and too far up. He was much taller than Daevon, taller than what she was used to.

"Get a bit closer," Penelope said, carefully nudging him with her elbow, "and a bit to the right," she nudged him again, pushing him to the side, "and a bit lower," she kneeled, holding up a frame with her fingers, showing him what to do.

"I thought you wanted this to be simple," Liam said, raising an eyebrow at her, but he did as she said.

"Simple doesn't have to mean bad," she replied.

As Liam got into position, she looked over his shoulder, into the viewfinder, again.

The bench was closer, at a slight angle, and more in focus. The shot was much more dynamic and when she sat down again she'd be perfectly in frame.

"Is this comfortable for you?" she asked, looking down at him.

"Comfortable enough," Liam said, shifting slightly. "But don't go on too long, alright?"

"Deal," Penelope said and headed back to her spot on the bench. She had no intentions of rambling—she wanted to get right to the point. "Hit record when I tell you, okay? I won't start speaking immediately, but keep filming."

"Roger," Liam said.

Penelope squared her shoulders and took a deep breath before exhaling through pursed lips. Her hands were shaking, so she balled them into fists on her lap. Despite spending the last few years on camera, she suddenly felt very nervous. "Hit record now."

"Action!" Liam said, half-sarcastic.

Her annoyance at his quip focussed her, pulling her out of her nervous spiral. She turned to the camera, looking directly into the lens, exactly what Daevon used to hate.

"Hi everyone," she began. "It's been a bit, hasn't it? I know you've been waiting to hear from me. I hope you can understand that I had to take a step back from everything. It all got really bad for a bit. It was scary, scarier than any location I've investigated." She gave a small, hollow laugh. "But I understand why all of you were upset when you found out that much of the evidence I had shared with you over the years wasn't real. It might be hard to believe, but I know exactly how you feel because I was in your exact position—I thought it was real, too. Daevon never told me what he was doing. I was in the dark, like the rest of you. If he had told me, I would never have agreed to it.

"For those of you who have been here from the beginning, who know why I started hunting ghosts and stuff, you know how important it was—is—to me that the evidence I find be real. And having that ripped away from me, without any warning," she frowned, her disgust apparent, "was particularly hard.

"However, I'm not giving up. I still want answers to the many questions that first brought us together. I still want to find that evidence that the paranormal is real. I know some of you still want those answers, too." Without meaning to, her focus briefly shifted from the camera to Liam behind it. "So I'm going to keep looking. Because I still have hope. And I hope some of you will join me on this journey.

"I'll warn you now, though," she continued with a wry smile. "The quality is going to be taking a hit. Since I'm no longer working with Daevon," the word came out harder than she meant it to, but it seemed fitting, "I'm going back to a simpler setup. Just me and my phone, like when I started. Maybe a friend or two. But I think that will be more than enough, for now.

"As for what's next for me... Well, through some strange coincidence, I've ended up in the town of Ridgestone. You may recognize that name—it's home to the Ridgestone Raven, the cryptid that has gone viral recently with a new sighting. However, not everything here is as it seems. The Raven has a long history, but there's more to—"

"What are you two up to?"

Penelope tore her focus away from the camera. Liam stopped recording and turned around.

There was Mayor Gunnar, carrying a small grease-stained bag with the name The Raven's Nest printed on one side. His round ruddy cheeks were pulled up in a smile.

"You ruined the shot!" Liam snapped.

"You're making a video, aren't you?" the mayor cheered, staring at Penelope. "Oh, I knew you'd come around. With all the attention the Raven story is getting, it'd be too good an opportunity to pass up!" He looked over to Liam, who was now standing, glaring up at Gunnar. Penelope hadn't realized it until they were side by side but, despite the older man's age, he was taller than Liam.

"I'm surprised to see you here, though, helping her," the mayor continued, glaring back. "I thought you were sure she was some kind of fake. Or did you just feel bad after you made her cry?" he taunted.

"I was wrong about her," Liam said defiantly. "She's not interested in the lies you spread about the Raven."

Gunnar's smug face shifted, his light eyes blazing in the shadow of his folded brow. "Careful, now," he warned. "You don't want to damage the Raven's image. A lot of good folk around here rely on it to pay their bills—including your mother. You hurt the Raven, you hurt the town, you hurt them."

"I thought 'all publicity is good publicity'," Liam snapped, echoing the cliche the mayor had used the day before. "And these people have hurt plenty of people themselves."

"Not your mom," Gunnar replied. "You don't want to hurt her, do you?"

"Leave her out of it," Liam growled. "She hates your bullshit as much as I do."

Gunnar raised his eyebrows. "Maybe so, but she still lives off it." He turned to Penelope and she shrank back. "If Liam's filled your head with his nonsense, honey, don't bother with this video. I've hired someone else to do the job, anyway—a professional. Spent good money, too. Your loss." And with that he strode off down the path, heading towards the city hall.

Professional? Penelope wondered. She'd spent lots of time with all types in the paranormal community and she knew from experience that anyone who called themself a 'professional' was sure to be full of it. She wondered just who he'd found to go along with his fakery.

"So, do you wanna continue?" Liam asked, drawing her attention back to their filming. His sunny mood had dissolved and his dark eyes were back to being impenetrable.

"Yeah," Penelope said. "Let's finish this."