"So it happened during the night," Roam concluded.“Maybe at the same approximate time as the town square incident."
"Connected?"Miles asked.
"Has to be," Murphy said."Too much of a coincidence otherwise."
They continued staring at the mark as if prolonged observation might reveal its secrets.
"Maybe it's some kind of...thing," Colin offered helpfully.
"What kind of thing?"Roam asked.
"A...mysterious thing?"Colin replied uncertainly.
"That's very helpful, Colin," Murphy said dryly.
"Should we poke it?"Miles suggested.
The scientific method reduced to its most basic form—when faced with the unknown, prod it and see what happens.
"With what?"Dr.Wimpleton asked.
"I don't know.Something pokeable?"Miles shrugged.
"Definitely shouldn't poke unknown mysterious things," Roam said firmly, though he continued staring at it as if it might spontaneously explain itself.
That's when Sean arrived, having heard from the Shifter patrol his presence was needed.He took one look at the gathered men all staring intently at the ground and asked, "What are we looking at?"
"No idea," they replied in perfect chorus of confusion.
Sean studied the mark, walked around it twice, crouched down next to Roam, and straightened up with a puzzled expression."I've never seen anything like it."
"Aye, for Pete's sake.You and Roam are the investigative experts here," Murphy threw his hands up.
"Well, yes, but..."Sean scratched his head."I mean, I've handled dozens of standard spectral incidents, but this could be anything.”
“Do you think it’s one of those loophole things?”Murphy’s agitation was evident.“Look at it.It looks like a hole.”
“Loopholes are so rare that most agents never see one.I've studied them extensively, but seeing one in person..."He trailed off uncertainly.
"So, it could be a loophole?"Roam asked.
"Could be," Sean said, though he didn't sound entirely convinced."The shape is right, and the residue pattern matches the textbook descriptions, but..."He shook his head firmly."No, that's impossible.I applied fresh loophole protectant everywhere yesterday.Triple-checked the coverage myself.If the protectant is working properly—which it should be—then loopholes simply cannot form."
"But what if it is a loophole?"Dr.Wimpleton pressed.
Sean looked genuinely distressed at the possibility."Then either my equipment failed, my application was faulty, or something went catastrophically wrong with the protectant itself.All of which would be..."He paused, looking slightly sick."Very bad for my career prospects."
"So, what else could it be?"Miles asked in his most positive tone.
"Well, it's not supposed to be possible," Sean said, his denial growing stronger."This shouldn't exist.Maybe it's something else entirely.Some kind of...magical water thing?It looks like water in the middle.”
"What kind of water thing?"Dr.Wimpleton asked.
"Like a water...glass like thingy?"Sean offered weakly.
"Now you're just making up words," Miles said.
"We're all making up words at this point," Colin replied."We have no idea what we're looking at."
