November 20, 1953.
It was a wild night in Logtown, Oklahoma. Police cars were scattered around one of the cabins next to Logtown Creek where an African American family once resided, but now they are gone. The scene catches the attention of everyone in the town, with everyone watching from their homes and questioning what could’ve happened in the home.
Soon, another cop car arrived on the scene, and soon a man stepped out of the car, he had a beige trench coat, fedora, glasses, a big coffee shop beard, and he was still smoking a pipe. On his trench coat was a badge for the “Detective of Logtown, Pittsburg” and his name was Johann Williams.
“Good afternoon, detective. Glad you could make it” the local deputy greeted him. Johann shook his hand and soon asked “Thanks for the call, Andy, what’s going on here?”
“The Perkins went missing, neighbors heard screaming, and the front door was broken open, and the windows busted open” said Andy. Johann looked at him for a moment, smoked through his pipe and soon said “The Perkins?” he said.
“Yeah, you know them?” Andy said.
“Well, my son knew their son, Niles, and I met their parents before” Johann said with a distasteful look on his face. Andy nodded and soon stepped aside to let Johann in the house so he could begin his investigation.
Johann Williams was well known by Oklahoma’s law enforcement, for he was a seasoned detective who had solved some of the state’s biggest crimes, and had stopped many of Oklahoma’s most dangerous outlaws and criminals. The people of Logtown knew if anyone would be able to figure out what happened, it was Johann.
Johann soon stepped into the house, and could see it was an absolute mess. He soon put down his pipe, exhaled out some smoke and soon took out his magnifying glass and began inspecting the places where it looked like someone broke in and out. From the looks of the scene, Johann quickly came to a realization that it wasn’t one or two people breaking into the house, but several people, more than enough to overpower the family in seconds. However, the only fingerprints he was able to find were the prints of the family struggles. Given what the neighbors said, and the scene here, it looked like there was indeed a struggle.
Johann soon left the house, and began investigating the outsides of the house, trying to find anything about the family or the kidnappers. However, he was soon alerted by the shout of somebody from behind him “Hey! Man!”
Johann turned around and saw a shirtless African American man approaching him from the darkness, causing Johann to immediately draw his gun and rather than shout in question, he shouted “Hey! Hands in the air!”
The man soon obeyed his order and put his hands in the air, and said “Yo, Yo, Yo! I ain’t doing’ nothing!” Johann soon approached him, and punched him to the ground and soon began cuffing him, “Hey man! I didn’t do anything, brah! I didn’t!”
“Shut up!” Johann said before lifting the man and soon several other officers ran over and soon Johann said “Take him, he was sneaking up on me, probably to shank me, like his people do!”
“Shank you?! Man, you’re not letting me explain! I know who took the Perkins!” he said, Johann soon said “Oh yeah, well tell me who!”
“It was the beasts of Logtown! The Logtown beast!”
Johann shook his head, and soon pushed him to the ground and said “Take him away” before walking away from the house, all while the man was soon taken away by the cops. Johann soon sat down on a bench outside of the house and took a moment to compose himself, before saying to himself “Logtown Beast…” with a chuckle.
He continued his investigation, and it was soon getting late, and soon he decided to go home and rest. He got in his car, and waved goodbye to the other cops as he began driving home. In his car, he soon began playing some country music on his radio. Soon, one of the songs caught his attention, it was I Saw The Light by Hank Williams, which was released in 1948, which is actually around the year when Johann’s wife Margaret died.
He soon pulled up in his driveway, and as he got out of his car, he shouted, “Sawyer! I’m home!” but he strangely got no response “Sawyer?” he said as he walked to the front door and soon opened it with his house keys and as he went in, he didn’t hear Sawyer blasting his music in his room like he usually does.
Johann soon checked up on his son by entering his room, but saw he wasn’t there. Johann soon put his palm on his face and soon said “Ugh… he’s probably out with his friends”
Infact, he soon heard the front door open and soon he walked to the living room and saw Sawyer walk through the door, stopping upon seeing him. “D-Dad!” Sawyer said, and Johann soon said “Where were you?”
“I went for a walk?” Sawyer said
“A walk? Past your curfew?”
“…I was hanging out with the Johnstons again!” Sawyer said, after being caught in a lie.
“Come on son! You know I don’t like you sneaking out past 11!”
“I know dad, the boys had something planned and-”
“What could they have planned that you deem so necessary to sneak out during this time!?”
“Why are you getting so bad at me, Dad?” Sawyer said with confusion since Johann’s never been this angry after he comes home.
“Have you seen the news?! You’re black friend Niles is missing, and so is his family!”
Sawyers was shocked upon hearing this, “What? Niles? No, that can’t be!”
Johann soon grabbed Sawyer by the shoulders and said “Son, listen! After we lost Mom, I promised myself I wouldn’t lose you too! So, until we catch the people who took your friend, you don’t set foot out of this house!”
“But dad-”
“I’m not asking you, that is an order from your old man!” Johann said in an assertive tone, and soon he let Sawyer go and said “Go to your room, and get some shut eye!” and Sawyer immediately obeyed his father’s demands. Johann than hangs his coat on the coat hanger by his door, and his hat on the hat hanger and went to the sofa to watch some tv.
The tv was news about the kidnapping, and news reporters speaking about the scene and interviewing some witnesses to the crime, as well as some officers. They would’ve interviewed him, but he left before they came… plus Johann wasn’t in the mood to deal with the press.
Soon, news about the guy he detained came up and the reporter said “The man who detective Johann Williams arrested was Roscoe Coleman, who snuck up on Johann while he was investigating the crime. He is currently in the police station holding cells, awaiting processing”
Johann Williams tensed up a bit after hearing about Roscoe, he knew he would have to be the one to process him. Johann wasn’t looking forward to that, but he will do his best to prove if he is innocent or guilty. He may be a racist cop, but he was a professional, and he’s not gonna risk his job on a negro.
Soon, he went to his room and went to bed, quickly falling asleep. Soon, when he woke up, he found himself on the side of a sidewalk. He got up and looked around, and soon saw himself looking down an alleyway. There, he saw his beloved Margeret being held up against the hard brick wall, surrounded by African American gang members! They had her at gunpoint, with one of them taking advantage of her.
Johann soon got up and began shouting, taking out his gun and shouting orders as he took aim and fired. Soon shooting one of them in the shoulder, but one of them shot Johann in the thigh and he collapsed on the floor. He soon heard a second gunshot and then footsteps of the gang making their retreat.
Johann looked up, and soon saw his beloved wife’s body on the floor, a pool of red forming around the ground with a big hole in the side of her head! “No! No!” Johann cried out as he crawled over and held his wife, screaming and crying in anguish…
Suddenly, Johann woke up from the nightmare and rose out of bed, gasping and sweating. He soon looked to his left and on his nightstand, was a photo of him, Margaret, and Sawyer. He sighed, and soon got up out of bed and began getting dressed for his duty.
He waved his son goodbye, got to his car and soon drove down to the station. When he arrived, he was welcomed by the roar of a thug who was most recently arrested, he cursed out the officers who restrained him and ushered him to a room to calm down.
“Detective Johann, you came here early” said a woman at the front desk. Johann chuckled and soon said “Yeah… kinda forgot my coffee, mind if I..?” Johann said and the receptionist nodded before he could finish his sentence, and he made his way to the lounge to get himself a coffee. Soon, another officer followed him in “Johann, glad you’re here”
“Wish I wasn’t” Johann said sarcastically, “What do you got?” He asked the officer.
“Well, Roscoe hasn’t given us much information. He’s been rambling about ‘white beasts’ all night” The officer said, Johann chuckled and soon said “White beasts?”
The officer soon handed him a folder of files that were about Roscoe, apparently he was some crazy old guy in the neighborhood who goes around town and rants about some kind of creature or aliens stalking the town. In and out of jail or a few years, mostly misdemeanors or causing disruptions, intoxication, and self harm.
“Any felonies? Like did he murder someone? Did he rape someone? Did he-” Johann said
“Detective!” The officer said,
“What? You never know with these people!”
The officer sighed and soon said “Are you sure you wanna investigate him? I mean, I know about your wife and all, but…”
“Trust me, I’ve been doing this for the past 5 years now. I ain’t about to risk my job on some kind of white supremist instict or whatever” Johann
“Well, who am I to question your judgment?” The officer said, both soon laughed and soon someone called for Johann, telling him that Roscoe was getting ready and that he should get to the interrogation room. Johann soon got up, poured the rest of his coffee down the sink, and brought a notebook and a folder with him as he walked to the interrogation room.
He soon got in, put his trenchcoat on a coat hanger and sat down on one end of the table, he still had his hat on though, no one can remember seeing Johann on the job without that hat. He began writing on some documents before looking up a corkboard and seeing a lot of posters of missing people, most of them were African American families, and some random people, even some whites were missing.
Johann knew deep down they had the wrong guy, but if Roscoe was at the scene of the crime, it’s possible he was a witness to the crime in action. He may be racist, but he has to trust his detective instincts and not let hate consume him.
Soon, the door opened and Roscoe walked in with handcuffs on his wrists, he wore a jacket and had a small gray beard and was slightly bald. He soon sat down on the opposite side of the table, and looked at Johann “Oh, you’re that joke of a detective” he said snarkily.
Johann said nothing as he just looked at him with a hateful look, “You sure you can take this?” one of the officers asked, Johann closed his eyes and took a deep breath, “I’ve got this”
The officers soon left, leaving the two in the room.
“Mr Coleman, my name is Detective Johann Williams of the Pittsburg Police Department. I’m gonna be asking you a series of questions, I would appreciate it if you were to answer to the best of your ability” Johann said, as professional courtesy.
He soon opened his notebook and soon said “State your name, please”
“Roscoe Jalapeno Coleman,” Roscoe said in a monotone voice. Johann wrote his name down.
“Place of residence” Johann said, “Uhh… I live in an old shed in the middle of the woods, near the cabins where the Perkins went missing”
Johann wrote that down, and soon said “Age?”
“Don’t know”
Johann looked up at him and soon said “What do you mean you don’t know?”
“I lost track of age in 1943, if I had to guess I’d say… 60 or so”
“Do you know what year you were born in?
“I believe… 1889?” Roscoe said, and Johann soon wrote down his age at 63. “Family?” Johann said.
Roscoe soon begins to cry “The beasts… they took my wife and my kids…” he says before breaking down into tears. Johann looks at the weeping old man before him, and can’t help but fear a little bit of sympathy for him, as well as some slight empathy for him.
“I see, we’ll come back to this later” Johann said as he folded his folder and soon got up off his chair, but Roscoe stopped him, “No… No… I apologize, I’m fine now” Roscoe said with a sniffle. “You sure?” Johann said, and Roscoe nodded, Johann sighed and soon said “Keep in inside next time” under his breath.
“Do you at least have any living relatives? Like parents, siblings, cousins, aunts, uncles, or grandparents?” Johann said, and Roscoe shook his head, stating he’s an orphan.
Johann nodded, and soon wrote on the document. Johann soon looked at Roscoe and soon said “Mr Coleman I’m not gonna waste any more of your time, i’m gonna ask you a simple yes or no question” Roscoe raised one eyebrow at the statement.
“Did you have any involvement in the disappearance of the Perkins?” Johann said, “No! Man, I know what happened to the Perkins but y’all won’t listen!”
“Well what happened? I need you to be honest with me, alright?” Johann said.
“It was the beasts! The clan of beasts that lurk within the forest of the town!”
“Beasts?”
“Yes!”
Johann soon pulled out a notebook, and soon said “Describe these beasts for me”
“They have big heads, shaped like a diamond or pyramid, and they carry these big torches!”
Johann soon looked up at Roscoe, and soon said “What color were they?”
“Uhh… white”
Johann soon ripped out a piece of paper and soon began sketching some type of insignia with a cross on it, and soon showed Roscoe it before saying “Did you see this on any of the beasts?”
Roscoe looked at it for a moment, and soon said “Not that I can recall…”
“You said these were the same beasts who took your family?”
“Y-Yes…”
Johann soon continued to write in his notebook, and before he could say another question, he heard a knock on the door. He turned to see an officer looking at him, “Detective, we just got a call from your son. We believe there’s been a break in inside your house”
Johann looked at him in shock and soon said “What?! Is Sawyer safe?!”
“The call ended abruptly, we’re sending some units over too-” The officer said before Johann immediately jumped out of his chair and began sprinting for his car, accidentally knocking over a file manager in the halls. He soon got out of the station, got into his car and began driving for his house, quickly going over the speed limit.
He soon arrived at his house, and his heart sped up when he saw smoke rising from the house, the smoke seemed to be coming from where Sawyer’s room was! “Oh, God, please no!” Johann pleaded as he got out of the car and ran over to the house, however he was grabbed and held back by two officers.
“Detective, you can’t go in there! There’s a fire!”
“I don’t care! Where’s my son!?” Johann shouted
“Let him go!” The police chief said as he walked over, and soon the officers let him go and Johann immediately questions where his son is and is he okay. “Johann, look. We found a cross on your son’s bed that was lit on fire”
“A burning cross” Johann said, and the chief soon pulled a piece of paper out of his backpack and gave it to him, Johann practically snatched it out of his hand and saw it was a note.
“Father, I’m sorry but I have to take a stand and join them. The disease spreading throughout this country is growing and we must stop it, please don’t look or prey for me, please stay away, it’s for your own good”
Johann immediately felt something off about this note, he knew Johanns handwriting more than anyone and this writing was too neat for Sawyer to be the writer. However, he was soon overcome with despair and anguish.
He fell onto his knees and cried softly, “Johann?” the chief said softly. Johann soon threw his hat to the ground, grabbed his hair and screamed into the sky
“Sawyer!! Noo!!”
