It was a rather peaceful day at the town of Misty Cove. It's already fall, the sound of crunch as the leaves get crushed, hear it? Ah, yes that. The most awaited season for the youth.

Maple, a young lass ran at her two friends at the school bench. She scrunched her nose and noticed that the two of them are being suspicious while whispering at each other. Heck, they even left her.

"Boo!" she screamed.

Confirmed. Those two are up to something. They shrieked and hastily hid the paper on their backs as Maple got closer in their side.

"Guys, why so jumpy? I even told you to wait for me at the room once break is over!" she whined like a child.

Two of her friends admired her face, despite of whining, just how much cuter can she even get? Such a goddess, they say.

"We a-apologize. We just talked about something, yeah."

Meadow, couldn't hide his flushed face, looking so flustered as well. His light brown eyes reflected at the sunlight while avoiding his gaze. You can perfectly describe him as the typical pretty shy boy type.

On the other hand goes Magnolia, or Magno for short. Such an unusual old name, but they got used to it. "Hey, Maps. Wanna know a secret?" he winked, silently trying to get the young lass' attention but no avail, Maple values their platonic relationship so much.

Maple shook her head. "Later, Mags. Did you saw the news last night? I managed to see half of it but Mother immediately turned off the T.V!"

Meadow and Magno got intrigued as they leaned close together. "What do you mean? What's the news?"

Maple dramatically acted while fanning herself with so much exaggeration. "It was a robbery of―"

Meadow and Magno groaned simultaneously. They expected a serious one, sure robbery is a serious case, but not in this town. Misty Cove, the most highest rates of being a perfect town, being ranked as the most crime free town in the city. This place is surrounded by trees, more like woods. It could look like a jungle if it weren't for the houses and other buildings.

Robbery is the most common crime that happens in this town but it's nothing serious actually. The police would act in a beat. Mostly once a year it happens, and in the next months? None. Too perfect, right? But boring.

Those three friends tries to find something peculiar and hidden, because in their life? A strong gut feeling sparks inside of them that there's just more to this town from being perfect. Misty cove... something even more, utterly dangerous.

"Mapie, take a look at this," Meadow calls as he grabbed what was on Magno's hand.

They looked at the surroundings and inspected if there are other people around but the coast is clear. They gathered closely while staring at the paper, a stapled file of document rather, but what?

"We know, and we're sorry for leaving you behind. You see, when break was over and you're still talking to Mr. Anrold, you got him distracted as you blabbed him with your usual self for being a smart ass. We slipped at his office, he has an old storage box, and he doesn't want it to be touched. It was really suspicious and I managed to convince Meadow to snitch inside, and look what we got baby."

Maple's eye widened and gasped. "You convinced Meadow?!"

She was clearly surprised at Meadow to join forces with Magno, not about them snitching inside Mr. Anrold's office.

"Okay, I'm kidding, what's this... Oh. What in the world of cows," she muttered.

Her heart skipped a beat, was it fear? No, she felt the glint of excitement in her heart. She's never felt this feeling before in her whole life while living as a perfect student in this perfect town.

"Written in 1965, this town was used to be a Serial Killer's den. Year by year, until the only last Serial Killer in their generation who lived in this town before... He was banished. The Beeper."

Maple scoffed. "What an odd name," she comments, earning a glare from Meadow for stopping him to continue.

"I know right," Magno agreed.

Meadow blew an air. "Okay fine. We get it, can you at least listen first?"

Maple and Magno only nodded like kids. As Meadow continues to cite the next words that terrifies them, it wasn't enough to let them shake with terror, instead a glint of excitement, surprise, and even curiosity wandered in their system. That's where it started... Curiosity.

"1965, The Beeper declared this town or Misty Cove as their own lair. Every person who steps their foot in here, may it be a lost traveler, or pesky kids who would skip school, he doesn't show any mercy and kills them in an instant. Everyone who destroys and disturbs his own solace. It's odd how he lets a suicidal person to wander alone in this place. He knows what a suicidal person is when he sees one. He fancy watching them as they slowly take their life away," Meadow says firmly while reading that document they snatched.

Maple shivers while thinking about what the Beeper did before. He imagined a very detailed scene in her mind.

"Then why is he named as The Beeper?" Magno wonders.

"That's his pattern when he started to lurk for victims. When he got impatient as no one would wander in this town anymore, that's when he left this place, and went outside to find more to kill. He collects 'deleted messages'. Meaning, post mails that are failed to send to the designated location, he called them deleted messages."

Maple gasps. "Woah, that's completely wicked."

Meadow rolled his eyes. "Couldn't change the fact that he's a serial killer."

Magno slowly motioned his hand, a gesture that he wants to borrow that document. He flipped through the pages and stopped as he pointed a word.

"Around 1980, he moved mysteriously again in the shadows, from voicemails that couldn't go through, from beep after beep that isn't sent to the receiver. Those were his victims, those people who aren't able to send their messages. I must say that's a pretty shallow move. I mean, killing innocent person for a message that failed or couldn't go through? And one fact, he was only named as 'The Beeper' at the 80's. Pretty famous, because when you hear the beeping sound? That alarm sound? Be careful, because he's near," Magno uttered, almost a whisper.

The sunset faded, the lamp post that lit one by one, the eerie and creeking sound of the the metal fence near them, and the rustling whispers of the wind.

Maple bit her lip until they suddenly heard the alarming beep sound near them.

Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep!

Meadow and Magno panicked and hastily stood up while strengthening their guard up. They looked at their side, everywhere, but the beeping sound didn't stop.

They started to feel horrified until Maple let out an annoying laugh while clapping her hands. "Okay, fine! Fine! I'm sorry! You're reactions are just... Oh, I can't. Haha!"

Her laugh rang at the two lads as the two of them scoffed. "Not funny, Maps."

"I concur."

"Sorry again."

She raised her hands and did a peace sign at them. She trolled them by using an alarm in her phone. They started getting their bags and walked together to go home.

"Apology accepted since we kinda ditched you, Mapie."

Maple smiled and felt a glint of content in her heart while looking at her two friends.

'The two of them are adorable,' she thought.

She's always liked the idea about having a friend with the opposite sex. You see, Maple has faced unsolved traumas in the past. Male friends makes her uncomfortable, until finally she overcome that fear at some point. Meadow and Magno just changed her mind and proved her wrong. Well, they actually met at an unexpected place. But in her mind, whatever happens, it'll always just be Meadow and Magno in her side. No one else.

"It's weird. Why did you just came up with the plan to snatch that? What if Mr. Anrold will find out about this?"

"Nah, he won't."

Maple tried kicking a small pebble. "So basically, this place turns out to be a lair of old serial killers from the past and the last serial killer which is 'the beeper' is the famous one? The one who kills people who experienced sending a message but failed? Deleted Messages, eh? What a word. That's it?"

It doesn't make any sense. It's too confusing as well. If he does kill people that experienced as what he call, 'the deleted messages', then the beeper should've killed all of people on earth now. Surely, we experienced about sending messages that didn't go through to the receiver. There must be a catch at the description that they haven't read at the document. And what is he? A tech-geek? How can he even see and know the people that has unsent messages?

Meadow stopped walking, having a bit of a distance with his two friends. "We haven't check all of what was written in there. What if the beeper turns out to be alive and back..."

'Now that's a good joke," Maple thought, and so did Magno. How old will he be? A hundred or more by now?

True. They haven't read all of what was written. There were a lot of certain loop holes in that document as well. Maybe tomorrow, they will check it carefully. The publisher or even the one who wrote it. Suspicious, and exciting too. Curiosity just flowed all in their veins. Was it true? Or just purely fiction.

"Thanks for accompanying me guys." Maple thanked them with a grateful smile when they arrived at Maple's house.

Meadow hummed and returned a small assuring smile too. "Anything, Mapie. Anytime."

On the other hand, Magno pulled his lower eyelid down at her. "Dumbass, we're literally neighbors. Pick some grass." He teased that made Maple's nose flared with smoke.

"Aight, you two stop. Let's get inside in our houses before the beeper comes up."

The silence took them over when Meadow said that in a laughing manner.

He grimaced. "Bad joke?"

Magno nodded. "Very bad."

Either way, with a sheepish laugh while they bid good bye, the three of them finally went inside their houses, slamming the door.

Maple checked her phone and emails first before going climbing upstairs. One of her old friend way back on grade school suddenly sent a message in messenger. She tried clicking it but it was labeled as an, 'unsent message'.

She tried to respond as well.

**

Maple: Hey, you good? I missed you. What's up? /sending failed/

/retry/

**

Eh? She pressed and swiped it until she pressed the remove message. Remove for you, or unsent. Unconsciously, she pressed unsent because it won't go through. That's when she noticed that her old childhood friend's Facebook account doesn't have any profile pic, and is deactivated?

She swallowed the lump in her throat when it recalled in her mind about the description of the beeper.

'Those were his victims, those people who aren't able to send their messages. I must say that's a pretty shallow move.'

That night, Maple held her phone tightly while closing her windows, curtains, and doors. She didn't believe it, but fear just crept in her mind that kept her trembling all night because of what she just did. Between excitement, there is curiosity, but before that, fear will always eat you.