Rick sat in his seat, motionless. His hand shook slowly as the mystery caller laughed, indicating they were still on the other side.

“You better move now, Mr. Greenblatt, or Cameron is dead,” the caller threatened.

Rick pulled the car out of park and began to drive quickly back to his house. If the killer was speaking, Rick couldn’t hear them because the beating from his heart occupied his hearing. He was sweating profusely and felt the phone slide off of his hand and hit the floor of his seat. He looked down and almost hit the car in front of him at a traffic light. The driver honked at him and gave him an icy glare. When he finally made it home, Rick parked the car, grabbed his phone and ran up to the front door.

He opened the door and screamed, “CAMERON!”

There was no response and the house looked suspiciously untouched. Rick held the phone up to his ear and the killer laughed.

“It’s so cute that you think I’m that predictable,” the killer teased.

“Predictable enough to be using material from my show!” Rick shouted back.

“Fair point, but I’m not that dumb. I’m going to send you something. Don’t bother sending this number to the police, either. They’ll never trace it,” the killer said.

Rick’s phone vibrated against his cheek, and he pulled it away from his face. He tapped on the messages app to see the unidentified number of the killer. The killer sent him a link to a video.

“Press that link,” the killer demanded.

Rick did as he was told and pressed the link. The call ended. However, the link took him to a livestream from a strange website where a tall person in a black tophat and tuxedo stood. The person was also wearing a skeleton mask to not only keep themselves covered but to disguise themselves as one of the Red Raven’s arch rivals, Father Destiny.

The room looked like a basement, but Rick couldn’t tell because of the dim lighting and barren scenery. The Father Destiny-inspired killer stood in front of a chair where a man with his head down was tied up.

“I’m so happy that you’ve decided to join us, Mr. Greenblatt,” the killer said.

“You forced me. I’m trying to protect Cameron, now where is he?” Rick demanded.

“Don’t fret, Mr. Greenblatt. He’s safe here with me,” the killer said.

They grabbed the man by his receding brown hair and lifted his bruised and bloodied head to the camera. Rick gasped seeing the condition the killer put Cameron in. His mouth was duct taped, his forehead was bruised and his torso was covered in cuts and blood. The killer held onto Cameron’s head tightly and displayed it like he was presenting a grand prize to a winner of a game show.

“Why did you do this?” Rick asked in a tear-choked voice.

“I’ve always been a big fan of yours, Mr. Greenblatt. I have just about all of the merchandise ever made that comes from ‘The Red Raven.’ It’s become a part of my personality, really. All of these other franchises and caped hero stories don’t do it like ‘The Red Raven’ did. There was always justice, always adventure, always some sort of mysterious intrigue that I can’t quite explain. God, it was just so perfect in every way,” the killer praised.

Shortly, they added, “But, nobody seems to understand it. All they want these days are newer, flashier, edgier superhero stories, but that’s not what they should be about! Heroes are meant to be pure and seek out justice not these foul-mouthed action and sex-crazed beings! This generation is poisoning the purity of heroes, of storytelling! I can’t bear to see that! Not only that, but they have no idea who the Red Raven even is! Do you know how sad that is?!”

Rick watched as the killer went on their rant, horrified by how passionate they were. Although, Rick believed they did have a few points. The killer readjusted themselves.

“That’s why I’m here. I’m here to teach people about the Red Raven. I’m here to express what makes him so great and it’s so great to see you playing along, too.”

“But I’m not–” Rick tried to speak.

“But you are. You answered the call and this is going exactly like a conversation between Red Raven and Father Destiny. You understand me.”

To be continued…