Board Thread:What Would You Do?/@comment-34497523-20191011195104/@comment-36855838-20191011204354

Reputation is everything, and he couldn't afford to lose his, he'd tried to put all that behind him. ..

The stench of gossip was thick in the air, and soon he found the culprit, steve the ice cream salesman, his cart midway along the beach.

(Harris had told him several tines to move further along so others could sell icecream, but Steve had refused to budge, leading to him being reported and forced to vacate his old spot until he paid a hefty fine.)

"What'll it be, stranger? A fudge-vanilla ripple? A lemon-lime Sorbet?"

"I'll take an Aurora bar."

"Sure thing, that's ¤3.57"

Harris handed over a ¤4.50 bill.

"Keep the change."

Steve rummaged through the refrigerated drawer for the chocolate and vanilla ice cream bar.

"Hey, do you know any useful info about this place, anything to look out for?"

Steve grinned mischieviously.

"There's a man in the woods."

Harris tilted his head, confused.

"What do you mean?" He asked, as he was handed his Aurora bar.

"Well, there's this guy," Steve said, "used to work here as a Lifeguard, lives in a shack in the woods near the south end of the beach."

Harris unwrapped the bar with his gnarled hands, and took an absentminded bite.

"Yes, and?"

Steve tugged at the tight collar of his shirt.

"He's actually a paladin, killed a lot of ladies back in the day, just not here, came to get a job and start over, said he felt guilty."

"Sounds like it's not a problem to me."

Steve scanned the nearest beachgoers nervously.

"People have gone missing, you know. I thibk he's just pretending, so he can keep at it by only attacking ignorant tourists. Pretending not to see them when they're drowning, or kidnapping them and doing horrid things to them in the woods."

Harris took another, much larger bite, and dropped the bar in the sand.

"God any proof ob that?"

Harris lowered his hood, and Steve leapt back.

"Well, have you any reason for ruining my life here, after all I've done to grow and change?"

Steve was stammering and stuttering on the hot sand, his legs felt like jelly.

"What happened all those years ago is none of your business, and I left that life behind me."

"Lies don't suit that face of yours, let's go see if there's a man in the woods."

Steve had barely found the strength to stand, and had begun a rapid sprint up the beach.

"Heh."

Harris stabbed his swords into the sand, brushing ooen his cloak to reveal a pair of swimtrunks as he stepped under the umbrella.

"Free Ice cream!"