[color=fff79a][b]“It’s not aliens!”[/b][/color] Trevor snarled at him. [color=fff79a][b]“Although I couldn’t possibly expect [i]you[/i] to know that.”[/b][/color]

“Of course,” Alex said with a sarcastic shrug of his shoulders. “I’m not an expert like you.” A smirk tugged at his lip. He loved how easy it was to ruffle Darklin’s feathers. He barely even had to try! Originally, Alex was just going to leave Trevor with one little sting, but his reaction was too entertaining. He decided he had time to stick around for a few more jabs.

[color=fff79a][b]“And my research has nothing to do with you.”[/b][/color] Trevor went on hostilely. [color=fff79a][b]“Besides, I live here, so I have an excuse. What are [i]you[/i] doing here?”[/b][/color]

“I live around here, too, hotshot,” Alex crossed his arms. “This town ain’t that big, you know. But more specifically, I’m here for [i]that[/i].” He jabbed a thumb over his shoulder, indicating the crime scene behind him. “Who can resist seeing a dead body, right? You know how uninformed the media keeps us these days. I wanted to see what’s going on, myself; I wanted to see just how ruthless this ‘Phantom’ guy really is.” Of course, this was all just a bluff, but Trevor couldn’t possibly know that. In reality, Alex was still slightly shaken from the sight of the corpse. He hadn’t expected to see such a gruesome murder, and now he could understand why the media was keeping this under wraps. The town would be wrought with panic if details about The Phantom got out.

“So you think this killer’s not from Mars?” Alex said, swinging the topic back around to Trevor. “That’s boring. He’s just a normal guy like you and me? Well… like [i]me[/i], anyways.” He shook his head and went on, his voice dripping with sarcasm. “You know, I just [i]can’t[/i] bring myself to believe this guy is a human. To get away with this many murders and never leave enough evidence for the police to find [i]anything at all[/i]? It’s almost like this guy really is a ghost.”