As soon as Beth finished listening to the first tape in her possession, she cracked into the last and final one. But it wasn't like the others, even the design was different, it was just a number one marked onto it in crimson red. It wasn't about why someone wanted to kill DeeJay. Well there was someone that wanted to kill him, only this time... it was himself.

At the starting of the summer when things seemed like a daze and life seemed like there was a always target on his back, DeeJay didn't really see the point of it. He wanted to end it all and for a while pondered and tried to come up with the most peaceful and painless way to pass on to the afterlife. Google was being a bitch and wouldn't give him the answers though. Its not like anyone would notice or care anyways.

But he still had a tiny bit of hope that maybe everything could flip and with a stroke of luck, life as he knew it would get better. He had no one he could confide in and needed one desperately. He was hoping for someone to just tell him that everything would be okay just once and it would completely change his mind. Then he got his guardian angel.

    On a blazing sunny day in August the school's counselor emailed everyone at the school stating that he would be in the school just on this day during the summer vacation and that he would be happy if some people come stop by to talk with him if they feel comfortable enough to. DeeJay flipped a coin. Heads he goes. Tails he doesn't. Heads. DeeJay knew this was meant for him and told his mother that he was going to school because there was summer school for French language classes. And on that morning he took a three hour bus from his bus stop to the school hoping that it would bring good luck.

He walked into his office and sat down and spoke a bit timidly. He didn't dive in too deep into what had happened over the past two years and kept hopping over sentences. He gave a rough sketch of everything with his head down whilst he thumb wrestled himself. As you could tell from Beth's past experience with the counselor, he didn't care much about his job, most of the time that he came in he would spend at his desk unbothered because no one really ever came to ask for advice or seek help so he became lackadaisical. But for some reason the universe wanted him to help and gave him the will. He didn't know why but the overwhelming urge pestered onto him.

"Listen, DeeJay, I know there's something deeper and more grave than what you just said. I feel like there is a lot of pain and anger and betrayal behind your eyes and you're trying so hard to keep it hidden and may not feel comfortable speaking about it. And that's okay. I have a solution you could try!"

DeeJay watched him get up and pick up a small trunk and bring it over to him. He placed it on the desk whilst he sat up against the desk. He wore a smile that was highlighted by his gold cross earring.

"Open it!"

DeeJay did as he asked, hesitantly and discovered the voice recorders.

"You know what they are?" DeeJay shook his head. "They're voice recorders. They were given to me by my grandfather. He has had them from the 90s. It's like a gift from the past, in fact, it's sort of like a time capsule! Now, what I would like you to do with them is think about what has been troubling you and just tell it from start to finish, the full honest story. There will be no-one to judge you and it will just be a conversation with the only person I feel like you trust, yourself. Then play it back and use that to try to find grounding. If you were wrong in the situation you do something to try to make up for it and try to move on. But if you weren't, you know that you weren't and can feel better and take the weight off of your back. You can even cut off a few people. Hanging around toxic people will never make you win in life! It only holds you back!"

That actually made DeeJay feel a lot better and for the first time in a while he saw some light. He picked up the box and carried it out of the office and whilst leaving the school gate he spotted Danny waiting for a bus. He saw this as an opportunity to apologize and move on from the situation so he walked over to him and did such. Danny accepted his apology and they shook hands and both parted ways with no more animosity.

DeeJay went back home and didn't want to start on the recordings just yet. He knew sometime in the future he might feel down and needed to clear everything out and now wasn't the perfect time because of how clear his mind felt at the moment. So for now all he did was pack up a box of all the stuff we did including the comics and used the key to chip out our names onto the trunk of recordings whilst he laid on his bed. He didn't know why he did it. He was just bored. And once he was done he blew the dust off of it. He missed us. He then got out his paint supplies and drew the art found on the tapes already knowing what stories he wanted to tell.

And he didn't touch those tapes or that trunk until that retched day. He had shoved the tape recorders in his pockets and around his waist and gone for the walk to clear his head. All the feelings were back and one by one he poured his heart and soul out into the tapes. He then promised to try to make everything better and then boom, the final tape ran out of time. Just in time too. He had gotten everything out. A weight lifted off his chest and he felt like he could conquer the world. And with a thump to the back of his head... he was now looking down at the current scene.

    Beth took off the headphones from her ear. Then bells began to go off in her mind. Before the last tape cut off she could hear DeeJay mumbling but the brushed it off as rain as she couldn't make out if it was actually him speaking or rain falling. Her ability to hear better than most always came in clutch. You didn't hear it from me, but once she utilized it to overhear two professors discussing a test's subject matter in the staff room.

Beth saw they were getting close to a turn that could lead to Mandy's house, so she glanced through Mandy's window as they drove by, watching her eat her lunch alone inside her room. Beth realized her eyes were different than normal, almost as if she was ruminating on a recollection. And she was correct.

    It was her. She was the one DeeJay began conversing with that Beth faintly heard. I know a hundred questions are flowing through your head at this time. What was she doing there? Did she kill him? Well, her flashbacks will answer those questions.

Mandy had a set time for returning back to her mother's house on the day of the storm. She was certain that she could make it in time despite the sky becoming quite gloomy and ominous. She was also being harrassed by her mother to return home before it became too dark.

   Mandy left her sister's home with her bag of belongings and a bottle of water. She continued to go along the narrow road until it started to pour heavily, at which point she took cover under the balcony that protruded from the second floor of her neighbor's home. After a while, she assumed the rain would stop, but it continued to get heavier. She knew she wanted to go back to her sister's quickly as the streets grew quieter and the creeping terror of being outside alone grew stronger.

    But as she swung her luggage back onto her back, she saw a person running in her direction. It was DeeJay. Mandy spotted him as he approached closer and shouted to him to join her below a shelter so they could escape the storm. He did this and uncomfortably stood there, not attempting to make eye contact. Mandy simply observed him without attempting to strike up awkward tension. He didn't look like he was doing very well at all. He appeared desperate for assistance and incredibly underwhelmed. When Mandy finally got the notion to talk to him, he responded by heading back out into the rain and dissipating into the dense mist after saying he was close to his destination.

    This would put an even bigger target on Mandy's back if she told anyone so she kept it on hush. She didn't do anything to him and would never. But she still couldn't shake the slight feeling of guilt. What's a girl to do?

    When Beth arrived home at late midday, the town was quiet. There weren't many people out, and country and western music had faded into the background as Beth watched a television show. A suspenseful series. Just the twists and turns kept her on edge, leaving her wondering what would happen next for our very own mystery. Anything could go wrong in a matter of seconds. And what was to happen next seemed like it was manifested by Beth's fear...