trigger warning. this chapter mentions death and descriptions of getting away with a dead body. reader's discretion advised.

20TH NOVEMBER.
ORION ACADEMY:
ORION WOODS

THEIR SKIN WARMED up against the wild flames that danced in front of them. Under the darkened sky and amidst the stranded woods, the fire howled in silence. The strong smell of smoke infused with decaying material filled in Aphrodite's nostrils, making her nauseous. It was like leather lit up on fire, only worse.

A shaky breath escaped from the person standing to her right. Yumi's fingers tore into her flesh as her grip tightened with each passing second. She looked over at Yumi whose small face was covered in dirt. Her eyes were closed, afraid to take a peek at the sight in front of us. A few teardrops rolled down her cheeks.

Beside her stood Karan and West--who shared contrasting expressions. Karan watched the flames with confusion and a tiny bit of amusement while West was looking anywhere but the fire.

Aphrodite's next reaction was to look at her left. Her slender hand was wrapped around Lex's arm. His face hardened at her gaze. He snapped his face towards her. Her legs were wobbly and she couldn't think straight.

"I can...can not do this. We need to...we need to leave. Now." Yumi's barely audible voice

"Stop it, Yumi. I get it, okay?" West half-yelled. "But we all agreed upon this. It's too late to back off now. And we have to make sure there are no remains. Our DNA needs to get burned because stupid Karan couldn't keep his hands to himself." He sent a glare towards Karan.

"Hey! I was making sure she was alive." Karan frowned. "And it's not like we had a choice."

Yumi broke into more tears. "We need to tell someone." No one spoke. Yumi nudged her roommate. "Aphrodite," she muttered desperately, "we could go to jai--" she paused when an all-to-familiar notification sound buzzed through our phones. Aphrodite groaned--feeling scared and exhausted at the same time.

Her heart thudded as if trying to break free while Aphrodite's hand reached for the phone inside my pocket. She took a sharp breath--the smell was so thick that she almost felt like she was tasting it. The odour was going to stick with her for a long time. And the sight was going to haunt their dreams.

Unlike the last time, this message was sent to all of them in the group chat. Their eyes widened as my eyes landed on text written in bold.

•••

YOUR SECRETS AREN'T GOING TO BE REVEALED ANY TIME SOON,

GOOD FOR YOU, THIS ISN'T YOUR DOOM.

BUT TO KEEP IT THAT WAY,

YOU HAVE TO CONTINUE TO PLAY.

~ the black hole

•••

"So," Karan said, "We all have secrets that made us do this, huh?" His voice edged with judgement.

"Not surprised," Aphrodite whispered. "Ready for step three?"

West and Karan nodded in unison before getting ready to put out the fire. They pulled out the knob of the fire extinguisher, and the fire settled in. The body was now burnt, no physical traces of Jessica anymore. All the food that she had eaten churned in Aphrodite's stomach but she took a sharp breath.

Lex handed the blankets that they had bought from the store to Karan and they carefully covered it around Jessica once she was cool enough for them to touch. Lex sighed and glanced at Aphrodite. Her eyes were locked on the no-more Jessica. Even though she barely said a word, Lex knew she was going to be sick to her stomach after they were done. Nothing was going to be the same again. There would be a constant dread lurking in the back of their mind. Everything had changed. Not just between them but also around them. With this, they were either going to fall apart or come closer. He hoped for the latter.

Lex was pulled back into reality when West said, "Take the fire extinguisher with you and the flashlight. Lead the way." His eyes focused on Yumi. Lex clenched his wrist, ready to snap if Yumi argued but despite her tears stained cheeks and bloodshot eyes, she nodded hesitantly.

Aphrodite, West, Karan and Lex circled around the body wrapped around the blankets. They crouched down and put their hands under the dead weight. Lex muttered, "On the count of three..." He glanced at them. "One...Two...Three." The four of them used all their strength to lift it.

Yumi swallowed hard and turned the torchlight on. She began to guide them out of the woods. Aphrodite's hand began to shake, ready to go numb. But she didn't stop. She wanted all of this to end and go back to their room and shower--to get rid of the smell, the blood, the taste; everything that would make her forget about this night. But the recollection of this night was now engraved in her mind. She could never forget. Never.

Lex's car was parked just outside the woods. They dumped it in the back of his car and all of them hopped in. Lex sat in the driver's seat and took a deep breath. He looked at everyone through the mirror. His eyes were dark and shallow but they instantly softened when Aphrodite squeezed his hands. He inserted the key and drove off to the farthest cemetery.

After an hour of waiting silently in the car with occasional sobs coming from Yumi, they finally reached the Central Cemetery. West was the first one to jump out of the car. He looked in all directions.The streets weren't as busy as they should be. The lights in the apartments near the cemetery were off. The roads were isolated. West nodded and walked to the back of the car to remove the tools while the others got down. Each one grabbed a spade or a hoe before making their way into the deadly silent cemetery. They chose a location and began digging.

In less than thirty minutes, Yumi sighed. "I..."

"Don't you dare finish that sentence." Lex glared at her.

She chewed her tongue. "I was just going to say that I'm tired," she growled. He shot another glare and dumped the mud away.

"This is fun!" Karan cracked a smile.

"Seriously?" Aphrodite shot back. "We're getting away with a dead body."

"For someone who listens to a true-crime podcast every night and binge watches serial killer documentaries, this is a dream come true," Karan said.

"Please keep the criminal side of your brain shut. We don't have much time," West responds. Karan rolled his eyes and continued digging.

"Done." Lex let out a deep breath and threw his spade away. He sat down on the mud to catch his breath and calm his heartbeat. A few silent moments passed by and he finally stood up, ready for the next step.They made their way back to the car and checked the surroundings before picking burned Jessica from the back of his car. Yumi was told to carry a heavy bag too but Karan refused to tell what was in it. They dumped her body in the hole they had dug up. Their hands were shaking with numbness. There was blood and dirt underneath their fingernails but they were still working.

Everything will be over once the sun rises.

But of course, that's not the case here.

After filling half of what they had dug up, they threw the thing that Yumi had carried. It was a dead Labrador covered in dirt, almost rotten.

"Oh, my God. Was I--"

"Where did you get it from?" Aphrodite croaked, interrupting Yumi.

Karan shrugged. "I have my ways."

"You didn't kill him, did you?"

"No!" Karan yelled. "I may come off as a mysterious cold-hearted heartthrob but I'm not that cold." West rolled his eyes.

He can't even refrain from a joke at this point.

"Okay, well. Let's bury this up and leave."

...

Silence.

Even when they burned the clothes, caps and shoes they were wearing, no one shared a word or a glance.

They made their way back to their dormitories in silence. Aphrodite was the first one to jump into the bathroom. She leaned into the toilet and puked her guts out.

Puke. Flush. Puke.

Once her stomach was empty, she stripped out of her spare clothes and took a long shower. She rubbed soap excessively on her skin, turning into a bright shade of red--but not enough red that she had seen on Jessica. She couldn't shake the feeling that Jessica's blood--her step-brother's girlfriend's blood was on her hands.

She could never face her brother again.

header image by Chirag Nayak

I hope I didn't make it too graphic. Even though I have added the mature tag, I want to make sure that LTAM is still all-readers appropriate. 

I have some good news. LTAM crossed 2k reads and Five More Minutes (my other novella) crossed 3K reads on the same day which is I N S A N E. I love you all so much!

also, what do you think of this chapter? I searched most of this part on incognito mode (although I don't trust it) but hey, no one's murdered in my area yet so the cops won't be looking for my search history.

have a great day/night!

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