Enter; The Beginners Guide To Faking Your Death

Odd Positives

Part 1- Video Killed The Radio Star

Silver Oak Gardens was deadly silent as not even a tree bothered to make a sound. The people that stood there were solemn, with flowers or tea lights in hand.

Charlie stood in the back, staring at the mass of people collecting near the lake. A picture of Anthony drowning in the waters in front of them had gone viral, with little to no explanation. The media explained it as Martinez wandering into the water, and drowning after going too deep. Of course, it felt somewhat out of place, since his body was never “found” and the image showed him in shallow waters. No one had smelt a decomposing body, or seen him for all of the time he should have been rotting in the water. No one saw anything of his dead body, which was never discovered. 

She had been trying to find anything of his for weeks now. From surfing the deep web to visiting his school, nothing had come up. No one knew anything about where he was. She couldn't even ask the fish if they could speak. She's sure they wouldn't know Jack. The only people who knew were the people who recovered the images of the boy, but finding it themselves would be impossible.

Despite her failures as a first-time detective, she found herself standing with everyone, the shared weight of the air around them looming over. Soon she shuffled to the front where the flowers she had in hand dropped far to the side of the image of Anthony in a frame. Candles decorated the water and danced with the small waves.

Most of the crowd consisted of unconventional-looking mutants, most having the sad pleasure of knowing the boy. Some kids stared at the picture of him, barely able to grasp the concept that their friend was never coming back to class. A handful looked guiltily at the picture, mumbling sorrows and regrets to the hoard of flowers and flames.

A beast had wandered from behind, staring at the girl and watching her face. Tall in stature, with bones holding their face together as there was no skin nor muscle on it. Fur as thick and long as a lion's mane stared down at the girl, their yellow eyes gazing into her soul.

“You have questions, right?” They asked, crouching down to her size and somehow smiling in their disfigured dog face.

Charlie stared at the beast in confusion, narrowing their eyes at them.

“Questions about what really happened?” They elaborated. 

Charlie nodded their head slightly, suspicious of where they were leading. The beast got closer, outstretching a hand up and away from the lake. They pointed at a building, placing their arm against Charlie’s face.

They narrowed their eyes and scanned, and traced up the building until a subtle glimmer caught her eye. Her eyes widened as she realized what she was staring at. The beast’s arm rested as they watched her expression.

“There's no password for that camera.” The beast said calmly and stood up tall again. They bowed their long snout and spoke out, “Don't chase revenge too soon. Save answers and revenge for the best-served cold,” before silently walking through the crowd. Although abnormally tall, they vanished without a sound or a person chasing them.

“Thank you…” Charlie muttered before sprinting off. Winding through the trees and bolting past the people late to the “party”.

Her body nearly hit the gates of the park, unable to control her path at all with her speed. She nearly tripped on cracks in the sidewalk as she weaved in and out of the streets. When she got into the house, she raced up and through the stairs.

“Charlie? Is everything OK?” Mr.Irving had watched as she raced behind him in the living room.

“I know how to find out what happened to Anthony!” She screamed from on top of the stairs. He got up, silently smiling with a smirk as he followed her.