Online Dangers

A Real Whodunit

I followed Robyn and Zach out the door to see what happened.

The large crowd of people were gossiping about something, but I couldn't get a single word of what they said. Robyn and Zach were looking down on something laying on the sidewalk. I became more curious and stomped forward.

I gently pushed through some of the people and saw it. The limp body of an avatar on the floor.  Robyn was petrified and covered her mouth with her hands in disbelief. Zach took off his cap and looked down it was a funeral and he was sending the limp body's soul off to the afterlife.

"What happened?" I asked humbly.

"It's a murder," said one person from the crowd. He pushed forward so he could talk with me.

"There was something like this last week. I was there."

I was shocked. This happened before?

"Yep, their avatar just fell on the ground while they screamed. Then there was a giant crowd like this one. What's worse, nobody can call 9-1-1 here. And if you called 9-1-1 in the real world, what are you going to say? No location where the murder took place, no witnesses who saw the murderer. It's real sad."

"I can't believe this happened before," I said looking back on the lifeless corpse.

"Yep, there's a new murder every week. It's been going on for the last month or so. This is the fifth one."

The man had a look on his face, he seemed so emotionless, as if something like this was normal for him. I couldn't help but pin him as someone suspicious. I don't know if it was the way he spoke or the look of his avatar (which was a tall, pale man in a bright, black suit), but I knew I had to learn more about this guy before he runs off.

"Hey, what's your name?"

He looked at me with cold eyes, "It's Ben, why?"

"Just wondering."

His face shifted to a state of distaste. He walked away from the scene. The only thing I could was Did he have something to do with this?

"Well, this is a shocking turn of events," said Zach, still mourning the person, "One moment, we're having a friendly conversation. The next, someone is sent up to God's door. Poof. Just gone."

"Well," he said, looking at me and Robin, "I have a business to run. I'll see you guys later."

I looked back at Zach, not even waving him goodbye, as he walked slowly to his shop. I could tell that he was emotional, everyone was emotional for a moment, except for Ben. I could only think about Ben. His face, his words, his everything, just seeped into my mind.

"So," Robyn said to break the silence, "Wanna go somewhere else? I'm sure we'll meet another one of my friends there. And it'll help our minds off of-- well, this."

"Sure," I lied, trying my best to cover up my curiosity. (Introductions weren't really important at the time. My focus was Ben, but what could I have said? I couldn't just say no.)

"Where is it?"

"Fifty-nine, double O, thirty-six"

She went first, then I followed. I didn't bother closing my eyes that time. My avidity to find Ben made the trip less nauseating. Yes, it seems compulsive, but if you were me, you'd feel the need to find him, too.

I landed on the sidewalk and found myself next to a comic book store with blue-painted bricks on the corner of two streets. I saw Robyn on a chair waiting for me. I walked in the store, then bumped my head into an invisible wall.

"Please pay to enter," said a voice.

I didn't have any money with me (my Blueprint account was penniless), so I was trapped between the exit and this wall. I tried feeling my way around the wall, but found nothing. Then a man walked up to me.

"Are you Robyn's friend?"

"Yeah."

He then typed in a number into a phone-like machine attached to the wall.

"Step right in, ma'am!"

 I walked in without having to pay anything. I looked around to see shelves of comic books ranging from the Avengers to Archie's Comics.

Robyn stood up and introduced me to the man, "Louie, Matt. Matt, Louie!"

Matt shaked my hand firmly with a giant smile, "Nice to meet you, Louie."

"Nice to meet you, too," I said with the most realistic smile I could offer at the time. (I was still thinking about Ben.)

Like Zach, I examined the details of Matt. Matt's avatar was a man, about the same height as me. He had a green shirt and black pants and very, very blond hair. 

"Is Zach here, too?" asked Matt with a mild eagerness.

"Unfortunately, your crush isn't here," jeered Robyn with a smirk.

I couldn't see it through the BVRS, but I could tell that he was blushing. (His face probably transitioned into a deep scarlet.) I concealed my laughter, but it was difficult.

Matt talked back at Robyn, "He's not my crush! Zach's just good people is all."

"C'mon, I've seen you try to flirt with him, before," continued Robyn, "Remember last week?"

"Shut up," he mumbled.

Robyn then urged to get me to talk, "Hey, Matt. Why don't you talk to Louie Duck. I'm sure the two of you have a lot in common."

"Whatever."

Matt turned to me and I turned to him. We put on our fake, plastic smiles and had a wholesome (but slightly awkward) conversation for a bit.

"So, um- What do you like to read?" Matt asked.

"Mostly detective magazines," I replied.

"Yeah, those are cool. Can you name a few?"

"No, I don't them that much anymore."

"Oh, that's a shame. There's a lot over here."

"Huh, that's nice. Now, if you don't mind. About the "pay-to-enter" wall back there."

"Oh, yeah. People have to pay 20 bucks to come in here. Then they can read all the comic books they want for as long as they want. Open 24/7."

"So, do you own the store?"

 "No, I just get paid to work here. I get a lot of money. Enough to pay rent and stuff."

"Hm."

"Hm."

"Matt and I sat there for a bit and just stared off into space. Eventually, Robyn started a conversation with Matt, and they seem to be happy with each other. (I could tell they were real good friends.) I walked around and browsed through the comic books (especially the detective magazines). I noticed one shelf that lined up neatly against the panoramic windowpane.

I reached to grab one from the shelf. To my surprise, a screen popped up showing every detective magazine in the series from today to 1994. I scrolled through them excitedly, looking at all the covers.

I kept looking until I saw one book that caught my eye.

"Killer Magazine: The Burnt Brunette," I read from the cover.

It showcased a young woman with flowing brown hair standing in front of a massive fire. I tapped the icon of the book and watched it appear in my hands. I then flipped to the main article in the book and began to read.

The main article had pictures of numerous amounts of forensic evidence. It ranged from torn fabric to a piece of burnt skin. It reminded me of when I was kid. I was always reading these types of magazines from a monthly subscription. I didn't care how graphic they were, they were my kind of books.

I was reading through the paragraphs (I finally found out how the torn jean fabric fit into the entire situation.) when I saw a man with a suit through the window. It was Ben.