I stared in horror at the black corpse that used to be known as Mr. Morris, my Father.
Sam said something, but my ears were still ringing from the screams of pain of my Father just before he died of the electrocution, so I didn't hear her.
After a while, Kyle let out a sigh, "Henry, I..."
I held up a hand as I ran out the room. I felt sick to my stomach.
Oh my God Oh my God Oh my God-
What was I going to do?! I couldn't let my Mom know about this, her mental state would definitely get worse, and I would never do that to her.
I should have been quicker, I should have stopped him...
I took a deep breath. I wouldn't be able to think clearly if I panicked over what to do.
Maybe I should call the authorities?
I shook my head, Nope, terrible idea. The neighborhood would see and the news would spread and then Mom would find out-
I pulled my phone out, chewing the inside of my cheek. Hesitantly, I pressed on the contact and held the device up to one of my ears.
"Hello?"
"Austin, I uh, I know we didn't exactly have the greatest time the last time we saw each other,",I mumbled, "But could you come over?"
"What? I'm gonna need you to speak up a bit, Henry."
"Come over. Quick!"
"Okay, okay! Your house is somewhere down the block, right?"
"Yes."
"I'm getting out now. What's so urgent anyway?"
I didn't respond. A few moments passed before Austin spoke again.
"Henry?"
"...You'll see when you get here, but promise me you won't panic?"
"That bad, huh? ...Okay, I won't."
"I think I see your house, black brick roof, right?"
"Yup, that's it."
"Okay, hang tight."
"'Kay.", I then hung up.
I wasn't even sure why I called Austin for help. What could he possibly do about this? We were both the same age, and I'm asking him to help me deal with a dead body without telling him we're dealing with a dead body.
It's too late to go back from my decision now. I sighed. I'll apologize once he gets here.
A knock on the door startled me out of my thoughts, and I ran over.
When I opened it, I saw Austin, who was trying to look behind me.
"Well? What'd you call me over for?"
"...Follow me.", I said, shortly after adding, "Prepare yourself."
Austin nonchalantly walked behind me, "Is it about the Wii? Because-"
We got to the doorway of my room, and Austin paused abruptly.
Then, he started wildly gesturing at Father's corpse, "I-what the fuck even happened here?!"
"Uh, long story short, my Father offended Kyle and tried to turn off the Wii, then got electrocuted..."
"He had the audacity to not even bother changing his attitude, your old man deserved it.", Kyle commented.
Austin forcefully shoved his hands into his jacket's pockets, looking at the wall, "So, you called me here to help you get rid of your Dad's dead body?"
"Maybe? I don't have a plan though...", I subconsciously rubbed my sleeve before forcing myself to stop.
"Dude, I have no experience with this sort of thing either. Can't you, like, call the authorities or something?"
I rapidly shook my head, "No, I can't! I would never put that kind of stress on my Mom!"
I sighed, "Plus, her mental state...isn't the best."
"Ooh.", Austin mumbled, "Okay, I understand what's going on here."
Austin removed a hand to put it to his chin, his eyes frowning as he looked at the floor.
"...Okay, I have an idea.", he looked at me, "But I don't think you're gonna like it."
"You think I'm enjoying this situation?", I gestured inside my room, "Do go on, it can't get any worse."
"We're gonna sneak out, and you know that forest nearby the neighborhood?"
"Yeah?"
"We're digging a shallow grave there."
"Wonderful.", I deadpanned, "That means I'm gonna have to carry Father's corpse, aren't I?"
"Yep, sorry man."
I sighed, I was not mentally prepared for this.
Not like I have many choices anyway...
"..Alright, when will we sneak out?"
"11:30 PM is a good time, right? I doubt a lot of people will be returning from work or whatever at Midnight.", Austin pondered.
"Yeah, I'll try to stay up for that long."
"You got an idea of how to sneak out?"
"Probably will go through the window, just in case there are people still outside for whatever reason."
Austin nodded, "I'll bring the shovel and flashlight, we can meet at the road to the forest."
"Sounds like a plan, I'll see you there, I guess."
———
I briefly checked my phone; 11:28.
It's almost time.
I proceeded to slowly open the door to my closet, then quickly picked up the body of my late-father.
He was slightly heavy, as expected.
The texture of his skin felt weird, but I tried to ignore it and pretend I wasn't carrying a dead body at 11:30 PM.
I walked to the window, slowly opening it to not create any noise.
The ground wasn't far down, so I jumped.
When I landed, I pulled Father's corpse down, then continued making my way to the forest.
I anxiously looked around, being careful as to not get caught.
I saw the forest, took one step, and a twig snapped.
My blood ran cold.
"Henry?", a flashlight turned on.
"Austin.", I sighed in relief.
"Yeah, sorry. I don't know how much battery is left in this thing, so we gotta act fast, just in case.", Austin tilted his head towards the forest.
"Right.", I quickly followed Austin as he began to enter the woods.
———
The atmosphere was tense, and it was pitch black minus the light that the flashlight provided.
Despite this, I felt as though I was being watched, and could be pulled away further into the forest at any moment.
Thankfully, we found a small clearing that consisted of many trees surrounding an area of dirt.
"I think this place is good.", Austin stabbed the shovel into the dirt, moonlight glinting off of the metal.
I nodded in agreement, placing my late-Father's body down.
The quiet sound of digging was all that I heard for the next few minutes, and occasionally I swapped with Austin to dig.
After what was probably half an hour, we had dug a shallow grave that was enough to bury my Father's body in.
"Do you wanna do the honors?", Austin asked.
I pondered over it for a few seconds, then nodded, "Yeah."
I dragged the body over, then stopped at the edge of the hole.
I stared at the dark corpse, then kicked him in.
"That's for being the world's most terrible Father.", I muttered while frowning, "You son of a motherless goat."
"Damn.", Austin began to shovel the dirt back, "You can swear, you know."
"I know, I'm just not fond of it.", I put my hands in my hoodie's pockets.
"That's fair.", Austin shrugged.
Minutes passed, and the deed was done.
"Well, it's done now.", I stared at the dirt.
"Yeah.", Austin responded.
We stood there in silence for a few moments.
Finally, I decided to speak up, "Austin?"
"Hm?"
"Sorry for dragging you into this mess."
"Oh. It's fine."
"Is it, really? Other people our age are studying, partying, that kind of stuff. Us? No, we're different. We're burying a body."
Austin chuckled, "We also got sentient Miis, we're not like other teens!"
I couldn't help but give a small smile.
Austin sighed, and looked up at the sky, "We got classes tomorrow. I think we oughta head back home."
"I guess so. See you tomorrow, Austin."
We parted our ways, and on the way back, I started thinking.
The small exchanges between me and Austin had temporarily distracted me from thinking about Father's death, but now that I was alone, I was left with my thoughts.
Never a good thing.
Father was an abusive man. So him being gone was a relief.
However, I didn't exactly feel "victorious" or happy about it. I just felt...nothing, I guess.
I reached my house, and looked up at the open window to my room.
I should probably stop contemplating all of this and try to get as much rest as I could. I thought, Besides, I'm gonna need smarts and energy to persuade my Mom to get some therapy.