"Is there really another world like that?"
October 3th - 7:48pm
At her desk, Allyson purchased a water filter on Amazon. Whilst finalizing her order, she opened her phone and logged into her bank account. After navigating to her checking account, her face soured, curving her lips downward and lowering her eyelids.
Account name: AKim
Available Balance: $56.85
"I'm broke…" no sound was heard for a stint. "I need a job."
She immediately opened a new tab on Chrome and typed in "UMD campus jobs". Her bewilderment festered as the University of Minnesota Duluth campus appeared on the results page. "Why the fuck did it show me this?" She updated her search to "University of Maryland campus jobs for students". The first link showed Student Employment. Once there, she discovered the Careers4Terps link and followed all the steps to log in.
When she scrolled through all sorts of jobs such as working at Stamp, teaching assistant, and bus driving, Allyson bit her lower lip. "None of these jobs sound fun at all…"
Then a particular posting caught her eye: Student Police Aide.
A spark triggered in her mind and a film of her past was played.
"Why don’t you try to apply with the Police Auxiliary? We usually are open to hiring during the school year."
She closed her eyes, swallowing her dignity. "Fuck it, worth a try."
October 4th - 9:22am
Allyson was en route to her morning class. As she scaled Campus Drive just passing the main entrance, a small sheet of paper was nudged against the main frame of the black caged trash can. Picking up the sheet, Allyson's face remained stiff but her mind began igniting fuses.
Justice for Cree!
On September 30th, 6:23 am, Cree Cuffey's life was taken from this world. The evil monster who robbed a beautiful soul is still out there hiding. Cree has provided opportunities for aspiring artists, athletes, and students in advancing their careers. Her ambition and dedication to helping those in need with her resources, a rare kind you see nowadays, were her greatest strengths. Her life will not be forgotten! Her life was cut short! Her life had so much to live for! A murderer decided to kill for their own selfish desires!
If you know anyone who may be involved or know the potential murderer, please contact the University of Maryland Police Department. You can also contact the following for any direct information:
Scott Herman and Joe Hurwitz
She folded the paper in half three times before pocketing it in the back of her pants. "I wonder if Julia or Jansen saw this."
She steered left from the M circle and found herself at the bed of McKeldin Mall. As she strolled through the Edward St John building, Allyson noticed numerous crowds of students dispersed across the Mckeldin Mall. One group was nearby, so she delayed her strides and locked her head downward.
"No justice…no peace!" The crowd chanted. "No justice…no peace!"
One student raised the megaphone. "Cree's life was not in vain! The evil murderer lives in shame! Everyone on this campus must work together until justice is served!"
"No justice… no peace!"
Allyson was too distant to discern anything besides the chants. "Oh damn, this is getting a lot more serious than I thought…"
Bzzt! Bzzt!
She glared at her phone while walking and periodically looked up in front of her. An email notification popped up.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Student Police Aide Interview
Her eyes flashed before halting her tracks. A quick tap on the notification and her Gmail app opened.
Good morning Allyson!
Thank you for applying for the Student Police Aide position at the University of Maryland Police Auxiliary. After reviewing your application, we are impressed by your qualifications! We would like to schedule a 30-minute interview with you. Below are the scheduled times to conduct your interview. Please let us know if these times conflict with your schedule. We look forward to hearing from you!
10/4 - 8:30am - 9:00am
10/4 - 2:00pm - 2:30pm
10/5 - 11:00am - 11:30am
10/6 - 1:00pm - 1:30pm
10/7 - 10:30am - 11:00am
Respectfully,
Jansen Eriksen
ID# 2009
Police Auxiliary Supervisor
University of Maryland
Department of Public Safety
Office: xxx-xxx-xxxx
Cell: xxx-xxx-xxxx
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Bzzt! Bzzt!
A bubble appeared on the top of her phone screen.
Jansen: Congrats on the interview phase! 😀
Jansen: Knock them dead!
Her beam ever brighter.
Allyson: Thanks! Are you gonna interview me?
Jansen: That would be unfair otherwise you would be a shoo-in 🙅♂️
Allyson: I see how it is, guess I have to work my way in!
Jansen: You'll be fine. It'll be some ez basic interview questions and some scenario questions as if you were a cop. No worries tbh
Allyson: That's too much pressure…
Jansen: I can bring some lavender tea bags if you need some
Allyson: Lmao no tea will save me here
Jansen: Be calm and be cool 😎
Jansen: You'll be good
Allyson: I'll remember that
October 5th - 11:33am
Allyson stepped left out of the Pocomoke building being escorted by a young woman in a gray polo shirt and blue BDU pants. As they were exiting out the back door, in a small asphalt area, the interviewee observed the lady’s bracelet containing a diamond-shaped gem inlaid in an octagonal border. “That’s a really nice bracelet you got there! It’s like a Geo Vision!”
“Aw, thanks!” The lady chirped, showing her shining teeth. “My boyfriend got me this, and I like the Geo element!”
“Definitely a rock-solid choice!”
The gray-shirt woman clapped her hands once and cackled. “I got it hahahaha! We’ll call you regarding your application moving forward. Have a great day!”
“Thanks, same to you!”
Several hours later
“Thank you Mrs. Cuffey for coming forward. I’m sorry again for your loss,” Detective Vargas maintained a stoic face while writing up the last bits of his notes.
The woman wiped several crystal droplets with his left finger. “Thank you, Mr. Vargas, f-for doing everything you can to investigate this crime. My baby…she was taken away from me.”
“I won’t rest until I find this culprit and put’em behind bars,” he growled, maintaining his composure but the veins on his neck bulged out. “Huh… I’ll have to conduct more investigation and assess more reports.”
“Thank you again for all you do detective,” Mrs. Cuffey grabbed a small soft cloth and smeared the lower eyelids.
“I can escort you to your ride.”
“I appreciate your offer, but it’s okay. My ride is right at the back door.”
As the woman exited the premises, Detective Vargas reviewed his notes.
Mrs. Cuffey’s Interview
Mrs. Cuffey was visiting campus on the week of September 26. The last time she saw Cree was on 09/28. She recalled her daughter saying that she will be having some drinks with Joe, Scott, and several business major students at Cornerstone on 09/29. Likely nighttime.
* Will have to find out which officers and SPAs worked that night
Cree said to her mother she had to fire one of her employees (Mrs. Cuffey said Cree did not know who)
* I asked if she knew if anyone would have any hatred toward her
* From what Mrs. Cuffey said, it was difficult because it was ‘normal’ to have people like and dislike others
One last thing she mentioned was that Scott and Joe recalled Cree having too much to drink so they called the University of Maryland Police for an escort to their newly created business house on campus. That was the last time Cree was seen.
* Who provided the escort?
* Was there someone at their house?
* Find out if any footage can be found
“Rrgh, how can no one see anything odd?” He flicked his notepad on the desk and jumped out of his desk. He grabbed his fleece jacket and stepped outside. “Need some lunch.”
October 7th - 1:59pm
Allyson stepped out of the Tawes building and found herself in front of Lot JJ3 and 1b. She admired the sky-blue blanket above while plugging in her wireless earbuds. Peeking at her phone, she opened her messages.
Julia: I’m about to head to Target in a bit. See ya there!
Allyson: Class just finished! I’m heading over there now!
Cutting through the south side of campus, Allyson crossed past the roundabout, making a left on Campus Drive and scaling up a slight incline. She then strode down the stone stairs passing Queen Anne’s building before finding herself on the right side of McKeldin Mall. At the end, she faced the Lee building. Turning to her right, she followed the sidewalk on Regents Drive for a split second before traversing to another path through Chapel Lawn. Target was just across the street on Baltimore Avenue. She was able to identify the artist who stood right by the entrance. Once their eyes locked, they waved at each other.
“Sorry for the delay,” Allyson swiped her forehead. “I didn’t make you wait that long, right?”
“Not that long. Let’s go! We got a list for our little hangout tonight,” she immediately held the door for her roommate. “After you, my lady of the lightning.”
“Why, thank you,” Allyson twirled her hair before elegantly stepping into the convenience store.
Julia immediately grabbed a red cart and walked to the very back end of the store.
“So… like what do you need?” Allyson inquired as her focus was all on the aisles of chips surrounding her.
“Nothing much besides like Sun Chips, tortillas, tomatoes, ground beef, shredded cheese, beans, bell peppers, ginger ale, taco mix, lettuce, onions-”
“What the hell? I thought we were only getting snacks for this hangout,” Allyson’s eyes widened while her eyebrows scrunched up.
“Not just snacks,” the artist threw in three different flavored bags of Sun Chips. “We’re feasting tonight with tacos!”
“I can never turn down tacos. If you’re gonna make them, do they have the Old El Paso one?”
“They should. I think it’s over on the other aisle,” Julia pointed her left finger to Allyson’s left.
“And what’s the ginger ale for? Seems a bit of a random choice for a drink.”
“Oh, ho, hahahaha,” Julia quietly cackled while stretching her lips out. “We’re gonna make some Highball drinks tonight and getting ginger ale is part of the recipe.”
Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.
“Ah, lit,” Allyson warmed her smile up before cooling them down. “And please don’t make that face again. Reminds me too much of your crazy self.”
“Uahahaha,” she clapped and rubbed her hands together while reverting to her sinister smirk. “I just know you’ll enjoy my creation tonight.”
“Girl, I swear to God…” Allyson shook her head in the process.
“Well, we can’t waste any more time. Let’s round up our time here!”
After obtaining all the necessary ingredients, Julia and Allyson checked out, splitting the payment together. The artist luckily parked her car in the garage of the Landmark apartment building. As they drove back to their apartment, Julia took a slight detour and continued down Baltimore Avenue. She turned to Melbourne Plaza and parked her car in the main lot.
They entered the compact liquor store. The artist already walked to the right side of the wall containing shelves of whiskey. She surveyed the top shelf, then the next one below, and finally the last row. Her face was starting to lose hue. Until she saw a moderately wide-sized bottle. She nabbed one. Had the name Ballentine.
"This is it."
"I never tried that before."
"Strong, smooth, and meshes well with ginger ale. Can you grab another bottle?" Allyson had no objections.
After checking out and providing their IDs, they returned to the car.
"What time are they heading here?"
"Around 7. Jansen's picking them up and heading to us then."
"Ah, nice."
6:56 pm
As preparations came underway, Julia opened the top cabinet above the stove. Long glass cups were stacked and scattered inside the dark area. The artist took two and placed them on the counter next to the stove. Another two. Then another two. Finally, one more. She lined them up horizontally.
"My beef with this thing is almost done," Allyson kept a straight face while adding the taco mix.
"O-okay, eh heh," Julia almost coughed up. She then finished dicing all the vegetables. Dividing all ingredients on a wide plate like a piece of a pie. "Alright, looks like we just need to heat up the tortillas and we're done!"
"Steady…" Allyson carefully slid the beef onto a large-sized bowl. Not a single piece fell over.
Ding!
Julia checked her phone and saw a Discord notification.
Village Protector: @Jewels save us it's bright outside
Jewels: omw down
"They're here! I'll bring them up," The artist left the unit.
Allyson grabbed two sheets of paper towels and smeared off the remaining traces of meat and dumped it into the trashcan beneath the dining counter. She grabbed the bag of tortillas and threw them on a baking sheet before inserting it into the heated stove. As soon as she placed the skillet in the dishwasher, a click was heard.
"Here we are!" Julia entered before five other people walked in.
Something flickered inside Allyson's mind. Films were running but they were static.
"This is Allyson, my roommate, and friend," that last word engendered Allyson's heart to flutter. The artist pointed her right finger to each friend in the order they came in.
"This is Marie," a woman with a white sleeveless shirt and chin-length brownish black hair waved her hands. She had checkered pants supported by a black belt containing a golden buckle shaped like a winged heart. Her greeting, "Sup!"
"He's Jackson," a tall yet slightly thin man with a darker skin complexion. He had a series of twisted hairs, grown facial hair on his chin, and wore a blue long-sleeve shirt with artwork from an anime Allyson had not recognized. Lastly, he wore tan sweatpants that can be mistaken for casual wear. His greeting, "Ey, man, how's it going?"
"That's Fay over there," a young short woman with black hair and a tan complexion beamed the warmest smile that could melt any cold heart. Wearing a red fleece jacket with the state name and the college mascot on the edges of the upper chest area, she greeted, "Hi!"
"Next to her is Michael," The tallest person in the group with a noticeable bulk on his upper body. His face had traces of facial hair growing back. Wore glasses, striped green and blue buttoned shirt, and black jeans. His greeting was, "Hey, Allyson, how are you?"
"And I'm Jansen," he walked up to Allyson and extended his left hand, winking at her. "Nice to meet ya!"
"Dude, you met her already," Julia scoffed before creeping up a grin.
"Nice to meet ya, Jansen," Allyson accepted his offer. "It's great to meet everyone here."
"All I know is we bouta feast," Jackson never lost focus on the counter table.
"It's been almost 2 years since we all gathered like this," Marie rubbed her palms together.
"Grab a plate and let's feast!"
After everyone grabbed several tortillas and added their sustenance, they gathered in the living room, helping themselves to sit on couches or on the small dining table. Allyson and Julia returned to the kitchen to nab the glass cups, adding 5 ice cubes per cup before bringing them to the group. Afterward, they got whiskey and cold bottles of ginger ale.
"So what're we toasting for?" Michael asked.
"Uhhhhh," Allyson was dumbfounded and left her mouth hanging open.
"Let's say…" the artist pierced her lips and looked away before facing the group. "UNS is back together and introducing our newest member, Allyson!"
Clank!
All took a sip.
"Mmm! I forgot how good Highball is!" Marie snapped her right hand. "Almost exactly like this last time!"
"You guys hardly hang out like this?"
"Yeah, I don't know why we haven't hung out much since then."
"So Allyson," Jansen drank half of the Highball and then a bite out of his taco. "What do you major in?"
"Hmm, I'm in STEM and minoring in Criminal Justice."
"Oh, are you like trying to do cybersecurity stuff?" Michael inquired, his eyes sparking in the process.
"You know, maybe," she rocked her head forward a few times. "Either that or something related to it. Haven't found exactly what I want to do."
"There's plenty of options around in that field," he sipped his drink. "I'm more towards the IT field."
"I hear you have to start at the help desk first before moving up."
"Yep and getting certs while doing that so I can move into the more technical work of IT."
"Best of luck, you'll do good."
“Thanks.”
“Hey, I really like that jacket you have there,” she turned her attention to Fay. “Did you get that at the bookstore?”
“This is actually a jacket I got from the soccer team.”
“Woah, do you mean-”
“Yep,” Marie wrapped her left arm around her. “You’re looking at one of the UMD women’s soccer players.”
“It’s not that big of a deal,” Fay’s smile dwindled but hardly anyone noticed it.
“I always wanted to watch the games in person. Do you have a favorite soccer team?”
“I’m a huge Tottenham fan! They’ve been my team since ‘05,” the footballer’s cheeks became flushed with cherry pink.
“Can I guess who your favorite player is?” Fay nodded. Allyson then shaped her index fingers and thumbs into a rectangular camera and pointed to Fay, pretending to take a picture.
“AAAAHHHH!! YES!” Fay returned the same celebration gesture to Allyson, her smile brighter than the sun. “I love Sonny! He’s my favorite player ever to watch!”
“Korea’s all-time GOAT!”
“There’s a Tottenham game tomorrow. They’ve been doing well so far and I’m liking it.”
“Oh shit, I gotta see that. Gotta root for the Spurs!”
“Allyson, I didn’t know you were into soccer like that,” her roommate finished her drink.
“It’s my national sport. I happen to be pretty good,” Allyson pouted her lips and finished her drink.
“You, me, soccer field. When are we playing?” Fay asked who genuinely thought Allyson was serious. Her eyes were fueled by the coursing flames.
“Let me just get my cleats from home and I’ll let you know.”
82 minutes later
Conversations continued to rattle the apartment. Everyone had seconds and a high concentration of alcohol in their system. Allyson and Fay’s faces were glowing reddish pink. Julia’s hair was becoming frizzier and had 5 cups already. Jansen was the only one who seemed unaffected by the effects of alcohol.
“Jansen!” The short-blonde woman raised her voice while giggling nonstop. “It’s tiiiimmme! Did you bring the games?”
“Oh my God, she’s fucking drunk…” Allyson cut the fuse inside her brain from exploding.
“Come on, you think I forgot our tradition?” He unzipped the outer end of his backpack: a small black rectangular device with a black dock. There were multiple pairs of Joy-Con controllers and an adapter for the GameCube controller.
“What games are we playing?” Allyson inquired.
“We got Mario Kart 8 Deluxe and Super Smash Bros,” he gave the physical copies to the artist before assisting in setting up the console. “Let’s just hope we’re good enough to beat Fay this time.”
“What why?” Allyson squinted her eyes and curled her eyebrows.
“Fay’s good at everything,” Jackson turned to Allyson with his eyes softly closed and revealed his dimples. The soccer player shrugged her shoulders while maintaining an innocent expression.
“You’ll find out why,” Marie added.
The first game booted up was Super Smash Bros. No Joy-Con controllers were used as Jansen had four GameCube controllers and three wireless Pro Controllers. Everyone was ready to participate in the rumbling clash.
“You know what we about to do,” with the group except for Allyson, they, without hesitation, agreed to utilize tournament rules, selecting Big Battlefield as the battle arena.
The match-ups were:
Marie: Zero Suit Samus
Michael: ROB
Jackson: Charizard
Jansen: Snake
Julia: Kirby
Fay: Terry
Allyson: Female Robin
As the battle went on, Julia was the first to lose all 3 stocks. She simply nodded and enjoyed the show. Jansen threw two grenades near the right side of the ledge where Michael was hovering to recover. Allyson sprinted to grab Snake. She was successful but then she heard Terry say “Are you okay? BUSTER WOLF!”
Allyson and Jansen were on their last stock. Michael fired lasers but Fay shielded the projectile. As she closed into ROB, he fired the Gyro but Terry managed to shield and grab the projectile. She broke through the zone and delivered a series of z-drop combinations with the Gyro while using Terry’s aerials before ending it with a Burning Knuckle. Michael was the second to lose all his stocks.
“She’s too good,” he whispered to himself.
Jansen threw Marie off the right side of the field. He fired a grenade upward and threw a few explosives just a few inches off the ledge. Marie selected the neutral getup option but Jansen inputted a forward tilt > forward tilt 2 combination. It was not enough to send her to the blast zone. Marie had tunnel vision when she was trying to recover using the flip kick and got hit by Nikita offstage. Marie was the third to lose.
“Snake is shit!” Jansen yelled. “That was a frame 41 move!”
“You bitch…” Marie grabbed her drink and finished all that was left. “No range. No damage. No combos. No recovery!”
Immediately right after, Snake was hit with a Flare Blitz, sending him to the blast zone. Jansen was the fourth to lose.
“Ayo, my Zard is noice!” Jackson rocked his head at the end of his banter.
Allyson fired Thoron which then sent Jackson offstage. As he tried another Flare Blitz to recover, Robin ran offstage and threw a forward aerial with the Levin sword. The timing was so immaculate that the burning missile had no effect causing Jackson to be the fifth person to lose.
“Yo, my Robin spicy!’ Allyson mocked the same gesture Jackson did to which he snickered.
Once she recovered, she was on the ledge, hanging low as Fay was a roll length from her. Allyson did not move and calculated what the best option would be.
“Too late,” all the eliminated competitors thought in unison as they noticed the “GO!” meter.
Terry punched the ground, erupting a massive geyser flame from below. The zoom-in shot on Robin was the indicator that the match was over. Allyson became the sixth player to lose.
Fay was the winner.
“You guys weren’t kidding,” Allyson silently swallowed her saliva, her eyes instantly becoming dry the minute she witnessed the Power Geyser.
“Sorry, I was just getting started,” the athlete showed her glowing teeth.
10:13 pm
The group played more games and drank more liquor. Jansen already stopped and sobered up. Many hollers and jokes aside, he noticed Allyson’s smile while playing a minigame. A peaceful, resounding beam that lowered his anxiety. He, too, crept his lips up by a tad smidge.
The last round of Mario Party had ended. Fay won yet again.
“Good games guys,” Marie took another sip of her glass. “That was hella fun!”
“Yeah, it’s fun to play with friends like this,” Allyson’s face was becoming puffy yet covered in blush red.
“We need to do this more,” Jackson said as he scrolled down through his phone. “Oh damn, did y'all hear about Cree’s mom going to the police station?”
“Nah, haven’t heard about it,” Julia added as she looked up her feed. “Jansen, any ideas?”
“From what the detective told me, she did speak with him, but I don’t know exactly what about.”
“Where did you hear about that, Jackson?” Marie inquired as she scurried through her timeline.
“Apparently, a UMD article was posted on the school app. Though nothing really stood out. Hardly anything was written on it.”
“I still can’t believe Cree died like that,” the white-shirt woman shuddered at the thought. “Did any of you see the blackout?”
“Nope. I was at home when that happened,” Michael explained, cushioning his back against the couch.
“I fell asleep after the soccer game.”
“I saw it.”
“Allyson and I did… and something else,” Julia’s eyes met with her roommate's. The signals both emitted were on similar wavelengths.
“What did you see?” Marie was rather intrigued.
“This may sound bizarre and not because I had a few drinks in me, but Allyson and I saw some sort of pink aura on our phones and on the TV screen here,” the artist pulled out her phone and opened the strange app. The color was monochrome. “Just wait and look at what’s next.”
A message displayed on her phone: “At this time, no individual Soul is in danger. You will be notified of any warnings of potentially compromised Souls.”
“What the hell? I don’t see that shit on my phone,” Jackson opened the app but it just radiated a gray ember. No message popped up. “How did you get that?”
“Me, Allyson, and Jansen are the only ones that have this.”
“Um, you guys aren’t…” Fay’s body suddenly felt weak as her mind conjured the worst possible outcome.
“No, Julia and I were here when that blackout and weird app happened,” Allyson then proceeded to explain all that happened since Julia’s disappearance.
10 minutes later
Jackson and Fay furrowed their eyebrows and waved their heads sideways. Marie and Michael exchanged glares at each other.
“Is there really another world like that?” he pondered, glaring at the carpeted floor and resting his hands on the top of his head.
“It does sound weird but you have to trust us,” Allyson slightly raised her hands to emphasize her point.
“It may be unreal at the moment,” Jansen added. “Just know that we can show you that place if you guys do want to see it for yourselves.”
“Uhhhhhhhh,” Marie froze her words for a moment while rummaging through her thoughts. “Yeah, maybe seeing it will make it more believable.”
“Sorry about all that, it’s a lot of information,” the artist fiddled with her thumbs.
“No worries, Jewels, I trust you guys. Hopefully, whatever that world you guys are talking about is safe.”
“Hey guys, I do need to head home. It’s getting late,” Michael felt numbness across his head. He rubbed his forehead.
“I’ll take him home and be back soon,” Jansen and Michael stood up.
“Are you guys good for the night?” Julia asked.
“I could go for some sweets right now,” the slim man smirked.
“Ooh, yeah! Insomnia cookies!” Fay cheered, short-hopping up and down.
“Haven’t been there so uh is it good?”
“Allyson,” Marie wrapped her left arm around her. “We’re taking you there.”
“Uh, sure.”
October 8th - 11:12am
A chilly howl rang throughout campus. Gloomy clouds enshrouded the skies completely. Outside of the Commons apartment, a woman powered on her wireless earbuds and walked north of campus. On her phone, she opened up the Discord app and opened up her Direct Messages. At the top of the message board, there was a name titled, “Private Investigators”.
A phone icon with wavelengths was selected.
She waited until someone answered.
“Hey, Marie.”
“Sup, Michael.”
Several seconds have passed in silence.
“You knew from yesterday, didn’t you?”
“I could say the same thing to you.”
A third voice entered the chat.
“Mr. Richter, can you hear us?”
“Yep, I can. What’s going on?”
“There are other people who know about that world.”