“You have more blood on your hands...”
September 30 - 7:27am
Ring! Ring! Ring!
Allyson remained motionless, burying her face into the soft, warm cushion. The buzzing noise pounded her ears, slowly breaking her still expression.
THUMP!
She crashed her right palm onto the nightstand next to her bed. Her palm latched onto her phone like tape. Once she curled her fingers, she pulled her phone until it was breathing next to her face. Taking a quick peek while her eyes resisted opening, she noticed the time.
“Oh fuck!” She shot up from her bed, her body overwhelmed with sweat. After closing the alarm, she noticed a rectangular icon in the top left corner. Sliding her finger down, there was a message.
839-61
UMD SAFETY NOTICE 09/30/22
INCIDENT: Homicide OCCURRED: September 30, 2022. Approximately 6:23am. LOCATION: McKeldin Library. UMPD CASE #2022-16253 BRIEF DETAILS: On September 30th, 2022, at approximately 6:23am, the University of Maryland Police Department was notified of a possible homicide in front of McKeldin Library. Officers responded immediately to the area and located the female victim in front of the Testudo statue. The victim was pronounced deceased and was taken to a local hospital. Witnesses were unable to identify any suspects. The investigation is currently ongoing.
Allyson slowly raised her head and gazed at the pale white wall. It was all she was hyper-fixed on. A sharp, painful jab pressed against her mind. Her heart pounded into overdrive.
Knock! Knock!
Sharply locking eyes at the door, she slowly walked and opened it.
"Did you just see the news?" Julia's lips curved down by just a smidge.
"Yeah, I did," she barely wanted to muster up a response. Allyson looked away from her roommate. "How did this happen?"
"I don't know," The artist shook her head.
"You think Jansen might know since he works for the campus police?"
"Have you gotten hold of him yet?"
"Not yet. I was going to text him soon. Maybe we can meet up somewhere and see what he knows."
"Yeah, hopefully, he can tell us anything."
Ring! Ring!
Both checked their phones for the notification.
"Looks like classes are canceled today."
"Yeah," Silence permeated through the air. Both roommates were stiff, feeling more weight forced against them. "I'm just gonna be in my room. Let me know if Jansen says anything."
"Will do," Allyson poured half a liter of water into the electrical pot and clicked on the power button, waiting for steam to be visible. Grabbing a container of coffee pebbles, she scooped 3 tablespoons, dumped them into her mug, and poured in the hot water after. After mixing the instant coffee, she went to the couch and dozed off by gazing at the window.
Buzz! Buzz!
She peeked at her phone and saw a message come through. Placing her cup on the table, she checked her notification.
Jansen Eriksen: Hey! Sorry for missing your call, the blackout had us really busy so I couldn't answer
Allyson: I figured much haha
Allyson: So about what happened this morning…
5 minutes later
Jansen Eriksen: ok so for that it's best that I say this in person. Is it OK if I head to your apartment?
Allyson: Yeah! We're both here
Jansen Eriksen: Cool! I'll be there in 15
Allyson: See ya soon!
"Hey, Julia?"
"What's up?" Julia stuck her head out the doorway.
"Jansen's coming here soon."
"Alright."
18 minutes later
"Hey!" Allyson greeted with a warm smile.
"Hey," He showed a shadowy smile, closing his eyes and nodding forward.
"Before you tell us everything, you want something to drink?"
"Some coffee would be nice actually," he opened a large gap in his mouth, forcing his eyes to close and hover over the gap with his right fist. "Aaaaaauuuuggghhh. Excuse me, sorry, wasn't able to sleep."
"With everything from last night to this morning," The artist sat on a chair in front of their dining table, planting her upper body against its support. "Can't blame you."
"A lot of people panicked and we had more escorts than usual," Allyson brought a cup of coffee to Jansen, who sat in the middle of the couch. He took a sip. "Thanks."
"Mmm hmm," Allyson sat on the couch that stood against the wall connected to her room.
Jansen took another sip before loosening his body. "You guys saw what happened last night, right?"
"Yeah, a blackout occurred," Allyson gazed at the windows. "Everything went out like total darkness."
"That's not the only thing," Julia added.
"Oh?" Jansen tilted his head while locking eyes at the artist.
"You didn't see it?"
"See what?" Jansen slowly answered. "I was driving an escort when the blackout occurred."
"Oh, ok," Julia nodded. She then brought out her phone and pointed at the ember icon. "This app came on with a pinkish color. Then our TV suddenly powered on and we saw some dark areas. We couldn't tell what it was. Next thing we knew, we saw someone or something on the screen screaming that they were going to be killed. After that, the screen went blank. And that was all that happened. Oh, then by the time we woke up, the lights were on."
"Woah, that’s really odd," Jansen widened his eyes and covered his forehead with his left hand. "Did you guys notice anything else from the TV?"
"Not really," Julia swiveled her head numerous times. "I couldn't tell other than that voice. Couldn't make out who it was. Allyson, you remember anything?"
Allyson pierced her lips and directed her vision to the ceiling. "Not really."
Silence stilled the area.
"Ooh!" Julia and Jansen redirected their gaze on Allyson. "I remember that voice saying they couldn't move. Then we heard footsteps but we couldn't figure out where it was coming from."
"Now that you mentioned that, we also heard a click sound like someone loading a gun."
"Yeah, it was bizarre," Allyson shuddered. “I thought it was just some prank but it wasn’t.”
Jansen merely stared at his coffee cup on the table.
"Jansen?"
"Sorry, just taking in everything that’s happened," he closed his eyes and shivered his head before facing Allyson. "From what you two are saying, it sounds eerie that the TV showed whatever that was. Why though?"
"We can speculate all we want," Julia shook her head. "Anyways, Jansen, about this morning…"
"Right, whew," he took a deep breath before answering. "From the alert you guys got, someone was found at the McKeldin Library."
"They said it was a female victim."
"Yeah and not just that," he continued to gaze at his coffee. "The body was in front of the statue."
"I don't get it," Allyson furrowed her eyebrows and tilted her head left.
"Listen carefully. The body was in front of the statue."
Julia hid her mouth with her left hand and turned her head in the opposite direction. "Ack! Ack! Oh god…"
As soon as her roommate reacted, Allyson's brain connected the wires sparking the epiphany. Her eyes bulged to the size of the moon before her entire face shrunk.
"They also identified the body."
"Who was it?"
"Cree."
Both women locked stares at each other, wrinkling their eyebrows and face losing all color. Julia tapped her mouth with both hands. The barrier in her eyes shattered and crystal droplets fell out. Allyson remained motionless, a heavy wave of the shocking information paralyzing her. Jansen closed her eyes and hung his head low.
Cree Cuffey was dead.
“How did this even happen?”
No one answered for 30 minutes.
Jansen raised his head until he was directly staring at the television screen. “For now, let’s keep a low profile and don’t go near the library anytime soon.”
“Why’s that?”
“Officers are still swarming around the area and campus in general. News outlets are going to cover this by interviewing students and the higher ups. Just be careful around there.”
Allyson and Julia simultaneously agreed in unison.
Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.
September 30 - 12:00pm
Cameras encased a single man at the bottom of the stone stairs. A newscaster held a large microphone and slightly pointed it at the interviewee.
“Today…” Scott wiped beads from his eyes with a tissue and blew his nose. “True evil had occurred on this campus, taking the life of a beautiful person… who gave… many opportunities for everyone here and i-inspired many students here to work hard and be the best they can be.” His face glowed cherry red while rivers of water rained on his face. “This evil, corrupted monster will be stopped and brought to justice! Our hard-working officers will do everything they can to capture this culprit! Cree Cuffey, as a member of the Terp family and as a friend, you will be missed, but your life will never be forgotten. Your life will be avenged.”
One of the officers hung her head low and walked away with her comrade. “I feel bad for the guy. Having a friend like that killed in such a gruesome manner. Ugh…”
“Who would even go so far as killing her?”
Somewhere away from McKeldin…
One single individual sat on a black couch, watching the live conference at the campus library.
“This evil, corrupted monster will be stopped and brought to justice!”
The individual’s body tensed up, the right fist channeling all tension onto it. “Hehe, you want to call me an evil monster?” The individual leaned closer to the screen. “Take a look at yourself. You have more blood on your hands.”
October 1st - 10:13am
At the police department, Detective Vargas stared at the blue luminescent lights on his monitor. After a quick sip of his coffee, he was reading through a report of the incident.
Officer 255’s Report
On September 30th at 0612 hours, I was patrolling via vehicle on Preinkert Dr. I parked in Lot A between Tydings Hall and Worchester Hall to conduct a foot patrol at the McKeldin Mall. At approximately 0621 hours, as I was walking on the east side of McKeldin Mall where Francis Scott Key Hall is, I noticed 3 students running up to me appearing to be in a panicked state. They informed me that there was a body in front of the Testudo statue of the McKeldin Library. I rushed to the scene, informing dispatch of a health check on an individual.
However, upon reaching the location in question, the body was in front of the Testudo statue of the McKeldin Library yet the body’s head was displaced on top of the statue. Next to Testudo was a large black tarp and a smaller light red tarp. I informed dispatch of a potential homicide investigation. I had encircled the statue with our police tape and warned bystanders to not engage. I questioned the 3 students on their activities prior to discovering the body.
The 3 students and their student ID:
Sophia Chiesa (UID: 184265956)
Lucia Renard (UID: 172249931)
Lillian Mitrovich (UID: 174481050)
Ms. Chiesa informed me that Ms. Renard, Ms. Mitrovich, and she were walking from South Campus Commons 7. They intended to arrive at the Eppley Recreation Center by cutting through the McKeldin Library. It was then at approximately 0623 hours that they noticed something ‘bulging’ from the Testudo statue and ‘a large tarp beneath it’. Upon uncovering the tarps, they discovered the body of Cree Cuffey.
I called SOC to check if there were any individuals around the area in question. However, SOC informed me that cameras on campus were offline during that time and did not return online until approximately at 0704 hours. They mentioned the blackout that occurred on September 30th, 0000 hours which may have contributed to the security cameras going offline.
Once Officers 233 and 244 arrived at the screen, they questioned the students inside McKeldin Library, Jimenez Hall, and Chincoteague Hall. No students recalled seeing anyone suspicious.
“Rrrrggh,” Detective Vargas groaned as he stretched his throat, locking eyes at the monotone ceiling. He wrapped his hands behind his head. “No one really saw anything? How? Someone has to have seen something. It’s a big campus. Tch, I don't know where to begin.”
“I’m telling you, I know who did it!”
“You do? Tell me!”
Detective Vargas pushed himself back to sitting erect at his desk. Leaning forward and sticking out his left ear, he closed his eyes only focusing on the sound outside.
“It’s that stupid bitch who I arrested like two weeks ago. Only reason she’s not in jail is because of that stupid detective. He’s like “ugh, me thinks she innocent because she didn’t do nothing. Like bullshit! Everyone says that when they get arrested. It’s so easy to tell when they lie.”
“Can’t you quiet down? The detective will hear you. He’s in his office.”
“I don’t give a shit! His office is always like that and he don’t do shit here while we do all the heavy lifting.”
The two officers walked past his office. They opened the exit doors. THUD!
Pressing and stretching the bridge between his eyes with his thumb and index fingers, Detective Vargas froze in place, disgruntled at the situation. “Hmm, something’s not right here.”
October 3rd - 10:02am
Allyson walked out of her classroom finishing her exam. She spent some time relieving herself in the restroom and planning out her next schedule. While her pupils were glued to the little screen, her legs decided to carry her to the exit at the south side of Jimenez Hall. When she was outside, she saw McKeldin Library.
"What the fuck? I can't be around the library. Jansen said to stay away from there. And I need to not focus myself on this damn phone." Allyson's expression remained straight while she was staring at the library.
"Hey, you!"
"Are you fucking kidding me? Please don't talk to me…" Allyson swiftly spun around and walked up the incline to her right.
"Don't walk away from me!" The voice boomed louder, causing her to freeze on the spot.
"Just my fucking luck," she took a deep breath before turning to the voice. The individual was standing around near the crime scene.
"That's right! Need to talk to you!"
"What does he want?" Allyson marched toward the person despite her back leaning back just slightly.
"It's not nice to ignore someone calling you, especially to me," The individual's voice remained serene yet his eyes flared with indignation. Allyson wasn't able to distinguish it.
"Sorry about that," her mind was withholding all the screams inside. "So what's going on?"
"Well, I'm not feeling great because a dear friend of mine was murdered by a psycho."
"It's disturbing what happened to her," she shivered. "I'm sorry for your loss."
"Thanks," the student continued to stare at Allyson. "We need to figure out who would commit such an evil act."
"I hope you and the campus police do your best in finding the culprit," Allyson began skidding her right shoe away.
"I can't do this alone, so why don't you and I investigate this like partner-in-crimes?"
"Yeeeaahh," her stomach started twisting, causing her body heat to spike up. Her hairline was starting to feel moist. "I'll try some private investigation if I ever see anything and let the police know, and I'm late to my class so I need to go."
"Well, what's the rush? My friend was killed and you'd rather go to a class than grieve with me?"
"I'm sorry for your loss. If I find something related to her death, I'll let the police know."
"Which is why you and I need to investigate this. You'll have a better rationale than I would. I wouldn't focus well unless someone is there to help me."
Ring! Ring!
Allyson checked her phone, curving her eyebrows and wrinkles creasing her forehead.
Incoming call: Julia Svihia
"Hello?"
"Allyson! Where are you? I'm here at Stamp."
"I'm at McKeldin. I know I'm late but I'll be there real soon. Just let me know what I missed during the lecture."
"Lecture?" The artist furrowed her eyebrows. "What are you-"
"I'll be there soon!"
Allyson hung up. She looked at the person. "Gotta go. Bye!" She immediately strode away, averting her eyes away from that individual.
The person pulled out his phone and took a picture. The image he had was slightly blurry but had a vivid view of the focused target.
Behind the person, someone approached him.
"Joe, what are you doing?" Scott inquired while smoking a vape.
"Oh, nothing, just wanted to be a nice guy to her but she just ran away."
Allyson maintained her fast walking until she reached the top of the incline. Her shins were burning up to a point where she felt throbs pulsing against them. Ignoring the pain, she crossed the sidewalk and met her roommate at the entrance. Jansen also arrived earlier than she expected.
She told them what had transpired.
"Sorry, that happened to you. People like that are so gross," Julia felt her body stiffen.
"I'm glad you left there safely," Jansen's face was pale initially but regained color right after. "What did this guy look like, if you mind us asking?"
"Uhh," Allyson scratched the back of her head. "Had patches of hair on his face, black hair, about this tall," she hovered her left horizontal hand around 4 inches above her head. "And also an underbite whenever he smiled."
"Oh," Jansen's face shrunk, wrinkles spreading across his face. "You met Joe Hurwitz. Not surprised that he approached you like that."
"You know him?"
"Yeahhhh," he hung his head down by the smallest of centimeters, leaving a gap in his mouth. "You're very lucky that Julia called you; otherwise that would have been ugly."
"I was fucking terrified," Allyson rocked her head, dilating her pupils. "He didn't leave me alone and I couldn't get out if I tried. Thank fucking god, Julia, you saved me."
"I'm glad you're safe with us now," her roommate was able to loosen herself. "Let's go and find a place to settle down."
"Gonna need some coffee first."
They had to resort to McDonald's coffee since the closest coffee was inside the library. Once they got their drinks, they went past the main area of the food court and found another area enclosed on its own. It was called the Baltimore Room. There was a table at the end of the area.
"So everything looks quiet here so we can at least talk about what happened."
"Couldn't we just talk about this at our apartment?" Allyson inquired.
"Oh, uh, I didn't think about that," The artist's face highlighted pink. She painted a shadowed smile and closed her eyes. "Whoops…"
"Eh, doesn't matter as long as we don't garner attention," Jansen reassured before sipping his Americano.
"So I do want to know something," Allyson mimicked her friend's actions. "Julia, before you went missing, what happened that Sunday night?"
"I remember looking at my phone and seeing a notification. It just had three question marks on it. I tapped on it and it took me to that app. At first, it was just like how I thought it was supposed to be: an ember that just sticks out on the screen. But then…"
______________________________________________________________________
September 18th - 9:48pm
Julia gazed at the yellow spherical ember glowing on her phone. She continued to gaze at its alluring color.
"It's just nothing. This app is such a waste," she pressed the power button.
The phone failed to shut off.
"Huh?" She tried again. Same thing occurred.
On the next attempt she pressed and held the power button and the bottom part of the volume button, waiting for something to change.
It never did.
All of a sudden the yellow ember icon began erasing itself. It drew another ember nearly identical to the previous one. Except this one, to the artist, something felt off. It looked fake: shading was unpolished, everything appeared too perfect. Nothing resonated with the feeling that a human created this.
She was motionless still fixated on the ember. Her eyes were feeling heavier yet could not divert her gaze away.
Then the sphere disappeared as if someone wanted to undo an edit.
A small vertical dandelion line flashed in the middle of the screen.
A message typed in: “F..o..l..l..o..w…m..e…”
______________________________________________________________________
“That’s all I remember. The next thing I knew I was there in that strange world.”
“So no one was at our door?” Julia weaved her head sideways. “What the hell?” Allyson pulled out her phone and opened that app again. The color was gray. A message popped up.
“At this time, no individual Soul is in danger. You will be notified of any warnings of potentially compromised Souls.”
“This app…what is it and why are we the only ones who know about this?”
October 3rd - 4:27pm
Allyson and Julia returned to the apartment. Jansen had dropped them off and had to prepare for his shift tonight. Once they were in the living room area, the artist walked to the kitchen and began adding water to the electric kettle.
“What are you going to do for the rest of the day?” She asked her roommate.
“Not sure, probably just chill for a bit,” Allyson sat on the couch near the wall. “How about you?”
Julia turned to her while planting her palms on the edge of the counter. “I’m gonna apply to some places around here. I need to have some sort of stable income since I don’t have a job right now.”
“Oh, yeah, you know, I need to apply for some jobs around here, too. I can’t keep transferring money from my savings to my checking account. It makes me sad each time I do it.”
“Mmm hmm,” the artist nodded before grabbing a tea bag from the cabinets above her. “You’ll go broke if you keep doing that and this place just eats your money away. Oh, you want some tea?”
“Uh, sure!” Julia grabbed an extra one and poured the boiling water onto the second cup. She handed it to her. “Thanks!”
“By the way, do you have any plans this Friday?”
“I don’t, why?” Allyson leaned her head slightly left.
“I have a couple friends, Jansen’s also part of the group, and we’re planning on having a little hang out here. I would like you to join us and we can introduce ourselves.”
“Yeah, yeah! I’d be down to hang out. Can’t wait to meet your friends!” Her heart fluttered. Her mind spewed out thousands of inner thoughts simultaneously. Allyson's lips crept up without her noticing.