COLE

chapter 6; blame

It took her a moment but as she watched the security camera footage, Arielle decided that she'd finally, quite certainly, gone mad.

"I know what I saw," she whispered.

"And what was that again?" the officer paused the video and turned to look at her. "Because I think I'm wasting my time here."

"A man came into the shop," she said. "You can even see me turn around."

"Of course he did," the officer said, straightening up. "I suggest you go home now, your aunt is waiting for you outside. You might benefit from some rest, I understand how stressful today must have-"

"I'm telling you," Arielle interrupted him. "I know the man, I've seen him around. The footage must have been tampered with."

Arielle was overwhelmed. She felt like she was in the middle of a conspiracy of some kind.

There was no explanation for what she was experiencing.

"An invisible man tampered with the footage," the officer concluded. "Okay, I think we're done here."

"Wait," Arielle exclaimed. "The man, I saw him at the precinct days ago. I think he might be a police officer of some kind. You might even know him!"

The officer sighed, "Look, I'm sorry but I have other things that need doing. Your boss most likely died from natural causes; We'll know for sure when the report comes back. Though I do suspect it won't be anything unusual. Take my advice and go home."

The officer didn't wait for her reply and opened the door for her to leave.

Arielle looked back at the monitor to see the frozen screen. There were only two people in that room, according to the camera. So why didn't it pick up on the third?

She sighed and walked out of the room. Nothing she could say would ever convince the officer to see something that quite blatantly, didn't exist. Had it been pure luck that the door was cut of frame, too?

Arielle felt like her mind would explode.

Joining her aunt, she was certain of one thing. If she hadn't thought twice about Cole before, she definitely took notice of him now.

Everything could be explained in one way or another. But nothing could ever explain why he was untraceable on the footage. It was like he was never there and that deeply unsettled her.

•

Cole visited the cemetery again, this time taking his time at the gate.

"Excuse me," an elder woman asked.

He moved out of the way as she continued past him and the gates, into the cemetery. A gentle breeze picked up, ruffling his hair slightly on top.

The sepulchre stood ominously among the smaller graves, shielded by a crowd of trees tall enough to provide shade on to the steps.

Cole finally walked towards the sepulcher, alert and cautious of those around him. He needed to make sure he wasn't losing his mind before flipping the table.

He made his way inside, lighting the lantern in the entrance. With one look over his shoulder, he proceeded to the tomb and felt the world move under his feet.

It was definitely empty.

Cole turned and blew the lantern out before storming out of the sepulcher. Convinced that he hadn't imagined the night he was locked inside, he set out to find out exactly what was going on. And why the hell it involved his dead brother.

•

"I'm worried about her, dad," Melissa sighed, putting her head in her hands at the dining table.

Terence sipped his tea, reading the newspaper that lay in his lap.

"She hasn't come out of her room all day," she said, still sulking into her hands.

"She's a strong child," Terence replied, sipping again.

Melissa straightened up and looked down at her watch. "I can't keep taking time off work like this. Soon I'm not going to have a job to go back to."

"I told you that you could leave her with me," Terence said, glancing at her. His thick white eyebrows raised in a manner of skepticism. "Not my fault you don't trust me."

"It's been six hours, dad," she said, ignoring the last part. "Her boss died in front of her and she hasn't even said a word about it."

Terence knew nothing he could say would relieve her stress. Melissa had been a stubborn child growing up which only transformed into anxiety and obsessiveness as she aged. He adjusted his hat, knowing he couldn't really blame her for how much she worried.

The death of Arielle and Faye's mother changed her. It changed everyone.

Unfortunately, death had that effect on people.

Melissa sighed and stood up. "I should get going."

"Okay, dear," Terence replied.

Melissa took a moment and shook her head before leaving. Terence looked up from his newspaper, briefly as he heard the front door open and close.

Upstairs, Arielle sat on her bed with her laptop and the lights turned off. She figured she'd take her questions to the internet. After all, that's what everyone did anyway. What was more reliable than a google search bar in this time and age?

She scrolled down on the search page, having typed:

How can a person be invisible on camera?

Nothing she found satisfied her curiosity. Arielle leaned her head back and rested it against the frame of the bed.

She stared at the wall in front of her, feeling like the answer was right there, in the space of the white paint. It frustrated her, feeling like she was standing on the edge of a deep and dark pothole. If she would just fall in, she'd uncover the truth.

But the thing was, she'd never be able to get back out once she did.

•