Let's Talk About Murder

prologue

trigger warning. this chapter mentions death and non-graphic descriptions of getting away with dead body. reader's discretion advised.

MY SKIN WARMED up against the wild flames that danced in front of me. Under the darkened sky and amidst the stranded woods, the fire howled in silence. The strong smell of smoke infused with decaying material filled in my nostrils, making me nauseous. It was like leather lit up on fire, only worse.

     A shaky breath escaped from the person standing to my right. Her fingers tore into my flesh as her grip tightened. I looked over at Yumi whose small face was covered in dirt. Her eyes were closed, afraid to take a peek at the sight in front of us. A few tear drops rolled down her cheeks.

     Beside her stood Karan and West—who shared contrasting expressions. Karan watched the flames with confusion and a tiny bit of amusement while West was looking anywhere but the fire.

     My next reaction was to look at my left. My slender hand was wrapped around Lex's arm. His face hardened at my gaze. He snapped his face towards me.

   My legs were wobbly. I couldn't think straight. "So...um, just curious. How can I exit this game?" The words were spit out before I could even consider saying it.

     Lex sighed, his eyes turning dark. "The only way to get rid of this game, is to play it."

    "I can...can not do this. We need to...we need to leave. Now." Yumi's barely audible voice cracked.

    "But we can't!" West half-yelled. "We have to make sure there are no remains. Our DNA needs to get burned."

     Yumi broke into more tears. "We need to tell someone." No one spoke. Yumi nudged me. "Aphrodite," she muttered desperately, "we could go to jai—" she paused when an all-to-familiar notification sound buzzed through our phones. I groaned—feeling scared and exhausted at the same time.

     My heart thudded as if trying to break free while my hand reached for the phone inside my pocket. I took a sharp breath—the smell was so thick that I almost felt like I was tasting it. The odour was going to stick me for a long time. And the sight was going to haunt my dreams.

     Unlike the last time, this message was sent to all of us in the group chat. My eyes widened as my eyes landed on text written in bold.

•••

YOUR SECRETS AREN'T GOING TO BE REVEALED ANY TIME SOON,

GOOD FOR YOU, THIS ISN'T YOUR DOOM.

BUT TO KEEP IT THAT WAY,

YOU HAVE TO CONTINUE TO PLAY.

     •••

"So," Karan said, "We all have secrets that made us do this, huh?" His voice edged with judgement.

     "Not surprised," I whispered. "Now, let's get rid of the remaining body."

header image by Chirag Nayak

hey, beautiful people who chose to read the prologue. did it intrigue you? are you planning to continue? I hope so!

what would you do, if you were told to get rid of the dead body? oh, boy. I can only imagine.

even though, I'm obsessed with reading, writing and thinking about solving crimes, I don't think I'd be stable in this situation like Aphrodite, Lex and West.

I'd be a mixture of West and Yumi—freaking out but quitely enjoying? OMG, do I sound like a newbie killer?

what would you reaction be?

{ don't forget to vote and comment! }