Chapter One: The Friend Among Fakers

The music was thumping over the huge crowd's loud mingling and Gavin was tired of it. As he waded through the tide of fellow guests and loose acquaintances, he picked up his head and caught the one face he considered to be friendly in the room. He started to push past person after drunk person until he was in ear shot of his friend, catching the sideways glances and not so quiet whispers of the people around him.

"Hey, Rob, I gotta get going. You seen Kara anywhere?"
"Hey, dude! You can't leave yet, its only like..pfft..9:30!"
"Rob, its almost 1 and I've got to get back home or I'm going to miss my final," Gavin chuckled.
"...Oh. Well when you ever get back in Houston, call me up and we can hang out or something."
"Cool.. So Kara?..."
"Oh yeah, I think I saw her walking outside. Wait, so you guys are talking again?"
"Ya," Gavin sighed with a hefty breath. "Ya I don't know. She hurt me pretty bad, but you know how I am... can't hold a grudge. But you know, I think I'm over it, finally. We've been talking for a while and she's acting like she wants to be friends again."
"Ya dude. She hasn't been the same since her and Doucher broke up. She stills hangs around and all, but she just seems so distant."
"Told you, kharma's a bitch. But ya, I should be down in a few weeks, dude, we'll hang out then."
"Later, Auggie"
"Later," he chuckled back.

Gavin gave him a half high hand-shake, half hug and turned to walk out the door. He slid through the crowded gathering room and put the half empty, red plastic cup on the counter. The crowd grew restless as girls flopped around like dying fish in an attempt to dance and guys were flexing and punching each other and he could've sworn he could hear the sound of someone having uninhibited drunken relations in the background of it all, but it could have been anything. He finally found his way to the gaping french doors and peered out at the smokers and staggering partiers, also ready to leave. There she was; Kara Connaly, the girl that destroyed what he considered left of his lingering heart their senior year. He thought he was over her. That is, until he got to see her in person for the first time since they graduated and went their seperate ways. She was beautiful in high school, but this... she was truly something else. Shining black hair, deep blue eyes, alabaster skin. She turned his stomach in knots.

"Hey Kara. I gotta get going. It was good to see you again."
"Oh, hey! It was good to see you too, Gavin. Let me know if you're ever near Austin, we could hang out sometime."
"Haha. Yeah... we'll see."

He leaned in to give the most soul crushing, stomach melting hug he ever had to give and gave a tormented hopeless smile as they pulled apart. She retuned, in kind, a similar smile, just without the torment and hopelessness. Gavin turned and started toward the makeshift parking lot that had been painstakingly fashioned with a front lawn and a can of spray paint.

"You better call me!" she yelled as he walked past cars of every make and model he could imagine. He raised his hand in a halfhearted wave and kept walking through the car lot. He felt a little part of him die as he pulled out of the drive way, and it couldn't be helped. He drove in silence, struggling with his thoughts and remembering emotions thought to be dead. Two long hours and a seemingly easy ride later, he pulled into the small apartment complex he called home. He climbed the stairs, clinging to the cold rail. He opened the door to the icy stale air and musk of his small apartment. Gavin Grey flipped on the switch to the cramped entry way and tugged the sleeves of his coat and tossed it on the living room chair. He checked the inbox of his phone-
"No new messages. Of course."

He plugged his phone into the charger and made his way to his bedroom. He turned on the light and fell on his oversized bed. He sat there for a few minutes, embracing the chill of the small room. Interjecting the silence, thuds reverberated from the hall through the doorway. He popped his head up, listening. A few seconds later a few more thuds. He jumped up and walked to the door, peeking out into the hall. Pitch black was all that he coud see peeking back. He grabbed a baseball bat leaning against the wall and stepped slowly and quietly into the hall, hugging the wall as he crept. He saw a red line dancing through the darkness and looked down at his chest where a red dot shifted back and forth across his shirt. As he tried to sweep the dot off his chest, two small jolts of pain suddenly hit in his right arm, followed by an intense, rattling shock that shoot up his arm and into his chest. Before he passed out, he heard muffled chatter and heavy footsteps.
"Is it the right guy? Is he the one they want?"
"Yeah. It's him. Number 72. Gavin Grey."

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Rob's eyes flashed open, the light too harsh even filtered through the dark blinds. His skull was pounding, his stomach was in his throat. He rolled onto his back, choking back the contents of his stomach and shutting his eyes to get just a few more minutes of sleep. He gave up after about half an hour and rolled his eyes in his thumping head. He slid out of the covers, slowly, as not to stir his stomach. He slumped his undead corpse into bathroom, turned on the shower as hot as he could. He pee'd, stripped and stepped into the hot torrent of the spout. When he was done, he dried off, got dressed in his leisure shorts and shirt and fixed greasy eggs and sausage with some coffee. After he finished eating, he stepped outside and felt the cold breeze. He checked his phone: a quarter to one and no new messages. He looked up at the sky, light grey cotton covering the whole canopy overhead.
He looked back at his phone again. Last night was a drunken haze, but he remembered Gavin being there... And Kara. It had been too long since Gavin had rolled back in to town and it was good to see him again.

"Better call Allie.." he muttered to himself. He scrolled through the on-phone contact list until he found Allie's number and hit call. It rang for a few seconds until she answered:
"mmm... Hello?" she groaned.

"Hey its me. Just callin to check up. How you feeling?" Allie was a few years younger than Rob, but she was crazy awesome. He fell head over heels his senior year and they had been together ever since. She could hold her own, and she had fun hanging out with Rob and his friends.
"mmm.. I'm fine. Just couldn't really sleep."
"Okay. Well, call me later and maybe we can get something to eat."
"Kay. Sounds good."
"See you later, babe."
"Love you." She said and hung up.

He lowered his phone and looked up at the dull, lifeless sky. He let out a deep cold breath as he walked back into his little house.
"Just another day, I guess," he said as he sat down in front of his computer and logged on to his computer. Employee Username: Rob Harlin, Password: *****. He reached down and picked up his wireless headset.

"Good afternoon, Robert. Would you like to hear the agenda for today?" the mechanical voice came in clear through the headset.
"Hey, ROSA. Let's get started," he answered. Programs of all indiscernible natures flashed across the screen as music began playing. His fingers danced across the keyboard, until one file enlarged and engrossed the screen: Project Huxley.

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Gavin woke up in a cold sweat. The ceiling fan was whirring full blast overhead and its light still buzzing. He looked around, flashes of the preceding nights dream still burning, yet fading in his mind. He looked down at his right arm, expecting to see no signs providing any verification of what he saw last night... Only to see two small, pen point sized burn holes halfway up his forearm. He stared in disbelief, questioning both the term of the scars and their origin. He finally gave up and, looking at the clock, realized he was going to be late for his test if he didn't leave now. He changed into a clean long sleeve, dark blue shirt and a pair of clean jeans. He headed through the living room, grabbing his phone and jacket on the way out. He slid his arms into the sleeves and checked his phone. ONE NEW MESSAGE flashed slowly across the small screen. He accessed his inbox:

Unknown Number - Hey, Gavin. You should take an umbrella today. After your little test, meet me at Anna's Coffee on Eighth and Riverside. I'll be waiting.
who is this? ~ +friend among fakers-, he replied.

He walked out the door, half ignoring the text, but paused.

"Better safe than sorry, I guess," Gavin said to himself. He grabbed the small, fold-up umbrella from the little rack next to his door. As he stepped outside, he felt the chill of the fresh morning air hit his face. He looked up at the sky, a grey haze masking the usual blue of the sky. He started out to his truck, but as he stepped out from the covered walkway, it began to rain with extreme intensity. He opened his umbrella when his phone buzzed in his pocket.

Unknown Number - Well, now. You'll just have to stop by and see, won't you?

He stared at the phone as the rain pounded against his umbrella.

"There is no way this is for real," he thought. He put his phone in his pocket and slid into the cab of the truck. He shut his umbrella and shook off the rain before he tossed it in the passenger seat. He shut the door and started the old pickup. As the engine hummed to life, he looked up at the sky again, seeing nothing but the mist of the falling rain.

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The sun beamed through the greasy motel window. She blinked until her eyes adjusted to the light. She sat there, on her temporary bed, thinking. Last night was horrible. She hadn't expected to see Gavin again. He actually looked good, compared to high school. She didn't expect him to be so cold to her. They were talking a while before the party and he only said a few words to her while they were there. She convinced herself everything was okay between them, though she almost felt bad for what she did. Gavin was a bit of a loser in school, but now... now he seemed to have his shit together. She used him, played with him, toyed with his emotions then tossed him aside when she found a guy she thought was more socially acceptable, Billy Duker. What she didn't expect was for Billy Duker to do the same thing to her. He dumped her for some tart cheerleader just when she was opening herself up to him.
She never truly recovered form what he did, and when she thought about what he did to her, she couldn't help but think of how Gavin felt. How bad it must have hurt to be dropped so hard, with no explanation except the girl he liked (he really, REALLY liked) not only did not share his feelings, but felt nothing for him at all. It was the closest thing she could feel to guilt. Now, she jumped from guy to guy to get the same feeling of superiority she had when she broke Gavin's heart, but the closest thing she could come was a similar satisfaction from one night stands. The anonymous, passionless, raw thrill was enough to get her by.

She got dressed and stuffed her dirty clothes in her little duffle bag.
"I have to go. Enjoy the room, just get out by 5 or so, otherwise they'll overcharge me."
"You leavin' already, babe?" the guy in the bed asked. Phil... Or something like that.
"Yeah. I've got priorities that need to be taken care of, so I need to be getting back to Austin," she replied.
"Well, you got my number. Call me next time your in town n' we could probably hook up again."
"Maybe. Just don't hold your breath," she said. She got up and walked to the door, taking a moment to breathe. She opened the door and, stepping into the sunlight, realized how unhappy with her life that she really was.

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Gavin put his pencil down. He had made it just in time, but he was grossly unprepared. He was sure he would fail, too much on his mind and not enough sleep. He stood up and walked the test to the professor. As he placed the paper on the desk, the instructor looked up and, with a hopeful look on his face, picked up the paper. He always liked what Gavin had to say, even if he did ramble a bit. Gavin walked toward the exit, turning his phone back on. TWO NEW MESSAGES flashing on his screen.

Unknown Number - Change of plans, Gavin. Something came up, so we'll have to meet tomorrow.

hey auggie its kegg. wanna meet up wit me at the door? gotta get mah drank on after them tests ~ KEGGMAN

He replied to the stranger's text first.

if you dont tell me who you are then im not responding to your texts anymore ~ +friend among fakers-
Then Kegg's. Kegg was a guy he met his second week after moving to the small college town, but they hit it off pretty quick and he was the closest friend he had made here, other than Heather and Danielle.

ya, i got nothin goin on. what time were you thinking - +friend among fakers-

He didn't realize he was already outside. It stopped raining, but the sky was still bleak, it almost even seemed a little darker. His truck came into view as his phone buzzed again.

Unknown Number - Sorry, Gavin. All I can tell you is that I am a friend and what I have to tell you is important, too important for a phone conversation. Meet me at the same coffee shop tomorrow night at seven. Please show up, Gavin, or my superiors will have to take this into their own hands.

He thought for a minute. If anything in this world could be defined as weird, this would be it. Maybe this was a joke, maybe it was completely for real. If it was just a joke, then Gavin would have nothing to lose by showing up. School was finished for the semester with this last test and he had nothing to do but waste time. And this could be a good way to do it.

fine. can i at least get a name? what do i look for? i dont know what you look like. ~ +friend among fakers-

Another message popped up:
Ethan - idk like 10 or so. pop tart and milk dud are meetin me there, that cool? ~ KEGGMAN

ya, thats fine. see you there ~ +friend among fakers-

He jumped into his truck and started the engine. The old familiar hum and rattle of the engine filled the cab. He left the school's parking lot, grabbed some food from a little texmex place a few minutes away from his place and slowly drove home. As he pulled up to the apartment complex, he saw red and blue flashes of light on the top of police cruisers. He parked near the curb and walked up to the gate.

"I'm sorry, sir, but you can't go in."
"But I live here."
"I'm sorry sir, but no one is permitted without a badge."
"Fine. Do you at least know how long until we can go back in?"
"Sorry, no sir. All residents are advised to find temporary shelter elsewhere."
"Okay... Sorry to bother you," he said mildly sarcastically.
He stepped back, looking around. He saw a few neighbors standing around, speculating and talking about what happened. He saw the landlord standing close by.
"Hey Miss Linda. You know whats going on?"
"Oh, hello Gavin. It seems someone was found in one of the apartments. They don't know who he is and they're saying he was murdered. They won't won't say which apartment and they asked for the tenant logs. I gave it to them, I just don't want any trouble."
"Oh, wow. Do they know how he died?"
"No, not yet. They just took the body off for the autopsy. My, what a mess this all is."
"Yeah... I'm sorry Miss Linda, but I got to go find some place to stay for tonight. Let me know if anything comes up?"
"Sure, dear. I'm going to have to stick around for any questions they might have so if you need me, I'll be here."
"See you later Miss Linda."
"Goodbye, dear."

He turned back to his truck and jumped in. He had no clue what he was going to do... He thought for a moment and pulled out his phone.

hey kegg, my place is shut down cause some guy got killed. you think i can come over for a while and crash at your place tonight? ~ +friend among fakers-

He turned up the radio while waiting for "Kegg's" response.
THIS JUST IN, GUYS. SOMEONE WAS FOUND IN THE LAZY DAYS APARTMENT COMPLEX. NO DETAILS HAVE BEEN RELEASED, BUT SPECULATION IS MURDER. KEEP YOUR RADIO TUNED TO K-ROCK WITH ME, REJ ROCKET, FOR ALL YOUR BREAKING NEWS.

"Damn. News travels fast," he said. He sat there and ate his tacos, listening to the greatest alternative rock music of the 70's, 80's, 90's and today with limited commercial interuption... He listened to this station way too much. His phone buzzed again.

dude that sucks! ya come over now. ill kick your ass at some COD. ~ KEGGMAN

Unknown Number - Don't worry, Gavin. You will know me when you see me.

He crumpled up the foil taco wrappers and tossed them in the back seat. Turned the ignition and pulled away from the curb and drove down the street, now littered every few feet with news vans and cop cars. It was late afternoon and he was tired. He'd grab a few hours at Kegg's house and they'd go out and celebrate the end of their collegiate semester. As he drove away, the clouds seemed to darken overhead and the slow easy rhythm of some un-famous Say Anything song bursted through the speakers. His thoughts bobbed and swirled with the bassy thumping until they just faded into the long lost memories of a happy life, instead of living in mild contentment, days flying by and blurring into each other. They obscured him, made him something unintelligible and grotesque, compared to his younger form. And he hated what he became. He despised himself. But he lived with it. He would remain as is, nothing and no one would change him.