3rd
The gate was locked.
Solar began to panic, hyperventilating as the lights inside the house kept illuminating one after the other, signaling that Fang was slowly but surely approaching the door.
There was simply no way to escape in time.
"Think, Solar, think. What the hell do you do in this situation?"
Luckily, he had positioned his car in such a way that one of the nearby rose bushes would mostly obscure it from vision if one looked towards it from afar, provided Fang didn't leave his porch and go searching around for him. Now, he just had to stay hidden somewhere until Fang went back to bed, and then he could climb the gate and make his escape. He dove behind a patch of hydrangeas, hoping that their white coloring would offer him some form of camouflage and thus, hide him from Fang. Confident he was hidden, he turned his attention to the thing that had scratched him just a few minutes earlier.
He held cool metal object in his hand up towards the closest light source he could find, but the dim glow from the moon and the fence lights were insufficient to fully illuminate the item and reveal its identity. Solar would have to bring it home to be able to study it. He retracted his hand and held completely still, not daring to even breath as even the slightest exhalation would reveal his position and if he were caught, he would have a lot of explaining to do.
Solar was barely able to slide the metallic article into his pants pocket when the front door swung open as if on cue, revealing Fang, whose violet eyes gazing over the yard and looking for any signs of disturbance or worse, trespassers on his estate. He surveyed the garden, looking closely at where Solar had just been minutes before. Seeing nothing, he shrugged, concluding that it was likely some stray cat that got into one of his bushes and close the door, returning to sleep.
Solar exhaled, relief washing over him in waves as his tense muscles relaxed.
…
"Fang, what was going on out there? Why did you leave me, here, all alone~" the woman in Fang's bed complained, scantily clad in only a baby blue bra and some cream-colored panties. Her voice was sultry with a tinge of annoyance as she placed her arms over her supple breasts, waiting for her question to be answered.
"Nothing, baby," Fang replied, also clad in nothing more than a pair of boxers. "Let's continue, shall we?" Fang's arms stroked down the woman's sides, eyes aflame with passion.
"Of course."
…
"What was the object?" Ice asked. "Also, technically, by law, you weren't trespassing as he did invite you onto his estate; you just never left, but he wouldn't be able to press charges since it's technically legal," he analyzed, making Solar feel slightly better about his traumatic experience two nights ago.
"I didn't know you were a lawyer too, Mr. Hot Shot," Solar teased. "But this was the object."
Solar reached into his shirt pocket and pulled out a green triangular, stainless steel zipper with a geometric leaf design on it. It was a gift that he gave Thorn for his eighteenth birthday, attached to a forest green and black hoodie.
"I think you and I both know how Fang killed him…"
…
After Fang left, Solar climbed the fence and hopped into his car, driving back to his apartment at full speed.
Car parked in the apartment complex's garage, Solar entered the elevator and hit the button for the seventh floor and took a deep breath. The vague smell of perfume and air freshener entered Solar's nostrils as he surveyed his surroundings. Dim yellow lights slightly illuminated the elevator, reminding him of his earlier situation. Solar shivered.
Eventually, he reached his apartment. Solar jammed the key into the lock, twisted it roughly and shoved open the door, pulling out the key and pocketing it before slamming the door shut. He was exhausted, the adrenaline rush having worn off and leaving his body completely drained. Slowly stripping out of his outdoors clothing, he approached his bathroom, giving into his body's demands for a hot shower. After removing the last garment on his body, he removed the object in his pocket and placed it on his bathroom table, threw his clothes into the recently emptied hamper and stepped under the showerhead, turning on the hot water setting to soothe his tense muscles.
"Thorn is missing, Fang hiding bloody tires, Fang's concern only lasting for a split second. Fang's concern sounding a bit forced…"
Solar tried to calculate all the possibilities in his head as the hot water rushed down his body, but his mind could only come up with two.
"Either Thorn has gone completely incognito after confronting Fang and Fang ran over some roadkill on the way back to his mansion, or…"
Solar paused, not wanting to even consider the second, more gruesome possibility that popped up in his head. The idea was so horrible, he felt nauseous just even thinking about it.
Solar stepped out of the shower and dried his hair using the towel next to him, praying that Thorn was alive and well and that his brain was just fucking with him and being pessimistic as usual. He wrapped the towel around his waist and glanced over to the table on which his bathroom sink rested, and that was when he saw something that alarmed him. The metal object's identity was revealed, and now how he wishes he didn't see it. Two possibilities, two worlds were narrowed down to one as he realized what that item being stuck in and presumably puncturing the tires meant.
Eyes of ash gray flickered with disbelief while they stared at the gleam of a green painted, custom designed zipper.
…
"So Fang ran over him with his car is what you're implying?" Ice stated bluntly, his notepad and pen were now in his hands as he quickly took notes of everything Solar was saying.
"Yes, there is no way that the zipper tab could have come off of the hoodie otherwise."
"Alright. Now here's the last question I have for you."
"Wait, so you believe me?"
"Well," Ice sighed. "I suppose you could say that. Now, the last question. Do you know where Thorn's body is?"
"No, should I know that? I'm not the one who murdered him!"
"Well, here's the thing. The law states that you can accuse someone of a crime if and only if you can prove that the crime took place. Now, of course the zipper is enough evidence for you and me, but the judges are going to need more than that to be convinced it's worth starting a trial for."
"So you're saying that I can't take him to court without finding Thorn's body?"
"Yep."
"Fuck."
"Once you find it, you can come contact me and I'll set you up for a court case," Ice told him. "But without evidence there was a crime you can't even accuse him without getting into hot water for defamation, much less actually take him to court."
…
'Shit. Now what?'
Solar racked his brain for solutions of how to avenge Thorn's death, but now he was stuck. He would have to find the body, but it's Thorn could have been murdered up to a week ago, and if Fang had half a brain, he would place his body somewhere it would decay quicker, like the local lake which was always teeming with small insects and fish around this time in the summer.
'I don't have a choice, do I? I have to go searching for it.'
Solar sat down at his desk in his study, pulling out a small notepad and his trusty white ballpoint pen. He would search every little corner of the city if he had to, but he was going to be smart about it, as per usual.
The phrase HIGH DECAY RATE AREAS was written in small letters at the top of the notepad and UNVISITED AREAS was written in the middle, organizing Solar's thoughts as he began to list off every place he knew of that fit at least one of those criteria. After an hour of thinking, checking, and double-checking if he had happened to miss anything, Solar was satisfied and reviewed the list one last time, looking for matches between the lists he made.
'If Thorn's body is somewhere in the city limits, it's going to be in one of the overlaps if Fang is smart.'
HIGH DECAY RATE AREAS
Lake
Dumpster
Forest
Rainwater Basin
Composting and Recycling Center
UNVISITED AREAS
Alleyways
Forest
Fang's Estate
Local Farm
Lake
'So, the forest or the lake it is then,' Solar thought, putting away his notepad and preparing himself to search for his missing friend's body. It was four in the afternoon, and the harsh light from the noon sun had subsided, giving way for a calmer blue to cover the sky. Fortunately for Solar, the small forest on the edge of the city limits and the lake were next to each other, so he didn't have much moving around to do.
…
Solar stepped out of his vehicle, which he stopped next to the tallest oak in the forest. He surveyed his surroundings, inspecting them for any signs of Thorn's whereabouts. It was about five in the evening when he arrived, and the sun was starting to set in the distance. Trees loomed over him, their shadows long and all-encompassing, sending a shiver down Solar's spine. He has always hated the shadows; he functioned much better in the light. From his trunk, Solar extracted a lantern and a beam flashlight and set off to find the body of his missing, and probably murdered, best friend. Sunlight dimmed by the minute as the gloom of the forest grew darker, his lantern only being able to dispel the shadows closest to him. The dark seemed to surround him like a thick fog, obscuring his vision past a few paces in front of him. Forest creatures called through the dark; invisible crickets chirped harshly from the trees; silent breezes rustled the surrounding flora; all of them formed a deafening cacophony that rattled his head.
'Fang's estate was better, at least I still had the moonlight and the silence to give me some feeling of safety! This forest is fucking creeping me out,' Solar thought while shuddering, the cold wind from the lake snaking down his sides through the miniscule gaps between his skin and his signature white and ash gray jacket. He had to find evidence that Thorn indeed died; the only way he could do that is by finding his body relatively intact. It wasn't often that he prayed, because he didn't like believing things that weren't objectively observed, but just this once, he would swallow his principles so that he could find justice for his best friend, his Thorn.
'God, Allah, Zeus, or whoever the hell is up there if there's anyone up there, please help guide me to Thorn, I need to find justice for him so that he can rest in peace.'
Almost instantly, the mood of the forest seemed to shift. Gone were the eerie calls of the crickets, having ceased all at once. Gone were the noises of the forest animals, being dialed down to the faintest, almost imperceptible whisper. Still, the evening breeze continued to blow and rustle the leaves hidden in the dark just outside of the range of the lantern in his left hand, but now, it seemed to be focused. The change was almost impossible to describe, and if he tried to describe it to another human, he might've been called a lunatic locked up in an insane asylum.
Solar could feel Thorn's spirit in the air current, calling for him.
He wasn't sure how he had reached that conclusion, nor was he sure why he felt obligated to accept it, but he decided that he would go with it.
Then, something even stranger happened.
The wind carried with it a delicate fragrance, a smell more soothing than being huddled in the warmest cardigan and having a cup of hot tea on a cold winter day.
Solar recognized it almost instantly.
'It smells like the Sun's Crown! Why does it smell like the Sun's Crown?'
Blood rushed throughout his being as he went purely off his own instincts. Solar followed the current of wind as it steadily blew past his right shoulder, almost pushing him along as he ran as fast as he could; his legs went on autopilot as he sprinted in the direction of the gust like there was a pot of gold waiting for him at the end, but the rainbow he was following was fading quickly. However, the gentle zephyr never lost its strength, being the only thing reassuring Solar that his mission was not going to end in failure.
"It must be a sign from Thorn," Solar whispered to himself, continuing his dash at top speed. "Even beyond the grave you're still with me, huh? At least you kept your promise."
It was now seven at night and the sun had completely disappeared, the moon having taken its place among the now revealed stars. The forest seemingly fell asleep, the usual noises of nocturnal life being replaced with an anxious silence that threatened to swallow Solar whole. He feared not for his own life, but for his friend who might never be avenged, who (according to his very brief contact with a book regarding spirits) would forever wander the mortal realm, restless. If he failed, he would have failed to give Thorn the proper treatment he deserved even in death.
If he failed, he would have failed Thorn.
"Now I have to keep mine."
Never once did he even come close to straying from the wind guiding him, but soon enough, the current lost its strength, slowly fading as his legs tired; the adrenaline rush had started to die down, forcing him to take some breaths to recover some of the oxygen he consumed. His vision was blurred, the blood meant for his eyes being redistributed to his legs to allow him to keep following the breeze that brought him here. He folded over while remaining standing, palms pressed against his knees to allow blood to flow to his head, clearing his vision which was previously swimming. Solar stood up straight, raising the lantern which still glowed a bright yellow orange in his hand to illuminate his surroundings.
The first thing he noticed was the light from his lantern being reflected back to him, but with subtle ripples disturbing the otherwise uninterrupted beam of light. The second thing he noticed was the damp smell not unlike the smell of a freshly washed cloth, still saturated with water. The last thing he noticed was the wet, marshy dirt underneath his feet, clearly constantly hydrated by some nearby body of water. There was only one conclusion to make.
The wind had led him to the lake.
Solar turned on his beam flashlight and began to inspect the edges of the lake from the shore, checking in the murky depths for any signs of Thorn's body. He had made almost a half-circle around the lake when he noticed something peculiar. What looked to be hundreds of tiny fish and other freshwater critters were collected around a tiny spot in the lake, completely blocking the beam from his flashlight and preventing him from seeing the waters below. Curious as to what was behind all the commotion in this area of the lake, Solar picked up a pebble next to his off the ground and tossed it dead center into the middle of the swarm. The swarm scattered for a few seconds, but those few seconds were all Solar needed to see what was underneath. His face turned green in the dimly lit gloom, the urge to puke building up in the pit of his stomach.
Tangled in the underwater grass, the half-eaten face of Thorn stared back at him from under the dirty water, still clad in the hoodie Solar gave him for his eighteenth birthday but with the zipper missing its tag. Parts of his skeleton showed through the parts where the aquatic life had eaten deeper into his flesh; his ribs poked out in awkward angles, presumably having been broken when Fang ran him over.
One thing was for sure, there was no way the police would accept this as evidence that Thorn specifically had died. He was no longer recognizable to the average person. His mangled corpse looked barely like a human cadaver, with the surprisingly still mostly intact forest green and black hoodie being the only reason Solar himself was able to recognize that it was in fact Thorn.
He felt like he failed Thorn. He had failed Thorn.
'God fucking damn it. I was too goddamn late.'
Solar threw a second pebble to disperse the animals surrounding Thorn's body like moths to a flame so that he could take a picture to prove to himself he was right all along. However, it did little to help him feel better as he trudged back to his car, sunken by the weight of his own failure to avenge Thorn.
'What the fuck do I do now?'
