Case 1- THE TWO BODY EFFECT
His finger flicked the scroll wheel backward; the wheel whirring loudly. Light's intuitive eye tracked the news headlines in the monitor, rolling past.
In this one-roomed office, light sat on a cushioned guest chair besides another with the same features. A white ceramic coffee mug (gifted to them by their lovely neighbours) lay beside his HP laptop stationed on top of a wooden polished table. Terror tapped his fingers consecutively on the table and he took a sip of his coffee and his eyes stared blankly into the abyss. He was seated in a black swivel chair and behind him stood the newly polished white wall ready to be wall-papered.
Despair strolled past 4 rolls of blue wallpaper with a white spotted pattern ready to be put up on the walls, a coffee mug in one hand. Beside it lay a bunch of screws, a tub of glue and 2 rolls of cello tape.
Despair straightened the Westminster Palace souvenir kept on top of the ply covered shelf as he took a large sip of his coffee. Suddenly, a thoughtful expression appeared on his face as he turned around to face Light and he called 'Light!'
'Not now Mr. thoughtful.' said Light as he bent forward, closing in on his laptop.
'I was wondering how we are gonna advertise this thing or even get people to come here and trust us?' asked Despair.
'Find cases, join in on them and then invite the other complainers to contact us for further cases.' said Light squinting his eyes and stopping his scrolling.
'I think we should advertise free "pleasure" in this office to attract customers, gain their trust and start the cases.' said Despair.
'I think you should keep that in your little fantasies, go write a book or something; Jesus, you're bugging me.' replied Light.
Terror's eyes swiftly glanced towards Despair as he said in a deep voice 'I think we should print out advertisement pamphlets and attach them around the city.'
'Oh, that would be a great idea! A horny homeless man travelling home after a fent party can easily contact "Terror Pleasure agency" for free pleasure!' exclaimed Despair.
Light's eyes suddenly glinted as he peeked from beside his laptop and looked towards Terror.
'Terror, take a look at this headline, this seems perfect for our situation.' chuckled Light.
Light turned the laptop screen towards Terror, pointing towards an article with the headline 'A DEAD BODY FOUND IN THE WOODS'. The article was as follows:
"A 25-year-old Scottish male was reported dead in the woods just North of Redford Avenue. The man is yet to be identified but it is speculated that his red BMW crashed into the trees and an animal attack caused him to pass away. A tight silver ring has been identified to be stuck on the victim's index finger; it is speculated that the discomfort from the ring caused him to lose control and crash. The body has been taken in by Scotland Yard and it is predicted to start the post mortem before noon tomorrow; the investigation is still ongoing."
Terror sighed, a grin on his face as he looked up at Light and with a sudden creak, their door swung open.
A fair skinned slim woman, in her late teens but looking much older, entered the room. She was as tall as Despair in height, she wore black rounded square spectacles and her hair was styled a short single pony, ending in a sharp end right upto her nape; her brown-black hair was as smooth as butter.
A blackish brown tweed overcoat hung on her shoulders, reaching down to her knee pits, she kept the collar low followed by a black tie resting on her chest over a bright white shirt. She wore flared tweed pants, wavering in the air and wore flat, black boots with high soles.
Her coat wavered because of the air, brown leather gloved her hands rested in the pockets, her black eyes looked awkwardly at Terror and her lips quivered.
Terror's jaw slightly opened, his eyes angled and he swallowed and looked towards the woman. 'What is she doing here?' thought Terror, his mind beaming with confusion; his heart beating with worry. He darted his eye across the room and towards Light and Despair.
'Excuse me mister, sorry for barging in but, I'm in dire need of a job, would you be willing to keep me as an assistant in your detective agency. I am Olivia Fernandez, 18 years old, I'm originally from East Wales, nice to meet you.' said the woman in a soft-spoken voice.
'Umm, take a seat?' said Terror, a sceptical look in his eyes.
Olivia walked forward towards Terror's table as Light hastily picked his laptop up and scurried over to Despair who had just been staring at her.
Olivia dragged the other chair out and slowly rested herself on it as she placed her hands on the table.
'So, miss Fernandez, why do you require this job?' asked Terror, changing his expression to an intrigued one, one eye slightly squinted, a slight smirk and direct eye contact.
'I have been unable to find a job in the detective sector and I aspire to become one, so I am here for your help. From what I know, your lovely neighbours praise your intellectual abilities a lot so, I would want to be hired under you as an assistant. I hope my age won't be a problem because one of your partners seems very…young.' said Olivia, side-eyeing Despair.
'No, absolutely not, anyways.' said Terror. 'Light, Despair, bring the esteem daily for me please.' called Terror as he looked towards them.
'Sure thing Terror.' blankly replied Light as he kept his laptop down on the shelf and along with Despair, walked out of the door damming it shut behind them.
Terror took a quick breath as he said 'Stop playing pretend, Olivia.'
'What do you mean sir? What am I pretending?' asked Olivia, concern on her face.
'I know you, you're from SCREAM, and you know me too.' spat Terror.
Olivia sat still for a few dreaded seconds, the tension was high and so was the confusion, no one knew why she was here. At last, she sighed 'Well,' she said, her voice now much deeper and confident. 'I am your senior so, you should behave properly, Terror.' said Olivia.
'Olivia, tell me why you're here.' said Terror, leaning forward, lowering his voice.
'I was sent by SCREAM to keep an eye on you three so, I thought I would do you a favour by joining in and giving my invaluable assistance for "free".' she said.
'What do you mean by "free"?' asked Terror, raising an eyebrow.
'As you know all seniors in SCREAM take a token of appreciation that is the fees, but here I am on a lookout mission so my services to you will be fully "free" for the first and last time.' replied Olivia with a smirk.
'Oh, so you don't trust us? Do you really think we are stupid enough to violate SCREAM's rules and use magic, do you?' asked Terror.
'Yeah, we probably think one of you would like to use your magical abilities, especially that kid who landed you here.' sneered Olivia.
'Despair? Yeah, if not for that kid, SCREAM's confidential files would've been leaked by that bastard.' Terror argued back.
'Whatever you say, SCREAM has decided your fate on earth, you shall obey and I shall perceive it.' said Olivia.
'We are not 5-year-olds who would be kidnapped by a bald old man offering candy,' said Terror. 'We don't need your surveillance,'
As soon as Olivia took her breath in, ready to say something, the door swiftly swung open. A gust of wind hit her side, her coat wavering; and in came Despair, the daily newspaper clenched in one hand, followed by Light.
Olivia briskly changed her tone as she swallowed and said 'Thank you very much Mr Terror for giving me a chance for being your assistant in this agency, so when do I start as an intern?'
Terror sighed and said 'Right from this moment, you start working. Keep in mind the rules I had told you. I will arrange a small table and a chair for you to do your work, until then, you can bring in any belongings of yours that might help in your work.'
Terror's gaze shifted to Despair and he commanded him to go fetch a small table and a chair with the help of Light. As soon as they both left the office, Terror's unsettling eyes again rested on Olivia.
'If I may ask you, where are your current lodgings?' asked Terror.
'My lodgings are at the same place as yours, Terror.' replied Olivia, a mischievous smile on her face.
'What do you mean!? You will stay with us three in the same house and room, what the actual hell?'
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ONE HOUR LATER
Despair pressed the "play" button on his phone screen and inserted an earbud in his left ear. Beside him sat Light, earbud in the right ear, both sitting on the guest chairs.
Opposite to them sat Terror in his swivel chair, scrolling through Light's laptop for any "important" news, his eyes frantically tracking each headline, nothing was interesting.
To their right, was Olivia stationed in her Dark brown, vinyl covered Table and black office chair. She typed away at her laptop, doing "research", her glasses were almost tipped over on her nose and now she had taken off her overcoat which hung on the armrests.
It has only been a few minutes since Terror had introduced her to Despair and Light, she had seen them before during their trail, she knew Despair wasn't the kind to obey orders, but, there was something else to him, something different, he was not the normal, mischievous kind who always creates trouble, from the inside, she felt whatever he did was right, it was right to kill that innocent man to save SCREAM's secrecy. If it would've been her, she would've done the same too. She could somehow relate to him, she knew how it felt being trapped and forced to obey rules, she knew Despair wasn't the kind to cause real trouble, every time he had been on a mission where he caused "trouble", it had always benefited SCREAM in some way or other but, he was never credited. She thought this officiality does not suit kinds like them, that's why she had taken off her coat. She didn't care what Terror thought, she just wanted to relate to Despair.
Light on the other hand was pretty much unknown in SCREAM, he was one of the rare members with no abilities, he was just an ordinary person with not so ordinary skills. He was the embodiment of "official", she felt like she had to stand in attention every time she made eye contact with him, he was serious. He was official but, not as smart as Terror, not as good as Despair, he was just…an ordinary human.
Olivia's thoughts were interrupted by the swinging door. The footsteps rang in their ears and a man cleared his throat. In came a man wearing brown loafers, thinly striped black formals, a brown leather belt with a golden coloured buckle and a buttoned black suit and he carried a brown leather bag on his shoulder. Underneath he wore an off white spotted white shirt and a blue bow tie along with red, leather gloves, just like the 20th century. His beard was dark black but patchy in a few spots and his skin shone like gold in the sunlight seeping in. He wore black sunglasses with a golden frame which rested on the bridge of his nose, concealing his eyes. He had short spiky hair, more like a buzz but longer which peaked beneath his black homburg.
Terror suddenly gasped and looked towards him along with the others, bewildered. 'I hadn't even advertised our brand in any way, how did he come here? Would someone just enter my office by seeing the label outside?' thought Terror.
'Mr. Terror, may I take a seat? It's important.' said the man, hurry and worry was visible on his face as he panted slowly.
'Sure but, who are You? It'll be better if you introduce yourself.' replied Terror as the man scurried forward towards the chairs as Light and Despair got up again, leaving it empty.
The man swiftly sat down on one of the chairs, exhaling deeply as he pulled out an envelope from his suit pocket.
'Sir, calm down, inform us what happened.' said Terror.
'I am Mike Clinton from Scotland Yard.' said the man.
'Scotland Yard? Are they hiring us or something? Why would a fellow detective worker come to us?' thought Terror.
'Two bodies, two days, two places.' said Mike, hastily opening up the envelope and pulling out two pictures; one looked like a picture of a lush green forest and another was of a dark, dim tunnel. He offered the pictures to Terror as he took them in his own hand and gravely stared at it.
'These pictures are of the crime scenes the bodies were found in, even Scotland Yard hasn't been able to find any clues or further investigate the murders.' said Mike.
'This forest, I've seen it somewhere. Wait, this is the same one from the news article Light had shown me.' thought Terror as he took a glance at the forest picture.
'The bodies have been collected by Scotland Yard and post mortem will start at-'
'Before noon?' blurted out Light from afar.
Mike sceptically glanced at him as he slightly nodded and said 'Yes,'
'Well, Mike, I would love to investigate these cases, this will be our first official case after all. I see potential in these.' said Terror as he looked up towards him.
'Shall we head to check the bodies out?' asked Terror.
'Umm, sure, we shall leave right now,' said Mike.
'I think it would be better if we could get an official case document and all the files for this case,' said Terror.
'Don't worry, I got you covered.' said Mike as he pulled his bag open and rummaged through it before taking out a green file holder. He pulled open the tab as he slid a paper out and slammed it on Terror's table.
The document was the case details; it read as follows:
"Case name: The two bodies effect
Handled by:
Date: 06/06/2016
Case type: Homicide
Victims: 29-year-old Irish male, 25-year-old Scottish male
Body number: 209 and 210
Further details
First body found in the Redford Avenue Alley. Second body found in the woods north of Redford Avenue. First victim's cause of death: N/A. Second victim's cause of death: Wildlife Attack."
Terror gravely eyed it for a few seconds before turning around in his swivel chair and rummaging through something in the shelves.
Meanwhile; Mike sat nervously; will they be able to solve this case? This seemed interesting to him, there's almost a certain pattern, the rings.
THUD!
Terror stamped on the top right corner of the document using his brand-new stamp which was brought in by Light. The ink shone brightly as he placed the stamp on his table and proceeded to sign right beneath the stamp with his pen.
At last, he pocketed his pen and stared Mike right in the eyes, a charming expression on his face. 'Shall we go then?' he asked.
'Sure, let's go.' said Mike as he slid back his chair and stood up along with Terror.
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Terror slid his sleeve back as he examined his watch but was interrupted by a bump. They were inside Mike's car, a white Volkswagen Golf. The seats were Cream and brown coloured and it smelled like fresh leather inside the car; it was almost headache inducing.
Terror sat in the front seat, as the leader, he needed to step forward first. Behind them sat the other three, on the left side sat Light, carrying a handbag full of chemicals, gloves, test tubes and tweezers, he was prepared for this case; the main problem was that they weren't allowed to touch the dead bodies since they were already taken in so, no collecting samples over here but, the crime scenes still waited for him. He looked out the window, appreciating the UK's architecture. Afterall, he was American so he was used to always seeing towering skyscrapers and behemoths for buildings; this had a certain charm to it.
On the right side sat Olivia, she sat as straight as a stick, carrying a notepad and a pen in her hands she glared into emptiness, her cheeks were full of colour as right beside her, in the middle of them sat Despair, slightly annoyed but forced to sit there, afterall, he was the youngest one.
'Will we be granted entry in the Scotland Yard morgue.' blurted out Terror.
Mike mistakenly swerved the car slightly to the right, causing all of them to lean left, Olivia squeezed into Despair, her face getting redder and redder and eyes getting wider.
Mike briskly adjusted the wheel before saying 'Why not? I work there; they'll give you permission as long as you're with me.' said Mike.
'So you are our I.D card right. I can keep you in my pockets.' remarked Despair sarcastically, raising an eyebrow.
Mike replied with nothing, Terror seemed pissed and so was Light, he was ruining their professionalism.
A slight chuckle.
Despair swiftly looked towards Olivia who was trying her hardest to hold her breath and not let that laughter out, her whole face was as red as a tomato but it didn't matter. She slowly took a deep breath before sucking her cheeks in and "Locking in" and stared into the abyss again.
'We're almost there.' said Mike as he took one last right turn, shifting his gear. He slowly drove inside a parking spot right outside the bright white Scotland Yard metropolitan police headquarters. It was mostly just Pure white and evenly distributed windows with the label "Scotland yard Metropolitan police" in gold and blue right above the glass sliding door entrance.
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Mike's brown loafers clattered on the hard floor reflecting the golden lights and the chandelier on top of them. He was followed by the others, closing the glass door behind them. Terror looked around the office, starting from his left. He spotted a closed room with a glass window on the door and above it was a blue label, emblazoned with golden letters "Interrogation Room", muffled noises could be heard from inside it, sobs, yells, something was going on. He scanned in front of him as he spotted a long, wide hallway spanning at least 20 metres in front of him and a flight of stairs a few metres beside the interrogation room. The elevator beside the flight of stairs dinged as a man wearing an official suit came out, He walked across the hallways before entering a room on their right, the "Reception room" when a Jarring Ringing sound erupted from inside the room followed by a loud conversation by a lady. The air felt heavy here, Olivia's chest tightened, it was one of the rare times she had visited earth as a SCREAM officer, the temperature was fairly cool compared to the outside even though there were no air conditioners
'Well, this is more of the type of office I want.' said Light, looking up.
'Remember that we were exiled and forced to be here and we have no funds, plus, that office was your idea.' replied Terror while Mike greeted another stranger walking across.
'Let's go guys, we head down the stairs, take a left and we reach the destination,' said Mike.
Terror snapped back into reality as Despair said 'Lead us, ID card.'
'Olivia, you note down important details in your notepad, Light, activate your squirming brain cells and-' Terror continued.
'I'll be ready if one of them turns into a zombie.' blurted out Despair.
'I meant just stick with me and help me in any peculiar tasks cause you're of a peculiar kind.' said Terror.
'Cut it out guys, let's head over.' said Mike as he started to walk towards the flight of stairs. As they started down, Despair said 'Guys, you know how dangerous morgues can be?'
'From what I know, morgues don't tend to have harmful chemicals that could harm us.' said Light.
'No, you don't read non-fiction, I guess. Vampires, Zombies, any sort of undead may arise from there; you haven't read Frankenstein or Dracula?' asked Despair.
'No, I don't waste time reading fiction and for your information Dracula is not non-fiction, it's fiction,' said Light.
'And your brain is an integral part of fiction.' replied Despair as they reached the bottom of the stairs, stepping onto a white-dull, dimly lit hallway, extending on both sides
They all took a right turn as their eyes met their destination. A dimly lit morgue, the chilliness could be felt from the outside. Olivia's hair stood up, a stench hit her nose like a burning cigar put right inside her nostrils but the smell was different, it was chemical.
Mike grabbed the silver door handle, it was as cold as a dead body. He twisted as the door opened up. He pushed it forward and entered the room followed by the others.
As soon as Terror stepped inside, the familiar smell hit his nose, it wasn't his first time here. He has faced many deaths during his missions; explosions, bullet wounds, lacerations, he has seen it all but this time, the vibe was unsettling.
'Body number 209 and 210, Mike.' said Terror.
'Yeah, I have it all in my brain.' said Mike as he walked over to the body containment freezer labelled 209 and grabbed the handle. Terror and Despair held their breath, they knew the chemical stench would be headache inducing. Light slowly walked backwards toward the wall while Olivia braced for it.
There were loud "clangs" of metal as Mike pulled open the freezer.
The fog flowed out of the freezer slowly, like blood pooling out of a wound. Mike covered his nose with a white handkerchief as he grabbed the handle of the tray and pulled on it. It sounded like an energetic rushing train but, instead it felt like a dreaded task.
There it was, the body lay fully still on the tray, the pungent smell of flesh filled the room but everyone covered their noses in time.
'Mr. Terror, I would like you to come forward and examine the body.' said Mike, his voice muffled through the handkerchief.
Terror stepped forward, his footsteps not echoing tin he room, afterall, it looked insanely gloomy. Terror approached the body, standing right besides its head.
The dead body was a pale blue colour; it had thinning black hair and a thick black beard and Mustache. The rest of its body was covered in the ghastly white sheet.
'Pull back the sheet for me please,' said Terror.
Mike grabbed the end of the sheet with the tip of his finger as he lightly pulled it back to the body's waist. The sheet floated and fluttered in the slight wind coming from inside the freezer.
Terror examined the body even closely but there were no signs of anything, no signs of struggle, no signs of cuts or scratches.
'There seem to be no cuts or scratches or any major wound that could've caused this death, I wonder how he died?' asked Terror aloud.
'Maybe he was choked,' suggested Light.
'No, there are no signs of struggle on his neck, no bruises on his head, there's nothing on this body, it almost seems…pointless.' said Terror.
'Or.' said Light as he stomped forward towards the dead body, his eyes were not on the body but, elsewhere, on its hands.
'Check this out.' said Light as he stopped right in front of the body's hand and pointed towards one of its fingers.
Terror's eyes narrowed, his gaze shifted, now focused straight on the body's left hand, on its index finger was a golden ring and engraved on it was the text "OF".
Suddenly, everything clicked. The ring on the other body, Mike's intrigue towards this case, everything made sense now.
'A ring,' muttered Terror. 'Seems like you were right after all Mike, these seem to have a similar pattern. And Light, you also proved my point wrong, there are traces of something on this body.' said Terror as his eyes almost closed.
There were small black particles on its hand, they looked like dust but much bigger and had an ashy hint to it.
'These black particles are asphalt.' announced Terror as he looked back towards everyone else, panting slowly.
'Asphalt? You said there were no signs of struggle?' said Olivia.
'Yeah, it's peculiar that it has asphalt on its hands,' said Terror.
'Mike, pack this body up, get the second one ready, that one seems more interesting to say the least.' said Terror as he turned towards Mike.
'Sure,' said Mike as he pulled back the sheet and pushed the tray in and shut the door tight.
'Finally, Light's horrid smell is gone.' said Despair.
'Unlike you, I actually bathe every day,' said Light.
'Unlike you, I actually have a brain-' "Clang"
The odour was back again but much worse this time. Mike pulled back the tray again, this time, it was the Scottish Victim. There were visible scratch marks on his face, like someone had tried to attack him. Mike pulled back the sheet, this time, the scenery was way more graphic.
His belly was covered in scratches and slashes, most likely from an animal. His neck was covered in a dry, deep laceration, most probably a bite mark but, the fact that was the most intriguing, was the ring. It had the exact same ring on the exact same hand, on the exact same finger and on the exact same joint.
'This can't be an animal attack or even an accident.' said Light.
'Why do you think so?' asked Terror.
'Firstly, the ring is present on both bodies meaning it can't be an accident, secondly, the wounds. They are pinpoint precise, not a single deviation. It's completely flat, not swollen at all and third, if it was an animal, why didn't it eat him?' said Light.
'Oh, nice job observing this body, if not for you, I would've been stuck here…not for long though.' said Terror.
'Mr. Terror, if you are done examining the bodies, it would be better if we could head over to the crime scenes, it won't be long before they start an active investigation.' suggested Mike.
'Oh yes, sure, I'm done here, let's go over to the root of these murders and find…you…out…OF!' said Terror as a slight smirk appeared on his face…