Page 136 of The Deceptions

Alert! Death on Campus. Again!

*Graphic Pictures included*

“Jesus,” Simon croaks, shaking his head. Wade takes the phone from him with a twisted expression, scrolling through the many images of the body lying on the forest floor.

Bloodied.

Bruised.

Pleading with his eyes for help, reaching with bloodied fingers, aching to be saved. Darkness seeps into the photo.

My breaths kick up at the sight of him. Dane. In one picture, he's alive and pleading. Next, he's dead. Alone. Not breathing.

A snake coils at your feet but smiles like a friend.

I swallow hard at the caption sitting below the pictures. A snake? A friend? My breaths shudder. What the fuck does that mean? Who took the pictures of Dane hurting and didn't help?

“How the fuck ...” Wade shakily says with nostrils flaring. “How does this get online? Dane…” He tosses the phone back to Simon, getting up from the couch. “Dane is dead?” he breathes, barely audible in shock. “Dane….” He longingly looks off toward our shared room, swallowing hard.

“Dane…” Simon breathes rapidly, tears streaming down his cheeks. “What the fuck is happening?” He whines, getting up from the couch and dumping his phone. He paces the room, running his hands through his jet-black hair and pulling at the ends. Wade and Simon exchange a few murmured words of grief, embracing each other in a tight hug.

I swallow hard, taking in the pictures with a critical eye. Blood haunts me. The look in his glazed-over eyes reaches through the screen, clutches my heart, and shudders my breaths.

My roommate is dead. He was an asshole, sure. Rude as fuck. But no one deserves to die with a camera in their face.

Now, the question stands–who the hell did this? And why? From what I've come to understand, scholarship students are the ones in danger. Not Dane.

I continue scrolling through the thirty or so photos of the crime scene, looking for anything remotely suspicious. Fuck. I'll have to save all those photos and examine them on my Veritas laptop. Maybe have Carter help me. He's bored all the time right now.

Setting Simon's phone down, I get mine out, save the pictures, and open secure texting with Jonathan. This isn't something that can wait. Dane’s death is too suspicious to sleep on.

Oli

There's been a major issue. **Pictures attached** My roommate is dead. It's suspicious. I want to meet and debrief about similar cases to his.

Jonathan

Wednesday. 2pm. 1212 Hubbard Rd. Warehouse 9.

Oli

I'll be there.

I stare at my screen until it goes black. He never responds. Maybe he's been too busy with new recruits and solving more cases. Veritas has slowly been upping its agents in the past year, recruiting more ghosts like me.

I take a bite of my ice cream, centering myself in the present. Something super fucky is happening at Greenwood. Kids are dying.

And I don't know why.

“I need to go talk to my mom,” Wade says, wiping his cheeks. “I need to find out what the fuck is happening.”

“The police are canvassing the woods…” Simon’s brows furrow.

Wade blows out a breath. “I'll find out shit, okay?” Wade quickly gets dressed, grabs his keys, and hightails it out of our dorm.

“Si?” I question, moving toward him and putting a hand on his shoulder.

“He was an asshole, Oli. But he had a good heart.” Simon runs a hand over his blotchy skin.