Sealed Lost Home

Meeting Evan

Following the address given to him by the unknown number, Xavier finds himself in front of an expensive and crisp white house that has to be at least three stories. If one were to look at the house far enough, they would have mistaken it for a mansion.

Gabe: Damn, they're hitting good!

Amira: Are you sure this is the address you were sent, Xavier?

Xavier: (he looks down at the text message again, just to make sure his eyes are not tricking him) This is the place. It's... intimidating.

Louis: You think everything's intimidating, even Amira's kid sister.

Xavier: Hey! I'm not that on edge! They just happen to live comfortably! Like... most of us...

Xavier, Amira, Gabe, and Louis make their way to the porch. Gabe has to knock on the door because the other three are faced with a battle against introversion. A middle-aged man with black hair messier than a bird's nest and thin glasses opens the door, a warm smile reaching up to his cheeks.

Man: Hello, kids! You all must be more of Evan's friends. Come in! Make yourself at home!

Amira: It's a pleasure to meet you too, Mr...

Man: No need for formalities. Call me Tyler. And the pleasure is mine.

Gabe: YO!! Is that a dart board?! I've always wanted a dart board! My mom kept saying no after the ping pong table incident.

Louis: Probably the darkest day in Gabe's history. Other than maybe the Diet Coke bomb back in middle school.

Gabe: I call that my greatest masterpiece. Too bad the science teacher didn't have my vision...

Xavier shivers at the memory of Gabe's antics as Tyler shows the four teenagers around the house. There, the smell of metallic smog creeps into the house, infusing the lungs with offhand toxic chemicals. There, in the living room, is Evan sneaking in a vape while Bakura gets entranced by the house's VR headset.

Xavier: Hey, Bakura. What are you-

Bakura: This technology is incredible! It's like I'm out there slashing these men in half! (Laughs maniacally)

Amira: (coughs) Can you maybe not vape inside the house? Some of us prefer having our lungs intact.

Evan: Whatever, Princess. (Goes up to tap Bakura's shoulder) Hey. Your sidekicks made it.

Bakura: (takes off the headset) Ah. Xavier. Others. You've arrived right in time. I was thinking about ditching you lot.

Amira: Lovely. So is the new guy here a friend of yours?

Bakura: This is Evan, a mortal with a peculiar darkness that I grew attracted by. He's in the same classes as me.

Evan: Sup. We got... quite the lackeys here.

Xavier: I-I wouldn't call ourselves lackeys. Well, maybe, but-

Evan: Anyway, you're claiming your new pal here is from another dimension of sorts? Sounds like every fangirl's dream. Especially the deranged ones.

Bakura: He and I uncovered some interesting secrets buried behind the scenes. You all know of the murder near the homeless shelter quite well.

Louis: You're talking about the spray painting, right? You said it was a possibility that they're connected... You got any deets?

Evan: It's a serial killer. This was only their second kill.

From there, Evan displays his computer screen with the slasher's first crime covered in a document. Written is a grisly story of how an 8-year-old boy was lured into security and killed in the forest. His body was found two days after his disappearance, his chest slashed from his stomach up to his neck.

The picture is just as gruesome, Xavier having to look away the moment he sees the corpse with open eyes. As for the others, they can see the added graffiti on their tree.

Gabe: Whoa... That looks just like your ring, Bakura! That's freaky as hell!

Bakura: So from what I'm seeing, they might be planning to kill seven people in total, for each Millennium Item. For what purpose, I don't know. That's for us to find out and for me to take advantage of.

Evan: As for now, we don't exactly have leads. All we know is that they're probably some nutjob. Magic too.

Amira: We'll need to find any lead we can before another person gets killed... It's unjust for anyone to take the life of the most vulnerable.

Bakura: They are pretty devious, I'd admit... It's exhilarating. (Amira glares at him) What?

Evan: It's not much information, sure, but I figured it gives insight into what their motive is. Bakura and Marik, for all we know, are side effects, tools, or even sacrifices.

Xavier: Sacrifices...? That's horrible.

Evan: It is what it is. All we have to do is solve the goddamn mystery.

Louis: Speaking of mysteries, how did you get yourself access to a government database?

Evan: . . . Fuck off.

Every time they speak of a murderer, Xavier could only think of one person in mind... Casandre. Her smile, her sudden change of demeanor, the supposed threat she gave him. The party back in summer sent shivers down his spine, and Casandre was the winter storm to make his body feel stiff yet hyperactive. She has to know something. She has to be behind something.

And yet... Xavier's mouth is glued. He's scared, intimidated even. What would telling them mean? She probably has the upper hand. She could even hurt him or, worse, his friends. Xavier wouldn't be able to deal with that guilt... so he stays silent.