Emily

I have a story to tell about a friend I used to have. The actual event happened almost 2 years ago. His name was Corey and was living in a home for the criminally insane. 2 nights ago, he was found dead in his room. When I asked the lady that called me why I needed to know this, she said I was listed as his emergency contact. I wanted to forget about the whole thing for good but when she told me, it was like a punch to the gut.

He was so normal, at least, I thought he was. There was really nothing interesting about the guy. He would never get employee of the month. He wouldn't go out of his way to help someone. Even his hobbies consisted of just drinking and smoking at home. I remember we would stay up late, drinking and having conversations about how cool our childhood was. About what would be the things we'd change if we got the chance. You know, normal drunken banter.

I did feel bad for the guy though. He would tell me how his mom had to work while him and his brothers took care of each other. His dad left after the youngest was born and was never heard from again. I can't say I've been through that, in fact, my mom and dad are celebrating their 46th anniversary as I write this. The thing was, to my knowledge, there really wasn't an event in Corey's life that could've caused him to turn out the way he did.

Corey moved out of his mom's house and started working under me, which is how we met. Soon after, we ended up becoming friends and started hanging out on weekends. It was all good up until one day he skipped work without calling or anything. He had never done that before so I got a bit worried. After work, I drove over to his house to check up on him. I knocked for like 20 minutes and got no answer. I tried to fight so he could keep his job but for the amount of time he spent not showing up, there was no way.

Right before I was going to call the police, I decided to check his house one more time. By this time, I hadn't seen him in almost a month. Finally, he answered the door. I was relieved seeing him alive, but he did not look well at all. He was pale, had clammy skin and huge bags under his eyes like he hadn't slept in weeks. He was also very thin and real jumpy. When I asked him what happened, he shut me out and told me to leave. The person I saw standing on that doorstep was not the same guy I became friends with.

As time went on, I began to suspect drugs, this thought made me angry. I told myself, "I'm his friend, he needs my help right now. I'm not going to let him throw his life away just like that!" I drove to his house, reciting what I was going to say but, absolutely nothing could've prepared me for what I saw when I barged in, unexpected.

I pushed the front door wide open and the first thing that hit me was a very disgusting smell of copper and something else. The best description I have is, it smelled like a dead skunk next to a rotting dog. I found him naked standing over someone who I later found out was a corpse. He was covered in blood while touching himself using the man's hand. I ran out to my car, and all I heard was Corey yelling "Emily made me do it!" repeatedly. I drove away but only made it to the end of the street before throwing up. I will never forget that smell.

I couldn't believe someone could be that sick. I thought that kind of behavior was just part of horror movies, not real life. Thinking on it now still leaves a bad taste in my mouth. I called the police and waited at the bottom of the street. I had to make sure he wasn't going to make a run for it. Within minutes, he was handcuffed and taken away.

The corpse found was of a man who died of a heart attack about a week before Corey disappeared. They buried the man in a nearby cemetery and I remember seeing the story on the news. I remember thinking how bizarre it was. The story was, the grieving family got a call from the cemetery's management saying the man's body had been taken with no leads. I can't even imagine how the family must've felt.

When they checked Corey's health before putting him in the cell, they diagnosed him with gangrene and hepatitis. His lawyer pleaded for instability and explained how Corey had severe mental trauma which is the only reason he would commit such an act of indecency. I was forced to show up to court and testify by one of the lawyers representing the dead man's family. I was practically thrown on that chair because I was the only one who saw exactly what he was doing.