Erase the Evidence

Jayden thought he could act the ‘man’. He snapped out of his shock, his eyes flaring with rage.

“Okay, I don't know what you think you're up to, or what sort of rat ass move you just pulled, but you have gone way too far, Amber!” He roared as he lunged forward, intending to tackle me and stop my madness before it could even begin.

​But I didn't hesitate for even half a second. Five years in hell had stripped me of any hesitation. I gripped the handle of the metal bat with both hands and swung it with everything I had.

​CLANG!

​The heavy metal connected right with the side of his head. The brutal force completely threw him off balance, sending him crashing hard against the nightstand, breaking the wood in the process. 

He let out a choked groan, blood instantly pooling down his temple.

​Karen let out a piercing shriek. Terrified, she tried to scramble out of the opposite side of the bed to run, but I was already moving around her. As her bare feet hit the floorboards, I brought the bat swinging down in a low, vicious arc.

​CRACK!

​The metal smacked heavily over her shins. Karen screamed in pure agony, collapsing onto the floor, clutching her legs as tears of absolute terror streamed down her face.

​And so came the brutal torture. Every strike of the bat was for the starvation I endured, the slaps I took, the five years of playing the fool, and the final, cold sting of their teeth and blade. I didn't stop until the bedroom was painted in a grim crimson.

​Once they were both covered in blood, barely breathing, and reduced to groaning heaps on the floor, I stopped. I lowered the bat, my breath rattling heavily in the quiet room and looked down at my hands, waiting for the dream to shatter.

But ​I wasn't waking up.

​The copper smell of blood was very real. The burning in my unconditioned muscles was too sharp. This dream... it was either lasting much longer than it ever should, or this fact was finally undeniable: I had been given a second chance.

​Suddenly, that same sharp ping from earlier chimed in my mind, and the glowing blue system screen opened right before my eyes.

​[First Quest Completed!]

—​Result: Scum neutralized.

—​Reward: 1x Random Skill: [Evidence Erasure] (Level 1)

​Ah, what is this? I looked at the reward I had gotten and then back at the crime scene I had just created. It's so handy, I thought, a dark smile returning to my face. This system is incredibly generous.

​The skill details flashed briefly. It was a once-a-day use skill, capable of erasing my involvement in any crime I committed, and so, it was exactly what I needed. 

I instantly activated it. Right before my eyes, a faint light enveloped the bedroom. 

The metal bat in my hand completely dissolved into thin air. The blood splatters covering my clothes, face, and arms vanished instantly, leaving my body entirely clean. The crime scene itself warped, rewriting the physical evidence to make it look like Jayden and Karen had gotten into a violent, psychotic domestic dispute with each other and had been throwing things at each other.

​With a completely clean slate, I took a deep breath, walked out to the living room, and picked up my phone to dial emergency services.

​The moment the line connected, I forced the tears back into my voice, crying hysterically into the receiver. "Please! Send an ambulance! I… I don't know what happened but there… there's blood everywhere and… they're barely breathing. Please, come quick." I sobbed.

“Please, stay calm, ma'am. Tell me your location and we'll be there right away.”

​When the ambulance and police arrived, I gave my statement perfectly, playing the part of the shattered, traumatized girlfriend. 

I told them through heavy sobs how I had caught them cheating, how I had slapped Jayden in a fit of rage and bolted out of the room. I had thousands of witness from my live stream to vouch for that.

But then I came back because I wanted to hear their explanation—it was just too hard to believe. Why would they do something like that to me? Why would they betray me? And then... that's when I saw the horrific, bloody scene inside.

​Without a single shred of blood on my body, no forensic evidence linking me to the injuries, and the actual weapon entirely missing from existence, the police had nothing to hold me on but I was taken to the police station to give an official statement. 

The cops looked at me with pity, hearing my story with those two and then having to witness that bloody scene. And I made sure to play my part perfectly.

After a few hours of questioning, the precinct finally set me free.

​I walked out of the police station, stretching my sore arms as I looked out at the horizon. The sun was just setting, casting a deep, blood-red hue over the city. Yes, the sun just set on a bad end, but tomorrow, it would rise to an entirely new beginning.

​With those two heavily hospitalized and the system subtly wiping part of their memories regarding my involvement, they would be completely broken, trapped in hospital beds when the world collapsed. They wouldn't be able to survive a single day of the outbreak. This was their ultimate punishment.