Dark Matter - Episode 2

They covered several meters running before they could stop to breathe properly

"I … I only told him” she managed to say while panting heavily “to check it out! Not to walk right into it.”

" Hey! … calm down it's not your fault,” Mike said reassuringly.

"It's not my fault! Jason is dead Mike” May shouted at him, there was grief written all over her face and her heart kept pounding heavily as tears kept pouring out of her eyes. She was too sad to notice that Mike barely showed any emotion at all, but only heard his reassuring words. He managed to calm her down enough to walk to the female students' lodge after several hours.

Later, Mike noiselessly entered his room and fell on his bed, exhausted. The room was lit up and painted white with the rest of the rooms in the camp.

He then picked up a magazine, about to dive in, when a knock interrupted him.

“ Who is that?”

“ It's me, Mike!” Liam, his childhood best friend, and classmate answered as he entered the room. He is still dressed in his normal uniform (white shirt, silver-blue suit, and trousers). Knowing his friend well, he expected him to be too lazy to get up.

“What's up”

“I should be asking you that question, Mike! What were you doing in the woods this late at night,” Liam asked, standing aside from his bed and combing his hair backward with his other hand in his pocket. He gives Mike a serious look, but he just keeps reading his magazine, uninterested.

Mike has always had pride in his friend's cool fringe hairstyle that matched his golden brown straight hair and brown glasses perfectly. Usually, he tried to imitate him, but his hair is too wavy, so he could never reach Liam's perfection.

“Nothing!" Mike responded sharply.

Liam kept silent for a few minutes before sitting down on Mike's bed, wearing a worried look on his face. He asks,, “Where's Jason, Mike! “

“Why are you asking! I'm not his keeper, Liam!” Mike said, not surprised at the question at all, for he was well aware of his friend's cleverness.

“ This is the first night in two years that you did not come to complain to me about Jason.” “So we sorted things out"

“Sorted things out?” Liam said, raising his voice before remembering that it is ten o'clock close to midnight, so he lowered it.

“If indeed you have sorted things out you should've told me first but, here you are lying on your bed reading a magazine… so I ask again Where is Jason? Mike!" Liam asked again, the redness growing in his white face told Mike that he was getting angry, so he decided to take his friend more seriously. Pulling himself off the bed, Mike opened the door and looked left and right of the hallway, making sure that there are no students around. Sure enough, there weren't because most were already fast asleep in their rooms.

“Listen, this may sound crazy,” He said, sitting down next to Liam and rubbing his hands together in preparation to tell his tale. Liam adjusted his spectacle with a finger, and opened his ears wide, knowing fully well that this won't be a happy story.

**” You remember the time the principal was giving rooming arrangements. “**

“How can I not, You weren't there, so I had to carry all the instructions that were meant for you including your luggage” Laim answered rolling his eyes.

** "Well, I was in the woods exploring”**

“You were what?"

** “shhh !! Listen. So, I was exploring the woods when something caught my eyes. Not too far 'away from camp, there was this sand, not like an ordinary one because it was pitch black and moving in a concentric circular motion.

I ain't stupid, so I only got a bit too close to it but…”** he paused looking to his right and back at Liam demonstrating with his hands showing seriousness **" A hand! A freaky black hand stretched out of the sand.”**

Liam's eyes grew wide, he never expected Mike to mention “a black hand” and there was no scientific explanation in his mind to say what it was

** "I fell back, fortunately, so it didn't get me. So then I had an idea, a really good payback. ”**

“oh no!” Liam exclaimed silently, putting his fingers on his forehead.

Mike continued, putting a grim smile on his face. ** "So in the evening I made May bring Jason along with us for a stroll and I made them go towards the path where the sand was. Good enough, May saw it and called us and I told that idiot! To check it out and May boosted him up so…”** smiling more in enthusiasm making his face look stupid and eviller.

** "The idiot walked right in the middle of it.”** Liam stood up suddenly, sweat trickled down his cheeks knowing what will happen next, so Mike stood up too.

Demonstrating with his hands the more, Mike continues ** "The hands! So many of them gripped the dumbass and buried him there, and I grabbed my babe, and we ran 'way from there”**

“oh my...! Jesus Christ !!” Liam exclaimed putting both hands in his head, his face grew pale, and his heart pounded wilder on seeing the stupid look on his friend's face, he had no idea of how bad what he had done is.

“Why didn't you warn him?” Liam shouted at him

“shhh !! Shhh !! Calm down”

"I'm not calming down, Mike! How do you think poor May will feel? This is the second time you're doing this to her.“

“ Relax !! No one will find out, we didn't kill him you know.”

“ Are you stupid Mike !!! May is most likely not even sleeping now and the first thing she would do tomorrow morning is to tell the police AND You're GOING TO PRISON MIKE !! A FREAKING PRISON." Mike's face suddenly turned pale and his eyes grew wide and grief-stricken.

“Oh no…you're you're right !” he stammered

“of course, I'm right Mike! I'm always right, why do you keep doing this to yourself? This is the tenth time you're getting yourself in trouble because of, DAMN Girls! And the second time you're risking a decade and, in this case, the rest of your life behind bars MIKE !!” shouting his name out loud at this a student knocked at the door shocking them down to their spines.

“He… hey what's up,” Liam asked faking a smile when he opened the door to check who it was.

“Hi Liam, what's with the noise man,” the student asked sleepily.

“Sorry, we were… eh playing video games”

“uh you know that isn't allowed here… well, keep it down”

“oh, sorry! Sorry !” Liam apologized while closing the door.

He turned and looked at Mike who is now seated crying on his bed

“Hey don't worry, I… I'll fix it,” He said, reassuring him

“You will…” Mike asked subbing, “how ?”

“I'll talk to May and after tomorrow we can continue to pretend that we know nothing…she's a good actor. She can do it”

“OK buddy, thanks…” Mike said shedding tears in gratitude, “I will never ever do anything like this ever again.”

“Alright I'll be going, which me luck mate”

“ 'K thanks buddy,” he said cleaning his eyes and lying down on his bed wishing Liam the very best of luck.

Liam managed to sneak through the girl's lodge undetected and slowly approached May's room, his heart raced as he walked closer but then…

“Hi Liam” Stacey, his classmate and age mate shouted out loud behind him, obviously catching him sneaking red-handed.

“Hush !!” Liam said, eyes wide with his middle finger on his lips, urging her to be quiet.

She was almost his height, had blonde ponytail hair, green eyes, and a pink PE.

“Oh sorry,” she said quietly putting both hands together trying to look as apologetic and as cute as ever “what are you doing here,” she asked, blinking and waving her body to and fro.

Liam wore an“ ARE YOU FREAKING KIDDING ME, RIGHT NOW !?” look on his face, but just smile and gave her the silliest excuse ever, which she believed, and hopped back to her room with her ponytail dangling behind her.

Liam finally knocked on May's room but entered when she didn't reply. He caught her with her head buried on her knees, weeping on her bed.

“Hey !… May .” He called calmly.

“ Mike told me what happened. How are you feeling?”

“ Guilty … very, very guilty,” May answered sobbing, “I only asked him to check it out… why … why did he walk right into it?” she said looking at him. Her dark brown eyes depicted fear and guilt.

“ Hey, it's not your fault, what has happened, has happened. "

“ Yeah I know, but now I have to suffer for it. Tomorrow I'm telling the cops first thing” she said, confirming Liam's worst fears.

“Hey, hey !” he said holding her cheeks, “you loved Jason, right ?”

“Ho … how did you know,” she said her eyes growing wide with surprise

“he would've wanted you to live out your life and not suffer in prison”

“ After ending his ?"

“ Hey, he must've known that it wasn't your fault… did you push him inside the sand?”

“No”

“Did you force him?”

“NO !!”

“Then why are you blaming yourself,” he said slowly lifting her head and cleaning her tears with her long dark brown hair

“Yeah !!” she said bringing back some light on her beautiful face, “I didn't cause his death, he did in a way… though it's my fault, but I shouldn't go to prison…”

“Because it's not, so listen”

“yeah?"

“Tomorrow we are going to pretend that nothing happened, okay?”

She remained silent for some time, then nodded in agreement.

“If we're asked we act, can you do that ?” Liam asked slowly smiling to brighten her mood then put back his serious face

“ Sure I can” she replied “thanks Liam,” she said wiping off her tears. She should've hugged him standing, but she was relatively shorter than him, so they hugged knelt down instead. Accomplishing his mission, he left, not noticing the slightly opened door of Stacey's room.

On hearing a knock on his door, Mike immediately opened saw Liam.

“Hey how did it go ?” he asks, his mind pleading for a positive response.

“ It went well” Liam answered, entering and weaving a smile on his face to cheer Mike up.

“ Thank Goodness!" Mike gasped closing the door and landing on his bed.

“Hey! Make sure you never do anything like this ever again.” He said, still standing, then he sat on the bed.

“Hey bro, look at me” Mike turned his head looking at Liam curiously.

“Girls are not everything. Don't do crazy things just to win them because one day…” he paused, “one day I may not be able to help you. Always think my friend THINK. Before doing anything” he continues, Mike nodding in reply.

“I just hope what you do never catch up with you before you change, "Liam said, finally leaving Mike's room.