Arty corpses 3

Another murder of a gym trainer. The system lost another player that day.

The janitor's scream echoed through the empty gym, drawing attention of some people. By the time they arrived, she was crouched in the corner, sobbing and pointing at the changing room's door which was open.

The changing room that reeked of sweat and detergent, had no trace of any blood. The silence was oppressive, broken only by the faintly buzzing fluorescent lights overhead.

And in the middle of the room, lay a bloodless corpse. The pale body was twisted in ways that defied human anatomy. His face frozen in agony, gave an eerie appearance to the corpse.

Jones crouched beside the body, careful not to disturb the scene. She traced the angles in her eyes, considering how could a human body be twisted like this.

" Impossible " She muttered but the evidence was right in front of her.

' another player '

A central government personnel confirmed that he was indeed a player of that game by an iris recognition device he had brought.

Jones looked daggers at him, he had repeated the same dialogue for the third time in just few days.

A 30 year old male, usually last to return from the gym.

So the time of death was roughly estimated to be the night before but the results of forensic examination were needed to confirm it.

She still stared at the twisted body, a chill crawling down her spine.

The victim's background, the circumstances of their deaths and the scarce evidence at the scene, it all led nowhere.

Yet again, the only similarity was this 'game', that 'system'.

Three strange murders in a week. And it looked like the felon was still on his ambitious stroll that meant more cases could be lining up soon.

Or they just needed to be reported.

Even if the investigation was just for show, it was piling up more corpses.

She had nothing- no leads, no answers, no solace to offer the victim's families. The helplessness made her stomach churn. How much longer were they expecting us to pretend?

She glanced over her shoulder as she exited gym. Nothing. Just a trick of light, she told herself, but the uneasy feeling lingered, crawling along her skin like static electricity.

She cursed under her breath, as she strode towards a team member.

" I'll be out for a moment. "

Their eyes followed her disappearing figure through the gate with grim expressions. They all knew what it was about, again.

Jones locked herself in the restroom, gripping the sink as she stared at her reflection. Her hands shaking- get it together, she whispered but those words sounded hollow.

She stepped out of restroom, pushing through the officers to make her way outside.

Their efforts were futile and she couldn't have done any better. She sighed, introspecting what she could have done otherwise to achieve a significant progress. The air was cold but her frustration was burned her mind. At this point, the phone vibrated in her pocket. The time was now.

But before she could pick the call, a deep voice cut through the air.

" Jones " She froze, already recognising the tone. It was officer Bram- following her in exasperation with his arms crossed.

" You-- did we not agree to cut ties with that administrative officer? Or do team decisions not matter to you anymore? " His voice low, his old eyes bulging out with rage.

She turned to look at her team member. This was the second time and his hostility seemed to have increased.

" I'm doing what needs to be done " She tilted her chin up to look at him.

" Needs to be done? " He let out a bitter laugh, " You're stepping into a disaster! He's a liability and we all know it. He's dragging you down with him. "

" He's the only one providing real leads and what have you done, bram? " Her voice rising.

His eyes narrowed, " Careful Jones, you might have the title but don't forget who has more exp- "

" Experience, right? You bring that up, always but what has that done for us? We're still knee-deep in corpses "

She shot back but reasonably, she didn't want to put on a show either. It was around this time when the HR officer would call and she had to attend the call in the team's presence.

" You're damn right. I'm scared that this team is going to fall apart because our leader has lost her mind chasing shadows "

Jones stiffened. " Then step aside. " Her voice shaking with rage, " Don't you dare tell me how to do my job "

Bram clenched his jaw, his knuckles whitening as he tightened his fists. The doctor, quick to read the room, strode towards them but Bram broke into laughter the next second.

"You've lost it. "

" Those corpses....they've gotten you. You're so desperate to find something- anything that you're going to burn yourself and the rest of us alive! "

" You're going to get us all killed! " He shouted, his expressions furious once again.

The words hung heavy in the air and none of them spoke for the next minute. The other team members froze, unsure whether to intervene.

Jones took a slow breath, she lowered her voice " I'm doing this for the victims, Bram. For answers. If you don't have stomach for it, that's fine. But don't get in my way. "

" And when this blows up in your face, what then? "

" I will take the fall. " She said decisively in a steady voice, " Not you. Not the team. Me "

He stared at her for a long moment, his expression unreadable. Then he laughed again, mocking her.

She watched him go, her fists clenched by her side. Her rage still lingered but a feeling of doubt enveloped her.

The doctor approached her cautiously after a while " You okay? "

But she didn't bother. Her phone vibrated again and without hesitating she picked up the call, ignoring the watchful eyes of her team.

The administrative officer could connect with her after days of waiting.

The chances were less but not zero. Because the moment another death of a player was reported by the legal team, he knew he would be contacted later on.

There was no mention of what happened in the past few days Or why was he not contacted, rather as soon as the call connected, she went on asking,

" Which department handles player data? Who has access to their information? "

" .... " The officer knew that. She wouldn't pay attention to it. Not even after shaping their last conversation in that direction.

Because it was indeed impossible to have real characters in a game.

He really was the only one who suspected this character so much.

"..No one here interacts with the...players. There is extreme secrecy which is maintained. The system knows them by their iris recognition pattern and their gaming usernames. "

Iris recognition? For a game?

" Why would a game need an iris recognition? And how could an independent body have access to this.. This is.. " She stopped abruptly.

Illegal?

When the government was supporting it? They did send their officer for iris recognition of the victim.

Are they simply trading the identities of common people?

And why would someone need to go through iris recognition to play just a game?

Unless it's not a game at all

Or maybe just a game on surface.

Not even a single promotion or anything of the sort has ever been out in public about this game.

Is that an android game? On phones? PCs? Or are there arcades?

Never heard of one if it's that famous. Even after investigating these cases of players..

We never knew where they had played this game!

Only the name of the game, ' New Moon' was known and rest all was in shadows.

" And where do players play this game, where is it available to play..?"

" We don't know about that. "

" What do you even know? " She bawled with frustration.

The silent call seemed to be disconnected when it was not.

The doctor tapped on her shoulder, reminding her to maintain her composure. Her only source of information was actually in the dark.

" What I know is about the character I'm in charge of, though I only have access to little information-"

" Let's talk some other time" She ended the call, rubbing her temples in frustration.

I knew it was shady as hell. But this was really impenetrable..

Doctor's arms enveloped around her shoulders, with the aim of soothing her triggered nerves. Things had been rough for her and he was always there to support her. But his care and support was never acknowledged just like this time when she slapped his arms and walked away indifferently.

[ what does he even want from these investigations..... What could he, a mere office worker do anything about it.. ]

The forensic doctor thought as he was left alone in the corridor.

And the 'mere office' placed the cellphone back into the locker with heavy hands. He should have known. No one would believe him. And this was precisely why the system had no fear of anyone rambling about them because there would not be a single soul who would believe unless a solid evidence was secured.

An evidence? Sure. Not even if I murder that f*cking director.

A notification pop up sounded from his trouser's pocket. On his own phone, there was a black coloured notification bar.

" It's time to clock back in.. " He sighed and went home.

*****