Autopsy of a Mind

Chapter 6: Dead Body

The first ten minutes of exploration went smoothly, and I could hear the noisy bunch trying to make their way towards the rooftop parking lot, still pretending to be chased by a stranger who wasn't there. Eventually, though, some of them broke apart from the main group and headed towards me. I tried not to pay attention to them and looked into one of the shops.

Half the glass window of the store was covered with the "Coming Soon" sign that I so often see at shopping malls trying to intrigue customers about a new chain store opening at the location. The other half had long been stripped away, presenting a desolate picture of unfulfilled desires and the economic backlash of shutting down such a huge marketplace.

As my eyes adjusted to the darkness, I could make out the impression of cardboards stowed along the walls, bunched together to warm people who have stayed over at night; more fascinating was the shape of a man lingering at the very end of the store, seemingly asleep.

I turned to leave but the group had already caught up with me. They seemed to have overcome the excitement and panic, but were still pretty noisy with how well their video had turned out. They had just needed an outro, apparently, and they would be set for the next week. Lucas saw me and asked me if I had found anything interesting and I shook my head.

"Don't bother, there is a homeless man sleeping there." They seemed giddy at the prospect of new content and almost ran forward. Instantly I felt a wave of disappointment with myself, I should have calculated that my explanation would have the opposite reaction.

"I advise you not to get too close!" I warned them, but they seemed to ignore my words. Their cameras were out and excitedly pointing towards the direction of the man.

Then one of them said something curious.

"Is he... breathing?"

I swiveled on the spot and ran back to the store. The others howled in fright as I pulled the door open and neared the man.

The cardboards were used to cover the people and warm them; the man had used none of it. And in such conditions, breathing would produce a sliver of white smoke, even if a little, yet I had seen none of that.

"Evie, don't!" I heard one of them scream. "It's dangerous," I could hear Lucas, too. I could hear how panicked they were, but there was one thing on my mind.

If I was on time, I could save the man.

My cell phone was already in my hand, dialing 911, and my light was pointing at the man. It didn't take long for me to understand that there was something gravely wrong with the color of the skin exposed. I knew this color. It was the color of death.

Slowly, the image became clearer. His hair was matted down onto his head, but it didn't seem to be from water, and his clothes, though very thick, looked frosted.

My call had gone through, and to my surprise, I was calm. It had been my first emergency call and I had always hoped that if I had the chance, I would feel the panic setting in as I explained the situation, or that the operator would sound panicked as they sent for help.

"Hi, this is Evie Lewis. I just found the body of a man in his late thirties or early forties. Seems homeless."

"What is your location?" I heard the woman on the other end say. The coldness in her voice truly told me how disinterested or unsympathetic we were to the situation of others unless we witnessed it with our own eyes, further it was not because of any connection we felt to them but because we suffered a trauma watching them in pain. Our lives revolved around our own pain and gains, no one else's.

I gave her my location, but as I was about to hang up it suddenly dawned on me that she would think it was a prank call.

"Ma'am, this is not a prank. I am really at the abandoned shopping mall and this man has been dead for some time. You need to send for backup and a forensic team. This man was murdered." There was a sharp intake of breath and I knew that I had understood her reaction before.

The phone was promptly hung up and the others seemed beside themselves.

They were closing in on me, seeming unsure of why I had pulled out the phone. They had heard snippets of the conversation, but I didn't know how much, so I approached them cautiously.

Before they could make their way the man, I blocked their way and pushed them back.

"You can't help." Was all I said.

"What is going on?" The little vlogger from earlier, Suzy, mumbled.

I was tempted to ignore her, but it was becoming harder to keep them away.

"The police are on their way. Make your way out if you don't want to get caught for trespassing." That seemed to wake them up.

"What the fuck?"

"You bitch, why did you call the cops?"

I figured that it would be the best way to fend them off of venturing into dangerous places on silent nights.

"The man's dead. Killed by someone. I just reported it." I looked around to see the look on their faces. The fear in the atmosphere was palpable, but so was the gleam of fascination. Some of the boys were still filming, and I was not amused.

"Stop filming and get out of here. It is not a pretty picture." I heard Suzy laugh at the words and wondered how stupid she had to be to think that I was joking about a person's death.

"Miss Vlogger. If you post that shit on YouTube or even look at it long enough to let your brain process the scene, you will not be capable of sleeping without consulting a psychiatrist. I am politely asking you to get the fuck out before you face the consequences of recklessly throwing yourself into 'adventure' that you are not capable of mentally or physically handling."

The others stared in horror. If it was because of the harshness of my words or the amount of it, I did not know. It was probably the most they had heard me speak since I joined them in exploration.

"You seem fine with it," she replied snottily.

I snorted.

If she had witnessed even one percent of what I had, she would have jumped from a building moaning about how unfair life was and how changed it had left her.

I was tempted to drag her by the arm and let her see the bloating face of the man. But I wouldn't wish that upon anyone... at least when they were not expecting it.

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