Guilt upon the conscience, like rust upon iron, both defiles and consumes it, gnawing and creeping into it, as that does which at last eats out the very heart and substance of the metal.

- Robert South.

The boy stumbled back as he tried to stabilize his footing by gripping the sides of his bed frame, his hands shaking as he reminisced the contents of the box. Y/n looked down at his fingers that had reached into the package. they were coated in a layer of blood. He had touched something bloody it felt like something fleshy, like the insides of a living, or rather dead being.

'It can't be, it can't be, it can't be, it can't be.

the phrase chanted in his mind, desperately trying to deny the implication that his brain was piecing together. Adrenaline began pumping through his veins. He swallowed the lump in his throat and stirred his feet into movement, He trembly reached out to the box.

'Please let me be wrong.'

Y/n slowly removed the styrofoam pieces inside. As the styrofoam pieces began revealing the inside of the box, the h/c haired male let out an audible gasp. He felt nauseated at the sight.

Inside the box buried in the styrofoam laid a dead, or more specifically a decapitated cat. The fur of the animal was creamy white, but there were splatters of deep red stains covering ivory fur. Blood.

The h/c haired felt regurgitation rise up his throat and he lunged toward the trash can beside his desk to unwillingly discard the contents of his stomach.

Y/n wiped the palm of his hand against his mouth to get rid of the leftover residue dwelling on his lips and let out a groan as he leaned against the garbage can. The male shakily got up from his kneeling position and sluggishly moved towards the bathroom that occupied the room next to his. The male successfully got to the washroom and turned on the tab to let water run to the drain, he opened the drawer under the sink to take out a plastic glass, he knew his mom often put plastic glasses in the bathroom and internally thanked his mother for the habit. He filled the cup and greedily began gulping down the tap water to rehydrate his burning throat. He put the cup down and turned off the tab.

The boy looked into the mirror at his reflection and took a deep breath forcefully composing himself. Y/n hesitantly moved towards his chambers, he stepped into his threshold and warily stared at the dreadful box.

'Who would do something like that?' Y/n narrowed his eyes as he remembered something. a dark shadow that consumed Runswick, a crucial fact he had forgotten. The boy shifted his head to look at his feet. 'How could I forget?' sentences formed in his head, lining up on a figurative timeline to be analyzed by the boy.

'A serial killer has been going around in town, for around 3 years now.' He narrowed his eyes as a revelation shot through his mind. 'The lead detective that was working on the case, got murdered.' His heart skipped a beat. 'Sheriff Whitelock asked me to return to my position as lead detective.' He began lightly hyperventilating as he glanced at the package which began looking more and more sinister the more he looked at it.

'I agreed to do so.'

Y/n stormed out of his room and almost tripped down the stairs into the living space. He saw his mother sitting at the table with a single lamp near her face with a case folder, reading it intensely, but as soon as she heard her son's frantic footsteps she looked up without a word.

The boy felt relief wash over him as he saw the woman was unharmed. "Mom. you haven't noticed anything weird, or out of place today, right?" He breathlessly questioned to which his mother raised a brow in confusion "Um...No? Should I have?" The boy hurriedly shook his head "No not at all!- I just..." Before he could continue his rambling his mother stood up and stretched her limbs.

His mother walked up to him and looked him in the eyes before giving him a smile that didn't quite bode well on the boy's shoulder, her eyes seemed dull, she had visible eye bags and she just appeared so...tired. "I'm going to bed, it's getting late ill see you tomorrow okay dear?" His mother gave him a peck on the forehead and strode past him to go to her bedroom. Y/n stood emotionless in the space until he heard the closing of a door. he peered at the dinner table and noticed his mother had left her case folder wide open.

'Taking one look won't hurt.'

He shuffled nervously towards the folder and peered at it. There was a picture, not just any, it was a crime scene picture, of the previous detective, this could be confirmed by the paragraph right next to the photo.

'Detective William Grey was found deis can't bad around 4:27 am, on a path in the Runswick forest, about ten minutes away from his own home. The victim was attacked at the jugular twice by what the officers suspect was an axe.'

The boy studied the photograph, a man was lying on the dirt ground his head nearly fully decapitated showing his veins and other organs together with a pool of dried-up blood. But as Y/n looked around the photo he saw something that made him feel like vomiting all over again. At the right side of the picture near the Detective's corpse, sitting on all fours was a cat, noticeable feature? the feline's cream fur.

comprehension dawned on the male. his hands started shaking lightly and he felt the blood circulation to his brain stop for a moment making him feel light-headed.

'This can't be f**king real.'

Y/n hurriedly strode up to the second floor into his room and looked into the box. and as he dreaded he was once more met with the beheaded body of the feline with...ivory fur.

The same cat as in the crime scene photograph.

"This....This can't be a coincidence. it can't...it isn't a coincidence' The boy mumbled under his breath.

Y/n considered his next course of action and in a spur of impulsiveness reached for his phone, dialing a number to a person he knew would know more about this circumstance.

"So what's the urgent reason you called me and Clark to meet at your house, past curfew?" a Black haired girl said teasingly standing on the porch of Y/n's house together with her brunette friend who appeared to be annoyed, yet paranoid, evident in his tense posture. Despite this, he mockingly regarded the girl "Like you've ever cared about the curfew before."

Kiara's face flushed a reddish tint and she jabbed Clark in the rib "Shut up." Clark shrugged his shoulders "Just stating the facts." Y/n chuckled at the duo before his face gloomily dropped. "There is something I need to show. It is better if we do it outside. I don't want...my mother to wake up." The two friends shared a look. Y/n walked back into his house and came out with a box and a file folder.

The duo furrowed their brows "What's in there?" Clark warily asked. Y/n gave him a downcast look "It was on my front door when I came home." Clark arched his brow higher "Okay. but that doesn't answer my..."

"You guys know of the murder of Detective Grey?" It was quiet. "...Yes...we do, everyone does." The boy sighed and opened the file folder deliberately putting his hand over the corpse and pointing to the cat on the right. "You see this cat?" Kiara and Clark nodded. The boy put down the folder and hesitantly opened the lid of the box "Can you guys stomach gore?" the pair looked at him in caution but nodded their heads regardless. Y/n tilted the box towards them.

Kiara gasped and put a hand to her mouth tears forming. Clark widened his eyes and tensed up, his face lost it's color leaving him paper pale.

"I found it on my porch, no message left behind, no note, anything." The boy began.

"It's the cat in the crime scene photo." Clark whispered looking up intensely at the h/c haired "Did you tell your mother?" Y/n shook his head "No." Clark glowered at the other male "Y/n, do you know what this package is supposed to be?"

The h/c haired male stayed silent knowing all too well the words that would leave the brunette's mouth.

"It's a warning. a threat, to your mother." The boy spat out "You need to tell her, If she doesn't know then...then she can end up..." Clark put a hand to his mouth and looked to the side struggling to finish his sentence. Even though Clark didn't finish his rant, he didn't need to, all three people knew exactly what he meant.

"He can't tell her," Kiara spoke up. Clark stared at her in disbelief "WHAT?! Of course he needs to-" Kiara interrupted "What good will come out of it?" She hissed "This is new territory, the Runswick killer has never sent cryptic threats. There have never been records of people receiving warnings, they just get killed. It means the killer has changed their tactics, it messes up everything we thought we knew."

The female breath hitched "Showing this to Detective Evans...Nothing good will come out of it, it would just make her fear for her life every moment of every day, or make her drop the case. What will that tell the killer?" Kiara glared at Clark "That they can just waltz around and do as they please without repercussion? No. We need to fight back."

"But Y/n's mother risks her life if we don't tell her and she continues."

Y/n piped into the pair's disagreement "My mother would continue investigating the case even if she knew, She's stubborn as a mule and will solve this case even if it kills her. She is that type of person."

Clark turned his glare towards Y/n "Are you suggesting we don't tell your mom about this threat? Don't you realize the seriousness of this situation?! The cat that was found at Detective Grey's crime scene, where the man was found nearly decapitated, and then, That same damn animal is shipped to your house, dead, beheaded, eerie similar to The detective's murder." The boy whisper-yelled "The only thing missing from this box to serve it on a silver plate as a full-blown death threat is a note written in blood saying 'Stop digging'."

Y/n stared down ashamed at his feet "Of course I know the seriousness of this situation. But..." The male thought back to his mother's dull eyes "I feel like my mother..." The boy shook his head discouraging himself to continue. "My mother can't know about this box." Clark stared wide-eyed at the h/c haired boy "You two are insane." He sneered.

Kiara ignored Clark's comment "So what will we do with the box?" she inquired. Y/n glanced at the the box, pity building up in his stomach at the animal's unfair death "I say we bury it. it's the most humane thing we can do in this situation." The brunette scoffed at the h/c haired claim but didn't respond. "I second that, Clark?" the black haired looked at her friend.

Clark stared at her in vacant before he let out a long sigh "Fine.But." He put up a hand "We are not burying right now. It's enough we have to secretly bury a dead pet, I'd rather not get jumped while focusing on digging an animal grave." The other two nodded in agreement "So be it." Y/n said. Clark continued his speech "We will bury it in the forest just outside town, after school. I'll bring shovels and gloves, Kiara will bring the flowers, you." Clark pointed a finger Y/n "Bring the corpse, keep it in the box. we need to avoid suspicion."

"Where will I keep the box while we're at school?" Clark narrowed his eyes in thoughtfulness "I don't know, put it somewhere no one will find it." Y/n nodded hesitately, his mind already thinking of a place to put the dead cat. "Be on time. after school at four pm exactly. We meet up at the town's sign. We make our way to the forest together from there. we gotta be quick. I suspect no one here wants to wander those woods in the dark?"

Both kiara and Y/n shook their head. "good." Clark concluded.

After Kiara and Clark left Y/n was left holding the box on the porch enthralled in his own mind.

'Is what we're gonna do the right? i dont know.'

'is it even legal? This is someone's pet...'

The boy felt guilt scraping at his thoughts on the verge of growing, threatening to eat him whole. The boy let his feet move on its own to a shed near his own. it was an abandoned shed that had been used by his father when they were all living in this house, in this town. as a happy family. It had been left to rot when the older man left, as shown by worn-out wood and unstable structure. He wondered why his mom never bothered to demolish it... nevertheless, he opened the shed and noticed the rusted tools and boxes lying scattered all around. there was a smell coming from somewhere in the shed.

It was the best place the boy could think of to store an animal corpse temporarily, his mother never came into the shed, it was foul smelling, covering up the stench of death. and the box looked like any other box in the shed.

The boy laid down the box and started walking out of the woodshed. He started closing the wooden door, but just as he went to close it he peered inside. "I'm sorry this happened to you.." he mumbled, with that, he closed the shack up and went back into his house.

Guilt and anger swirling up inside his thoughts all the way inside.

Author note: Hello! This was a short chapter, I have a reason for it! to build up tension for the next chapter. :D comment for motivation and faster updates! thank you in advance <3