Byuuhssshh!
Dark. Cold. Silent, boundless silence. Only emptiness, without a single sound. The world seemed to stop moving; only endless loneliness remained. Long hands from the depths of the dark, bottomless water tried to reach for the feet that struggled to swim to the surface. But it was all in vain. Something held him tightly, giving him no chance to fight back.
Cody was almost out of breath. No, he couldn't die there, but those long hands wouldn't let go of his feet. He tried to kick, struggling with all his might. The light outside wasn't very bright, but he could still clearly see a pair of black eyes above him with a face that seemed to be grinning, holding him underwater. Cody tried to free his hands, but he had no strength; the hands held him down, preventing him from reaching the surface.
"Ummpp!" No, this couldn't be happening.
"Please, someone, help me!" His body couldn't move to fight back; he was almost out of breath. Below his feet, the long, faceless hands kept pulling him deeper, further, no matter how hard he tried to reach.
Blurrrpp.
"Zerrrrttt!"
"Hoh hoh"
He fell hard, but not anywhere. A pair of large, round, opal blue eyes opened wide, with cold sweat drenching his face down to his neck.
Cody gasped, sitting up on his own bed. Yes, it was his own bed; it was all just a very bad, realistic nightmare.
"Hoh hoh hoh." his chest hurt, tight and hard to breathe. He had to calm down. Cody looked at the table; a strong vibration from his phone woke him up. The digital clock on the table showed 04:39. It was still early; had his alarm noozed on?
No, it wasn't. It was a message in the police group. A message from Ryu.
"Team, gather at Flower's apartment in district five, there's a party there, you won't want to miss it. Cody, get your butt off that comfy bed! Now!" wrote Ryu Mason. Deputy Chief of Homicide Division 1.
Cody pushed back the hair that had fallen over his forehead. He threw off his blanket and swung his two legs off the bed. After all, after that nightmare, he couldn't possibly sleep again right now.
Not long after. After cleaning himself up, he wore a denim jacket over a white t-shirt, dark gray sweatpants, and jelly slippers. Well, that outfit was a haphazard mix-and-match; it was Cody Janes' sloppy way of dressing. Cody picked up his camera bag and left his apartment on the suite floor. He headed to the elevator while on the phone. He should have worn shoes, but because of the call that kept urging him, he forgot.
"Yeah, I'm on my way. Why are you so noisy?"
The gleaming elevator doors closed tightly, and the elevator descended to the ground floor.
"What restaurant is open at this hour? How can I have breakfast?" The call that made his mood worsen, who else but the nagging Ryu Mason.
The elevator doors opened on the ground floor. The security guard opened the door for Cody to exit the lobby to where he parked his jeep.
"Yeah, I know where the place is."
Click. Click.
The camera's shutter and flash already filled the small studio-sized apartment, which was now occupied by several people in protective clothing. Without missing a beat, with his advanced medium-sized DSLR camera, Cody meticulously captured every angle, his large, opal blue eyes playfully peering through the lens. A pair of beautiful, luminous eyes, capturing faces, besides what his camera focused on. Several faces and shadows that he couldn't capture with his camera lens.
Cody Janes G, 21 years old. A final-year Crime Methodology student who now works as a part-time staff member at the central police station. This was a normal day for him, like any other day, but not with the victim, who was now the center of everyone's attention, sprawled dramatically on the bed in the middle of the room as if she were the main attraction from the movie.
Cody lowered his camera, saw a figure with black smoke hovering around its body. Well, whatever it was called, it stood in the corner of the room with an empty gaze. Its minimal clothing, a white bodycon dress, was already obscured by blood that was still dripping onto the floor. A pair of dark eyes, with messy hair, just like the cold body on the bed. But Cody couldn't capture that shadow with his sophisticated camera, no matter how many times he tried. Only see it so clearly with his blue eyes.
The figure, a female murder victim, it was clearly a murder, staring straight at Cody. In a blink, the figure was right in front of Cody, looking at him with a dark, confused gaze, full of questions. It opened its mouth, as if saying something that only Cody could hear, with blood dripping down from its torn mouth.
Cody closed his eyes, his heart trembling; he would never get used to this, no matter how much he tried. He could clearly hear the vibrating sound resembling waves in the air. No one else could see the figure; the forensic officers in the room just worked normally without acknowledging the terrifying figure. If they could see her, that would surely make everyone terrified.
Cody flinched slightly when someone touched his arm.
"Cod"
Cody opened his eyes, seeing Ryu already in front of him.
A tall, handsome, fashionable man with a bright and fresh face, pleasing to the eye. He was Ryu Mason, the 29-year-old deputy chief of the Homicide Division. He smiled, seeing Cody standing still in the room as if his spirit had floated away.
"Hey, what are you doing by just standing here? Are you done yet? They're about to move the body," the detective said.
He was taller than Cody, putting his arm around Cody's shoulder as he pleased. Cody lowered Ryu's heavy hand from his shoulder. That man, ever since Cody started as an intern, he always disturbed him with trivial to big things. He loved to tease him. Cody's sweet face made him itch to always seek his attention.
Cody swallowed. The woman's figure was no longer in front of him. She had disappeared from the room, but Cody clearly heard what she had said to him.
Without answering Ryu, Cody looked towards the window where the clue was. He moved Ryu aside and walked towards the window, approaching a fairly high table with so many objects on it. As if knowing what he was looking for, Cody looked under the cabinet, reached out his hand, and found something hidden behind the others.
Ryu, who was following Cody, widened his eyes when he saw what Cody was holding in his hand. Fortunately, Cody was wearing gloves; whatever object he found and touched would not be contaminated by his fingerprints.
"This, a small hidden camera," Ryu said.
An object no bigger than Cody's thumb, with a small glowing lens and a small cable sticking out at the back, it was a small camera connected to a phone's Bluetooth.
Ryu took it.
"How did you know this was here?" Ryu asked, looking at the location, which was indeed difficult to see if not thoroughly searched. Ryu looked at the small object, then raised his hand to call his subordinates, who were busy on the other side of the room.
"Tom! Bring this to the office!" he shouted.
Tom, a young rookie detective who had just joined a few months ago, more or less the same as Cody, turned around. The young man approached.
"Yes, Boss, what is this? Where did it come from?" he asked.
Ryu looked at Cody, pulling his lips. Of course, he also had the same question as Tom. Ryu looked at Cody as if asking.
"Yeah, Cod, same question."
Cody pulled his lips, looking at the unfortunate body, which was already moved into a body bag by forensic officers, Austin, and his subordinates.
"She told me," Cody replied.
Ryu pulled his lips. Yeah, of course, the ghost told him, typical Cody, he always says strange things.