I remember the first time I saw a dead body. It's something you never forget, the shining blood flaming red and as bright as the sun. The gaping mouth and the wide bug eyes you could never forget that stared into your soul. My abuelo once told me that the dead could see through you, inside of your soul the moment the person is deceased and it is in that moment, they know who you are in reality. It was then that I felt the guilt...
Sunday - January 2, 2005. Southern California. Sophomore Year.
They drove in the dead of night, along the old familiar dirt rode that had always been the epitome of happiness and wonder, feeding their youthful sense of adventure. A time were a man could truly say he was innocent. All of those innocent, blissful times of riding dirt bikes in the hills of the outer parts of their Suburban Community where no other kid dared to venture had now been a mournful site as it was heading nowhere towards feeding to their recreation this time. Rather, heading towards the informal funeral of student they had to bury themselves and all of those good old bygone days, had just become meaningless days.
The dirt road, once in-formerly known as 'Cowboy's Road' by the young men in this vehicle had been a failed project of the Suburban community they lived in just outside of LA. The road managed to have stretched for 10 miles before being abandoned and is still there to this day. Rumor has it that it had originally been designed to be built as an exit road leading towards the highway, though only for contractors to figure out how inefficient it would've been to drivers and instead built it someplace else. To this day, the road remains forgotten to those except only a few, who had now used it as a burial ground.
"Okay, we're here. Daniel said nervously as the bright red 1995 Toyota Tacoma approached the end of the road all while trying to get a hold of himself. Despite being 46 degrees, Daniel could feel the sweat of his brow rain down his face and strike his shirt like bullets. It was almost as if he had mustered the courage to mutter that script he had held in his mind for so long while driving up to the middle of nowhere. Normally it would've been Alfredo who would've said it first given that he was the driver, but Daniel had to speak those first words as they approached the site just fifteen minutes outside of their town. Being first would make him feel as if he had some control over the situation that was at hand. Nobody else had even dared to utter a word. Even as they mournfully walked out of the Tacoma that belonged to Daniel's older cousin, Alfredo. It was 3am, the time which most supernatural fanatics often obsess over. The time of demons, and spirits who often came out in the eerie night to haunt the living. It was in that moment, Daniel began to believe the stories as the thoughts raced through his head.
Daniel had always been a skeptic, even growing up did he not take religion seriously, often using it as his alibi of being that 'picture perfect student' everyone envisioned him to be. If only they had seen him now, those pontificating thoughts would surly be diminished and as dead as he felt. Alfredo finally turned off the engine, leaving the headlights of his car turned on in order to illuminate the path they were going to walk towards. It was a beech tree that rested atop a hill among the shallow forest around them just fifteen feet ahead of them and they approached the site, Alfredo handed Daniel and his friend George two shovels from the open cargo area of his Tacoma, where the body which was covered in tarp had been laying this entire time.
It wasn't supposed to go like this. He regretfully thought to himself.
"Start digging. Be committed to what you did. We'll get the body for you." Alfredo said solemnly, reciting the words of Daniel's father to order the two boys to dig. Daniel said nothing in return, turning to George who had been possessed with the same deathly look as the student below his bloody feet. His face flushed in the light that shone in the darkness that surrounded them.
"We're gonna... Have to get new shoes." Said George, looking down at his feet which were soaked in blood.
"No one gives a flying fuck about your shoes G!" Alfredo exclaimed, JC and Christopher were silent as they dropped the body just five feet from where the two boys were digging. For the first time in his life, Daniel had seen his older cousin, who was really more of a brother to him, turn angry in his life. Truly angry. By the time they dropped the body before them, George's face had turned into an even more pale look, he turned and looked at the mangled-up body of what once used to be a fellow student that had been now been wrapped in plastic bags like butchered meat. George paused, still staring at the body before turning his head to regurgitate the dinner he had at the Denny's they had eaten at a few hours before.
"Oh for fucks sake Georgy!" Everyone around turned away from George in disgust.
"I can't, I can't, I-I-" Said George, who then began quietly weeping to himself.
"Alright, alright, alright!" Alfredo finally gave in.
"But your bitch-ass is still going to help me." Alfredo grabbed the shovel from George, digging and letting him have a turn after a while before cycling through to JC and Christopher. After all, who couldn't feel sorry for him? George was a stupid, smart kid who lacked common sense though was good at math. An innocent boy, often not realizing the repercussions of his petty actions, though this was now anything but. Daniel left the digging to himself as the time painfully struggled to pass and the hole becoming deeper. This would be his punishment that he would have to commit to. After a few minutes past, the four foot hole was finally dug and the hour of demons finally passed though still haunting the minds of everyone there.
"Yo JC, Christopher you know what do to." Alfredo commanded to which they both nodded as George and Daniel climbed out of the hole. JC and Christopher ran towards the open cargo of the Tacoma, taking away the last of tarp that was covering the truck, revealing three large gasoline jugs that had been left for this reason. Together, they both poured two of the jugs over the hole, leaving a kiddie poll of gas before the body was quickly dropped in a few seconds later by Alfredo, Daniel, and George. The third gasoline jug was then showered over the body by Christopher. Without hesitating, Daniel quickly grabbed the box of matches he had in his pocket and lit the body below him, dropped the match box along with it all of them looking at the body of the student burn before them.
Monday - August 13, 2004. Southern California. Sophomore Year.
The abrupt morning alarm of Daniel's clock sung it's usual tune as he was lifted himself from consciousness, safe in his cloth bed on another dull Monday school-day morning in SoCal. He slowly opened his eyes to another morning to see his dark room, only slightly illuminated by the light of the outside world. Like most mornings he wanted to shut off the alarm and fall carelessly to bed, but again he forced himself out of his bed, knowing his cousin was to be waiting just outside for him in another fifteen minutes with George as they routinely did. Opening the windows of his room, the light from outside revealed yet again the the landscape of the picture-perfect American society in the hills of Southern California.
After getting ready, Daniel quickly made his way down the stairs after seeing that Alfredo had just pulled into the driveway. Grabbing an apple on the kitchen countertop for his breakfast, Daniel ran into his father and three year old sister, Maeve, who Daniel greeted with a kiss on the check before darting out of the door.
"Take care." His father told him as he packed Maeve to get her ready for daycare. It had been a year since she had been attending daycare ever since her mother, Marcella, took a small break from community college professing at the Biology department to focus on nurturing her newborn. It was this year that the Rivas family was going to make the money they have always wanted to again, being able to expand their small landowning business.
"See you." Daniel said routinely, as he briskly made his way out of the door to where a hungover Alfredo was siting in his Tacoma with George, looking as angry as usually did every tedious Monday mornings. Daniel whoever was first greeted by the cooling pacific winds of Los Angeles that was just an hour from where they lived before, this would be a good morning, but for the love of him, Daniel could not figure out why.
"Yo, how long are you gonna take? ¡Ya apúrate güey! You ain't walkin' on no catwalk, hurry yo ass up foo'!" Alfredo exclaimed. It had been the last summer since his older cousin had gotten his driver's licence and had now tasked himself with taking Daniel to school to save time for Daniel father to get to his job as a therapist. As he approached the car, Daniel saw the eager look on George's face, who he had not seen all weekend.
"Wassup homie!" George cheerfully before letting his hand to greet Daniel, just as cringy as he usually sounded when he tried to act cool though they had gotten used hearing it. Entering the vehicle, Alfredo revved his engine and took off to their first day of the second week of school at Hillcrest.
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