Mystery Village - 6 Chapter 6

“I am Teresa Mendoza and my son is Tanner, though you have always called him Tannie. I know you don’t remember anything, and you might not be aware as to why you have become Grim Reapers, so I will say this as I have read in the book. Anyone who has committed self-inflicted crime instantly becomes a Grim Reaper.”

The seven Grim Reapers had the same expression on their faces as they looked at the old woman in disbelief.

“Mrs. Mendoza, self-inflicted crime is suicide. That’s impossible. We are the strongest brothers, so there is no way to commit such ridiculous crime. I mean, in school, we’re even known as the bulletproof boys, so I’m sorry, but I think you are mistaken. You must’ve been reading folklores or myths, not facts.” Yoon explained, trying his best to be polite to the old woman.

“I agree and I think everyone else does. There is no way that we could harm ourselves,” said Joony.

The old woman took out a photo from her purse. “Try to look at this and see if you can remember something. If not, I will tell you about what happened to my son, and what happened to all of you.

The Grim Reapers looked concerned. They all checked the black and white group photo of all of them, including Tannie who seemed to be closest to Jeon as they were the only ones with arms around each other’s shoulders, while the rest were doing a wacky pose. The seven suddenly fell on their knees one by one, their hands over their heads as their memories came back.

It was a Saturday afternoon, January 19, 1985. Jinny and Yoon were 19, Faith was 18, Joony was 17, Jimmy and TaeTae were 16, Jeon was 14, and Tannie was 13. They were the Bulletproof Boys of the University of Saint Thomas. Their brotherhood was envied by many because there was not a day when they weren’t together, and they excelled in sports and arts. They had very different personalities, different fashion styles, different perception on things, and different social status, but that wasn’t a hindrance to their friendship. They often gathered by the abandoned office building in Jinny’s customized navy van, which they have airbrushed with artistic designs.

They were all gathered at the back while Jeon, the normally strongest and bravest boy of the group, was unusually feeling under the weather that day, so he was sleeping in the front’s passenger seat. Jimmy was holding a huge dice made from cardboard carton, each side had a consequence written: kiss the cheek of the person on your left, treat everyone for dinner, climb a tree and stay there for two minutes, summersault in the meadows, and get a butt slap from everyone. They were playing ‘Category Game’ and anyone who failed the game three times would be punished according to their fear; their fears have been written down on a piece of paper that they kept in their pockets and would only be revealed if they lost the game three times.

“Don’t you think kissing the cheek of the person next to you should be removed? That’s punishing two people. Who the heck wrote this?” Jimmy asked with an annoyed face.

Jinny laughed. “That’s the easiest consequence there.” He said, confirming that he wrote it.

“If I get kissed by Faith once more, I swear I’m not playing this game anymore. It’s ridiculous.” Jimmy’s ranting didn’t affect Jinny or Faith, who were both laughing crazily. The door was open widely with them sitting in a circle: Joony, Jinny, Yoon, Faith, Jimmy, TaeTae, and Tannie.

“Okay, this is the last one. Jimmy, Tannie, you both have two losses, so if one of you fails, you’ll conquer your fear today.” Jinny said in a relaxed tone, feeling confident because he had only lost one game. “Give me…” He paused. “Names of Atari games! Mine is Basketball.”

“Hangman,” said Yoon.

“Breakout,” said Faith.

“Night driver,” said Jimmy, relieved that he was able to respond.

“Football,” said TaeTae.

“Baseball,” said Tannie.

“Canyon Bomber,” said Joony.

“Battlezone,” said Jinny.

“Circus,” said Yoon.

“Bowling,” said Faith.

“Star raiders,” said Jimmy, again feeling relieved.

“Space invaders,” said TaeTae.

Tannie was still thinking, then got completely distracted when they all did a countdown. “7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1! You’re it! You’re conquering your fear today!” He scratched his head and took out the piece of paper with his fear. Yoon took it from him.

“Wow, you’re claustrophobic? We didn’t know that.” Faith commented, as he looked while Yoon was holding his paper.

“You should’ve lied. I didn’t write down my real fear, just in case.” Jimmy said.

“Me too,” said Joony.

“You cheaters!” Yoon cried out, though it didn’t have any impact on any of them.

“What should we let him do?” Faith asked.

They all stepped out of the van and looked at the abandoned office building. The next thing that happened, Tannie was inside a small storage room that they found in the first office space they walked into. Faith closed the door with a thumb-twist knob or interior lockset that can only be opened from outside. “We’re just right outside and will be back in two minutes,” he said.

“You can do it, Tannie. You can conquer your fear.” TaeTae said.

“Just count 120, Tannie.” Joony called out as they quickly headed outside and towards the van.

Jimmy’s face suddenly looked terrified as he checked on Jeon who was too pale and sweaty. “Jeon!” They all gathered, panicking at the sight of Jeon’s lifeless face. “What’s happening? He doesn’t look good.” He took out a handkerchief to dry his clammy face, trying to hold back his tears. “Jeon, I told you not to come with us, you stubborn little kid.”

Joony checked his neck and wrist for his pulse. “Let’s take him to the hospital.”

Jinny and the rest of them scurried inside and left, not realizing that they had left Tannie.

Jeon’s case turned out to be a simple fever, but when TaeTae remembered they had left Tannie, an hour had already passed. They all realized they overreacted to Jeon’s situation because they were all used to him being the strongest and playful one. Except for Jimmy who stayed with Jeon until his dad came, everyone went back to the abandoned office building. The minute they arrived, TaeTae called out his name from outside. “Tannie, we’re here!” They all scurried inside the office and opened the first office door on the left as they entered. “Tannie?!” TaeTae called out.

“Why is he not responding?” Faith whispered; his eyes looked frightened.

TaeTae immediately turned the storage room’s knob with a thumb twist and covered his mouth at Tannie’s unconscious state. He placed his ears on his chest, relieved to feel that he was breathing. “He’s breathing,” he said. Everyone let out a heavy sigh. TaeTae and Faith painstakingly carried him all the way to Jinny’s van, while Yoon and Joony swung the back door and held both sides for Tannie. When everyone was settled, Jinny drove the van as swift as he could. They were all silent, feeling guilty for what happened to Tannie and in their mind, they swore they wouldn’t forgive themselves if something bad happened to him. When they got to the hospital, Jimmy and Mrs. Mendoza were outside waiting.

It was nine in the evening when the doctor relayed what they had all been dreading to hear; Tannie died of cardiac arrest that was caused by his sudden asthma attack. Mrs. Mendoza collapsed, and everyone else was in shock. A week later, Joony, Jinny, Yoon, Faith, Jimmy, TaeTae, and Jeon were found dead in a customized navy van outside the abandoned office building. The death was caused by carbon monoxide poisoning.