Joel was the first to break the silence, his voice calm but edged with calculation. Vanz had already pieced together a story, for us. A funeral. A dead friend who lived far away. It was a lie that carried just enough grief to seem plausible, and he instructed us to repeat it.
His parents hesitated but agreed after hearing the practiced weight in his tone. My parents, on the other hand, were suspicious. They knew my habits, my history of skipping school. My voices carried sharp edges when i explained.
They didn't buy it, but they stopped arguing, and in that silence i heard their reluctant consent. Vanz parents hardly asked, too laid back to pry. James wasn't as fortunate; his parents erupted in fury, threatening once again to sell his gaming PC if he didn't return.
The threat cut him deeply, more than their anger itself. It wasn't until his sister told him their grandparents had arrived, gifts in hand, softening the mood, that James exhaled. For reasons beyond logic, fortune bent toward him. He remembered the last time: his console had been sold without warning. He wasn't ready to risk that again.
Vanz's eyes narrowed. His voice was low, steady.
"My gut tells me we need money. Ask around, family, relatives, whoever you can. Gather what you can."
I felt the weight of the words settle. Against my better judgment, i nodded. "I'll trust your gut again."
We obeyed. Calls were made, stories spun, and by the end of the day, we had scraped together $700. It wasn't enough. The car's repair would cost $7,000, far beyond their reach. Joel's mind moved toward darker corners. He spoke carefully, almost like he was reciting something inevitable. Stealing. A plan no one wanted to voice but all had sensed looming.
We all hesitated. Vanz resisted at first but folded under the gravity of the situation. I followed too, my stomach sinking at the thought. James was the last wall standing, his refusal sharp and instinctive. But then I spoke. I didn't plead; I pressed. And when James's shoulders dropped, when his words softened, I felt it.
That strange sensation again. A flicker in my brain, like a signal. As if my will had pressed itself into James's mind. I remembered how Joel complied unexpectedly the last time. I remembered how my persuasion landed heavier than it should have. Now it is happening again.
We all agreed, voices tight with hesitation, Joel a mix of nerves and excitement. "Well then… it's a done deal. Let's get ready for the journey," he said, forcing a grin that didn't quite reach his eyes.
We towed Joel's car carefully, leaving it in a small clearing deep in the forest, shadows swallowing the twisted metal. The muddy path leading in was narrow and uneven, tires slipping slightly as we maneuvered. Every bump and skid sent my stomach lurching.
Once it was done, we drove back, the forest gradually giving way to the faint glow of the next town. The road stretched ahead, dark and empty, and the silence between us was heavy. I was anxious and worried about the hole situation but my mind kept orbiting around this thought "Did the container contained something supernatural?Joel
Strange compliance, was it just a coincidence or did I gain some kind of unique abilities from the mysterious container?"
And curiosity got the better of me. I tested my assumption on Vanz.
"Can you give me your last cigarette?"
Vanz's face twisted, annoyed. "This is the last one I got, and there's no store nearby. Forget it."
"Look at me, Vanzz."
Vanzz turned reluctantly, irritation in his eyes.
"Now pass me the cigarette."
There was a pause, then Vanzz reached for his pocket. For a heartbeat, I believed it was real. That I held some invisible power. But then Vanzz smirked, pulled the cigarette out, and lit it himself. Smoke curled around his grin.
"Hah. Dumbass. You really thought I'd give it to you?"
I cursed at him, face burning. The others laughed. The moment collapsed. Maybe it was nothing after all. A trick of coincidence. Still, something inside me refused to let go. The container we found, that mystery, we hadn't imagined that.
By nightfall we were in the next town. A small hotel, a cramped room, the air thick with unspoken dread. But Joel, restless, already plotted. At midnight we drove around, the quiet streets empty, searching for opportunity. That's when we saw it. A mansion on the edge of town. Isolated. Too big for one family. No fences, no cameras, only a small glow from the upper floor.
We surveyed while driving around the town. An old woman lived there. With a child. That was all.
Vanzz's voice cracked first. "This isn't right, no? What are we even doing? What if someone did this to our grandparents?"
They turned. The picture of it, the fragility of an old woman, the innocence of a child. It wasn't survival anymore; it was against all morals. My words stumbled out, heavy with unease. "Yeah… what if we scare her? Or worse… what if they catch us, what are we gonna do then? Kill them?"
James snapped. "This is nuts. I'm not doing this. I feel bad even standing here."
But Joel was resolute. This is the only way out, he claimed. Rich people, he argued, wouldn't miss a few thousand dollars. The rest of us wavered. Vanzz bent first, guilt pushing him toward loyalty. I followed, helpless under the current.
James frustrated said "why are we doing this?
Resorting to stealing from an old lady why don't we just come clean and accept the consequences? What's the worse that can happen? Joel family will be angry over the damage but we can all just apologise together and maybe even pay for the damage?"
Vanz with a heavy voice "Listen James, there is more to this, i believe it's time to tell him the truth, guys ?" Me and Joel nodded in approval, James looks confused "yeah?" and Vanz continued "The crash...(He breaths heavily) The SUV it actually never drove away... Infact it can never drive again.. the passengers... both of them died in the crash and we push th car off the cliff"
James dumbfounded and visibly disgusted "what??? You guys are fucking criminals ?Are you kidding me, so you just push the car off with t people in it ? What about their family??"
Vanz with a soft expression and guilt "Listen James, listen we did that cause if we didn't we will be in prison, and sorry we didn't tell you earlier cause we didn't want you to get entangled with our actions, but we owe you explanation, you can do as you please"
James hissed "No what the fuck what is wrong with you guys? This is insane!!"
I look at James with a heavy look on my face "James please listen we need you, it all happened so fast, all we could think about was a way out, if you leave us here we will be in serving decades in prison, please try to understand"