Dominic, Jonah, and Willa raced to Noemi’s house to ask her if she received the same message they had.

            “Noemi?!?,” screamed Jonah.

            They raced inside to find Noemi, sitting on her front porch, shaking as she was holding her cell phone.

            Dominic asked, “Noemi, what happened? Did you get the text message that we got?”

            She replied, “The message, yes.”

            “What happened?!?,” asked Willa.

            “They’re gone”, replied Noemi.

            Jonah raced out of the house to the Raskin’s to tell the police about what they found. Dominic ran over to Noemi to comfort her as she sobbed in his arms.

            Willa asked again, “What happened?”

            Noemi replied, “Everyone in my family except for my brother... They’re all gone!”

            “How so?” Dominic added.

            Noemi continued, “They were on the yearly camping trip up to the Catskills, and last night... the cabin filled with carbon monoxide.”

            “Fuckin’ hell. I’m so sorry, hun.” said Jonah.

            “The fact that Dominic and I lose the ones we love on the same fucking day! It almost feels like we asked for this.” cried Noemi.

            Macy Hale, a Sergeant of the Fairlake Police Department and a friend of Jonah, walked over to the group. She gave Dominic and Noemi a look of concern.

            Macy said, “Noemi, your family is being brought back home from the Catskills as we speak. However, what is this text message that you all have spoken of?”

            Willa showed Macy the text message that they had received from ‘Z’ earlier that night.

            “We don’t know exactly what this means.” said Dominic.

            Macy replied, “This is troubling. It means that whoever else knows your secrets will reveal them if you do not keep quiet. I’m just concerned that it is someone you all know who has all this knowledge of what you are keeping to yourselves and each other.”

            “But what should we do? It’s not like we can just sit on our asses and keep quiet all the time. Mind you, Noemi and I just lost immediate family today.” said Dominic.

            Macy answered, “Only keep things amongst yourselves. Don’t get caught by this ‘Z’ person, they might hurt you. Now, get going as I don’t need you interfering with an investigation.”

            The group of four left Noemi’s front porch and went back to the coffee shop to calm down and plan ahead for what was to come.

            Melisa was about to close the coffee shop early for the night when she saw the foursome pulling up out front.

            “Dominic and Noemi, I heard about what happened. I’m so sorry for your losses.” said Melisa.

            Noemi replied, “Thank you.”

            “I feel numb because of everything. From seeing my parents, to the text message from ‘Z’, to this.” Dominic added.

            “Text message from ‘Z’? I’m confused.” replied Melisa.

            Dominic pulled his phone out from his coat pocket and handed it to Melisa, with the text message already up on screen. Melisa read the message and felt the same uneasiness as the others did.

            Melisa asked, “Who in the fuck would send this?”

            “We don’t know. It could be from anyone.” replied Willa.

            “Melisa, as the resident beauty queen turned barista, what are you thinking reading this message?” asked Jonah.

            Replying to Jonah, Melisa said, “First, I’m thinking that this is some kind of prank message. Second, if the message is legit, is that all is fair in hell and hairspray. Fuck with my friends, you’ve fucked with me.”

            “We’ve unleashed the beast.” said Noemi.

            Melisa added, “Our town is small enough that shit like this is so out of the ordinary. I can’t fathom who would be behind all this.”

            As the group wrapped their heads around the message, the tension in the room was one which you could cut with a knife. Dominic and Noemi kept giving each other worrisome looks, while Jonah, Willa, and Melisa were looking intently at Dominic’s phone. In the blink of an eye, hours passed as they discussed the text message and what it could mean. Once the clock hit 1AM, the group disbanded for the night and regrouped in the morning.

            As he was walking home, Jonah’s phone chimed. He unlocked it and opened a message.

I even know your secrets. Don’t let the door hit you where you the good one split ya.

         - Z

            He shuddered and promptly went back to his apartment to sleep.