“Is this really worth it?” Andrew asked, refusing to hand Justin the envelope. “You could get in trouble for this.”

“Do you have better ideas?” Justin asked him back. “How can he start a new life if the system already considers him dead? There’s no better option, Andrew.”

“I still don’t get why you’re doing so much for him.” Andrew said as he let Justin snatch the envelope from him.

They made their way out of the narrow and crowded alley back to the main street. “He’s my responsibility.” Justin replied.

“You better tell him to stay out of trouble. Once those fake IDs are run through the database, it wouldn’t take long before they find out that it’s fake.” Andrew said.

When Justin got back to the precinct, everyone looked irritable. They received a commendation for solving Leila Queens’ case, but it also caused an avalanche of cold and dead-end cases to be sent to them.

“This is bullshit!” Denver said as kicked his chair away from his desk. “There’s nothing we could do about this case!” 

“No case is easy.” Chief Helena said. “That’s what our division is basically for; to handle cases riddled with unusual and weird circumstances.”

“No need to make us feel better, Chief.” Justin said as he took his seat. “We all know what this division is for. Denver got caught hacking a politician’s computer to find evidence against him, Yvonne was found out to be using the help of various petty criminals to solve cases, and I was transferred here because I asked for better pay.”

“Oh come on…” Yvonne complained. “You tagged an influential businessman in a homicide case and was given an ultimatum to either be suspended without pay for 3 months or to transfer here.”

Justin couldn’t choose to be suspended without pay for that long, he needed to send money to his mother and pay for his brother’s tuition. “Still, it was my choice.” He said.

“They’re just waiting for us to mess up then they could get rid of this division and fire all of us.” Denver complained.

“If you already know that, then work a little bit harder.” Chief Helena said.

“What about you Chief, why were you sent here?” Denver asked.

“Do you want to know?” Justin asked with a smirk.

“Richards, you better watch your mouth.” Chief Helena said with a not-so-serious glare.

“Anyway, what happened to that case you’re working on?” Justin asked Yvonne. “Is it really mass suicide or is there anything suspicious about it?”

“There’s nothing to it.” Yvonne replied. “All four met online on a forum and decided to do it together. We already shut down the forum, and hopefully, nothing like that happens again.”

It was a busy day for Justin. Sifting through various cases to see if there’s any lead he could find, only to be disappointed. It was frustrating, not just because the whole force seemed to be itching to get rid of them, but also because he couldn’t do anything for the victims and their families.

That was the whole reason why he joined the police. If not to save and help the innocent, to at least give closure and justice to the family that was left behind.

Justin was mentally tired when he went home that night. He was looking forward to resting and sleeping early, but the moment he opened his door, he felt something was off. Usually, he would come home to Tristan reading a book while the TV was on. He would scold him for wasting electricity but Tristan would just ignore him.

That time was different though. The apartment was dark and silent but Justin could feel that he wasn’t alone. “Alright, Tristan, what are you playing at?” He asked, knowing that Tristan must be hiding somewhere.

“Welcome home, Justin.” Tristan greeted as Justin turned the lights on.

“Oh shit!” He stumbled back on the wall as his heart pounded in nervousness and surprise when he saw the sight before him. A red and gold throne chair now sits in his living room. Sitting on it, with his legs crossed and his arms resting on the armrest, while drinking a glass of - what it looked like - red wine was Tristan, wearing all black pj’s. For a second he thought that the dark entity he met at the Crowley’s dungeon had followed him home, especially since Tristan made his voice low and creepy. “Where the hell did you get that?” He asked. 

“Our neighbors upstairs are moving out.” Tristan replied.

“And they just gave that chair to you?” Justin asked as he tossed his bag on the couch.

“Yeah, do you like it? It’s an antique.” Tristan replied.

“Why would they give you expensive furniture for free?”

“They say it’s cursed.” Tristan replied as-a-matter-of-factly “That everyone who sat on this chair suffered a horrible fate. They all died while sitting on it.” Tristan said without batting an eyelid.

“I’m sorry, what? It’s cursed?” Justin asked in great concern. “And you decided to bring that cursed thing inside my apartment? That cursed chair?”

“What’s the worst that could happen? It’s not like I could die.”

“Yeah, but what about me, or my guests?” Justin protested.

“Then don’t sit on it. And what guests? You’re rarely even home. You just go home to sleep and shower.” Tristan replied.

“That doesn’t mean I won’t have any. And it doesn’t mean that it’s alright that you bring a cursed item in here. What if it affects us without even sitting on it?” Justin asked.

“Don’t be too pessimistic.” Tristan said. “I’ve overcome death many times, I think I have enough luck to counter whatever bad luck this chair would bring. Besides, it’s not like this chair had that strong sense of death like the old wooden sculpture they had.”

“You didn’t bring that sculpture here too, did you?” Justin asked as he looked around.

“What am I? Crazy?” Tristan exclaimed. “I wouldn’t endanger you.”

“Great…” Justin said with a sigh of relief as he sat on the couch. “If anything bad starts happening around here, I’m burning that chair.” He added.

“That would be a waste, selling it would be a lot more practical.” Tristan said replied as he uncrossed his legs. “You know I just realized that death is everywhere. Just outside that door alone, I could feel several deaths all over the place. It’s overwhelming at times, but I wanted to be positive like you said.” Tristan said with a smile.

“That’s. great to hear, Tristan.” Justin replied with a smile. “So, how are you staying positive?”

“Well, since I couldn’t really turn it off yet, I realized that I can try to hone it. If I could distinguish if people are just surrounded by death in their life or if they had caused it or will cause it, then I could know who the bad guys are.” He said with a smile.

“So what now, you’re a superhero?”

“Oh, hell no.” Tristan said as he stood up. “A superhero would tell his neighbor that the sculpture they have is probably cursed too.” He said with a smirk. “Here, I don’t like it.” He said and handed Justin the glass of wine.

“Then why did you get some? Where did you even get wine?”

“Why did I get some?” Tristan repeated sarcastically. “I have a throne, Justin. Wine seems appropriate. The neighbors gave me a bottle after I agreed to take the chair out of their hands.”

“So you took chair and a bottle of wine.” Justin shook his head and then chuckled. “Yup, you’re definitely no superhero.” He placed down the glass of wine on the table and took out the envelope of fake IDs from his bag. “Tristan, here.” He said and then handed Tristan the envelope.

“What is this?” Tristan asked as he opened the envelope.

“You can’t really go back to your old life or identity, so I figured you need a new one. Those are all the documents you need to have a new identity, but just please don’t get into trouble.” Justin said. “And… You can… No… I prefer if you stay here until we properly sort things out until we solve your…”

Justin wasn’t able to finish his sentence because Tristan suddenly embraced him. It was tight and yet felt very comfortable. “Thank you…” Tristan said in an excited voice.

“Yeah, no problem.” Justin replied with a smile as he patted Tristan on the back a few times.

Having IDs meant that Tristan could finally have a new identity, that he could finally start a new life. And it was really all that he ever wanted. Sure, he was also grateful that Justin hasn’t forgotten about solving the mysteries surrounding him, but at that moment, Tristan’s priority was to start a new life.

The next few days, Tristan had been going out early in the morning, looking for a job. He couldn’t rely on Justin forever, at one point he needs to earn his due. Besides, he might remember something if he puts himself in different environments.

Tristan had just finished another interview when he saw a commotion across the street. There were police cars, ambulance, and lot of media personnel. He wanted to ignore it because Justin told him that it was better he still stay out of sight of the police and media, but he could feel something among the crowd.

“How many are there?” Justin asked as he and Yvonne entered the small meditation studio.

“There are four victims in total.” Yvonne replied. “Fuck, this is the second mass suicide this month alone.” Yvonne was evidently frustrated.

The small space was completely sealed off. The gaps on the windows and doors were taped shut as two small metal bins - one by the door and one across the room - were filled with still smoking charcoals.

On the table by the door was a pitcher of iced tea with four used glasses. There were powder residues on each glasses and Justin told the forensics to take a sample of it.

All four deceased were lying with their backs on the floor and their hands on top of their chests. They looked eerily peaceful like they fell asleep and waited for death to take them.

“This place again…” Yvonne muttered as she went through the victims’ belongings.

“What’s wrong?” Justin asked as he walked to her.

Yvonne handed him a flyer for a suicide prevention center. “Brighter Lives Suicide Prevention Center. One of the suicide victims who jumped on that bridge a week ago was attending therapy there.” Yvonne told Justin.

“Is this the only center in Topaz that specializes in suicide prevention?” Justin asked.

“There is another one.” Yvonne said. “I guess at this point, it could just be a coincidence and Brighter Lives might not be connected to both incidents.”

“We shouldn’t rule that out either.” Justin replied. “Why don’t you ask for help from your contacts? See if they could find any information on both centers relating to the cases?”

“Yeah, I think that’s a great idea.” Yvonne agreed.

The door of the studio opened and a team from the Coroner’s Office entered. “Another group suicide?” Andrew sighed as he entered and then walked straight towards Justin. “By the way, I just saw Tristan outside.” He whispered.

“What is he doing here?” Justin asked anxiously.

“I don’t know, he was looking around the crowd and didn’t even notice me. He doesn’t seem to be interested in the crime scene, but rather the people gathered outside.” Andrew replied.

“Shit… he couldn’t be seen by those reporters. They might recognize him.” Justin said and hurried out.

Justin didn’t see Tristan outside, so he tried calling him. When Tristan answered the phone, he was panting. “Tristan, what’s wrong with you?”

“I was running after someone.” Tristan replied. “They rode a taxi and I lost them.” He added.

“What are you doing near the crime scene? What if someone recognized you?”

“That’s not what’s important right now.” Tristan said. “Are you in charge of that case?”

“Our division is, why?”

“Good. I had my death sense on, Justin…” Even though Justin wanted to ask how he came up with the idea to call his ability death sense, he kept quiet. There was a far more pressing matter at hand. “I felt a strong sense of death among the crowd. When I pinpointed where it was coming from, I followed them. I’m not sure if they’re connected to your case or not, but I couldn’t just let someone who was extruding that much sense of death go. It’s dangerous.”

“Did you see their face? Was it a man or a woman?” Justin asked.

“I’m not sure.”

“What about the license plate of the taxi, can you still remember it?”

“Yeah, I still can.” Tristan replied and then gave Justin the license plate.

“Great, I’ll trace it. Thanks for the tip, Tristan.” Justin said he was about to hang the phone when he remembered that Tristan went to a job interview that morning. “By the way… how did your interview go?” He asked.

“It went good. I guess.” Tristan sighed. “I don’t know… I always think that my interviews went good but I still don’t have a job.”

“It’s been just a few days, be more patient. I’m sure you’ll find one soon.” Justin said encouragingly.

“I guess I had no other choice…” Tristan sighed. “Anyway, I’ll go home, good luck on your case.”

Justin could hear the disappointment in Tristan’s voice, and somehow, he felt horrible.