Celia and Lucy ran through the dark playground, only really seeing when there was a flash of lightning. Lucy had escaped the shadow, by jumping into an empty classroom, and then grabbing Celia as she ran past.
The two had then heard the scream, and decided it was definitely time to leave. Still they hadn’t seen any of their friends, and they hoped that the scream hadn’t meant any of them were in serious trouble.
As they arrived at the gate, they almost collided with Rebecca and Yasmine, who were running in the opposite direction.
“Oh thank god!” Yasmine cried, and the four hugged. “Have you seen the others?”
“We were hoping you had,” Lucy replied, and then spun around, as she heard a stick break behind her. But it was only Jo and Mia, both in shock, both with tears in their eyes.
“What happened?!” Rebecca cried.
“Aleisha,” Mia stammered.
“We lost her,” Jo added. “She suddenly disappeared, and then we heard running, then the scream. It was so scary. We didn’t know what to do; we couldn’t go looking, so we just ran. Oh man, what are we gonna do?”
“We have gotta get out of here,” Yasmine said, and they ran out the gate, and it was only when they were halfway down the street that the six slowed down.
“Did anyone see Valerie?” Rebecca asked nervously. Silence was the only answer. “She didn’t turn up? Do you think she forgot?” Suddenly she got all panicky. “What if she didn’t, what if she's in trouble? What if something happened, oh god! What if-”
“Rebecca!” came a cry from both Mia and Jo. By now they were over their tears, and they too were shocked and scared. “She’ll be fine, you’ll see, we’ve just got to go home, there’s nothing we can do for Aleisha now.”
So each of the girls left, making their way home, in the same way they had made their ways to the school, and each resenting their helplessness in their current situation.
* * *
Jo wandered slowly through the school gate, still thinking about the previous night. It had been on her mind, and she needed to remind Mia that they needed to talk to Marilyn about what they had seen in the sick bay. She arrived in the quad, and saw the group sitting in the corner under the trees. As she got closer, she realised the group’s two Year 10 friends, Sarah and Emma, were sitting there too. Though the group was in Year 9, they still had friends from other years.
“Hey guys,” she said, sitting down in between Mia and Yasmine. “Any sign of Aleisha?” She whispered this part only to Mia, who shook her head, but Yasmine heard as well.
“No sign of Valerie either,” Yasmine whispered back.
“Mia, we have to talk to Marilyn.”
“Oh yeah!” she stood up, pulling Jo up as well, then said to the group: “We’ll be right back, just gotta, yeah…” she trailed up, as she noticed the two detectives from the other day, Carla and Damien, walking towards them from across the quad.
“Guess we’re not going anywhere,” Jo commented, and Emma and Sarah stood and left as the cops reached the group.
“Remember us?” Damien said, almost in attempt to make a joke. A poor attempt, his heart wasn’t in it. “Would you mind coming with us please?”
The six stood, grabbed their bags, and, feeling stares on their backs, followed the detectives.
“Any idea what’s wrong?” Lucy said to her friends.
“Not a clue,” Celia replied. Lowering her voice, she said: “Do you think it has anything to do with-?”
“Do with what?” Carla asked, turning round. Celia went red, she hadn’t realised she could be heard.
“Umm, well,” she started, trying to think. “You see, Valerie is away, we haven’t seen her in a while-”
“Did you say she’s missing?” Damien, who had continued walking when his partner had stopped, “For how long have you known this?”
Hesitant, Celia went on, “Well, actually, it’s only since yesterday, she’s probably okay, maybe she’s just late.”
“Hmm, well,” Carla said, trying to be optimistic, but her voice filling with doubt. “You’ll keep us updated on that won't you?”
The girls nodded, Mia sneezed. For a moment, a few of the girls almost laughed. They were so on edge, and it happened at the most random time, they just needed to let out some steam.
“Sorry,” she sniffled, “I think I’m getting a cold.” The mood lightened slightly, the detectives led on, and the girls trailed behind. Slowly the group entered the music block, and went upstairs, passing some red tape.
Suddenly the mood was serious again, as they passed the first classroom, then the second. Then all that was left of the block was the lockers, and the door that connected it to the cooking block.
Needless to say, it wasn’t the door they were there to see. But as of yet, they couldn’t see anything, for the corridor was crowded with doctors, cops and people clearing up.
“Hey! Everyone, move to the sides, coming through!” Damien called ahead. “Doc, is the… uhh, is it out of the way?”
An indistinct reply displeased him, and he told the girls to stay put. He pushed through the crowd, leaving Carla to struggle after him. The others stood quietly, not talking, waiting, prepared for the worst.
Mia sniffed, and then sneezed again. “Damn this cold!” she muttered, and then all was quiet again. For a fair while, nothing happened, the school bell rang, and crowds outside the window moved slowly to class.
Then, all at once, Damien and Carla returned and things started to move at a pace faster then normal, they got given a lecture, but none of them were listening, and then they were moved further along the corridor. And the first thing they saw was the blood.
Thursday, November 6, 2008
Message III {Update Finally!!!}
So hello again! I finally thought I should update. Just for your information, I left the ending as it is, to spite all of them (Emily, Flick, Lydia, Twak and just about the rest of my group) people who keep pressuring to update! Have Fun!
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
Chapter 3
“How is she?” Celia asked Mia as they sat down, joining the others of their group on the hall’s stage.
“She’ll be fine,” was the reply. “She got knocked out for a while, and sprained her wrist, but she’ll be fine. I just feel bad, that’s all.”
“Hey, it’s okay,” Aleisha said. “We know you didn’t mean to… or do we?” she added this last comment as a joke, but no one laughed.
Needless to say, things had changed dramatically for the group since Felicia’s death. The day they found out, they had each been in shock, showing no emotion, but as soon as they had gotten home and realised she was gone for good, the tears came. Now there was little to talk about between them, and even less for them to laugh at.
“I guess the question is, are we still all going tonight?” Jo asked. “I mean, do you-“
“I'm still coming.” Mia said firmly, followed by an awkward silence.
“Right, well, I gotta get going now,” Lucy said, “work to do, you know.”
“Yeah, me too,” Celia agreed, and Rebecca nodded as well.
The girls sat for a moment, each in their own separate world of thought, before getting up, and with a quick “see ya”, leaving.
Valerie was the last to go, taking her time to get up and pack. But as she got outside into the quad, she realised she wasn’t quite alone. A dark shadow spreading from around the side of the hall told her someone was approaching.
Dropping her bags, she sprinted for the closest cover, a tall maple tree, its branches thick with leaves. Thankful that it was spring, so the tree had leaves and not winter, Valerie threw herself at the first branch, getting a good grip, then pulling her legs up, and reaching for the next branch. Slowing down once she was in the cover of those wonderful leaves, Valerie inched her way higher into the tree.
After deciding she was hidden enough, she sat for a few minutes, trying to keep her pounding heart quiet enough to hear if anyone was still around. A few minutes later, she realised she would have to go down, or else she would miss her train. But when she’d gone only a few branches down, she heard a noise at the base of the tree. Hardly daring to look, she threw a quick glance at down, and her heart sank.
* * *
Damien sighed; he had been at the school most of the day, checking out the sight of the fallen girl with Carla. They hadn’t found anything so far, and it was frustrating that the other girls didn’t know anything, or at least were acting that way. Yawning, he walked into the autopsy room, and immediately seeking out the doctor from the day before, he walked purposefully to him. The doctor was bent over a table, upon which was Felicia’s body.
“Evening,” Damien said to him. “What have you got for me?”
“Ahh Damien,” the doctor said, standing. “I wondered when you might arrive.” He picked up a clipboard from a small table to the side. “Time of death, 2 ‘o clock. Way of death, well, I think it was pretty obvious…”
“Pushed out the window, I know,” Damien agreed. “But was there anything else?”
“Well, yes, there was a slight bruising on the left shoulder. It seems to me that she may have been shocked, turning round and then pushed. She definitely didn’t fall, if that’s what you’re wondering.”
“No, I didn’t think so…”
“As for the markings on her wrist, well, they were made by a black fountain pen, and again, I think their intentions are fairly obvious.”
“Hmmm… would you run a test to check if any of the girls’s writing matches if I get a copy?”
“Yes,” the doctor replied, “but right now I have to look at some other records, so tomorrow maybe?”
Damien was already halfway to the door, “You bet.”
* * *
“SHHHH!!” Four voices sounded in unison as the school’s front gate creaked.
“I’m SORRY!” Aleisha hissed back, from the end of the line, “It’s nearly midnight, who’s gonna hear me?!”
As if to prove her wrong, a growl went up from something on the other side of the fence between the school and the house next to it.
Seconds later the barking started. Lucy, Celia and Yasmine each let out a yelp of surprise, and each of the others jumped about ten centimetres into the air. All thoughts of organisation dismissed, the seven girls ran as softly and quickly as they could to the cover of the closest building.
“Damn!” Jo whispered angrily, “Why did we have to wake up the dog!”
“I didn’t mean to!”
“Yeah, yeah, don’t worry, it’ll shut up soon.”
“We’ve gotta get started,” Yasmine said, a little too loudly. “How about we go in partners this time? So nothing can happen. Oh yeah, if anyone sees Valerie, take her along with you, she’s probably just late. ” She and Rebecca paired, Celia and Lucy paired and so did Mia and Jo. Aleisha was the odd one out, so joined with the last group.
Each of the pairs split up, going in opposite directions. Mia made an agreement with the others in her group to stop by the Sick Bay to check Marilyn’s records, to see if there was more than had been let on. Aleisha found the file first, and showed the other two. It seemed like the injury had been just like Marilyn said.
Then Jo found a small slip of paper in the bottom of the file. “Uhh, guys, it might not be as straightforward as that…”
* * *
Yasmine gestured forward, and Rebecca inched slowly around the corner.
“All clear?” she whispered.
“Of course it is,” Yasmine replied, a little louder than she should have. “Its 12 ‘o clock at night, who, other than us is stupid enough to still be at school?”
The two girls slunk forward, continuing their loop around the school’s perimeter. So far they had seen no-one, and they started getting cocky.
“I spy,” Rebecca said, “Uhh, something beginning with,” she paused, and thunder rumbled over-head. “Something beginning with B.” Small, heavy drops of rain began to hit their heads, and they shuffled towards the nearest tree.
Yasmine walked while thinking, and for a moment there was silence. Then a branch snapped behind them. The two of them gasped, and spun quickly, to see a shadow moving swiftly toward the office buildings.
After the shadow disappeared, and a few minutes silence, Yasmine whispered, “I don’t think they saw us… I hope.”
* * *
Celia stood back as Lucy lifted the rock. A moment later, the window was smashed and the two girls were a few metres away, hidden behind some bushes. The two watched around the area carefully for the next few minutes, squinting their eyes against the dark. Lucy stood slowly, when the coast seemed clear, then froze when she heard running footsteps.
Celia watched from the bushes, as Lucy stared into the darkness, then turned and ran. A shadow raced past a moment later, and Celia waited for it to disappear around the corner, before following.
She never got close enough to work out who it was, because just after she got around the corner, she was grabbed and pulled through a doorway.
* * *
Yasmine and Rebecca moved silently through the maze of buildings, trying to find any sign of their friends.
“Why is it suddenly so quiet?” Rebecca said, getting paranoid. “What if it means something bad? What would we do then?”
“Nothing’s happened,” Yasmine whispered firmly back. She wiped some rain of her jacket’s collar. “Everything’s fine, we’re just on the wrong side of the school, we went opposite ways to the others right?”
“Yeah, you’re right,” Rebecca agreed. “Ergh, it’s so cold! Why did it have to start raining?”
They walked in silence for a few minutes before they heard it. A scream, which cut through the still air like a knife through butter. In the few seconds that followed, the neighbour’s dog once again began to bark, there was another crash of thunder, and all hell broke loose.
“She’ll be fine,” was the reply. “She got knocked out for a while, and sprained her wrist, but she’ll be fine. I just feel bad, that’s all.”
“Hey, it’s okay,” Aleisha said. “We know you didn’t mean to… or do we?” she added this last comment as a joke, but no one laughed.
Needless to say, things had changed dramatically for the group since Felicia’s death. The day they found out, they had each been in shock, showing no emotion, but as soon as they had gotten home and realised she was gone for good, the tears came. Now there was little to talk about between them, and even less for them to laugh at.
“I guess the question is, are we still all going tonight?” Jo asked. “I mean, do you-“
“I'm still coming.” Mia said firmly, followed by an awkward silence.
“Right, well, I gotta get going now,” Lucy said, “work to do, you know.”
“Yeah, me too,” Celia agreed, and Rebecca nodded as well.
The girls sat for a moment, each in their own separate world of thought, before getting up, and with a quick “see ya”, leaving.
Valerie was the last to go, taking her time to get up and pack. But as she got outside into the quad, she realised she wasn’t quite alone. A dark shadow spreading from around the side of the hall told her someone was approaching.
Dropping her bags, she sprinted for the closest cover, a tall maple tree, its branches thick with leaves. Thankful that it was spring, so the tree had leaves and not winter, Valerie threw herself at the first branch, getting a good grip, then pulling her legs up, and reaching for the next branch. Slowing down once she was in the cover of those wonderful leaves, Valerie inched her way higher into the tree.
After deciding she was hidden enough, she sat for a few minutes, trying to keep her pounding heart quiet enough to hear if anyone was still around. A few minutes later, she realised she would have to go down, or else she would miss her train. But when she’d gone only a few branches down, she heard a noise at the base of the tree. Hardly daring to look, she threw a quick glance at down, and her heart sank.
* * *
Damien sighed; he had been at the school most of the day, checking out the sight of the fallen girl with Carla. They hadn’t found anything so far, and it was frustrating that the other girls didn’t know anything, or at least were acting that way. Yawning, he walked into the autopsy room, and immediately seeking out the doctor from the day before, he walked purposefully to him. The doctor was bent over a table, upon which was Felicia’s body.
“Evening,” Damien said to him. “What have you got for me?”
“Ahh Damien,” the doctor said, standing. “I wondered when you might arrive.” He picked up a clipboard from a small table to the side. “Time of death, 2 ‘o clock. Way of death, well, I think it was pretty obvious…”
“Pushed out the window, I know,” Damien agreed. “But was there anything else?”
“Well, yes, there was a slight bruising on the left shoulder. It seems to me that she may have been shocked, turning round and then pushed. She definitely didn’t fall, if that’s what you’re wondering.”
“No, I didn’t think so…”
“As for the markings on her wrist, well, they were made by a black fountain pen, and again, I think their intentions are fairly obvious.”
“Hmmm… would you run a test to check if any of the girls’s writing matches if I get a copy?”
“Yes,” the doctor replied, “but right now I have to look at some other records, so tomorrow maybe?”
Damien was already halfway to the door, “You bet.”
* * *
“SHHHH!!” Four voices sounded in unison as the school’s front gate creaked.
“I’m SORRY!” Aleisha hissed back, from the end of the line, “It’s nearly midnight, who’s gonna hear me?!”
As if to prove her wrong, a growl went up from something on the other side of the fence between the school and the house next to it.
Seconds later the barking started. Lucy, Celia and Yasmine each let out a yelp of surprise, and each of the others jumped about ten centimetres into the air. All thoughts of organisation dismissed, the seven girls ran as softly and quickly as they could to the cover of the closest building.
“Damn!” Jo whispered angrily, “Why did we have to wake up the dog!”
“I didn’t mean to!”
“Yeah, yeah, don’t worry, it’ll shut up soon.”
“We’ve gotta get started,” Yasmine said, a little too loudly. “How about we go in partners this time? So nothing can happen. Oh yeah, if anyone sees Valerie, take her along with you, she’s probably just late. ” She and Rebecca paired, Celia and Lucy paired and so did Mia and Jo. Aleisha was the odd one out, so joined with the last group.
Each of the pairs split up, going in opposite directions. Mia made an agreement with the others in her group to stop by the Sick Bay to check Marilyn’s records, to see if there was more than had been let on. Aleisha found the file first, and showed the other two. It seemed like the injury had been just like Marilyn said.
Then Jo found a small slip of paper in the bottom of the file. “Uhh, guys, it might not be as straightforward as that…”
* * *
Yasmine gestured forward, and Rebecca inched slowly around the corner.
“All clear?” she whispered.
“Of course it is,” Yasmine replied, a little louder than she should have. “Its 12 ‘o clock at night, who, other than us is stupid enough to still be at school?”
The two girls slunk forward, continuing their loop around the school’s perimeter. So far they had seen no-one, and they started getting cocky.
“I spy,” Rebecca said, “Uhh, something beginning with,” she paused, and thunder rumbled over-head. “Something beginning with B.” Small, heavy drops of rain began to hit their heads, and they shuffled towards the nearest tree.
Yasmine walked while thinking, and for a moment there was silence. Then a branch snapped behind them. The two of them gasped, and spun quickly, to see a shadow moving swiftly toward the office buildings.
After the shadow disappeared, and a few minutes silence, Yasmine whispered, “I don’t think they saw us… I hope.”
* * *
Celia stood back as Lucy lifted the rock. A moment later, the window was smashed and the two girls were a few metres away, hidden behind some bushes. The two watched around the area carefully for the next few minutes, squinting their eyes against the dark. Lucy stood slowly, when the coast seemed clear, then froze when she heard running footsteps.
Celia watched from the bushes, as Lucy stared into the darkness, then turned and ran. A shadow raced past a moment later, and Celia waited for it to disappear around the corner, before following.
She never got close enough to work out who it was, because just after she got around the corner, she was grabbed and pulled through a doorway.
* * *
Yasmine and Rebecca moved silently through the maze of buildings, trying to find any sign of their friends.
“Why is it suddenly so quiet?” Rebecca said, getting paranoid. “What if it means something bad? What would we do then?”
“Nothing’s happened,” Yasmine whispered firmly back. She wiped some rain of her jacket’s collar. “Everything’s fine, we’re just on the wrong side of the school, we went opposite ways to the others right?”
“Yeah, you’re right,” Rebecca agreed. “Ergh, it’s so cold! Why did it have to start raining?”
They walked in silence for a few minutes before they heard it. A scream, which cut through the still air like a knife through butter. In the few seconds that followed, the neighbour’s dog once again began to bark, there was another crash of thunder, and all hell broke loose.
Message II
I don't really know why I'm writing this, but you asked for it Em. I would have updated last night, but I had track... lame excuse I know. Oh, I know what I can say!!! We didn't die *yet*, apparantly the test thing has been moved two weeks into the future, oh well, we are still alive for now!
Thursday, August 28, 2008
Chapter 2
“Geez!” Mia whispered to her friends as they left the room hours later. “They wanna know much or what?”
“No-one told, right?” Lucy asked when they were out of earshot of the two detectives. The eight girls each looked at each other, shaking their heads. “Good, I don’t think we should just yet, you know?”
“Not really-”
Ahead of the group loomed the hall once again. The students had all been sent home by now, school was cancelled, and when the girls were certain it was clear of teachers and cleaners, they walked up onto the stage and sat together in the corner.
For a few moments there was silence, which was only broken by breathing, and the air in the hall moving around slowly. The girls thought of what to talk about, without bringing up the day’s incidents. They soon found that it was impossible, and Jo voiced what they were each thinking.
“That mark… on her wrist, it was kind of, sick, hey?” She laughed uneasily.
No one else spoke; they were all too busy, deep in thought, remembering the last thing they had seen, just before leaving the cops’ presence:
The cold, empty sick bay, or at least, almost empty, for on the sterile white bed was the small, pale figure of Felicia, covered by a slim sheet, but still obviously her. They had been slowly moved to the bed, and Damien had lifted the sheet, just so that the girls could see Felicia’s wrist. In black ink, which contrasted greatly with the girl’s pale skin was a heartbeat that slowed and stopped, and underneath the words: “You know too much, DIE NOW.”
* * *
“I’m not sure we should have shown those girls her wrist, Dam,” Carla said slowly, as the car pulled back into the police station.
“We needed to see if they knew anything about it,” he protested.
“We could have shown them a photo!” Carla rebutted angrily. “And wasn’t it you who only this morning complained that the doctors hadn’t moved the body out of the way earlier?”
“This is different,” he replied, but couldn’t seem to point out why. The two entered the building, and moved to their floor. “Did any of the girls you talked to seem to think anyone would have a reason to kill her?”
“No, they all seemed really shocked at the question, too,” Carla said.
“Well,” Damien said solemnly. “They are kids; they shouldn’t have to go through this sort of thing at this age.”
“But they are, and we have to find out why,” Carla nodded. “Did any of the girls you interviewed seem at all… nervous, or, I don’t know, unsure of what they were saying?”
“…hmm, I remember one that did,” Damien said, and held out a folder he was carrying. “All their stories and anything about them that I noticed is written here.”
* * *
“We really have to do something, you know,” Mia said, the silence between the group being once again broken.
Each of the others looked about to respond, then hesitated, and remained silent. Lucy got up and paced around the stage. It was Valerie who finally answered:
“I think we should tell them, and I’ve thought that all along.”
“We CAN’T” said a few forceful voices in unison.
“Why NOT?” Argued Valerie, this time supported by Rebecca.
“Because we don’t have any evidence,” Mia said softly, staring at the ground. “Who was with her last night? Did anyone of us know before this morning that she… she fell?”
“No, we thought she went home early,” Yasmine said, shaking, “We didn’t think she might have stayed.”
“Did you find anything last night?” Mia asked hopefully.
“None of us would be in this mess if we’d found something!” Lucy cried.
“It was just a question,” Aleisha said. “So what did we decide to do?”
“We didn’t,” Celia replied. “But I think we should come back again tomorrow night.”
“Tomorrow night?!” Jo exclaimed. “All of us?”
“All of us,” Was the answer.
* * *
“Here it is,” Damien said, pulling out a piece of paper. “Let’s see, when I asked if any of the students at the school didn’t like her, Rebecca seemed a little, for want of a better word, hesitant to answer.”
“Did all their stories check out though?”
“Well, yes,” Damien replied. “The stories were all basically the same, but there were slight differences, times and stuff, nothing too big. But I get the feeling that they aren’t telling us something.”
“Yeh, they did seem to be a bit too defensive,” Carla agreed. “But what could they possibly not want to tell us? Anyway, we should keep an eye on them, just in case.”
“That brings us to the next question, can the school re-open tomorrow?” Damien asked. “We have the rest of the day to check out the area, and the principal said we can rope off around where the girl fell, and continue throughout the week.”
“Okay, as long as he can promise no-one will interfere.”
* * *
Mia yawned; science was not her most favourite subject. Next to her, Marilyn Bower, one of her class friends, also sighed, drawing a random pattern on a piece of paper. The bell rang, and she murmured “finally”, under her breath.
The two picked up their bags and walked slowly out of the room, turning left and heading towards the sporting fields. Felicia had been in their class until ‘the accident’ the day before, and they both sorely missed her.
Arriving at the change rooms, the two got into their sport uniforms, and walked back to the soccer fields. Their teacher, Mr. Kale put the class into teams, separating the two, and the game started. Mia stood alone, rarely going for the ball, the boys never pass to the girls anyway, and she guessed Marilyn was doing the same. Both girls knew that had Felicia been there, she would have been trying hard to play, and that would have given them reason to try, but as it was, they saw no point.
Mia suddenly felt a burst of energy, and ran for the ball, kicking it hard, and seconds later, she regretted her decision. A shout from just in front of her told her the ball had made contact with someone. She saw someone lying on the ground, and realised it was Marilyn.
“Oh god.”
“No-one told, right?” Lucy asked when they were out of earshot of the two detectives. The eight girls each looked at each other, shaking their heads. “Good, I don’t think we should just yet, you know?”
“Not really-”
Ahead of the group loomed the hall once again. The students had all been sent home by now, school was cancelled, and when the girls were certain it was clear of teachers and cleaners, they walked up onto the stage and sat together in the corner.
For a few moments there was silence, which was only broken by breathing, and the air in the hall moving around slowly. The girls thought of what to talk about, without bringing up the day’s incidents. They soon found that it was impossible, and Jo voiced what they were each thinking.
“That mark… on her wrist, it was kind of, sick, hey?” She laughed uneasily.
No one else spoke; they were all too busy, deep in thought, remembering the last thing they had seen, just before leaving the cops’ presence:
The cold, empty sick bay, or at least, almost empty, for on the sterile white bed was the small, pale figure of Felicia, covered by a slim sheet, but still obviously her. They had been slowly moved to the bed, and Damien had lifted the sheet, just so that the girls could see Felicia’s wrist. In black ink, which contrasted greatly with the girl’s pale skin was a heartbeat that slowed and stopped, and underneath the words: “You know too much, DIE NOW.”
* * *
“I’m not sure we should have shown those girls her wrist, Dam,” Carla said slowly, as the car pulled back into the police station.
“We needed to see if they knew anything about it,” he protested.
“We could have shown them a photo!” Carla rebutted angrily. “And wasn’t it you who only this morning complained that the doctors hadn’t moved the body out of the way earlier?”
“This is different,” he replied, but couldn’t seem to point out why. The two entered the building, and moved to their floor. “Did any of the girls you talked to seem to think anyone would have a reason to kill her?”
“No, they all seemed really shocked at the question, too,” Carla said.
“Well,” Damien said solemnly. “They are kids; they shouldn’t have to go through this sort of thing at this age.”
“But they are, and we have to find out why,” Carla nodded. “Did any of the girls you interviewed seem at all… nervous, or, I don’t know, unsure of what they were saying?”
“…hmm, I remember one that did,” Damien said, and held out a folder he was carrying. “All their stories and anything about them that I noticed is written here.”
* * *
“We really have to do something, you know,” Mia said, the silence between the group being once again broken.
Each of the others looked about to respond, then hesitated, and remained silent. Lucy got up and paced around the stage. It was Valerie who finally answered:
“I think we should tell them, and I’ve thought that all along.”
“We CAN’T” said a few forceful voices in unison.
“Why NOT?” Argued Valerie, this time supported by Rebecca.
“Because we don’t have any evidence,” Mia said softly, staring at the ground. “Who was with her last night? Did anyone of us know before this morning that she… she fell?”
“No, we thought she went home early,” Yasmine said, shaking, “We didn’t think she might have stayed.”
“Did you find anything last night?” Mia asked hopefully.
“None of us would be in this mess if we’d found something!” Lucy cried.
“It was just a question,” Aleisha said. “So what did we decide to do?”
“We didn’t,” Celia replied. “But I think we should come back again tomorrow night.”
“Tomorrow night?!” Jo exclaimed. “All of us?”
“All of us,” Was the answer.
* * *
“Here it is,” Damien said, pulling out a piece of paper. “Let’s see, when I asked if any of the students at the school didn’t like her, Rebecca seemed a little, for want of a better word, hesitant to answer.”
“Did all their stories check out though?”
“Well, yes,” Damien replied. “The stories were all basically the same, but there were slight differences, times and stuff, nothing too big. But I get the feeling that they aren’t telling us something.”
“Yeh, they did seem to be a bit too defensive,” Carla agreed. “But what could they possibly not want to tell us? Anyway, we should keep an eye on them, just in case.”
“That brings us to the next question, can the school re-open tomorrow?” Damien asked. “We have the rest of the day to check out the area, and the principal said we can rope off around where the girl fell, and continue throughout the week.”
“Okay, as long as he can promise no-one will interfere.”
* * *
Mia yawned; science was not her most favourite subject. Next to her, Marilyn Bower, one of her class friends, also sighed, drawing a random pattern on a piece of paper. The bell rang, and she murmured “finally”, under her breath.
The two picked up their bags and walked slowly out of the room, turning left and heading towards the sporting fields. Felicia had been in their class until ‘the accident’ the day before, and they both sorely missed her.
Arriving at the change rooms, the two got into their sport uniforms, and walked back to the soccer fields. Their teacher, Mr. Kale put the class into teams, separating the two, and the game started. Mia stood alone, rarely going for the ball, the boys never pass to the girls anyway, and she guessed Marilyn was doing the same. Both girls knew that had Felicia been there, she would have been trying hard to play, and that would have given them reason to try, but as it was, they saw no point.
Mia suddenly felt a burst of energy, and ran for the ball, kicking it hard, and seconds later, she regretted her decision. A shout from just in front of her told her the ball had made contact with someone. She saw someone lying on the ground, and realised it was Marilyn.
“Oh god.”
Message I
Hey, Em, I just wanted to say I'm sorry for not posting chapter two earlier on in the afternoon, but some clever cookie *cough* me *cough* left her keys at home, and got locked out. Next time I'll try to post it earlier.
Thursday, August 7, 2008
Chapter 1
“Finally!” Damien Milter put the phone back on the hook and pushed his black hair out of his eyes. It didn’t work properly and the strands just fell back over his face. “That was a long night!” He stood up and his brown eyes flitted quickly from his desk, and over to his red-head partner, Carla Alma, who was on the phone at the next desk. He waited till she hung up and caught her eyes.
“Carla, I'm going home,” he started to say, but she interrupted him.
“Sorry Dam,” she said. “There's a job we have to do first.”
Damien sighed. “What now?”
“I don’t know,” Carla replied. “But we need to get to the sporting high school. Something about a body.”
* * *
Yasmine Zhang hurried down the bus stairs. Her black hair bounced as she jolted down each step. Her bus had been late, and now she was late for school. She ran through the school gate and immediately saw a large crowd huddling at the base of the front office building. She sighed.
“Thank god!” she thought to herself. “Doesn’t look like the classes have gone in yet.”
She ran to join the crowd, and saw a cop car pull up behind her bus. A man with black hair jumped out of the driver’s side and ran toward the gates she had just come through. A pretty young woman jumped out the passenger side and followed him quickly, and the two of them pushed to the front of the crowd.
Where she was standing, Yasmine couldn’t see anything, but she spotted her friends, Lucy Williams, Celia Mathews and Mia Cowell standing toward the front of the crowd, and she pushed toward them. As she got closer, she realised something was terribly wrong.
Lucy turned and looked at her, and Yasmine saw that she was in shock. Yasmine rushed toward her.
“What is it?” she cried, but as she got toward them, she could see what was wrong, and why the crowd had gathered.
* * *
Damien and Carla strode passed the mass of murmuring students, heading to the front. Already some police were escorting traumatised students to another building to talk to them, and when they got to the front of the crowd they could see why.
“Get them all away from here!” Damien said angrily. The other police started herding the students into the school’s hall. “God!” Damien continued. “What kind of person let's kids see a dead body!?”
“Calm down,” Carla shuddered as she neared the body lying on the ground. It was a blonde girl lying face down on the ground, amidst a small group of glass shards. He looked around, and up the wall behind him, where he saw a smashed window on the second floor.
Talking to a man leaning over the blonde girl, he asked, “ How long?”
The man, turning said, “Morning Damien. I would say, around eight to twelve hours, but without an autopsy, I can’t say for sure. It couldn’t have happened before last night though, for sure, as there was a staff meeting here after hours, and they saw nothing.”
“Thanks Doc, have we identified the body?”
“There was no ID on her person, but a few girls who said they were her friends told Ray that her name is Felicia Collins, and she is in year nine.”
At this point Carla came over to Damien and the doctor. “Dam, I think you should see this…” He followed her over to the body of the girl, and looked as Carla pointed to the exposed right wrist.
***
Yasmine, Mia, Lucy and Celia stood together whispering, just to the side of where the police were working.
“What do we do?”
“Should we tell them?”
“No way! We need more proof, they’d never believe us!”
“Are you serious? Look what happened to Felicia!”
“But we can’t! It’s our word against-“
Lucy stopped mid-whisper as one of the policemen came over to the girls. “You were friends with …”
“Felicia,” Celia said softly, when he hesitated.
“Felicia,” he finished, nodding at her. “Were there more of you in her group than this?”
Silently, the girls nodded.
“Everyone is over in the hall, would you mind going over and finding the others?” Again, the girls nodded, again they were silent. Then Yasmine seemed to find her voice.
“Come on, we better go find them,” she said, starting to walk off towards the hall. Elsie hesitated, and then followed, as did the others.
The four walked slowly through the garden path that led to the quadrangle, and then to the hall. They didn’t talk for a while, and then Celia broke the silence.
“What are we going to do?”
“Tell them!”
“Keep it a secret!”
“GIRLS!” Mr Corry, the school principal, walking out of the hall, said sharply to them. “You should not be out here!”
Each girl tried to hide the fact that they had jumped, and then avoided the principal’s eyes.
Finally Yasmine informed him of what the policeman had asked them. He nodded, and then left them, possibly to talk to the police himself.
The girls walked into the hall, an air of unease among them. They were intercepted by an English teacher, Mrs. Crawpo, immediately after entering.
“Girls, you’re late,” she told them, before they explained again what the policeman had asked. “Alright,” she said, leading them up onto the stage to their right. Walking towards the microphone in the centre, she asked them who she should call for.
* * *
“The girls are getting together their group,” Damien told Carla. “ I don’t want them to see the girl’s body until I have talked to each of them, put her in another room, and I will take them in together to see the mark.”
He asked the Doctor if the body could be moved for a while, and after the man hesitated, he agreed. He watched as two of the other policemen put on gloves, and began to move the body. Looking past this sight, he saw the group of girls he had earlier sent away, walking towards him, accompanied by four he hadn’t seen before.
“In here,” he called across the remaining distance between them, indicating a spare classroom. He let the eight girls into it, then waited to catch Carla’s eye. When she saw him, he waved her over, and they entered the room as well, closing the door behind them.
The girls were all sitting on and at the desks, talking softly, or looking expectantly at the cops, who in turn looked curiously at them.
“Okay girls, this will work best if we all know each other. I'm Carla, this is Damien, and we are, as is per evident, exploring the death of your friend. As we have not contacted your parents, this will not be a proper questioning, though we do want to know if you can tell us anything,” Carla said quickly, glancing at her partner. “I'm going to go from this side of the room to that,” she pointed left to right, “If you could say your names in turn…”
“Yasmine Zhang.” Carla nodded.
“Lucy Williams,” said the girl next to her with rather long, light brown hair.
“Ummm,” said the next girl, “Mia Cowell.”
“Rebecca Moore,” The brunette sitting next to her said slowly.
“Aleisha,” said the next, without adding a last name.
“Jo.”
“Celia Mathews.”
“Valerie Hughes,” said the last, a girl in shorts instead of the skirt, and with blonde hair.
“Alright, now first up, we are gonna ask you some questions as a group, then some individually,” Damien said. “First off we’ll start easy. Did your friend have any enemies, or people who disliked her or her family that you know of?”
“Are you like, allowed to question us?” Aleisha said almost immediately. The other girls looked at her, before Yasmine joined in:
“Yeah, don’t our parents need to give consent?”
Carla looked at Damien.
“We’ve worked that out already, don’t worry. Back to the question, was there anyone that disliked her?”
The girls all looked at each other, and then shook there heads, one by one. Each murmured “no I don’t think so”, or something like it.
“Right,” Carla continued. “And has anything odd been happening with her recently?”
Again, nobody answered sufficiently. Damien sighed, “Okay, we’re gonna have to do this individually. Blondie, come with me.”
“Carla, I'm going home,” he started to say, but she interrupted him.
“Sorry Dam,” she said. “There's a job we have to do first.”
Damien sighed. “What now?”
“I don’t know,” Carla replied. “But we need to get to the sporting high school. Something about a body.”
* * *
Yasmine Zhang hurried down the bus stairs. Her black hair bounced as she jolted down each step. Her bus had been late, and now she was late for school. She ran through the school gate and immediately saw a large crowd huddling at the base of the front office building. She sighed.
“Thank god!” she thought to herself. “Doesn’t look like the classes have gone in yet.”
She ran to join the crowd, and saw a cop car pull up behind her bus. A man with black hair jumped out of the driver’s side and ran toward the gates she had just come through. A pretty young woman jumped out the passenger side and followed him quickly, and the two of them pushed to the front of the crowd.
Where she was standing, Yasmine couldn’t see anything, but she spotted her friends, Lucy Williams, Celia Mathews and Mia Cowell standing toward the front of the crowd, and she pushed toward them. As she got closer, she realised something was terribly wrong.
Lucy turned and looked at her, and Yasmine saw that she was in shock. Yasmine rushed toward her.
“What is it?” she cried, but as she got toward them, she could see what was wrong, and why the crowd had gathered.
* * *
Damien and Carla strode passed the mass of murmuring students, heading to the front. Already some police were escorting traumatised students to another building to talk to them, and when they got to the front of the crowd they could see why.
“Get them all away from here!” Damien said angrily. The other police started herding the students into the school’s hall. “God!” Damien continued. “What kind of person let's kids see a dead body!?”
“Calm down,” Carla shuddered as she neared the body lying on the ground. It was a blonde girl lying face down on the ground, amidst a small group of glass shards. He looked around, and up the wall behind him, where he saw a smashed window on the second floor.
Talking to a man leaning over the blonde girl, he asked, “ How long?”
The man, turning said, “Morning Damien. I would say, around eight to twelve hours, but without an autopsy, I can’t say for sure. It couldn’t have happened before last night though, for sure, as there was a staff meeting here after hours, and they saw nothing.”
“Thanks Doc, have we identified the body?”
“There was no ID on her person, but a few girls who said they were her friends told Ray that her name is Felicia Collins, and she is in year nine.”
At this point Carla came over to Damien and the doctor. “Dam, I think you should see this…” He followed her over to the body of the girl, and looked as Carla pointed to the exposed right wrist.
***
Yasmine, Mia, Lucy and Celia stood together whispering, just to the side of where the police were working.
“What do we do?”
“Should we tell them?”
“No way! We need more proof, they’d never believe us!”
“Are you serious? Look what happened to Felicia!”
“But we can’t! It’s our word against-“
Lucy stopped mid-whisper as one of the policemen came over to the girls. “You were friends with …”
“Felicia,” Celia said softly, when he hesitated.
“Felicia,” he finished, nodding at her. “Were there more of you in her group than this?”
Silently, the girls nodded.
“Everyone is over in the hall, would you mind going over and finding the others?” Again, the girls nodded, again they were silent. Then Yasmine seemed to find her voice.
“Come on, we better go find them,” she said, starting to walk off towards the hall. Elsie hesitated, and then followed, as did the others.
The four walked slowly through the garden path that led to the quadrangle, and then to the hall. They didn’t talk for a while, and then Celia broke the silence.
“What are we going to do?”
“Tell them!”
“Keep it a secret!”
“GIRLS!” Mr Corry, the school principal, walking out of the hall, said sharply to them. “You should not be out here!”
Each girl tried to hide the fact that they had jumped, and then avoided the principal’s eyes.
Finally Yasmine informed him of what the policeman had asked them. He nodded, and then left them, possibly to talk to the police himself.
The girls walked into the hall, an air of unease among them. They were intercepted by an English teacher, Mrs. Crawpo, immediately after entering.
“Girls, you’re late,” she told them, before they explained again what the policeman had asked. “Alright,” she said, leading them up onto the stage to their right. Walking towards the microphone in the centre, she asked them who she should call for.
* * *
“The girls are getting together their group,” Damien told Carla. “ I don’t want them to see the girl’s body until I have talked to each of them, put her in another room, and I will take them in together to see the mark.”
He asked the Doctor if the body could be moved for a while, and after the man hesitated, he agreed. He watched as two of the other policemen put on gloves, and began to move the body. Looking past this sight, he saw the group of girls he had earlier sent away, walking towards him, accompanied by four he hadn’t seen before.
“In here,” he called across the remaining distance between them, indicating a spare classroom. He let the eight girls into it, then waited to catch Carla’s eye. When she saw him, he waved her over, and they entered the room as well, closing the door behind them.
The girls were all sitting on and at the desks, talking softly, or looking expectantly at the cops, who in turn looked curiously at them.
“Okay girls, this will work best if we all know each other. I'm Carla, this is Damien, and we are, as is per evident, exploring the death of your friend. As we have not contacted your parents, this will not be a proper questioning, though we do want to know if you can tell us anything,” Carla said quickly, glancing at her partner. “I'm going to go from this side of the room to that,” she pointed left to right, “If you could say your names in turn…”
“Yasmine Zhang.” Carla nodded.
“Lucy Williams,” said the girl next to her with rather long, light brown hair.
“Ummm,” said the next girl, “Mia Cowell.”
“Rebecca Moore,” The brunette sitting next to her said slowly.
“Aleisha,” said the next, without adding a last name.
“Jo.”
“Celia Mathews.”
“Valerie Hughes,” said the last, a girl in shorts instead of the skirt, and with blonde hair.
“Alright, now first up, we are gonna ask you some questions as a group, then some individually,” Damien said. “First off we’ll start easy. Did your friend have any enemies, or people who disliked her or her family that you know of?”
“Are you like, allowed to question us?” Aleisha said almost immediately. The other girls looked at her, before Yasmine joined in:
“Yeah, don’t our parents need to give consent?”
Carla looked at Damien.
“We’ve worked that out already, don’t worry. Back to the question, was there anyone that disliked her?”
The girls all looked at each other, and then shook there heads, one by one. Each murmured “no I don’t think so”, or something like it.
“Right,” Carla continued. “And has anything odd been happening with her recently?”
Again, nobody answered sufficiently. Damien sighed, “Okay, we’re gonna have to do this individually. Blondie, come with me.”
Prologue
Heavy breaths and loud footsteps told her that someone was coming up behind her. The girl paused at the window, and peered through it into the gloom, as a shadow fell over her. She realised that she had been holding her breath and quickly caught it again. Turning to the person casting the shadow, she said:
“Yasmine, don’t do...” She gasped. “Yasmine?”
“Yasmine, don’t do...” She gasped. “Yasmine?”
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