An Imposter Among Us

11: The Day I Realize the World is Against Me

Genesis (1st-person POV)

Pollux's being a culprit explained everything, but it explained nothing at the same time. Even though it was so obvious he was guilty, some things still didn't quite add up. But a confession is a confession. He was the killer. The quiet one, the whole time.

Of course, knowing that there were two Conclave members meant we still weren't safe.

Jericho insisted he and Calypso were still stuck in medbay. Though the doors were shut, that was one of the things that made me uneasy about Pollux.

"Captain," Zaniah said softly, reaching across the table to pat my hand. "What are we going to do with Light?"

Ceres huffed. "Eject him. We got a confession, and you're still hesitating?"

He flinched, and whipped his head towards Elara.

"Let her think," she said, though it looked more like she herself was in deep thought.

In a very un-captain-like way, I bit my knuckle as I paced back forth in the cafeteria. The eyes of my crewmates bore into me, expecting the perfect answer, the perfect way to get people to stop dying. Do I eject Pollux? Do I wait until I know for sure who is and who is not innocent and keep him isolated until then?

But Graham...I agreed to kill him, and for far less than what Pollux was on the line for. Why was I doing this to myself? Could I just not bring myself to believe that the timid, passive Pollux Light had been running around with a bloody utility knife?

"Captain Duri," Ceres pressed. "You know Light is guilty."

"Stop it, will you?" I snapped. "Maybe for all I know, you're the killer."

That shut him up. I tried not to think too much of it and instead kept thinking. Debating. Chastising myself for being such a coward. Finally I decided to cut to the chase.

"Pollux." From the opposite end of the table, he jumped, his body shaking and his eyes leaking tears. I shut out the stares of Ceres and Zaniah as I knelt on one of the seats and waited for him to make eye contact. "Can you prove your innocence?"

He wrapped his arms around himself, withering under everyone's scrutiny. Finally, he looked over my left shoulder.

"No, don't look over there," I said, quickly shooting a glance myself to find Ceres glowering at the table. "Look at me. Are you innocent?"

Light's body heaved with a sob. I ignored my heart as it shattered into a million pieces. He thought—no, knew—he was going to die today.

"Pollux," I said. "Come on, if you even think there's a way, say so. Yes, I ejected Graham, but I made a mistake that night. A huge one. I won't send you out there unless you're the killer, and if you aren't, I will protect you from them, okay? I won't keep making the same mistakes."

Zaniah put a hand on my shoulder. "Genesis—"

"Give him a chance," I said, shrugging it off. "I'm going to ask you one more time: are you the killer or not?"

The accused clenched and unclenched his shaking fists on the table. He bit his lip. Took a deep breath. Hardened.

"No. No, I'm not."

An invisible million or so pounds slid off my shoulders. "Alright. You have twenty-four hours to prove it, and you will be under constant supervision by all four of us until then."

"I still have tasks," Elara noted.

"Oh, do you?" I dug my fist into the table. It was impossible to watch Pollux, find Jericho and Calypso, and watch everyone else without leaving up to three people by themselves. We needed to divide and conquer, but with only five of us here—up to two of which could (but probably not) be the killers—we needed to stick together.