The Dead Crime (Draft)

Chapter#11

Ethan had started to think that he had no choice now but to stalk Camille and fill up his curiosity. He stared at her during the classes and then followed her out during the lunch break and then at the home time.
He walked with his friend, Joseph. His strange behaviour had made his friend build a suspicion on him.

"Do you like her? Want my help?" He asked looking at his greyish green eyes which were glued on Camille standing at a distance.

"What? Like who-"

"It's so obvious, idiot. You've been looking at her all day long." Joseph stated, then suddenly added, "why do you even like her, there are many better girls."

"Who says I like her, and what's wrong with her? She looks fine to me."

"You're so in love. Jeez, what do I do with you." He mumbled to himself and walked away knowing that Ethan would be busy stalking his crush.

There Camille stood staring at her little sister giggling with her friends. She heard them talking about some strange forest where people had witnessed horrible things,

"I really want to go check out what's really there. Did you know they found human blood in the forest, but never found a dead body. Everyone thinks there's a monster in there" One of her friends spoke.

"Why would you go there. What if something happens to us." Emily trembled

"Oh come on, don't be a scaredy cat. It'll be fun."

"I still don't feel happy about it..." Emily replied with a soft tone that drowned into her throat.

"Oh please Emily, I promise it's gonna be fine."

Camille slowly started following them as they moved forward almost dragging Emily with them. Emily wasn't very adventurous, she didn't like scary and terrible things but also she didn't like the thought of being called a coward and no fun so she tried not to resist her friends pulling her by the arm. Their heart warming laughs and sweet smiles put fire on Camille's heart making her irritated and furious.

While she was following her sister, she didn't notice Ethan following her behind. He also had no idea that Camille was following someone, he thought she was headed on her way home because of course that's where you'd go after school. But he had other thoughts too, because of her suspicious nature he had assumed many weird things about her including the mystery of where she goes after school. 'It could be that she goes home but maybe her home is a mysterious place?' he had thought. To solve this mystery he had decided to risk his life and follow this miss mysterious he had suddenly started to have feelings for without even knowing. In his mind Camille was a scary mystery. She would go through a quiet alley into the hidden hideout of some gruesome, gloomy looking gangsters, changing into her gangster look, a tacky looking leather jacket and high boots. Then she'd jump on a bike and speed across the streets to solve some mysterious missions, perhaps some thug fight, or something even more complicated.

After a long while they all were in a forest, surrounded by tall pine trees and thorny bushes along the sides. They walked straight ahead on a dusty path which was created by cutting all the grass and bushes to the side. There were loud noises of crows flying above them as one of the girl stepped on a dry branch. At the same time there was a scream heard in the deep forest and all the girls panicked.
             
                             *  *  *

Diana was walking around the lounge worried sick about her little girl who hadn't arrived home yet. Camille had came before her and was sitting in her study, sweat lined on her temple and hands trembling. After taking two rounds around the couch in the living room she ran up to Camille's room for the second time making her flinch as she suddenly opened the door and barged inside standing by her with her arms folded,

"Are you really sure you don't know where your sister is?"

"Yes. I didn't see her on my way home from school." She lied, but she didn't seem too perfect at it by the way her breath cracked while she spoke. Diana raised her brows observing her in a moment of silence. Then she walked out of her room. Camille's breath of relief hadn't finished when she came in again and exclaimed, "If anything happens to her....I swear..." She gritted her teeth together to avoid saying what she had in her mind, 'I swear I'll kill you.' she wasn't sure where this hatred for Camille had made way into her heart but it wasn't a good thing to keep, she had told herself at the moment and sighed exhaustedly leaving the room after slamming the door with a loud bang. Camille's heart started racing, she bit her lips thinking what she should do now, as if she was guilty of something.
A while later she heard Diana's cry of relief as she lept towards Emily spreading her arms around her. Camille forced herself to go outside wiping off her sweat from her forehead and stood at a distance looking at Emily sobbing in her mother's arm. She was quivering with fear and cold, all wet from head to toe.  One of her foot was bare and covered in scratches and the shoe in her other foot was torn showing how she had ran around with a desperate will to live until she had found her way home.
Her face and clothes had black spots caused by smoke and the way she breathed seemed like she had escaped from fire.

"Oh my poor Emily, what happened to you!?" She patted her back trying to calm her down but the shock must have been great. During that time Kevin also emerged at the scene from his bedroom after hearing the cries and sobs and watched them from a distance just like Camille.

"What happened, you can tell me dear. Who did this to you?" Diana asked wiping her tears with her thumb. First Emily caught sight of Kevin standing in front, a terrifying grin pinned on his face. Her face went paler than it already was. She grabbed her mother's arm tightly almost stabbing her nails through her cotton sleeves into her skin. She turned her face towards Camille, horror seizing her expression that Diana noticed and moved her gaze towards Camille. She stood still, two pair of eyes looking at her, one with horror and the other slightly turning to rage.
"Was it her? Did Camille do this to you?" She asked her holding her shoulders and looking into her dread filled eyes. Emily tried to nod and suddenly started weeping digging her face into her mother's chest.
She hugged her little girl tightly glaring at Camille with anger boiling her blood in her veins. She then let go of Emily's grip and stromed towards Camille pulling her hair and throwing him towards the wall.

"How can you even...think of doing such a thing? How dare you. And then on top of that you lie!!"

"It wasn't me. I did nothing to her." Camille raised her arms to protect herself from the slap she was about throw over her white face. Instead she grabbed her shoulder and dragged her inside a room throwing her on the floor,

"So you're saying that my daughter is lying?"

"What if she is? I really didn't do anything to her."

Diana filled with rage, she closed the door shut and locked it from inside making Emily who was standing outside rush towards the door and bang her hands on it crying out,

"Mom, don't do it....mom!!"

She wasn't sure if she was afraid that her mom would kill Camille or she was scared of her father who stood still and wasn't doing anything to cool the situation.