Feared ~ The Second Arising

Chapter 2

Chapter 2

My hands were shaking as I walked up to Mr. Barkley. His giant frame made me look like a tiny person. A very tiny person.

"Yes, Rachelle?" He bellowed. I flinched a little.

"Um, I-have you seen Ella today?"

"No, sorry I haven't. For days actually. I hope she's not skipping. It's not like her to skip..."

I walked away, playing with my fingers. I hope Ella wasn't dead. I was praying she was somewhere, safe. I missed so her much. I felt an arm sling around my shoulder and someone else's warm skin on my neck.

"Hello, Leelee!" I forced her off me.

"My name's not 'Leelee'; Its Rachelle!"

"I never said it was your name, Its your nickname! I-"

"What do you want?"

"What are you doing?"

"I can't say hi to my best friend?"

"We have only known each other for a week."

"I didn't know you were counting..." I started walking away from her.

"Bye, Jen." I shook my head and headed off towards Ella's house.

"Can I tag along?"

"No." Rachelle's thought went back to Ella. Where is that girl? She should be back to school by now... Rachelle also thought about her friendship with Jen. They were fine, but the brunette talked so much, unlike her raven-haired friend who was gone for the moment. Jen surely wasn't a replacement for Ella!

*    *    *

Her house looked the same as it was before, except there was yellow 'Do Not Cross' tape over the front door. Looking to see if anyone was around, I ducked my head under and walked inside. The blood stains were dull on the carpet and everything else looked in order as if nothing happened. There had to be some evidence to Ella's disappearance. I checked, but nothing so far, not even a letter. I heard footsteps and froze.

"Hey, Is anyone still in here?" A woman yelled. I started to escape, but tripped and fell. The woman came closer and saw me sprawled out on the carpet. She stepped back in surprise.

"What are you doing here young lady?" She asked.

"I was looking for my friend until you got here." Her face dropped and she looked sullen.

"Ella's dead, honey." I blinked.

"What? How-"

"I'm sorry. We just figured she was killed too like some boy named Jason." I sat down.

"No, Ella said she'd leave after-" I stopped myself from telling the whole truth."-After Jason was killed."

"Do you know who the killer is?" She asked excitedly. I frowned and thought hard, then smiled.

"Yes, yes I do actually. But I forget his name. He's a teacher at the public school down the street. He's really tall, stern, mean-looking, and his wife died a few months ago." The woman was grinning. "His name was...was...."

"Mr. Barkley, is that who you're talking about?"

"Oh, yes! That's him." She looked perplexed.

"But how is that possible?" I smirked.

"Its all obvious, really. When he found out about his wife's death, he went crazy and tried to kill whoever killed his wife. So, he just killed the wrong person, that's all." The woman was scribbling away in her notepad.

"And how do you know that, may I ask?"

"Oh, I just heard it from someone. I'm not really sure."

"Could you say that at the testimony? I'm pretty sure you'll be a big help. By the way, my name's Ms. Anthony. Nice to meet you." We shook hands and I smiled, walking off. One for Rachelle, zero for Mr. Barkley.