Wings

You Betrayed Me

"My name is Isabelle Johnson, and I have evidence that Chase Roberts is innocent." I announced as loudly as I could. The judge peered at me over half-moon spectacles.

"You're human, then?" He asked calmly. I swallowed hard and nodded.

"Yes, sir." I answered evenly.

"Has it been explained to you the consequences of what should happen if you help Mr. Roberts and then he is found guilty?" He demanded. I looked him in the eye.

"I die." I replied. The judge watched me for a moment, but I refused to squirm under his scrutiny. He suddenly nodded.

"Proceed, human." He told me. I carefully took a deep breath and my eyes found Chase's. He looked angry. They had removed whatever had been gagging him and his wrist bindings. I stepped forward to stand beside him.

"It was last night that I overheard a conversation between Chris Roberts, Chase's brother, and an unknown person on his cell phone. And if you'll allow me, I would like to show you something that I later discovered on the phone used to make that call." I explained as quickly as I could. The judge narrowed his eyes, but nodded. I pulled Chris' stolen phone out of my pocket and took a deep breath. I carefully approached the judge and pulled up the texts that I had discovered. I held the phone up for the judge to see. He read the texts and I heard his breathing hitch slightly.

"Have you discovered the identity of this mystery number?" The judge asked skeptically. I gave him a sly smile.

"May I ask, do human technologies work here on Zarth?" I retorted. The judge chuckled.

"Yes, they do." He answered. I took a deep breath. I looked down at the phone and quickly navigated to the call screen. I quickly pressed the call button and put the phone on speaker.

"Whoever this was, their phone should be ringing and they should be picking up right about now." I told the judge. He nodded and the courtroom became silent. Suddenly, the first few chords of 'Sweet Home Alabama' began to play from somewhere in the courtroom. I turned and realized in horror that it was coming from Andi's pocket. She connected eyes with me and then turned, bolting for the door. Instantly, two guards descended upon her and grabbed her by the arms. Horror and disgust were the two emotions that washed like a wave over me. Andi was the one who did this? Andi began kicking and screaming as the guards yanked her back to the front of the courtroom. She was forced into a chair and her wrists were clamped down with manacles.

"I knew it had been a mistake to trust Chris to work with me on this!" She was screaming at me, glaring around. She suddenly seemed completely different to me. She was no longer the beautiful girl who I had trusted. She was now a raving, red-faced creature who was willing to kill the love of my life. My heart beat loudly in my ears as I stared. The soldiers were trying to restrain her as she yanked and pulled against her bonds, but she wasn't going anywhere. The crowd in the courtroom had dissolved into chaos again and the judge was yelling for order. Slowly, my feet brought me towards the chair, staring at Andi's face. She had once been so amazing in my eyes. When I reached her, I just stood there, so enraged that I couldn't manage words.

"You know, if Chris had deleted those messages, your little boyfriend would be dead right now. And I would be long gone, all the way in California by now. The only reason I stayed was because I was hoping that your evidence was faked. It would've been poetic justice to see you die, trying to save him. Chris was so eager to let me kill that girl to get you back. He would've done anything to get your attention. And you only cared about him." She spat, glaring at Chase. Before I realized what I was doing, my hand lashed out and slapped her across the face. I saw the soldiers tense, and the courtroom fell quiet.

"You betrayed Chase. You betrayed me. Why did you want him dead?" I asked, my voice barely above a whisper. I could feel my rage boiling just below the surface, but I refused to show it to her.

"I was his best friend! Do you really think I was going to let you steal him away from me? I didn't want to lose him to a human like you! You didn't deserve to have him! And I tried to get rid of you, but the Empire State Building was a bust, so I decided to take my plans to Chris. We both decided that instead of fearing for the fact that we were gonna lose the people we cared the most about, we decided to just get rid of them!" She cackled maniacally, and I stared at her in shock.

"Excuse me, Ms. Johnson. I do have a request to make. To authenticate the evidence we have found, it has been requested by our leader that you show him your memories. Would you be willing to do this?" Someone asked me. I turned and looked at the woman who had asked. I took a deep breath.

"More than willing." I answered sharply. She nodded and motioned to the soldiers. They began to drag Andi off of the chair, and away. One of the extra soldiers untied Chase's bonds and he rushed to me, wrapping me in a tight embrace.

"What were you thinking, coming here?" He asked softly. I pressed my hands against his back.

"I knew I could save you." I told him gently. I felt our hearts beating together in our chests and I was dissolving into tears.

"Please, Miss." I heard the woman command politely. I took a deep breath and pulled away.

"I'm coming." I told her as I turned to follow her. She led me to a door that was just behind where the judge had been sitting and opened it for me. I stepped inside and saw that it was what looked like an interrogation room. Except, there was a man already inside. He was old, with silvery white hair and wrinkled features. He had ice blue eyes and his hair grew long, mingling in with his white beard. He watched me with keen eyes as I moved to sit across from him at a table in the centre of the room. I was nervous. I knew he was observing everything I did. The woman gave a short bow to the man and then scurried out of the room. I looked up at the man and met his stare.