Questions

Chapter 2

        Ren opened the door to her house, slammed it shut with her foot, then collapsed onto her worn cream colored couch with a groan. The headaches were acting up again, scattering her mind with their constant pounding. She had been taking aspirin, but it did little to relive the agony playing in her skull. No comfort came from sleep either as she had been plagued with horrible nightmares as of late. She could never remember them though, and the only clue she had to knowing she had had one was jolting awake drenched in cold sweat and a heavy sense of fear and dread.

As Ren sat there, head slumped on a squishy throw cushion, her mind wandered back to the events that took place over the last few hectic days.

        Ren had just entered the bustling police station to be questioned further. She watched the people milling around, some chatting with others, some drinking coffee, and some walking quickly delivering large piles of paperwork or phone calls. "Ren Alexandria?" A voice said. Ren turned. A female officer was walking up to her, heels clicking with each step. "Yes?" Ren asked. Pushing her glasses up the bridge of her nose the woman said, "Come with me." Ren obeyed, following the woman past busy offices and other various rooms to a door. When she opened it reveled a grey questioning room, where Bill and another man where waiting.

        "Hello, Ren was it?" The other man said, looking up from the desk he was sitting at to stare at Ren. He was old, older than Bill, looking to be in his late fifties or early sixties. His thin hair was grey and he had a soft look to him. But his eyes were sharp and intelligent, picking up every detail in the room and making Ren feel much like a rabbit cornered by a hawk. "My name is Detective Richard Harrison. I'm just going to ask you a few questions today. Why don't you have a seat, and we'll start." Ren took the seat across from him and Bill moved to stand nearby. She wished the room was a bit bigger, she was feeling a bit cramped. "So, Ren. How have you been lately?" Richard was speaking in a soft voice, his hands clasped in front of him, and he was maintaining eye contact, causing Ren to shift slightly in her chair, uncomfortable under his scrutinizing gaze. "I... I'm fine." Ren replied, her voice shaking slightly. "Everything has been... okay." She willed her voice to be stronger. "That's good. Officer Jones here," he said while motioning to Bill, "and Officer Smith told me that you were feeling a bit sick the other day. Would you mind explaining your symptoms to me?" "Umm..." Ren started to fidget a bit. Could he please stop staring? "I was feeling pretty dizzy, and I wanted to throw up." "Is that all?" "I think so, yeah. I... can't really remember much." "Yes, I've also been told that you suffered from some memory loss. Can you tell me all that you can remember, just to review." "I... woke up in a hospital. Then Geor- ... Officer Smith and Officer Jones came into the room and told me... what happened. Then they took me to a room, then asked me a lot of questions, the took me back, and... that's all I remember." "Yes, that would be correct. May I ask you something else?" It wasn't a question. "Do the names Gina Parker, Thomas Maurice, Helen Sanders, Frank Garcia, and Ian Philips mean anything to you?" Ren had no idea what he was talking about. I don't know these people! Who the hell are they?! Maybe I've seen them walking around town? "Umm... no? I've never seen these people before. Not that I can remember anyway..." "These," Richard said, his tone sounding a bit harsh to Ren, "Were the people who were found murdered in your home. While we did not find any of your fingerprints on them we did find a chainsaw near the scene with your fingerprints all over it. Care to explain?" Ren started fidgeting more, her eyes moving rapidly across the room, as if the walls had the right answer. "N-no... I don't know anything about that. I just keep that chainsaw in my shed for cutting tree branches if they get too big. I-I... I wouldn't..." Ren forced herself to look at the detective, a task made harder when she noticed how he staring at her more intensely than before. "I... I feel sick..." Richard continued looking at her for a moment, then he gestured to the door asking, "Would you like to step out to get some air? We're about done here anyway." Ren managed to get out a stuttered agreement then shakily rose from chair. "Officer Jones will accompany you." At this, Bill stood up too and opened the door with a small gesture as to say, "After you."

        The setting sun gave the sidewalk a warm glow as the trees shifted slightly in the slow breeze. It was a calming environment but Ren was far too stressed to appreciate the beauty in it. She was gripping the railing on the edge of the sidewalk overlooking a small river. The police station's parking lot wasn't crowded, a bit of a surprise after seeing how busy the station itself was. Ren took a few deep breaths, trying to rid herself of nausea, her thoughts going crazy. Am I sure it wasn't me who actually did murder those people. I... I can't remember anything... For all I know it could've been me. Oh my God I could have murdered all those people oh my God! N-no! It... it wasn't me, I'm sure. It could'nt have been me. I... I would never do that to innocent people. No... It wasn't me. Some sick monster put those people there. I'm just the scapegoat. It wasn't me. It wasn't me. As she did the best to convince herself of this, she noticed Bill lighting up a cigarette, a thankful distraction. She watched the small puffs of smoke gently float up then dissipate. "Ren." He said, breaking the silence. "Listen, I'm really sorry that this is happening to you... you seem like a nice kid. I don't think you did it, you were just at the wrong place at the wrong time, right?" Ren nodded furiously after a few seconds, too stunned to find her voice. "I need to give you something though." After digging around in his pockets, Bill handed something to Ren. "Here," he said pressing the item into her hand. Ren looked down. It was a scrap of paper with some numbers on it. "Call me if anything weird happens," Bill said to Ren, his grey eyes hard and serious. "I'll pick up." And with that he walked back inside the police station, leaving Ren alone with a piece of paper and her thoughts.

        Without warning, knocking came from the front door, interrupting Ren's daydream with a bang.