Feared (Volume 3)

9- The Red Herring

Liam had gotten up for school and was finished getting ready. He walked out of his house, only eating a single piece toast before leaving. He was walking to school until he felt his foot step on a piece of paper, he looked down confused. And saw a missing persons poster that had 2 people on it, a female and a male. The mans name was ' Jaxon Smith' and the female was 'Heather Smith' but they both looked... oddly familiar, he picked the poster up to get a closer look at their faces, and it suddenly clicked. Those were the 2 missing people that Luttons had abducted on camera.

His breathing started to speed up as he had realized it. But he heard his phone chime and he looked at the message. It was from an unknown number, they had sent a video and he reluctantly opened it. It was a video of him stepping onto the missing persons poster, the video was around 3 seconds long and it made him feel uneasy, he looked around trying to see who was stalking him, but his nerves were getting the better of him. He simply continued walking to school but much faster than before.

Adalyn had arrived to school and had noticed that everyone was outside. But simply in a line, she had gotten out of her car and wanted to see what everyone was lined up for.

She got in line and noticed that Sophia was in front of her, she tapped Sophias shoulder and she looked backed confused and Adalyn asked her confused

"What is for?"

"Dna testing." Sophia replied as if it were a normal day. Adalyn had thought to herself and wondered... why? Did they find something can could link to the killer? But in almost no time at all, it was already her turn. The DNA testing was quick and they just swabbed the gums for... well... DNA. She approached the check point and opened her mouth and she felt a swab go in, it felt uncomfortable but she knew it was for a good cause, and after a few seconds, she was allowed to enter the school, and she greeted all of her friends.

2 days had past since then and nothing notable had really happened, the towns annual fair had opened up, and Adalyn had always wanted to go there. She figured she would go tomorrow to get her mind off of things, even though nothing notable had happened.

Time had flew by that day and it was already 3rd period. Adalyn was having a conversation with Sophia as usual, but the whole class was interrupted when the door slowly opened, and the principal and 2 police men entered the class. Everyone was notably confused and slightly scared, and Sophia muttered underfed her breath "shit." Adalyn had turned to her and said

"What?" In a confused tone.

"They're preforming a bag check." Sophia said quickly, she reached into her bag sneakily and took out a pair of cigarettes that she had hidden in her back and placed it in her back pocket and she untucked her shirt as to obscure it better.

The police men turned around to room and their eyes feel onto James. the 2 officers and the principal looked at each other and whispered something to each other, they eventually agreed on something and nodded their heads and the principal exclaimed
"Mr. Travis please come with us." And James has looked up, notable confused and scared. He hesitated, but he packed up his stuff and put his backpack on and followed them out of the class.

The class fell silent for a second and then the teacher started to teach again. Adalyn and Sophia looked at each other, both confused and questioning what just happened.

Adalyn was in her 4th period and had asked to use the bathroom, she took the pass and was walking through the hallways and she saw Emma, she greeted her and they walked together and used the bathroom, Adalyn was walking her back to class and they walked pass the office. Until something caught both of their attention.

"Mr. Travis you cannot possibly say you haven't done this! Your DNA matches this hair strand!" Officer Hudson exclaimed. Both Adalyn and Emma looked at each other and Emma said quietly

"I fucking knew it."

Adalyn looked at her in a confused way, but they both went back to eves dropping on the conversation.

"I would never do this! Please. You have to believe me!" James exclaimed, trying to make them understand.
"We have the DNA results right here! You cannot deny anything anymore." Officer Burk said in a tone suggesting that he was sure he was right.

They wanted to eves drop more, but Adalyns phone rang which sent the two of them into a panic.

"What was that?!" The principal exclaimed. Adalyn quickly denied the call and they both made a break for it, sprinting down the hallway. But they bumped into a security guard and they both gasped and turned to face him.

"What are you two doin'?" He asked in a confused yet unfriendly tone. They were both silent for a second, until Adalyn said, thinking quickly
"We were just using the restroom see." And she lifted up her bathroom pass to show the guard, the guard furrowed a brow and replied
"Alright. Hurry along now to class kiddos." And he walked off, keeping a close eye on them.

After lunch, the school had an emergency assembly and everyone on campus had to attend, the cafeteria was full of students and staff in almost no time and the principal was on the stage and was waiting for everyone to settle down, once everyone's attention was on her, she cleared her throat and started to speak into the microphone.

"So. Students, we understand recent events that have occurred here in this town and we understand that all of you are living in fear, however with the help of forensics officers and police officers, we can assure you that the identity of this killer has been identified, and is one of your classmates. For legal reasons we will not be stating their name, however we are here to inform you that the killer is caught and you guys don't have to live in fear anymore."

Everyone gasped, all except Emma and Adalyn who knew what the principal was talking about, but then. Everyone started cheering, as they were all happy that the killer was caught. Or so they thought.

Emma was walking out of school, until she heard a familiar voice call her.

"Emma!" Adalyn exclaimed happily.
"What's up?" Emma replied smiling. Adalyn fidgeted a bit and had asked her
"Do you want to go to the fair with me tomorrow? I can get both of us tickets to go! I never been there before and I want my first time to be with my best friend!"
Emma stood there for a second and looked at her, but then a smiled formed on her face and she said
"Of course!"

Kaja and Ioa were in the house making food, and they heard the door knock and they yelled 'come in!'

The door opened and 2 familiar voices could be heard coming from the hallway
"Guys, we need to talk." Emma said in a serious tone, the two of them looked at the girls and could tell just based off their expressions, something had happened.

"Wait so... let me get this straight." Ioa said confused
"So basically... one of your friends was framed for all the murders?"

"Yes!" Adalyn said in a desperate tone, but Emma still thought that James was the killer.

Adalyn turned to her and noticed Emma's face and she asked her

"What's up with you?"

Emma looked at her for a second and replied

"You seriously think he was framed? The evidence was right there."

Kaja looked at the both of them and said

"In our experience... Luttons could have easily framed him. It's definitely possible Emma."

Emma scoffed and crossed her arms, looking away from them. The three of them took notice of this, and they could assume that her and James had a sort of rivalry with each other.