Mind Wars

Chapter 4: Strike

I ran. I ran. Just running down the hall. The crash sounded like it came from the open field that’s right behind the dorm. I threw away any rational reasoning―if I had any―and continued, the wind making me feel like a model again with the way it’s making my hair fly. I quickly push other unimportant thoughts at the back of my head, now is not the time to think about that.

I quickly climb down the flight of stairs and soon reach the double doors that lead to the open field. I open them with a shove and with my breath short with all that running.

I skip a few steps forward to the two figures ahead of me that are standing frozen and staring ahead on at the scene in front of them.

Demeter was the first to turn around, when she saw me, her face was a mix of confusement and anger. “What are you doing here, Maryl?! You’re supposed to be asleep or watching Eva to make sure she doesn’t eat any midnight snacks!” She yelled at me. Ok, half-yelled at me.

To be honest, I don’t know myself. Cliché answer, I know. But before I knew it, I’m here. Curiosity and my feet brought me here. Can you blame me for being curious? “I― I… Ah… I don’t… I’m not…” I can’t even explain myself. How foolish must I look right now? No… I can’t handle this…

Before I can make a fool of myself even farther, the boy that was next to Demeter started screaming. He covered his mouth and looked away from the scene, even though we weren’t that far apart, I could see him trembling.

That was when I saw it.

In front of all of us, a body, just like I thought. The body was flat on the ground, it’s a girl and her skinny arms looked familiar. But what made my blood run cold, was the fact that her head was completely smashed in with a giant concrete something. I don’t know the real name but it’s one of those black and yellow things used to either block a road or separate a road. And it looked larger than the usual ones I see. Blood was spattered so much… so much… much more than Lekasha’s.

It was all too much… too horrible, who would do such a thing?

My heart was starting to race, and I started breathing heavily. It hurts, it hurts, and all this… it’s too much! Is this how I would end? Would I die at the hands of a killer? At least… I wouldn’t die… knowing my friends didn’t love me…

It was too much… so I think my brain said… “Sleep… you’ll have your answers tomorrow.”

……………….

It was bright. Too bright. So bright I can’t continue sleeping. I opened my eyes slowly and someone was looking at me with a worried face. That someone was Demeter… holding a book… as usual.

When she saw that I’m awake, she relaxed and even smiled. “Oh, good morning, Maryl. You picked the perfect time to wake up.” She said nonchalantly. “Trixie and Nhicola will come back. They just went to pick up some things.”

“What happened?” I rubbed my eyes to get the sleepiness away. I’m in the so-called “clinic.”

Demeter paused for a second. “You fainted after seeing the body last night.” I can tell by the tone that she’s trying to be as honest as possible without making it sound scary or make me freak out.

I have a lot of questions, but I ended up only saying “Oh… I see.” It was silent for a few seconds. Maybe I should ask for the question I need to know the answer to. “Who was it?”

Demeter’s smart enough what I mean. “Adie. Our Adie. They’re doing an investigation now since there were two deaths in only two days; they’re really taking it seriously. Now they’re inspecting us everywhere we go and they’re as strict as ever.” She said as she continued reading her book.