The Degenerates - Under Edit

s e v e n

Neijla left Lila and Sasha back at the dorms once they had established the retracing of Brad's steps the last time they saw him. Once Neijla mentally decided she was going to ask Trey about Brad's whereabouts the night of the party, she didn't have the energy to continue arguing with Sasha. There was beginning to be a cycle of how Neijla would mention Trey, Sasha would disapprove, and when Neijla started asking questions, Sasha avoided the topic and turned her nose up.

Neijla had plenty of experience with girls like that back home, so she didn't bother entertaining it here in Alsbury.

Neijla wandered off campus to explore the main street in Alsbury whilst she figured out how to involve Trey with her amateur investigation. The rain hadn't started again since the early morning, and she was grateful for a small window of dry, despite the ankles of her jeans becoming sodden.

She passed a concrete pavilion with sandstone pillars, and thought it was quite charming, but it had caution tape around it, and she noticed it was probably under maintenance.

Neijla thought of Trey again. Maybe she'd send him a message to meet up, or, just leave him a text asking for information. That way she didn't have to near him, and that'd get Sasha off her back. Her comments were certainly a warning, however. Trey was 'born' bad? What did that mean? Unless he was a freak designer baby with some sort of evil imprinted into his DNA, how was Neijla to know any different?

Was it because he wore dark clothes, lurked away from the crowd, and had tattoos? Maybe, Sasha knew about Trey's trouble with police. He never really said what the reason for his arrest was, and this made her think: was there really a possibility that Trey could have had something to do with it? What was his actual relationship with not just James, but with Brad too? Neijla narrowed her eyes at the thought, but what was his true relationship with Theo?

Theo. Was he the dark streak in Trey's history that is so dangerous?

If Trey, and or Theo, had something to do with James's death, why would Trey lead Neijla straight to the body?

Inside, she knew, she didn't want to believe that could have.

Pushing her thoughts away, Neijla came across the public library, where she was instantly reminded of Brad and James. Maybe she could do some digging, find their history, and perhaps will give her an idea on who they were.

What was he looking for at the dorm?

She now knew that it wasn't Brad, so obviously James wasn't looking for Lila. Unless he was... But why? Perhaps he was looking in her bed for Brad, because maybe he really did never come home. So why did James end up dead later that afternoon?

The library sat tall and old, built of concrete and stone. A large stone archway covered the staircase as she stepped up inside. She let herself into the library by heaving the giant oak door open, creaking slowly as it swung on its old hinges. Once inside, she briefly wondered which era she had walked into. The library ceiling loomed overhead, deep brown oak support beams meeting in the middle of the roof. It was eerily quiet inside, the sound of her footsteps echoed as she walked along the greenish stone floor.

"Lucy?" someone called, and her heart skipped a beat.

"Lucy, come back this way." the voice called again, echoing around her as if the owner was coming closer.

Neijla stopped walking and twirled around, finding a small child, maybe the age of 6, wandering quietly after her.

"Sorry, dear," the voice belonged to an elderly lady who appeared to be the librarian, "she likes to wander off."

Neijla's eyes flit down to the small child, she had silvery blonde hair like Lila, but had been parted into small pigtails. "That's okay," she said, "I didn't even notice her."