Nethania

Chapter 16: Mutual Feelings

AUSTIN

I INSERTED my hands into my pockets and leaned against the post while watching the masked Campus Police put a yellow plastic strip with the words 'POLICE LINE DO NOT CROSS' around the fresh crime scene that just happened last night.

Mr. Hilles was still nailed to the wall and its putrid, rotten smell was hovering around the area. Good thing I was at a distance, so the odor wasn't too strong.

Nosy students were flocking around the place. Alexandra, Jeromy and some of my classmates were present in the crowd too. Some members of the Campus Police tried to shoo the people away, but they kept coming and wanted to see the scene.

"Tin, I tried to find you, and you were just here, standing and watching the horrible scene." Nico asked me a question. Yeah, I left him in the dormitory without any word because I was so eager to see the scene.

"My bad. I left you in the dorm," I replied without turning to him.

"So this means, we have no class in Mr. Hilles' subject?" he exclaimed like he just realized something amazing.

"Don't celebrate, Nic. You have no idea what kind of teacher will replace him," I answered, "Maybe the new teacher is much scarier than him."

"Oh, well." He sighed. "I'll just stand here and wait for you until you leave this place."

I ignored Nico and focused on what was inside my mind right now. I saw the killer last night, but it was just his clothes that I saw. I wasn't sure if he was wearing a skirt or pants. It was dark and only Avia's flashlight was giving light to the area, but unfortunately, it didn't flash directly at the killer. I wanted to ask Avia, but until now she had been asleep since I brought her to her dormitory.

*

I was staring at my notes when my phone rang. I grabbed it immediately when I saw Avia's name flashed on the screen. I answered it in a second and all I could hear was the noise made by the blowing wind.

"Hello? Avia?"

[You don't know me? We used to be playmates!

[What? I don't have a killer playmate!]

[Yes you have!]

[No!]

[Oh, well... your choice.]

[Why are you doing this? Why here in the rear part of Dorm 1F?]

"Avia is confronting the killer right now!" I gasped and jumped off the couch and ran toward the door.

"Nico! I have to go now!" I shouted but he didn't respond. I shrugged and closed the door. I had to run as fast as I could.

She was in danger and the killer would never ever think twice to kill her. I needed to hurry or else I would be meeting the breathless body of Avia on the ground. I dashed down the stairs and raced along the pavement. Our dorm was quite far from their dorm, so I had to rush!

I saw their building and had a quick turn, heading to the rear part, and lo and behold, I saw two shadowy figures who were wrestling on the ground. I stopped and panted, wiping off the sweat and inhaling deeply.

"Hey! Let go of her!" I shouted that made the killer stop from doing what he was planning to do.

The killer ducked and stood. Leaving Avia behind, I ran away from the place. I thought of following him, but he disappeared in the darkness.

I rushed to Avia and turned her over, placing her head on my lap. She was mouthing some words but no voice came out. She wasn't moving.

I slapped her cheeks gently. "Avia! Avia! Wake up!" I said, trying to return her consciousness but no to avail.

I cringed when I smelled a rotten odor coming behind me. I picked up her phone and pointed it directly to the wall. I saw Mr. Hilles was pinned on the wall. I shook my head. This ain't happening right now.

Since I had no time to ponder things about the killer and the victim, I carried Avia in my arms in a bridal style and rushed to the building. I knocked on their door and Hilary faced me.

"What happened to her?" she asked, her mouth gaping.

I went inside and laid her on the couch. That was the time when I realized that she had a cut in her arm and it was bleeding bad. I'd been questioning myself earlier why there was something gooey streaming down my skin when there was no mud present on the ground. And the answer was right in front of me, it was Avia's blood.

"Do you have a first aid kit?" I asked, holding her arm up in the air.

"O-Of course!" Hilary said, running toward a room and when she got out, she was holding a red box and gave it to me.

"What happened?" she queried, standing behind the couch. "Why don't we bring her to the clinic?"

"We can't," I declined, cleaning Avia's wound. "We shouldn't go there."

"And why?"

"Because—"

"Austin? Why are you here?" I wasn't able to continue my statement when Hannah blurted out. She walked to our spot and she gasped when she saw Avia laying on the couch.

"What happened to her?"

I unfolded the strip of bandage and wrapped it around the wound and secured it. I cleaned up my mess and put everything back in the kit and gave it to Hilary.

"Here's what happened, ladies. But you have to keep quiet until tomorrow. It's already late and we don't want any ruckus to happen in the middle of the night, right?"

"What is it?" Hannah asked, widening her eyes.

"At the rear part of your dormitory, someone was killed, and you will be shocked once you know who it was."

"Who?"

"Mr. Hilles."

*

"Where have you been last night?" I asked, breaking the silence between us.

Nico jerked his head at me and stared. I wasn't looking at him but he was absolutely clear in my peripheral vision.

"Uhm... In the bathroom, doing my bathing routine while listening to music? Why?" he answered, scratching his neck.

"I guess you went out."

Mr. Hilles' body was finally unnailed from the wall. They put him in a body bag and zipped it close. The students gradually flowed away from the area. The only students left were Alexandra, Jeromy, me, Nico, and Avia's friends.

I walked toward them and Nico followed.

"So what is the Campus Police's opinion about this?" I asked when I joined their circle.

They all looked at me. "Officer Suarez didn't say their findings, and they weren't even sure about their conclusion. They would consider another investigation into the case," Alexandra answered.

I nodded. Another investigation? Actually, they were already loaded with investigations; from Margaret's case to Tyrone's and then of Mr. Hilles'."

"What?" Vino bellowed. "Another investigation? How many investigations would it take to solve a case? The population of Alviana Academy is now decreasing—"

"Don't overreact, Vino," Hannah interjected Vino's statement while glancing at her nails. "Only three people died. It can't affect the numbers critically."

Vino glared at her. "But it's still affecting, Hannah."

I sighed. "It depends on the complexity of the case, Vino. "They will have difficulty finding solid answers and conclusions because the murders have no identified killer and have scarce evidence," I said, drawing their attention.

Vino began playing the yellow plastic strip beside him with his hand.

"Yeah, Office Suarez and his colleagues didn't find any clues that could point out a particular suspect. The crime was clean and the killer made sure that no traces would be left behind," Alexandra added, tossing her hair backwards.

"No crime is perfect, Alexandra," I said, glancing at her.

Her eyes narrowed and faced me. "What? Did I say this crime is perfect, Austin? I was just amazed at how clean the crime was," she snapped, folding her arms across her chest.

Hmm... was this the first time she saw a crime that was almost perfect? If I were to ask, I would say this wasn't near to perfection. That killer just did the murder with no tools involved and only used one weapon.

The weapon that lacerated Avia's flesh.

"Gosh!" We all stared at Jeromy, who was hugging his clipboard. He's been taking notes earlier. "I have so many headlines to write! I'll go first, fellas!" He bade farewell to us and walked away.

"It's not possible that the killer didn't drop any clues here," I muttered, looking around the crime scene. What am I supposed to see here? The place was covered with dried leaves, and you'd need a rake or a stick to sweep away the leaves in order to search for something on the ground.

"What should he drop?" Vino asked, touching her chin. "His clothes? Weapons?"

Why would he drop those? Even rapists who tend to kill their victims wear clothes before escaping. Yet, sometimes there were suspects who left their personal belongings, which are considered as evidences, out of rush.

Alexandra began roaming her eyes above the dorm, trees and posts. "What about checking the cameras?" she suggested, then looked at us.

"Cameras here aren't functioning, remember?" Hannah answered with a raised eyebrow. "We already sent a complaint to the administration, but until now, no one came to fix those cameras."

Alexandra clicked her tongue. "That was the strong evidence we could ever have now if they were only functioning. How unfortunate that those freaking mechanical eyes didn't have any contribution?" she snarled, stomping her foot on the ground and strode away from us. "Let's go! The class is about to start!" she announced, without turning to us.

We started walking, but before I could step my foot, I turned back to the area, glancing at it for the last time. Nico held my shoulders and pushed me to walk along with them.

"Austin, I would like to thank you for saving Avia last night," I looked at the guy who was speaking beside me. He was combing his hair with his fingers and was looking aloof.

I smiled. "Yeah, Avia's my friend. I would do anything to help her," I replied.

After that, no more words came out. We were striding down the pavement until we stopped in the middle of the way.

I stared at Nico. "Hey, stop!" I said, holding his arm and pulling him to stop walking. He was absorbed in his phone and didn't even notice that we had already halted.

"What? Why'd we stop?" he asked, turning his phone off and pocketing it.

"I don't know too. But I'll try to know what's going on."

I pushed myself into the crowd and I saw Ms. Nichole in front of us. We were heading to our temporary classroom when she blocked our way.

"I'm sorry, students. The room where you are temporarily having your class is no longer available for you to use. The grade seven class had a little bit of trouble during their field trip and they will return tomorrow."

"But where we will have our class, Ma'am?" Alexandra asked.

"In your original classroom."

Everybody gasped and murmured about what they heard from Ms. Nichole. All the faces frowned, and some of them slouched their shoulders.

"But—"

"But don't you worry," she cut off Alex's words. "The maintenance staff are cleaning your classroom right now. The investigation is through and they need no more of your classroom. In just a few minutes, they are finished. Perhaps you can go there and wait until they are through. I'll take my leave." She turned her body toward us and walked away.

When she was out of earshot. Alexandra faced us with lips curved downwards and arms folding across her chest.

"What the freak? Is she serious?" she bursted out. "The nightmare that happened there is still fresh and those who have seen the scene before might remember the situation again." She rolled her eyes.

Well, it was fine with me. Since I was used to watching horror and gore movies with my friends, I have high tolerance in brutal scenes. Sometimes my family watched several bloody movies.

"The picture in my head was still vivid and if I go back there, the memories will come back and will freak my soul out!" Hannah exclaimed, placing her hands on her hips.

"We have no choice but to go back there," Jamsen spoke, disregarding our classmates' plea of not going back there. "Perhaps pretend that no murder had happened and let go of the past events. Sooner or later, we will get used to it."

"Yeah," Hannah agreed sarcastically and faced him. "Until we get familiar with the killings that target us one by one." She spun around and made her way out of the crowd.

"Hannah! Wait!" the guy beside me shouted, leaving me behind and following Hannah along.

Oh, crap. My best friend just left me for another girl. Is this his retaliation for leaving him alone in the dorm earlier? I sighed. I'm all alone now.

"Guys, you may go wherever you want. I'll just notify you about our classroom status through our group chat. Off you go," Alexandra declared.

Where should I go now? Of course, in the library. I'm going to study my notes for our upcoming lessons.

"Austin, wanna join us?" Vino and Jamsen approached me.

"That would be great, but I have to go to the library to borrow some books," I reasoned out.

"You know how I hate the library, Dude. Okay, see you around!" They bade farewell and walked away.

I turned to the opposite direction and began walking. I heard my phone ring, so I took it out and I saw Avia's name flashing on the screen.

"Hello, Avia?" I said when I answered her call.

[Where are you Austin?]

"In front of our temporary classroom."

[Can we talk?]

"Sure! Where do you want to go?"

[In the Elite Chamber. We have something to talk about.]

"Okay, I'll wait for you there."

The idea of going to the library vanished. After a few minutes of walking, I reached the chamber and got inside. I wonder what are we going to talk about? Is it about the last night's event? Or our past? Nah, It's awkward to think that we were talking about our past.

I settled in the right corner, where there were no students gathering around me. I had a feeling we were going to talk about some kind of confidential files that only the two of us should be aware of.

"Over here!" I called her when I saw her enter the chamber.

I smiled when she reached our table. "Hi," she greeted.

"How was your feeling?" I asked and dragged out a seat for her.

She sat down and I went back to my spot. "Still weak but I can manage anyway, and my arm still hurts."

"The cut was deep, I presume. But it will heal anyway after a long time. So, what are we going to talk about?" I asked, interlacing my fingers on the table.

"About the killer last night," she began, "And of course I want to tell you what I knew. I've a feeling that you are experiencing what I'm going through."

"Okay, I got you," I replied. "Perhaps only the two of us are experiencing mutual feelings about the situation. So, where do we start?"

"Here, I made a list." She took out a notebook from her bag and opened it. "The mysterious pen. The headline, The ghost, and The killer. We'll talk about each of the topics here and you will tell me everything you know and I'll do the same."

"Okay."

She sighed. "So let's begin. The pen." She encircled the word pen in her notebook. "Remember I asked you about a bloody pen when you brought me from the abandoned room?" she asked.

I nodded. "Yeah."

She leaned closer to me. "It was the same pen we saw in the classroom when we found it chaotic that morning. It was laying in the pool of blood."

"Uh-huh, I remembered it, and?"

"And I think it was connected with this headline."

My brows furrowed. "What headline?" I asked.

"Here." She flipped the notebook and she took out the folded paper and gave it to me. "I found that in my bag. I guess, someone put that inside."

I stared at the paper. "Headline: A student committed suicide. A student was found dead in an abandoned room. A rope was tied around her neck and held her body still at the center of the ceiling. A ball point pen remained pierced into her chest and thick blood was ozzing from it...."

What a tragic news. Why didn't I know about this one? No date attached. There was no name of the student attached. No important details attached.

"I think the pen was from her chest because it was inserted through it."

I stared at her. "And the victim was haunting us, right?"

"Yes, kinda." She frowned. "But the headline was not complete." She pointed her finger to the paper.

"Maybe Jeromy has a copy of this headline," I said. "We'll ask him tomorrow."

She nodded.

"There is a concrete connection between the pen and the headline, so what is the connection to the ghost?" I asked, pointing my index finger at the ghost in her notebook.

"We are seeing a girl ghost, right?" She raised her eyebrows. "My friends saw her only for the first time, and after that encounter they weren't able to see her again."

I nodded. "The student who committed suicide is a girl and she was haunting everyone with her pen and what is the connection to the killer?"

"What do you think of the killer?" She asked.

"He's a guy," I answered.

She shook her head. "No, he wasn't."

"How can you say so?" My forehead creased. "He already killed two men with bulky figures. A girl can't get control of them."

Yeah, and I was sure that Tyrone was a big guy and Mr. Hilles was a man of a chunky chest too.

"No, she's a girl," she insisted, shaking her head while her eyes closed. "I encountered her last night."

"So she's a girl?" I echoed. "I can't believe it," I said and looked away.

There's no way the killer is a girl. But I couldn't deny the fact that she went face-to-face with the killer.

"And before I forgot, thank you for saving me," she said, smiling.

I could feel the commencement of the sense of amity between us. I hope this will last a long time.

I chuckled. "What are friends for? It's a good thing you called me that night."

"Yeah, that was the only thing I could do in that situation."

I leaned closer to her. "Well, do you know her name?"

"She only said Netha... It wasn't completed because you came before she could say her whole name," she said, staring at me.

I smiled sheepishly. "Oppss."

Oh, crap. My bad.

"Then why does the killer have the same appearance as the girl in the mirror? Is she a ghost or not?"

"I guess she's alive."