Chapter 9: Evidence (11/15 Alive)

Victim

The room was a bloody mess. Next to a bench press sat Jack Mummert, the Elite Baseball Player, dead. Next to his body sat a bloody hammer, and a bloody weight sat on the rack. Mya screamed. Landon looked down, as if not wanting to accept what his eyes were showing him. I turned away, and bolted down the second floor stairs. I went into the cafeteria, where Aaron stayed, having given up on the search. I spoke aloud. “It’s… True. Jack is dead.” Aaron looked away, Sky said nothing as she had been the past few days, and the only sign she heard me was the quivering in her lips. Samael’s voice blared through the speakers, with the same upbeat voice as he had shown after Brady and Xavier’s deaths. “Oh my, what an inevitable tragedy! It seems that our dear friend Jack has passed away! But there’s no time to mourn, dear friends, for we must investigate! Your three hours have started now! Tick tock, students!

We spent the first hour arguing with each other and pointing fingers. “Aaron’s

too quiet!” Exclaimed Kendrick. “Sky is the one most affected by the motives, so shouldn’t it be her?” Suggested Halima. Eventually, we got our heads in the game and Landon and I went to investigate, along with Aisha. Aisha! I still haven’t told anyone about the secret passage Aisha had found. After thinking it over, I decided it was best for nobody to know, for what if there really was a mastermind behind this, and it was one of us? “Hey, Roy,” Landon expressed nonchalantly, “I noticed something about the weight on the rack. There’s a smudge mark. Like there was blood someone tried to wipe off.” “You think someone attempted to get rid of the blood?” I suggested. 

Landon looked at me as if he had heard me say that the moon landing was faked. “No, you imbecile, or they would have washed the whole thing off. What bothers me is that it’s only that one spot. And then there’s the weight that’s next to his body. It weighs the same amount as the bloody weight. 75 pounds. It doesn’t have any blood on it, but it’s strange that it’s on the floor, and by his body.” I think about what Landon had said, until I 

notice something of my own. “What of the bench press seat? It’s right below the weight rack, but didn’t get bloody, as opposed to the weight on the rack. More and more inconsistencies, but it doesn’t have any evidence that points us to the killer. This case might just be more difficult than Brady and Xavier’s…” “Agreed,” said 

Landon, “but I’m confident we will find the killer.” I look to the ground once more, thinking. I spot a rope. In my frustration, I kicked it, only to realize that it was not one rope. It was two pieces of rope, And two of the ends were burnt. Underneath the rope I saw a lighter. “What the-” “Strange,” Landon said. Rope, lighters, and hammers cannot be found anywhere in this school except for the store.” “The store?” Aisha asked. “I’ve been in there a few times, and come to think of it… Yeah! I’ve totally seen rope in there! I wish I could help with the investigation more than I did, but I’m kinda one to… Stumble upon evidence, not really piece it together.” 

The ceiling of the weight room was made entirely of glass, which allowed us to see into the third floor room that was directly above the weight room. A greenhouse. But that ceiling wasn’t all too significant until I noticed it reflected onto a girder directly above Jack’s body. Scratch marks! 

They were caused by something, but what? I decided that I would be the one to have my moment to shine, and not tell Landon. I wanted to present this evidence proudly to the trial room. It was then that I realized I might be enjoying this “death game” all too much…

“Ahem, students! It’s been three hours, so I very much hope your investigators were of help! Now, please report back to classroom 502 immediately. I want to get this trial underway ASAP!”