Chapter Eight
|Red|

Black clothes lined the clearance as far as one could see. Everyone had a black umbrella in hand. The sound of raindrops echoed loudly as they fell on the umbrellas, dripping to the ground soon after. 

Mother nature was wept upon Marina Denver's death.

A huge podium was set on the ground in order to give speeches. The graveyard looked lively once again with all the people inside, yet it did nothing to undo the sadness of untimely death.

There in the middle was Marina's coffin, her final bed in which she lied ever so peacefully. Her parents were nearby, crying in anguish, unable to control themselves from the grief of their lost daughter.

Everyone around them tried to comfort them. Edna and Annie were there too, trying to comfort Mrs. Denver with all their strength. Everything looked disastrous in their town.

The minister had come. He gave a long speech about Marina's death, a speech that sent her off with a reminder of her good memories and the lives she touched. A speech that did honor to her existence. 

Once he was done, it was Elizabeth's turn to give a few words about her friend. 

With trembling legs, she walked up to the podium. As she touched the microphone placed there temporarily for a speech session, her hands trembled.

She took a deep breath and wiped her eyes before bringing her mouth close to the microphone.

"Marina Denver was such a sweet girl. Even sugar failed in comparison.” Elizabeth couldn’t help but smile from the warm memories that flooded through her heart.

“She came into my life accidentally, purely by God's mere joke. Some bullies had tied my legs together and pushed me down the stairs. 

"Then, like an angel, she appeared out of nowhere and stopped me from falling to my death. God knew I was a clumsy kid back then. Then started our bittersweet friendship. I was always the bad child, and yet she always tried to bring out the good in me.” Elizabeth paused for a second. It was hard to keep her composure.

“I can't believe that this happened to her. I can't believe that I'm not going to see her ever again, to see that sweet smile of her ever again. It hurts me to even think about it. Marina Denver was a great friend, a sweet daughter, and an extraordinary girl. She'll be forever in my heart and I know she’ll be yours too. Thank you for your friendship, Marina. I'll never be able to forget it. Not in a million years."

As she finished, the audience was in tears. She walked down the podium to Marina's coffin and placed a pink rose on it. She bent down, whispering into her friends cold, lifeless ears.

“I’m sorry for what happened to you, Marina. Rest in peace.”

 
Elizabeth walked away, a solitary tear falling down her cheek.

Soon, everyone was placing roses on her coffin. Once all the people had placed their roses, everyone turned silent as they closed their eyes and uttered a silent prayer for Marina Denver.

All of a sudden, a blood-curdling scream filled the air. The people turned towards the sound, wide-eyed from a mixture of panic and fear.

Suddenly, a girl ran out from the bushes, wearing a black dress. A few of the guests ran to her aid, the rest standing frozen in terror. They watched as the girl pointed her finger to the forest, her arms trembling in fear. Her words were beyond comprehension. All they could make out was gasps of shock. 

Elizabeth looked at her skeptically, following the guests into the forest anyway.

By now, a majority of the people had entered the forest, determined to see the reason for the girl's scream.

A few meters into the forest, Elizabeth heard a gasp. She rushed forward, catching up to the people ahead of her in no time. The guests had crowded by a bush’s side. Elizabeth squeezed her way to the front. What she saw shocked her.

Lying in front of them was the body, a knife plugged in her heart. Another victim of the serial killer, the same one that got Marina.

The fresh scent of iron was nauseating. Elizabeth couldn’t breathe.

The crowd gasped in horror as they stepped back, watching a pool of viscous red spreading towards them.

Elizabeth couldn’t believe what she saw in front of her. The girl’s face looked so warm, so alive. Yet how could her eyes be so blank?

She felt a pang of pain searing through her chest.

They had just witnessed a live murder. The killer had been there just minutes ago. 

Elizabeth fumbled around her jeans. She pulled out her phone, unlocking the pattern after a few attempts gone wrong.

With trembling fingers, she dialed Alex’s number. A few rings passed before a hoarse voice answered the call.

"Hello, this is Detective Ricosta speaking."

"Detective, Alex. It's me, Elizabeth. I’m at Marina’s funeral. We have a dead body over here. Come fast. Please," she informed him, stuttering in between her words.

"I'll be there right now. You stay put," he said as he hung up the call.

Elizabeth put her phone back in her pocket, crouching down to the body to see the girl's face. Her breath was pulled short as she noticed the face of the girl.

It was Jane Samson, a friend Elizabeth held dearly. A friend who happened to be Marina's best friend too. 

Tears escaped her eyes as she started sobbing loudly. Elizabeth struggled to look at her friend's corpse. She felt her stomach wrench as she looked at the knife lodged in her heart.

She heard a loud gasp behind her, followed by hysterical cries of despair. It didn't take her long to realize that it was Jane's mother. 

Her mother was crying loudly behind Elizabeth. Her husband arrived soon, lost in grief as he looked at his daughter's mutilated body.

“Police! Please stand back from the crime scene.”

The detectives had arrived. Alex came there with Detective Mary by his side. 

Detective Parker went to search the body for any clue of evidence while Detective Ricosta tried to calm down a sobbing Elizabeth. She looked like a mess, her hair sticking to her face because of the sheen of sweat on her forehead.

He slowly put her hair behind her neck and offered her a handkerchief.

Elizabeth seemed to have stopped crying by then. He offered her a water bottle he had asked Detective Parker for. Elizabeth took it and drank the water.

Detective Ricosta started to get up, but once again those little hands with their very tight grip stopped him from doing so. He sat down on the ground next to her once again.

"I…I need to tell you something. In private," she said as she looked at the police and people surrounding them from all sides.

"Sure,"  he answered as he helped her stand up. 

They both went a little deeper into the forest. Once Elizabeth was sure that no one would be able to hear her, she stopped walking. She looked at Detective Ricosta, who was looking at her expectantly. 

"I can see the future in my dreams," she started, "That's how I knew that the killer was a woman. That's how I knew that I was soon going to die. I saw it in my dreams. You see, I was born with this strange gift. I'm telling you the truth this time. But you have to believe me. If you don't, my confession will be useless." she said, truth shining in her glassy eyes.

Elizabeth then told him about everything that had happened in the past few months with her. She told him all her dreams.

Detective Alex tried to comprehend her words in his mind. After a few seconds, he finally spoke. 

"Okay, I believe you."

And it was believable. It was impossible for Elizabeth to have been in that alley that day. As he thought about her ability, a sudden question invaded his mind.

"You said that you saw the woman. That you've seen her countless times. Then you surely must have seen her face. If you've seen her face, then you can help us find her. Have you seen her face?"

"No, I haven't. I must have but every time I wake up, her face gets erased from my mind. I don't remember how she looks."

Detective Ricosta sighed. It was all a useless attempt then.

"Don't worry Elizabeth, I won't let you die. Now that I know that the killer woman is behind you, I’ll try to keep you as safe as possible," he assured her.

"Don't worry about me, Detective. My fate is already decided. Think of yours rather," she said as she left to go back to the graveyard.

It was night time. Elizabeth had taken a shower and had even cleared her room of useless stuff. She needed distractions. She brushed her hair while looking at the mirror. Today was surely an unlucky day. She was left to deal with two of her friend's deaths after all.

She put the brush down and went downstairs into the living room. She looked at her mother's door. It was closed as usual. 

Elizabeth walked to the doorframe. She put her fist close to the door, ready to knock. But she stopped midway.

No, it was her secret to keep. She couldn't tell it to anyone. It was wrong. She wouldn't be able to forgive herself if she told the secret she had carefully hidden for so long.

She had a secret hidden among her stars, a deathly secret.

1608 words

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Question Time

Q.1 How was the speech that Elizabeth gave for Marina?

Q.2 What do you think about Jane's death? (And here you guys thought that the killings were over. I feel bad for you guys. I'm sorry.)

Q.3 What just happened? Elizabeth confessed to Detective Ricosta. What's going on Detective Ricosta's mind? Any wild guesses?

Q.4 What will happen now? Who's next in the line, waiting for their death?