𝓓𝓸 𝓸𝓻 𝓓𝓲𝓮 ❣︎ 𝓔𝓶𝓫𝓮𝓻 𝓐𝓭𝓭𝓪𝓶𝓼

𝓢𝓔𝓡𝓘𝓔𝓢 𝓞𝓝𝓔 ❣︎ 7

This story is about to take a dark turn.

Usually I love dark turns. Like when the carousel brakes mysteriously failed at my eighth birthday party.

But not this one.

Currently, Ember was walking through the Nevermore halls to Weems' office, hearing from the sheriff, who had been out searching for Rowan's body. He hadn't found it.

"How could you miss a dead body?" Ember asked, walking beside the sheriff, Weems behind them.

" 'Cause it wasn't there," the sheriff answered, adamant about it. "No footprints, no blood, no sign of a struggle. Nothing, nada. My search party looked all night."

"Well your search party must've left their seeing-eye dogs at home," Ember quipped. "I saw the monster. It killed Rowan right in front of me. And my eyes can definitely see."

"So you got a good look at this monster thing?" Was the next question.

"Did you think it was sticking round for a cup of tea?" Ember asked rhetorically.

The sheriff shrugged. "Maybe it was one of your classmates."

"Sheriff, I find that question offensive!" Weems said, stopping half way up the stairs and facing the man.

"Well, I don't care, 'cause I got three other dead bodies in the morgue!" The man bit back. "Hikers just ripped apart in the woods."

"The mayor said those were bear attacks," Weems shrugged, still facing him head on.

"Well, the mayor and I disagree on that one," the sheriff sighed.

"So you automatically think that a Nevermore student is the murderer, even though there's no evidence that a crime was even committed?" Principal Weems was many things, but Ember sort of admired her for sticking up for her school. Even if the whole place was a trash heap.

"He has a certain prejudice against us," the girl spoke up. "All because of-"

"Oh sorry, I forgot, you only teach the good outcasts here, right?" The sheriff bit back.

As they entered Weems' office, the principal strode purposefully to her desk and sat down at it. "My guess is Rowan ran away," she said. "State troopers have put out an alert and I've contacted his family but they haven't heard from him either."

"I've never known a dead person to return a call," Ember snapped.

"So, what were you doing out in the woods with him, Miss Addams?" The sheriff asked, sitting in an armchair opposite Weems' desk.

Ember ignored the second chair, deciding to lie and to keep standing at the same time. "I heard a noise coming from the woods and went to go investigate it. That's when I stumbled upon the attack."

Weems and the sheriff shared a glance then the latter continued. "And what happened next?"

"Then I ran into Bianca Barclay and told her to go for help," Ember finished smoothly. "Next thing I remember I was in the infirmary, with no clue how I got there nor who had taken me."

"And just to be clear, this monster wasn't a bear or some other wild animal?" Sheriff Galpin asked.

"I've hibernated with grizzlies and I'm a 'smart girl', as people say. I know the difference," Ember replied.

"Thank you, sheriff," Weems suddenly said rather hurriedly, standing up. "I think Miss Addams is done now."

"Actually, I would like to speak to Sheriff Galpin," Ember posed. "Alone."