The Huntress [2018 Archived]

Chapter 9

I ran out of the library, my cheeks on fire from shame. Sierra was not the person that I thought she was. Somehow, without me knowing it, she had changed completely. She was rude and cruel, but even that wasn't the worst of it. She didn't seem to care about me. I didn't know if I could stand it.

My French braid tickled my neck, reminding me of how inconspicuous I was. People were staring, yes, but they were also whispering. And I truly doubted if they were saying good things.

I kept my head down as I jogged through the crowded hallways, trying to stay out of people's way. Normally I was jostled and banged as I tried to squeeze my way through the impossibility that was Winshest High's halls. But today, I had plenty of space to walk. I could possibly even do a cartwheel if I could pull it off. Everyone was giving me a wide berth even if that meant a total traffic jam. They went out of their way so that they would not come into contact with me. It was like I was contagious. No one wanted to touch an accused murderer.

I was a scandal.

I cut a swathe through the streams of kids going from class to class until I reached a row of makeshift lockers. They were different than our normal school lockers that were floor to ceiling. These were three small cubbies, each stacked on top of each other.

Naturally I had the one in the middle. One person reached to get above me, and someone squirmed to get below me. Both managed to extract their books without touching me. Everyday I watched as they quickly fled afterwards.

As I reached my locker, I suddenly stopped right in the flow of traffic.

No...

The world seemed to slow before my very eyes. I wasn't aware of the horde of students crowding to see around me. I couldn't move or make any sound except for a squeak.

The color drained from my face, and my heart started to thud. Tears prickled at my eyes until I could barely see. I wasn't aware of anything, only of my own humiliation.

Someone had printed out a picture of all three murder victims and drawn a big red X over each of their faces. The ugly picture was pasted on my cubby with the words: YOU BELONG BEHIND BARS. The obscene photos divulged every gruesome detail down to the last drop of blood on the floor.

It made me look like a monster. And that wasn't the worst of it.

It made me look guilty.

It would be easy to blame this on Artemis, but I knew that this obscene photo was not her doing. I knew that this could only be the work of an angry student, likely one of Nate's allies. Maybe it was even Sierra and one of her new friends.

Then, I seemed to be sucked from my own world of pure torture and flung back into reality. Suddenly, I was aware of everyone staring and silently laughing. And I couldn't say anything, I could only stare until my vision blurred. My feet were rooted to the ground, forcing me to stand there and take it.

"She got everything she deserved," I heard Diana say to Catherine as they watched, smirking at their handiwork.

"That's not true," I whispered, anger and embarrassment coursing through my veins. "It's not true!"

No matter what they said, I knew that I was innocent. I knew who was really responsible.

It's not because of you. Art-she is...evil. No benevolent being would kill three people in cold blood. It's her fault. Not yours. I don't want that on your conscience.

Jamie's words came flooding back to me, comforting me. The rims of my eyes bubbled with tears just begging to fall.

A hand whooshed out of nowhere, ripping the picture from my locker and crumpling it up. I flinched as someone gripped my shoulder painfully and started to drag me towards an empty hallway. The crowds parted like the Red Sea to let us pass.