The Forest's Secrets

Chapter Fourteen: Why?

"Well then, shoot", Eli replied with a smile.

"How and why did you take our bullets?", he asked, the tension in the room suddenly rose. Except for Eli, she always seemed calm.

"I took them because I wanted to see if you'd notice", the girl said. Then she stopped for a moment, letting Brooks check if she was lying, until she continued:"I went up to you, took the gun, opened it, took out a few bullets and put it back."

"How come no one noticed you then?", Jamie asked after a few moments.

"If I knew, I'd tell you."

"Fine", Brooks sighed," what happened tonight with the Guard?"

"He told me I couldn't get out, so I proved him otherwise. Then he shot at me, there was blood, I think it was mine, then he shot a second time and then I just went back inside and pretended to be asleep."

"How did you get in and out?"

"I opened the door."

"How?", Jamie asked. He seemed to get more annoyed with every answer the girl gave, but tried to stay calm.

"It wasn't locked."

"I locked it myself, don't lie!", Brooks snapped.

"Jamie, she's not lying. Maybe the door is broken", Lisa chimed in.

The man took a deep breath, then he continued:"Where did the blood come from?"

"He didn't miss both times, and the first time he shot the wound on my shoulder opened again.", Eli said calmly.

"Did you kill Ashly and hurt Fate?", Jamie now asked.

Eli laughed and replied:"I didn't. And I don't know anybody who could have."

Brooks sighed and said:"Fine. You didn't lie. Do you ever lie?"

"I don't, I hate lying", Eli replied quietly.

It was quiet for a bit, then Lisa said:"We're done here, thank you for your time."

"Wait", Brooks stopped Eli," How did you know how many people there were in the cabin?"

"I told you", Eli replied in surprise," There were clothes for a girl, two boys and an enby."

"What's an Enby?"

"A non-binary person", the girl said.

"What does that mean?", Lisa now asked.

Eli looked at the officers in surprise, then explained:"A person that doesn't identify their gender to be on the binary. Someone who isn't a boy or a girl."

Jamie stood up and took the cables off of Eli. "I'll bring you home", he explained as he did so.

"There's no need, it's not that far", the girl replied.

"An hour by foot isn't that far?", the officer asked in surprise. The girl shook her head in reply.

"Well, seeing that that wasn't an offer but a statement, you can put on your clothes again and we'll take my car", the man continued.

"Thanks Lisa", he said as he pulled Eli out into the hallway and back to the room she changed in at night.

The man closed the door behind the teenager, and she found her dress and boots cleaned up on a shelf in the corner. The girl sighed and changed into her own clothes.

As she was dressed, she carefully opened the door. Maybe the officer wouldn't notice her.

"Done already?", he asked, as he put a hand on Eli's healthy shoulder, holding her back.

The girl didn't reply, and so Brooks led her to his car quietly.

Eli was seated in the backseat, and a few minutes after Brooks started the car, the man broke the silence by asking:"Why don't you want me to bring you back?"

"Well we really don't usually get along all too well", the girl sighed.

"There's more to it, isn't there?", the man kept asking.

The teenager stood quiet for a bit, until she replied:"Well it's kind of weird that you just know where I live. I also don't want anyone to find out about what happened yesterday, and I should be at school. We got what? Wednesday? Thursday?"

"It's not weird that I know where you live", the officer responded calmly," You're still a suspect, and that is basic information. And if you don't want anyone to find out, why did you act the way you did?"

"I don't know, it just seemed tempting and then I suddenly was there and couldn't take a single word back", Eli responded slowely.

Brooks' interest was piqued as he asked:"What do you mean with that?"

"That I only vaguely remember taking the bullets. I know how to handle different kinds of guns, it wasn't hard. Then I went back into the forest, and a bit later I stood there with guns pointed at me and you wanted to cuff me and I knew what I had done, but only after it happened", the girl said, her voice started to break.

"Are you serious?", the man asked cautiously.

"Yes", the teenager replied quietly, brushing her hair back with her left hand.

As she did so, Brooks noticed something weird from the corner of his eye. "Do you have an undercut?", he asked, trying to focus on the street and the girl at the same time.

"Yeah, why?", she replied.

The man ignored her question and asked another thing himself:"Do you often hide your chest and wear like, boyish clothing?"

"Sometimes, but I don't usually go out like that", the girl answered, worry and concern in her voice.

"Why don't you go out like that?"

The girl sighed before responding:"My dad doesn't like it, neither does my mom. I was born a girl, so I stay a girl."

"Would you rather be a boy?", the officer now asked interested.

"No, not right now. But sometimes. And other times I am an enby and then there's times where I'm completely fine with being a girl", Eli stated.

"You'll have to come in tomorrow too, I trust that you'll go to school, so bring Fate with you", the officer asked of the girl as he stopped his car.

Eli nodded in reply, jumped out of the vehicle and ran into the big building she lived in. Brooks drove back to the station as the door closed behind her.