Saturday, October 25th, 2028

  Day 3

  Chapter 4: The First Trial

  12/14 Alive

  As we gathered around css 502, Samael spoke to us. “Okay, students! We are all here for the first murder trials! Here’s how it works! You will have 12 hours, that is until midnight tonight, to discuss and solve who killed Xavier and Brady! Go ahead and run in and take a seat, go, go!” As we entered the room, it became obvious that there was a picture of us on each chair, marking where we are supposed to sit. The only thing was I had nobody sitting next to me on either side. Xavier and Brady were dead, and we were seated alphabetically by our st names, leaving me alone, and leaving an “X” through their names. The trial has started, and Kendrick speaks. “Alright, so, let’s go over what we know.” Sky speaks up. “So the killer used a metal skewer from st night’s dinner…. And stabbed Xavier with the skewer, killing him instantly!” “No,” Landon said. “How could you be so foolish? The switchbde was clearly the murder weapon. It was at least 4 inches into his body!” “Fine,” Kendrick said. “But what we do know is that after the power went out, Brady, Xavier, Aisha, and Sky were missing. But because Brady and Xavier were killed, Sky or Aisha killed them!” “That’s impossible,” I said.

  “What?” Kendrick excimed, confused. “How?” “Well, after you all had left, Landon and I decided to search the cafeteria! And you know what was in front of the bottles? Footsteps! Specifically… A male’s footsteps! Girls are required to wear heels, remember?” Everyone nodded in agreement. Samael had been a stickler for the rules even now. “And anyone who doesn’t follow the rules will face punishment!” Samael had cheerfully told us yesterday. “And by punishment,” Faye had said. “You mean execution?” “Yeppity yeppity yep!” And then he left. Now, we’re here. Brady and Xavier were still alive then. I didn’t truly know what kind of person they were, but that doesn’t justify their death. “But boys,” I continued, "can wear any footwear, and the flour that Tristan spilt showed footsteps. Sneaker footsteps. Brady was killed by a male student, and we can also assume they killed Xavier too!” “You’re wrong. But in that case, it should be obvious who killed them,” Landon said, a grin growing on his face. “It all makes sense now. Think back to when the power went out. Tristan, Me, Roy, Jack, and Aaron were all together during the killings. You know who the only possible suspects could be?” He was on the verge of a snicker. “It means one of the people killed, they murdered! But one of us is still responsible for someone’s death! And I think it’s pretty clear who it is. Isn’t it, Roy?” I jump a bit at the sound of my name. Me? Then it hits me like a truck. The evidence is overwhelming.

  “The first killer…. Was Brady Young. He killed Xavier with the switchbde after the skewer he was working on st night failed. And the biggest piece of evidence… Was the motive.” Faye, confused, spoke. “The motive? You mean the 10 million dolrs?” “Precisely,” I say. “I spoke to him on day one, see? He said that he comes from a poor family and is in desperate need of money and only came here because it was higher education with a free schorship.” “So Brady killed Xavier,” Kendrick said. “But how the hell are we gonna find out who killed Brady?” I pause. That’s gonna be where the difficulty of this trial comes from. “There’s just no more clues,” Landon said. “What?” I asked, half confused, half angry. “There’s obviously more evidence we can go off of. Think back to the bottles. They were filled with different liquids and sail colors, right?” “You really think I haven’t thought about that, Roy? But there’s no possible way those sails could be connected to the case. It’s impossible! The killer simply grabbed two bottles, missed one, and killed him with the other.” I suddenly realized that solving the murder of Brady won’t be as hard as I thought.

  There was a clear contradiction in what Landon just said. “No, that’s incorrect. The person who grabbed the bottle from the cafeteria had to have been Brady. And that’s because… The person who killed Brady… Was Gabriel Bck!” “What?!” Gabriel excimed. “How am I the killer? There’s no evidence that points to me! None! You liar! Lies!” “No, Gabriel,” I begin. “There’s a clear piece of evidence that points to you. Some boys might be wearing bck, but you are the only girl wearing bck clothing. And we found a piece of bck fabric, clothing fabric, in Brady’s hand. He obviously tore it off so we could figure out it was you. The game is over.”

  Samael stood up from the chair he was sitting in about 10 feet away from us. “Have we reached a verdict? Are we ready to vote? Ok, then! It’s time!” A few minutes ter Samael gave us a piece of paper. Everyone wrote down Gabriel’s name except for her, who wrote Landon’s name while quivering. “Okay, then, ahem. The person who is believed to be guilty is… Gabriel Bck, the elite chess pyer! The person who is actually guilty is… Gabriel Bck, the elite chess pyer! Good job, good job, give yourself a pat on the back! You deserve it!”

  Gabriel’s eyes were wide with despair. With a sudden jerk, Landon stood up out of his chair. “Why’d you kill him? Why?” “It wasn’t my fault! It was that damn Brady that tried to kill me. It was just self defense! I’m innocent! Right, Samael? Right?” “Well,” Samael started. “As far as I know, you’re as guilty as ever! Self defense or not, you still killed him and since they figured out you killed him, it’s time to punish you!” “No, no, no! I can’t be executed! My family business! My papa! He’s been sick! I promised I’d help him as soon as I came home! He sent me off with a gentle smile and told me to focus on my studies. I can’t let him down! Not now!” She suddenly started to break down. It was too much to handle. She was wailing as Samael looked at her with a grin. “It’s… Punishment time!”

  “I… I… Papaaaaaah!”