Chapter 10: Echoes of Chaos - Day 3
The next day, Sage drove to school in the old, rickety car. The twins had returned home after Ericka left yesterday, and upon learning from her about Ericka's business trip, they didn’t bother to spend the night at home. Sage wasn’t too bothered about their absence; she enjoyed her time alone with no drama from the twins or dark glares from their mother. Everything was peaceful that night, and she wished it would remain so.
Sage hurried to the school entrance as the rain, which had been drizzling since last night, began to pour heavily. Stepping into the hallway, she noticed that it was empty and silent. She thought she might have been late, but when she reached her class, she realized she was seven minutes early. It was strange to her because students would normally be in the hallway until five minutes before classes began.
When Sage was certain she wasn’t late, she turned to face the class. Students who were present were huddled in groups. Sage didn’t know what was going on, so she looked for Clark; he would definitely know what was up.
Luckily, Clark was not hard to spot in a group behind the class; they probably didn't want him around. He didn’t look comfortable as he stretched himself over others to see what was happening.
“Hey Clark,” Sage said, putting her hands on his shoulders to get his attention. “Is there a group project that I’m not aware of?” Sage questioned, but she got no reply from Clark, who seemed to be focused on what was happening inside the huddled group of students.
Sage decided to walk back to her seat; she would eventually get the information she was looking for when the teacher stepped into the class and Clark returned to his seat. She passed other groups of students but didn't bother to take a look at what they were doing since she didn’t really know anyone in the groups.
Sage took her seat and was about to rest her head on the desk when she heard a group of students talking. She got up and moved close to them to pick up on what they were saying. They were the only group that had been talking since she stepped in, and their conversation had piqued her curiosity.
She squeezed into the group of students. With her petite frame, this was easy for her. When Sage got to the middle of the group, she saw a student with a laptop on his desk. Everyone gathered around him had their eyes fixed on his screen.
Tasha, whose attention had been on the screen, shifted when she saw Sage squeeze in. She didn’t know why she disliked Sage right from the start; Sage didn’t even have half of what she had. Still, she did everything to make Sage feel inferior to her.
“You’re not welcome here,” Tasha quickly snapped. Sage, who wasn’t even aware of Tasha’s presence, immediately looked up to see Tasha with a scornful look on her face. Also, her cousins were standing on each side of Tasha.
“Whatever,” Sage rolled her eyes. “Besides, this place stinks of you,” Sage retorted, then left the group and went back to her seat.
Sage really wanted to know what was going on. Luckily, the group she had just left got a bit louder with their conversation.
“Whoever did this has a dead conscience.”
“I would prefer if sixty orphans were kidnapped and a ransom was asked for than this.”
“Such an act cannot be forgiven.”
Sage had an idea of what might have happened with the comments some of the students had made, yet she was confused. The student who had the laptop on his desk proceeded to search the internet for more information on the current news that had spread like wildfire since the early hours of that morning.
****
"Good morning, viewers. As you all know, I am Nicholas West, your host on Matters Arising. Thank you for joining us on the program this morning as we delve into the pressing issues that face our society. Today, we’re turning our attention to a heartbreaking tragedy: the recent murder of orphaned children.”
Sage gasped as she heard what the headline was; she felt a pang of pain as her heart skipped for a moment.
"With us today in the studio is Dr. Charles Wells, a renowned expert in criminal psychology with over a decade of experience in his field." Nicholas continued.
“You’re welcome, Charles,” the host said with a smiling face, and the guest, Charles, nodded in acknowledgment.
“We know there have been a lot of recent killings around which have not been resolved yet, and it is suspected that this killing is carried out by one person.” without wasting much time on pleasantries and introduction the host quickly delved into the issue.
“It would not be smart of us to suggest the killer to be a single person. We would be underestimating their force. Rather, we should view the killings as an act done by a group of psychopathic serial killers.” Charles knew that telling the people that the killers might be a large group would make them panic, but he wasn't the type to hide things especially when it involved security.
“What do you think is the motive of these killers, because we have them starting at random families who have no form of connections in any way?”
“Investigations are still ongoing, and as it stands now, no one really knows what the motives of these killers are. The killers seem to be highly skilled as they leave no trace whatsoever behind". Motive played a big part in determining why criminals commit a crime and no matter how many times Charles had gone back to his table to find out what the motive was, he just couldn't get it.
“It has been reported that the victims have died in similar ways. What is it?” Nicholas was quick to throw questions at his guest. He tried his best to mask it, but he was also on edge just like everyone.
“That’s true for one; they seem to have two punctures on the neck or hand, making us believe that the weapon of our victim is a pointed object. Secondly, the victims are found almost without any form of blood in them. This form of killing is indeed strange to us.”
“So, Mr. Charles, do you think the groups of killers are trying to send a message?”
“There has been no pattern in the way they chose their victims; I doubt they are trying to send a message. To me, they are bloodthirsty criminals, and we need to get them behind bars before the matter escalates.
“There are rumors going about. A lot of people are saying this could probably be the work of vampires. What do you think?”
“People watch a lot of movies; vampires are mystical creatures that have been made up by humans. No such thing exists.”
Sage gasped as she heard what the headline was; she felt a pang of pain as her heart skipped for a moment.
"With us today in the studio is Dr. Charles Wells, a renowned expert in criminal psychology with over a decade of experience in his field."
“You’re welcome, Charles,” the host said with a smiling face, and the guest, Charles, nodded in acknowledgment.
“We know there have been a lot of recent killings around which have not been resolved yet, and it is suspected that this killing was carried out by one person.”
“It would not be smart of us to suggest the killer to be a single person. We would be underestimating their force. Rather, we should view the killings as an act done by a group of psychopathic serial killers.”
“What do you think is the motive of these killers, because we have them starting at random families who have no form of connections in any way?”
“Investigations are still ongoing, and as it stands now, no one really knows what the motives of these killers are. The killers seem to be highly skilled as they leave no trace whatsoever behind.
“It has been reported that the victims have died in similar ways. What is it?”
“That’s true for one; they seem to have two punctures on the neck or hand, making us believe that the weapon of our victim is a pointed object. Secondly, the victims are found almost without any form of blood in them. This form of killing is indeed strange to us.”
“So, Mr. Charles, do you think the groups of killers are trying to send a message?”
“There has been no pattern in the way they chose their victims; I doubt they are trying to send a message. To me, they are bloodthirsty criminals, and we need to get them behind bars before the matter escalates.
“There are rumors going about. A lot of people are saying this could probably be the work of vampires. What do you think?”
“People watch a lot of movies; vampires are mystical creatures that have been made up by humans. No such thing exists.”