Chapter 45 "Taken in Pain Sight"
EMBER
Victorian Literature was Ember's favorite class.
She sat in her usual seat third row, left side with her notebook open and her pen ready, trying to focus on Professor Barrett's lecture about the Gothic elements in Jane Eyre. Around her, other students took notes or pretended to take notes while scrolling through their phones under their desks.
It was Tuesday afternoon, four days after the ice bath ritual, and this was Ember's first class back. She'd emailed all her professors about being sick, and they'd been understanding about extensions on her assignments. But she couldn't hide in her dorm forever. Life had to continue, even when your life was a supernatural nightmare.
"The madwoman in the attic represents Victorian anxieties about female sexuality and independence," Professor Barrett was saying, pacing at the front of the classroom in his typical energetic style. "Bertha Mason is what happens when women refuse to conform they're locked away, hidden, treated as dangerous. Now, can anyone tell me how Charlotte Brontë uses fire imagery to"
The classroom door opened.
Two police officers stepped inside a man and a woman, both in uniform, both wearing expressions of grim determination.
The room went silent. Professor Barrett stopped mid-sentence, his hand frozen in the air where he'd been gesturing.
"Can I help you, officers?" he asked, confusion and concern mixing in his voice.
The female officer her name tag read "MONROE" pulled out a badge. "Detective Sarah Monroe, Hollow Creek Police. We need to speak with you privately for a moment, Professor."
"Of course." Professor Barrett glanced at the class, clearly uncomfortable with the interruption. "Class, please continue reviewing your notes on chapter fifteen. I'll be right back."
He stepped into the hallway with the officers, leaving the classroom door slightly a jar.
Immediately, whispers erupted around Ember.
"What's going on?"
"Are we in trouble?"
"Maybe someone reported him for something"
Ember tried to focus on her notebook, on the notes she'd been taking, but her heart was racing. Police didn't just show up to college classes for no reason. Something was wrong. Something was very wrong.
Through the crack in the door, Ember could hear muffled voices. The detective's tone was official, clipped. Professor Barrett sounded confused, concerned.
Then the voices stopped.
The door opened fully.
Detective Monroe stepped back into the classroom, her partner right behind her. Both of them were looking directly at Ember.
"Ember Winters?" Detective Monroe's voice carried across the sudden silence.
Ember's mouth went dry. "Yes?"
"We need you to come with us, please. Stand up slowly and gather your things."
Twenty pairs of eyes turned to stare at Ember. She felt frozen, her mind racing through possibilities.
"I don't understand," Ember said, her voice barely above a whisper. "What's this about?"
"We'll explain at the station. Please stand up."
Ember's hands shook as she gathered her notebook and pen, shoving them into her backpack. Her legs felt like water as she stood. Around her, students were pulling out their phones, recording, whispering frantically to each other.
This was a nightmare. This had to be a nightmare.
Ember walked toward the front of the classroom on unsteady legs. Detective Monroe moved to meet her halfway down the aisle, her partner positioning himself on Ember's other side.
"Ember Winters," Detective Monroe said, her voice formal and cold, "you're under arrest for suspicion of murder in the deaths of Tyler Brett, Rayan Walsh, and Marcus Bennett."
The classroom erupted in gasps and whispers.
Murder. They were arresting her for murder.
"You have the right to remain silent," Detective Monroe continued, pulling out handcuffs. "Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to an attorney"
"Wait," Ember gasped as the detective grabbed her wrist. "Wait, I didn't, I don't"
"Turn around, please."
The cold metal of the handcuffs closed around Ember's wrists with a click that sounded impossibly loud in the stunned classroom. The officer pulled them tight not enough to hurt, but enough that Ember couldn't move her hands.
"You have the right to have an attorney present during questioning," Detective Monroe continued. "If you cannot afford an attorney, one will be appointed for you. Do you understand these rights?"
"Do you understand these rights as I've explained them to you?"
Ember's throat was too tight to speak. She nodded.
"We need a verbal response."
"Yes," Ember whispered. "I understand."
Detective Monroe's partner, took Ember's backpack from her shoulder. "We'll need to collect this as evidence."
"Evidence of what? I didn't do anything!"
But they weren't listening. Detective Monroe had Ember's arm now, guiding her toward the door. Every student in the class was watching, phones out, recording this moment that would probably be all over social media within minutes.
Ember Winters. Arrested for murder. The quiet girl from Sterling Hall who nobody really knew.
As they led her into the hallway, Ember caught a glimpse of Professor Barrett's face mask shock and confusion and something that looked like disappointment.
"Keep moving," Detective Monroe said firmly.
They walked through the hallway Ember in handcuffs, flanked by two police officers while students stopped and stared and pulled out their phones. Ember kept her head down, tears streaming down her face, her whole body shaking.
They pushed through the doors and out into the cold air. A police cruiser waited at the curb, lights flashing but siren silent. Detective Monroe opened the back door.
"Watch your head."
Ember ducked into the backseat, the handcuffs making it awkward and uncomfortable. The door slammed shut behind her with a finality that made her stomach drop.
She was trapped. In the back of a police car.
Detective Monroe slid into the driver's seat. Her partner took the passenger side. Neither of them looked back at Ember as Monroe started the engine.
"Detective Monroe," Ember said, her voice shaking. "Please, I need to explain"
"You can explain at the station. After you've been formally processed and you've decided whether you want a lawyer present."