The sun beat down on our backs as we gathered around the lake. Nobody could really focus on their classes after they'd heard the sirens, so as soon as the bell rang, the clock struck over to 12:45, signalling lunch, a swarm of students raced towards the lake, where the police were gathered. A frazzled Mr Raz stood in the centre of the police, hands in his curls, muttering in agony.

Faye had found me first, and we stood, side by side, watching the fiasco unfold. A group of students- who looked to be around fourteen, started giggling with each other.

"I heard someone pushed her in the lake!" I caught one of them saying, whilst the others burst into giggles.

Faye turned to me, eyes wide, face asking exactly what I was thinking.

What?!?

The three girls, including Rebecca, still sobbing, were talking to the police. Mr Raz was standing next to them, watching their conversation with unwavering intent. The sunlight was glistening on the surface of the lake, and I lost myself in the sparkles it created.

Faye nudged my arm. "Sophie has gone missing."

"Yes, I thought we gathered that." I responded, in the dark about the direction in which she was steering our conversation.

"Okay, but what if she hasn't?"

I sighed. "Faye, you're almost as bad as Amaia at this point."

As if she was summoned by my voice, Amaia appears behind Faye and I. "What do you mean 'almost as bad as me'? I'm the baddest."

I rolled my eyes with affection. And spoke, tone doused in sarcasm. "Of course Amaia. How could I ever forget?"

Faye looked between us before asking, "What makes me like–"

Before she could even respond, I sensed where her question was going. "Your theorising."

"Oh. Well, in that case," She linked her arm with Amaia. "Let me tell you all about my theories."

Amaia grinned, "Please."

I rolled my eyes, amused at their antics, and turned back to the scene at the lake. One of the officers was scouting the edge of the water, as if he was looking for something. He snapped up abruptly and turned and signalled to the other officers. They came rushing over.

By now, most of the students watching the scene had left, their attention spans too short to focus on events that continued for longer than five minutes. Khoi appeared beside me, panting heavily.

"Where have you been?" I asked.

"Talking to Collin. He thinks that this girl is the killer's next victim."

I flinched back in surprise. "Okay, first, since when have you been talking to Collin? Also, how? Did you sneak a phone here? And also, this girl is unrelated to the killer. She's missing, not dead."

"Well, A, that's none of your business, and B it would make sense if she was a victim of the killer, or at least related to them in some way."

Amaia and Faye, noticing Khoi's presence, ran over.

"What do you think happened to Sophie?" Amaia asked Khoi, keen to hear his opinion on the matter.

She didn't have to theorise for long though, as a loud scream pierced through the crowd, so very reminiscent of the night of Markus' death, I could almost taste the iron in my mouth once more. The scream belonged to Rebecca, distraught more than ever as a debacle unfolded before her eyes. From where I stood I could see something in the water, a lump of some sort, a bundle of cloth maybe.

From beside me, Amaia let out a gasp. She whispered in my ear quietly, as if to communicate with me without the others being aware. "That girl, from yesterday."

I turned to face her, questions plastered all over my face.

"What was she doing?" Amaia continued, an almost pleading tone engraved within her words.

"Looking at the water, I don't know."

"And then she just disappeared?"

"Yes, I told you that."

"Oh my god. What was she wearing?"

I turned to face Amaia again, concerned. "Her school uniform, why are you asking me these questions?"

She just responded by pointing at the water. "Look."

Just below the surface, where the police were gathered, was a bundle of red fabric, draped around a mound that looked suspiciously like a body. As one of the police moved to the right, I saw the pale face of the girl I now knew as Sophie, lifeless and floating on the edge of the water.

I was the one who screamed this time.

𓆙

"Thank you all for gathering here on such short notice."

The entire student body was cramped into our school's theatre, hundreds of students positioned on the plush red seats that surrounded the stage. Those at the top were looking down, down onto the dark wooden floor that Mr Raz stood on, merely just a speck in a sea of darkness. The spotlight he was cast in created a halo of light around him, yet washed him out, looking ever so pale in the centre of the stage. His suit was wrinkled, bags under his eyes, a testament to his exhaustion.

"As you may have heard, an unfortunate incident has occurred." He clears his throat, and holds his hands in front of him, fidgeting quietly.

From my right side, Faye sends me worried glances every now and then, her eyes an everlasting chorus of 'are you okay?', and 'I'm here for you'. Amaia sits to my left, clutching my shaky hand with her own, her presence a reassurance that I'm safe. Khoi sits beside Amaia, staring aimlessly around the auditorium, lacking all sense of focus and ties to reality.

"For those of you who are unaware of the situation that has just occurred, this may come as a shock to you. I want all of you here today to know that support is here if you need it, and we encourage you all to go seek help if you feel as though you would benefit from it. With that being said, let's get onto what this assembly is actually about." He pauses for a moment, as if the next sentence pains him to say, as if it's a secret of an unbearable weight that he has to carry. "Sophie Harrison was found dead this morning."

At this, the auditorium burst into fits of conversation, startled whispers gracing the hall as those who were in the dark about this knowledge whispered feverishly.

"Now, that is not the only news I would like to discuss with you all today."

For a moment there, I thought he'd bring up the disappearance- or rather, murder of his son, express his sorrow for the innocent lives taken by some impenetrable force this month. To my suprise, to, quite frankly my whole groups surprise, he brought up neither.

"Do not spread the word of Miss Harrison's death to any person outside of this school. The Harrison family has requested that their daughter's death be a private affair, not attracting the attention of the press." At this, more whispers broke out, the hall enveloped in an atmosphere of curiosity and contemplation.

"Severe punishments will occur for any student whom is suspected, or found guilty of spreading this information. This includes telling your parents." Several students let out gasps, and quick protests, before being shut down by Mr Raz himself.

" Please, out of respect for Miss Harrison, and her family, keep this matter private. Classes are cancelled for the rest of the day, You are all dismissed."

At that, all students rise, and locate the nearest exit, shuffling through rows of chairs and calling out to their friends to discuss the matters that just took place.

I stay rooted in my seat, and the others stay alongside me, the four of us staring at the stage like it has all the answers to the questions that are plaguing our minds. Slowly, I turn to face Khoi, and raise my eyebrows at him, unimpressed.

"Are you prepared for your severe punishment?" I ask, tauntingly.

He just rolls his eyes. "Collin's not going to tell anybody. He has like no friends."

Amaia glares at Khoi, eyes wide. "Why are you talking to my formerly imprisoned cousin?"

"We're friends."

"You guys have met like twice, what the hell?"

As Amaia and Khoi start bickering, my attention is drawn to Faye.

"You okay?" She asks, concerned.

"Fine." I respond, most definitely not okay. Why did everyone remember Sophie's death? Why not Markus'? Why not Faye's uncle? Curious, I inquire. "Are you okay? I know your uncle's death was pretty recent."

She just sends me a deprecating smile. "I'm good, I think I've come to terms with the uncle stuff. Besides, we weren't even that close."

"Oh." I responded. "What was his name anyway? Didn't you say he went here? To Woodbridge?"

"Yeah," She glances up to the ceiling. "Derik Lawson."

This promptly shuts both Khoi and Amaia up.

"The Derik Lawson is your uncle?" Amaia asks, eyes wide.

"Yes, why's that such a big deal?"

Amaia just stares at Faye, mouth wide open in shock. Khoi inhales deeply and then asks. "How do you not know who Derik Lawson is?"

"I know who he is, he is my uncle. Or, he was."

"Oh my..." Amia dawdles, "You're hopeless."

"Well, what did he do?" Faye asked, big eyes filled with a realm of curiosity.

"Punched Mr. Raz so hard in the face his vision got impaired and he needed glasses." Khoi responded.

"Fucking legend." Amaia added.

"Okay..." Faye retorted. "Didn't realise you hated that guy that much."

Khoi stood from his seat, and went to stand in front of us. "Did any of you guys see Sophie's body after she got pulled from the water?"

I shook my head, no. At that point, my body had responded in fear, a panic attack so intense, so all consuming, it was as if I was processing all the events of the last month in one short period of time. Which, I guess, was exactly what had happened. Both Amaia and Faye had helped me back towards the school buildings, Khoi trailing behind us, completely out of it, or so I thought.

"Right, well, on her hand, now I'm not sure if this is exactly right or something, but I thought I saw a pattern like carved into it."

My eyes went wide. "What sort of pattern?"

"A snake."

𓆙

authors note

hehehe

 do you guys like my little snake symbol i put inbetween the paragraphs??? it doesn't really look like a snake but it's the only one the copy&paste symbol's website had, so we're stuck w it lmao. 

hope you guys are enjoying the story, and as always, votes & comments are greatly appreciated!!