The Raven Conspiracy

Chapter 19 - The Massacre

Chapter 19 – The Massacre

“What...What happened?” asked Kairo. He stood as still as a statue, unable to process the shock. People hurried from body to body – closing eyes, covering them with sheets and muttering prayers.

I felt the world spin as I tried to comprehend my surroundings. My stomach lurched; it was likely that my lunch would make a reappearance.

A bald man in a dark-grey jacket marched to us.

“You’re not supposed to be here,” he told Jen. “Senior members only.”

His eyes flicked to Kairo and I disdainfully,

“You brought the detective and a civilian? What were you thinking, Mason?! This isn’t just a crime scene...It’s a massacre.”

“I’m sorry, sir. I was instructed to report to the Masters with Detective Hallow. This civilian is his assistant.”

“Is she registered? I don’t remember seeing her before.”

Once again, they spoke about me as if I wasn’t there – but my uneasiness stopped me from saying anything in protest.

“No sir, she’s new.”

“Hm...You’ve got some nerve, bringing an unregistered civilian in here, Mason. I knew you’d bring trouble.”

“With all due respect, sir, I don’t think admin is the most pressing issue when a tragedy like this happened,” said Kairo. His eyes had a weird look as if he shoved the horror of the situation to the back of his mind.

“The detective is right, Master Grimm,” a man in a doctor’s coat walked up to us. “Your help identifying the bodies is required.”

“Of course. I’ll be watching the three of you,” he warned.

The doctor led him away to look at some of the corpses.

“I really can’t believe this...” murmured Jen. When I looked closely, I noticed the tears threatening to spill out of eyes. They would probably mess up her mascara, I thought despite the tragedy.

“Do you...know any of them here?” Kairo asked her tentatively.

“I don’t - I didn’t – know any of them well enough to call a friend, but they’re my colleagues and...”

She closed her eyes and turned away from the massacre, moving to the bottom of the staircase. She hugged herself, pulling her jacket tighter as if she was cold. I could see that she was crying now. I nudged Kairo.

“Go and comfort her,” I ordered, gritting my teeth.

“What?”

“You were her boyfriend for who-knows-how-long. You know how to make her feel better. Go.”

“But – “

“Go!” I pushed him and he, almost reluctantly, went to put his arm around her shoulders.

I shook my head and glanced down. A dismembered hand lay not far from me.  I shuddered and inched away from it, only to back into a something soft and lumpy.

“Oh, sorry,” I said automatically, turning around to face a pair of sunken eyes and lots of blood.

I’m certain the shriek I released cracked a few windows. People glared at me as I took a step back and the corpse toppled over with a squelch- splash sound as it hit the floor. I glanced around, open-mouthed and pretending to be confused.

“Who are you, a citizen?” a man in a creepy black suit approached me. “You’re not supposed to be here. No-one except authorised personnel is supposed to be here. This is a crime scene, and if you’re not supposed to be here that makes you a suspect.”

“Oh me? I’m allowed to be here. I’m with Detective Hallow. I’m his assistant.”

He narrowed his eyes,

“I thought that Jennifer Mason girl was his assistant.”

“Oh no, not anymore,” I gave him a sheepish smile and a shrug. “She quit to work here. I’m his new assistant.”

“Are you sure about that?”

“Absolutely positive!” I grinned. Until I realised that I was at the scene of a mass murder and grinning would not instil any confidence that I wasn’t the killer.

“I mean, I’m sure that Kairo Hallow hired me. You can ask him yourself,” I pointed to where Kairo stood with Jen.

The man narrowed his eyes.

“I have a better test. I’ll take you to the one we captured.”

“One what?”

“The one suspect,” he said casually.

He gripped my forearm tightly and marched me towards the staircase. Before I knew it, three other buff-looking men joined us as I was led down the stairs into darkness.