Days are Gone

Chapter 18 - Murder

We can't recognize him at all.

"This is... too brutal." Rachelle mumbled in the corner with both hands on her mouth.

Multiple stab wounds on the guy's face and body can be seen when we arrive at the prison cells. The bandit that we captured earlier this afternoon is now a bloodied corpse waiting to be buried.

I should've seen this coming and asked David to assign at least two people to guard the cells.

"Any idea who did this?" David asked as he walked away from the body.

"Zachia..." I replied, which made him raise an eyebrow.

"What?"

"She came back to our cabin with a bloody knife on her hands. We tried asking her, but she wouldn't even look us in the eyes." Miya explained.

He looked at me for confirmation, and I gave him a nod.

"Where is she?"

"Back in the cabin, the boys are guarding her in case she does something out of place."

David then sighed and signaled to Anna, who was standing beside me. "Go talk to Zachia."

She nodded in response and walked out of the prison.

"What now, David?" Miya asked.

"I need a sack or blanket or whatever we can find. We'll bury the body tonight so no one sees it."

"What are you talking about?" Rachelle confusingly asked.

"Zachia's not in a good spot right now. Everyone in the camp wants information on the group that attacked us. It would be bad for her if the people found out that she just killed our only ticket to spying on those Navigators. Nobody wants to go back to square one," he explained.

Right, I can imagine everyone at the camp getting mad at Zachia after what she did, or if she really did this.

"What do we tell the people then?"

"I'm no medical expert, so I'll let Rachelle handle the cause of death," he said.

"Me? Damn it David. I'm a pre-med student, not a lawyer who lies for the sake of my client." she grumbled.

"I know, and I'm sorry. But you're basically the camp's doctor. Everyone trusts your medical findings." he said.

"Fine, geez."

So we lie. I hope it won't backfire.

"I believe we have some unused blankets back at our cabin. We could use those." Miya suggested.

"That would be enough. Go now before anyone notices what's going on," he said, signaling Rachelle and Miya to move.

After they left, David and I sat on a chair nearby while staring at the body.

"Good thing he already told us it's somewhere east. Unfortunately, we lost the chance to know the exact and accurate location," he said.

"David, did you summon Zachia here earlier?" I queried.

"No, what makes you think of that?"

"I couldn't think of a single reason why she ended up here inside the prison. I also have no idea how she knows about the bandit that we captured, even though she locked herself in her room."

"Anna will fill us in on the details once she's done talking to her. Maybe she'll call a meeting tomorrow since it's already evening and everyone needs some rest."

I clicked my tongue and stood up. "You know what? I'll scout that place alone. Just say the word."

"The hell are you talking about? There's no way I'll allow that."