Dead To Me- An Empires SMP S2 Murder Mystery

~9~

Scott

"It...it's not what it looks like!" I exclaimed, my heart racing. I dropped the axe I was inspecting.

"I would take you to the sheriff, but..." Joel trailed off, looking down at Jimmy's lifeless body. "I don't think he's available right now." he dropped down next to Jimmy, silent tears streaming down his face.

I watched him for a while. He was whispering incomprehensible words, trying to stop the wound from bleeding any further. Soon, I began to understand some words.

"Jimmy, I'm so sorry. I've been so, so horrible to you all my life. I never told you how much I hated myself for that."

I began to tear up.

After a while, he turned to me. "What have you done."

My thoughts raced through my head. Did he think I'd done this? Why would I murder Jimmy? Did Joel really think I would do something like that? 

"I'm completely innocent. I got here minutes before you did!

"Likely story. Whoever is going to take over from Jimmy will have you for this. My guess is Shelby." he said. "I'm taking you to the courtroom and locking you inside."

"Try. I dare you." I said. I was innocent, he couldn't do this! I would not go down without a fight.

"Oh, I will." he said, his voice barely more than a whisper. I felt wind rush past my face, and then everything went black.

~~~~

I woke up hours, maybe days later. I looked around. I was in a small courtroom, chained to the floor.

"So, you woke up. Surprised you did. That was very powerful god magic." I heard a voice say. Was that my imagination?

"God?" I asked, only half joking.

The voice laughed. "I wish. It's fWhip."

I tried to sit up, yelling in pain when chains dug into my body.

"Sorry about those, they are for...safety precautions."

I struggled against the chains. "You don't understand! I'm innocent!"

He sighed. "Scott, we have reason to make the assumptions that we have. Shelby has found your fingerprints on the weapon. You were the only person to have entered that room other than Jimmy. I'm sorry." he said, not looking at all sorry.

"But you have to ask yourselves the question why? Why would I do something like this?" I asked, no longer trying to break free. It was no use.

"Scott, I..." he sighed. "I don't want to be the one to tell you this, but...we have information in regards to a marraige proposal...that may have gone wrong."

"How do you know about that." I asked sharply. "That was private."

"We...got some inside information."

"You read my diary."

"We read your diary." he agreed, rather reluctantly. "I'm sorry."

He meant it this time, I could tell. But that didn't make it any less hurtful.

"You guys were my friends less than twenty-four hours ago. Why are you doing this?"

"Scott, we aren't your friends anymore. No one befriends a murderer." he said, turning away. And with that, he walked out.

No one befriends a murderer. Those words stung me to my very core. I lay there for hours, repeating the words over and over in my head.

Murderer.

Murderer.

Murderer.

I jumped half a mile when I heard the door open.

"Hey Scott, it's time for your trial." Shelby said, looking at me coldly, but with a hint of sadness. She didn't want to do this, I could tell. But she would be the one to wield the blade.

She would strike me down.

"Okay." I said simply, as she broke the chains and roughly pulled me over to my seat in the corner of the courtroom.

She nodded to the still open door, and I watched as my friends walked in and took their places.

Lizzie.

fWhip.

False.

Joel.

All of my best friends, staring at me like I was nothing to them.

Nothing.

And I guess I was.

I was a murderer.

"I'm not going to be here to oversee the court service. I need to check your records, and I need to test the weapon that Katherine was found with. I might read Joey's diary as well." she turned to the crowd. "I'm bringing Gem, Pix and fWhip with me." the three made their way to the door and followed Shelby out.

I started to hyperventilate, thoughts running through my head at lightning speed. I couldn't do this. I would be thrown in prison, or worse, executed, for crimes I didn't commit.

I stopped. Why was I already thinking like this! I could still prove my innocence to these people.

I would teach them a lesson.

And I would not accept their apologies. Their begging for reconciliation. Their cries for forgiveness.

Because they were now nothing to me.

Just like I am nothing to them.

A bell rang. The court case was underway.

That escalated real quick. Most of this chapter and the previous two were written on a road trip, which explains why they are all posted consecutively.

Also, any last guesses who the murderer is? Will probably be revealed in the next chapter!

-minimushr00m