The Parting People

Chapter One: Incident #1

The moment I stepped into my once beloved home I realised that there was a mistake. Not one that I made, but one that someone else had brought upon others. There was a disturbance in the air that made me uneasy. But I couldn't quite decipher what it was. Maybe it was the subtle swing of the pans hanging in the empty kitchen. Maybe it was the fresh dent in the wall where the doorknob hit when it swung open too fast. Maybe it was the faint stench of blood. Whatever it was, it was undeniably there.

I cautiously tiptoed over the frieze carpeting towards the hall closet, which was eerily the only room in the home with an open door. I heard a whisper of movement coming from inside the closet, so I tightened my grip on my thermos. I slowly opened the door to find my little brother Winston, curled in a ball, ducking with his hands over his head.

"Winnie? Oh my God, Winnie, what's wrong?" I whispered as I hurriedly knelt to comfort my brother. He shook in fear as I wrapped my arms around him. He let me sit there with him for a little while, but he soon shook me off with a grim look, his face as pale as the fresh snow blanketing the ground outside.

"What happened?" I urged him, begging with my eyes for him to explain. In a tiny voice filled with fear he whispered, "The bedroom." I nodded, trying to show bravery to calm Winston's nerves. I stood and crept down the hall toward the closed door that led to my parents' bedroom. I slowly and silently turned the knob, as if that would make the situation evaporate and leave me with no worries or fear. I swung the door open and screamed. I screamed to block out the sudden pain of loss. I screamed to distract from my sudden realization that my parents were forever gone after I looked at their mangled bodies lying on the ground. I screamed and I screamed and I screamed. Once my voice was hoarse and my ears were near to bleeding, I started crying. I crumbled to the floor and bawled as I watched Winston vomit all over himself. It was wretchedly disgusting, but it didn't matter. Mother and Father were dead. Nothing mattered anymore.

The Magis that helped me to my feet was very strong. Strong enough that he could lift my limp body off of the ground and set me down so that I could stand by myself. I looked into his eyes trying to find a hint of comfort or sympathy, but all I saw was pity and coldness. I couldn't bring myself to speak any words, so I silently watched the aftermath of my parents' murder. Magis, the Queen's the army men, bustled around as if it was a regular day into the office instead of a crime scene. On one side of the living space, my brother sat face to face with a Magis in the middle of what seemed to be an attempt at an interrogation. Sitting in the kitchen was a Magis trying to radio in the situation to Magis Base, or MB. In the halls Magis crammed together, scanning for evidence and tending to the bodies. You hear stories like these and everyone tells you that it's all a blur, but my experience was different. I remembered every detail perfectly. I could site every color in that room if I closed my eyes. I didn't know why, but I felt as if I needed to remember.

After two hours and thirty-seven minutes most of the Magis had left and Winston and I were left alone with what seemed to be a rookie detective. She was shaky and looked as if she could puke at any moment. Her name was Alison according to the tag on her uniform, and she looked to be not much older than sixteen or seventeen years old. She was very nervous and kept avoiding eye contact. I broke the silence.

"Do they know what happened yet?" I asked. Alison looked up in surprise as if it was new information that I had the ability to speak. "Um, yeah..." she mumbled. "A murder." I sighed. Yes, it was obviously a murder. The question was aimed for the subject of who did it. However, I didn't want to embarrass the girl so I reacted as if this was brand new information to me.

"A murder?! Do they know who did it?" Alison, again, looked surprised at the sound of my voice. Alison shook her head and uttered a tiny, "Carmen Wellwile." Now my reaction of surprise was genuine. Carmen? Our neighbor? Impossible! She'd been my best friend of many years, even though she was almost exactly four years older than I was. This year she would be going to school to learn to be a prestigious teacher. Now, after this, school was out of the question. She'd been framed. Clearly.

Winston shook his head in disbelief and started to cry again. His life was ruined that day and I couldn't fix it. Carmen, Winnie, Mom, Dad... their lives were all ruined that day, and I couldn't do anything about it.

"One last question," I said, startling the girl for a third time. "Where will we go after this?" Alison's pale face turned to a bright red. "The Parting Bridge. You are orphaned now, so they will take you underneath the Parting Bridge to live." Oh God. Not only were my parents dead, but Winston and I were to become Parting children. They were prepared to take us from our homes and not even give a hint of caring about it. The heartless people of Partal were willing to throw us in a place made for rejects and criminals. If only my mother were alive to see it. She'd throw a fit.  If only my father were alive to see it. At least he'd still be alive. At least they'd still be alive.