The Others

Chapter Thirteen

His face was red and blotchy, and he wore a black t-shirt with white jeans. His hair scruffy and his glasses crooked, he settled on the opposite of the room. He had one hand on his head and his eyes were bloodshot. I didn't recognize him at first, but as I walked in further to the room, I instantly knew it was him.

"Chuckie?" I hesitated as I stood about a meter away from him.

"S...Sav?" he looked up and immediately rose from his seat.

We stood just inches away from each other now. I took a big breath out and put my arms around him and squeezed tight.

"It's so good to see you," I cried.

"It's good to see you Sav," he said, his voice monotonous.

I pulled back from the hug and sat down in the chair next to his. He continued to stand, so I took his hand and he sat down slowly.

"It's going to be okay Chuck, after this, it'll all be over," I said keeping a gentle grip on his hand.

He didn't say anything but instead nodded weakly.

The walls around us were painted white and a pristine blue ceiling lay above us. Police officers walked back and forth going about their daily business whilst we sat on brown benches waiting to be called in. Chuckie sat with his legs crossed and eyes firmly fixed on the ground.

"Chuckie Jameson?" said a police officer in uniform carrying a clipboard.

Chuckie didn't respond, so I gestured toward the officer, who walked toward Chuckie, and knelt in front of him.

"Chuckie?" he said in a more sympathetic voice than he had previously.

He didn't respond once more.

"He alright?" the officer looked at me.

"Chuck, it's okay I promise, just go with the officer. I'll be right here when you get back. I'm not going anywhere," I said giving Chuckie a gentle shake.

Chuckie looked up slowly and looked toward me as he rose from the seat.

I gave him a nod of approval, and the officer ushered Chuckie to follow him.

As I watched Chuckie go, another officer walked toward me.

"Savannah May?" the officer wore a green vest over his uniform and was carrying his helmet under his arm.

I rose up from my seat and gave him a weak smile.

He gestured towards where Chuckie had been led and I half-heartedly followed.

***

The room was the size of a small box, barely big enough to fit one person in let alone three people. The ceilings and floor remained consistent with the colour and pattern of the whole building. A small black wooden table had been arranged in the centre of the room, with a tape-recorder positioned to the left, with four glasses and a jug of water in the centre. They walked in one at a time and sat next to each other on the opposite side of the table to me.

"Hi Savannah, I'm Detective Barnaby and this is my colleague PC Keeble...," he spoke with a stern voice and gestured to the woman sat on his left.

"Nice to meet you sweetheart," she said smiling.

"...and this is Constable Greene," Detective Barnaby gestured to the man on his right.

"Good day to you," Constable Greene extended out his hand and I shook it reluctantly.

After the introductions and formalities were over, they began the questioning:

What happened to you that night?