Finding 'x'

•Seven means?•

All traces of colour and sustenance must have drained from my face and body, for the figure of the hot cop rushing towards me blurred for a moment.

My eyes was definitely playing tricks on me.

That wasn't what I think it is, right?

"Are you okay?" A concerned voice snapped me out of my daze.

"W–what happened to her hand?" I pointed over his shoulder that was already blocking the view from my eyes and stuttered. He was trying his possible best to get me to calm down. It wasn't working.

"Just calm down, it's nothing. It's nothing at all."

"It's not nothing! I saw…." I trailed off and squirmed out of his hold.

"Mr. Otabor, I don't think this is necessary at all. She has already noticed the body, she can as well identify it."  Came the unfamiliar voice from a lady I hadn't noticed earlier. If I wasn't in so much shock, I would have given a suitable comeback with as much venom she'd talked with.

"Stop being a bitching around miss Ruby, things are already as bad as it can get." Hot cop gritted and I used his distraction to my advantage and got out of his hold.

Maybe my vision was being deceptive. I needed to know.

When I looked again, the body was still laying slant on the sickbed, its head was still twisted to the side at an unnatural angle, with its half-open eyes staring chillingly at m–me. Its belly was still naked and and thoroughly slashed through and the skin around her left forearm –the arm that was supposed to hold a new equation– was still entirely missing, leaving behind a very unsettling, bloodcurdling sight.

I found myself gasping for air.

"I thought and hoped there wouldn't be another death till the next term. This is just too much, it's just been a week." A quivering squeal reached my ears, but it sounded so far away, like a voice from the other end of a dark labyrinth of torment and terror.

"The killer is being pretty impatient. We have to act fast before he strikes again." The other unfamiliar voice informed with urgency whilst in the middle of clicking another picture for further investigation.

"Only God knows how long we–" hot cop began but was interrupted by a whisper, my whisper.

"Seven."

"Sorry?, did you say something?" The venom voiced lady asked a pretty frozen up me.

"Seven in the equation means seven days. It meant we had seven days to figure out who he is and what he wants or another death will happen." I said out loud in realisation.

Why didn't I think of it in the first place? It'd been staring at me in the face for seven days and I wasn't able to decipher it.

Nobody was able to decipher it.

"Oh my God!" The faraway squeal reached my ears again. "Please wake me up from this nightmare." The owner of the voice whimpered fervently, I would have wished the same if I didn't know better.

"So we have seven more days." Hot cop muttered under his breath with frustrated intensity.

I nodded repeatedly but froze when another surge of realisation hit me in the face.

I suddenly understood what happened to the body's forearm.

"Unfortunately, he took that certainty away. A new ultimatum has been set for sure, but he took it away as well." I pointed to the body's forearm and the hag had finally had enough.

"This is too much. This is just too much." She broke down in sobs while I tried to stop staring back at the cold, half-open eyes staring at me.

Firm, warm hands tightened around me.

"It's fine, you'll be alright. You'll be fine." The hugger whispered into my locks in a cool voice.

I wanted to push away and yell at him to stay away from me. I wanted to tell him that he was hugging the wrong person, that I wasn't the one shedding weak tears and breaking down. But the warmth and strength I gathered from the action shut me up. My hands awkwardly closed around his torso too.

It'll be fine. It'll be fine.

I realised that he was not only trying to assure me, he was also trying to assure himself.

"Lunch hour will be over soon. We have to act." Venom voice reminded with an arctic voice and hot cop snapped out of whatever possessed him to act the way he did. He released me.

"Garba will be here soon to transport the body to the lab for forensics." Hot cop informed just as someone knocked the door and turned the doorknob to enter.

"Goodness gracious!" The new person exclaimed and venom voice groaned.

"Seriously, you have got to be kidding me!" She cursed loudly and moved towards the new occupant.

A loud thud was heard before she reached her destination and an even louder groan filled the air.

I didn't need to turn around before deducing the fact that senior Dave had fainted.

I can't help but laugh when I typed the last paragraph😂😂😂.
Anyways, sorry for the delay in posting, I had to deal with tests and I went off to prepare. I wasn't even intending to write until the end of the month, but Ella forced me to.

Now that we have a second death, who do you think the body is? Any theories yet?

This chapters is for Ifedayyo, thanks for supporting my humble work💓 and don't mind the fact that I haven't personally said the 'T' word, I still love you.

Till we meet again cupcakes.

✌illusionistic.