Chapter (28):looking for answer part 2
In a place in the faces forest...
"Well, who would have thought we'd meet again?" Emma spoke, looking up.
Emma was looking towards a corpse hanging by a rusty chain from a tree, but the corpse wasn't human—it was a wild deer. Its head was severed, and the body was beginning to pale. Some crows were eating its decaying flesh.
"What an end? But where is its face? Hehehe, did it hide its face underground out of shame?" Smiley spoke mockingly.
"Smiley, can you bring the corpse down? There's something I need to check," Emma asked.
"Command executed, my queen!" Smiley said, giving a funny military salute.
"(Sigh) Can you stop joking for a minute?"
Smiley jumped towards the tree and climbed it as if walking with ease. When he reached the chain-bound tree, he swiftly moved his hand, grabbed the chain, and broke it.
"Here it is!"
Smiley grabbed the end of the chain tied to the corpse and threw it near Emma as if it were nothing unusual. After finishing, Smiley easily landed on the ground.
As he landed, he went to Emma, who was kneeling and examining the corpse.
"So, what did you find?" Smiley asked.
"Well, it's clear from the corpse that about two days have passed, and the head was cleanly severed, perhaps by a sharp weapon?" Emma spoke while analyzing the body and touching its fur. "And from the remaining marks on its body, it seems... it was resisting? There are signs that it was restrained by others?"
"Did you figure all this out just by looking at a corpse? You're definitely going to be a great detective," Smiley joked.
"These are things I learned from my father when I used to see his files and methods of analysis, especially from corpses. There was a way to deduce everything and gather information just from the appearance and condition of the corpse."
"So, what did you discover, Sherlock?" Smiley asked jokingly.
"I discovered that I was wrong about something."
"What?" Smiley tilted his head in surprise.
"Because it wasn't restrained by other people, but by beasts... of its own kind," Emma spoke in shock.
"Wait, are you saying it wasn't killed by ambitious adventurers like us but by its own kind? That's extremely strange, even for me," Smiley replied sarcastically.
"Maybe it was hung like this because of us," Emma said.
"What? Us! What did we do?!" Smiley asked, pointing at himself.
"I don't know how this thing thinks or if they even have minds. What I'm about to say is just a guess or a crazy theory," Emma said as she stood up.
"Which is?" Smiley asked, smiling playfully.
"That they have a leader, a pack leader who commands them on what to do and what not to do. This beast broke two rules: first, letting prey escape, and second, being defeated and dragged to the brink of death," Emma said, staring at Smiley.
"Emma, if your guess is correct, you have to admit you're the reincarnation of Sherlock."
"What nonsense are you saying, Smiley?"
"Just admit it if it happens," Smiley joked.
"Whatever, let's move forward. Maybe this time we'll find their den...."
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"Faces forest?" both Nathan and Andrew asked.
"Yes, that was the last place she went before she died."
"But are you sure this is correct? You said it's an old version?" Nathan asked.
"Yes, I'm sure. Not to mention the strange and controversial rumors about that forest itself. I mean, the forest was supposed to be removed years ago, but that never happened. Isn't that suspicious?" Chloe asked.
"Yes, that's really strange," Nathan replied.
"Not to mention the visits by a certain person," Chloe added.
"A person?" Nathan asked.
"There's someone who always goes to that forest, someone who knows it well and has been going there recently in a very suspicious manner," Chloe spoke with some mystery.
"Who are you talking about?" Andrew asked curiously.
"Are you two really that dumb? I'm talking about Emma! She's the only one who goes into the forest. She must be the culprit!" Chloe shouted.
"Emma?" Andrew looked suspiciously before replying, "That's impossible."
"Why do you think that?" Chloe asked angrily.
"Because she was in her room the whole time when my dad brought her home. There's no way she could have gone outside!" Andrew shouted.
"What if she had someone? A partner responsible for the crime?" Chloe asked.
"Wait a minute... since you mentioned it, Andrew, didn't you say Emma goes and meets a friend in that forest?" Nathan replied.
"Yes, but does that mean?" Andrew asked with some concern.
"Yes, exactly. Her friend must be the one who did this! Andrew, tell me where she is now?" Chloe asked.
"I don't know. She said she was going out, but she didn't tell anyone where," Andrew replied.
"I bet she went to the forest to hide her partner's evidence!"
"Even if that's true, what are we supposed to do? Interrogate her and ask if she committed murder with her friend?!" Nathan spoke with some anger.
"No... we'll go to her room," Chloe replied.
"Wait, what?" both replied in shock.
"Think, boys! She's been inside her room the whole time, right, Andrew?" Chloe asked.
"Yes, but what does that have to do with going to her room?" Andrew asked suspiciously.
"She must have communicated with her mysterious partner while she was in her room. I mean, who would lock themselves in on a day like this?" Chloe spoke with some confidence.
"Yes, but it's Emma. This isn't the first time she's locked herself in," Andrew replied.
"But I bet she locked herself in especially this time," Chloe answered.
"Or maybe Jack and Sarah deserved what happened to them," Chloe asked.
"No... I'll take you to my house," Andrew replied as he stood up.
"That's good," Chloe said.
As they got up and left, Andrew noticed Nathan was nervous and still sitting in his place.
"Hey, Nathan, why are you still sitting there?" Andrew asked with some curiosity.
"I'm nervous because it's the first time I'm entering a girl's room," Nathan spoke with some embarrassment in his voice.
"..."
"..."
...
Somewhere in the forest...
"We're getting closer."
As Emma advanced through the forest, she saw more hanging corpses, all in the same condition—headless and hanging from trees.
"So, Emma?" Smiley spoke.
"What now?" Emma asked.
"Were they your friends? Were they people close to you who died?" Smiley asked.
"No, they bullied me at school," Emma replied coldly.
"What? Were they bad people? What did they do to you?" Smiley asked in shock.
"Do you remember the story I told you?" Emma asked.
"Yes, of course. Who could forget facing a giant armored scorpion that day?" Smiley said.
"Well, because of what I did, they considered me the villain and started harassing and bullying me."
"I remember at first, they scribbled insults on my desk, and then they threw food at me."
"And I remember there was a time they threw eggs at my head, or that time they put a bucket of water on me, and all my clothes got wet. There was also a time they threw a ball in my face."
"And then one time, I decided enough was enough and fought back. It seems this angered them because they didn't find it fun anymore—seeing someone resist strongly instead of being submissive. We fought against each other, and sometimes the teacher would stop us mid-fight."
"But this was before things got worse."
"Wow, I didn't expect them to be that bad. So, how did you feel when they died?"
"I hated it."
"What?" Smiley tilted his head in confusion.
"When I saw them dead like that, I felt fear and dread, and I felt... peace."
"I felt relieved when I saw them dead. I felt peace because I wouldn't have to face them again, wouldn't have to face their bullying anymore."
"I hated them, hated them a lot, and I hated myself for it."
"Because no matter what they did, the fact that I felt relieved seeing them dead made me just like them. I'm no different from them."
"I wanted them to be punished, but I didn't want them to die. But I hated them so much. What a hypocrite I am. I thought I was different, but the truth is... I'm a monster too," Emma looked down sadly.
"Hmm, but you don't seem like a monster to me," Smiley said.
"Thank you," Emma replied.
"You seem more like a rabbit to me," Smiley said, placing his hand on her shoulder.
"Haha, very funny," Emma mocked Smiley and smiled at him.
"Hey! You're really nice when you smile like that," Smiley replied.
"Get away," Emma felt embarrassed and moved away from Smiley.
"Come on, let me see your smile! It's rare to see someone as gloomy as you smile," Smiley joked.
"I said get away!"
....
"This is my home."
Andrew, Nathan, and Chloe were standing in front of Andrew's house.
"A beautiful house," Nathan remarked.
"Beautiful for raising a killer," Chloe retorted.
"Chloe! Don't say that! We don't even know if it's true yet!" Nathan replied angrily.
"Oh, come on, it's so obvious. All we need to do is find evidence in her room," Chloe said confidently.
"We'll see about that," Nathan responded.
"You defend her a lot. Are you in love with her or what?" Chloe asked skeptically.
"I'm not in love with her! It's just that you're accusing her without any evidence."
"Stop fighting! Don't act like children in front of my mom," Andrew said angrily.
When Andrew entered with his friends, his mother greeted him while washing dishes.
"Oh, hello Andrew, you're back early... Wait, did you invite your friends over?" Mrs. Blackwood asked.
"Yes, I invited my friends over today," Andrew replied.
"This is the second time you've invited Nathan, and this girl?" Mrs. Blackwood asked in surprise.
"I'm Chloe, his classmate," Chloe replied innocently.
"Oh, this is the first time Andrew has invited a girl to our house. I was a bit surprised," Mrs. Blackwood said.
"I'm just here to hang out with them. Don't worry, we're not dating or anything," Chloe joked.
"Haha... Your friend seems unique, Andrew," Mrs. Blackwood replied.
"Yeah, come on guys, let me show you my room," Andrew said as they went upstairs.
When they reached the top, Andrew stopped in front of a specific door and pointed, "This is my sister Emma's room."
"Good, open it," Chloe said with some excitement.
"It's locked," Andrew replied.
"Wait, did she lock her room?" Nathan asked curiously.
"Proof that she's hiding something... Open it so we can see the secrets she's keeping," Chloe said.
"I told you it's locked just a second ago," Andrew replied.
"I'm talking about the spare key, smart one. You definitely have an extra key in case of emergencies. You wouldn't leave just one key with Emma."
"It's with my mom," Andrew said.
"Ugh, tell her that her friends want to see her room. She won't mind."
"Fine, I'll go down," Andrew said as he went downstairs to get the key from his mother.
Nathan and Chloe were left alone, and Nathan broke the silence.
"Why are you doing this?"
"Doing what?" Chloe asked.
"Why do you always suspect Emma? You've never even met her! Why all this hostility towards her?" Nathan asked with some suspicion.
"For Sarah and Jack," Chloe replied.
"Don't lie to me. I know you don't care about them. Just tell me why."
"It's because___"
"Here's the key," Andrew interrupted.
"Oh good, because things were about to get awkward," Chloe replied.
"Let's go in," Andrew said as he opened Emma's room.
When they entered, Emma's room looked ordinary, but there were many devices placed near her closet, old batteries, and the walls were bare except for papers with complex mathematical numbers and symbols, along with many books on her shelf.
"So this is her room. It's really... strange?" Nathan asked curiously.
"Yeah, actually, I rarely go into her room, and it seems she's changed a lot of things," Andrew said as they examined the room.
There were books related to science, everything was meticulously organized, and there were notebooks filled with numbers and zeros without any hints.
"What is all this? Did she encrypt everything with numbers or what?" Chloe asked angrily.
"Oh, it looks like I found her personal computer," Nathan said, holding the computer.
"Good, turn it on. She must have put a highly complex password on her computer to prevent anyone from accessing it. Luckily, I have the solution___"
"It's open."
"What?" Chloe asked in shock.
"It seems there's no password. I pressed a button, and it opened directly," Nathan replied innocently.
"This is really weird. Would she leave her computer without any protection? Is she that confident no one would try to open it?" Chloe asked suspiciously.
"Or maybe it's nothing," Nathan replied.
"You can't be sure yet," Chloe answered. "Besides, let's see what secrets you're hiding, Emma."
But there was nothing. There were only files and pictures related to studies, nothing else.
"What about the trash bin? It's full! She must have hidden it in the trash bin," Chloe said.
"It's... just old files also related to studies... pictures of space?... Wait, are these astronauts?"
When Nathan opened the pictures, they saw various images of astronauts, and there were also pictures of planets.
"What is all this?" Nathan asked.
"This... was her dream," Andrew replied.
"Her dream was to become an artist?" Nathan asked.
"No, her dream was to become an astronaut," Andrew said.
"What?... Pfft! She's an astronaut? That's the funniest thing I've ever heard!"
"Chloe!" Nathan shouted angrily.
"What? I'm telling the truth! It's impossible for someone like her to become an astronaut. I've never heard of a killer becoming an astronaut!" Chloe replied.
"Even if that's the case, you shouldn't mock someone's dream," Nathan said angrily.
"I'm not mocking, it's just the truth," Chloe replied sarcastically.
"You're such a (sigh)... Let me see if there's... Wait, are there still pictures? Wait, Andrew, isn't this you?" Nathan asked in shock.
What appeared were pictures of Emma and her brother Andrew smiling together, and there was a picture of them trying a swing together, along with many other photos.
"Wait, if all these pictures are of you two? Why are they in the trash bin?" Nathan asked suspiciously.
"It's because___"
"Because you exposed her truth in the cafeteria," Chloe said.
"For heaven's sake, how many times have I told you not to be rude___"
"To Andrew, because what? She's a killer? Did you forget who exposed her truth in front of the school and revealed her evil nature?" Chloe replied.
"I'm not talking about that, you always___"
While Nathan and Chloe were arguing, Andrew stared at the pictures and thought.
"Emma... Do you really hate me so much that you threw our pictures in the trash? Is this how much you hate me?"
Andrew looked at the pictures of them smiling and began to wonder if he was really wrong in what he did.