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Literature
The Hardest Deception
The Network
Chapter 4 - The Hardest Deception
“Hyah!” The driver called as he snapped the reins of the horses. The carriage sped passed me, kicking up mud and gravel. I scowled at the driver, but bit my tongue, continuing on my way. No matter my mood, it always lifted once I returned home.
The manor, however, was eerily quiet and dark. There were no lights, no movements, no sound, and I felt a chill go down my spine as I stepped into the foyer.
I had been gone less than a day, but it was unlike Elise to leave the manor so dark and unwelcoming, no matter the duration of my absence. My footsteps were the only noise as I made my way through empty rooms, the worrying feeling gnawing at my insides.
“Elise!” I called, but got no answer.
When I entered the study, everything became clear.
A vase had been smashed; its fragments cast across the plush carpet. There were muddy footprints, circling and overlapping; the unmistakable tracks of a struggle. The most obvious clue was the smell in the
Literature
The Chloroform Burglar - Prelude
Chapter 1
—
Campus police are investigating an alleged robbery in one of the dorms. The incident occurred during the night of the 23rd on the 200 block of S. Second Avenue. Anyone with information is encouraged to reach out to the non-emergency number: 555-291-4583.
—
Rebecca blearily opened her eyes, wincing at the bright light streaming in.
“Close those blinds!” A harried voice whispered. “Rebecca?”
The young woman focused on the uniformed figure in front of her. It took a second for the college freshman to make sense of everything, but she did recognize the other woman as a police officer. Immediately, she felt a thrill of fear run through her. “What - what did I do?”
The officer smiled politely. “Nothing, you’re safe now.”
Rebecca looked down at herself - there was only a towel draped over her. She was sitting on the floor of her dorm room, propped up against her bed. The young woman felt herself blush the same shade as her hair. She took an involuntary scooch backwards from
Literature
Welcome to the Sleepyhotel- Chapter IV
Scarlett: "I'll be back, need to go to the loo."
Ruby: "Well looks like you drank too much of that mojito, didn't you?" Teases the brunette, smirking.
*Scarlett stands up and gets out of the restaurant. Not seeing any signs for the toilets, she plans on asking the first staff member she sees. Ironically, the closest member of staff she sees is none other than Bram carrying a.. sleeping Amira...?*
*Bram notices Scarlett at the end of the hall staring towards him. He quickly hides behind the wall he walked by, stressed out.*
Bram: "Ah dammit! Why did she have to walk out now. Well let's hope she hasn't seen me yet... I'm just gonna act like I found her friend like this." *Says a nervous Bram.*
*He walks back out, still carrying Amira in his arms and tries to get Scarlett's attention*
Bram: "Hey miss, can you help me please?"
Scarlett: "What the fuck?" *Exclaims Scarlett, clearly surprised! She did see him carrying Amira then, she wasn't seeing things.*
Bram: "Yes please help me. I found your friend like this in the hallway. Could you help me take her to her room so we can try to wake her up?" *Says Bram, acting breathless hoping that his acting will be convincing enough.*
Scarlett: "Wait, what?! What happened to her?" *Asks Scarlett, approaching the man and her comatose friend in his arms.*
Bram: "I don't know. I found her like this. I think she must have stumbled and hit her head." *Replies Bram.*
*Scarlett approaches and grabs Amira's legs, while Bram has her by the shoulders. She gazes at her friend who is totally unconscious by the looks of it, her head looped back rested against Bram's torso. Her legs feel limp.*
Scarlett: "You've seen her stumble or is it just speculation?" *She asks, with apparent suspicion in her tone. She did go by the hallway earlier, and she never saw Amira there. If she did stumble and knock herself out (which isn't very Amira-like), then it was after she went to the restaurant, and so 10 minutes ago at the earliest.*
Bram: "I saw the last bit off the fall when i came from the restaurant. She tripped over the mat at the front door and hit her head against the wall and then the floor. i tried waking her up but i just could not get her awake again." *Replies a nervous Bram, unwittingly contradicting his story.*
Scarlett: "Wait did you not just say you found her like this?"
*Scarlett grows overly suspicious as Bram realises he might've fallen into a gotcha moment as a second of silence reigns between the 2. However, the previous noise level attracted both Ruby and Amy who soon appear behind Scarlett, both equally in shock.*
Amy: "What's happening here?"
Ruby: "Oh God, Amira.." *Arrives Ruby, running at her friend. She shakes her head gently, realising Amira is unconscious and isn't waking up. She quickly adds, now concerned:* "Come on what are we waiting for? Do you guys have an infirmary or anything here?"
*Ruby's and Amy's arrival gave Bram the excellent distraction away from Scarlett's difficult questioning.*
Bram: "No but we have a first aid kit and a member staff is a trained first aider. Let's get her to her room if you may." *Quickly says Bram, slightly worried about Scarlett finding out and compromising him as she stares at him with suspicion. Bram makes a mental note to take care of that as soon as possible. The entry of Amy, Ruby and Scarlett is definitely making things harder for the hotel manager. Bram needs to tread carefully...*
*The 4 people carry Amira in her room. Once the tall girl is set on her bed, Ruby sits besides her and pushes one of her long black curls away from her peaceful, sleeping face.*
Ruby: "Do you have anything we could treat her head with?"
Bram: "I have a few ice packs in the freezer. Should i go get them for you?"
Ruby: "Yes please. Thanks..."
Bram: "Aright then I'll be right back."
*Bram walks out of the room to get the ice pack and leaves the girls alone. However, before he walks down, he stays next to the door to listen to anything that could be said about the incident. Scarlett probably will mention the earlier event...*
Amy: "What exactly happened?" *Asks Amy, seeing Scarlett perplexed.*
Scarlett: "So basically, I went to the loo, right? But I couldn't find them so I started looking for a uniform. Then, I saw him at the end of the hallway carrying Mira in his arms, only to hide behind the wall he walked by and come out again crying for 'help'" *Scarlett opens the brackets on the word 'help' with her hands, highlighting her skepticism.*
Ruby: "Are you-"
Scarlett: "Let me finish. Then I ask what happened. He tells me he found her out in the hallway and that she must've stumbled and knocked herself out."
Amy: "That doesn't sound like Mira."
Scarlett: "Exactly!!! That's what I thought so I was like are you sure? And I pressed him and then he changed his story to: I've seen the last part of the fall..."
Amy: "That's a contradiction..."
Scarlett: "Well done, boss. So I say this guy is behind it. He kayoed her!"
Ruby: "That's crazy. Why would he do that? There's no motive. It sounds like you pressed a clearly emotional man who was trying maybe to help and didn't mind his words. He looked very.. worried."
Scarlett: "Yeah, you idiot. He looked worried because he knows that I know."
Amy: "Ruby's got a point though... Why would he do that? We don't know him.."
Scarlett: "Maybe but would explain why she didn't answer her phone for the last hour, and why she just disappeared since going to the gym."
Ruby: "Oh just shut up. We'll find out anyway once Mira wakes up. Instead of shouting let's take care of her..." *Says Ruby, worrying instead about the state of her still unconscious friend who shows no signs of waking up amidst Ruby gently shaking her by the shoulder in the last minute.*
Amy: "Try to wake her up. She'll tell us what happened and if Scarlett is just crazy, hehe..."
Scarlett: "We'll see, but I say we don't wait for her to wake up, that's long! Once he comes back, I'll confront him!"
*After hearing everything, Bram walks back downstairs quietly, thinking about what he just heard. As he enters the kitchen, Kay interrogates him on what happened.*
Kay: "Seems like the situation is a bit problematic." *Comments Kay after Bram informed him of the ordeal.*
Bram: "Yeah, they want to confront me when i get back as well."
Kay: "Well, the ideal thing would be to get them separated."
Bram: "Yeah, that's why I'll send Kata up with the ice pack and make them look for me so I can knock them out one by one." *Proposes Bram, as he walks towards the freezer.*
Kay: "That could work..." *Utters Kay, holding his chin.*
*Bram grabs an ice pack from the freezer and walks over to Kata at the front desk*
Bram: "Hey Kata. Could you please bring this to the girls upstairs. One of them bumped her head."
Kata: "Yes of course."
Bram: "Thanks a lot. I still have some work to do around the hotel to... make sure there are no other hazards." *Says Bram, hastily walking off preparing his next moves as Kata diligently goes upstairs and knocks on the door of room number 4, with the ice pack in hand...*
*To be continued...*
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Will there be any art to the story?