Chloe felt the man push her gently to the chair, sitting her down. She was staring at the ground, numb. She heard faint voices around the room that echoed, but she couldn't concentrate. She slowly blinked and looked up when she heard a man walking back and forth, talking to the judge.
"... At first it was just a myth." He said, putting his hands behind his back as he walked. "Something we heard about in school or even movies. Then we came to know of people, families and groups who were human-eaters. It shocked the entire world. There were movies like Texas Chainsaw Massacre which portrayed a family of cannibals. Then came the most famous cannibal character of the American cinema: Hannibal Lecter. His movies fascinated and scared people. Now, five years ago, I first heard of a case going on in the US. Something that wasn't fictional. A cannibal on the loose. Rebeca Mitchell."
Chloe looked more alive as she heard that. She was gonna protest, but she felt it wasn't her place.
"Mr. Ulman, may I remind you that this isn't a trial and that Miss Mitchell is dead?" The judge said. "We're here only to take Miss Beale's testimony."
The counselor seemed taken aback but regained his composure.
"Yes, Your Honor." He said and turned to Chloe. "Chloe Beale. Your name is known worldwide now for being Rebeca Mitchell's one and only victim who survived. We wanna know how all this happened."
Chloe remained quiet, she felt as if she was gonna throw up or start crying. She hated how this man was saying Beca's name.
"Miss Beale?" The judge said in a hurrying tone.
"Beca.. wasn't a monster." Chloe finally said and her words hung in the air. "She killed people, yes. She ate people, yes. She even wanted to kill me. But Beca.. Beca was a brilliant woman. She had the IQ of 147 points. You see a mind like that wasn't caught by accident. She wanted to get caught. She wanted to die."
Chloe's eyes filled with tears.
"You're saying Miss Mitchell was.. brilliant?" The counselor asked.
"Let her speak, counselor." The judge said.
Chloe wiped a tear with her shaky hand.
"I don't understand Beca's mind nor do I want to. I just know I met her when it was too late. Maybe if I had disappeared before, she could've stopped." Chloe said. "She once told me 'Chloe, I'm a monster in every sense of the word.' and I didn't want to believe her. I saw her differently. I didn't see the monster she saw. I saw a beautiful, amazing girl, who.. got caught in a bad, bad world."
The judge frowned to hear that description of Beca, especially coming from one of her victims.
"Excuse me Miss Beale.. I have to ask you to tell us exactly what happened." The judge said.
Chloe took a deep breath and started telling the story of how she crossed path with the terrible Beca Mitchell.