Chapter 16

"Do you think they'll attack again?" asked Joe as he walked next to Frank on level D. With their shift ending, they were on their way to the mess hall. Both men were starving and tired, looking forward to a meal and a comfy bed afterward.

"No idea, but Kane looks like he might have a heart attack if they find another body," said Frank.

"Half of the council looks like they're going to have one— FUCK!" Joe's leg caught onto something, and he fell forward flailing his arms.

"What the f—" Frank didn't finish his thought.

Unable to catch his balance, Joe's body crashed into the floor. He winced in pain and scrambled to turn around. "What the hell?" he spat out as he turned to Frank who stood there with his mouth wide open and his finger pointing at something in the shadow. Joe's eyes followed and when his gaze landed on what Frank was seeing, his piercing scream filled the empty hall, bouncing off the walls, echoing.

Exhausted after work, Abby was getting ready for her evening shower. She grabbed her braid and was about to pull the tie holding it together when she jumped as a loud banging sound filled the room.

"Abby, it's urgent!" Marcus' voice was loud and clear despite the thick door and an empty room between them. Her chest tightened as she dashed through her quarters and swung the door open. In front of her, Kane leaned on the frame of the door, bent in half trying to catch his breath.

"Grab your med bag and come!"

Abby didn't waste time asking questions, she grabbed her bag, locked her door and followed him as he guided her through the halls. She was about to turn when he grabbed her elbow and steered her into the hidden corridors. She raised her eyebrows and looked at him quizzically.

"The main halls are busy, the afternoon shift just ended. It'll be faster this way."

Abby nodded in reply. "Are you going to tell me what happened?" she asked as they ran through the halls.

"I don't know exactly. Miller radioed me, someone's been attacked—"

"No! Are they alive?"

"I don't know. Miller was on his way; he didn't know either."

Marcus picked up the pace and Abby tried her best to follow him but once they arrived at the scene, she was out of breath, meters behind him. As they approached, she saw three people in the distance. The tallest one must have been Miller Senior, the two shorter men, she couldn't recognize from the far away and the victim was out of her view. Her heart thumped. No one seemed to be helping the victim. A bad sign. Her throat burned from running but she picked up the pace as she hurried towards the scene in front of her. The closer she got, the more she could see.

Now, she recognized the men. One of them was sitting down against the wall, his arm holding his knee. Eyes empty, unfocused. Joe, she thought. Her heart dropped as she recognized the second man. Frank. As she got closer, her eyes swept the scene. New detail caught her attention, something she couldn't see before. A bare foot sticking out from behind the corner. A lump rose in her throat. She squared her back, and put her head up in preparation for what she was about to find.

"Talk to me, Miller,"? Kane said as they approached the crime scene.

"These two." The guard pointed with his hand. "Claim that they found the body on their way back from work" Abby moved closer to the body while still listening to Miller. "Joe claims that he tripped over the leg—"

"I hurt my knee," he whined.

"You'll live," Kane dismissed him, and Joe pouted like a baby. He didn't appreciate that kind of treatment.

Abby walked over to the victim and knelt next to the body. Voices behind her drowned out by her own thoughts. The conversation now a mere background noise, nothing more than a buzzing sound. She looked around taking in the scene in front of her. A young woman, maybe in her twenties, laid on her back. Her red hair spread on the floor. Once beautiful, now a tangled mess. Chunks missing. Pulled. Discard meters away. Dark, dried blood glued the strands together. The woman's blouse was torn, her stomach scratched. Bruises covered her skin and her trousers were pulled down. Abby swallowed hard but the lump forming in her throat didn't go away. She swallowed again trying to suppress her own emotions. The woman's missing shoe lay by the wall, a dagger next to her hand. Her arm was slashed. Dripping from her veins it pooled underneath it. Abby took a long look at the woman's face, her features were familiar. She knew her well. Abby closed her eyes trying to blink back her tears. There was no need to check the vitals. Almost severed head told her everything she needed to know about that.

"Frank, you're officially a suspect—"

"Bullshit! I found her! If I was guilty, do you think I'd reported it?"

Raised voices reached Abby's ears. Her blood boiled. Her head snapped; her eyes focused on Frank as Miller said.

"If you're innocent, just give us your sample."

"No! You're looking for a scapegoat and you're not gonna get one."

"For once in your life, shut up and do as you are told." Abby got off her knees and walked over to the arguing men, her eyes fixed on Frank's face.

The man turned his head towards her with his mouth opened, ready to argue but the look on her face told him not to.

"Look at her!" Abby demanded. Frank looked Abby in the eyes. Defiant. She held his gaze, furious. "Look. At. Her." She pointed towards the victim.

Reluctantly, Frank turned his head, his eyes followed her finger until they landed on the mutilated body of a young woman.

"You know her!"

Frank looked at her confused. "What are you—!

"It's Shilah! The daughter of your best friend from the Ark. Remember him?"

Frank's eyes widened. His friend didn't survive the landing, but Shilah did. She was like a niece to him. When they found the body, he didn't look at it properly, the view too gruesome for him to handle and he certainly didn't look at her face. Now, he noticed it for the first time. Suddenly, he was speechless.

"Give me the damn sample if you want to catch her killer!"

Frank nodded and opened his mouth. Abby grabbed a sample taker from her med back and swirled it around in his mouth.

"I want you in the medical at midday for more samples." In shock, Frank only nodded.

Abby packed away the sample, now almost certain that Frank wasn't the attacker, at least not in this case. She turned around to look at Shilah. With a heavy sigh, she walked over ready for work. In the background, she could hear Kane and Miller discussing the details, but she closed her eyes and drowned out their voices until they were nothing more than a background noise. Her sole focus was on the scene in front of her, her thoughts occupied by one thing. Solving the case and catching whoever was responsible. If Abby had to stay alive, at least she would make herself useful, she thought to herself, finding a new purpose.

The End of Chapter 16