Chapter 6

Then the sounds of chewing were heard, the audience saw nothing more than Bella's head and blood on the ambulance floor.

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During the broadcast, the police station was watching with heavy hearts as they tried to capture an image of the perpetrator, most of its officer lobbied to head to the location. They were denied on account of the small staff size, seeing as there were less than 20 officers on patrol every day, with very little night shift patrols compared to the day.

Usually, with instances like this, the patrol will mostly be concentrated at night but, instead, as the crime rates went down at night due to fear, it went up in the day. Leaving the Harleigh police little choice but to keep most of the staff working during the day and a skeleton crew to patrol at night. In fact, the force had shrunk as some officers or their families refused to be signed up for the night patrol shifts.

However, once the broadcast showed the blonde woman be killed, the officers abandoned orders and, headed out to the area shown in the broadcast. They left behind the most experienced officer to direct them as he watched the crime and report anything helpful.

The senior officer who was left behind, watched as Bella went out of her hiding place, and look around before she was dragged out and killed. All without the face of the criminal showing, he heard chewing sounds before her head came flying into view, face forever frozen in terror.

In the end, the police were too late as the person had left the scene by the time they arrived.

The only thing that they understood from the autopsy and the video was that the killer was a man of incredible height, unbelievable strength and was cannibalistic in nature.

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It was a hectic week following the broadcast showcasing the murders of Miss Isabella Roune and the team of ambulance workers. The town was plunged into a state of shock as the murder became much more real with video footage of the victims being dismembered.

The high school students received the biggest shock of them all, especially Chloe Vale and Jack Turner, the last two to see Bella alive. This fact was known to the entire school after the principal was forced to check the surveillance footage on the day that she died. As it was supposed to be a secret, naturally, everyone knew the contents of the video. This led to several reactions, from Gin Woolfe dumped Jack for cheating on her, and, Chloe and Jack becoming ostracised by the rest of the school, as it was their 'fault' that she was out after 8 pm. A

Furthermore, the school cracked down on bullying, as a result of the investigation into Bella's death. This became the only shield protecting both Chloe and Jack from getting bullied, as former bullies responsible for Bella's gruesome death.

One person, however, felt responsible.

Jeremy White.

Jeremy felt that if he was more careful, then she would have never gone to the classroom and met Chloe and Jack. He blamed himself for everything, and it could be seen in his mien as he walked around like a zombie. No one had the heart to ostracise him as he was already beating himself over it, not to mention that his fault was simply a bad case of foot in mouth.

Also, there did not seem to be any sadness or anger on Bella's face as she left the room, meaning that she did not take his thoughtless commentary to heart. If anything, it was cold comfort for the teen who had lost his best and only friend.

Once the investigations were completed, the families of those involved were quick to arrange a funeral. The Roune family, though, were eccentric in their burial ceremony as they cremated Bella's corpse. The school was invited as a courtesy, but none bar Jeremy showed up. It was a solemn affair and small affair, as Bella's parents were both in attendance.

Jeremy thought, a bit cynically, that it was a miracle that either of them attended the funeral, not to mention being there together.

It was an open secret that Bella was mostly raised by her grandparents, as her parents were usually never around. The rare occasions that they were it was separately, as it was well known that they could not stay in a room without fighting, yet they refused to get a divorce. As a close friend, Jeremy was more than aware that their fights usually involved physical harm which fell on Bella before her grandfather stepped in to take her away.

The ceremony was over, and her parents were gone. Not a tear was shed, from either of the two adults who held the title of 'Bella Roune's parents'. Jeremy cried again as he was confronted with the loneliness that she had experienced. Her parents did not care for her, her grandparents (who did) were dead, and he was her only friend. The only one there to comfort the grief-stricken teen was the old priest who presided over the funeral.

Once the town knew of the state of Bella's funeral, regret rose as adults and teens alike had not seen or cared to see how miserable she was daily. Bella's funeral was like a slap to all those who preached inclusion, especially their school, as they had never discerned that she lived alone. Nor that she had to rely on minimal wages sent home and charity from the White family as she was not yet old enough for a job.

Investigations of a different sort were launched as child services were alerted to her case. It ended with both parents losing the right to hold custody of any minor, due to their poor parenting, as well as jail time and counselling. Through this, Jeremy saw it as too little too late, as he watched everyone from his position in the courtroom.

He decided as he watched the show of support from the courts and the public, that he did not like the feeling growing under his chest. This stuffy feeling, like there, was something heavy stuck there and caused him to take short and quick breaths.

As the days slowly went by, this feeling grew as he read papers of other victims. Then it disappeared as he was face to chest with the elusive Gabriel Harleigh.