CHAPTER 22

I was descending the stairs and I felt someone's hand on my

shoulder. I don't know form where I had mustered up the

courage from but, I held it tightly not wanting that person to

hurt me. I gripped the hand tightly. The hand felt really rough

and I felt some kind of wounds on the palm. Wounds of

scratches, I guess. Suddenly the lights went out. I shivered.

"Who are you?" I muttered into the darkness.

No reply.

I composed myself.

"I asked who are you?" I muttered a little loudly this time.

Suddenly I felt a sharp kick on my knee. I fell to my side.

"Ah. Who's there?" I yelled.

"Help. I need help." I yelled again.

Where is he and his guards now?

I extended my hand and I felt the stairs railing. I clutched it

tightly and got up careful not to make a noise. It was dark.

And, if I couldn't see the attacker, she couldn't see me too. If I

had to get away and save myself, I must be quiet. I slowly got

up and descended one stair lightly but, the heel of my shoes

decided to betray me. As soon as my heel made the sound, I

felt another kick on the same knee. I was about to lose my

balance and roll down the stairs but, I acted quick and

clutched the railing.

"Who's there?" I yelled as I fell of the stairs.

"Mummy." I whispered as the darkness enveloped me.

I got up regardless of my knee hurting like hell and extended

my arms to search for the light switch.

You've been in this building for the last 3 years, Fatima. You

can do it. You should know what's where even in the darkness.

I found it and immediately switched it on.

Still dark. I thought as I harshly switched it on and off for a

while.

Phones should have been allowed for school. I thought.

I started reciting prayers. Just then I heard footsteps. I started

reciting them loudly and searched for a place to hide. I felt a

wall behind me and stood against it.

"Please, don't kill me. Please, don't kill me." I pleaded and

closed my eyes. Just then a hand grasped mine and I

screamed.

"Let me go." I slapped the hand.

"Let go." I screamed awfully as I scratched the hand.

I screamed loudly and kicked in the air trying to kick to

predator.

"Keep quiet." the loud voice echoed in the place for a while.

"Officer, Badr Al-Din." I called out. Just then he switched on

his flashlight. He flashed it on my face.

The sudden exposure to the harsh light made me sneeze.

"I should've known. I should've locked you up the minute I

suspected you." he took out his handcuffs.

"What are you saying?" I muttered weakly as he began to cuff

my hands.

"What are you..."

"Enough." he yelled as he locked them.

I was handcuffed.

Great. With all the drama going on in my life this was like

cherry on top.

"I didn't do anything, sir." I muttered weakly and tears started

to spill from my eyes. I hurriedly rubbed them with my locked

hands.

"Shut up. What could possibly justify you roaming around the

corridors at midnight. What in the world were you doing

here? And, how did you switch the lights off, girl?"

"What did you do?" he yelled.

I flinched.

The harsh light made me sneeze again so I took out a

handkerchief from my pocket just in case.

"I only suspected your hand in murder. But, turns out you

have been stealing too."

My eyes widened on their own.

"What did I steal?" I looked around.

He stared blankly at me for a second then he held the corner

of the handkerchief in my hand.

"This." he looked at it then back at me. "Is mine."

"You gave it to me." I muttered quietly.

"I don't remember." he tugged the corner a little gazing into

my eyes.

"The day my nose bled." I reminded him as I gazed into his

intimidating eyes and slowly loosened the grasp of my fingers

on the handkerchief's other end.

He didn't say anything and I let the handkerchief go. He

looked at it as he realized I wasn't holding it anymore.

Should I tell him?

"Yes. Be brave, Fatima." I heard the voice of my conscience.

"You have a bad habit of accusing people for the crimes they

haven't committed." I looked down.

"I don't trust anyone." he replied calmly.

"That doesn't mean you can accuse anyone like that. You may

not realize but, it can hurt..."

"I respectfully don't care." he whispered each word slowly.

"Now, tell me what in the world were you doing here,

Fatima?"

I gulped nervously.

"I didn't do anything. I was descending the stairs and the

lights went out." The pain at the back of my head was

increasing with each passing second.

"I need to have my pain meds." I whispered quietly.

"You're not going anywhere until you answer my questions.

I've had enough of you. It's been a month. I know you are

hiding something major. I am absolutely sure after your close

connection with all those incidents happened after the

murder. First you hand gets stabbed, then you get injured

again. You skip my interrogation; a girl falls off the stairs and

she is related to you too. Then suddenly you suffer from a

concussion making you forget fragments of your memory...

"I know where the killer is." I yelled.

He paused and narrowed his eyes at me.

"I know where the killer is." I repeated solemnly.

He looked unfazed.

"The killer was here. She almost pushed me off the stairs." I

rubbed my eyes.

"You are lying." he yelled at my face.

I shook my head and tears began to form in my eyes again.

Reason for crying continuously?

Well, no one had ever behaved in such a ruthless manner with

me.

He flashed his light on the stairs behind me.

"Turn around."

"What..."

"Don't make me repeat. Turn around." he yelled.

"Okay. Okay. I am going." I hurriedly turned around.

We started descending the stairs. At this point the only thing

was remaining was me at his gunpoint. And, I was sure that if

I wouldn't listen to him that would happen too.

"I remember the day I suffered from a concussion." I began.

"Go on." came his composed voice.

"You called me in for an interrogation separately."

"So?" he sounded annoyed.

"I was sitting there and something bad happened."

He scoffed.

"Yeah, you managed to escape that interrogation too."

"Domestic violence."

"Please, don't start with this one again." he sounded really

annoyed.

"No, sir." I stopped and turned around.

"You are not giving me a chance to explain. You suspect me

but, you aren't giving me a chance to defend myself. It is my

right." I muttered the last part quietly but, he heard it.

His eyes lit up in amusement.

"Go on."

"Sir, I do not remember what happened after my concussion. I

mean some of it. All that I remember is domestic violence."

He frowned thoughtfully.

"So, something related to domestic violence?"

I nodded vigorously.

"So, what happened?"

"That's what we have to find out."

He sighed and rubbed his face with his hands.

"What happened to the damn lights?" he muttered in Arabic.

"The electrical panel is in the ground." I whispered.

He quickly descended the stairs and I trailed behind him.

"Hold it." he shoved his phone in my hands while he worked

on the panel

Oooh. Posh. I thought as I held his phone.

"Sayid."

"Ah, Jamal." he sighed as his guard came rushing out. The

teachers were there too.

His guard worked on the panel while me, him and the

teachers walked back in the building.

"So, where were we?"

"Domestic violence." I replied.

"There was a bruise on your jaw that day. Other than the

wound at the back of your head."

"I know. But, I don't...."

"Look. You have no escape from me this time. You are being

interrogated now." he cut me off and started conversing with

my teacher.

How do you escape from the clutches of an octopus?

There were two ways. First one: Prevent the octopus from

wrapping its tentacles around you and the second one was to

swim towards the shore.

I did not know how to swim and neither was I that strong or

cunning that I could prevent him from wrapping his tentacles

around me. But I knew I had to do something. I glanced

across the same grey room. The interrogation rooms. I had

been waiting for him for the past 20 minutes now. For some

reason the room was making me sick. I was feeling nauseous.

And, the grey color of the walls was very unpleasant.

Violet, Indigo, Turquoise, Sage Green, Black. When such

pretty colors were available in the options why did the painter

opt for grey. I thought.

I clutched my head as the pain started kicking in. It was

almost 2 weeks now. But the pain hadn't faded away. It would

come back at a fixed part every day. What was worse that now

I had even hurt my knee. It pained slightly whenever I would

walk. I glanced at my watch. It was 2:00 am. I regretted

coming down. I would have been sleeping peacefully had I not

come down. Amidst all of these thoughts one of it was eating

me from the inside. Who was there with me in the corridor?

The girl who kicked me.

Officer Badr Al-Din?

My eyes automatically widened at that thought. What if it was

him? Since, he showed up a few minutes later I hurt my knee.

But, why would he do that? Why would he hide in the

darkness and hurt me when he had the authority and power to

hurt me in broad daylight.

Where is he?

Should I go out and check? Probably, yes.

Just as I got up the door creaked open. I immediately sat

down.

Somebody help me.

He walked in slowly and stood staring at me for a minute.

Should I get up?

I got up out of respect or out of fear. He nodded. And, the look

on his face while he nodded told me that he was the grim

reaper. I did not hear the door close but, I saw his shoes from

underneath the table then he sat down in front of me. I heard

him snap his fingers.

"You seem to be enjoying our interrogation sessions." he

smiled devilishly.

More like having suicidal thoughts. I thought.

"So, where were we again?"

I sighed tiredly.

"How many times do I have to repeat myself, sir? I don't

remember anything about the incident except for domestic

violence. There was a bruise on my jaw and I hit the back of

my head on something. So, that means that someone tried to

hurt me."

He clicked his tongue.

"I know that. But that isn't the truth."

"What?" I stared at me horrified at what he was insinuating.

"Are you insinuating that I hurt myself. I hit my jaw first and

banged the back of my head so hardly that I suffered from a

concussion?"

"You can't talk to me like that." he stated calmly.

"And, what can I do, sir? Sit back and relax while you accuse

me of such horrible acts?"

He looked unfazed.

"You'll have to believe me, sir. I am telling the truth." I looked

at him with pleading eyes.

"You may lie all you want but, I know what the truth is." he

smirked.

If you wish to save yourself from becoming an octopus prey

you'll have to fight.

I straightened myself.

"And, what exactly is the truth, sir?"

He was about to say something but, I cut him off.

"The truth is I was here because you called me in. I was in a

room that was supposed to be private. The room you and your

guards should have guarded considering the fact that I was a

possible suspect or maybe just because I was a student of a

school where a major crime has been committed. When you

entered the building with the intention of finding out the

culprit you should've made sure of the safety of everyone." I

didn't know from where I got the courage to say this but, I did.

He raised his eyebrow.

"I was called in by you the day I hurt myself. You should've

made sure of better security or you should've made sure I was

being watched or something since you think that I did that to

myself." I spat and looked away. I knew I shouldn't have

talked to him that way but, it was time to take a stand for

myself.

He had the authority to laugh at my words. Yes, authority to

laugh.

I sighed dejectedly.

"How long am I going to be here? It's 2:30 am." I held up my

watch.

"Until you answer my questions." he got up.

"First question." he paced the room in front of me. I eyed him

wearily.

"How do you know Saniya, the victim?"

I thought hard but, all that I could remember was him and

Hajera telling me about her. I didn't remember meeting her or

knowing her personally.

"I don't know who is Saniya." I replied solemnly. He stopped

pacing and came back to sit down.

"Let's walk down your memory lane. Shall we?"

"Sure." I yawned and got up.

"But, can I go and get some sleep before that?"

I understood his answer by the look on his face.

"I am sorry." I sat down but, winced as my knee bent and hurt.

"What's wrong?"

"When I was in the corridor someone was there with me and

that person hurt my knee." I rubbed my knee.

"And, when were you going to tell me this?" he raised his

eyebrows.

When you would shut your mouth and listen to me was what I

wanted to say but, I controlled myself.

"You didn't give me a chance." I mumbled quietly.

"So, what happened there?"

"I was going downstairs when I heard footsteps behind me

then when I proceeded to descend the stairs somebody kicked

my knee."

"Which floor?"

"2nd."

He tapped his finger on the table.

"Have you ever been to the 3rd floor?"

"3rd floor? We aren't allowed to go the 3rd floor." I replied

honestly.

He stopped tapping his finger.

"Get up." he got up suddenly.

"What happened?" I got up carefully.

He walked out of the room.

Should I follow him?

I kept standing there for a minute when he came back inside

and looked at me like I am stupid.

"What happened?" I asked meekly.

"Are you dumb? Follow me." he ordered and walked out.

I couldn't match his pace. He was already up there and I was

taking forever to climb upstairs. When I would lift up my leg it

would hurt. When I would keep it on the step above it would

hurt. When I would lift my other leg and climb the step it

would hurt. I did not understand what happened. It wasn't

hurting that much earlier. What's up with the intense pain

suddenly?

"What is taking you so long?" came his loud voice from

upstairs. I flinched. I hadn't even climbed the second floor yet.

"I am coming, sir. My knee hurts." I replied a little loudly.

It took me 7 minutes to reach upstairs.

He gave me a look that said you-are-useless.

"My knee hurts. "I muttered defensively as I walked clutching

my knee.

He didn't say anything and led me inside the corridor to the

right.

"Why does it smell really foul in here?" I covered my nose.

He took out his handkerchief and threw it on my face. I caught

it.

"You want to me to sanitize this place for you, madaam?" he

asked sarcastically.

I covered my nose properly. It smelled like blood.

We walked and stopped near an old wooden door. I noticed

that this door was different that the rest of the doors. It was an

old Mahagony door. It was extremely shabby.

"Open it." he pointed to the door.

I twisted the handle with shaky hands. The door creaked

loudly and I clutched his handkerchief tightly. Is this the

source of the foul smell?

"Get inside." he extended his hand.

"Why?"

"I said get inside." his tone was authoritative.

I walked inside carefully. The room was dark. He flashed the

light form his phone. The room was small with a few old

benches inside. It was dusty, smelly, and the floor had red

stains on it.

Red stains?

I turned around to look at him. He was standing at the

threshold holding his phone. He looked creepy. I closed my

eyes feeling drowsy and dizzy. Time stilled and my brain

seemed to take me to a different world. Where I saw myself

standing inside the classroom and then I saw the corridor,

next the stairs. I saw myself standing on the stairs from where

I could see the inside of the classroom very clearly. Then I

heard giggling sounds. Giggling sounds of a kid. Then I saw a

little girl laughing merrily. Next, I saw her getting stabbed in

the stomach with a large knife. I screamed and dropped to my

knees. She got stabbed in front of my eyes. I couldn't see who

stabbed her though so I walked a little ahead that's when I saw

her. A girl little shorter than me. Lean and she looked weak. I

saw her eyes. They were sunken inside with deep and dark

circles underneath them. Suddenly everything vanished and I

saw darkness. I opened my eyes and took in my surroundings.

I was sitting down and the room looked a little bright. I

rubbed my eyes. I was crying. I looked to my left and Officer

Badr Al-Din still stood at the threshold with his one hand

holding his phone and other buried in his pocket.

"I know what happened in here. I know who the killer is." I

blurted out as soon as I saw him.

He smiled victoriously.

"Good. Now get up and come with me."

I got up quickly and followed him. I tried to ignore the pain of

my knee and my head as I walked downstairs with him.

"Listen to me. I am sure you don't remember all of it. But, do

you think you can recognize her when you see her?"

He was right.

I nodded.

"I am going to organize an assembly. You stand behind the

black square barrier and scan the crowd. Tell me if you see

her."

"Go and wash your face. I have to make the arrangements." he

ordered and walked inside his room.