Vengeance

Cedar Creek High...

Why're we getting into the drama room? Liana asked

You said you need information from us and you want us to work together, well this is the best place to discuss since it's rarely used, Sebastian replied

Why do we even have a drama room in a school for science and technology? I ask

No one knows, piper replied

That reminds me, we haven't been introduced, Sebastian suddenly said, Lia meet piper and Amari

Nice to meet you, I said stretching out my hand for a handshake

That's not necessary, she said waving my hand off.

ouch...i swear I heard Sebastian chuckling under his breath

So before we begin anything, piper speaks up, we need to know, how did you find out about Taylor's death?

everything goes quiet for a while before Liana speaks up, sadness enveloping her..

it was the day before yesterday, she began, Taylor stays back at school every Mondays and Fridays for private reading sessions, she has a big family so reading or doing homework at home is close to impossible. I called her around 7 pm, she said she was just leaving for home, I texted her around 11 but she wasn't responding to my texts which was weird because we always chat before bed, so I decided to call her line but it was switched off. Still confused, I called her brother, he said she hadn't returned home since she left, they already contacted the police and she was to be declared missing the following morning. I was confused, she said she was on her way home four hours ago, I started putting two and two together but I hoped I was wrong. I called again early in the morning and that's when I heard the news

Liana buried her face in her palms as she sobbed quietly

Piper tried to comfort her by placing her hand on her shoulder, we're really sorry Liana

She wiped her eyes with the back of her palm, Taylor wasn't perfect, she continued but she didn't deserve this

No one does, I add

Thanks for sharing with us, Sebastian spoke up, about what we know,...we know that there are five cases in total, Taylor being the fifth; this includes three boys and two girls.

The first, a guy named James was poisoned with acetone

The second, another guy named Chris died of an allergy attack, he was allergic to peanuts

The third, a girl named Sierra died by inhaling a ton of arsine

The fourth....

Hold on.. Liana cut in, number three what did you say her name is again?

Sierra? Sebastian replied

Taylor knew her, she said, they were best friends before we became friends

It's getting even more complicated..

Sebastian pauses for a while before he continued, we'll get back to that,

The fourth, a boy named Raj was poisoned with the berry of a yew plant and we learned Taylor was killed by electric shock from a taser.

Also, another important thing we need to mention is, on the right arm of every victim including Taylor, the killer leaves a 'V' written in red ink, that's how we know every murder was committed by the same person.

a 'V'? Liana repeats

Have any idea what it means? I ask her

Well most of the time when killers leave symbols on their victims, it's either to claim responsibility, taunt the police or express their twisted motives, she replied, just like Dennis Rader in 1974 who left a 'BTK' on his victims meaning Bind,torture,kill.. telling the police how he committed his crimes.

What a psycho, I thought aloud

There's a possibility the 'V' carries a deeper meaning, like an abbreviation for something, Liana adds.... if we want to solve this mystery, we have to put all this cases together, there has to be a similarity between them

Yeah, piper agreed, we just found out that Taylor and Sierra are friends, we need to find out more about the others

Okay, I joined in, there are four of us right?, and there are five cases, we can exclude Taylor since Liana can help with information about her, leaving four cases, we could pick a case each and gather every bit of information we can find about each victim

And then we meet up to check out any similarities, piper adds

alright, but keep in mind we need to find out what that 'V' means, it'll help narrow our options, Sebastian points out

we each pick a case as we head to class

and Amari, Liana calls out, try not to read everyone you come across, we don't want the killer to know we're on their tail

Yes ma'am, I reply jokingly, but she didn't seem to catch the joke.

I ended up with the Sierra case and I have no idea how to go about it.. maybe i can reach out to her sister and setup a meeting place for us to discuss?.... it's gonna be hard to convince her considering how long it took piper, although it...

Amari? Cleo pulled me out of my thoughts, did you get Kai's explanation?

I forgot we were having a group discussion

Yeah, I replied

any questions? Kai asked

No....Yes! actually, I respond, what kind of books do you read, just curious

I'm trying to get a reaction from him, so I can read him

He stares at me for a while before responding, good books

nothing,.. really, doesn't he even want to know why I asked such an irrelevant question?!

Alright I reply, can you recommend some good books for me then?

He stares at me again before responding, you've got two in your hand already.

I look at the books in my hand; Chemistry and Biology

seriously!?... this is going nowhere

Thanks for the recommendation, I replied sarcastically

He leaves for his seat

I turn to face Cleo, has he always been like this?

That's how we've always known him to be, she responds, having a conversation with him is like mopping the ocean, it's a waste of time.

I stare at him again as I walk past him to my seat

how's your project coming up? Piper asks

Hey do you find Kai weird? I reply instead

sure, she replied, why?

I can't read him, I've never met someone I can't read before, I reply

that's because he doesn't have reactions to anything, she said

But that's impossible, every one reacts to situations in different ways, even if it's out of reflexes. I feel like he has an ability that makes him unreadable, I persist

Well nothing's impossible in Cedar Creek, she replies.

So what're you doing?, I ask noticing she has a note in front of her with different words starting with V crossed out

I'm still trying to figure out what that V means, she replied, I've been so all over it that I tailed a guy in class B, spying on him for at least twenty minutes because he wore a bag with a V on it

Oh my! we both laughed.., I'm pretty sure the killer would be smart enough not to wear something incriminating

True, she agreed, but I still have my eyes on him

Sebastian flops next to her

Where'd you go? Piper asks

Liana wanted to see me, he replied in a low tone, she said some detectives interrogated her, they know she knows about Taylor's death, the family mentioned it, they asked her to give any useful information she might have. They also asked if she knew any one else that knows about Taylor's death

What'd she say? I asked

She said she doesn't, but she wanted us to know so we would be careful, the police can't know that we know about this or they'll have questions, questions we can't answer, he replied

Also, he continued, she sent me to tell you something Amari,

What's that? I ask

four simple words, he replied; "Dont Stare Too Hard"!

She seems pretty fond of me, I reply smiling for some reason

Or she thinks of you as a mind reading freak, piper said and she's not so far off

'face' reading freak, thank you, I corrected.

Later that day....

Alaya pushes my door open and strolls in as usual, you're back home, good

Why is that good and stop walking into my room without knocking! I huffed

Fine, next time, she replied sitting by my reading table, you haven't told me about your adventure the other night, we had a deal.

I went to a party I lied, eyes on my phone

She looked at me with a frown, I don't believe that, we both know you hate parties, you're a nerd she said emphasizing the 'nerd' part

there's just nothing to tell okay, I replied,

Seriously?, I helped you that night, if it wasn't for me you would've been stuck at home, she insisted

and I appreciate it, I reply

an appreciation, that's all I get? she said visibly annoyed....at what exactly?

remind me never to help you again she said standing up, and just so you know, I'm getting a V on you for that

Wait what'd you say?, I drop my phone as something familiar caught my ears

I'm getting a V on you? she repeated confused at my action

I stare at her in silence and she stares back

that means Vengeance, she said noticing my confusion.... vengeance means revenge?, she adds

I know what it means, I reply...wait so when someone uses the letter V as an abbreviation, it means Vengeance?

Yeah you didn't know that?, I thought you were smart, she said walking out.

Love you! I shout out as I shut the door behind her and ran to my phone, picking it up from my bed, I quickly create a group chat and add piper, sebastian and liana, then I send them each texts to come online,.. I almost drop my phone out of excitement as I hurriedly type on the group chat:

Vengeance, the 'V' means Vengeance!!