12. The Devil Among Us

For the first time, Skyling City wasn't a safe place. Fear visited everyone in the college. The police arrested people based on the rumors. Some few students also met Veronica's fate, but they were lucky, as they weren't staying for too long in prison. The worst thing ever was that the police believed Marcos was dead. We didn't know why they rushed to that conclusion.

The day when the police officers called my friends and I to the station for questioning, a new police officer, Officer K, took over the case. He released my girlfriend. I became happy seeing Veronica coming back to us. Officer K announced he had no reason to arrest Veronica without solid evidence. He was a humble man and very reasoning. He did his own investigations on the case instead of allowing himself to be misled by the armature college newspapers.

After a few days of taking over the case, he saw something that made him wear his masks. He called for a backup, and the police soon encircled the place and called it a no-go area. It didn't take long for Mr. Mann to go to the place. The police led him down the river. On sensing the smell, Mr. Mann slowly wore the mask that the police gave him the moment he came out of his car. As he continued walking, he was in disbelief that the body the police found might belong to his son. As they got closer, he could feel his shoes becoming heavier and his body becoming weaker.

"Here it is, Mr. Mann," Officer K said, pointing to where the body was.

Mr. Mann went closer to the body. Without even saying a word, his hands went to his chest, and his eyes began drowning in tears. He went silent as if he wasn't breathing. The police looked at him as he nodded as tears washed his aged cheeks. Officer K got convinced without asking—the body belonged to Marcos Mann.

"The son of a bitch saw the devil before dying," Mr. Mann said.

Before he could take his head up, he fell down on top of his son's body. The police screamed, trying to help him. The seizures didn't give him a chance to explain his words about the devil. His eyes closed, his pulse faded, and his temperature dropped. The police ambulance rushed him to the hospital. When he opened his eyes, he was in a white walled room with a bright light. He tried to move, but he was numb, only in his brain he was moving.

"It's okay, Sir. You almost died. However, by all means, I saved your life," the man said and introduced himself, "I am Doctor Harmon Splendor. I heard about your son. I am sorry. Let's hope the police will soon find the killers."

Mr. Mann's eyes drowned in tears.

"The killer… the devil is with us," he wept, trying to pitch up his voice and finally stated, "He's back."

Mr. Mann's words confused Splendor, so he thought of asking for clarity, but he didn't. He believed Mr. Mann was hallucinating from the drugs he gave him, so he left him to fall asleep.

In college, we were so terrified. Marcos' death came as a nightmare to us. It was a mystery because the police found his body closer to the river near the college. My friends and I headed to the scene. There were many people there. When we got nearer to Marcos' body, I didn't think of stopping. I continued walking forward to the body. The police tried to stop me, but I was deaf. I stood next to the body and removed the black plastic that the police had used to cover the body. On seeing his swollen face, my hair stood up, the warm air and the fear washed over me. Marcos was for was sure dead.

When I turned back to my friends, I shouted out Chris' name. He came forward. At that moment, I lost my mind. I sent an unexpected punch to his face, and he fell down. When he stood up, I sent another one. Everyone around us got confused about my behavior. Officer K came to stop me. I shouted, saying Chris killed Marcos with his pistol. It was when things changed. Officer K went straight to arrest Chris. The police took him to the station. He explained his reasons for carrying the pistol and even directed the police to the place he hid it. However, he denied the involvement to Marcos' death.