Void: Vol. I Ch. XI

 

Inside a holding cell Derrick sits alone in the dark waiting for something to happen. As he sits there Henry appears opening the door and walking in.

            “Hello Derrick.” Henry says walking in.

            “Hey Henry, how many days has it been?” Derrick asks tired.

            “Have you been sleeping well, you know you need to take care of your health, especially now.” Henry says trying to ignore Derrick’s question.

            “I asked you how many days has it been?” Derrick asks again more intensely.

            “Derrick, it’s been almost a week, the investigations still ongoing but you’ve mostly been cleared.” Henry says answering Derrick.

            “How about Tina, is she okay?” Derrick asks still the same.

            “She went home a few days ago, she quit.” Henry says answering him.

            “What’s going on now? What’re you doing here anyway?” Derrick asks curiously.

            “As I said, we’re still investigating the murder, and we’re releasing you from confinement today, don’t do anything to suspicious or they’ll lock you up here again.” Henry says explaining things to Derrick.

            “Is there anything else?” Derrick asks curiously.

            “Yes, in two weeks we’ll start the unit training, so you’ll still be taking regular classes for now.” Henry says explaining things to Derrick.

            “Okay.” Derrick says walking off in a stupor.

            “Oh, Derrick please regain that healthy optimism of yours.” Henry says as Derrick walks off.

As Henry starts to walk out of the room he passes Rita who looks at him before he walks off down the hallway.

            “Rita what is it?” Henry asks Rita curious about her appearance.

            “Was that Derrick, he looks so different than before?” Rita asks worried about Derrick.

            “This is probably his first time encountering death and on top of that the death of his first and best friend.” Henry says thinking about the situation.

            “Hopefully he’ll get back to normal soon.” Rita says thinking about Derrick.

            “He’ll never be the same again; he’ll always have this death over his head.” Henry says to her. “But anyway why are you here anyway?” Henry asks Rita again.

            “It’s about the investigation squad, they’ve sent that person for the investigation, and they said something about talking to you.” Rita says answering Henry.

            “Fine, I’ll go see what they want, this has gotta be good.” Henry says walking off.

 

A while later inside the classroom Derrick walks in while the students look at him confused by his presence.

            “Isn’t that, the half Voidling kid?” A student asks curiously.

            “It is I thought they locked him up.” Another student says looking at Derrick.

            “They should’ve killed him by now; I mean he’s a Voidling monster.” A student says to another student.

            “We all know he did it, I mean who else could’ve done it.” Another student says amongst a group of students.

            “We know a Voidling killed that kid, and all the Voidlings are locked up, he’s the only one that could’ve done it.” A student says amongst another group of students.

Soon the entire class is in an uproar spreading rumors about Derrick and Jacob’s death. Suddenly a large explosion comes from the back of the classroom, and as the group looks back they see Jute walking into the room.

            “Well you stupid brats it looks like you’ve all gotten a little uppity.” Jute says annoyed by their chatter.

            “Miss Jute, We’d like an explanation about why this obviously guilty monster is sitting among us right now?” Rick asks smugly.

            “Listen up, we tested the Void genes we collected from the wounds on the corpse, their straight Voidling, and that kid over there’s Void genes have been heavily modified and he’s been injected with Dues treatments, neither of which were detected from the corpse, so as far as we can tell he didn’t do it.” Jute says explaining things to the classroom.

Hearing this, the group begins a large uproar astonished by the news.

            “Quite, you brats.” Jute screams out to the crowd with their voices overcrowding hers as she tries yelling louder and louder.

As she yells the doors swing open and a large man with dog like ears and a tail in a blue uniform comes walking into the room alongside a short girl in a similar black uniform with a pair of large swords attached to her back, three eyes and pointed ears.

            “Hello people, I know you’re all concerned about the murder and the fact that the murder is still on the loose, but don’t worry we the disciplinary committee will take care of it and make sure to protect the peace.” The man says addressing the classroom.

            “Hey Ravic, maybe you should introduce yourself, this is a lot of their first time seeing you and your group.” Jute says to the man.

            “Oh that’s right, I am Ravic Sovin I am the head of the disciplinary committee here at the Vanguard academy.” Ravic says introducing himself.

            “Can anyone tell me what the disciplinary committee does?” Jute asks the classroom.

            “The disciplinary committee is a group who instead of battling the Voidlings dedicate themselves to providing order within settlements, investigating crimes and punishing the perpetrators.”  TAS says answering the question.

            “Correct young man.” Ravic says in response to TAS. “After we investigate and find the true culprit can anyone tell me what happens next?” Ravic asks the group curiously.

            “Our current society doesn’t have the means, space, or resources to maintain a prison population; so there are three options depending on the crime. If the crime is minor then they are given the choice between a work camp and exploring the frontier, for major crimes it’s execution or exile.” Phyre says answering the question.

            “Correct, little miss.” The girl next to Ravic yells out. “And in this case I can’t wait to execute the individual.” She says excitedly.

            “Selas, calm down.” Ravic yells out to the girl.

            “I’m sorry sir, I’ll be sure to control my demeanor from here on out until the investigation finishes.” The girl says in a completely different demeanor.

 

A while later as the classroom clears out Derrick begins to leave still in a stupor.

            “Hey you.” A voice cries out behind him.

As he looks back he sees Adelina standing behind him looking at him pathetically.

            “What is it; do you want to kill me yourself?” Derrick asks her curiously.

            “No, I only have one question for you did you kill your friend?” Adelina asks curiously.

            “NO, I DIDN”T DO IT I COULDN’T HAVE.” Derrick yells out insulted by the idea.

            “Well it looks like your telling the truth.” Adelina says looking at him.

            “You believe me?” Derrick asks curiously.

            “I always had a gift for telling when people are lying.” Adelina says walking past him. “Well then are you coming?” Adelina asks Derrick curiously.

            “Coming where?” Derrick asks curiously.

            “To find the killer, let’s go.” Adelina says as Derrick follows behind her and they leave the classroom.