ONE OUT OF 24

BRENDAN's POV

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IT'S 8:33 IN THE MORNING, I note to myself as I check the dark matted watch that's hugging my left pulse shine through its glass.

Click, Click, Click.

My eyes follow the pointy little straight object while it keeps clicking nonstop inside the thick glass. The sound of the seconds passing is irritating me deeply, most mostly, that's all that my ears are catching, which is enough to set me up for a not so great mood.

The fact that I've been inside this dim, silent, bare decorated room for more than an hour already pissed me off in the first place. The only thing I can feel is my head repeatedly aching, although I'm sitting straight in a chair and can notice my numb body convulse with nerves.

I move a little, so my elbows can touch the surface of the pale grey table, watching my hands now stressfully reaching my chin.

I'm an anxious wreck at the current moment and I'm not sure if I can wait much longer for the door to open.

They told me I'd be one of the last guys to be interrogated because I was one of the firsts to enter the cop's vehicle when they crashed the party. I don't remember all of it by now, all I can think of is that I'm feeling horribly nauseous, and the bloody view that keeps popping on my brain isn't helping one bit.

Could it be true that what I saw a few hours ago actually did happen or was I having a nightmare? Because it definitely looked like I was. Could it be true after all that I've lost my best friend just...like that?

"Alright" I can hear someone entering the room.

My eyes follow the feminine voice that says, "Brendan Richard McQueen Rhys, can you confirm this is your full name?"

A blonde woman in her late thirties wearing a dark blue suit comes closer to me, making me notice the bright patch which is tightening in her waist.

"Yeah" My mouth opens once I make eye contact with the officer. A man rocking a blue tie accompanies her, his face just as inexpressive as hers.

"I believe you know why you're here Brendan. We want your full testimony on the events that unfolded this night, a truthful testimony, if I may add." She says in a neutral tone, eyeing the man who's next to her, with folded arms and a twisted poker face.

"I told the police everything I know" I spoke to her right away. My voice sounded harsher than I wanted it to be.

I wasn't lying on this. I'm not sure if I remember it correctly, but the only thing I could hundred percent process in the middle of all the chaos, screams and emergency lights was when a policeman grabbed my arm, pushed me abruptly to a corner and asked me the most haunting questions I could ever expect to be asked.

«I know your face, you're quite the man out here. C'mon, open your damn mouth and tell everything you know.»;

«You killed him, didn't you?»;

«How did you know the body was upstairs if everybody was on the last floor?»;

«What would be your reason to threaten the life of this boy? He told you something you didn't like, uh? He triggered you so you cut him to pieces, hide the evidence and started yelling for your friends to call us – that's not smart»;

«This investigation will proceed with or without your help and believe me when I say we're coming for you, and your little puppets.»

I think I never had so much control over my body because I was on the edge for losing my patience and actually kill the son of a bitch.

His hand scratching on the paper was stressing me out, the edginess of his voice saying I was the one to blame was setting my blood to boil, my neck to contract, as well as my nails to hurt the palm of my hands.

One more word coming out of his mouth and I would've been in jail by now for murdering a cop.

Instead, I'm being interrogated for the fucking second time.

A smile forms her mouth instantly. "I'm sorry I escaped the introductions. I'm Inspector Julian Edwards, this is Inspector London. We and the rest of the police officers collaborate together on this case."

"We want to hear the full version of the facts. Not the unscripted average, doubtful and inaccurate version." Inspector London said, moving both of his hands towards the head of the chair in front of the other side of the table.

"I don't feel like going through it all over again, Inspector." My voice sounds raspy but determinate.

It's his turn to smile. A hand runs over his tense forehead as he looks at his partner.  Silence follows for a while.

"You're the main eyewitness to the whole murder scene, Mr. Rhys. With all the respect, but we do have the right to force you to say something. As many times as we want to." Inspector Julian Edwards firmly talked, every word coming out of her mouth as clear as water.

I'm not the one to get intimidated, and, also, it so happens I'm well aware of my rights. I won't say shit.

"I gave all the information already. I'll answer your questions but I'm not going to remember it all again." I told her.

"For your sake, Brendan, I sure hope you remember everything we have to ask you" Inspector Julian spokes, keeping her cold brown stare on myself, like she is making clear I understood her irony.

"But first, I believe we need to talk to you about your current situation. Being the primer eyewitness to the death of Colber Dylan Foster, makes you, at the current time, the main suspect on committing his death. Of course, we can't charge you by now. That would be unprofessional and unethical."

"However, we can't discharge you either, for all that we know, the person who found the body is a 20 year old adult, scholarship sports student, very well-known, attention seeker, secretive, and, by the way, who, for instance, was confiscated after the incident and had in his possession non-prescription drug pills, 3 packages of cigarettes on the pockets, as well as a double verification of 0.08 of blood alcohol concentration on his system. Not to mention it's not your first time sitting on a similar chair like that one, is it?"

She's clever, is the first thing that comes to my mind. A smirk covers my lips immediately and a nervous laugh escapes them.

Of course, she would pressure me into saying something with the pills I had and the alcohol I drank. But her remark is weak, just as equal as it is dubious and faulty.

She knows absolutely nothing about me, solely which gives me something to laugh at.

"Not bad. Your team was quick to found that about me. What else?" I argue.

"We're not playing here kid. Tell us what you know or you might just stay here for a while." Inspector London is the next to contra attack.

"London." My eyes follow the apprehensive look Julian had just given him.

Right, they won't do shit, just as I expected.

Silence follows once more, before the blond woman opens her lips again "Brendan, what was the party all about?"

"A welcoming first-year college party, that's all." I'm quick to respond.

Yes, I've studied these answers over and over. There's no way in hell I'm giving these people what they want from me.

"Seems like the only ones who were invited were the popular crews, uh?" Interacts London.

"Not sure about what you classify as popular."

"Let me rephrase that- the less known minorities of students in Highland Bricklane's College, which is strange, isn't it?"

"I can't see why."

I think he has to try way harder in order to get me to say what he expects me to say.

So Inspector Julian interrupts, "Let me be very explicit with you, Mr. Rhys. It's been 9 hours since Foster's body was found and we talked with most of your very gifted colleagues and friends already by now. Each one of them is- how can I say, very uptight- when we introduce the topic about the originated "Highland's Golden Circle".

"We're investigators, Mr. Rhys, I'm sure your intelligence figured out pretty quick we have access to restricted, classified information. We know all about the famous group Mr. Foster created, about the ties, secrets... We also know numerous, may I add, interesting things about every single one of you."

"Strangely enough, your friends did not mention your name once throughout the interrogations, except for when they told us you were the one who found the body. Odd. It's odd the fact they protect you just as much as you protect them. Including Colber."

"But be aware, Brendan. Your private club will fall apart now that the town's main star is dead. He was your best friend, wasn't him?"

The way she moved her nude lips slowly, tasting every word, noting every detail with her cunning view resting on me, the palms of her hands close to mine, her body slightly tilted upward, made me look at her with different eyes, perhaps I should be even more careful.

Inspector Julian is under the impression she can teach me some sort of a lesson or get me to tell her a story, whereas I believe she is insane.

Yeah, sure. The look on both of their faces tells me they are losing their patience the more I open my mouth, but one thing I guarantee is that they won't fucking get nothing from me. I told my accurate version of the facts, screw these people if they don't trust me.

I know what I must do.

Plus, I'm certain the investigators are desperate for inside information – for all that I know, that won't happen anytime sooner.

I let slide another laugh, as soon as my fingers made its way to run over my hair.

"He was. I mean, everybody knew that. Is there something you guys know besides what appears on the news? Because man, I fear the worse may happen to your case if you don't."

I crack with distaste on my mouth. Everybody in Highland Bricklane knows about the group, that's what makes us different to others in the first place. About our secrets? Yeah, not so sure about that. It seems obvious to me these two marionettes are playing the bluff card.

That's what we agreed on: What happens inside the circle, stays in the circle.

"You have some sense of humor. Let's see who laughs at the end when we put you all behind bars." The London guy almost screams, looking exhausted and nervous.

I roll my eyes, looking back at Mrs. Edwards, she seems way more compelling to me.

"I see you won't share your thoughts. Alright. But let me just remind you once again what's at stake." She says, opening some folders.

"Travis here was found with a false driving license in his possession. Page Welfare has some serious daddy issues, and well, Jonathan Pierce and Kit robbed some retail stores a few weeks ago."

"We might not arrest you for your friend's murder, but we will arrest you for your own individual mistakes. That is if you don't collaborate. Do you think now everyone is just as ready as you are to bear the consequences of staying silent?"

"Like you said, my best friend just died and no – I don't feel like sharing. I want to go home, Inspector." I said, preparing to stand up before Julian's voice sounded again.

"Fair enough, you may go, for now, I mean. However, just so you know, Mr. Rhys, a current investigation is undergoing. You might as well here it from me before tomorrow's headlines... There is an autopsy of Colber's body occurring at the present time. The house was closed and clues were and are still being found."

"Although it wasn't found no murder weapon, the condition the house was left in suggest with accuracy that Foster was killed in his bedroom and was never able to leave it in time, neither the killer. Whoever did it was on that party, Brendan – 1 out of 24."

"You might not want to talk about it, but you will someday. And I feel like it's going to be soon."

The scenes I got to see when I entered that room flashed through my mind like a rollercoaster of bloody, default, dark pictures. I've seen a lot of fucked up things, I've been in undeterminated nasty situations but that was by far the most dreadful, vile incident I ever had to witness.

I witness the blood pour out of his throat and mouth, while his eyes held no life, and bits of blood fell from the points of the blankets that covered his dead body.

There were red wet colors everywhere. The smell wasn't nice either.

I haven't fully gone through it, the image of him, the meaning of him being dead and I can't do anything now to stop what happened from happening. He is gone. That's something I have to deal with for the rest of my life. I couldn't predict it. But yet, I blame myself.

He needed me, he sent me that message and I wasn't there on time. I failed my brother. I failed to myself, once more.

"You're wrong." I said to Mrs. Edwards before leaving the interrogation room.

What happens inside the circle, stays in the circle. Colber died on the circle's reunion.

I belong to the circle. I was in the same place as the person who made Colber bleed to death. There's no way the cops can fix this.
I'll make sure I'm the one who finds the motherfucker who betrayed him - I owe him that much.

Whatever it takes.

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To be Continued

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