"Here's the report you asked for last week." The bulky man on the other side of the desk threw a file of papers tied haphazardly using a white string onto the hardwood surface.
The man sat back in his chair, stretching his legs into the space beneath the desk, expelling the laziness that would have held him back from what came next.
"There's barely anything in here. Are you sure you got the correct one?" The lady standing over the desk, Liza Provim, asked as she flipped through the mostly blank documents.
"As expected, the Vilhelm police department did not authorise the request. They said that Haik Vilhorm had chosen to withhold all the information regarding her and had rejected our request the very second he heard it.
"The information you see there was gathered and compiled by some of the men I sent over to Vilhelm."
Liza looked genuinely confused by the officer's statement and the man understood why. "I just thought I should pay you back for the favour from earlier. Now I don't owe you anything." He smiled lightly to imply that the comment held no malice.
"Thanks, Jay. I appreciate the help." Liza turned around and began walking out of the Fothesi Police Department, turning back around to face Jay for one last time.
"If you get anything else then please let me know."
Jay nodded and watched as Liza left the premises before getting back to work himself.
"I'll have to hurry now. Richard will kill me if I miss his niece's match." Liza thought as she walked towards Zychs on the dry tiled pavement. Over the course of her walk back, the tiles slowly began disappearing, switching over to dried, grassless patches of earth flanked on both sides by invading tufts of grass. This was her sign that she had progressed beyond the city and there was no point in exerting energy to turn back now.
She decided to use the eastern gate since it was closer to the Arena. She held the files regarding Ray's mother in her left hand, gripping them tightly so that the loose papers within wouldn't fly out.
"Ray was right to suspect his father. Why would Haik have any reason to hide this information?" The information she grasped so tightly in her hand was basic and told her nothing about the situation. But it was all she had. It was all that remained in order to uncover the truth behind what happened to her brother.
The scene at the eastern gate left Liza shell-shocked, dropping the tightly clenched papers from her hand. There was no wind . It did not dare fly past the gruesome events that occurred here.
"The kids?!" Liza shouted as she ran past the 2 dead guards that had protected the eastern gate with their lives. A huge hole caved through both of their torsos, sprawling their intestines all over the place and leaking any leftover gastric juices into the soft ground. Their eyes, despite having rolled back into their heads, seemed to stare into the souls of anyone who passed by.
"Don't apologise." Liza said after seeing the saddened faces the two guards had had when they died. Their expressions; their guilt of not being able to save the children, were forever preserved in death.
Liza couldn't decide what was worse: The fact that the Arena was in shambles, or that she couldn't find either Nova or Ray anywhere. Several bodies lay on the ground, some covered with white cloths and other, comparatively smaller ones, being carried by a few teachers.
"Richard!" Liza called out as she witnessed his familiar red and black hair swaying around as he ran from one end of the Arena to another.
"Liza?" Richard shouted back, almost relieved to see her safe and not among the teachers hidden under the white cloth.
"What the hell happened here?" Liza questioned.
"Now's not the time, Liza. We need to make sure all the students are safe. Take them to Sonita immediately even if they are slightly injured." Richard pointed at a tent set up near the stands. Its white, drooping cloth concealed its occupants, but the constant opening and closing of its entrance allowed Liza to peer inside.
"Send any uninjured students to the side of the stands. Sir Roland is watching over them so they'll be safe."
Liza looked over to the stands, tearing her eyes away from the horrible scene within the make-shift hospital. A small number of students sat quietly at the left hand side of the stands while Sir Roland tried desperately to get any information out of them without traumatising them further. A frown crossed Liza's face as there was no sign of Ray or Nova.
She turned back to Richard, who had begun walking back to the larger group of unattended students. "Hey Richard? What happened to Nova?"
Richard turned to face Liza, but his gaze diverted to the ground, unable to meet hers. "I don't see Ray here either. Richard? What happened to them?" An uncomfortable warmth rose in her body as Richard refused to answer. Her eyes widened with fear as Richard's narrowed in sorrow. She approached him, but he just jerked back away, trying his best to muster up some words. Any words.
"They took them. Ray, Nova and Axel."