The Arks: Over Heaven (by Ben)

Chapter 26: Detective on the Scene

Part 2/2

“DON’T BRING ME BACK THERE!”

“THE CYCLES.”

“THE PAIN.”

“LET ME OUT.”

“I HAVE TO PREPARE.”

“PREPARE.”

“ALL JUST A GAME!”

“So the principal was off his rocker,” Darren concluded immediately, “You reckon he was responsible for the disappearances?”

“Most likely. But we need more concrete evidence before we can deem him a suspect,” Sam replied. Sam walked up to the desk and turned the computer on. It buzzed as loud as the light bulb, and she plopped down on the office chair. She turned the computer on, and the screen flickered to life.

“I’m going to check the cameras. We’ll get a clue on where they went,” Sam decided.

“But if the principal wanted to get away with it, wouldn’t he clear out any of the evidence? Clearly he didn’t,” Warren pointed out, nodding at the wall, “He left more behind than any serial kidnapper would. Besides, Where would any man hide four hundred soon-to-be adults?”

“No idea, but we’re about to find out. I’m going to request a file for the principal of the school. See if he has any suspicious background,” Darren said. He reached for his walkie-talkie and began to speak some instructions into it, and while he was doing that Warren took his time to walk around the office and take a look at any of the clues that the principal could have left them.

Warren had always been a stickler for details.

“Hmm. These books are dusty and old, as if they hadn’t been touched in ages,” Warren thought as he brushed his fingers along the worn books on a bookshelf. Most had titles that had faded away. But one book stuck out from the others. Clean and smooth, it had a title that made Warren’s eyes squint.

“Dodo Tales.”

Warren reached for the book and grabbed it, trying to figure out why this one was foreign from the others, but Sam reached forward and snatched it out of his hands.

“You fool, do you know nothing of the law?” Sam sneered at him, “Don’t mess with anything here. It could be evidence.”

Warren muttered an apology, and put the book back on the shelf. Warren had always loved to read, but he had never heard of any book named “Dodo Tales”.

“I’m going to search that name up when I get home,” Warren decided in his thoughts, “Maybe I can figure out the author. Perhaps the principal was engrossed in this book or fellow.”

A ding came from the computer, and all eyes turned to Sam.

“I’ve managed to find an application which records 24/7 footage of everything on campus. Let’s scroll back to the date of the disappearances. When was the date of the disappearances, Darren?”

“May 23rd, so two days ago.”

“Thank you.”

Sam clicked a few buttons on the keyboard, and soon a few videos showed up on the screen.

“Time?”

“9:03 AM, I believe.”

Sam scrolled forward a little bit, and soon a bunch of people showed up on the camera. Hundreds of scholars dressed in graduation robes were counting down. The footage was a little fuzzy, and the audio sounded somewhat corrupted, but as the soon-to-be graduates reached “ONE!”, the principal standing atop the stage let out an ear-piercing scream.

He collapsed to the ground, clutching his left wrist, and soon everyone else followed. Streaks of red, blue, and green burst into a beam upon the blacktop, and then they disappeared.

Darren’s jaw dropped at the sight, and Sam and Warren followed suit.

“What the- Is this really what-”

“Aliens,” Darren whispered with fear in his voice, “I knew they were real!”

“We can’t confirm for sure if they’re aliens. And there’s still some questions hanging in the air. Why did they scream out in pain before getting transported? And what does the beam of light have to do with this?” Sam asked.

Warren was silent at the moment, but he wanted to look over the footage some more before coming to a conclusion.

“Sam, can you forward me the footage? Not just on that camera, but for all of them. I want to see what else I can pick up,” Warren requested. Sam looked at Warren with a frown the size of Saturn and flipped him off.

“Okay, I guess I’ll take that as a no.”

“Don’t worry, Warren,” Darren reassured him, “I’ll give them to you. Just check your email sometime, I’ll send it to you there.”

“Okay, well at least ONE person isn’t praying for my downfall,” Warren murmured. He pointed to the door, “I’m going to leave now. Samantha, please, tell me if you find anything.”

“Fine.”

Warren exited the office and sighed, putting his hands in his uniform’s pockets and looking up at the bright sky. Birds were singing, flowers were blooming.

“It’s a beautiful day outside,” Warren muttered to himself.

But Warren couldn’t deny it. His son was missing, and every second wasted was a second that Samuel could die.

Just like his other son.