1. Murder Escape

Crystal opened her eyes, still groggy from the smell of smoke and blood. She felt a stark pain at the back of her head. The darkness around her reminded her of the blood on her hands.

Crystal sucked in the bare minimum air around her and screamed out the heave of pain within her. 

I can not die nor stay trapped here for long. I cannot let Edward's blood go in vain, perhaps for that, I must lie, and I will.

"... Once you have it figured out, run! Run away Crystal, else they will kill you" the last words Edward ever said, echoed through every nerve of Crystal.

I never thought meeting the man, I hated the most would change my opinion about him overnight. Edward... 

In the distance, Crystal heard footsteps approaching and broke out of her reveries of the complex night.

She tried to grab something when she collapsed a water-filled bucket, empty on the ground, and slipped into it. The stink was already strong and the water added on to it. She screamed and it reverberated through her room. 

As the water seeped through her office pants she recalled the smell of burning Cave Palace. The image of Edward's burning body with his hands extended out towards the door, half open. 

Crystal herself collapsed in the corridor soon after, if only she had saved him. When she woke up, she had lost several documents, the key to floor 703 and her freedom. 

I have to find a way out before it is too late. Crystal pensively rubbed her fingers.

A middle-aged woman, stood outside, looking at her through the bars of the cell. Her face glowed in the basic tube light. "Wrap up, Madam." She banged her thick metal rod on the iron bars of the gate. 

The sound made Crystal shiver. She locked eyes with the woman, "Am, A...m I..." Crystal tried to make sense of what the constable said. 

"What wrap up?" Crystal asked, "I don't have anything on me."

She noticed the woman unlocking the door. Her chestnut brown eyes glowed in the flickering tube light.

"Yes wrap up, because you are free to go." The woman yawned. "Now hurry up I have gotten other things to work on. I can't play cat with you the whole day."

"What? What d…id W-- at did you say?" Crystal stuttered, wiping her dry tears. She managed to stand, water dripping down her office pants.

"Yeah, be grateful, some young man came this morning." She stretched her arm, walking ahead of Crystal, who dragged herself somehow.

"And he said he killed the rich man." She explained. At the edge of the corridor she sat down at the bench and said, "Turn right from there, the officer is sitting. Sign the documents and collect your stuff."

Crystal looked at the woman puzzled. 

"Do you want to leave are you liking it here?" The sleepy constable lady said, angry at Crystal's weird behavior.

Crystal walked lopsided, edging to the wall.

I wonder if he knows, I was there. What if the person tricks me later into telling me something? This, this isn't safe.

She walks towards the office, leaving an imprint of her walking. The senior man sat, looking at her files and other things in the sealed packet.

"Do the formalities, a sign here and here." The officer told Crystal. "Here are your belongings. Please take care of yourself. You of all people should not be trapped in such conspiracy theories." The senior officer concluded, looking at her NIF ID cards. Crystal nodded and collected her documents and files as she left the Colebridge Prison. 

Ready to run, she dragged herself hard out of the premises. Both the weight of documents and thoughts of what to do next grew heavier on her shoulders.

She walked out of the large stone building of the prison and felt a cool breeze air through her shoulders. The eeriness of the place glowed in the calm rising sun. 

In the solitude, she felt a strange presence around her. She looked, but nothing but wagons in the distance and morning streetlights diminishing.

Strange, I should hurry up. She paced her footsteps and eyed the end of the road. There was a little hustle and bustle around the corner. 

Good now once I reach the end, I am safe and free. She turned around to take one last glance and found nothing.

As soon as she paced her footsteps, she felt a strong grip cover her jaws and hold her mouth. Ready to fight, Crystal was as enraged as she was tired. She tried to gain consciousness, but the strong chemical tingled against her nostrils and sleep overpowered its way into her wakefulness. 

#

Elsewhere, a man walked painfully with blood pouring out of his right leg. Beads of sweat, forming on his forehead, he was dragging himself when he sat at a construction site, breathing heavily. There were certain men in the distance wrapping up who walked towards him. 

"Sir? You don't seem alright. Someone, call the ambulance!" A strong young man said as he tied his handkerchief around his bleeding leg. He gasped as he saw the other side of the man burnt and what remotely appeared like a stabbed wound. 

"N..o. Naa..oo" He said, batting through breaths. "No, ge…t, giv..e me a ce..lll - Do…n't c..call the am… am… lance" He said in broken language. He gestured through his hand that he wanted to make a call. The man handed him his phone and also gave him some water to drink. The old man gulped a mouthful of water and nodded. He then searched in his pocket and took out two liquids that smelled bad. One was as red as blood while the other was clear, completely. He drank them and a smoke released from his mouth. 

He dialed a number and continued taking in long breaths. Everyone was looking at him, shocked. His wounds were severe and yet he was walking was a miracle of sorts and made everyone embezzled. 

The phone was picked up soon on the second ring. He said to the speaker. "KT…L..LV f..our… fun..dred. at Samana Complex"

He drank the syrups he had in hand again and disconnected the call. He looked at the young man who was expectantly looking at his cell phone. The old man threw his phone so high that as it crashed the rock nearby it crashed into pieces. 

An uproar happened, however, the old man collapsed before them on the ground.

#

Crystal collapsed on the ground, remotely unconscious. Cold splashes of water slapped her face one after the other. Her hands were tied behind and she was swinging along, in the direction of flowing water. 

A young man was sitting before her, with his white shirt rolled up, impatiently waiting for her to speak. 

"Who the fuck.. told you to give her more than needed?" the man shouted, as he crashed a glass of wine on the floor. The faces in the room went pale and Crystal slightly moaned, getting aware of her surroundings. 

Another splash of cold water rolled her eyes backward and she squirmed a little. The young man grabbed the collar of one of his guards, probably responsible for Crystal's current state. "You knew this was important… why do you guys have to screw up everything?" he banged his head on the wall behind and a shill scream filled the room. 

Every head turned back and forth between the young man and Crystal, the source of sound. She stopped and breathed heavily. 

"Wh.. What… What are you…?" Crystal managed to say before the young man turned around. "Caleb?" she shouted, shocked looking into the red eyes of the man. 

"Good, now let's begin. Everyone out." Caleb rolled a chair and sat closer to her, visibly angry. 

"I need to listen to what happened. Who killed my brother? " Caleb said, anxiety, agitation, and disdain dripping clearly from his voice. 

"I swear to god, it wasn't me…. I did not kill him," she replied, hesitant, shivering because of the cold water. "Trust me, Caleb."

Caleb was moving back and forth in his chair and suddenly stopped. "I know it wasn't you. Tell. me. Who. The. Fuck. It. Was? Now!" He slammed at the table placed alongside them. Crystal started crying and managed to say between the sobs, "Trust me, I held no personal grudge other than what happened in the past… and today…" 

Crystal howled, looking at the violent behavior of Caleb. "Tell me exactly, exactly what happened?"

"I said, I don't remember… I went with William to ask him about everything that he did to my sister…" Crystal sobbed, howling and breathing heavily in between, "He was unexpectedly very glad to see me. Yes Caleb, he was happy." She looked up expecting his trust. 

He stood up and grabbed her hair, "Who KILLED MY BROTHER ALWACK?"

"I really don't know Caleb. It wasn't me and I didn't see -" Before Crystal could complete Caleb shouted, "Liar. You are lying, Alwack. Stop the fuck lying to me Or I'd dig a grave for your entire family."

"Caleb, I don't have anything on me to prove my innocence."

"You are hopeless, HOPELESS Crystal," Caleb shouted at her, and for some reason, she felt the hurt stale her. 

"Caleb, Given the circumstances, I don't know I can't prove my innocence, but I promise, once I am NIF, I'll personally look into the -"

"No! No, You'd not give me that crap. I don't trust you. You are a liar. You are lying. My brother thought so highly of you. He only wished nothing but good for your family, but you all… you are just an unfaithful pieces of parasites… I don't need you in NIF, ughhhhhh," He slammed hard again. "fine, you want to prove your innocence right?"

Crystal was still unsure what he meant by the unfaithful part but she was in too precarious a situation to ask.

"Yes… yes! I promise it wasn't me. Tell me…" Crystal spoke amid sobs, "I'd do anything to justice your brother's death."

"Quit NIF," Caleb said, calmly/ 

"Okay I'd - Sorry What?" Crystal's eyes widened, unaware if she heard right.