The Unordinary

(Reine Kue)

***DAY OF ACCIDENT***

--- –-- 8:15 A.M. Tuesday –-- California, United States –-- —

**The sounds of the paramedics could be heard from miles away.**

On Highway 78 of Border Street lay a flipped school bus and a crashed car.

A car came to a sudden stop, and a phone could be heard ringing.

"Hey, Mom, I'll call you back in a few minutes," Reine said.

Reine's mother, Su Lee, replied, "Fine, but you really need to stop forgetting to bring your necklace, Reine."

Reine hung up the phone, got out of her car, and grabbed some of her gear from the trunk.

Numerous students were trying to get out of the bus, some crying with injuries, others in a panicked state.

Reine runs toward the crowd and handed a man, who was about to help the high-schoolers, a kit.

"Here, take this. I'm going to check if there's anyone still stuck inside the car."

The man nodded and quickly rushed toward the high-schoolers on the side of the highway.

As Reine approached the car, she noticed a young mother along with her 9-month-old girl still stuck inside. Hanging upside down, the mother cried, "Please! Help my baby!"

Reine saw the serious situation, broke the cracked window, and tried to get the baby girl out. The car seat was stuck, and so was the belt. Reine pulled out a small Kershaw knife from her pocket. As she tried to cut the belt, the mother's breathing slowed down second by second.

"Ma'am, please, you have to stay awake! Ma'am, can you hear me?" Reine yelled.

The mother nodded weakly. Reine returned to cutting the belt, glancing around and realizing the car was going to explode in minutes. She calmed herself down and slowly pulled the baby out of the car seat.

"Ma'am, can you hear me? Don't worry, I'll get you out no matter what!" Reine screamed.

The mother smiled faintly. "Please, tell my Gracie that I love her... very much."

A man from afar screamed as he looked at the car. "Hurry! Run, the car is going to explode any seconds!"

"I will. Don't give up, I'll come back for you, I promise," Reine assured the mother.

Reine took the baby to a safer spot just as the car exploded when she was only about 15 feet away. She fell from the pressure but managed to cover the baby with her body, preventing further injuries.

Just then, two paramedic cars, three fire trucks, and some police cars arrived.

Yelling from one of the paramedic cars was Mathew, Reine's coworker and friend.

Mathew, a 27-year-old Vietnamese guy about 5'8", rushed toward Reine, who was on the ground. He took the baby from Reine's arms. "You okay, Reine?"

Reine nodded, looking toward the now-exploded car.

"When did you get here?" Mathew asked.

"7:55 . The crash was severe. I checked the car and... the mother was still alive. I tried to get the baby out first and noticed the fuel tank was leaking," Reine explained.

"You did your best," Mathew said before heading toward the paramedic car to examine the baby.

Reine slowly got up and shifted her attention to the high-schoolers, who were crying as they called their parents. She noticed a boy sitting alone with a blanket covering him, shivering.

Reine handed the boy a water bottle. "You okay, young man?"

The high-schooler, Tyler William, looked at Reine and took the water bottle, gulping down the water.

"What's your name?" Reine asked.

As he coughed, she added, "Slow down, I still have more."

"Tyler, my name is Tyler," he said.

"What happened, Tyler?" Reine inquired further.

Tyler shook and started crying. "It's Brian. He did this— it was all those boys' fault. They made him do it!"

"Calm down. Who did you say it was?" Reine asked.

Tyler suddenly got up and grabbed Reine's hand. "Brian, he... he's gone mad. Those guys—Dillian and his stupid group—if they had not bullied Brian that day, none of this would've happened."

"This is all my fault. I should've stopped him. And now... this happened. It's all my fault!" Tyler broke down.

Just then, Officer Sam White walked toward them. "Everything okay?"

Officer Sam White, a young man in his mid-20s, stood 5'9" with curly brown hair.

Reine turned to Officer Sam. "Not you again?" Sam complained.

Reine rolled her eyes before reporting, "He's not injured, maybe traumatized from the event. Still, he might need to go to the hospital to get checked out."

Officer Sam replied sarcastically, "Well, isn't that obvious?"

"Reine!" a voice called from behind. It was Captain Timothy Howard.

Captain Timothy Howard, a 45-year-old white man with a white beard, had never seen such an accident involving so many kids in his 15 years of service.

Reine quickly excused herself from talking to Officer Sam and headed toward her captain.

"Cap," Reine responded.

"I heard you were one of the first responders on scene," Captain Howard said.

Reine nodded.

"Those guys are going to need some statements," Captain Howard pointed to a group of officers standing around the cars.

After reporting her statement, Reine asked her captain, "How many, Cap?"

Captain Howard shook his head. "Nine. Two teachers and the rest, students."

He then noticed that Reine was injured on the head.

Captain Howard sighed and pushed Reine toward the paramedic car. "You are going to the hospital for that injury. I don't want you back for two days, do you hear?" He shut the door before Reine could protest.

At the hospital, the busy scene could be seen even from outside. After getting her injury bandaged, Reine noticed officers talking to the students from the crash.

Officer Daren Fuller, a tall 6'1 Filipino cop, walked toward the elevator but was stopped by Reine .

Reine was familiar with the county officers due to past encounters. Not to add on, Officer Fuller was the boyfriend of her aunt May Kue.

"Officer Fuller."

Officer Fuller stopped the elevator from closing, allowing Reine to get in. "What are you doing here, Reine?"

"One of the students is missing," Reine reported.

"Maybe not all of them need a checkup?," Officer Fuller said.

"No, what I meant is, a student who was on the bus is missing. I was told he disappeared after the crash," Reine clarified.

Officer Fuller, already aware of the fact, sighed. "Who told you this?"

"There's definitely something wrong with this. It's not a simple accident," Reine said.

"You mean someone mess with the bus?" Officer Fuller added.

Reine nodded with worried eyes.

---

**Criminal Investigation Division**

Officer Fuller put down a pile of documents on Detective Floyd's desk.

Detective David Floyd, former police officer and now detective, was a man in his early 30s.

Detective Floyd looked up at the person putting the documents on his desk, "Daren?"

"Long time no see, how are you doing these days, Detective?" Fuller greeted with a smile.

As the two finished greeting each other, Detective Floyd sat down on his seat, "What is this?"

Fuller then explained the case, "17-year-old Brian Moore. He's accused of a planned mass murder, 3 crucial witnesses, Tyler William, Allison Chu, and Vincent Saechao."

Detective Floyd checked the document.

---

Before long, Detective Floyd was at the door of Brian's house.

(doors open)

"Is there something you need, detectives?" the woman asked as Detective Floyd showed his badge.

Detective Floyd said, "I'm looking for Casey Stone."

The woman said, "That's me."

Officer Floyd continued, "Ms. Stone, do you by chance have a son by the name of Brian?"

The woman said, "Yes... is there something wrong, detective?"

"Well, your son was on the bus this morning, but he wasn't found at the scene of the accident. Do you know where Brian might have gone?" Officer Floyd asked.

The woman gasped and let the detectives in, "Oh my god, is he hurt?"

"We were wondering if you could answer that," Detective Floyd said.

The woman sat down, "I haven't seen him since this morning."

"Do you know if there's a safe place he could've gone to or someone who could've picked him up?" Detective Floyd asked as he looked around the house.

Casey shook her head, "No, he didn't have any friends, at least to my knowledge."

"Family members, relatives, or close acquaintances?" Detective Floyd asked.

Casey suddenly realized, "His dad, it's got to be him! That bastard! I knew that Robin son of a b***h was up to no good!"

"Calm down, Ms. Stone. Do you know where he might have brought Brian?" Detective Floyd asked.

Ms. Stone said after contemplating for a few minutes, "His cabin. Robin owns a cabin in the far east of the 85th Highway, near ummm–Chansel Bridge."

---

**Criminal Investigation Division**

--Interrogation Room--

"Brian, I heard from your classmates that you were the one that orchestrated the crash? Was everything they said true? What truly happened Brian?," Detective Floyd asked.

Brian smiled as he looked at the cup, his mouth zipped tight, keeping a calm composure.

"Brian?"

Brian silently muttered, "They killed this boy. I was just trying to release his poor soul." He started laughing.

(knock)

Detective Floyd got out, "Well, the boy is not saying anything."

"Detective Floyd, my name is Lexa Harding," said a woman, handing over some documents. "I'm Brian's lawyer."

"Oh, come on, you can't be joking! Schizophrenia?!", Detective Floyd complained. "What--why's everything got to be mental illness? Clearly, the boy seemed sane to me".

Lawyer Harding warned, "Watch your words, detective," before walking into the room where Brian was.

---

**Police Station**

Reine waited impatiently in the hallway for Officer Fuller, who was busy managing countless cases on his desk.

As Officer Fuller got up, Reine appeared before him.

Officer Fuller sighed, "I can't keep doing this, Reine. You can't use your aunt to force your way in."

Reine frowned, "I know, David, but I really need to know. My instinct has never been wrong; there's something really fishy about this case."

Officer Fuller sighed again before handing Reine some documents, "Good thing I have to deliver something to their office."

---

**Criminal Investigation Division**

As Daren and Reine arrived at the office, Reine's gaze darted from place to place.

Just then, Detective Floyd was seen walking in the hallway.

Daren peeked behind, "How'd it go, Detective David Floyd?" Fuller asked.

Detective Floyd scratched his head, "You know I'm not supposed to tell you anything, right?"

Just then, Brian was taken out in a wheelchair.

"Well, there he is. Medical records show he has early-stage schizophrenia and hasn't been on his medication for a week now, according to his mom," Detective Floyd said before heading to his desk.

Brian screamed and screamed, but as soon as he saw Reine, a smile appeared. He glanced back as they pushed his wheelchair toward the car.

Reine's heart dropped. She knew there was more than just schizophrenia to it. However, she remained quiet; if she spoke up, people would gossip behind her back—maybe even have her license revoked.

"What happens now?" Reine asked Daren.

Daren took the document from Reine 's hand, "It's all in the jury's hands now. Although there's enough witnesses and footage, I can't guarantee whether or not he'll be punished. Schizophrenia is hard to imitate, especially if it was proven by a specialist."

"Does that mean…" Reine paused.

Daren said, "Instead of jail, he might be sent to a mental health institution."

Reine drove herself home. She had seen so many that it had become normal now. There's one at the red light, one across the street, one running behind the gate—they're everywhere—spirits and demon.

Beside Brian was a demon, an evil one. His soul has been contaminated and taken over—it was crushed, destroyed. Nothing could be done; he was no longer there. All she could see was black smoky aura circulating in his body.

Reine parked her car and got out to vomit.

(ring)

The call surprised her.

"Mom?"

Reine's mom asked, "Where are you? Mathew called and said that you were injured. Did you go to the hospital yet?"

"I did, Mom. It's not that serious. I'll be home in 5," Reine responded.

Call ended.