Interrogation

Once upon a time… there were creatures who were expelled from heaven and were not welcome in hell….

Legend calls them the Fallen Angels….

They roam the earth where humans live, while serving endless punishments.

Only one hope of the Fallen Angels….

The day when they are finally free.

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"I—I don't know what happened…," Morrison's low voice was followed by Christopher Crown's exasperated sigh.

The next day, a meeting between the campus and the committee was immediately held. They called Runa, Mandy, and Morrison. Morrison was the first to be interrogated about what happened in the classroom building and why he left Runa and Mandy.

"You don't know what happened, but you ran away from the scene and left my daughter alone?" Chris gave Morrison a look as calm as a snake, even with his voice creeping and coiling around Morrison, who was now standing in the center of the meeting room with tables and many pairs of eyes coiled around him.

Runa, who was sitting at one of the chairs behind a table, could see the look of fear on the man's face. It was as if the apocalypse was approaching him and would take him away from the world.

"I—uh, I'm looking for help, sir." Beads of sweat the size of corn kernels dotted his forehead. Runa felt sorry for Morrison, but he shouldn't have just left her and Mandy.

Mandy leaned towards Runa and put her hand to cover her lips, then she whispered to Runa, "I can't bear to see him like that."

Runa replied by turning to Mandy and saying, "Me too," almost silently.

"But he deserved it," Mandy retorted. "He shouldn't have left us like a coward."

"You're seeking help by leaving two girls in a dangerous situation? Shouldn't you have found out first what happened, and called for help via the communication tool provided by us, which was purchased with our money?" Chris asked again.

"The device… was not worked, sir," Morrison answered in a low voice. "Walkie-talkies, cell phones, none of them work."

The low hum in response to Morrison's statement made the meeting room buzz for a moment, before Chris cleared his throat and the crowd shut their mouths again.

Actually, Chris wasn't the chairman of the committee, but he always controlled the situation wherever he was. Even now, the chairman of the committee was silenced by Chris' actions and had no choice but to watch how Chris railed against Morrison.

No one dared to interrupt because Chris' charisma was so strong and full of intimidation that people were reluctant to deal with him or argue with him.

"How's that possible? Are they broken? Or was the signal in the building so bad that you can't use any of them? In that case, I will—"

"No, sir," interrupted Morrison. For the first time since he was interrogated, he sounded so convinced that he cut Chris' words. There was horror in his eyes as he glanced at Runa and Mandy before turning back to Chris. "They were all not worked. I couldn't turn it on. It's not just walkie-talkies and cell phones. The lights, the lifts, everything's off."

Runa thought Chris was going to laugh at Morrison in a mocking tone and insulted him by saying that Morrison was fantasizing too much, or maybe Chris was accusing him of consuming something so he was hallucinating.

But no. Chris said nothing. His hands were clenched like a man praying, then he put them to his lips. There was a faint movement of the veins around his jaw.

"That's enough," he said, and Morrison breathed a sigh of relief without trying to cover it up in front of everyone.

The interrogation continued by calling Mandy, who told them the chronology of why they were there at night. She could only give a little testimony about the incident on the third floor because she fainted.

And it was Runa's turn to be the center of attention. She was limping with a crutch in her left hand. One officer guarding the room put a chair in the middle of the room as a place for Runa to sit.

After Runa sat down, she faced her father directly. They made eye contact for what seemed like a long time before Chris finally asked a question.

"You're the only witness who knew what exactly happened until the officers came and helped you both," Chris paused. "Did you see anything?"

"No," answered Runa.

"Then how do you explain the messy table and chairs and the shattered windows on the third floor?"

"I don't know."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, I am."

It's not easy to do this interrogation with Christopher Crown. Runa knows that very well. However, she had gone through long years under her father's pressure, so Runa knew that if there was a pause of even half a second in her answer, Chris would definitely doubt that answer and kept urging her until she told the truth.

Runa chose to lie rather than be considered crazy by everyone here. There was no way anyone would believe her about the black shadow and the angel. When remembering the angel, Runa felt the presence of the necklace resting on her neck. The cross-shaped pendant felt cold against her skin.

A buzz of astonishment echoed through the meeting room again. Not once did Runa break eye contact with Chris, and vice versa.

This time Chris let the people talk for about half a minute before he cleared his throat and returned silence to the room.

"Okay, you can go," said Chris.

Runa nodded and stood up with the help of the crutch. Just as she moved to the side to return to her place next to Mandy, Chris said, "Looks like your ankle is getting better."

Runa tilted her head towards her father and smiled. "It is."

Not long after, the meeting was dissolved. Runa and Mandy waited for the people to come out first, but they didn't want to wait until no one was in the room. Mandy, in particular, was clearly traumatized by last night's events.

Runa's father just left without even looking at her.

"I'm sorry that I leave you alone," said Mandy, maybe for the hundredth time today.

"You didn't," said Runa.

"I was passed out! Why don't you leave me and run with Morrison??"

"How could I? What if something happened to you??" Runa glared and pursed her lips. "Would you leave me if you were in my position?"

"Absolutely not," Mandy answered, sounding so sure with her words. "Unfortunately, I might never be in your position, Runa. I'm too coward to become brave like you." Mandy squeezed Runa's shoulder. "Thank you for not leaving me."

Mandy reached out and put her arm around Runa's shoulder, then pressed her cheek against Runa's for a moment. "You're the best."

"I know."

Mandy laughed at Runa's confident statement. They crossed the restroom and Runa asked Mandy to stop by there.

Runa entered one of the booths, closed the door, and then locked it. She sat on the toilet, leaned the crutch against the wall, and looked at her left leg.

Her ankle doesn't hurt anymore. At all. As if she didn't sprain it in the first place.

And Runa half-believed it all happened thanks to her meeting with the angel.