Chapter 25: Two Truths and a Lie

"I'm glad that I finally have the chance to talk and prove that I'm innocent,” says Ace, looking at Delta. "Let me get this out of the way first. Whatever you saw didn't happen. You're lying, and I don't understand why. How could you truly know what happened if you were only there for a few minutes?"

Facing the jury, Ace says, "I was there the whole time, and here's what actually went down. Shortly after splitting off into pairs to search up and down the stream, Blue and I heard a loud noise and ran toward the sound. The sound coincidentally came from the direction where Delta and Grace went. We thought something had happened to them, so we charged over to where the sound came from and eventually came across a waterfall. We saw an arrow carved into the dirt with the letter 'D', which pointed in the direction over the waterfall."

He asks Delta, "Did you make that signal for us so that we would know where to go?"

Massaging her forehead, Delta reluctantly grumbles, "I didn't make it for you, but it was intended for others."

"Yea, anyway, with that being Blue's and my assumption, we somehow survived our jump over the waterfall and then kept following the clues that we picked up along the way. Eventually, we came across where the pool of water just beneath the waterfall split into two separate rivers, and we found another arrow that pointed down the river branching off to the left."

Confused, Delta's brows furrow.

"We kept running that way until the river was divided into five separate streams. We looked up and down each one for a bit until we saw a shoe trapped under a large rock in one of the streams. We assumed it was Grace's shoe, so we kept running down that particular stream, and not long after, Blue and I heard muffled noises close by. We looked around until we eventually saw Grace tied firmly up against a tree like she had been captured or something. We did our best to try and rescue her… but then, it all went wrong. There was a trap set by someone, someone hidden and watching out of view. It was a man, and most likely the one that killed Flora. He lured us out like bait so he could kill not only Grace but kill us as well."

Doing his best to keep his voice steady, Ace continues recalling all he can as he once more incorporates Delta into his explanation, "I'm sure you saw the boulders, the net… when do you think I would have had the time to set all of that up? Not to mention, I was also behind you. You left before us to run after Grace, right? Now… I'd like to ask you a question. Where exactly were you this whole time?"

"I was chasing you. I don't know how you did it, but what I saw… was real. I didn't see how Grace was taken. I just heard the same sound that you and Blue both apparently heard. When I got to the waterfall, I peered over it and saw you were already running down the river that forked off to the right… carrying Grace's body over your shoulder. I then drew the arrow and the letter 'D' into the dirt before jumping over the waterfall myself."

Staying seated, Delta shifts her body to face the jury, "That way, Blue and any of you back at camp would've been able to follow me as I followed Ace. I got out of the water, hurried over to where the rivers split, and kept running after Ace, but I eventually lost him. What confuses me is that Ace mentioned he went down the river directed to the left while I watched him go down the river on the right. My guess? He must've hid and wrapped back around after I ran by before proceeding to run down the left river. Also, Ace must've drawn the second arrow sometime in that short window because I never made a second arrow myself. And then, with me out of the way, he was probably planning to lure anybody else out and kill them. That strategy almost worked on Blue."

My eyes gravitate toward the jury, who are all listening intently.

This doesn't make sense. Both their stories are similar yet different. The jury is going to have a rough time…

Delta chuckles as she mocks, "A monster? A man? Please. That's who you claim was “watching” as you, I guess, tried to save Grace?"

"Yes, he set a trap to kill us all, tortured Grace, and then…"

Delta stands once more, scrutinizing Ace, "I've had enough of your lies! Do you realize how dumb you sound right now?! Your plan worked to perfection… misguiding me, injuring Blue, killing Grace. The only thing that you miscalculated was me seeing it all go down at the end. You thought I couldn't catch up, and you also thought that I wouldn't see anything happen. You probably thought you could blame it on something else, just as you did with Flora, right?! This 'made-up' monster-man?!"

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"Do you realize how bullshit your so-called ‘story’ is?! Explain how I would've gotten back to Blue? Where did I get the rope to tie Grace up? And how the hell did I get a dagger?! We never found any daggers in our supplies..!"

Ace chuckles, "I'm gonna love watching you attempt to talk your way out of this lie you've come up with!"

Delta looks at the jury, her voice beginning to crack, "I- I arrived to help as I saw Ace standing over top of Blue, sword in one hand… dagger in the other… I hid behind a tree so Ace couldn't see me, and I couldn't help but peek out as I saw Grace standing there too. Her face… her clothes… her arms… everything… her whole body was wounded."

She shakes her head as if she were about to cry, "I stepped out from behind the tree to run to her… to help her. But then I glanced over and saw Ace throw the dagger at her. It buried itself into Grace's chest and…"

Clenching her fists, Delta's arms tremble as she grabs her wrist to calm herself down, emotions running high, "I ran back to safety behind the tree. I was too scared… I thought he would kill me next! I don't know how long I stood there, but when I looked back out... you were pulling the dagger out of her chest. The blood, her death… it was… it was the most horrible thing."

Holding her hands close to her chest, Delta deeply inhales as she wipes away the tears in her eyes. As I glimpse at Ace, he’s watching her fiasco in disgust.

"I walked out of my hiding spot and asked Ace if he killed Grace. I wanted to hear it, hear him admit it because I just saw it. I also wanted to save Blue; he was clearly hurt and would definitely die next if I didn't do something. I had to do something. Even if it meant sacrificing my own life so this murderer doesn't kill anybody else here."

Delta rests her eyes on Ace, "After I asked that question, you… I watched as your entire body erupted into flames. Your eyes… started glowing as your body was burning itself. I grabbed Blue and just ran, ran as far and as fast as I could away from you. We had to get away..."

Ace starts chuckling, a hint of nervousness slipping through, "You're crazy, you're crazy… do you really think anybody will believe that when you’ve been lying through your teeth this whole time?"

Delta’s tone shifts to one blended with rage, "So you ask me how my story is legitimate… explain that! Who knows what kind of person you are, if you're even human!! What kind of special powers do you have?! Hell, maybe you've just been playing along this whole time, and you were perfectly capable of breaking out of that rope any damn time you pleased. You must be waiting for the perfect moment, the moment you can quench your bloodlust…"

Delta walks over to Ace, screaming, "Is that what you want, Ace?! Do you want to kill us all one by one?! Each and every last one of us?!!”

Ace holds firm, an unaffected stern expression remaining on his face. I notice the jury expressing mixed reactions as Delta points at Ace, hysteria seeming to bleed into her consciousness, "So why do you claim you’re not guilty?! What’s the game, Ace?! What’s your fun little game that results in death for us all?!!”

Then, as if ordered to do so, Delta walks a few steps over to the supplies and picks up a sword. Ace's guards immediately step in front of him as my gaze narrows, waiting to see what Delta does, but what she did next shocked even me.

Delta placed the sword up against her neck, and with a crazed, bug-eyed face, she began screaming, "Perhaps I should just end it right now! Right in front of you! I’m sure you’ll enjoy it! I’m sure you’ll be trembling with excitement as you watch my body slowly bleed out right before your eyes! This is what you want, Ace, right?!!”

In shock, Ace cannot speak fluently as his head begins to waver back and forth.

"N- no, what the hell…? You’re insane…"

Some blood begins to ooze out of her neck, "Who bloody cares! Who cares if I've gone insane? Maybe I'm out of my mind! Maybe I'll become just like you!! Taking one's life for my own personal satisfaction!!"

Although the scene playing out in front of me has gone way too far, I can’t help but watch, wanting to see what will happen next. But my curiosity is smothered when Faith gently touches Delta's arm. Delta's eyes gaze down at Faith, who’s on the verge of sobbing.

"Delta… please stop. I don't want anybody else to die. Look… all we have is each other. I don't want to lose anybody else…"

Taken aback by those words, Delta freezes as Faith struggles to lower Delta’s arm. Eventually, Delta gives, and the sword slowly drops.

"Delta, please… put the sword down..."

Relaxing the muscles in her face and body, Delta exhales as she releases the sword, letting it fall to the ground. Silence resonates as the sword clatters to the ground and the crinkling wisps from the campfire frizzle. Delta brings a hand up to her neck and rests it on top of the warm blood oozing out. She gestures her crimson palm out before her to show it to Ace.

Delta smiles, "This is what you love to see… right Ace?"