~Corey~

"I'm going to ask you, one more time." Cato growled. "Did you, or did you not, murder Paul?"
"I didn't, I swear!" The girl yelled.
I didn't know her, or remember her name, but I knew she was an initiate.
Cato forcefully kicked the chair she was in, then shouted at her to leave.
Once she scurried out, he picked up the chair and threw it in my direction.
I ducked just in time, and it shattered on the wall behind me.
"Whoa, calm down man, we'll find 'em eventually." Charlie said to Cato.
Cato took a deep breath, then let it out.
"This is so frustrating though!" Cato shouted back. "Why couldn't Bad News do this crap! Why us!?"
Charlie got another chair and set it down.
"Look," he said in a calming voice. "all I know is that he trusted us to do this for him. It's not because he didn't want to, it's because he wants us to prove our worth."
Right after the words left his mouth, Audrey ran in.
"Guys, there's a guy named Ethan, says he knows something about the murder."
She ran back out, and a boy about one year older than me walked in. He had longer black hair that was matted to his forehead, dark sunglasses, and was dressed in jeans and a T-shirt.
Cato's eyes narrowed. "What do you know?"
"Not much." He replied. "I do know a few potential suspects and I have a theory about something."
Cato nodded. "Write the suspects down, then tell me your theory."
Ethan wrote a few names down, passed the paper to Cato, then cleared his throat.
"Well, my main theory is, that the killer wasn't intending to kill Paul. In fact, I think their real target, was Dan Umber."
My blood turned to ice. It did make sense.
"Who on earth is that?" Cato replied, clearly frustrated by his lack of knowledge on the topic.
"Another initiate. He's been unconscious for a long time, but woke up on the day of the murder."
"And why do you think that he was the real target of the killer?" Cato asked, becoming more interested.
"Simply because of the facts. Think about it, only a few people knew that Dan and Paul were switching beds for the night. The killer could have simply, missed the fact that the person sleeping there wasn't Dan. And they're about the same size, it could have been a mistake." Ethan replied.
He then nodded, and walked out the door.
"He's right." Charlie said. "We have to find this Dan kid, he could be in some serious danger."
Cato sighed, then turned to me.
"Do you know him?" He asked.
I nodded, then also walked out the door, not needing further instructions.
Dan was in the training room, sitting on a treadmill.
"You do know that those are meant for running right?" I called out to him.
He stood up, then walked up to me.
"How's assisting Cato and Charlie going for you?" he asked.
"Good I guess." I answered. "Cato has anger issues. Why are you here?"
He sighed. "I needed a place to think. I've been thinking about my parents a lot lately."
I sighed."Dude...they're dead."
"I know!" he shouted back. Then he softened."It's just, if I asked, I wonder if Bad News would tell me how they died. Or at least why they sent me away."
"I could tell you that." I answered. "They sent you away because they didn't want you to grow up here. They cared about you."
He sighed. "I guess you're right. Why'd you come out? Did they find the uh, killer guy?"
"No, they want you." I answered.
"M-m-m-m-me? W-w-w-why?" he asked.
"Whoa, turn off the dork stutter man, they think that you're in danger, that's all."
"W-w-wow. That makes me feel g-g-great." He stuttered.
"Come on lameo, they want to talk to you."
I started walking back towards the room I was previously in, Dan shuffling his feet behind me.
When we walked back in, Audrey sat in the chair, holding Cato's hand. Charlie was in the corner, pretending not to watch them.
I coughed, and Cato looked up.
"So Dan," he said. "We think that you might be in danger, and I want to find out why the killer is after you."
Dan cringed, and I rolled my eyes.
This wasn't going to go well.

~Bad News~

Those stupid, pathetic, fools! I thought as I sped down the hallway. They had one job. One job. And look at what happened. They caught the library on fire!
Stepping outside, I tried to imagine what my father would say to this. Better yet, what my grandfather would say about it.
He'd always have violent things to say, or violent things for me to do.
When I was three, he'd told me to cut a man's foot off. It was Nathanial Elder who he had told me to do it to. Apparently, Newbie Nathanial hadn't wanted to train that day. So instead, he defied my grandfather's wishes, and went swimming in the nearby lake.
Idiot.
So I went to chop off his foot.
Unfortunately, my father took away the saw Grandpa Wicked gave me to use, so I used my pocket knife to cut off his toe instead.
Ahhh...good times.
I was five when Grandpa Wicked died. The war is still fresh in my head like it happened just yesterday. I had been there, thanks to my grandfather. He'd told my dad, "Death, if you ever want that boy to be a man, you first have to give him a glimpse of the real world."
And of course, my dad agreed.
Then he had hired that thirteen-year-old boy to watch me as the war went on.
His name was Carl. Carl Benson. And he was my only friend during that war.
Until he died, of course.
Protecting me.
The guilt still taunts me to this day.
Whenever I'm feeling good about something, or I've saved someone, I always remember that night.
The night I failed to kill that soldier before he killed Carl. The night all of the things my grandfather taught me went to waste. The night when Carl bled out as I screamed at him to wake up.
He was only eighteen when he died, and I think that's what affects me the most.
I slowed as I approached the charred library that was still on fire.
"Is anyone in there?!" I asked Cato.
He looked worried, which answered my question.
"Who?!" I asked.
He looked me in the eye. "We were in the training center questioning people when we heard the screams. I told her not to go in, but she wouldn't listen to me. I tried to stop her, but..." He trailed off.
"Cato," I said demandingly. "Who's in there."
He looked even more worried "Audrey." He whispered.
Without thinking, I ran into the smoking building.
I have to save her.
I have to keep her safe.