The Forgotten Sin (Purifiers Book 1) (3 page)

           
Over the next few days at school Iliana kept a close watch on Chloe. She noticed
how quickly Chloe’s moods changed from sweet and cheerful to rough and aggressive.
Sometimes right in the middle of a conversation Chloe would snap however, does not
recall having the conversation they have had. Iliana had also noticed Kazuki who always
seemed to be lurking around in the near distance. His eyes followed Chloe’s every
movement like a hawk to it’s prey. Iliana slowly saw less of her. Chloe missed the classes
that they shared, hardly breathed a word to anyone even to the teachers and eventually
Iliana went through a day without seeing her at all. Iliana knew Chloe had other friends but
Chloe would always make a point of saying hello. One particular lunch break sitting under
the tree where she met Chloe on the first day of school, two girls approached Iliana.

           
One had mousy brown hair that was swept back in a high ponytail. Her light brown
eyes hid behind fashionable spectacles that was probably a brand name, Iliana thought.
The other girl was a little taller with chestnut coloured hair gathered on one side and rested
on her small shoulders. Her side parted long fringe revealed her big brown eyes and when
she smiled, two dimples either side was revealed. The girl with the spectacles spoke first.

           
"Hello... umm my name is Claire Hunter and this is Victoria Walder." She
introduced nodding towards the girl next to her who waved.

Iliana smiled at both of them. She had seen them with Chloe a few times around the school
and both of them shared a few of Iliana’s classes, but never had the chance to introduce.
They always seemed to be gossiping and giggling wherever they went.

           
"Pleasure to meet you both."

           
"Likewise." Claire responded smiling back then carried on. "We are Chloe’s
friends and we are quite close, but lately we have noticed that she has been acting very
strangely. I mean... she has been a little down and vacant for a while due to her parents
personal problems, but these past few days have been worse."

Then Victoria added.

           
"She has not been talking to us and has been completely ignoring us. Every time we
talk to her she just murmurs to herself... I am positively sure I heard her growl like a dog a
couple of times, it was really weird."

Iliana listened to both girls intently.

           
"Chloe... in between her abnormal behaviour talked a lot about you and the times
you have spent together, and we were wondering... and I know you have only just recently
met her. But, do you know
anything or have noticed
anything different about her?" Claire
asked.

Unable to tell them exactly what she had noticed especially on the first day of school,
Iliana shook her head.

           
"Unfortunately I know nothing either, but I have also noticed her behaviour... Have
you seen her today?"

           
"I saw her walking down the stairs towards the girl’s ground floor bathroom today.
You know... The creepy bathroom near the music room that no-one hardly ever goes down
because everyone thinks it is haunted, but actually it is not. It was just stupid rumours, the
boys thought it was funny to broadcast a few years back." Victoria answered rolling her
eyes before continuing. "Anyway, I was going to follow her but the Music teacher Mr.
Gregory asked me to help him carry some instruments to his classroom, what a nuisance
that was."

           
"I have not seen her since yesterday afternoon when I saw her walking away from
Father Benjamin, the Religious Education teacher. I tried to follow her but she disappeared
so quickly." Claire said.

           
"I will do everything I can to help and I will let you both know if I hear anything!"
Iliana exclaimed just as the first bell rang for the end of lunch break.

           
"Thanks." Victoria and Claire chorused together.

           
"You know... next time, if you want to, you can join us for lunch." Claire
suggested, giving Iliana a smile.

Iliana beamed back.

           
"That is kind, thank you."

Iliana watched the two girls walk away not really knowing what to do first when she
recognised three boys howling with laughter further up near the football ground.

Iliana picked up her leftover salad sandwich and made her way to the three boys.

           
"Hey!" She shouted.

The three boys all turned round then glanced nervously to one another as they realised it
was Iliana approaching them.

           
"What do you
want?" Asked the guy who still had so much hair gel pasted on his
brown hair.

           
"Careful Oliver... you know who her Mother is." Warned the boy with short black
spiky hair who too lavishly pasted hair gel to keep his spikes up.

           
"I know Jason, I found that out the other day!" Oliver snapped his dull brown eyes
fixed on Iliana.

           
"Look!" Iliana started now thinking that having a Mother as a top lawyer had it’s
benefits. "I just want to ask you guys a question. That day at Beach Cove... why were you
bullying Chloe?"

Oliver snorted out with laughter and the other two boys joined in, leaving Iliana standing
there with one eyebrow raised.

           
"Am I missing something here?... Please enlighten me."

           
"We were not bullying her." Oliver managed to say in between his sniggering.

           
"You were not?"

           
"No!" Replied the guy with the army shaven blond hair. "More like she was
bullying us into giving her more drugs!"

Oliver punched him hard on his upper arm making him wince and grunt out with pain.

           
"Your not supposed to tell her that Martyn, you idiot!"

           
"Wait... drugs?" Iliana repeated and confused.

Oliver pressed his lips together, Martyn looked away stroking his sore arm and Jason
scratched his forehead not knowing what else to do or say. Iliana put a hand on her hip
looking like a headmistress scolding three naughty boys.

           
‘
These guys are not as clever and tough as they look
.’ She thought, before saying
out loud...

           
"Look... I promise you I will not tell anyone even my Mother, who frankly has
nothing to do with any of this. I am just worried about a friend... and if you know
something then please tell me and to let you know I keep my promises."

After a few moments Oliver sighed heavily.

           
"Fine..." He said reluctantly. "She overheard us talking about a stash of drugs we
bought. She begged us to give her some and even offered to pay two-thousand-pounds for
it which was way more than double for what we paid. So obviously we accepted her
offer."

           
 "Then when we were at Beach Cove she begged for some more which we did not
have because we gave her all of it." Jason added. "And that was when you came along."

Unable to let all that information sank in, Iliana then asked.

           
"Why?"

All three shrugged then thinking about it for a second, Oliver replied.

           
"I think I remember her muttering something like... she could not cope any longer."

Martyn nodded in agreement.

           
"Yeah... come to think of it, she also said that she hated her life."

           
Classes went past in a blur. Throughout the afternoon Iliana thought of what the
boys told her. She tried to weigh everything together hoping to make sense to why
someone so sweet and girly as Chloe would begin to take drugs. The thought of Chloe’s
split personality change and Claire mentioning Chloe’s parents having personal problems
popped into Iliana’s mind. There was only one conclusion that fitted with all the
evidence... something Iliana had been trying to run away from.

           
Making her way to her locker after the last lesson Iliana’s mobile vibrated in her
skirt pocket disrupting her in her deep thoughts. Mother’s picture flashed up on the screen.

           
"Hello Mother!" Iliana answered as she arrived at the door of her locker and leaned
her back against it.

           
"Hello Iliana... how was school today?" Mother asked sounding more pleasant
today than she had been since Iliana first moved here.

Mother did however apologise for being too sincere with her last night and explained that
she only wanted to keep the family reputation clean.

           
"Same as always."

           
"Oh, I am sure it was more interesting than that. But anyway, I have an important
meeting this afternoon and then dinner with my bosses clients. So I think I will be home
quite late tonight, and I have asked Andrew to pick me up. You can finally walk home as
you have wanted to since you arrived here." Mother informed Iliana then adding with a
hint of sarcasm. "I do not understand why you like to walk everywhere."

           
"It keeps me fit, anyway... what about Father?" Iliana asked watching a crowd of
people rushing up from the stairs further up ahead then passing her to exit the building.

           
"I just got off the phone with him before I called you, he said he has a lot of
patients to tend to and he might also be home late. I feel so guilty for always coming home
late and leaving you alone." Mother said with a tone of regret.

           
"It is okay, I do not mind... besides I am not alone... I have Yuki." Iliana reassured,
her eyes fixed on the stairs where more huddles of students and teachers poured out.

           
"Okay then... well, I had better go. Oh, do not forget to pick Yuki up from Mrs.
Croppe before ten, that lady likes to bed early."

           
"Okay, have fun tonight Mother."

           
"I will try."

As soon as Mother hung up Iliana slipped her mobile back into her skirt pocket.

           
"Excuse me!" She said to a tall fellow student who passed her carrying his guitar
bag behind him along with his other companions.

The boy turned round, his blond curly hair bouncing behind his ears that revealed a row of
small silver hoops pierced from the top tip of his ear to the bottom lobe.

           
"What is going on?" Iliana asked.

           
"The girls creepy bathroom on the ground floor is totally flooded, so everyone from
the ground and first floor have been evacuated." He answered in a laid back voice.

           
"Oh thanks." Iliana said as the boy and his group walked away.

Remembering what Victoria had said about seeing Chloe going to the girls bathroom
earlier Iliana made her way down the stairs. The first floor was so much quieter compared
to the second floor she had just come down from. A ‘Do Not Enter’ sign barricaded the
stairs going down the ground floor, which Iliana squeezed herself pass quite quickly when
she heard a shuffling sound. She pressed herself against the wall of the stairs to hide as
whoever it was ran up to the second floor. Iliana sighed, her heart racing with mixed
emotions of nervousness and a bit of excitement. As she made it down the ground floor
her feet stepped into an inch of water. The long corridor was flooded and instantly Iliana
felt a cold shiver that ran down her spine. Then a ruffle of noises followed by men’s voices
echoed from the very end of the corridor where Iliana headed towards, whilst trying to
tread lightly so not to make too much splashing noises.

           
The door to the bathroom was ajar and as Iliana pressed her ear against the door she
could hear a deep growling noise like a tiger who was ready to pounce it’s enemy, and a
man’s voice that seemed to be muttering an incantation so quickly Iliana could not make
out what he was trying to say. Even more intrigued Iliana slowly pushed the door praying
it would not squeak as she opened it, just so she could slip her slim body inside... luckily it
did not make a sound. But she did not expect to see what was coming.

***CHAPTER 2***

           
The large bathroom was dim with only a few long fluorescent bulbs flickering light,
down to the ankle deep flooded floor and a chill in the room gave it an even more eerie
atmosphere. In front of Iliana with their backs towards her were two broad shouldered
men. Both stood in between the row of sinks which were all full to the brim with water on
their left and the toilet cubicles on their right. Sitting on a wooden chair that looked a little
misplaced in a girls bathroom was a girl, who wore the same uniform as Iliana but had a
white cloth draped over her face. Thick ropes strapped round both of her wrists to the arms
of the chair and her waist was tied to the back of the chair. It sounded like the deep
growling noises came from the girl but Iliana was uncertain. Without thinking Iliana spoke
out quite loudly that it echoed round the room and the growling noises stopped, and so did
the muttering of the incantation.