A Day in the Life - VII I couldn't bring myself to knock on the door yet so I stood in front of it with a weight in my stomach. This is the moment every Warden hates but they have to do it. It never gets any easier. You have to do it Janelle. The spirit clawed beneath my skin. His anger burned into my soul, I knew he wouldn't depart until I did what he wanted. I still didn't knock on the door though. "You deserved it." I said. "As far as I'm concerned this is justice I couldn't bring. Your hatred, your violence, it brought you to this. I want you to know that so you know I'm not doing this because I want to help you." From my experience, if a spirit gets to someone like me, they won't leave until they want to or someone forces them out. I can force a spirit out of me but it isn't easy. Far easier to get them to leave willingly, accomplishing a task they want done. Even when it makes your stomach churn, it's easier this way. I knocked on the door. "I'm doing this because justice is unbiased and all people deserve it. Even you." The lock slid out of place. "Oh!" Marnie's brow furrowed at seeing me. "Hello Janelle. What're you doing here?" "Marnie, where is your brother?" She smiled. "Hello to you too. Janie do you mind coming back later, Roddy and I had a fight and I'm trying to clean up now." "I'm afraid not." I stuck my foot in the door before Marnie could close it. "Marnie I need you to invite me in." "Why?" I took a deep breath. "So I can be wrong just this once. Marnie I need you to show me I'm wrong, so let me in." Marnie shrugged and moved aside, letting me pass. The smell of warm blood struck me right away. "You really should have come later." Marnie giggled. "I still haven't had time to clean up. It's so unsightly for a hostess to have a messy house Roddy was always saying that. Well no, he called me a stupid fucking bitch, but I know what he really meant." The kitchen table lay on its side, blocking my view. One chair was broken, while the plates, forks, knives, a broken wine bottle and food was scattered around my feet. The other chair stood upright against the fireplace, casting a shadow on the scene. A cloth lay partially drooped over the mess, stained partially red with blood. The fireplace was down to dull embers but it still gave some light. I could see a human arm sticking out, hand half-open, from behind the table. The smell of blood and wine made me dizzy ' Damn it Marnie. ' "Marnie..." I turned back to the pangolin. Her black eyes were dazed, almost dreamy and her entire snout was turned up in a smile. "Why are you smiling? Marnie do you know what you've done!?" "Roddy decided tonight to start yelling again. He does that you know." I studied her body as she spoke, looking for anything I missed. Marnie's left sleeve was torn at the elbow, like someone had grabbed it and pulled. Looking down I could see a crust of blood along the hem of her dress, maroon against the baby blue. "This time though he told me he was going to leave. Not just leave our house but leave Metamor Keep." The yellow crisscrossing threads on her dress were dotted with tiny specks of red. The specks went from her waste up to her shoulder. Marnie began to fiddle with a frayed part of the fabric of her right sleeve. "He said since he was still human he didn't have to live here among a bunch of freaks. He called me a monster, which was so rude of him you know? Do I look like a monster to you Janelle?" "I don't think you are Marnie." Her black eyes lit up. "Well I remember what you said to me, you said I need to stand up for myself, do you remember?" "I've told you that many times Marnie." My voice began to crack, I took a moment to regain my composure. A good Warden feels nothing when questioning a suspect. They have to be impersonal, even with friends. "Yeah but today it just really seemed important I should do that." Marnie walked over to the upright chair and sat down. I moved over beside her to get a better view of Roddy. His face was a lumpy mess and his blonde hair was streaked with crimson. "I can barely tell this was ever your brother." "Yeah I know." She giggled. "I didn't want to be here by myself, no that wouldn't do. So I grabbed my iron I had by the fireplace and of course Roddy didn't notice, he's so self absorbed!" Marnie threw her hands up in frustration. "Well what can you do? "You can hit him with an iron I figured, so I did just that. I hit him on the side of the head when he stood up and he smashed into the table. That was unfortunate; I had made a nice stew for dinner." "What happened next?" My eyes kept drifting to Roddy's body. His other arm was across his breast, his legs were splayed out. His mouth was a broken ring, permanently twisted in a look of fear. "Next..." Marnie leaned foreword. "I dunno. I just was so mad, so I started hitting him over and over. And after a while I quit being mad but Roddy quit moving and I was still hitting him. That's bad isn't it?"
"Yes that's very bed." I crouched down to get a closer look. Roddy's skull had been pulverized, there was nothing to do about that. I stood. "Marnie, you know what comes next right?" "You arrest me for murdering my brother? Yes I know." Marnie gripped her knees. "I always knew you were a good warden Janelle, you aren't afraid to arrest your friends." I swallowed. A Justicar must be unbiased; they must be willing to do what they hate for the good of Metamor Keep. Just because you know that doesn't make arresting a friend any easier. "Don't worry, I won't fight." Marnie said. "Do you mind if I change my dress though?" "Excuse me?" "Well I've not left this place in so long and Roddy always said I looked like quite appalling." Marnie gave me a pleading look. "Don't you think I should look my best?" "Marnie I- "Don't you?" I sighed. "Take the dress with you. Yes go ahead and change." Marnie smiled and stood. As she passed by Roddy's corpse, she gave it a small wave. "Janelle, will arresting me change anything? Aren't there dangerous criminals out there?" ' Why even bother warden? You can't change shit.' "I don't know." I said. "It's what has to be done." I waited with Marnie while she changed, before taking her to be booked on charges of murder. AN: Nothing pleasant here. Just horrible from top to tails.
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