CHAPTER 3 THE FIRST STEP

I WENT CLOSER TO SEE WHAT THEY WERE DOING. THE AIR WAS FILLED WITH FEAR AND STRESS.SUDDENLY! I FELT A PAT ON MY SHOULDER. "YOU GAVE ME A HEART ATTACK!" I YELLED. "SORRY, I DIDN'T WANTED TO SCARE YOU" ROMAN APOLOGIZED. I LOOKED BACK BUT THEY LEFT. "CRAP" I WANTED TO KILL ROMAN. "WHAT THE HECK WAS THAT?" ROMAN INQUIRES. "NOTHING, NOTHING....." I CHUCKLE NERVOUSLY AND LEFT. AFTER REACHING HOME THE FIRST THING I DID WAS TO READ THE DIARY. "DEAR DIARY, TODAY AFTER COLLEGE I SAW THE SAME MAN HE WAS ALONE. I FOLLOWED HIM. HE WENT INSIDE AN OLD BUILDING AFTER A WHILE HE GOT OUT HE HAD TWO BAGS WITH HIM. I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT THEY HAD IN THEM MAYBE MONEY? OR SOMETHING ELSE. AFTER HE LEFT I WENT INSIDE TO HAVE A LOOK. WHAT I SAW WAS STRANGE THE ROOM WAS EMPLY WITH JUST ONE MAT ON THE FLOOR. I CHECKED THE WALLS THEN THE WINDOWS BUT FOUND NOTHING EXCEPT FOR A DEAD RAT. I LOST HOPE BUT THEN I SAW THE MAT. UNDER THE MAT WAS A HIDDEN PATH OF WHICH I HAD NO IDEA ABOUT. I DIDN'T THOUGHT FOR A SECOND TIME AND JUMPED DOWN. IT WAS DARK IN THERE, LUCKILY MY PHONE FLASH SAVED ME. IT WASN'T JUST A PATH BUT WAS A HIDDEN ROOM. INSIDE THE ROOM WAS A TABLE, A CHAIR AND A BIG CHESS BOARD HANGING ON THE WALL THE BOARD HAD NAMES ON IT THE WEIRD PART WAS THEY WERE ALL WRITTEN DIAGONALLY. SOME OF THEM HAD RED MARKS. UNDER THE NAMES I SAW DATES. I WAS PERPLEX. I TOOK A PICTURE AND GOT OUT AS SOON AS POSSIBLE" AFTER THIS THERE WAS NOTHING ABOUT THAT DAY. I HEARD A KNOCK ON MY DOOR IT WAS NINA "GET UP!" NINA PULLED ME. "WHAT THE....?!" I STEPPED BACK. " WE ARE GOING OUT, GET READY," SHE SAID AND LEFT. WE HAD OUR DINNER OUT. EVERYONE WERE BUSY TALKING I WAS STILL THINKING ABOUT JENNIFER'S DIARY. "MISSING HER?" SHAWNA INQUIRED. "YES" I REPLIED. "SHE IS NOT GONE LIV SHE'S WITH US RIGHT HERE" SHAWNA POINTS HER FINGER TOWARDS MY HEART. "AS LONG AS WE REMEMBER HER" I REPLIED. A MONTH HAD ALREADY PASSED SINCE WE LOST JENNIFER. THE WORLD HAD MOVED ON EXCEPT MY PARENTS AND ME. BEFORE LEAVING FOR HOME SOME OF US WENT SHOPPING AND THE OTHERS WERE BUSY EATING. I LUCKILY SAW THE PUNISHER MORE SPECIFICALLY THE BISHOP. I FOLLOWED HIM AS THEY SAY HISTORY REPEATS ITSELF I WAITED UNTIL THE MAN WENT IN AND GOT OUT. HE WENT INSIDE AN OLD MANSION. I WAS HIDING BEHIND A TREE. AS SOON AS THE MAN GOT OUT I WENT IN. THE WHOLE MANSION WAS EMPTY. "USELESS" I CRIED. I THEN WENT STRAIGHT TO THE BASEMENT. THERE WERE NO WINDOWS NO FURNITURE JUST AN OLD BOOK SHELVE FILLED WITH BOOKS. I CHECKED THE BOOKS. IT WAS THE GREAT BOOK WHICH WAS KEPT ON THE THIRD SHELVE, WHAT MAKES IT GREAT WAS THE KEY WHICH WAS KEPT INSIDE THE BOOK. " AND HOW AM I SUPPOSE TO USE THIS ?" I COMPLAINED. I RECALLED THE TINY WORKHOUSE OUTSIDE THE MANSION. I WENT INSIDE THE WORKHOUSE. INSIDE WAS A MAT. UNDER THE MAT WAS A LOCKED DOOR. THE KEY WAD USED TO UNLOCK IT. THE SAME THING, THERE WAS A ROOM UNDERNEATH. INSIDE THE ROOM WAS PRETTY MUCH KILLER STUFF AND THE CHESS BOAR HANGING ON THE WALL. THE STRANGE THING WAS, THE NAMES WERE BISHOP'S MOVES. I TOOK A PICTURE AND SAW A LETTER ON THE TABLE. INSIDE THE LETTER THE WORD BISHOP WAS WRITTEN. BEFORE SOMEONE CAUGHT ME I LEFT RETURNING EVERYTHING ON IT'S PLACE. "WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN ??" MY MOM SEEMED WORRIED. "JUST HERE" I POINT TOWARDS THE CAFE. AFTER REACHING HOME, THE PERFECT TIME WHEN EVERYONE WERE ASLEEP I SAT DOWN COLLECTING OLD NEWSPAPERS AND READING THE CHESSBOARD.

THE NEXT DAY WHEN I REACHED SCHOOL I CAME TO KNOW THAT A STUDENT FROM OUR CLASS 'PAUL' WAS FOUND DEAD. "IF I AM RIGHT HE WAS ON THE LIST," I SAID MYSELF. IN THE CLASS I WAS BUSY WITH MY WORK WHILE OUR HISTORY TEACHER MR. RAFE JONZ WAS BUSY TEACHING. "LIV BERK" HE CALLED. "ME??" I WAS POINTING MY FINGER TOWARDS ME. "IS THERE ANY OTHER LIV IN THIS CLASS?" HE ASKED AND THE STUDENTS STARTED LAUGHING. " ANSWER MY QUESTION AT WHAT AGE DID NAPOLEON DIE," HE QUESTIONED. "51" I ANSWERED. "CORRECT! BUT CONCENTRATE HERE" HE WENT BACK TO HIS TOPIC.

AFTER SCHOOL I GOT DETENTION. I WAS WITH MISS OLIVIA. AFTER A WHILE MISS OLIVIA RECEIVED A CALL SHE WENT OUTSIDE THE ROOM TO ANSWER IT. "WHERE IS IT?" I HAD LOST JENNIFER'S DIARY. "LOST SOMETHING?"ROMAN HAD THE DIARY. "YOU LEFT IT IN THE LAB, AND AS PER ME YOU DON'T WRITE A DIARY. DO YOU". I REACH OUT TO TAKE IT. " ZERO CONCENTRATION IN CLASS, BUSY COLLECTING OLD NEWSPAPPERS. WHAT ARE YOU UP TO?" HE ASKED. "YES I DON'T WRITE A DIARY AND GIVE IT BACK" I TRIED TO TAKE IT BUT ROMAN'S TALLER THAN ME. "ONLY ON ONE CONDITION YOU WILL TELL ME, WHAT ARE YOU UP TO?" MISS OLIVIA CAME BACK SHE WAS IN A HURRY. SHE TOOK HER BAG, GAVE US THE KEYS TO LOCK THE ROOM AND LEFT. "WHAT ARE YOU WORKING ON" ROMAN ASKED. I GAVE HIM A LOOK OF IRRITATION AND A FROWN. "CONSIDER ME A FRIEND," HE SAID. "WELL THEN FRIEND DON'T HATE ME IF I PUNCH YOU" I REPLIED AND WALKED TOWARDS THE BOARD. "IT ALL STARTS WITH JENNIFER'S MURDER. THEN I TOOK HER DIARY" I WAS INTERRUPTED BY ROMAN "STOLE," HE SAID. "DO NOT INTERRUPT!, SO I SAW BISHOP HE IS ONE OF THE PUNISHERS WHO KILL SINNERS. AS PER MY RESEARCH EACH PUNISHER IS NAMED AFTER A CHESS PIECE, THEY HAVE THEIR LIST OF SINNERS WHO THEY KILL IN DIFFERENT WAYS. LIKE THE BISHOP HE KILLS PEOPLE USING A KITE SRING. TILL NOW I JUST KNOW ABOUT THE BISHOP. HE USUALLY KILLS PEOPLE ON THURSDAYS". I EXPLAINED AND DREW A FLOW CHART ON THE BOARD. "OKAY SO PUNISHERS KILL PEOPLE AND THEY ARE NAMED AFTER CHESS PIECES. THEY ALSO HAVE LIST OF SINNERS. I CAN BELIEVE THIS BUT HOW CAN YOU SAY THAT THE BISHOP KILLS PEOPLE USING A KITE STRING AND ONLY ON THURSDAYS." ROMAN CIRCLED THURSDAY.

" I CAN SAY THAT BECAUSE I FOLLOWED HIM. AND SAW HIS HEADQUATERS. INSIDE WERE KILLER STUFF AND KITE STRINGS. AND ABOUT SATURDAYS. IN THE PAST FEW SATURDAYS MOST OR MAYBE ALL THE MURDERS WERE COMMITTED USING KITE STRINGS." I JUSTIFIED MY RESEARCH.

"AND WHAT'S WITH THE CHESSBOARD" ROMAN WAS CURIOUS.

" THAT....INSIDE THE KILLER HQ I SAW A CHESSBOARD WITH SINNER NAMES. THEY WEREN'T JUST NAMES FEW OF THEM OR ALL OF THEM ARE DEAD EXCEPT FOR ONE RAFE JONZ" I SAID

"OUR HISTORY TEACHER" ROMAN CONCLUDES. "WHICH MEANS....." I THOUGHT HE WOULD GUESS. "WHICH MEANS?" ROMAN REPEATS. I HIT HIM WITH A BOOK. " WHICH MEANS HE IS GOING TO DIE" I CONCLUDE. "LIVANA....ARE YOU SURE YOUR THEORY IS CORRECT?" ROMAN WASN'T SURE ABOUT MY THEORY. "100%" I REPLIED. "HOW CAN YOU SAY IF HE IS STILL ALIVE OR NOT"ROMAN INQUIRED.

"SILLY, I CAN SAY THAT BECAUSE BISHOP USUALLY MURDERS PEOPLE AT NIGHT, FROM 9:30 TO 11:30. DON'T YOU READ THE NEWSPAPER?." I REPLIED. "OKAY.....SO WHAT ARE YOU PLANING?". ROMAN QUESTIONED. "SIMPLE I WILL STOP. I WILL FIND MR. JONZ AND I WILL STOP THE BISHOP" I ANSWERED. ROMAN THOUGHT FOR A WHILE. "CAN I COME ALONG?" HE ASKED. "WHY WOULD YOU?, BECAUSE OF THE CREDIT?" I DISAGREED. "NO...I CAN HELP YOU. BESIDES, YOU DON'T EVEN KNOW WHERE HE LIVES"HE CLARIFIED. "FINE" I AGREED. "OKAY THEN MEET ME AT THE PARK AT 9. THEN WE'LL LEAVE" ROMAN SAID. WE BOTH AGREED. "OKAY THEN, SEE YOU PARTNER" I TOOK MY STUFF AND LEFT.