Cases of Life and Death

Case 005 - Lilia Heirro

The queen of hearts lost her own,

Fell farther and farther down her throne,

Dusted herself off, she lived all alone,

Until the day she was finally known,

April 14, 2027, 2:25 AM, the suspect and the unidentified man have been duelling for 22 minutes. 

Lume was exhausted. Lume and he had been duel-talking for about half an hour, and she just couldn’t continue anymore. She’d heard the blood rushing through her ears for too long, and she really wanted her fight to be over soon so she could sleep with Red on her twin-sized bed. A slice came from Lume, and he stepped to the side, parrying her attack and throwing shattered glass shards from the necklace Lume gave him while they were in the orphanage. Lume picked up her backpack in a split second, stopping almost all the tiny droplets of iridescent glass from hitting her, with only her middle finger getting nicked by a small piece. 

“You just never quit,” He snarkily told her, “Do you?” 

“I’ll quit when I’m at your funeral,” Lume responded, hurling one of her mini-throwing knives at him. “Where are your ‘best friends’?” Lume sarcastically added.

“They’re a little late,” He started, “But by the time they get here, the only thing they’ll find from you is a dead body.” 

He charged at Lume, not phasing her at all. Lume grabbed his arm and pushed it onto the floor, pinning him down. “Guess who’s on the floor now?” Lume asked him with a slight grin on her face.

“I’ve been merciful, Lume,” He told her while swinging his next weapon, a… book? “But this has got to end soon.” 

“Fine,” Lume tackled him to the ground, grabbing his neck and wrapping her arm around him.“But I really wanted to continue this dance.” Lume pulled tightly, choking him with a smile on her face. 

“Bye-bye, Lawrence.” Lume felt that his body went still, but still breathing. She stood up, dusted herself off, and felt a small metal star cut right past her face. It couldn’t have been her… could it be?

“Well, hello, Lume.”

---

June 27, 2026, 6:56 AM, the suspect returned to the crime scene with an accomplice, Viktor Anglears.

Viktor’s hand grazed a slice of grass, feeling the ashy nature of a former arson site. The Haven of Hope, founded by Edith Thompson, had been burned down in January 2015. A freak fire accident had burned down half the entire building, completely destroying the attic and second floor of the reused mansion. Even if the police and local authorities had warned everyone to stay away from the ruined orphanage, Viktor thought that exposure therapy would’ve been ‘good’ for Lume. 

“Uh, Lume?” Viktor started, speaking slower than usual. “How are you holding up?”

“Okay, for now.” Lume walked slower than Viktor, as if she was struggling with each step she took. “But I don’t know why you would think this is a good idea for therapy.” 

“I saw it online,” Viktor told her, “it said that exposure therapy is a good way to overcome trauma-”

CREEEEEEAK

A high-pitched ringing noise came from the back of the orphanage, and a frightened Viktor jumped to hide behind Lume. Could someone else be snooping around? “Get off me, Viktor, it’s probably just a rat or something.” Lume started jogging at a mild pace towards the doors of the abandoned orphanage, overgrown with moss and other living things that shouldn’t be alive. Lume tried to pull on one of the doors, but it was sealed shut. “Hey, Viktor! Stop waiting like a deer in headlights and come over here!” Viktor shuffled a little, wondering if he should follow orders from someone who was not mentally stable at all, then realised what would happen if he didn't. He reluctantly waddled over to the gross, mossy doors and grabbed one of the handles. They both pulled on the doors in tandem and unhinged the lock. 

The first thing Viktor smelled was ash, then mould and burnt wood. The first thing Lume smelled was home. Even though Lume’s life in the orphanage was absolute hell, this was the only place she ever felt connected to.

“Why did I choose to come here?” Viktor muttered under his breath.

“I remember why I loved this place, Viktor.” Lume moved as if she were slow dancing. “Because of the mystery, the atmosphere, everything about this place scared the other kids, but I loved it here.” Viktor quietly scribbled down on his notepad, ‘Stockholm Syndrome?’

“So, Lume,” Viktor unconfidently shifted closer to Lume, trying to be cautious of the spiderwebs. “Are you experiencing any feelings of discomfort, or would you still like to continue?”

“Eh,” Lume brushed off both Viktor’s words and a cobweb on a tiny blue vase. “Let’s go.”

As the pair of weirdos walked through the burnt-down orphanage, Lume saw a hooded purple figure dart past the corner of her eye. For a millisecond, it was there, then a millisecond later, it was gone. She was going to tell Viktor, but she realised she didn’t care that hard about this, and if she told Viktor, he would care too much.

Viktor was terrified of this place. He hated every step he took in this horrible building, and everything scared him. He hated how the graffiti on the walls made the abandoned factory of the orphanage even worse. He swore that he saw a vase shift over to the left by a few centimetres, but if he told Lume, she would just say that he was being irrational, so he kept his mouth shut. 

The two of them walked for what felt like hours and had finally reached a crossroads, one path leading towards Lume’s room, and the other up to Ms. Edith’s office. But before they could make any decision, a delicate, off-white letter with a golden and purple stamp had gracefully slithered down towards the duo. It was addressed to Lume Lilith Steele, which had actually scared Lume (just a little). No one knew her middle name, and she had even forgotten it at one point, but just this one word alone made Lume understand that this person had to be very, very, important.

The letter read as follows:

“Dear Lume Lilith Steele,

You must be wondering who I am, but you shouldn’t.

Yes,

I am someone from your horrid past, and I hope you remember that I remember you. But please let me get straight to the point:

You shouldn’t be here.

Do not take another step.

If you comply, I’ll let you be unharmed, and you can go. If not…

From Your Best Friend.”

---

November 12, 2013, 2:25 AM, the suspect is with her fellow accomplices, Lawrence Morrison and Elanor Felix Ladron.

Lume had a slight fear of blood. Every time she was injured or had blood coming out of her body, she would get nauseous and sometimes faint. Many people, including herself, had told Lume her brain worked… weirdly. Bruises? She was fine. Broken arm? It’s okay. A little nosebleed? Drop to the floor. So when she saw other people’s blood, that was horrifying, for her and everyone around. But with the influx of random drops of blood and the weird red liquid sprayed on her wall (they found out it was spray paint, but they had to sacrifice Larry’s stomach), Lume had to suck up her fear, swallow it, and then shove it into the deepest pits in her stomach, because she was fine. 

This newest blob of blood was found in the corridor, right next to her room. The trio barely even noticed the stain at first, since the flooring was a nice cherry-stained bloodwood, but the blood was a darker shade, closer to mahogany. 

“So,” Elanor started, “What do we even do about this?”

“We shouldn’t get rid of it, as it might be our last drop.” Lawrence warily paced. “But we should pick it up first before anyone else tries to tamper with it.” 

“I just found another drop,” Lume told them, only standing a few feet away. “So the second choice.”

The walls of the orphanages were eerily tall, as if they weren’t there to keep the kids safe from whatever was outside but to keep whatever was outside safe from the kids. Lume wasn’t an engineer, but she was 90% sure that they couldn’t get the building permits for that. Coupled with the children’s wallpaper that had been tattered and bruised for a few years, the orphanage looked like it came straight out of the shining. 

Lawrence ran and grabbed a few paper towels from the toilet, ignoring anyone who came in front of his path. But when he was about to turn the corner, he saw the ‘notorious’ mean girl group in all of Haven, 5LOWER. Why were they called that? There were five girls in the group, and each girl was named after a flower: Poppy, Veronica (on a technicality), Amaryllis, Magnolia, and Lilia, who swore that she was named after the lily of the valley. They were all a few years older than Lume, with all members being around sixteen. On paper, their personalities all matched the flowers they were named after. Poppy had a bubbly but aloof personality, Veronica was the mom of the group, Amaryllis was the goth, brash girl of the group, and Magnolia was reduced to just a nerd. If any weirdo was looking into the orphanage, they would see that 5LOWER. was just like a normal-looking friend group. 

They were the complete opposite.

5LOWER. (They said that if anyone pronounces or writes their name wrong, 5LOWER. will take them down) was doing its usual thing: gossiping in an intersection about people who could be spotted there. This time, it was the hallways where they usually hung out. Ms. Edith had told them off every single day because they were ‘blocking traffic,’ but a group of teenage girls could never listen to an old lady. 

“Hey!” Poppy shouted at Lawrence, “What do you think you’re doing, twat?!” Lawrence could not care less where a clique of girls was talking, so he just ran through them. Lawrence ran back to Lume’s room, almost knocking into different corners. 

“You took soooooo long, Larry.” Elanor whined, “What happened?”

“He took one minute and fourteen seconds,” Lume sighed, crossing her arms, leaning against one of the walls. “And with the horde of teenage girls rapidly approaching our location, I think we know what happened.” Magnolia was angry, cat-walking over to Lume’s room, with a snare on her face. Lume had to mentally prepare herself for the mental bloodbath.

“Excuse me, Lawrence Morrison,” Magnolia started, “Do you not realise what you have done?” 

“Obviously not, Madge,” Veronica put Poppy in Amaryllis’ arms, “He doesn’t even look sorry.” 

“What did Larry do?” Elanor stepped in front of Lume and Lawrence, trying to protect them.

Poppy hobbled over, “He-sniff-stepped on my-sniff-toe!” She started sobbing inconsolably, to the dismay of 5LOWER. Veronica and Magnolia rushed to try and console her, whispering about how they were going to make him feel sorry, but it was no use. Lume knew that all of these girls hated each other, but the only reason they were friends was because they were ‘popular’. 

“So?” Larry asked, unbothered, Elanor’s least favourite emotion from him, but Lume’s favourite. 

“So?! Say sorry!” Magnolia shouted, “Or I'll make sure you’re sorry.”

“Why should I say sorry? It was her fault that she was standing there.” 

“Are you stupid?! That’s not how it works!” 

“Ladies, ladies, calm down,” Lilia Heirro stepped in between the arguers, “What’s the problem now?” Lilia was a somewhat tall, basic wasian girl, with dark black hair, square-shaped glasses, and a closet that would kill a Victorian child (crop tops and pyjama pants). She had quite a reputation as a mediator who would sometimes start problems. She acted nice on paper, but ask any kid living in the orphanage at that time (even though most of them aren’t alive anymore), and they would tell you she was more like a mob boss than a caretaker.

“This little boy over here stepped on Poppy’s toe.” Magnolia pouted.

“Only because they were standing in the middle of the hallway!” Lawrence whined back. 

“I go to the bathroom for two minutes and this is what I see,” Lilia muttered under her breath, “Okay, Lawrence, say sorry and we’ll stop hanging around the hallway, deal?” 

“Fine,” Lawrence whispered. Lume had to make a mental note to shout at Lawrence when they got back to their room. “Sorry for stepping on your toe, Poppy.” 

“Whatever,” Poppy sniffled. Lilia was about to scream. Why did everyone have to act like a child? “What are you guys even doing here?” 5LOWER. started looking around the corridor, and the trio’s heartbeat was rising. Why were they so scared? It wasn’t that big of a deal, right? 

After searching for what felt like hours, 5LOWER. had stopped searching around the weird trio (group name in progress), so they could all take a huge sigh of relief. However, Lume was the type of kid to notice things no one else did, so she was able to spot that each member of 5LOWER. looked at one of the blood spots, but did not say a single word about it. Suspicious? Lume was more than that. Why would a group of teenagers who loved tormenting children not say anything about the blood…

Unless they knew something about it.

---

April 14, 2027, 2:25 AM, the suspect appears to be in an altercation with an unidentified young woman.

“Hey, Lume,” Lilia started, with a sarcastic smile on her face. “It’s been so long. We should’ve met up earlier!” She threw a handful of metal shurikens at Lume.

“Shut up, Lilia.” Lume’s hand was hit with another metal star, and a little bit more blood dripped down her forearm. “You would’ve just killed me, like what you’re trying to do right now.” 

“I don't know what you’re talking about, bestie.” Lilia fake-grinned, just like she used to do when they were kids. “Come on, Lume, can’t you fight any better? I thought you were training with that boy.” Lilia slightly nudged her head over to Lawrence’s unconscious body. 

“Didn’t you send him to tire me out?” Lume sidestepped from another metal star, almost tripping over Larry’s body.

“Do you think I would send someone as weak as him to fight you?” Lilia spread out her fingers and put her hand on her chest, in the same motion as someone trying to be a victim. “If I wanted to lose, I would’ve gone to an ugly competition. Obviously, you’d win, but that's not the point.”

Lume’s dance with Lawrence had sped up as Lilia had been tagged in. Lilia didn’t play defence; she was like a wild boar. It didn’t matter how big or small the target was; Lilia just wanted it dead, no matter the cost. Even though Lume had been training in self-defence since she left the orphanage, Lilia was born into a life of crime, with her abusive parents being taken away from her, so she had to learn how to thrive on the streets a few years before she had ever made it to ‘Haven. ’ 

Lume stepped onto a raised platform and tried to hide behind a glass wall,

Lilia was faster.

--- 

June 27, 2026, 2:25 AM, the target did not sustain any damage from the previous shot, reloading right now.

Lume forgot how big the orphanage was compared to when she was a child. To be fair, half of it was covered in rubble, moss and dead bugs. When Lume was a kid, her adrenaline helped her run around this half-marathon of a building. Back then, she didn’t have to face the issues of her life and the morality of the people she trusted. She could just talk with her friends about anything she was thinking about. As Lume reminisced about her past, she couldn’t help but wonder, what really did happen on that fateful day? 

Anyways, Lume thought, moving her mind to a different subject, I gotta speak or else Viktor will think there’s something wrong with me. “So,” Lume started, trying to cut the silence short, “What do you think of this place? Is it like how you dreamed it would be?”

“Kind of,” Viktor answered, still somehow taken aback by how dilapidated the whole building looked, “It looks more like the stuff of my nightmares. How did you live like this?”

“Well, first off,” Lume started, “The Haven didn’t always look like this, with all the dirt and rubble. Secondly, this place was usually quiet, specifically in my room. Speaking of my room, here it is.” 

Lume opened the door to a half room, half graffiti mess that she used to call home. Back in the day, her room consisted of two beds for both Lume and Elanor, matching nightstands, and an old-fashioned closet. However, now the room was in despair, with the beds broken and bruised, nightstands rotting, and the closet was gone. Lume knew that if she and Viktor stayed there for another fifteen minutes, they probably would’ve died of some rare lung disease, but she loved this place. Even if it gave her bad memories of the past, there were good ones… right? 

“Hey, Viktor,” Lume started, trying to get her mind off spiralling. “Do you wanna see something cool?” She sat on the remains of her bed and got closer to her nightstand. Then, like it had appeared out of nowhere, she pulled open a cabinet at the bottom of the nightstand and spilt a pile of memorabilia. This personal pile of trash consisted of a few diaries, a bag of cash, and a photograph. Immediately, Lume grabbed the photo and stuffed it into her pocket, almost like it was for her life. 

“Lume, you know I have to ask what that photo was, right?” Viktor asked, secretly horrified, but speaking in the calmest tone he had since they’d arrived at the orphanage. 

“No, you really don’t have to.” Lume pleaded, not with her life, but with Viktor’s. “Just let me have this, please.” 

“I hate you so much,” Viktor murmured, half-joking but still annoyed at her. “Fine. Not my problem now.” 

Lume felt like crying. It wasn’t something she had felt since third grade, when her teacher had berated her about turning her work in late. The swelling of eyes had become a long-forgotten memory, so this felt like a kick to the stomach.

Lume quickly pushed Viktor out of her previous room, shutting the door behind her and falling to the floor. With her head on her hands, Lume took the portrait out of her pocket and unfolded it, hands shaking. The photograph was burned so badly that the photo was almost gone, but not completely. Still seen was a family portrait of Lume, her mom, and

The photo drops as glass shatters.

---

November 15, 2013, 12:47 PM, the suspect appears to have knocked over the second domino in DOMINIO.

Lume was hot on her feet.

Over the past few days, Lume had been slowly planning her own Rube Goldberg-esque machine to use as a distraction, just to get to the attic, and today was the day.

In the cafeteria, everyone was scarfing down their food like they hadn’t eaten anything in weeks, with chatter and gossip all around. Today’s lunch was simple: two soggy ham and cheese sandwiches, mashed potatoes, and an apple juice box. Little did anyone know that in 30 minutes, these sandwiches would all be on the floor. For no reason, a podium was established a few months back as a way for speeches, but everyone knew it was to ‘communicate’ with the children. Today was one of those days when Ms. Edith would get on the stage and present something new at the orphanage, keeping the kids hostage for an hour and a half, and it was exactly what Lume needed for her plan. 

“Attention, everybody!” Ms. Edith clapped her hands, alerting everyone to shut up and listen. “Today, we have an exciting announcement. In the mail, we have gotten a little gift!” Ms. Edith reached from underneath the podium and grabbed a tiny black box with a red ribbon. Ms. Edith slowly pulled the ribbon and tossed it aside. She then opened the box and… 

Glitter.

Tons of it. 

An unreasonable amount of glitter in a box.

All of it.

On Ms. Edith’s face.

Ms. Edith’s mouth was agape. She was left speechless by glitter. She walked off the stage, onto the floor, and out of the room. A few children had snickered or laughed, but were quickly shushed up by their friends. Whispers filled the room, and kids asked each other, “Who did that?” Lawrence and Elanor gave Lume a knowing glance, while Lume looked away. 5LOWER. had been whispering from the start, but after a second, Lilia stood up and stomped her way over to the stage. 

“May I have your attention, everybody.” Lilia cleared her throat, projecting her voice to the corners of the room. “What just happened was appalling. I know that one of you gave Ms. Edith that ‘gift’. Now, I’m not blaming all of you for this mistake, but if this was your doing, you should be ashamed of yourself. I expect to hear an apology to Ms. Edith by the end of today, or I will-” 

A scoop of mashed potatoes flew through the air and landed on the bullseye, Lilia’s face. A scream filled the room and almost broke through the walls, ringing louder and clearer than a banshee. Everyone turned their bodies to where the mashed potatoes were thrown, and sitting there was a girl named Haley. No one knew a lot about her, except for the fact that she was shy and quiet, never really opening up to anyone. However, Haley wasn’t as shy or quiet as everyone thought. She had thoughts and feelings, and dreams for the future, and the only people stopping her dreams were Ms. Edith and 5LOWER. Haley saw an opening and took it. Obviously, Haley had underestimated how annoying 5LOWER. was, and how ‘supportive’ they were of each other. 

Four other dollops of mashed potatoes flew in from the other side of the room, this time aiming at where Haley was sitting. One of the drops of mashed potatoes landed on Haley, while the other three arrived at neighbouring tables. Now, did this make the other tables upset? Yes, and 5LOWER. looked like they just regretted that decision completely. Kids who had previously hated each other were now raiding the school cafeteria to find any other sustenance to throw at 5LOWER. A few minutes ago, this food hall had been the cleanest room in the entire orphanage, but now it might as well have been a horse stable. Meanwhile, it was silent in the kitchen, and the only thing left was a precariously placed oil bottle, almost rolling off a shelf right above a pan that was somehow still on. Even a small movement would have knocked it into the pan, shattering oil everywhere and maybe even starting a fire. Unfortunately, no kitchen staff were present to help get rid of the pan or bottle since they had all mysteriously disappeared a few moments before. Haley, not wanting to deal with any more of this trouble, ran into the kitchen and shut the door behind her. Haley didn’t handle well with loud and chaotic situations, and was on edge. She slowly moved through the kitchen, trying not to jump at the smallest sound. In the corner of her eye, she saw something move, and instantly jumped back onto a counter and ran outside. Little did she know, that the counter she had pushed was connected to a very peculiar shelf, which was very rusty and had broken down over the past few years. On top of that shelf was the olive oil bottle, which had fallen over and began to roll very slowly off the shelf, into the pan. Haley shut the door behind her, returning to the chaos before, and sat curled up, her back facing the wall. Seconds that felt like years went by as the bottle of oil got closer and closer to the ledge, preparing to make its jump. Haley hugged her legs tightly and closed her eyes. 

A wave of fire rushed through the room. 

Giving Lume the perfect opportunity.

---

Lume ran out of the cafeteria and up the staircase, following the increased number of blood drops on the ground and locking every bathroom nearby. See, all of this had been planned by Lume. Befriending both Haley and the kitchen staff, telling Haley how bad of a person Lilia was, telling the kids who were forced to work in the kitchen about this plan and putting the olive oil bottle there, it was all to build up a distraction. She knew that Haley would somehow cause a flashover, and didn’t need to plant this idea in her head. She also locked all but one bathroom so that Ms. Edith would get trapped there, and wouldn’t be able to stop her. 

Lume opened the door and found more blood droplets, leading up the staircase. She was shocked by the stairs, but had to rush fast; she was running out of time. Flying up the stairs, Lume had reached the attic, a place everyone believed wasn't real. She grabbed the lighter she had stolen and lit a candle she had found next to the stairs. The faint sobbing kept getting louder and louder while she walked around the attic. She never realised how big the haven was, but seeing the open floor and trash all around helped her understand the sheer size of it all. Lume walked and walked and walked all over the attic, meticulously careful for any sharp or dangerous objects on the floor. After a while of walking, Lume had reached a small alcove near the corner of the attic floor to take a rest. The sobbing had continued as she sat down, but this time, Lume felt the floor rumble. 

Lume looked down and saw she was sitting on a carpet, which was totally not suspicious. She ripped off the carpet and saw a… trapdoor? Lume was tired of all these secrets in this abandoned mansion, but still opened the door. The creak did not help the dimmed lights or the sobbing, but she proceeded forward anyway. Lume headed towards the blood drop trail, but she was told by the universe to stop and just listen. Obviously, she didn’t listen and asked the simplest (and stupidest) question,

“Hello?”

The sobbing stops.