Chapter 184 - CRIES OF RELIEF

Jillyanna sat still and waited for anyone to open their door. The students behind her were all scared but they have stopped from crying loudly. Some were still hiccupping from crying and some were weeping silently.

A loud bang made them all flinched and hid their heads under the blanket. Jillyanna felt a surge of relief upon seeing the person who came. Her tears started falling as she stood up and walked towards him.

The students popped their heads out and watched her walk while sobbing. They couldn't believe to see her cry after she almost killed everyone in the room.

Travis saw how messy the room was. Several bodies were lying on the floor with their own blood and a pile of disgusting anatomy was on the table.

He scanned the room and found her consoling the students but when she saw him, her tears started falling to the ground.

Travis walked towards her and hugged her tightly. She was saying some inaudible words on his chest and her body felt cold under his palm.

"I'm here. I'm here. Don't worry." he rubbed her back but she didn't stop from crying at all. He noticed the students were looking at them with disbelief in their eyes. 'Their view of you must have crumbled now.' he thought to himself while kissing the top of her head and patting her back.

He removed his coat and let her wear it to give her some warmth. "I am glad you are okay."

"I had to be brave. I had to act strong and brave but I was really scared." she mumbled in symphony to her hiccups and sobs. "I heard them say that I will be the next victim. That got me really scared."

Travis sighed and just hugged her tightly. After a minute, she pushed him a little and escaped from his embrace. She went back to the students and talked to them.

"Let's go out now. Your parents must be waiting for you." she stated in her soft voice and sweet smile. In front of them, she was the most brave and beautiful person. In front of the man, she was just like them, scared and a victim herself.

Another group of people swarmed inside the room making the students took a step back and hide behind her.

They looked at the scene and looked towards Jillyanna. It was a bloody battle but they couldn't really associate everything to the small woman like her. If it wasn't for the video that Winter showed, they would never believe that she caused it. They would most likely think that the men fought with each other instead.

"They are from the authorities. They are helping us to get out of here." Jillyanna told the students and they all walked out of the room.

"Reporting sir." a man in his camouflage arrived with Hawk and Valkyrie. "The cave was actually built to connect with this house. There wasn't anything wrong with the cave but most likely, they used it as a passage to throw the dead bodies out."

While the officer spoke, Hawk and Valkyrie came to Jillyanna. "Are you okay? I'm sorry for not noticing that you were gone outside." Valkyrie stated with apologetic tone.

"It's fine. I am fine." Jillyanna responded. "Where's Savannah?" she asked.

"She's with the students right now. She's trying to comfort them after such an ordeal." Hawk answered her.

"That's good to know. I didn't expect that it wouldn't even take a week to bust them and I didn't expect myself to be involved in this."

After making sure that she's fine, they all went back to work. Travis was still standing beside her and was watching her intently. "Is there a problem?" Jillyanna asked.

"I was wondering where the cool and amazing woman run off to and left me with a crybaby."

Jillyanna stood agape at his words. She started blushing and decided to hide her face by looking down at her feet which was also covered with blood.

"They are not dead yet." an officer said after checking the pulse of the criminals lying on the floor.

"This guy looks intact." another officer said while checking on the professor.

"That person can't feel pain so I didn't waste my energy fighting with him." Jillyanna commented before going out of the room with Travis, leaving the officers stunned with her words.

When they got out of the house, she saw several police cars and police officers. There people from special tasked force as well. In the middle of the crowd, she saw Winter who was talking to an older man with his camouflage.

The students were handed some hot chocolate to keep them warm while the officers wrap up their work.

"Let's send them to the station first and call their parents. We can just interview them tomorrow." one of the officers said.

"I agree to that. They must be very exhausted and traumatized. They needed their family to stabilize their emotions."

After the discussion, they sent several students to the station and called for their parents. In less than half an hour, the station was full of heart warming reunion between parents and daughters.

"Thank you so much. Thank you so much." One of the parents kept bowing her head to the officers. The student grabbed her hand and led her mother to Jillyanna who was sitting at the lobby.

"She's the one who saved us ma. She fought all of the criminals." The student corrected her mother which put the officers in an awkward position.

Jillyanna waved her hands in front of her to refuse such acknowledgement. "I didn't want to die so I fought. You don't have to sound like I am a hero."

"But you are." the student insisted. "If you didn't fight them off, we would have ended like the other students." her tears started streaming down again and her mother panicked. Even the officers felt so sad and guilty for her.

If only they believed the farmer. If only they checked the place thoroughly. If only they checked the houses. But there's no ifs in life. What's done is done. They cannot bring back the life of those students that they were not able to save.