The Interrogation

Dr. Madeline Briggs entered the room and sat in front of the shackled child. The boy matched her gaze. His hands were cuffed to bars on either side of the table, a less than ideal place to try to understand the child, but she had to work with what she had.

“Hello Richard,” she began. He clenched his fists and looked at the mirrored glass to his left, where the one way glass was. “Is that what you prefer to be called?”

Richard turned back, and glared at the doctor. She saw a flash of anger, then it seemed to vanish in a haze. “Richard is fine, ma’am. Am I free to go yet?”

“I’m sorry, but we have to continue to investigate the situation. I am curious, though. You were one of the children who disappeared a few days ago, correct?”

He started fidgeting at that. This was the first time that he seemed nervous, despite the allegations that were leveled at him. “Yes, that is correct. After that, I went home.”

She opened the file he had, and pulled out her notes. “Do you recall what happened?” His eyes flashed, looking like some of the veterans that came back from decades of war. He then said, “Maybe...”

Dr. Briggs looked up from her notes with great interest. Of the 25 children and 2 teachers that disappeared that day, only 5 children reappeared. They were found in the basement of the school the next day, dishevelled and disorientated. When they were asked where they were, the ones that tried to say something started to vomit uncontrollably. They were held for 48 hours, and released to their families. Then Richard’s family was killed...

“What can you tell me?” Dr. Briggs asked. Richard concentrated, and it looked like he was about to retch several times before he was able to say, “You know who I always hated? Susan from Narnia.”

Dr. Briggs waited for him to continue. “She was sent to a magical world, where she became a Queen, even gets to meet God, and when she gets back, what does she do? Nothing!!!” Richard slams on the table, eyes full of rage. “Peter, Edmund, and Lucy get to return, hell even Digory and Eustace get to return to Narnia. She rejected Narnia, decades of her life, and the very word of God to try to live her life as a normal person! Can you imagine someone so foolish?”

Dr. Briggs was shocked at the burst of emotion. What was he implying? “And if you were in the same position as Susan, you would have chosen differently?”

Richard smiled with a grin that was many decades older than he was. “Who wouldn’t? To be chosen by God is so precious. To waste it is a blasphemy! And when she returned, she was a queen of Narnia for years. She could have ruled England the same way, with decades of statecraft experience and other life lessons. And most importantly, she knew she was in the right!”

Dr. Briggs looked towards the mirror. She couldn’t see the police recording the entire conversation, but she hoped they got this. Richard’s last psychological profile hadn’t mentioned narcissism or any sort of religious zealotry. “I read here that you and your stepfather had troubles before this. Did you two have a disagreement when you got home?”

Richard looked up. “Yes of course. My stepfather began beating me, so I murdered him.” Dr. Briggs was shocked to hear the confession. After the subtle dance of the previous statements, a blatant confusion was jarring. “Why did you kill him?”

Richard looked up. “Oh, he had been beating me for years. My mother knew, and didn’t care, so that is why I killed her too. Is that what you are looking for?”

Dr. Briggs stood up. “No, I am here to try to understand what happened. Why would you confess to this?”

Richard snapped his fingers. As he did, a beam of light flooded his hands. The light coalesced into a blade, and sliced through the handcuffs on his wrists. He spun around to the door behind him and stabbed the blade through, hitting the officer behind the door. Dr. Briggs backed into a corner, shocked by the rapid violence that the teenager performed.

He stood above her, his eyes glowing with red flames. Dr. Briggs looked up in horror. Richard smiled. “I can say all of this because I know I am Righteous. I know I am Good. I know I am Justice. I am the Hero.”