Wednesday, July 15, 2009
Message V
Yay, another post, now you guys can't bug me so much!! Everyone's happy.. Ok, so I got slightly more violent in this chapter.. you all knew it was coming, but if you want me to stop, I can...?
Chapter 6
Marilyn and the group skipped the last two periods of the day. They sat in a park two blocks away and talked. The entire group had unanimously decided to tell her the whole story. As they told her, she fingered the small black disc. On and off she worried, and as the story grew to a close, her fear peaked.
“So what am I going to do? What's going to happen? Am I a target now too?!”
“First, I think we should work out this disc,” Celia suggested, taking it from her. “Has anyone seen one of these before?”
No one answered.
“I think we should get rid of it.” Rebecca said. “Whatever it is, it can't be good. Not if it was bandaged in with that!”
“I guess.” Marilyn didn’t look like she was really listening. She still seemed preoccupied with the tattoo. The rest of the group looked uncertain.
Yasmine voiced her earlier fears. “I think we should, too. What if it is a bug or something?”
“Not likely,” Replied Jo, but all the same she took the disc, put it on the ground, and stepped on it. The seven girls crowded around, each trying to get a look. But it wasn’t that easy to break. Jo stamped several times on the disc till it finally broke.
“What the hell?”
Through a crack in the disk, the girls could see multicoloured wires. For a moment, no-one spoke, but within minutes a buzz was travelling through the group. The girls sat for almost ten minutes trying to figure out what it was, and what to do, before Mia got up to leave.
“It’s freezing out here, and I already have a cold,” she said. “I’m going to find a bus and get home.” Jo agreed and they grabbed their bags.
“Wait!” Marilyn cried, “We never worked out what I should do. Can’t we call the cops?”
“No.” Lucy said forcefully. “We still don’t have any evidence.”
“Well, shouldn’t school be closed?”
“That’s what we think too!” Rebecca agreed. “But it hasn’t been. I hate Mr Corry!” The others nodded.
“You should probably just keep it bandaged, or wear gloves or something,” Celia told Marilyn. “And, we should try to work out what those letters mean. They could be important.”
The group split after that, each girl to make their own way home. Darkness was falling fast.
* * *
Carla sat in the small interview room of their office. Opposite her sat Mrs Hughes, Valerie’s mother. In the next room, she knew Damien was talking to Valerie’s father. It was now mid-afternoon, but the couple had apparently been trying desperately to find the officers all day.
Mrs Hughes was on the verge of tears, her voice strained and her face pale. Carla was shocked at what she was hearing, and feeling stupid for not noticing before.
“… She didn’t come home yesterday…” Mrs Hughes sobbed. “I thought she must have been… at a friends… but she didn’t call… none of their parents have seen her… I didn’t know what to do!” She started sobbing harder, and Carla passed her some tissues before standing.
“Thankyou Mrs Hughes,” she headed towards the door. “I will just be a moment, if you will please stay right here.” In the mirror opposite the table, Carla saw the woman nod. She turned into the corridor, entering a door immediately next to the one she’d just left. She was now in a rather cramped chamber, in between the two interview rooms. On her left and right were two one-way windows, looking in on the interviews taking place on either side.
On her right sat Mrs Hughes, staring into the mirror, her eyes red and puffy. On her left, in an almost identical room were Damien and Mr Hughes. Unlike his wife, he was not crying, and his face was white and tight lipped. He was talking, but Carla had the intercom turned off, so she couldn’t hear what was being said.
Damien nodded, stood up and left the room. A moment later, he was next to Carla in the windowed room.
“He says Valerie didn’t come home yesterday,” Damien recapped the story in a few words. “They called around, none of her friend’s parents had seen her.”
Carla nodded. “The stories match.”
“What do we tell them?”
“File a missing person report, go through the usual routine.” Damien nodded, and headed for the door.
“And Dam?”
“Yeah?”
“Did Leon check the handwriting samples?”
“Damien nodded again. “We only have the kids’ though, and there was no match.”
* * *
Marilyn walked slowly through the school ground. Instead of a bandage, long, black gloves clung to her arms.
Since she had found out about the tattoo, she had begun to feel more and more paranoid. Who could she trust?
As she passed a group of seniors, a few turned round to stare at her. Swallowing, she increased her pace, her heart beat and breathing following. Within seconds, her breathing had increased so much that she was gasping for air.
Suddenly, Rebecca and Celia were beside her, pulling her to a bench and sitting her down.
“You okay?”
“No!” Marilyn huffed, feeling light headed, but now able to breathe. “Anybody here could be trying to kill me!”
“Nobody is trying to kill you,” Rebecca eased, trying to calm her. “That message could say anything.”
“Exactly!” Marilyn began to breathe in short gasps once again. “It could say: ‘I am coming to kill you!’, or ‘I will kill you!’ or something worse!”
“But you can't think like that!” The three girls jumped as Mia appeared behind them. “And keep your voices down. I could hear you from across the quad!” This was a slight overstatement, but the girls did lower their voices after it. Mia sneezed, sniffling and then receding into a coughing fit.
Marilyn stood up. “I'm going to go sit with my group. Calm down, you know?”
The others nodded, and watched her slowly trudge across the quad to her other friends, Ashleigh, Selina and Jacqui.
* * *
Sarah and Emma left their period zero classroom. The bell was due to go in just a few minutes. They walked past the outdoor science room, and as they passed the door they exchanged a look.
“Mr C left the gas tap on again.” Holding their breaths, they crossed the yard, and turned into a stairwell, heading up to their rollcall room. Up ahead, they saw Mia talking to Mr Pullman, the clinic nurse and Deputy Principal. She nodded then walked towards them.
“Hey Mia,” Emma said as they got closer. “Whoa, you look really tired.”
“Hi,” Mia rolled her eyes. “Yeah, I have a bad cold. And stupid Mr Pullman wants me to do a job for him. Light a Bunsen or something.”
“Don’t we have office duty people for that?” Sarah asked.
“Yeah, I thought so too. Anyway, I gotta do it now, or I'll be late for rollcall. Bye.”
She hurried off down the corridor, coughing. Sarah and Emma watched for a moment, then turned into their classroom, and put their bags down.
As they sat Sarah realised something. “Wait, did she say light a Bunsen? As in a burner?”
“Yeah,” Emma replied, not catching on.
“But that lab was full of-”
“GAS!” Emma exhaled, jumping from her seat. “We have to stop her!”
The two raced out of the classroom and onto the stairs, almost knocking over two boys from their class.
“Maybe she was going to a different lab!” Sarah yelled ahead to Emma, who was a little in front her. Then they smelled smoke.
Up ahead they could see the lab, door close. Under it, they could see and orange glow, and grey-white smoke. They suddenly slowed their pace, fearing that it was too late.
Emma, closer than Sarah, saw the orange glow recede under the door. Sarah, not knowing why her friend stopped running, overtook her at a jog. Emma called out, to stop her, but it was too late.
All of a sudden, in a burst that shook the school, the door flung open and enormous tendrils of flame roared into the yard, blowing half of the buildings wall away.
* * *
Marilyn, sitting under the trees in the quad, felt the ground shake underneath her. It lasted only a second, people crying out around them.
She heard something falling through the trees above her. Looking up, a large silhouette tumbled down towards her. Hooked on a branch directly above her, Valerie’s dead face stopped inches above her own, wide eyes boring into hers.
Marilyn screamed, blacking out and dropping of her seat.
“So what am I going to do? What's going to happen? Am I a target now too?!”
“First, I think we should work out this disc,” Celia suggested, taking it from her. “Has anyone seen one of these before?”
No one answered.
“I think we should get rid of it.” Rebecca said. “Whatever it is, it can't be good. Not if it was bandaged in with that!”
“I guess.” Marilyn didn’t look like she was really listening. She still seemed preoccupied with the tattoo. The rest of the group looked uncertain.
Yasmine voiced her earlier fears. “I think we should, too. What if it is a bug or something?”
“Not likely,” Replied Jo, but all the same she took the disc, put it on the ground, and stepped on it. The seven girls crowded around, each trying to get a look. But it wasn’t that easy to break. Jo stamped several times on the disc till it finally broke.
“What the hell?”
Through a crack in the disk, the girls could see multicoloured wires. For a moment, no-one spoke, but within minutes a buzz was travelling through the group. The girls sat for almost ten minutes trying to figure out what it was, and what to do, before Mia got up to leave.
“It’s freezing out here, and I already have a cold,” she said. “I’m going to find a bus and get home.” Jo agreed and they grabbed their bags.
“Wait!” Marilyn cried, “We never worked out what I should do. Can’t we call the cops?”
“No.” Lucy said forcefully. “We still don’t have any evidence.”
“Well, shouldn’t school be closed?”
“That’s what we think too!” Rebecca agreed. “But it hasn’t been. I hate Mr Corry!” The others nodded.
“You should probably just keep it bandaged, or wear gloves or something,” Celia told Marilyn. “And, we should try to work out what those letters mean. They could be important.”
The group split after that, each girl to make their own way home. Darkness was falling fast.
* * *
Carla sat in the small interview room of their office. Opposite her sat Mrs Hughes, Valerie’s mother. In the next room, she knew Damien was talking to Valerie’s father. It was now mid-afternoon, but the couple had apparently been trying desperately to find the officers all day.
Mrs Hughes was on the verge of tears, her voice strained and her face pale. Carla was shocked at what she was hearing, and feeling stupid for not noticing before.
“… She didn’t come home yesterday…” Mrs Hughes sobbed. “I thought she must have been… at a friends… but she didn’t call… none of their parents have seen her… I didn’t know what to do!” She started sobbing harder, and Carla passed her some tissues before standing.
“Thankyou Mrs Hughes,” she headed towards the door. “I will just be a moment, if you will please stay right here.” In the mirror opposite the table, Carla saw the woman nod. She turned into the corridor, entering a door immediately next to the one she’d just left. She was now in a rather cramped chamber, in between the two interview rooms. On her left and right were two one-way windows, looking in on the interviews taking place on either side.
On her right sat Mrs Hughes, staring into the mirror, her eyes red and puffy. On her left, in an almost identical room were Damien and Mr Hughes. Unlike his wife, he was not crying, and his face was white and tight lipped. He was talking, but Carla had the intercom turned off, so she couldn’t hear what was being said.
Damien nodded, stood up and left the room. A moment later, he was next to Carla in the windowed room.
“He says Valerie didn’t come home yesterday,” Damien recapped the story in a few words. “They called around, none of her friend’s parents had seen her.”
Carla nodded. “The stories match.”
“What do we tell them?”
“File a missing person report, go through the usual routine.” Damien nodded, and headed for the door.
“And Dam?”
“Yeah?”
“Did Leon check the handwriting samples?”
“Damien nodded again. “We only have the kids’ though, and there was no match.”
* * *
Marilyn walked slowly through the school ground. Instead of a bandage, long, black gloves clung to her arms.
Since she had found out about the tattoo, she had begun to feel more and more paranoid. Who could she trust?
As she passed a group of seniors, a few turned round to stare at her. Swallowing, she increased her pace, her heart beat and breathing following. Within seconds, her breathing had increased so much that she was gasping for air.
Suddenly, Rebecca and Celia were beside her, pulling her to a bench and sitting her down.
“You okay?”
“No!” Marilyn huffed, feeling light headed, but now able to breathe. “Anybody here could be trying to kill me!”
“Nobody is trying to kill you,” Rebecca eased, trying to calm her. “That message could say anything.”
“Exactly!” Marilyn began to breathe in short gasps once again. “It could say: ‘I am coming to kill you!’, or ‘I will kill you!’ or something worse!”
“But you can't think like that!” The three girls jumped as Mia appeared behind them. “And keep your voices down. I could hear you from across the quad!” This was a slight overstatement, but the girls did lower their voices after it. Mia sneezed, sniffling and then receding into a coughing fit.
Marilyn stood up. “I'm going to go sit with my group. Calm down, you know?”
The others nodded, and watched her slowly trudge across the quad to her other friends, Ashleigh, Selina and Jacqui.
* * *
Sarah and Emma left their period zero classroom. The bell was due to go in just a few minutes. They walked past the outdoor science room, and as they passed the door they exchanged a look.
“Mr C left the gas tap on again.” Holding their breaths, they crossed the yard, and turned into a stairwell, heading up to their rollcall room. Up ahead, they saw Mia talking to Mr Pullman, the clinic nurse and Deputy Principal. She nodded then walked towards them.
“Hey Mia,” Emma said as they got closer. “Whoa, you look really tired.”
“Hi,” Mia rolled her eyes. “Yeah, I have a bad cold. And stupid Mr Pullman wants me to do a job for him. Light a Bunsen or something.”
“Don’t we have office duty people for that?” Sarah asked.
“Yeah, I thought so too. Anyway, I gotta do it now, or I'll be late for rollcall. Bye.”
She hurried off down the corridor, coughing. Sarah and Emma watched for a moment, then turned into their classroom, and put their bags down.
As they sat Sarah realised something. “Wait, did she say light a Bunsen? As in a burner?”
“Yeah,” Emma replied, not catching on.
“But that lab was full of-”
“GAS!” Emma exhaled, jumping from her seat. “We have to stop her!”
The two raced out of the classroom and onto the stairs, almost knocking over two boys from their class.
“Maybe she was going to a different lab!” Sarah yelled ahead to Emma, who was a little in front her. Then they smelled smoke.
Up ahead they could see the lab, door close. Under it, they could see and orange glow, and grey-white smoke. They suddenly slowed their pace, fearing that it was too late.
Emma, closer than Sarah, saw the orange glow recede under the door. Sarah, not knowing why her friend stopped running, overtook her at a jog. Emma called out, to stop her, but it was too late.
All of a sudden, in a burst that shook the school, the door flung open and enormous tendrils of flame roared into the yard, blowing half of the buildings wall away.
* * *
Marilyn, sitting under the trees in the quad, felt the ground shake underneath her. It lasted only a second, people crying out around them.
She heard something falling through the trees above her. Looking up, a large silhouette tumbled down towards her. Hooked on a branch directly above her, Valerie’s dead face stopped inches above her own, wide eyes boring into hers.
Marilyn screamed, blacking out and dropping of her seat.
Thursday, May 28, 2009
Message IV
You are friggin' not gonna believe this!!! I POSTED THE NEXT CHAPTER!!! *bows* I finally decided you'd suffered enough. So, I had a bit of "writer's block" and I decided to fix that by only skimming over what has just happened. Also, if you guys find any continuity problems, or stuff you want cleared up, let me know, and enjoy(hopefully).
Chapter 5
“Why don’t they close the school!?”
“Because they don’t want to cause alarm!”
“Hello, Aleisha was just stabbed and put in a locker, and they don’t want to cause alarm?!” This comment was followed by silence, and Jo immediately felt bad for saying it. It was recess, and the girls were once again together, sitting huddled in a corner of the quad. “Right, I didn’t mean it, it just came out.”
Fear made each of them quiet, none of them knowing what to do. Seeing another one of their friends with that strange mark on their wrist had confirmed all of their worries about the previous night.
Damien and Carla had asked them the same questions from the previous day, to no avail. None of them had given them any further leads, but they had had a chance to acquire a handwriting sample from each of the girls. They had also suggested that they all saw a counsellor.
“Where do you think Valerie is?” Lucy asked.
“I don’t know,” Celia said. “She didn’t come last night. What do you think stopped her?”
“I’m not sure I want to know.” Mia said after a while.
“Hey, she's probably just late!” Jo tried to remain confident. “Maybe we should talk to Marilyn?”
* * *
“I think we should send them home Dam,” Carla said. She stood at a window overlooking the quad, watching the girls in their small group. “This isn’t the sort of thing you recover from overnight.”
“It was their decision,” He argued, though it was clear he agreed with her. “And the principal has decided to keep the school open to avoid a fuss, to keep the other students from worrying.”
“These handwriting samples, is Leon busy? He said he could test them against the killer’s message didn’t he?”
“He’s here, but I think he’s going to be fairly busy for a while. This…” he hesitated. “This one was a lot messier than the last.”
* * *
Mia and Jo couldn’t find Marilyn before the bell rang, so they each went off to their separate classes.
Jo ignored most of what the teacher said during science. She didn’t get called to speak once, and secretly she knew it was because the teachers where all taking pity on her group. Normally this annoyed her, but today she was more anxious about talking to Marilyn.
Under her desk, she clutched the small slip of paper from the night before, crunching and smoothing it out with her fingers, but not daring to look once again. She wished she was in Mia and Marilyn’s class, so that she knew what was going on there.
* * *
“I'm sorry about your arm.”
“That’s okay. You didn’t mean to.” Marilyn and Mia sat at the back of their maths room, whispering. They didn’t actually have to worry, because for the last forty-five minutes the teacher hadn’t arrived, but they still didn’t want to be overheard.
“Can I have a look?” Mia and the rest of the group didn’t want to believe what they had found the night before, but decided they should take a look. But Marilyn wasn’t sure she should take the bandage off.
“The Clinic Doctor said I should leave it on for a few days.
“You mean you haven’t taken it off yet?” Mia had hoped that she had, and that it had been nothing out of the ordinary.
“Um no,” Marilyn cast her a funny look. “Should I have?”
“I guess not.”
“Okay, what am I missing?”
Mia sighed, “Probably nothing. But can I just have a look at your arm?”
“Will you tell me why?”
Mia sighed again. “If you let me see it,” She allowed
* * *
Lunch came around very quickly, and the girls once again huddled in their corner of the quad, this time Marilyn with them. They got a few strange stares, but they were beginning to get used to it. A number of rumours were passing around the school grounds, mostly stupid ideas about teenage pregnancies and arguments between the group that had resulted in murder. Whispering followed the girls wherever they went.
Today, however, theses whispers went completely unnoticed. Marilyn sat between Jo and Mia, and the group watched as she unravelled the bandage from her arm. Jo reached into her pocket, and pulled out the slip of paper, now folded in half. As Marilyn slipped off the last roll of bandage, Jo unfolded the paper, and held it next to her arm. They both said the same thing. A black heart beat, followed by the letters: BLF PMLD GLL NFXS BLF WRV HLLM. Marilyn screamed.
“Shh!” The group looked around, to see the rest of the quad giving them concerned looks. Marilyn looked like she was going to be sick. She jumped up and ran to the bathroom.
“I’ll follow her,” Lucy jumped up and hurried after her.
“What's that?” Celia bent over and picked up a little black, plastic cube that fell out as Marilyn rushed away.
“It looks like a bug,” Yasmine laughed. “You know, like in the movies.”
Silence met her joke. “Let’s get rid of it.”
* * *
Lucy arrived in the bathroom to see Marilyn scrubbing at her arm, wincing every time she passed over the writing. “Is it coming off?”
Marilyn shook her head, tears coming to her eyes. “Look at it!” To Lucy, the black marks seemed to be just as clear as they had been minutes before.
“Marilyn, it is going to be okay-““It’s not going to be okay! I just want to know! What do these marks mean, and why did someone tattoo them to my arm?!”
“Because they don’t want to cause alarm!”
“Hello, Aleisha was just stabbed and put in a locker, and they don’t want to cause alarm?!” This comment was followed by silence, and Jo immediately felt bad for saying it. It was recess, and the girls were once again together, sitting huddled in a corner of the quad. “Right, I didn’t mean it, it just came out.”
Fear made each of them quiet, none of them knowing what to do. Seeing another one of their friends with that strange mark on their wrist had confirmed all of their worries about the previous night.
Damien and Carla had asked them the same questions from the previous day, to no avail. None of them had given them any further leads, but they had had a chance to acquire a handwriting sample from each of the girls. They had also suggested that they all saw a counsellor.
“Where do you think Valerie is?” Lucy asked.
“I don’t know,” Celia said. “She didn’t come last night. What do you think stopped her?”
“I’m not sure I want to know.” Mia said after a while.
“Hey, she's probably just late!” Jo tried to remain confident. “Maybe we should talk to Marilyn?”
* * *
“I think we should send them home Dam,” Carla said. She stood at a window overlooking the quad, watching the girls in their small group. “This isn’t the sort of thing you recover from overnight.”
“It was their decision,” He argued, though it was clear he agreed with her. “And the principal has decided to keep the school open to avoid a fuss, to keep the other students from worrying.”
“These handwriting samples, is Leon busy? He said he could test them against the killer’s message didn’t he?”
“He’s here, but I think he’s going to be fairly busy for a while. This…” he hesitated. “This one was a lot messier than the last.”
* * *
Mia and Jo couldn’t find Marilyn before the bell rang, so they each went off to their separate classes.
Jo ignored most of what the teacher said during science. She didn’t get called to speak once, and secretly she knew it was because the teachers where all taking pity on her group. Normally this annoyed her, but today she was more anxious about talking to Marilyn.
Under her desk, she clutched the small slip of paper from the night before, crunching and smoothing it out with her fingers, but not daring to look once again. She wished she was in Mia and Marilyn’s class, so that she knew what was going on there.
* * *
“I'm sorry about your arm.”
“That’s okay. You didn’t mean to.” Marilyn and Mia sat at the back of their maths room, whispering. They didn’t actually have to worry, because for the last forty-five minutes the teacher hadn’t arrived, but they still didn’t want to be overheard.
“Can I have a look?” Mia and the rest of the group didn’t want to believe what they had found the night before, but decided they should take a look. But Marilyn wasn’t sure she should take the bandage off.
“The Clinic Doctor said I should leave it on for a few days.
“You mean you haven’t taken it off yet?” Mia had hoped that she had, and that it had been nothing out of the ordinary.
“Um no,” Marilyn cast her a funny look. “Should I have?”
“I guess not.”
“Okay, what am I missing?”
Mia sighed, “Probably nothing. But can I just have a look at your arm?”
“Will you tell me why?”
Mia sighed again. “If you let me see it,” She allowed
* * *
Lunch came around very quickly, and the girls once again huddled in their corner of the quad, this time Marilyn with them. They got a few strange stares, but they were beginning to get used to it. A number of rumours were passing around the school grounds, mostly stupid ideas about teenage pregnancies and arguments between the group that had resulted in murder. Whispering followed the girls wherever they went.
Today, however, theses whispers went completely unnoticed. Marilyn sat between Jo and Mia, and the group watched as she unravelled the bandage from her arm. Jo reached into her pocket, and pulled out the slip of paper, now folded in half. As Marilyn slipped off the last roll of bandage, Jo unfolded the paper, and held it next to her arm. They both said the same thing. A black heart beat, followed by the letters: BLF PMLD GLL NFXS BLF WRV HLLM. Marilyn screamed.
“Shh!” The group looked around, to see the rest of the quad giving them concerned looks. Marilyn looked like she was going to be sick. She jumped up and ran to the bathroom.
“I’ll follow her,” Lucy jumped up and hurried after her.
“What's that?” Celia bent over and picked up a little black, plastic cube that fell out as Marilyn rushed away.
“It looks like a bug,” Yasmine laughed. “You know, like in the movies.”
Silence met her joke. “Let’s get rid of it.”
* * *
Lucy arrived in the bathroom to see Marilyn scrubbing at her arm, wincing every time she passed over the writing. “Is it coming off?”
Marilyn shook her head, tears coming to her eyes. “Look at it!” To Lucy, the black marks seemed to be just as clear as they had been minutes before.
“Marilyn, it is going to be okay-““It’s not going to be okay! I just want to know! What do these marks mean, and why did someone tattoo them to my arm?!”
Thursday, November 6, 2008
Chapter 4
Celia and Lucy ran through the dark playground, only really seeing when there was a flash of lightning. Lucy had escaped the shadow, by jumping into an empty classroom, and then grabbing Celia as she ran past.
The two had then heard the scream, and decided it was definitely time to leave. Still they hadn’t seen any of their friends, and they hoped that the scream hadn’t meant any of them were in serious trouble.
As they arrived at the gate, they almost collided with Rebecca and Yasmine, who were running in the opposite direction.
“Oh thank god!” Yasmine cried, and the four hugged. “Have you seen the others?”
“We were hoping you had,” Lucy replied, and then spun around, as she heard a stick break behind her. But it was only Jo and Mia, both in shock, both with tears in their eyes.
“What happened?!” Rebecca cried.
“Aleisha,” Mia stammered.
“We lost her,” Jo added. “She suddenly disappeared, and then we heard running, then the scream. It was so scary. We didn’t know what to do; we couldn’t go looking, so we just ran. Oh man, what are we gonna do?”
“We have gotta get out of here,” Yasmine said, and they ran out the gate, and it was only when they were halfway down the street that the six slowed down.
“Did anyone see Valerie?” Rebecca asked nervously. Silence was the only answer. “She didn’t turn up? Do you think she forgot?” Suddenly she got all panicky. “What if she didn’t, what if she's in trouble? What if something happened, oh god! What if-”
“Rebecca!” came a cry from both Mia and Jo. By now they were over their tears, and they too were shocked and scared. “She’ll be fine, you’ll see, we’ve just got to go home, there’s nothing we can do for Aleisha now.”
So each of the girls left, making their way home, in the same way they had made their ways to the school, and each resenting their helplessness in their current situation.
* * *
Jo wandered slowly through the school gate, still thinking about the previous night. It had been on her mind, and she needed to remind Mia that they needed to talk to Marilyn about what they had seen in the sick bay. She arrived in the quad, and saw the group sitting in the corner under the trees. As she got closer, she realised the group’s two Year 10 friends, Sarah and Emma, were sitting there too. Though the group was in Year 9, they still had friends from other years.
“Hey guys,” she said, sitting down in between Mia and Yasmine. “Any sign of Aleisha?” She whispered this part only to Mia, who shook her head, but Yasmine heard as well.
“No sign of Valerie either,” Yasmine whispered back.
“Mia, we have to talk to Marilyn.”
“Oh yeah!” she stood up, pulling Jo up as well, then said to the group: “We’ll be right back, just gotta, yeah…” she trailed up, as she noticed the two detectives from the other day, Carla and Damien, walking towards them from across the quad.
“Guess we’re not going anywhere,” Jo commented, and Emma and Sarah stood and left as the cops reached the group.
“Remember us?” Damien said, almost in attempt to make a joke. A poor attempt, his heart wasn’t in it. “Would you mind coming with us please?”
The six stood, grabbed their bags, and, feeling stares on their backs, followed the detectives.
“Any idea what’s wrong?” Lucy said to her friends.
“Not a clue,” Celia replied. Lowering her voice, she said: “Do you think it has anything to do with-?”
“Do with what?” Carla asked, turning round. Celia went red, she hadn’t realised she could be heard.
“Umm, well,” she started, trying to think. “You see, Valerie is away, we haven’t seen her in a while-”
“Did you say she’s missing?” Damien, who had continued walking when his partner had stopped, “For how long have you known this?”
Hesitant, Celia went on, “Well, actually, it’s only since yesterday, she’s probably okay, maybe she’s just late.”
“Hmm, well,” Carla said, trying to be optimistic, but her voice filling with doubt. “You’ll keep us updated on that won't you?”
The girls nodded, Mia sneezed. For a moment, a few of the girls almost laughed. They were so on edge, and it happened at the most random time, they just needed to let out some steam.
“Sorry,” she sniffled, “I think I’m getting a cold.” The mood lightened slightly, the detectives led on, and the girls trailed behind. Slowly the group entered the music block, and went upstairs, passing some red tape.
Suddenly the mood was serious again, as they passed the first classroom, then the second. Then all that was left of the block was the lockers, and the door that connected it to the cooking block.
Needless to say, it wasn’t the door they were there to see. But as of yet, they couldn’t see anything, for the corridor was crowded with doctors, cops and people clearing up.
“Hey! Everyone, move to the sides, coming through!” Damien called ahead. “Doc, is the… uhh, is it out of the way?”
An indistinct reply displeased him, and he told the girls to stay put. He pushed through the crowd, leaving Carla to struggle after him. The others stood quietly, not talking, waiting, prepared for the worst.
Mia sniffed, and then sneezed again. “Damn this cold!” she muttered, and then all was quiet again. For a fair while, nothing happened, the school bell rang, and crowds outside the window moved slowly to class.
Then, all at once, Damien and Carla returned and things started to move at a pace faster then normal, they got given a lecture, but none of them were listening, and then they were moved further along the corridor. And the first thing they saw was the blood.
The two had then heard the scream, and decided it was definitely time to leave. Still they hadn’t seen any of their friends, and they hoped that the scream hadn’t meant any of them were in serious trouble.
As they arrived at the gate, they almost collided with Rebecca and Yasmine, who were running in the opposite direction.
“Oh thank god!” Yasmine cried, and the four hugged. “Have you seen the others?”
“We were hoping you had,” Lucy replied, and then spun around, as she heard a stick break behind her. But it was only Jo and Mia, both in shock, both with tears in their eyes.
“What happened?!” Rebecca cried.
“Aleisha,” Mia stammered.
“We lost her,” Jo added. “She suddenly disappeared, and then we heard running, then the scream. It was so scary. We didn’t know what to do; we couldn’t go looking, so we just ran. Oh man, what are we gonna do?”
“We have gotta get out of here,” Yasmine said, and they ran out the gate, and it was only when they were halfway down the street that the six slowed down.
“Did anyone see Valerie?” Rebecca asked nervously. Silence was the only answer. “She didn’t turn up? Do you think she forgot?” Suddenly she got all panicky. “What if she didn’t, what if she's in trouble? What if something happened, oh god! What if-”
“Rebecca!” came a cry from both Mia and Jo. By now they were over their tears, and they too were shocked and scared. “She’ll be fine, you’ll see, we’ve just got to go home, there’s nothing we can do for Aleisha now.”
So each of the girls left, making their way home, in the same way they had made their ways to the school, and each resenting their helplessness in their current situation.
* * *
Jo wandered slowly through the school gate, still thinking about the previous night. It had been on her mind, and she needed to remind Mia that they needed to talk to Marilyn about what they had seen in the sick bay. She arrived in the quad, and saw the group sitting in the corner under the trees. As she got closer, she realised the group’s two Year 10 friends, Sarah and Emma, were sitting there too. Though the group was in Year 9, they still had friends from other years.
“Hey guys,” she said, sitting down in between Mia and Yasmine. “Any sign of Aleisha?” She whispered this part only to Mia, who shook her head, but Yasmine heard as well.
“No sign of Valerie either,” Yasmine whispered back.
“Mia, we have to talk to Marilyn.”
“Oh yeah!” she stood up, pulling Jo up as well, then said to the group: “We’ll be right back, just gotta, yeah…” she trailed up, as she noticed the two detectives from the other day, Carla and Damien, walking towards them from across the quad.
“Guess we’re not going anywhere,” Jo commented, and Emma and Sarah stood and left as the cops reached the group.
“Remember us?” Damien said, almost in attempt to make a joke. A poor attempt, his heart wasn’t in it. “Would you mind coming with us please?”
The six stood, grabbed their bags, and, feeling stares on their backs, followed the detectives.
“Any idea what’s wrong?” Lucy said to her friends.
“Not a clue,” Celia replied. Lowering her voice, she said: “Do you think it has anything to do with-?”
“Do with what?” Carla asked, turning round. Celia went red, she hadn’t realised she could be heard.
“Umm, well,” she started, trying to think. “You see, Valerie is away, we haven’t seen her in a while-”
“Did you say she’s missing?” Damien, who had continued walking when his partner had stopped, “For how long have you known this?”
Hesitant, Celia went on, “Well, actually, it’s only since yesterday, she’s probably okay, maybe she’s just late.”
“Hmm, well,” Carla said, trying to be optimistic, but her voice filling with doubt. “You’ll keep us updated on that won't you?”
The girls nodded, Mia sneezed. For a moment, a few of the girls almost laughed. They were so on edge, and it happened at the most random time, they just needed to let out some steam.
“Sorry,” she sniffled, “I think I’m getting a cold.” The mood lightened slightly, the detectives led on, and the girls trailed behind. Slowly the group entered the music block, and went upstairs, passing some red tape.
Suddenly the mood was serious again, as they passed the first classroom, then the second. Then all that was left of the block was the lockers, and the door that connected it to the cooking block.
Needless to say, it wasn’t the door they were there to see. But as of yet, they couldn’t see anything, for the corridor was crowded with doctors, cops and people clearing up.
“Hey! Everyone, move to the sides, coming through!” Damien called ahead. “Doc, is the… uhh, is it out of the way?”
An indistinct reply displeased him, and he told the girls to stay put. He pushed through the crowd, leaving Carla to struggle after him. The others stood quietly, not talking, waiting, prepared for the worst.
Mia sniffed, and then sneezed again. “Damn this cold!” she muttered, and then all was quiet again. For a fair while, nothing happened, the school bell rang, and crowds outside the window moved slowly to class.
Then, all at once, Damien and Carla returned and things started to move at a pace faster then normal, they got given a lecture, but none of them were listening, and then they were moved further along the corridor. And the first thing they saw was the blood.
Message III {Update Finally!!!}
So hello again! I finally thought I should update. Just for your information, I left the ending as it is, to spite all of them (Emily, Flick, Lydia, Twak and just about the rest of my group) people who keep pressuring to update! Have Fun!
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
Chapter 3
“How is she?” Celia asked Mia as they sat down, joining the others of their group on the hall’s stage.
“She’ll be fine,” was the reply. “She got knocked out for a while, and sprained her wrist, but she’ll be fine. I just feel bad, that’s all.”
“Hey, it’s okay,” Aleisha said. “We know you didn’t mean to… or do we?” she added this last comment as a joke, but no one laughed.
Needless to say, things had changed dramatically for the group since Felicia’s death. The day they found out, they had each been in shock, showing no emotion, but as soon as they had gotten home and realised she was gone for good, the tears came. Now there was little to talk about between them, and even less for them to laugh at.
“I guess the question is, are we still all going tonight?” Jo asked. “I mean, do you-“
“I'm still coming.” Mia said firmly, followed by an awkward silence.
“Right, well, I gotta get going now,” Lucy said, “work to do, you know.”
“Yeah, me too,” Celia agreed, and Rebecca nodded as well.
The girls sat for a moment, each in their own separate world of thought, before getting up, and with a quick “see ya”, leaving.
Valerie was the last to go, taking her time to get up and pack. But as she got outside into the quad, she realised she wasn’t quite alone. A dark shadow spreading from around the side of the hall told her someone was approaching.
Dropping her bags, she sprinted for the closest cover, a tall maple tree, its branches thick with leaves. Thankful that it was spring, so the tree had leaves and not winter, Valerie threw herself at the first branch, getting a good grip, then pulling her legs up, and reaching for the next branch. Slowing down once she was in the cover of those wonderful leaves, Valerie inched her way higher into the tree.
After deciding she was hidden enough, she sat for a few minutes, trying to keep her pounding heart quiet enough to hear if anyone was still around. A few minutes later, she realised she would have to go down, or else she would miss her train. But when she’d gone only a few branches down, she heard a noise at the base of the tree. Hardly daring to look, she threw a quick glance at down, and her heart sank.
* * *
Damien sighed; he had been at the school most of the day, checking out the sight of the fallen girl with Carla. They hadn’t found anything so far, and it was frustrating that the other girls didn’t know anything, or at least were acting that way. Yawning, he walked into the autopsy room, and immediately seeking out the doctor from the day before, he walked purposefully to him. The doctor was bent over a table, upon which was Felicia’s body.
“Evening,” Damien said to him. “What have you got for me?”
“Ahh Damien,” the doctor said, standing. “I wondered when you might arrive.” He picked up a clipboard from a small table to the side. “Time of death, 2 ‘o clock. Way of death, well, I think it was pretty obvious…”
“Pushed out the window, I know,” Damien agreed. “But was there anything else?”
“Well, yes, there was a slight bruising on the left shoulder. It seems to me that she may have been shocked, turning round and then pushed. She definitely didn’t fall, if that’s what you’re wondering.”
“No, I didn’t think so…”
“As for the markings on her wrist, well, they were made by a black fountain pen, and again, I think their intentions are fairly obvious.”
“Hmmm… would you run a test to check if any of the girls’s writing matches if I get a copy?”
“Yes,” the doctor replied, “but right now I have to look at some other records, so tomorrow maybe?”
Damien was already halfway to the door, “You bet.”
* * *
“SHHHH!!” Four voices sounded in unison as the school’s front gate creaked.
“I’m SORRY!” Aleisha hissed back, from the end of the line, “It’s nearly midnight, who’s gonna hear me?!”
As if to prove her wrong, a growl went up from something on the other side of the fence between the school and the house next to it.
Seconds later the barking started. Lucy, Celia and Yasmine each let out a yelp of surprise, and each of the others jumped about ten centimetres into the air. All thoughts of organisation dismissed, the seven girls ran as softly and quickly as they could to the cover of the closest building.
“Damn!” Jo whispered angrily, “Why did we have to wake up the dog!”
“I didn’t mean to!”
“Yeah, yeah, don’t worry, it’ll shut up soon.”
“We’ve gotta get started,” Yasmine said, a little too loudly. “How about we go in partners this time? So nothing can happen. Oh yeah, if anyone sees Valerie, take her along with you, she’s probably just late. ” She and Rebecca paired, Celia and Lucy paired and so did Mia and Jo. Aleisha was the odd one out, so joined with the last group.
Each of the pairs split up, going in opposite directions. Mia made an agreement with the others in her group to stop by the Sick Bay to check Marilyn’s records, to see if there was more than had been let on. Aleisha found the file first, and showed the other two. It seemed like the injury had been just like Marilyn said.
Then Jo found a small slip of paper in the bottom of the file. “Uhh, guys, it might not be as straightforward as that…”
* * *
Yasmine gestured forward, and Rebecca inched slowly around the corner.
“All clear?” she whispered.
“Of course it is,” Yasmine replied, a little louder than she should have. “Its 12 ‘o clock at night, who, other than us is stupid enough to still be at school?”
The two girls slunk forward, continuing their loop around the school’s perimeter. So far they had seen no-one, and they started getting cocky.
“I spy,” Rebecca said, “Uhh, something beginning with,” she paused, and thunder rumbled over-head. “Something beginning with B.” Small, heavy drops of rain began to hit their heads, and they shuffled towards the nearest tree.
Yasmine walked while thinking, and for a moment there was silence. Then a branch snapped behind them. The two of them gasped, and spun quickly, to see a shadow moving swiftly toward the office buildings.
After the shadow disappeared, and a few minutes silence, Yasmine whispered, “I don’t think they saw us… I hope.”
* * *
Celia stood back as Lucy lifted the rock. A moment later, the window was smashed and the two girls were a few metres away, hidden behind some bushes. The two watched around the area carefully for the next few minutes, squinting their eyes against the dark. Lucy stood slowly, when the coast seemed clear, then froze when she heard running footsteps.
Celia watched from the bushes, as Lucy stared into the darkness, then turned and ran. A shadow raced past a moment later, and Celia waited for it to disappear around the corner, before following.
She never got close enough to work out who it was, because just after she got around the corner, she was grabbed and pulled through a doorway.
* * *
Yasmine and Rebecca moved silently through the maze of buildings, trying to find any sign of their friends.
“Why is it suddenly so quiet?” Rebecca said, getting paranoid. “What if it means something bad? What would we do then?”
“Nothing’s happened,” Yasmine whispered firmly back. She wiped some rain of her jacket’s collar. “Everything’s fine, we’re just on the wrong side of the school, we went opposite ways to the others right?”
“Yeah, you’re right,” Rebecca agreed. “Ergh, it’s so cold! Why did it have to start raining?”
They walked in silence for a few minutes before they heard it. A scream, which cut through the still air like a knife through butter. In the few seconds that followed, the neighbour’s dog once again began to bark, there was another crash of thunder, and all hell broke loose.
“She’ll be fine,” was the reply. “She got knocked out for a while, and sprained her wrist, but she’ll be fine. I just feel bad, that’s all.”
“Hey, it’s okay,” Aleisha said. “We know you didn’t mean to… or do we?” she added this last comment as a joke, but no one laughed.
Needless to say, things had changed dramatically for the group since Felicia’s death. The day they found out, they had each been in shock, showing no emotion, but as soon as they had gotten home and realised she was gone for good, the tears came. Now there was little to talk about between them, and even less for them to laugh at.
“I guess the question is, are we still all going tonight?” Jo asked. “I mean, do you-“
“I'm still coming.” Mia said firmly, followed by an awkward silence.
“Right, well, I gotta get going now,” Lucy said, “work to do, you know.”
“Yeah, me too,” Celia agreed, and Rebecca nodded as well.
The girls sat for a moment, each in their own separate world of thought, before getting up, and with a quick “see ya”, leaving.
Valerie was the last to go, taking her time to get up and pack. But as she got outside into the quad, she realised she wasn’t quite alone. A dark shadow spreading from around the side of the hall told her someone was approaching.
Dropping her bags, she sprinted for the closest cover, a tall maple tree, its branches thick with leaves. Thankful that it was spring, so the tree had leaves and not winter, Valerie threw herself at the first branch, getting a good grip, then pulling her legs up, and reaching for the next branch. Slowing down once she was in the cover of those wonderful leaves, Valerie inched her way higher into the tree.
After deciding she was hidden enough, she sat for a few minutes, trying to keep her pounding heart quiet enough to hear if anyone was still around. A few minutes later, she realised she would have to go down, or else she would miss her train. But when she’d gone only a few branches down, she heard a noise at the base of the tree. Hardly daring to look, she threw a quick glance at down, and her heart sank.
* * *
Damien sighed; he had been at the school most of the day, checking out the sight of the fallen girl with Carla. They hadn’t found anything so far, and it was frustrating that the other girls didn’t know anything, or at least were acting that way. Yawning, he walked into the autopsy room, and immediately seeking out the doctor from the day before, he walked purposefully to him. The doctor was bent over a table, upon which was Felicia’s body.
“Evening,” Damien said to him. “What have you got for me?”
“Ahh Damien,” the doctor said, standing. “I wondered when you might arrive.” He picked up a clipboard from a small table to the side. “Time of death, 2 ‘o clock. Way of death, well, I think it was pretty obvious…”
“Pushed out the window, I know,” Damien agreed. “But was there anything else?”
“Well, yes, there was a slight bruising on the left shoulder. It seems to me that she may have been shocked, turning round and then pushed. She definitely didn’t fall, if that’s what you’re wondering.”
“No, I didn’t think so…”
“As for the markings on her wrist, well, they were made by a black fountain pen, and again, I think their intentions are fairly obvious.”
“Hmmm… would you run a test to check if any of the girls’s writing matches if I get a copy?”
“Yes,” the doctor replied, “but right now I have to look at some other records, so tomorrow maybe?”
Damien was already halfway to the door, “You bet.”
* * *
“SHHHH!!” Four voices sounded in unison as the school’s front gate creaked.
“I’m SORRY!” Aleisha hissed back, from the end of the line, “It’s nearly midnight, who’s gonna hear me?!”
As if to prove her wrong, a growl went up from something on the other side of the fence between the school and the house next to it.
Seconds later the barking started. Lucy, Celia and Yasmine each let out a yelp of surprise, and each of the others jumped about ten centimetres into the air. All thoughts of organisation dismissed, the seven girls ran as softly and quickly as they could to the cover of the closest building.
“Damn!” Jo whispered angrily, “Why did we have to wake up the dog!”
“I didn’t mean to!”
“Yeah, yeah, don’t worry, it’ll shut up soon.”
“We’ve gotta get started,” Yasmine said, a little too loudly. “How about we go in partners this time? So nothing can happen. Oh yeah, if anyone sees Valerie, take her along with you, she’s probably just late. ” She and Rebecca paired, Celia and Lucy paired and so did Mia and Jo. Aleisha was the odd one out, so joined with the last group.
Each of the pairs split up, going in opposite directions. Mia made an agreement with the others in her group to stop by the Sick Bay to check Marilyn’s records, to see if there was more than had been let on. Aleisha found the file first, and showed the other two. It seemed like the injury had been just like Marilyn said.
Then Jo found a small slip of paper in the bottom of the file. “Uhh, guys, it might not be as straightforward as that…”
* * *
Yasmine gestured forward, and Rebecca inched slowly around the corner.
“All clear?” she whispered.
“Of course it is,” Yasmine replied, a little louder than she should have. “Its 12 ‘o clock at night, who, other than us is stupid enough to still be at school?”
The two girls slunk forward, continuing their loop around the school’s perimeter. So far they had seen no-one, and they started getting cocky.
“I spy,” Rebecca said, “Uhh, something beginning with,” she paused, and thunder rumbled over-head. “Something beginning with B.” Small, heavy drops of rain began to hit their heads, and they shuffled towards the nearest tree.
Yasmine walked while thinking, and for a moment there was silence. Then a branch snapped behind them. The two of them gasped, and spun quickly, to see a shadow moving swiftly toward the office buildings.
After the shadow disappeared, and a few minutes silence, Yasmine whispered, “I don’t think they saw us… I hope.”
* * *
Celia stood back as Lucy lifted the rock. A moment later, the window was smashed and the two girls were a few metres away, hidden behind some bushes. The two watched around the area carefully for the next few minutes, squinting their eyes against the dark. Lucy stood slowly, when the coast seemed clear, then froze when she heard running footsteps.
Celia watched from the bushes, as Lucy stared into the darkness, then turned and ran. A shadow raced past a moment later, and Celia waited for it to disappear around the corner, before following.
She never got close enough to work out who it was, because just after she got around the corner, she was grabbed and pulled through a doorway.
* * *
Yasmine and Rebecca moved silently through the maze of buildings, trying to find any sign of their friends.
“Why is it suddenly so quiet?” Rebecca said, getting paranoid. “What if it means something bad? What would we do then?”
“Nothing’s happened,” Yasmine whispered firmly back. She wiped some rain of her jacket’s collar. “Everything’s fine, we’re just on the wrong side of the school, we went opposite ways to the others right?”
“Yeah, you’re right,” Rebecca agreed. “Ergh, it’s so cold! Why did it have to start raining?”
They walked in silence for a few minutes before they heard it. A scream, which cut through the still air like a knife through butter. In the few seconds that followed, the neighbour’s dog once again began to bark, there was another crash of thunder, and all hell broke loose.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)