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.