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.
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