Chapter 32 Night Terror

It was the middle of the night, where the moon peeked from behind the slow moving clouds. Ricky exited the house, feeling restless and unable to sleep. He had one hand in his pocket. A slight electrical surge streamed through his fingers. His phone vibrated under his palm, giving out a faint glow. Almost automatically his head motioned towards the forest. He could see hints of trees a couple of blocks away.

"So that's where you've been hiding… but why there?" He wondered to himself, opening the car door to settle inside.

The engine started up with a low metallic chirp as the car reversed out of the driveway. The screen on his phone showed a single spot blinking on a GPS map somewhere in the middle of the trees. The night was chilly, yet there came with it a humid air carrying the scent of burnt trees.

Old, rusty buildings passed by, one of which was occupied by a single person. He dangled his legs from the roof as he watched the car stumble onto an uneven road. He ran a hand through his copper hair, pushing them out of his eye. his head tilted slightly towards the forest, staring off into the distance.

The car came to a stop right where the dirt road extended off into the darkness. Ricky marched out of the car, staring at his phone as he slammed the door behind him with a thud. The sound echoed throughout the forest. He heard squeals from within as he braced himself. He turned on the torch from his phone and bright light flashed onto the darkened trees.

Ricky made his way through, shoving away the invading branches. Leaves crunched under his feet, alerting nearby creatures. Something scurried away from him and up a tree. As he moved closer to the GPS signal, the smell of burnt firewood hit him all of a sudden. He moved a hand to cover his mouth. Subtle winds blew ashes into his face every few steps.

He stopped, once at the location, staring at his phone. He was right on top of the GPS signal, yet no sign of Meryl anywhere. He flashed the light around till something glinted from under the leaves on the ground. He bent down to pick it up, wincing at the sudden smell of burnt metal.

It turned out to be an old phone. He would have just thrown it back if it hadn't been for Meryl's picture. He swiped the screen and it unlocked onto the many incoming missed calls by his name. Ricky slumped down onto the leaves, feeling empty all of a sudden.

There were black fingerprints all over it along with dirt smudged around the edges. He pursed his lips as he stood up, letting the phone slip from his hands. He then turned around to leave. Meryl watched from behind a tree trunk, waiting for the light from his phone to completely disappear into the distance. She then slowly tiptoed out of hiding. Someone followed her close behind.

"Jon, you're a lifesaver. Thanks for the heads up," she said, picking up her phone from the ground.

"Why won't you return his calls?" Jonathan asked.

"Because if I talk to him… I might not be able to keep this from him."

"How long are you going to keep this up? They will find out eventually," Jonathan warned her, pushing his copper hair out of his eyes once more.

"Look, I'm trying my best," she answered in a complaining manner.

Ricky listened from behind a tree, his back leaning against the trunk. Sparks gathered around his trembling fist which he quickly subsided.

.

Cheryl woke up with a gasp, holding back a scream that she gulped down the moment the lights flickered on. For a second, she thought she saw a silhouette in the corner of the room next to the cupboard. She blinked and it was gone. She put a hand over her chest to soothe her frantic heart, only to realize her shirt was drenched in sweat.

She quickly changed into a spare and marched on out of the room. It felt like she would suffocate if she stayed there any longer. It was still night time, all the corridors were lit up by a soothing orange light, not too sharp to the eyes. There were no students around at this hour, no sounds of laughter; only a dead silence in the air.

Cheryl headed down the empty set of stairs all the way towards the second floor. A cold breeze blew her way the minute her feet landed onto the polished, white tiles. Something about this floor drew her towards it. Cheryl followed the breeze towards the end of the corridor where she found a single vending machine, dimly illuminated under the orange lights.

An air vent above her threw cold air onto her face. She stood there for a few minutes, just cooling herself off.

"You followed me… again."

Cheryl turned to see Dan standing a few tiles away from her with his hands in his pocket. She narrowed her eyes at him.

"What're you doing here?" she asked, not meaning to sound as inquisitive.

"Same as you. Cooling off," he said, walking over to stand under the vent beside her.

"Why're you up at this hour?" she questioned, raising an eyebrow.

"I could ask you the same." He took out a quarter from his pocket and inserted it into the vending machine. "Drink?" He motioned towards a soda can behind the glass.

Cheryl just shook her head awkwardly, feeling a bit parched all of a sudden. She sank down next to the machine, leaning her back against the wall. A few seconds later, there was a soda can hovering in front of her face. She glanced up at him. He had another one in his other hand.

"Take it. You look like you need it. You can pay me back later," he said, handing her the drink and then settled down beside her with his own drink in hand. He quickly gulped it down in one go, wiping his face with the back of his sleeve. There was silence for a few minutes.

Cheryl felt an itch along her arms. She scratched it, only to realize something clung to her elbow. She looked down and almost screamed at the dark looking blob, hitting it with the soda can. It scurried off across the corridor. She raised her soda can, aiming for the creature when suddenly Dan swiped it from her hand.

"Doing that will only make them angrier," he said.

"You know about the shadows?" she blurted out in a surprised whisper.

"You couldn't have been more obvious back at the auditorium. I know you were after the blue one. I haven't seen eyes like that in a shadow before."

"Why didn't you say anything earlier?" Cheryl turned herself towards him, eyes anxious for answers.

"I did try to pull you out of his sight. But I think he knows. And if you hang around me, he will put you through trouble."

Cheryl just stared at him blankly, shaking her head. His words made no sense.

"What are you talking about?" she asked impatiently.

"If he does put you through trouble, I'll help you out then," Dan said, casually getting back to his feet. His eyes wandered over to the corridor at his left, stretched out slightly dimmer than the one across from him.

"Where are you going?" she asked as he started towards the left corridor. He just motioned a wave with his hand as he walked away. Cheryl noticed the unopened soda can sitting beside her. She pulled open the lid, hearing a hiss from inside as the liquid bubbled up. As she drank, a cold, sweet liquid entered her mouth and her body cooled off in an instant.

At that moment, she heard a door slam in the distance. It made her jump to her feet, gripping the empty soda can tightly in her hand. It crackled under the pressure as she stared ahead at the dimmer corridor. There was a muffled sound coming out through the walls. Cheryl inched towards it, her ears suddenly alert. She walked past the many empty classrooms on either side, listening intently. It sounded like an angry girl screaming, followed by familiar sounds of something crashing into stuff. As she drew near, the sounds grew louder till she was right outside the door. It was the last door at the end of a branching path.

All of a sudden, the door flung open and a blue eyed Catter jumped at her face from out of the darkness. Cheryl gasped, quickly catching it in her arms as she stared ahead. A girl's face appeared out of the dark. She gasped as she looked up at her, quickly hiding something behind her back. It reflected off a dot of light, like a piece of glass. Her eyes glowed red for a split second before returning to an olive green. There was a single candle sitting somewhere in the back. It let out a faint yellow light illuminating what seemed like broken chairs and tables stacked along the walls.

Her hand quickly reached for the door. Her eyes lingered towards the Catter seated comfortably in Cheryl's arms like a pet cat. It hissed at her as she slammed the door shut in Cheryl's face. Cheryl hastily reached for the door, almost kicking it open, only to be dumbfounded in yet another empty classroom. The tables and chairs were neatly aligned in straight rows in front of a white board. There were no candles, nor was there any sign of the girl. Cheryl breathed out.

"What is wrong with this school?"

.

A hole rippled up in the dome like sky. It was a dark, spherical object, causing the waves to crash around it like a tsunami. Iris stared at the eyeball submerged in white threads in front of her. Its lashes curled as it looked up towards the sky with concern. White threads shot up towards the hole, stitching around it to close it back up temporarily. A slight headache formed at the back of her head.

Iris woke up.

She jumped off the bed with a gasp, stumbling forward. She felt weak in the knees and placed a hand on the wall for support. Monitors beeped behind her, indicating her rising heart rate. She could feel needles in her arm, detaining her to the bed. There was an IV drip attached to her wrist that hurt when she pulled at it. She tore off the band monitoring her heart which made it beep even louder in alarm.

A nurse rushed into the room and almost gasped at the sight of the little silver haired girl standing up on her own. She quickly turned off the beeping monitor and helped her sit back down.

"I need to get to the school," she murmured.

"You just woke up from a long sleep. Your body isn't ready for movement just yet. I'll bring you some food." The nurse rushed back as quickly as she came before Iris could explain further.

"Something's messing with my powers too."

.

That night Cheryl slept comfortably, having the Catter back at her side. It chased away any shadows that tried to creep up to her, although noisily but it didn't bother her this time. She knew she was safe for the time being.

The next morning, Rosa was at the door of her room. Cheryl found herself being escorted by her to the principal's office. She refused to tell her what happened and just marched on ahead stubbornly.

"Did you do something you weren't supposed to?" she asked, pulling on her arm as she pushed through the crowd of students.

"I told you I didn't do anything," Cheryl replied, feeling annoyed.

"Well the principal says you caused trouble. I don't know what to make of it either," Rosa answered.

"So then what Dan said was true…" Cheryl wondered out loud.

Rosa stopped mid-way as she heard that paused and turned around to face her.

"You've been talking to Dan?" she raised her eyebrows as if not believing this. Before Cheryl could even respond, Rosa was already shaking her head with disappointment. "I told you not to hang out with him. He's probably the reason why…" she trailed off without completing her sentence.

"I don't understand…" Cheryl said. Confusion wore on her face as she followed her into the principal's office on the third floor. The door opened with a squeak. It was a smaller room than she had expected with gray carpeted floors and a desk in the middle. There were staplers and a few documents scattered over the table. The principal sat comfortably behind it, arms crossed as he looked up at the two.