Horror Night Out. O2

I looked back at the hydrant on the rod and remembered what Ramone had said, 'The water cycle,' and from the low temperatures here, it was most likely the water was freezing cold.

I imagined a child strapped there, squirming and gasping for air as a full pressure of water rushed at her face.

I gasped but this wasn't time to jump in conclusions, maybe..... maybe it was for something else.

Unconsciously, I had leaned against the metal rod.

It suddenly tilted over.

'wha!? No?!'

I rushed to push it into position in panic. But stopped when I saw it had stopped midway, it had made a 30° angle with the floor and I looked at it in shock, totally befuddled.

Suddenly the ground made way into a stair case leading down into the darkness.

I gasped in excitedness.

"This place is getting more terrifying and exciting," I said smiling widely as I marched down the stairs.

•

The floor above me closed leaving me in the darkness. Not for long thankfully as the place lighted up to present a passage, which looked like a laboratory facility.

There was only one door that could be led to and I walked carefully down the passage and looked into it while hiding from sight as I could hear noises from it.

I gasped when I looked into it.

"It is a laboratory!" I whispered.

'and a futuristic one at that,"

I snuck in and hid behind some big containers of chemicals.

From there I could see everything. Of course the person I saw was creepy old Mother Essyher and on a chair that looked like the one I saw in the room but more suited for a fine laboratory like this, a girl no more than ten years.

I recognized her, she was the one that tried dragging me off a boy I beating in class.

'I know her,'

The nun took out a scary looking syringe with metal needle and injected into it a swirling black liquid.

She hit it a little like they do in movies and proceeded to the kid. I stayed still and hoped she wasn't going to put that thing in the girl, but...what else was she going to do with it?

The girl was groaning and moving weakly like she had been given a sleeping serum.

"P-please, stop don't , d-don't do it, please,"

The girl whispered with a small and weak voice.

The nun stopped and stared at her for a moment then with a sudden burst of violence, hit her in the face.

The harsh sound reverberated across the lab shaking me even.

And I wasn't a child whom beating was alien to, my Ma and Dad spanked me whenever I was too much.

"No talking,"

The girl gasped for air.

" Now be calm and behave, this won't hurt a bit,"

She said picking her words as she pierced the girl's neck.

" Aaarg," The girl groaned and moaned in apparent pain.

As the nun pushed the liquid into her, the girl's painful groans turned into loud, ghastly, blood curdling screams.

Her screams echoed and resounded across the lab and passage, reverberated in my ears, vibrated my ear drums and seared itself onto the fabrics of my memory.

I held my lips from making a sound as I watched the horrific scene.

The girl who was weak before was now wrestling fiercely to be loose with more power than was possible for a child.

Her face contorted into an inhumane visage and her screams deepened into a monstrous tone.

Then before my very eyes, her chest parted and a moving black shiny semi liquid thing came forth and made to come out.

This was horrible, this was horrific, I could not take it anymore so I bolted, I ran away down the passage, up the stairs and out of the room, because I thought I could hear footsteps closing in on me.

I ran as fast as my legs could carry me.

I should get away from here, why did Nomen take me here in the first place?

I finished the first stairs, then the second. I fell many many times, enough to ruin my legs but not enough to remove the fear and adrenaline that reigned through my veins.

I continued running, my lungs were on fire and my legs were bleeding but I ran and ran until I banged into my room, locked and double locked it, then shut my windows and lay on my bed, gasping for air lost while running.

I lay still and checked the time on my alarm clock, it was 3:30 am.

"It's impossible for that little of an amount of time to have passed," I whispered, my voice shaking.

I turned over.

I didn't know the girl's name,

I should have asked when she separated me from that boy but I hadn't.

I didn't know her name.

•••••••••••••••••••

Second Week.

Friday.

It was evening and I sat on the swing in the backyard watching the fading purple-orange of the sky.

As cool breeze shook the grass gently and rocked the swing back and forth, I sat still trying if possible to make the thoughts that danced and circled around my head to float away with the wind.

I turned my face towards the sky and stopped swinging.

Surprisingly, since that night, none of the nuns or monks had called me, to punish or ask about what I saw or even asked any kid who that was, I felt strange about it as I was sure withall the racket on that night, someone if not the whole hold should have heard me.

The next day after that night.

•

I woke up...or more like got off my bed because I wasn't even sure if I slept or not.

I got up earlier than usual and did the usual boring morning ritual before Mother Essyher could catch me unawares.

At breakfast time, we all said the very long prayers as usual before eating.

I escaped Moriah's eyes and sat with Ramone and the guys.

"Everybody watch out! We have a zombie in our midst!" Morani said dramatically referring to me.

" Che'yeah," Dusty exclaimed smiling.

We all laughed.

"Didn't sleep much?"

"Wooo, I can't imagine not sleeping in that gorgeous bed of yours," Timon said dreamily.

"Just parent sick.... That's all," I said to divert their attention.

They all looked at me with pity and only nodded knowingly.

We continued eating, Ramone suddenly stood up and looked around them sat again, then stood up once more and looked around more carefully and sat down again.

"Hey, have you guys seen Viola?"

"I thought she was here somewhere,"

"She might still be in the bathroom, having a bad tummy, I suppose,"

"Who's Viola?" I asked mildly curious.

"Uhhh, I'm not sure you'd know her but she's tall, white long hair, asian and bright purple eyes..."

I paused and stared at her.

No, there's no way it could be her.

Yet her description matched the physique I had seen last night. I was about to say something when Dusty interrupted.

"Speak of the devil,"

When I looked up, my blood ran cold.

It was the girl, she with the face that had been contorted with pain and then by malice, the face that had pleaded as her body was punctured with agony.

She smiled as she walked towards us like nothing happened, like her chest hadn't opened and a creature hadn't crawled out of it. Like every

thing was..... Normal.

The others went to and greeted her.

"Yeah, Eli, this is Viola, Viola, Eli,"

"Hey, what's up?" She said brightly extending her hand towards me.

I stared at her then at her hand, my mouth open wide in shock.

"Eli, any problem? You look dead," I heard, Timon's voice like a distant echo in a dream.

I looked into Viola's eyes which seemed to get brighter by the passing second and noticed a single unnatural tiny ball of light which seemed to be behind her eyes.

Just then she took my hand and said, "Awkward, but it's nice to meet you too,"

I chuckled dryly. "Yeah, n-nice to meet you too,"

.....

Everything else for the next days were normal.

Everyone was always laughing and smiling like fools. Even the nuns and monks didn't have that despicable and strict countenances anymore, they all had on motherly and fatherly smiles.

Even Mother Essyher had on a smile constantly.

Everything was okay, everything seemed normal, everything seemed too normal that it became abnormal.

Whenever I found myself alone on the swing in the backyard, Viola would come along skipping around happily with her too bright eyes, like a normal and happy girl.

Everything, and everyone had me questioning myself and reality.

Had what I saw that night been real, or had it been a fantasy?

If it had been real, how come Viola was up and running but if it had been a fantasy how come the scratches and swells on my legs from running that night?

•

I've been avoiding Ramone and the others since that, I don't know but I just feel like I should be alone nowadays.

....

I held my breath just then; there was some moving across the grass.