Chapter Seventeen

They parted as quickly as they could as the student strolled in with a huge smile. Out of the corner of her eyes, she caught Gabriel covering his mouth as he breathed unevenly. Her shoulders rose to the same rhythm and she forced herself to return the student's smile, though she very much wanted to frown at her.

"The class has been rescheduled because of the murders earlier," Lucianne explained to the student.

"Oh," she said. "Then why are you here?"

"I missed the message Professor Blacken sent on the school website, like you."

"Aw shucks, I should've checked it! I was so scared coming all the way here at night."

"I think you should return to your dormitory as soon as possible," Lucianne suggested.

"Sure," the student replied. She was about to turn when she stopped herself. "Aren't ya coming with?"

"No."

"I'd prefer some company, ya know. What with it being November and all."

Lucianne sighed. "Alright, I'll walk with you." She glanced at Gabriel. "I'll see you soon, Professor."

"Likewise," he said.


"Let's go," Lucianne told the student, who beamed at her. As they walked, the girl chatted her up incessantly and Lucianne thought her ears were going to bleed. When it came to a crossroad, the girl begged her to walk with her to her dorm before returning to her tower. Lucianne did not want to, after what she had just interrupted, but gave in eventually. She walked her back to her room, and the girl waved her goodbye before closing the door in her face.

Lucianne walked back to the tower, and reached it with an even heartbeat, with not one inch of fear in her mind. She slept well that night, but awoke an hour before the breakfast bell. Unable to fall back asleep, she decided to walk about campus before the breakfast bell rang.

She strolled around the campus, taking in the rare peace that surrounded the hallways. Students used to pack around the area noisily and she relished the wonderful silence. She was about to visit the school library when she caught a familiar back rounding the far corner. She squinted her eyes at the figure.

It was Jonas.

Curious, she followed after him closely, her mind flashing back to when she had seen those fingernail scratches all about his arms. At this point, she couldn't help but harbour suspicions that he might be the campus murderer. The sooner he was uncovered, the better.

She rounded his corner, following him down a flight of stairs. She tiptoed down it and saw him walking towards an abandoned section of school. He disappeared down the corridor and by the time she was at the end of it, he was nowhere to be found.

She walked down the corridor, sending looks towards either side of her. Algae was growing along the ledges, and some vines had crept into the classroom windows. The windows were boarded with wooden planks, and the concrete floor bore angry cracks. Her feet took her down the path anyway, and she tried to keep the sounds to a minimum.

"Murder!"

She jumped. The sound came from a classroom with a door ajar. Unable to hold her curiosity back, Lucianne followed the source of the sound and stood near the doors, peeking her head in.

Perched on the edge of a table was a woman with her tits out, moaning in pleasure as Jonas pounded into her leisurely. Her fingernails clawed his bare back, leaving angry lines behind. She panted and panted, whispering cries for death.

Lucianne shot back from the classroom. This was definitely not how she wanted to spend her morning. Shaking her head, she backed away from the classroom and ascended the stairs back to the main halls. She was passing by the common area when something caught her eye.

Standing towards a corner, right before an open set of windows was Harper. Her hand was resting on the window ledge and her eyes downcast, looking at something. From where Lucianne stood, it looked as if Harper was in a trance of some sort.

"Harper!" Lucianne called out.

No reply.

She approached her, but stopped halfway for some reason. Her feet did not take her to Harper's side, and instead, she stood rooted to the ground. What was Harper doing?

"Harper," Lucianne tried again.

Silence.

Her eyes were glazed over, and her face was drained of all colour. She looked like someone who had just stared Medusa in the eyes, and Lucianne had never seen her like this before. Her posture was rigid, and for a moment, she was sure that she would never move from that spot ever again.

Lucianne shook her head, her feet carrying her towards Harper. She was most probably daydreaming or something. She would ask her what was up, and get a normal reply. But before Lucianne could reach her and utter that question, something unexpected happened.

The siren sounded.