Golden Murders

VIII.

Alexi's POV

27th October, 2015
8:11 PM

"Damn it," I muttered under my breath, coming to an abrupt stop. Hazel, who was a few paces ahead of me, turned and shone the bright beam from the flashlight directly into my eyes. I threw up a hand to shield myself from the blinding light.

"What?" Hazel whispered, her voice tinged with concern as she continued to shine the light in my face. It was well past curfew, and we were already running late. I had been in the midst of a panicked dash when I realized I had left my diary back in the Biology Classroom.

"Shit. Shit. Shit-"I whirled around and marched back the way we had come. Hazel frowned as she caught up with me. The Biology classroom was three floors down in the west wing of the building.

"Spill it already." She grabbed my arm to slow me down.

"I left my diary in the Biology classroom."

Hazel sighed. "So what? Just go back and get it tomorrow." She tried to pull me in the opposite direction, but I resisted.

"I need it. It has all my personal stuff in there, I can't risk someone reading it." I replied.

"Are you insane?" Hazels voice strained while she tried to keep it low. "Biology's 3 floors downstairs. You'll get caught."

"It's not that far. I'll be back as quick as I can." I knew I might get caught, but I needed that diary. "I'm going, come if you want." With that, I didn't even hesitate and ran towards the stairwells.

"This bitc-" Hazel muttered before chasing behind me. The pale moonlight shone on our faces through the windows as we made our way down the endless stairs, our footsteps echoing in the empty corridors. I was moving so fast that I almost tripped face-first onto the ground, but I didn't dare slow down. I made my way to the west wing, Hazel still lagging behind, but I made no effort to wait for her. We had to get there fast.

The cold breeze pierced through me as I ran, sending goosebumps crawling all over my skin. The floors were smooth, and I was running so fast that I thought I might slip at any moment. After a minute of running and dodging security guards, I made a turn and finally arrived at the classroom.

I came to a sudden halt, my shoes squeaking against the polished floor as I skidded to a stop. With a quiet exhale, I slid the door open and stepped inside, my heart pounding in my chest. But as I entered, my relief turned to shock as I saw a person.

A mysterious figure, cloaked in a black hood from head to toe and wearing a mask, stood over my desk, clutching my diary in their hand. Their head snapped in my direction as I entered.

"Hey-!" I tried to yell.

The hooded person already started making a run for it, with my diary still clutched in their hand. Without a moment's hesitation, I lunged after them, my heart pounding in my chest. As they ran, they knocked over chairs in an attempt block my way, I jumped over them as if I was an athlete in a hurdle race. I still had no idea where Hazel was but soon enough, I was chasing the hooded person around the building.

"Hey!" I called out, my voice echoing through the empty building. "Stop!" I shouted, my breath coming in ragged gasps. I didn't have a flashlight with me, so I could barely see where I was going. The moonlight served as my only source of light during the chase. The hooded figure was swift, disappearing around corners and down darkened hallways, always just out of reach.

He made a swift turn towards the stairs, his figure disappearing into the darkness of the stairwell. I hurried after him, my heart pounding in my chest, my footsteps echoing in the empty building. I practically flew down the stairs, my fear of losing him driving me forward.

As I reached the ground floor, I burst through the doors, the icy wind hitting me like a thousand needles. I scanned the area, eyes searching for any sign of the mysterious figure in the hood, but he was nowhere to be seen. It was as if he had vanished into thin air.

I'd lost him.

I collapsed to the ground, my knees hitting the hard pavement with a thud. My breath came in ragged gasps, my chest heaving as if I had just sprinted a marathon. I could feel the sweat trickling down my back. This was the fastest I had ever ran in my entire life.

I knew I had to catch my breath, but I also knew that going back into the building now would only lead to trouble. The commotion we had caused on the third floor during the chase would surely have attracted attention, and I didn't want to be caught in the middle of it.

But that wasn't my main concern. What if the person I had been chasing was the murderer? The thought sent a shiver down my spine, and a swarm of questions buzzed in my mind like a swarm of bees.

"Alexi!" Hazel's urgent voice pierced through the cold air, and I turned to find her rushing toward me. "Are you alright?!" Her eyes were wide with worry as she hooked my arm around her neck, helping me to my feet. I struggled to explain whatever had just transpired.

I managed to stutter out an explanation of what had just happened to her, and she seemed to understand. She lent me her jacket and wrapped it over my shoulders. I felt the warmth envelop me, and I almost melted into it.

"What's going on?" A familiar voice spoke. I flinched, thinking it was a member of the school staff coming to reprimand us. I turned to the side, my eyes widening with shock.

Mythra strolled over to us, her expression mirroring our own confusion. She had a bag slung over her shoulder and looked like she had just arrived at the school. "What're you doi- How did you- Wha-?" Hazel started stammering, the poor girl was so confused.

"Relax. I just wanted to sneak into the school to meet you guys." She spoke, turning towards me. "But then I heard a lot of noise coming from one of the classrooms. Is everything okay?"

I chuckled a bit, "Y-yeah, I'll explain later. The hell happened to you?" I pointed towards her wrist and the swollen, red bruises she had on her head and face. My expression twisted into concern, I had the slightest hint of who might've done this to her.

"This?" Mythra touched the bruises, then smiled. "i-it's nothing. Let's get you inside." She held my arm, pulling us back inside the building.

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