The Carter Hollow Murders

Ariadne Rane - Challenge Four

User: infinitywordlover

The world has gone mad...well at least the five of us have.

Our night had gone by unbearably slow, and it was only with several cups of instant coffee had I managed to stay awake. When I say awake however, I don't mean entirely lucid and capable of good decision making as can be demonstrated by the following:

Someone had thrown up in the hall, and others had just lounged around revealing their inner talent for singing Taylor Swift songs...opera style... but I'm not going to name names.

Later in the night, the boys had somehow ended up having a chip eating contest(Don't even ask why) and they got so involved in it someone had ended up in tears(Don't ask who... In fact, just don't ask about it at all).

Dani and I on the other hand were no better, although we were slightly more emotionally controlled it I should say so myself. We had decided early on to try some new hairstyles on each other to pass the time, and I think we might have invented a new braid. Of course it wasn't exactly an attractive hairstyle, but to us at the time, it was a masterpiece.

At last the sun inches its way over the horizon washing the world in it's pale, watered down light, and melts the shadows away taking the monsters that hid within them away them. Relief fills the air like a beautiful fragrance, and the corners of our mouths twitch as if considering a smile.

Outside in the hall, the PA crackles to life, and Ms.Blackwell's voice echos through the dorm,colored with strain and fatigue. Empathy flickers through me at the sound of her voice, as I can almost feel her hopelessness. I can't even imagine trying to run a school, desperately trying to keep my family's legacy alive while everything is falling apart at the threads.

"The Painter has been caught, and is now in the custody of the police," she says, and I breathe in relief, but she's not done. "However, we believe there is a third murderer on campus. We do not believe he or she will attack during the day, but I urge you to be vigilant and if anything suspicious occurs, contact authorities immediately. Thank you."

I lean my head back against the bed frame, and close my eyes enjoying a brief moment of peace where I don't have to worry about dying, but of course the problems never really end.

"Now I have to return all the stuff I 'borrowed' from the police without them noticing," I groan and glare at the lone can of pepper spray that sits on the floor as if it had personally committed a crime against me.

Leo winces sympathetically. "Don't worry you can leave it here for now. It will be easier to lug everything across campus after dark anyways," he says almost instantly and I smile at him gratefully.

A yawn burst through my chest, and I realize that I seriously need some sleep. Stumbling over to the door, I mumble an incoherent good-bye and dash out into the crisp morning air. The wet grass soaks deep into my socks but I barely notice as my attention is fixed solely on the promise of a nice soft bed...

......

Not even bothering to change my clothes, I flop onto the bed and fade into darkness.

A second later however, there's another loud crackling from the hall and Ms.Blackwell's voice pounds once more against my ear, except this time, instead of being filled with exhaustion, it's filled with disgust.

"Students and Staff, I am pleased to announce a School Dance for tomorrow night in the Courtyard," she says, but sounds anything but pleased. "You may dress formal, and have dates and do everything else you high schoolers do at these things."

To say that I was surprised would be like saying that Mount Everest was only a small hill. Clearly the Administrators of the school had not even had an ounce of sleep and as a result were a bit loopy.