Broken Nightmare

Chapter 20

 The empty tutoring center mocked me as I sat down at my usual desk and pulled out my book. The rain seemed to scare everybody away, even the tutors. Only three tutors showed, including me. The rain picked up from this morning, going to a downpour around lunchtime. It has gone down quite a bit, but none of the students showed. Including Ryan, who was actually at a Student Council meeting. Apparently everybody hated rain.

Ryan came yesterday too, staying for another tutoring session. I'm guessing it will start to become a regular thing. He's really smart, but this material is just hard for him to grasp. The more time I spend with Ryan, the more I wonder why this other pack wants us to leave him alone. I can now tell when I see a Shape Shifter, and I know he isn't one. I guess it must be because of his friends, who I have not met, but I don't know for sure.

I shook my thoughts free and checked on the three other tutors before sticking my nose back in my book and let my mind get lost in the character's lives.

I glanced at the clock and noticed it was an hour later than it usually was. For the second time since I've been here, I looked up at any others in the room; the chairs were as empty as the hallways. I shoved my book into my backpack and marked the 'out' box by my name from the sign-in sheet. Turning out the lights, I reached into my pocket and pulled out the room keys, securing the lock before going to the math office and sliding the keys under the door. I spun on my heel and headed down the hallway.

The usual janitor that was always working at this hour was gone. Must have been a long day for him and he went home early too, I thought. I decided to swing by my assigned locker and grab my sweatshirt. I took the wrong turn again and ended up at a different staircase I wasn't used to using, but I still somehow managed to find the main hallway and follow the route I knew would lead to my locker. I quickly snagged my hoodie and pulled it over my head before searching for the front double doors.

"Help! It's here!" I heard a shout. But not from the usual teenager you would see around here. It came from a kid. I looked harder out the thick glass doors, peering through the rain. There was a faint silhouette of a little boy around eight running frantically around glancing up at the sky and into the shadows everywhere.

I sprinted out the doors, the fat drops coming down on my uncovered head. "What's wrong?" I stopped dead in my tracks. Sprinting around high in furious circles was a huge black shadow. Its deep red evil eyes shot through my soul and made me stagger back into the hard doors. It looked like a black ghost, but it had a ragged gray exterior that looked like pasty, dead skin covered in deep cuts. "Get in here!" I screamed at the kid.

He didn't hesitate to come racing towards the doors. He didn't stop when he reached them either; just pushed the thick doors open and staggered into the building. I gave the creature one last look and followed in the doors after the boy. He was shaking in the hallway, clutching his knees so hard his knuckles were white and I could hear his panting.

"Hey, hey, it's okay. Look at me," I grabbed his face and locked my eyes with his. "It's okay."

His eyes broke from mine and darted behind me again. This time, he didn't look back at me. I followed his gaze and saw the creature trying to get in. The light seemed to block him out because he couldn't get past the door due to the lights on the ceiling.

I looked back as the boy. "See? It's okay. He can't get past." As if on cue, the lights flickered for a few seconds before they became stable again. I improvised, "but maybe if we, uh, move somewhere else, it will be better."

I just let his scared little head nod before I grabbed his hand and walked around the school I barely knew. I tried to find the janitor's closet so, just in case the lights did go out, we would be safe. However, that was a lot easier said than done. I don't know how the students remembered where things were in this huge place.