Children of the Elements

Chapter 3-Some Black Tentacles Cancel my Education

The severed wires hung limply from the box, and the thin shadows they cast on the floor stretched and joined the bigger mound.

I realized just what The Thing was trying to do as the light flickered and dimmed. It was going to cut the power. But why? What good would it do to turn out the lights? The dark would just mean no light which means... more shadows. And The Thing will get really big. That sounds pretty bad. But why is it here? What. The heck. Is. It??

A quiet little voice in my head whispered, "Not it. They're a living being. And they're not here for just anyone. They're here for you. They want you. They're coming for you."

I shuttered, having no idea where that thought came from and thoroughly chilling me to the bone. Then the power gave one last weak flicker before shutting off, plunging me into darkness. What is it with schools not having windows? Windows would be a little helpful right now.

My heart pounded in my chest and my hands started to get clammy. They were gonna kill me. This is it. I'm gonna die.

A cold, damp tendril of something wrapped around my ankle. I shivered. It felt like ice on the bare skin of my ankle.

I tried in vain to tug my leg loose but it was no use. With every pull, it wrapped tighter around my leg, until it felt like no blood could reach my foot anymore. Just as my muscles got tired and I resigned to the fact that sometime in the next few minutes, the tentacles slowly winding up my body would reach me neck and squeeze the breath out of my lungs, a classroom door slammed open.

If I could move my body, I would've flinched. But right now, The Thing was winding it's way up my stomach. It's almost high enough to squeeze my life out.

It felt like whoever—or whatever—had opened the door was way down the hall. The click, click, click, of their dress shoes echoed through the hall. I couldn't quite make out who they are, with the whole no-light situation going on. I glared pointedly in the direction I estimated The Thing to be in. It was starting to tick me off more than anything. I mean, I was gonna die and that was plenty of reason to be ticked with it.

The person got closer as the click, click, click got louder. Hope swelling in my chest. I heard mumbling and some sort of triumphant noise. A sharp flash of light illuminated the hallway and The Thing recoiled in disgust.

I sighed in relief. The tentacles had started curling around my neck, but started to draw back more as the light reached them.

I called out, "who are you? Can you help me?" I didn't think about how someone might react to me if I told them there was sentient slime all over me and it was trying to kill me. I probably should've taken that into account before I made myself known to whoever had the cell phone flash light.

They called back to me in a man's angry voice. "Cabrera! You were late to my history class and now the whole school's power is blown. What could you possibly need help with other than ditching another class? Or maybe you need help cutting our water supply? What is going on?!"

It dawned on me that I was the only person in this hall. No sane person would believe me if I told them the truth. They're gonna blame this mess on me.

I'm screwed, I thought, resigned.

My history teacher, Mr Peters, stomped toward me. His phone's flashlight was pointed directly into my face, causing me to squirm and shield my eyes. The Thing was completely gone now, it had drawn back into the dark shadows along the wall. Mr Peters's dress shoes clicked to a stop, a couple feet away from me.

He glared pointedly at me and slowly repeated his question like I was a stupid little kid. "What is going on?"

Just as I started to hastily explain what happened (before he decided to start yelling at me again) but the sound of at least five classroom doors swinging open drowned out my voice.

Students poured into the hallway and the custodian stomped up the stairs. He was a thin and tall man, with about four hairs combed over his pale head. He pushed past the crowd of middle schoolers and when he reached a place everyone could see him, he shouted "which one of you greasy-fingered, snot-nosed idiots did this?! This could cost the school thousands!"

Mr Peters gripped my shoulder, his fingers digging into my shoulder bone. I squirmed uncomfortably but his hold didn't loosen, it just got tighter. "She's right here! And she would love to explain to all of us what the heck happened!"

I ducked my head down and mumbled what happened. Everyone stared at me like I was looney. My face was probably redder then a tomato at this point.

Once I'd finished, there was about ten seconds of complete silence before the whispering and laughing started.

Embarrassment curled around in my stomach. Their laughter echoed around the hall, only to be silenced by the custodian's booming voice. "Someone get that girl to a mental asylum because that is the craziest darn thing I have ever heard." He stalked over to me, "girl, tell the truth! There is no point in hiding behind the lies! We all know you did it," he gestured wildly to the mob of kids, "but why? Why did you do it? Teacher give you a bad grade? Kid through a dodgeball in your face?"

I replied quickly, "no, sir. Listen, I'm telling the truth! You gotta believe me. Please!"

He laughed, his spittle landed directly on my cheek. I flinched, scrubbing it off my face.

And that back and forth was how it went for about forty-five long minutes. By the end, everyone was dismissed except me. They called Nick and Alesha and we all sat in the principal's still-dark office. All the teachers were crowded in there, and the custodian's presence didn't help.

After some debating, and many questions, and demanded retellings of what happened, they reached a decision. The principal politely stated to my parents, "this school will no longer meet your family's expectations. We will have to let your daughter go. I'm sorry." And in a quieter tone, "and we suggest your daughter seeks psychiatric help."

And that's how it happened. That was the beginning. The first attack. The start of a chain of events that would take everything in me to stop.

The beginning of the rise of the Dark.

Sorry that was kinda long! Thank you to anyone who is reading this! Comment on my mistakes and things you like about my chapter! Remember to vote if you enjoyed it! Bye!
—Grace