demon child

Mr. Miller was a far from ordinary high school English teacher. He’s been teaching at the high school for the past 10 years, and recently his teaching methods have been...questionable. In the school he’s been seen roaming the halls, with a certain crazed look in his eyes. He just walks into classrooms to question learning objectives and to pester past students.

This year he has a mysterious new student named Al, no one knows where he came from besides the fact that his past school was burned and his family moved him there. Al has a certain cool guy atmosphere about him, he decides to put Mr. Miller to the test.

“ Mr. Miller, this writing assignment, can it be about personal trauma?”, the class goes quiet.

“It depends on if it goes along with what I’ve been teaching.” Al gets a malicious smile over the corners of his lips. He appears to be inspired to finish his paper, the day goes by and soon it’s the end of the period.

Mr. Miller starts to ponder the day’s events going back to when Al had asked him the question.Mr. Miller remembers the satanic undertone of his voice when he said, “personal trauma”, he gets a slight chill up his spine. Looking at his cat he says,“There’s something strange about that boy in my class,” the cat meows with hunger, Mr. Miller gets the cat’s point and gives him his dinner.  That night he lays awake pondering Al’s known history and his strange upbringings.

The following morning Mr. Miller goes for a walk to the park and runs into Al.

“Oh, hey Mr. Miller, how are you today?”

 “I’m just fine Al, why aren’t you in school?”

“ It’s a Saturday today Mr. Miller.”

Mr. Miller gets a confused look on his face wondering again about the strange teenager in front of him. “Would you like to take a walk with me Al?” Al gets a surprised look at the thought. “Sure,” as they start on their walk around the parks trails Mr. Miller tries to gain more information on Al’s past.

“Al how are your parents doing? I’d like to set up a meeting with them so that we can explore your future.”

Al becomes tense at the mentioning of his parents, “They’re dead Mr.Miller, they died two years ago in a fatal car accident.”  Mr. Miller instantly regrets bringing them up

“I’m so sorry, I didn’t know’

“It’s okay almost no one knows about it because I move around a lot’  Mr. Miller decides to change the subject, “So what happened at your last school?”

Al looks at him questioningly, “Sir what do you mean?”

“I heard something about a horrific fire and some of the students and staff losing their lives?”

Al gives him a terrified look,”Yes, apparently the fire started under the bleachers where an assembly was taking place. They didn’t make it passed the doors.” Mr. Miller gets a slight chill at the image.” we could hear them screaming from the courtyard”

Mr. Miller feels a slight unease after the conversation, his suspicions growing about Al’s strange past.   He decides to start a conversation about Al’s parents, “Were your parents good people?,” he asks with a soothing tone.

“ They were well liked by everyone they met,” his voice cracks

   “How did they die in the car accident, Al?” Miller gets a questioning tone in his voice.

“The roads were icy that night, but they had to go in for work. I tried to keep them at home--”his voice wavers,”They hit a patch of ice in the road and the car spun out of control, apparently their brakes were frozen. I could hear the sirens from the fire trucks” Miller tries to change the subject “How are you liking the new school?

    Al looks at his watch” So sorry but I’ve got somewhere to be” Al speeds off.

At his home Mr. Miller goes over the day’s conversation in his head, he cringes at the idea of Al doing those terrible things.  He decides to call the investigating officer with his theory about Al being a murderer. When he hears the downstairs telephone ringing, “hello?” there’s only heavy breathing,” Who is this? Whoever this is needs to stop playing!” a child’s voice comes over the phone,” the fun’s just beginning”   

Mr. Miller hangs up the phone to dial the police, his heart racing. To his horror there doesn’t seem to be a dial tone.

He hurries to his car but he realizes that he left the car keys in his room.

Now his heart feeling like that of a race horse hurries inside and notices that his bathroom light is on.