After School

1.27 Yuta

SEPTEMBER 17, 1946: AFTER SCHOOL

The lack of light in Willesden had bothered him a lot at first, but now it was normal.

The moment the final bell rang it signalled the end of school and the start of a long night ahead of them. Although, today wasn't like the usual after school hours. Something about his surroundings was peculiar. The air was thicker. The corridors were emptier. The classrooms were darker. The main difference of all was that it was utterly black. No more grayness. The school was etched in charcoal today, the once gray hues of the hallway no more than a vivid dream.

Darkness swallowed him whole as his uncharacteristically grim eyes hid the scared child within. His eyes were not the windows to his soul. They were the void of his being.

The black-haired boy solemnly trudged through the grim corridors of Willesden. His gaze was darkly cast on the ground as crimson blood dripped from his clenched right fist. As every menacing second ticked by, a crow screeched in the distance, dying a horrid death because of his conscious. His sunken, raven eyes had a malevolent glint as it scanned the vacant hallway. Shadows danced along the black walls, watching with curiosity as the boy turned the corner.

The shadows began harmonizing their vocals, the perfect melody for the ominous atmosphere. Ebony chandeliers dangled from the ceiling, partially dissipating the darkness of the hallways. The rain was silently drizzling outside as the clouded sky turned into twilight, despite it being late afternoon. The only sound that ringed through the school was his heavy footfalls pattering against the smeared floor. Even his stomps were heavy with a looming burden.

"Boy," the blackness whispered, in a haunting and wispy voice. The shadows on the wall halted their chanting movements and began listening to their intriguing conversation. "My blood covers your sins," it suddenly hissed, it's icy breath stinging his skin. The boy paid it no mind and continued walking, but the blackness wasn't finished with his strange talk. "The Devil is not evil. The evil one is you," it said in a scorching voice. With a sudden whish, it dissolved into the air. The silhouettes unfroze. They picked up violins and drummed their fingers against piano keys, adding instruments to boost their vocals.

He finally reached his destination. Room 110. He slumped his aching back against the wall and waited. As he waited, no thoughts flooded his mind. He simply had one objective. One plan. The grand and final scheme before his or someone else's inevitable demise. Perhaps it will be both. Both of their ends today. Whatever the outcome may be, he knew someone will not make it out alive to see dawn break into a new day.

He watched the silhouettes dance blissfully across from him, filling the walls with the inky pools of their being. They danced a slow and haunting dance as if they could feel the suspension of the moment and chose to convey it through rhythmic movements. Their pace quickened in synchronization with his thumping heart. They advanced, retreated, pirouetted, their arms intensely waving from side to side, their heads swaying like a hurricane. Every move was full of elegant poetry. Their blackness hid their features, yet seemed to show glimpses of flashing eyes from the beyond.

Finally, creeping out of the shadowed hall were his friends. After what he had told them, their suspicions of him deepened. It was professional, their relationship. They loved each other but wouldn't hesitate to point a gun at the other's back, especially if it meant one of them was a traitor. There was no use lying to themselves and disbelieving the evidence in front of them. That's what leaders do. They had a goal from the start and they were not going to let a single friendship stop them from achieving it.

He knew and understood so he told them to give him one chance to prove himself. They obliged because somewhere in the bottom of their hearts they didn't want to believe that their theory was true, for the sake of not being betrayed. So, now they were here, in front of Room 110.