The first morning of the week. Help. But what makes it even worse are the hushed whispers that seem to be everyone's favourite way of conversing in school as I hurry down the halls nervously. Killer, dog, blood and bitch are the main words that reach my ears as I slump down into my seat and the time ticks by on that stupid clock, slowly, tauntingly, providing me with a lot of time before class to memorise the murderous glare in the man's eyes as he plants his deadly teeth into Alexandra's pale neck before my eyes. Because this school is - sadly- my only way of distraction.
The bell suddenly rings, bringing me out of my glum thoughts as students fill the classroom and the piercing sound of the history teacher's sharp heels echoes on the floor with each step she takes. I wouldn't usually hear it because of the morning chatter, but today's surprisingly wary and deafening silence brings everyone's attention to any - even small - movement in the class. "Good morning students," Mrs Kershaw begins in a reverent, sharp voice. Her beetle-like eyes dart around the classroom, analysing each and every one of our sombre faces. Her hair has been pulled back into a tight chignon, and her manicured nails show on her meticulously folded fingers. "We will all take a minute to mourn the sad -"
I block out her distinctively acute tone and stare at the spot above her head on the wall as the murderer's icy eyes flash before me.
·
"It was hilarious! One minute she was skating and then BAM, flat on her arse! She was-"
The laughing voices immediately simmer down as I set my tray down onto the table, staring at the cafeteria food with disgust. I just keep staring, feeling everyone's eyes on me. I can just imagine Damien's smug grin on his stupid face, but even that isn't important enough to slap off. "Cami! I was just telling them about the best ice-"
"I heard," I cut him off in a dead voice, not feeling anything. It's the best way to stop the nightmares from clouding my vision.
"Jeez... someone's PMS'ing," Jack mumbles, scanning my reaction. I don't even have a sassy comeback for that one. "Okay," he continues, throwing a fry at my face. I don't flinch. He frowns. "Something's definitely wrong." I sit down wordlessly, numbly. Emma lifts my chin and it's then that I truly see all of their burning eyes on me. It's intimidating. I blink and focus on my best friend's soft ones as she gives me a reassuring smile.
"Is it because of Alexandra?"
"You knew her didn't you," I ask, looking down at my plate again.
"Yes," she replies quietly, "But not that well. It's still sad though. But that's not what I was wondering." There's a dead pause and I shift uncomfortably in my seat. "Do you still have nightmares," she inquires, fixing me with a curious gaze. "Because it's been over a week now."
"Oh come on, Emma. They're just nightmares, everyone has them," I laugh nervously. I glance into each boy's eyes and hurriedly look away, noticing that they're all just staring at me, remaining impassively still. For some reason, I don't want to talk about it, about any of it actually, even though my heart is bursting to just spill it out. But something tells me that I shouldn't and that I should just endure it and wait until it ends. If it ends... I shudder at the thought. I will truly go mad and end up in a psychiatric ward if it doesn't.
"Uhuh." Emma takes a bite of her sandwich and eyes me from the corner of her eye, and I know that she doesn't believe me. Shit. I seriously do not want to be a part of any kind of invasive interrogation later.
"But YOU," I begin, glad to have changed the subject as her eyes widen with surprise. "You, missy, left me totally stranded in the middle of the night, and I was literally freezing my butt off. Plus, it was seriously scary. I'm sure there was a wild animal following me or something," I finish, shooting Emma a glare as she stares down at her plate with embarrassment.
"Sorry, Damien was being an ass and-"
"Did you say something was following you," Jasper sharply interjects, and Zander growls at him. "Camilla?" Jasper pushes.
"Jokes, Jas, ever heard of those," I answer sarcastically. He sends me a glare and I smile back sweetly, even though my head is buzzing with nervous perceptions. I finish my plate quickly, forcing the food down to escape the possibly impending conversation, and leave the cafeteria hurriedly while ignoring Emma's inquisitive shouts behind me. My hold on my bag tightens furthermore when mourning notes, flowers, and pictures swarm my line of vision as I pass the row of lockers. I stop by one of them, glancing with a pang in my heart at the picture of Alexandra. Yes, she was a bitch to me, but no one deserves to die like that. Little by little the story of the dog being the killer has sounded more and more absurd and stupid to me. But if I ever told anyone about my version - which I can only be sure was a nightmare - I would, myself, be deemed mentally unstable and thus thrown into a padded cell. I shake my head and retrieve my books hastily from my own locker, shutting its door and retreating down the hallway to my next class. As I reach the door to the classroom, I'm stopped by a hand on my arm and I glance up, only to jump back from the touch. His touch. The murderer flashes me a smile and the two gleaming canines descend from his mouth as he leans closer to my face. My heart quickens but I can't move. I never can in my nightmares either. Every time, I'm frozen in space. But this is definitely not another nightmare. His platinum blond hair is styled to perfection and his piercing eyes seem to penetrate deep into my soul, seeking out to destroy every inch of me.
"Missed me," he whispers lowly.
"Wh-who are you," I ask from shock, even though every fibre in my body is telling me to run. I know exactly who he is.
"I know you're not that stupid," he retorts, iciness drifting into me and encircling my heart in a terrifying grip from the tone of his threateningly calm tone of voice.
"You're real," I breathe out, feeling an indescribable, suffocating pressure on my chest. Where is everyone? Oh God, I shouldn't have left the cafeteria early; everyone's probably still eating.
"More real than anyone - in fact, most of what you see around you in your world is fake. Sad isn't it?" He leans in further and I'm pressed up against the wall as his muscled arms clad in black leather cage me from both sides. Suddenly he presses his lips to my neck and I thrash against his hold as agonising pain slices through my skin. I let out a scream but it's muffled by nothing but myself. I can't physically make any sound anymore. Realisation dawns on me and fills me with terror. I look over his shoulder to suddenly see a swarm of students walking by, completely oblivious to the murderer in their school as if we were in our own little private bubble. I didn't even hear the bell ring. When Emma's red bob pops into view I try to scream again, only to be heard by deaf ears. Her panic-filled eyes pass over me, and she quickly runs away again, shouting something at Zander. They're looking for me. Oh God, no one can see me. A tear slides down my cheek and my assaulter leans back again, sending me a smirk as he wipes the tear away from my cheek. His finger is ice-cold, but I can't even move my limbs to shiver. His canines are splattered with scarlet blood - my blood. Suddenly, I can feel the hold on me dissipate, and a small movement of my hand confirms my ability to move again. Shaking all over, I touch the place he bit me with trembling fingers, and they come back covered in red.
"I'll see you soon, Cami. You'll see, things will only be more exciting from here." He turns his back to me to walk away but suddenly stops, turning his head towards me. "Has your sister mentioned me at all?" My mouth falls open and no sound comes out so he just shakes his head with a laugh. "Ah... she likes to keep me a secret. Until the next, Camilla..." And with that, he is gone. It happens right before my eyes: he simply evaporates. Immediately, it's as if the bubble pops, because when I close my eyes and open them again, the halls are completely empty and I'm panting against the wall. I bring my hand to the bite on my neck again. Nothing. It comes back clean. A terrified whimper escapes my lips and I slide down the wall, staring straight ahead, seeing nothing.
·
I make my way to the now very crowded gym and find a rare empty spot with robotic movements and no emotion whatsoever. I can't. It's real. Everything is real. He is real. But what he did can't have been. I have no wound on my neck, no blood, but the frostiness of his breath on my skin still lingers. My thoughts are swarming around in one big mess as I slump down into my seat, hunching my shoulders to hide myself and praying for Earth to just swallow me whole.
"Alright. Alright everyone, settle down please." The principal's sharp voice, Mrs Blythe, echoes painfully in my ears and she taps the microphone with annoyance to stop the shrill ringing that seems to be killing everybody's eardrums. Once it's settled she adjusts her already-perfect plain business-looking blazer and pencil skirt and clears her throat. "You might have been momentarily confused as to why I have summoned you all today."
Summoned? Who the hell says summoned anymore? We're in the twenty-first century for God's sake.
Some snickers rise around the room but instantly quiet down at the strict and glass-cutting look Mrs Blythe swipes over them. "As I was saying, if it hadn't been because of important matters I would have let you resume your classes, but under certain circumstances the school will be closed for a period of two weeks." Immediately cheers and whistles rise in the room and chaos breaks lose as everyone basks in the joy of extra holidays. Everyone but me. My stomach is still churning over the possibility of losing my life at the hands of a killer that I've encountered twice now. But no one will believe me without cold, hard evidence. He's even threatened my sister's existence. Mary, my baby sister. A stray tear unwillingly slides down my cheek and I wipe it away furiously, shaking my head with determination. Forget it, Cami. All you can do is prepare and have a recorder at the ready. That will surely be enough for the police.
"Ah ah, students, simmer down please," Mrs Blythe scolds. "When I tell you why, your cheering will stop in a second, for this is a far more serious matter than teachers wanting a break. If only." The room falls silent and an empty hollowness fills the voids of sound that waits to reach our ears. "Because of the death of a very treasured and missed classmate, we have allowed the investigation to proceed at our school."
"But she was killed by a dog!"
"No you idiot, it wasn't a dog!"
"I heard it was a rat bite!"
"SHUT YOUR MOUTHS YOU INCESSANT IDIOTS," Mrs. Blythe shouts angrily over the microphone, but I'm not even sure that there's any need, as her voice is already loud enough. "As I was saying," she runs skilful hands down the front of her already smooth pencil skirt. "There is reason to believe that it was indeed, not the act of a stray dog, but of a far more dangerous creature. A human, like you, like me. It could be anyone presently." Immediately agitated whispers are exchanged and everyone around me shift nervously in their seats. I don't, because I knew it already. But this confirmation will make it easier for the authorities to believe me. My eyes land on a spot in a far dark corner of the room. The murdered smirks at me and all I see are his icy eyes before he's gone into thin air and I'm left staring at a vacant place where he'd been seconds before. Evaporated, just like before. I blink and shake my head. This death really seems to be taking its toll on my brain. But it terrifies me anyway, and I can't help but think that, suddenly, everything that he is is very real.
"How?" I whisper, expecting to be met with nothing but silence.
I am in your mind Camilla... I am all around you, everywhere, any time. I can manipulate it as I want. Fun isn't it?
His words are like needle-like stabs in my back and I let out a strangled gasp as something leaves my mind and my head falls to the side. I quickly recover and a chill passes through me as I sit upright, looking around to see if anyone noticed. I freeze when I spot Emma staring at me with furrowed eyebrows. She notices me and turns her head away, pretending not to have seen. My breath hitches: something isn't right. Did he just communicate with me through my mind, or did I imagine it? That pain wasn't my imagination, I conclude.
"You are dismissed." Mrs. Brythe's voice suddenly reaches my ears and I'm one of the first to spring to my feet, dashing to the doors. My path is blocked by Zander, and Jack and Damien soon step in by his sides, crossed bulky arms and flashing hard stares.
"Where are you going Cami," Zander inquires lowly.
"Please, just leave me," I whisper, gazing at the floor. The incessant thoughts swarm my vision, and I can't see straight. It's not even from dry contacts, but simply the loss of focus. I waver slightly on my feet.
"Cami?" Emma says something to me but I don't hear it, I can't hear anything except for the jumbled echoes in my mind. I forcefully push past them and surprisingly they let me, and I can feel their heavy gazes on the back of my head as I step out into the freezing cold and leave the school with hurried steps. I need to get out of here. I need to be anywhere but in this cursed place.