k a r r i s
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The hockey team continued to stride in worry and in anxiety. I could tell that their minds were all over the place as they tried to figure out exactly where their small junior coach went off to. I was ready to pounce, waiting eagerly for the right moment. I watched as Calum approached the window where the bell hung. I glanced at the pair of glasses that sat right below the window, just waiting to be discovered.
"Come on Cal, you're almost there," I whispered, coercing the hockey player from behind the door. The boy continued walking, inching closer and closer to the window. "Almost there…"
Crunch.
Calum's foot stepped onto the specs, a light crunching noise filtering into our ears. The tall, tanned boy in all black looked down at his feet, lifting it up to find a pair of smashed glasses underneath his black shoe. Calum bent down, grasping onto the object and observing it in the moonlight beaming through the open window. He gasped, and even from behind the door I could feel his heart stop.
"Oh my God!" Calum exclaimed, "holy crap! Holy crap! Holy crap!"
"What happened?" Ashton asked, snapping his attention to his teammate. Calum was silent, not uttering a single word, and instead he simply held up the pair of bloody glasses. Ashton and the rest of the hockey team gulped, vision fixated on the black-rimmed wayfarer style frames that the boys knew were my signature.
"They're Karris' glasses," Calum announced.
"Ashton, we have to find Karris," Luke advised, "if she's seriously hurt, we're gonna have to call for help."
Their team captain didn't argue, he just nodded in agreement. However, their plan was thwarted the moment a panicked shrill infiltrated all of our ears. Michael stood with one hand over his mouth and the other pointing out the window. The entire team rushed over, peeking their heads out.
"Shit! Karris!"
"Oh my god!"
"We frigging killed her!"
"What the hell?!" Luke screamed, staggering backwards. He held onto his head, looking absolutely petrified.
"Dude she freaking jumped to her death! What the actual hell!?" Calum screamed.
"She wasn't supposed to die!" Michael declared, "the prank went too effing far! Ashton this is your effing fault!"
"We told you we didn't want to do this!" Calum shouted, grasping onto Ashton's arm. "You couldn't have just left her alone, man! Leaving the locker rooms messy is one thing, but we're freaking murderers because of your ass!"
"I think I'm gonna be sick," Luke quipped, clutching onto his stomach. His already pale face became even more pale, as his body lost equilibrium. Luke plummeted onto the floor and a few members of the team came to his aid. He flipped his body on all fours as he vomited onto the floor.
"This is so messed up! Karris did freaking nothing but be nice to you Ashton and now she's dead! You're screwed up, man!" Michael hissed.
"Look I know!" Ashton finally voiced. He grabbed the beanie on his head and threw it onto the ground in frustration. The way the moon's rays hit his face, I could see shining drops of tears welling up at the brim of his eyelids.
He was crying.
Ashton Irwin was actually crying. I couldn't believe it. He was a jerk, he was tough, and never let another get under his skin. But here he was, standing a mere six feet away from me with tears dribbling down his cheeks. Ashton never showed emotion except for anger or happiness. It was as if sadness was sucked out of his system from birth, leaving his tear ducts dry.
Maybe I was taking it too far this time? Part of me was considering coming clean at this very moment, apologizing to Ashton and the team for messing with them. We could both win and lose at the same time. They had scared me when my leg was grabbed in the church, and I had scared them with faking my own death. In a sense, we both got what we wanted. I was so far deep into this prank that there was still a part of me that wanted to move forward with it.
And that part was much bigger.
Showtime. I kicked the door with all the force I could muster, letting its handle slam against the adjacent wall with a loud bang. The team's heads all looked in my direction and from the shadows I began to crawl out the door as if my bones were perpetually breaking. I cocked my head to the side, letting the moon light up my face so the red contacts could glow to its most creepy potential.
"Oh my God! What the frick is that?" Michael screamed. He stepped backwards with the other boys who stared at me with absolute horror. Luke, who was still on the ground, crawled backwards in a hurry, joining his teammates.
"It's demon Karris!" Calum deemed, as he held onto Luke. I inched myself closer to the pack, convulsing myself in order to add to the theatrics. The boys were pinned up against the wall, a few of them covering their eyes with fear.
"The witches got her soul! We sacrificed her on accident!" Michael screeched.
"Ashton," I garbled, aggregating the best devilish voice I could find within me. I could see Ashton jump out of his skin, every hair on his body standing on end.
"RUN!" Calum bellowed, the first one to start down the staircase. The boys asked no questions and wasted no time as the entire lot dashed away from the bell tower and descended down the steps, screaming in terror.
When the boys' yells became more distant, I hurriedly stood on my feet, running in the opposite way through the other door. I grabbed the camcorder off of the floor and raced down a hidden set of stairs to ground level. Phase two was completed and it's now on Berkley to commence phase three.
I was back on the bottom floor where the church was. I had my back pressed against a wall, and slowly I peered my head around the corner. In the distance, I could hear the hockey team's screams coming closer and closer. I smirked to myself, pleased with the shortcut the secret stairway had become since I had beat the boys to ground level. From the corner of my eye, I saw a flash of light. I turned my head, seeing Berkley hiding underneath one of the pews on the first row.
Phase three.
I took out my phone and flashed her the same signal, letting her know that I was in place. I crouched downward, speeding across the small stage at the front of the church and tumbled into position from behind the old alter. I sat quietly, waiting for the boys to enter at any moment.
"Oh my God! Demon Karris is back!" Michael cried and a slew of screams followed after. I laid my body down on my belly, trying to catch glimpse of the show happening just a few yards away.
In the same convulsing and creepy manner as I, Berkley crawled towards the hockey team. She inched herself closer and closer from in between the rows of pews towards the frightened boys. Berkley let out a deep, inhuman-sounding growl that caused them all to scream again. I smiled to myself, proud of my best friend's performance.
It was my turn. Instead of crawling in the same way as before, I laid on the floor and arched my back. I bent my body backwards, walking on all fours from behind the alter. My messy hair cascaded down, dragging on the floor. Even upside down, the hockey team still looked as scared as ever.
"There's two of them!" Calum screeched, a shaky hand pointing at me. With a devilish smile, I eerily grinned at the boys.
"I want my mum," Luke cried to himself. The team all spun on their heels and ran away. They pushed open the doors and ran outside. The doors shut close, and their screams became muffled. Both Berkley and I came out of character with satisfied grins on our faces.
"That was freaking amazing," I gave Berkley a high five as she beamed up at me with pride.
"Thanks girl. The guys were so effing scared. I think Luke pissed his pants," Berkley chuckled.
"This is the best Halloween ever," I confidently declared. We became silent for a moment, hearing the panicked commotion of the boys right outside of these Mission walls.
"Phase three is almost done," Berkley mentioned, as she started pulling out her red contact lens from her eyes. I did the same. "Let's grab the last camera and reveal ourselves?"
"Let's do it," I grinned, my eyes wide with excitement. I watched as Berkley grabbed another camcorder similar to the one in my hands from beneath one of the pews. She looked at the screen, messing with a few buttons.
"Dude, look at this," Berkley told me, brandishing out the camcorder. I glanced at the camera, a playback of phase three on the screen. The camera was at a perfect angle and it recorded everything from Berkley crawling from the pews, to Luke, Michael and Calum running out the doors hand in hand.
"That's the most beautiful thing I've ever seen," I mock-cried, dramatically emphasizing the amount of joy I had within me. Berkley laughed and playfully pushed my arm.
"Come on, let's go finish off those assholes,"
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Chapter Word Count: 1593