Simon Death High (14 page)

Hannah shivered as she walked into the
school. She was either cold or frightened to be on campus with no
one else there. “Let's do this quick so we can leave.”

Michael dragged his feet to his locker and
struggled to open his locker—he always had issues with it. “Do you
guys know where you'll be staying until graduation?”

Linda dumped all her items from her locker
into a trash bag, “I believe I’m staying with my aunt. She's a
tutor and travels a lot. That's my only option. I bet my dad won't
even notice when I leave.”

“I'm going to California to be with my other
family. Like Linda, that's my only option for now,” Hannah
said.

“But, Lucy knows you have family there,”
Michael said as he cleaned out his locker.

“True, but she doesn't know where.
California is huge.”

“Well, I’m not sure where I'll be going,”
Michael said. “Unlike you guys, I have no options.”

Linda stayed silent as she heard the sound
of footsteps coming from the cafeteria. “Is someone else here
besides us?”

Hannah looked at her Gucci watch, “It's only
five in the morning. No one should be here—it's pitch black
outside. School doesn't open until eight.”

“You would think they would lock the door,”
Michael said.

“Yeah, huh?” Hannah giggled. “Anyone could
just walk in.”

“That's odd,” Linda said. “The door should
have been locked. Detectives said security would be here
today.”

“Maybe that's who is making all that noise,”
Hannah said as she continued to clean her locker. “Or maybe the
lunch ladies are here. They have to come early.”

“Not at five. They have lives too. They tend
to come at seven because that is when all the faculty shows up,”
Michael said. “I'm sure it's just the security checking the place
out. I’m sure they're scared too.”

“That doesn't make me feel better,” Hannah
said as she rubbed her cold hands on her faux fur coat.”

They stopped and stared at each other as the
sound of someone jumping into a pool made a loud splash. Linda ran
over to Hannah and wrapped her arms around her.

Michael screamed like a chick and ran over
to the girls. “Someone is here!”

“I know,” Hannah whispered. “We should
leave—”

Hannah tried to grab nosy Linda to stay as
she walked toward the pool, which was located in the gym. They
followed behind her like puppies, already regretting it.

“Linda, let's go!” Hannah said. “I'm
scared.”

Stubborn like always, Linda opened the door
that lead to the indoor pool and narrowed her eyes, trying to see
in the dark. The room was quiet but, then another splash made them
all shout and bump into each other as they tried to leave.

“Wait, it's just me!” said the voice of what
sounded like Lucy. “Don't run!”

“Me who?” Michael said.

“Lucy!”

“AHH!” they all screamed as they heard her
getting closer.

As they tried to run, Lucy jumped in front
of them, dripping wet and smiling as if nothing happened. “What is
wrong with you guys?” she questioned, this time her eyes didn't
blink at all. They were bulging out, bright red, and her hair
looked like it hadn't been combed.

“What are you doing here?” Linda snapped.
“Are you crazy?”

“Well, we figured that out a while ago,”
Michael mumbled.

Hannah elbowed Michael to shut up, “You're
the last person we would want to see, Lucy.”

“Why? Is it because of the rumor. You guys
know I would never do anything that crazy,” Lucy said. “It's the
police trying to pend stuff on us.”

“No...we spoke to your mother—”

Lucy cut Linda off by smacking her in her
mouth as if she were disciplining a child. Hannah and Michael
jumped back but, Linda tried to push her down. Lucy grabbed Linda’s
wrist like she did before and with all her power twisted them
harder than before, causing the bones to crack.

“Please stop!” Linda cried.

“Don't ever speak about my mother! She's
dead to me!” Lucy said. “And if you guys believe what is on
television, you're stupid!”

As Lucy tried to attack Linda, Hannah used
her two-hundred dollar boots for something good—she kicked Lucy as
hard as she could in her stomach, causing her to fall onto the
ground. They gasped in pain, as they heard her bones crush onto the
hard cement.

They all ran as quick as they could toward
the exit. Michael looked back and saw Lucy running toward them. So,
he ran faster, this time getting ahead of the girls.

“Oh crap, I can't find my keys,” Linda cried
as she saw Lucy behind them.

Hannah led them to run down the other
hallway instead of the exit—which was a dumb idea. “Let's go this
way.”

Michael pulled out his cell phone to dial
(emergency) 911 but, he dropped it as he ran. The entire phone
broke into pieces. “CRAP!”

They all looked back and Lucy wasn't in
sight. There hearts felt like they were on fire as they saw their
life flashed in front of them—a short life, eh.

Hannah began to hyperventilate. “What if she
has a gun?” she cried as she looked through her purse for her cell
phone. “I'm way too young to die. I haven't even fallen in love
yet, or did something so stupid like in the movie the
Hangover.
My life is too short—”

“Shut the hell up and call 911!” Linda said.
“I left my phone at home.”

“Shh,” Michael said. “She might here
us.”

Hannah peaked and spotted Lucy going back
into the gym with the pool. “Shh...”

“Do you see her?”

“Yes, she went back into the pool room,”
Hannah said.

“Let's go kick her ass,” Linda said.

Hannah pulled back on Linda to stay put,
“No, are you insane? You were about to cry when she bent your
wrist. Let's stay here until the cops come,” she nagged as she
tried to turn her cell phone on. “Crap! My phone is dead.”

“Are you serious? This is like an awful teen
horror movie and we are the idiots who die in the first scene!”
Linda cried. “What are we going to do?”

“How about, we leave? The police station is
down the street—literally,” Michael said. “Did you see how crazy
she looks? She has totally lost her marbles and she ain't gonna
find them anytime soon!”

The all stayed quiet as they thought about a
new plan. Their hearts began to beat more rapidly as they could
hear Lucy now kicking lockers. The sound got louder and louder, so
they began to run back toward the gym. They ran into the gym and
hid behind the huge doors.

“If she comes in here, I'm going to grab her
and push her into the pool. We have to keep her in there until the
police come,” Linda said. “They shouldn't take long, the station is
down the street.”

“Why would they come if we didn't even call
them?” Michael snapped. “They have no idea we are in trouble!”

“He's right,” Hannah said three minutes
later.

The tension built as they waited for her to
come inside the gym. They were more in fear based on the fact that
they didn't know what she would do to them. However, they all tried
to think positive.

“AH!” Michael shouted as Lucy came running
into the gym, swinging her arms.

Linda took her anger out by grabbing Lucy
and shoving her back into the pool. Fighting was no big deal to
Linda, since that's all she used to do in middle school. As seconds
felt like minutes, she screamed for Michael or Hannah to help
her.

Lucy chewed on Linda’s fingers, not letting
go. As Michael panicked, he ran over to Linda and shoved Lucy's
head under the water by kicking her head back down.

Poor Hannah checked her cell phone to see if
it would turn on—it didn't. So, she ran over to them and helped
Michael shoved Lucy's head under the water.

Linda pulled them back as Lucy turned pale.
“Um...stop...”

They stared at her as she floated, not
knowing what to say. As Hannah leaned into poke her, Linda pulled
her back. They all stared at each other with big eyes, afraid of
what they just did.

As they walked backwards out the gym, the
sound of sirens instantly made them feel safe. So, they ran out
toward the exit.

Michael grabbed the both of them and ran out
the exit. As they made it to the door, they realized what seemed
like half the town was standing outside. Mostly, people dressed in
robes and pajamas pointed their fingers as if they were mocking
them.

As they walked down the steps, all they
could hear were whispering voices. Shame would be an
understatement. They should have been joyful that the real murderer
was captured, but it wouldn't help the feeling they had. It was the
feeling of times like when they lied to their parents and got away
with it—but, times one million.

They tried to hide their faces, as news
reporters flashed cameras. Despite loving attention, Linda began to
cry and hid her face in Michael’s plaid shirt that he had worn for
the last three days—it didn't smell too nice.

Linda, Hannah, and Michael waited next to a
sheriff’s car as the school was being raided. Michael felt as
though he had just drank ten cups of coffee as he waited for the
cops to come back. He chewed his nails as low as they could go as
he cradled Hannah and Linda—for once he was being the stronger
one.

“Did you call 911?” Linda whispered to
Hannah. “I don't remember hearing you getting through.”

“My phone wouldn't turn on,” Hannah said.
“So, no I didn't.”

“Um, that's odd,” Michael said.

Tyler had an ugly facial expression as he
walked over to the gang, “Do you think this is a joke?” he
shouted.

“What happened?” Hannah said.

“Lucy is not in the pool. No one is in
there!”

“What?” Michael said. “She has to be.”

“But, we slammed her head multiple times in
the water,” Hannah added. “Are you sure she isn't there?”

“She's not there,” Tyler snapped.

“That's impossible!” Michael cried.

“She's gone now! She'll be history tomorrow.
She was a smart gal, and don't you think she had no idea what she
was doing. If anything, she'll be back—back for the others.”

“Others?” Linda said. “How do you know there
are others?”

Tyler pulled them to the side and began to
whisper, “Someone leaked a gruesome video of Lucy being hazed by a
few of the cheerleaders and dance team members at dance camp. The
video is so graphic that I couldn't bare to watch the full version.
I don't think anyone was able to watch it to the end without
crying. Mandy Perez was the leader of it all. It was hard to figure
who the girls were because they all had masks on, but with time, we
figured it out. The interesting part is that every girl killed was
seen in the video. There are just a couple of girls toward the end
that we couldn't make out to be. I want to know who they are
because the ending was the worst part. One girl stuffed this wood
right up—”

“Enough!” Michael shouted.

Linda gasped as a flashback came to her.
“What?”

“And that would explain why she quit the
cheer and dance team,” Hannah said. “Remember how we were saying
she was so different after that dance camp. I didn't go that summer
because I was in California.”

Michael stared at Hannah, “Hmm...”

“I wasn't a part of that,” Hannah said. “I
would never do that.”

“Wait, you went to that camp,” Michael said
to Linda. “Did you know anything about this?”

“Um...” Linda said.

“We believe Lucy had ties with hit men. She
may have hired the man who apparently killed Mandy, and she may
have hired someone to crash into freshmen Karen Daniel's car to
kill her,” Tyler said. “Although, Karen and few other girls were
standing by and just watching, she still hated them—maybe for not
helping her.”

Linda began to cry, “Wow.”

“Is it over now?” Michael said.

“The best thing for you guys is to leave
town as planned. You may come back for graduation, but that's it.
Not until she is captured.”

“But, what about the other girls in the
video? I’m sure she doesn't want to hurt us,” Linda said.

“All those girls will be taken in for
questioning because that was a crime they did. Although murder
isn't the answer, those girls deserve nothing good. They too will
have to be hidden for their safety until a trial,” Tyler said. “I
can't tell you guys much more. I’ve already said way too much.”

As Michael and Hannah hugged as they walked
back to the car, Linda walked over to Tyler.

“What?” Tyler said.

“Um...you should totally consider
re-watching the video at the end right now,” Linda said quickly and
walked away. Linda paused as she spotted Adam staring at them. She
pointed to him and he waved goodbye to them. “Why was Adam
here?”

“I don't know,” Hannah said.

“I think he helped Lucy. I believe he called
911 and he moved Lucy from the pool,” Michael said.

“But, why would he do that? He can't stand
her anymore,” Linda said.

“He's sketchy, remember?” Hannah said. “He
deserves a girl like her. They can go have their imaginary baby
together and leave us alone.”

“Why do I feel like this situation isn't
over?” Michael said.

“Because it's not,” Linda said. “But, what
can we do?”

Michael kissed both of their hands as they
began to cry again. “Don't start crying again!”

“No matter what, we will be best friends,”
Hannah said. “We can't lose touch with each other!”

“Of course,” Linda said. “Daily calls, text,
emails, anything.”

“This is going to be so hard saying goodbye.
We've spent every day with each other and now we will be miles
away,” Michael said.

“More than miles,” Hannah said.

“It doesn't matter; we are still best
friends,” Linda beamed. “Til' dea—”

The gang froze in place as the blaring
ringing of a cell phone was going off. They all stared at Hannah
and she searched her bag to see if her phone was on. She showed
them her phone and it was off.