Lightning, Nightmares and Robots

ISSUE #3 The Dark Alley

"What are you doing up so late, Maestro?" Arjun asked, arms folded, hip protruding.

"What are you doing up so late, Arjun?" Maestro replied, with a small smile, his eyes shadowed by his hat, mimicking Arjun's stance. They stared at eachother for a while until Arjun jumped for him.

"I ought to fuckin-" Arjun reached agressively towards Maestro's dreadlocks but he dodged whilst Justice pulled Arjun back.

"Okay, okay," he groaned, straightening his night gown. 

"Oh, warui warui," Maestro said, bowing in apology. "I've upset the petulant dwarf."

Arjun clawed for him again but I stopped him from getting any closer. "Did you hear the scream?"

"Of course, it's been happening every night since school started," He replied.

"It's just some sixth former freaking over their exams." Arjun rolled his eyes.

Maestro kissed his teeth, "baka yarou." He pointed to the window to the forest far off from the football fields where all our eyes veered off to.

"I say it's a ghost boy who died from hyperthermia while trying to find his way out of Frostmere forest. Now his scream echoes this school in search of his way ho-"

"You think the scream came from the forest?" Verity asked. "Are you literally a child?"

"Well-"

"Why are we still here!?" Justice asked, louder than she should have. "We're supposed to be lookin'."

"I can help," Maestro chimed, his hand gripping his sword.

"I don't think there's any samurai sword worthy danger in the school," Verity responded with a slight scoff. "I think we'll be fine."

"Let the boy help. He won't leave you alone until you say yes," Arjun groaned, twisting his lips at the grinning boy.

"Fine," Justice huffed, straightening the scarf on her head. She turned, "the scream came from this way."

"Wait, we're checking out the scream?" Maestro seemed slightly concerned, taking a step back.

"What did you think we were going to do? Search his arsehole?" Verity gestured to a baffled Arjun. Justice let out a stifled laugh.

"I think I better stay out of this one." Maestro was beginning to back out and as soon as Arjun saw this he couldn't help but use it to his advantage.

"Maestro, how impolite. You offered your help, you can't just take that back," Arjun told him, holding his shoulders firmly in place. "Samurai code and all that." Arjun winked at Maestro who groaned.

Justice snarled at Maestro and his cowardly behaviour.

"Well, methinks you have all the manpower necessary," Maestro said, eyes darting to Justice who looked like she could punch a steel wall in. "My assistance is no longer required."

"Don't be so impotent," Arjun chuckled, although nothing was amusing, pushing Maestro further down the hallway. "Unclench your ass cheeks your doing this. And I'll be here to make sure of it."

"I don't engage in such parlous activities," Maestro's voice wavered, following Justice's lead. "I protect, not go deliberately looking for danger."

And this is where Verity learnt Maestro was a talker. He continuously spoke for the duration of the journey to the source of the scream. The topic changed from samurais to dinosaurs and from dinosaurs to his love for anime and from his love for anime to his allergies and from his allergies to the history of the school. But there was one segment of Maestro's rambling that Verity had tuned into and found rather intriguing.

Maestro spoke fastidiously about the acres and acres of forest behind WintrVille boarding school. And how during winter, it's the most dangerous time of the year. You might find that getting into the white Forest is the easy part, however getting back out is the hard part. And according to Bartholomew Bonavich, a boy from Maestro's English class, a child had entered during winter, whilst a piercing blizzard enveloped the school. And the boy never came back out and was never heard from again.

His name was Wintr Blanco. And his story was tragedy.

You must have friends of friends who live there and that are willing to bargain for your aid. Because if you get lost, the frostbite will slither up your leg and you wouldn't even know you've been dead for hours. Not until you realise you can't see your breath in the air anymore. By then it'll be too late, you'll walk through Winterville Forest aimlessly for eternity.

Verity sighed, looking back out the window of the kitchen. The naked trees moved with the gusts of wind.

Although it was autumn and all the trees were either brown leafed or naked by now, it still didn't make the story any less unsettling. He also cleared that his name wasn't really Wintr Blanco. Maestro proposed it was probably something like Walter Burley.

"And did you know me, the principal, Terrence Carmichael, Colin Chadwick and Chase Sullivan all have the same intolerance to strawberries-"

"Maestro. Shut, and I cannot stress this enough, the fuck up." Verity eyed him sternly because no else would. She assumed Maestro was rambling due to the fact he was afraid.

"Can't you feel that?" Arjun asked, walking around the dark and silent kitchen. Clawing at the skin on his neck.

Justice shivered, reaching to rub her back, as if a snake had found its way beneath her skin and began to crawl. Maestro gripped his sword tighter and Arjun nervously straightened his glasses. Neither of them said a word, there was an uneasiness between all of them and an unsettling aroma of fear.

The only sound audible was the whipping from the trees outside, their heartbeats, the beeping from the fire alarm, and their breathing.

Only it wasn't just their breathing.

Coming from behind the metal door of the large freezer, Verity heard loud and heavy breathing. She inhaled, edging closer to the door, pressing her warm ear against the cold steel. And suddenly, a blaring shout of distress came from behind the door, causing Verity to jump backwards.

Verity gripped the door firmly, dubious to open it. This was unlike her. She ordinarily held a thunderous audacity about her that made her appear fearless by others.

But, for the first time, Verity experienced fear.

She exhaled, and without thinking, opened the door revealing a long and narrow way, that dived so deep it fell into darkness. She breathed, her warm breath visible in the cold air of the freezer.

Verity gulped thickly, entering the freezer. She looked behind her her. "You comin'?"

"Did anyone teach you not to go down a dark alley!?" Maestro fussed.

Justice wasted no time, walking ahead of Verity who watched Arjun shove Maestro in before him. Verity tread behind as Justice lead, holding her torch light. 

The four simultaneously snapped their heads to the sound of the slamming freezer door. Maestro ran back, clutching the inside handle, shaking and pulling.

He sighed, "it's locked."