Scream

Oscar Alvarez

I made it down to the first floor, where Hanzo was recovering from the bomb that killed Reyna's mom. "You're sure it killed her mom? There was no chance of survival?" I clarify. 

 "Positive. I'm sorry, who are you?" Hanzo croaks, looking at me through eyes puffy with emotion. 

 "Oscar, but everyone calls me Ozzy. I'm helping Enzo and Reyna and Della at the café."

 "Nice to meet you." Hanzo tries to smile, but it turns into a grimace. "I just wish it weren't under these circumstances." 

 "I agree. Want me to help get you upstairs with us?" I offer, standing up.

Hanzo waves me off like there's a fly buzzing around his head. "No, I've got to stay here...can you do me a favour?" he asks. Finally, my first "in" with these people: a favour asked by one of the main friends of this murder story. 

 "Absolutely," I answer, trying to repress my eagerness. I've been reading the blog about these people since before the murders. It was an unknown, unheard of a domain at first. But after the murders, that blog took off. It started off as a documentary of the "perfect high school clique," and turned into a murder scene report. I was fascinated. It's like watching a slasher film happen right in from of you.

"Tell Reyna, please. I can't...I can't face her yet."

"Of course, buddy. Rest up. I'll handle things."

Hanzo grabs my shoulder. "Thanks, man. I appreciate it."

I leave Hanzo and jog upstairs, trying to contain my excitement and fear. Excitement for getting involved with the cast of the Solaris deaths. Fear because anyone can be the next kill for this hour. I reach the fourth floor and prepare to blame my upped breathing rate on the stairs. I reach through the glass-shattered window spot of the door and grasp onto the handle to unlock it. 

 As I walk into the hallway, I bump into Makai. "Any luck on finding Reyna? I searched downstairs. That's why I took so long." Hmmm...awfully quick to explain himself.

"We found her," I assure. "She's got a broken finger and she's passed out. Other than that, she's fine. Everyone else, too. Well...besides Reyna's mom."

"Mrs Copulas?" Makai questions, stopping in the hallway. "How?"

"There was a contained bomb in the elevator shaft, dude. She's gone..."

Makai Keanu, founder of the supposed "Ke-aren't-you Stupid" jokes, sighs and closes his eyes. "She's going to be devastated." 

 Frowning, I agree with him. Together, we walk the halls and see Aero King, half-brother to Enzo King. Makai calls him over. "Aero! Can you get a splint for a finger? We'll be in the café."

"Coming right up," he assures, ducking to the bottom of a nurse cart. 

 Makai and I continue down the hall. "So, you said earlier you'd be coming to our school?"

"You bet."

"Well, hopefully, things go a bit better than they've been," he darkly utters.

I make a tsk tsk noise and shake my curly-haired head. "I can't imagine what you're going through."

"I can hardly imagine it myself, Ozzy."

We circle down the hall and stop short of what we see. A gutted Della lays on the floor, blooding pooling the area around her. Enzo sits by her, sobbing, clothes soaked in her blood. A loose computer mouse is on the ground – the only thing about the café that is out of place beside the people in it.