Original
Over the next couple of days, there was a sort of silent hush that the Hanley College of Social Sciences hadn't experienced, since the suicide of one of the founder's Honour Roll daughter, Alexis Hanley.
People who knew Daniel were grieving, it was horrible. Even people that didn't know him were grieving. His death, no, murder was completely unexpected. They hadn't ever experienced something quite like this.
Where his body was found, in the surrounding areas, were different types of flowers and little gifts. There was even a white cross, with his name and his birth and death date, with a quote saying, "R.I.P. You Were Taken Too Soon."
The police were no closer to finding out who did it so the whole campus was put under an early curfew. The Dean issued this order two days after his body was found. It was for their safety and it was successful, for a while.
Until they found another body.
This time, it was a girl's body, with the same modus operandi. Body drained of blood, with the two puncture wounds, looking almost like a skeleton. The students were even more terrified when they heard about her death.
Alina was tall with dark brown skin. She had a slightly darker birthmark under her right eye, so that's how they knew for sure that it was her. She was never skinny so seeing her drained body was appalling. Her luscious mane of natural black hair was now brittle and clumped together like she was dragged by her hair.
She was an A student and someone almost everyone on campus admired. Her name was Alina Maxwell and she was one of Koraline's friends. They hung out after their Sociology class going over notes and getting to know each other better.
When Koraline heard of the tragedy, she nearly collapsed to the ground. This had to be a coincidence, right?
That's what she thought, too. Until a third body was found.
A group of friends was going to the small basketball court to play some ball but they decided to chill on the bleachers first. They started to smell something but they paid it no mind. After a while, it got so bad that they decided to investigate.
They scoped out where the scent was the strongest. It appeared to be coming from under the bleachers. They were afraid to check.
"Maybe it's a dog?" André stated in unease.
"When last have you seen a dog around campus, 'Dre?" Vince scowled in his direction.
"Well with your smartness, you look!" André snapped back.
"Fine!"
When Vince came back from under there, all the blood drained from his face and he retched his soul out in the nearby bushes. It went on non-stop for a long minute.
He finally looked up at his friends who were staring at him in confusion.
"It's a-another b-body! And it's Xander!"
They realized that they hadn't seen him in days and they never thought to check to see if he was okay. It was something that happened frequently, him missing for a couple of days and randomly showing back up.
Someone took out their phone and called the police to report the crime. They arrived in less than thirty minutes.
A serial killer was on the loose.
The detectives on the case tried to keep the news under wraps but they were not stupid. Some of them were studying to become lawyers and so on, so they knew how it worked. This had the students in a frightened frenzy because they knew the police department was no closer to finding any suspects.
The news travelled extremely fast online so as Koraline, Réya and Cameron were chilling and smoking in their dorm room, the notification came through on the school's official website. Koraline's phone fell out of her hand as she started to hyperventilate. Cameron rushed towards her, asking her what was wrong.
"Look at my phone," she whispered, still struggling to breathe.
Reya hurriedly picked up her friend's phone and started to read the article out loud,
Is A Serial Killer On The Loose?
There has been another unfortunate gruelling discovery of a student, Xander James. He, allegedly, was found under the bleachers of the basketball court, says the source, by a group of players who wish to remain anonymous. This occurred around 5 pm this afternoon.
The cause of death is still not apparent but it follows the same M.O, says Detective Hannigan, refusing to give more details other than what was stated moments ago. He advises students to be careful and to travel in numbers, especially after dark.
This is all we, at Hanley College Campus News, have to report. Please, remain safe and be vigilant.
"When will this end? Who is targeting students and why?" Cried Réya as she clutched onto Koraline's hand, Cameron's hand on both of their shoulders in silent comfort.
"I don't know but we have to get to the bottom of this! He was a kind person who had a bright future ahead of him and he didn't deserve it!" Koraline started to get worked up as she ripped herself from the hold they had on her.
She started to think about Daniel, Alina, and now, Xander who all had one thing in common with each other; her!
"We need to come up with a plan," she looked them right in their eyes as she said this and they silently agreed with her, tired of living in fear.
They came up with a plan.
Prompt: A College Suprise by StoriesUndiscovered
