Mischief Night

Chapter 11

The terror Lydia felt as she ran down the hallways was the worst she had ever felt and she hated it. What had just conspired with the molotovs had been way too close of a call and now, as adrenaline surged through her, she sprinted to the furthest place her mind could think of, which was back to the natatorium.

As soon as she burst through the doors, her head switched around wildly trying to locate a good place to hide. She eventually found one, stashing herself away in amongst the kayaks and stayed there, making sure she was well hidden. This night was quickly becoming one of the worst she would ever experience.

She crouched down to stay more hidden, the adrenaline slowly started to wear off. As it faded, the earlier events started to fully sink in, her mind catching up with her body. The poor girl couldn't contain the sobs that started to spill out. She tried her best to keep quiet lest their tormentor find her but she couldn't help it. She was petrified. "Please, someone, get us out. I don't want to die here." She whispered into the void.

Jackson immediately bolted as soon as Derek said to, sprinting father away from the group to get himself out of the cafeteria and away from the attacker. His body ran on autopilot as it searched for a hiding place, dashing down to the boys' locker room. Whenever Jackson wasn't feeling mentally well and there was no one else around, this was the place he came to gather his thoughts. He safely entered the level the locker room was on, grateful no more traps had sprung, and as soon as he entered the room, he opened one locker and stashed himself in it.

He took a few deep breaths to try and calm himself as the adrenaline slowly wore off. Thankfully, only the fire showers had been triggered in the cafeteria so while he was a little wet, the path Jackson took had remained dry so he had no chance of seriously injuring himself slipping on wet flooring, regardless of him being a werewolf. He slowly allowed himself to breathe more calmly as he relaxed, having no intention of leaving until he knew it was safe to do so.

The power and speed Scott used to propel himself away from the cafeteria surprised even himself. It didn't register just how far he had gone until he came to the end of a staircase at the other end of the school. He stopped to catch his breath and looked around to see where he could further go, cursing when he recognized he was on the fourth floor. He stood up straight and ventured into one of the hallways of classrooms, keeping his senses alert at all times. He checked every classroom before settling on one that would give him an advantage of attack should the aggressor come looking for him.

He situated himself in the dark, sat on the floor and leaned up against one of the walls. Like it had with Lydia and Jackson, his adrenaline also slowly wore off, letting exhaustion start to creep in. His eyes started to droop now that his body had a chance to rest. "I hope you're okay, Allison." He whispered and fought to keep himself awake.

Allison stashed herself away in one of the chemistry classrooms, thankful that nobody had followed her direction, regardless if it was the attacker or her friends. She pressed herself into a dark corner, her bow flat against her body as she strained to hear for any sort of sounds. The moonlight shone into the classroom and illuminated the clock on the wall, allowing Allison to keep track of the timing. The shutters hadn't triggered here.

She finally allowed herself to relax and drew an arrow from the quiver, ready to notch it and fire at anyone who came through the door that bore her harm. If it was one of her friends, she would relax. Until then, she kept her guard up.

Derek's body, too, ran on autopilot as he fled from the attacker. There was one direction he headed and that was to the gym. He didn't encounter anyone else as he ran. 'Everyone else must already be hiding.'

Thankfully the gym was unlocked and Derek burst through the doors, shutting them quickly behind him. He faced the gym and looked for a hiding spot. He grumbled in annoyance when there were no good spaces and he was not stashing himself away behind the bleachers. That was a trap waiting to happen. He eventually settled on a dark corner at the far back and huddled in in. Conveniently, he faced the other doors so he'd be ready for any attacks that could possibly occur. He was unaware of Scott being four levels above him.

Stiles fought hard to keep his breath even as he ran, his body and mind riddled with panic. He had somehow made it to the side of the school where it connected with the natatorium. He ran to the second floor before his body forced him to stop, his legs and lungs aching in pain from over exertion. He stopped over as his body dry heaved from the pain mixed in with adrenaline and panic as it finally got a chance to relax.

He looked around at his surroundings and swiftly dashed into an empty classroom, hiding himself by one of the cupboards that cast a long shadow in the dark that would conceal him. Now that his body had a place to sit and catch up, the panic doubled in size, seizing his mind. He froze in shock as a panic attack took hold. Tears flowed down his cheeks as his lungs seemed to tighten and restrict his airflow, preventing him from taking proper breaths. He was stuck here until the others came to find him.

The attacker snarled to themself when they saw the kids had gotten away after they had put out the fires. At least they wouldn't have to deal with the threat of the school going up in flames and killing all of them before they had a chance to get out. They looked around, seeing the various wet footprints and examined the different directions they went. Unfortunately for them, they dried out before they could properly follow where they had actually gone.

They sighed and surveyed the area before heading in a specific direction, coincidentally the one Stiles had gone. It didn't take them long to check the classrooms on the first level before they headed to the second where Stiles was hiding and slowly walked in the opposite direction to him, their footsteps slow and calculated. They growled in frustration when they didn't find any information and spun on their heel, prowling down the hallway Stiles had gone, looking in every classroom.

Somehow they missed Stiles as they briefly peered into the classroom he had chosen, the boy frozen in fear when he watched them poke their head through the door to survey the room before leaving. Thankfully, the shadow the cabinet cast kept him safely concealed in the shadows. As the footsteps walked by him, Stiles' heart rate kicked into high gear. Little relief was provided when they continued past him. Now was his chance to escape. Through his panic-clouded mind, his thoughts turned to those of saying he shouldn't stay put. He was in danger and every nerve in his body was screaming at him to run.

He carefully picked himself up and slowly walked to the door, all the while keeping an ear out for the footsteps since he couldn't see that well in the dark. He didn't check down the end the person had gone, instead checking down the staircase first. When he looked back the other way, he jumped and slipped, falling backwards on the ground when he saw the person standing so close to him, the bat clambering away from him.

"You should have stayed put. I wouldn't have seen the glint of moonlight on your bat otherwise." They chuckled. "You and I are gonna have a little fun." The glee coating their voice was prominent, irrespective of the modifier.

Stiles scrambled back, trying to get to his feet to no avail as the person advanced. He continued to scramble back, going so far his hand hit the bat and, just as they were about to hit him with a baton-looking weapon to prevent him from grabbing it, he swung it at their leg. It made a sickening sound as it came into contact with their calf and brought them down in pain, giving Stiles enough time to finally get to his feet. He sprinted down the staircase, not looking back once. It took a few moments for the person to recover but they were soon rushing after Stiles, cursing that he was already so far ahead of them.