Writer Games: Bleeps and Geeks (FULL)

Finalist: Seraphine Martin

It had been four days, seven hours, and thirteen minutes since the last person had been killed. Two days, six hours, and two minutes later they found her in a locked closet inside the principal's office. Now, they were sitting in the same office, the same place it started, the same place where it would end.

Next to where she sat, clutching Nathaniel's notebook to her chest, as she had for days, was the FBI agent who found her where the principal had locked her, and on her other side was a private investigator. Across from her was Principal Thorne herself, a pair of handcuffs keeping her attached to the chair were she sat. The vice principals sat in the corner, silent, obviously feeling more guilt than the principal herself. Next to them was the secretary, who had been asleep for nearly half an hour. Next to the principal, she was the person who Sera hated most in the room, though she hated everyone there with a burning passion. How could that stupid secretary be sleeping right now?! She had been part of the reason twenty-nine children were dead right now, and she had decided now was a good time for a nap?

She looked forward again, staring right into the eyes of the principal, who was glaring at her. What did she have the right to be angry for? The fact that she couldn't make it thirty dead kids, instead of twenty-nine? Sera glared back, but she knew it wasn't as intimidating as they used to be. She was broken. She may have won this game that she had to play, but she had lost everything else.

After another moment of silence, the private investigator asked the same question they had been asking since they had found her, to which they had yet to receive a response, not even a simple "no", or "I'm not ready yet". She hadn't said a word to them, or anyone for that matter.

"Seraphine?" One of the vice principals had told them her name. "Are you ready to tell us what happened yet?"

This time, they did get a response, however it was not the one they were looking for.

Suddenly, in a burst of anger, she flung herself forward, swinging her fist at the principal. In a flurry of screams, elbows, fists, and other various body parts, the agents jumped to separate the two, and Sera beat at the principal as best she could with hands pulling her way, and the principal fought back as best she could with her hands stuck to the chair.

Three black eyes (on the principal, the FBI agent, and the private investigator), a bloody lip (only the principal), a few bite marks (on Seraphine's arms, where Principal Thorne attacked), and another pair of handcuffs (also on Seraphine, as she now showed need for restraint as well) later, they were back in a relatively calm state. Sera was still incredibly pissed, but there was nothing she could act on now.

"Alright Seraphine, we'll ask you one more time," the agent was clearly annoyed now. "Can you tell us what happened here?" To this Sera turned her head, looking him straight in the eyes, and answered coldly and calmly.

"You want to know what happened here? Twenty-nine kids are dead, because this bitch decided she didn't like them. Because she said kill or be killed, and that's what happened. I hope that's what you're looking for, because I'm not up for giving much more. You want to the details of what happened here. Look in that book I've been holding." She nodded her head at the notebook she had dropped when attacking the principal. "That's Nathaniel Lee's. He was here because he didn't turn me in. He was here because he was being a good person, and now he's dead because of it. He's fucking dead!"

Her voice was wavering by the end and on the last word it broke completely. The private investigator picked it up and flipped through it.

"This is good, but it doesn't tell us everything." He says after having read through the pages. "What happened after his death?"

"After he died? After he died, there was four of us left. Jaxon killed Alice. Jazzy tried to kill me, but I, I stabbed her. I had too. She didn't die right away and when Jaxon came to try and finish her off she killed him. I almost left her to bleed out, because I didn't want to see her die. But I knew it had to hurt like hell, so I ended it for her, and made it quick. Then Principal Thorne came out, and shot me with a dart gun. I passed out, and woke up in a closet. She was probably trying to starve me to death, and then she would have no witnesses. She could twist the story however she needed to shorten her sentence time. Then you found me. And now, here we are. Are you guys fucking happy now?" She said angrily. She was mad at everyone, she was mad at the principal, she was mad at the vice principals and the secretary, who, by the way, had woken up in all the commotion of Sera attacking the principal, and was now wide awake and absolutely terrified, she was mad at herself, and she was mad at her mother, and she was mad at the starving children in Africa, and she was mad at the businessmen and women at work, and she was mad at the world, and she was. Just. Plain. Mad. Except, of course, it quite obviously wasn't plain mad, because there was a lot that she was mad at, but now is not the time for technicalities, so we'll be moving on.

"Why weren't you all here sooner?" She asks suddenly, interrupting one of the men speaking to her, though she had no idea what they were saying because she wasn't listening to them at all.

"What do you mean?" One of them asked dumbly and she glared.

"I mean, there were children dying here, for weeks. I was locked in a closet, starving to death for days after everything was over. Why the hell weren't you here to stop all that before there were so many dead people?"

"Well, there was no way we could know. Every child here was allowed to stay by their parents, who were clearly lied to, but still allowed nonetheless. No one filed a report saying their child hadn't come home from school. We only had knowledge of this when we received a call saying that after receiving an anonymous tip twenty bodies had been found, and that there were more still being found and that we needed to come check things out. I wish we were here sooner, but there was no way we could have been." The agent answered her. She looked down at her wrists in cuffs, not the first time that it happened, nor would it be the last, and tried to wiggle out. She didn't respond to what they said, instead looking at the agent, who had the key to get her out of the handcuffs.

"Could you undo these? I'm not the criminal here, and I won't try to hurt anyone again, I promise." After a moment of thought, the agent sighed and nodded, undoing them. As soon as he pulled away, she stood up, looking everyone straight in the eyes. She opened her mouth to say something, but she was interrupted by the principal, who before she began speaking, spat at Sera, a mix of blood and saliva.

"I told you not to play games with me. You got yourself into this, I warned you." It was the first thing the principal had said to Sera since getting caught. She had spoken, but not to her. Up until then, she had only glared at the one student she hadn't killed.

"I spray painted a wall. I talked back. Is that really a crime worth a death sentence? I don't think so. But you know what is? Killing twenty-nine children. I'll be seeing you in court, and I don't doubt for a second that I won't win that too." Sera responded, raising her middle finger in her direction.

"And to the rest of you. You may only find twenty-nine bodies here, but thirty people died. I'm done with all of you, so, so long and goodnight, because I am out." She said, grabbing the notebook from the table where it lay and walking out of the office before she could be stopped, slamming the door behind her.

And there you have it, the end of our story. In case you were wondering, Sera wasn't done with them, and, of course, she knew that when she said it, because she had no way home, and she would have to speak to them all again when making sure that everyone got punished the way they deserved. She would later win the court case, but she would also find that it wasn't half as satisfying as she had hoped. She just wanted everyone who died to be alive again. She still suffers with post-traumatic stress disorder, and her brother helps her through it as best he can. Sera is now also a professional photographer, as she had always wanted, and she keeps in touch with Nathaniel's family as well. A little while after she had gotten out she had found them, and though it hurt, she returned to them Nate's journal. It was meant for them to have anyway, she knew that. She only kept the page written for her. She had also tried to get in touch with Seth's family, but they wanted nothing to do with her, despite having been the last person their son had talked to before he died, so she left them alone.

I hope you've enjoyed her story, as terrible as it is. I've enjoyed telling it, despite the horrors it contains. I'm glad you've stuck through to the end, and even though this is it for us, I won't forget you for listening. Now, I've never been good with farewells, so I'll make things short since we've come to the end our story. As our very own Seraphine Martin said herself, so long and goodnight.