The Campus Killings {#LGBTQ #HORROR #FRIGHT}

Chapter Thirty One

Jake and Raleigh stumbled into each other in the sudden blackness of the dorm room; both took in sharp exhales of alarmed breath before realising they were the only two in the room.

"What the hell just happened?" Jake reached out to grab his boyfriend's arm to steady himself, "Where are the lights?"

Raleigh replied, "Either the storm took them out or someone took out the generator. Hang on a minute..."

He grabbed his phone and switched on the torch, a small jet of light illuminating the space between the two men's faces until Jake lit his own one up.

"Brody and Willa, they're still out there!" Jake exclaimed, suddenly even more terrified for his friends, "We have to help."

Raleigh wanted to protest, wanted to request they stay safe and put but he knew in his gut that his friends were in danger and as long as the generator was out, there wasn't a chance to call for help.

"I'll go first." he offered, his fist clenched at his side as he prepared to fight anyone who'd dare creep up on them.

Slowly but surely, they edged themselves out of the room, clasping hands so not to lose sight of one another — in the dark, even the dormitory rooms seemed terrifyingly intimidating, dark doors that seemed to lead into gateways to nothing but emptiness.

It seemed to take an eon for them to reach the front door, surprisingly not running into any of their supposed guards — Raleigh cussed them out under his breath in a language Jake didn't quite understand but from the tone, it was clear he was perturbed.

Uneasily, the two made it outside, instantly swept up in the torrential downpour and brutal winds — Jake really regretted not bringing a jacket, shivering as Raleigh pulled him across the campus grounds towards the main building.

When they finally made it back inside, Jake's thin t-shirt was already wringing, his curled hair sopping over his forehead as droplets of water ran down his widow's peak and onto his nose, finally landing on the floor.

Already, he felt the shivers of a flu coming on, the scratching in the back of his throat and burning behind the eyes and though it was the least of his worries, it still left him throbbing.

Raleigh seemed to sense his discomfort, running his hands blindly up and down the other man's arms in a misguided attempt at comfort since his hands, too, were pretty cold even if he were clothed in a slightly warmer hoodie.

Jake's hand went out to grip Raleigh's clothing, the two men trying their best to walk along the slippy, wet corridors to reach Petrović's classroom — as they did so, Jake shone the torchlight in through the window.

"Can you see them?" he asked Raleigh in a hushed tone.

Raleigh tried his best to look, but all he could see was darkness, "No. One second."

He barged the door open, much to Jake's panic, "What are you doing?" he whispered shrilly.

"Having a look." his boyfriend replied, heading inside.

Jake reluctantly followed after him, his hand trembling as he brought the light across, lighting up the room as best he could.

"There's nothing here." Jake stated, backing away and into the front desk, "Ow!"

Raleigh turned to him instantly, "You okay?"

"Yeah, just probably going to bruise." Jake replied, walking around the desk to head to the door, only for something to brush his arm.

He jumped at the sudden touch, swinging the torch around to the whiteboard only to suddenly shriek in horror — hanging from the board was Dean Douglas, her glasses hanging on the end of her nose as she stared blankly ahead.

Holding her up against the board was a thick, woodwork saw with that was jammed through her neck, blood pulsating from the wound — it seemed like a recent incident from the way she bled.

"Bloody hell." Raleigh mumbled, catching Jake as he stumbled back.

Jake's eyes stung with tears as he tore away the hand he clasped over his mouth, "We have to find the others."

Raleigh nodded wordlessly, taking his boyfriend's hand and leading him back into the dark corridor, only to be suddenly tapped on the shoulder. In a flash of instinct, he manoeuvred Jake to safety and leapt off the ground, spinning around to deliver a sharp, hard kick into the presumed attacker's face, sending him crashing into the wall, his head cracking against it before he ragdolled to the ground. 

As he landed, Raleigh used his phone to light up the attacker's face, only to come to an unfortunate realisation, "Shit. He's police."

He looked over the unconscious man, a thirty something with a thick, shaggy beard and reflective jacket, of which had a badge and name tag — Officer J. Angus.

Jake knelt down, checking the man's pulse, "He's breathing.  I think you just knocked him out."

Raleigh sighed in relief, "Good, I'll keep my legs to myself for now."

"We should wait with him — at least, until he wakes up." Jake suggested, "Maybe he'll be able to get help."

Raleigh shook his head, "No signal, remember?" After a brief second, he wondered, "Why would the killer even go after Douglas? She wasn't involved with Laura."

"Maybe she found out something she shouldn't, or..." Jake swallowed thickly, "Maybe whoever it is, Petrović... maybe they're making their final move."

Suddenly, a sharp, high pitched scream cut through the air, making the two men jump to their feet.

"Willa." Jake recognised.

He spared a final glance towards the unconscious guard before he and Raleigh bolted in the direction of the scream, almost slipping as they sped down to the mess hall, where a hysterical Willa came stumbling out.

She was covered in blood, holding her arm as if it were wounded and was sobbing, her face twisted in a visage of sheer terror.

"Will..." Jake whispered, catching her as she pitched herself forward into his arms, her small form wracked with violent trembles, "Will, what happened?"

She shook her head, choking on her breath as she replied, "It's Petrović... he's gone insane." a harsh sob wracked her form as she buried her face in his chest.

"Where's Brody?" Raleigh asked, trepidation in his voice.

Willa shook her head again, whimpering, "No..."

Raleigh cut in, grabbing her by the face as he demanded, "Willa, you have to tell me. Where is Brody?"

Her wet eyes stared up at him with horror before she cocked her head in the direction in which she came, whispering, "He tried to protect me."

"No." Raleigh released her, and despite Jake's protestations, headed into the mess hall where he ran into what remained of his best friend.

It was hard to tell in the dim light the extent of the damage, but as Raleigh shakily brought the torchlight across, he took in as much as he needed — Brody was flat against the table, his jaw hung slack and eyes rolled up in his skull as a large gash tore open his stomach.

Bringing the light across more, he noticed that Brody had been almost completely disembowelled, his guts hanging out over the table as blood splattered onto the floor.

Raleigh had seen a dead body before, having seen Eilidh and what had remained of Mali and this was another brutal image, only this was his best friend, the boy who had instantly bonded with him when he'd moved from Bristol to Glasgow all those years ago.

Now, he was nothing more than a body, murdered and mutilated as if he meant nothing.

Raleigh distantly noticed Jake come in, though was too involved in the horrific image of what was once his friend to notice the dry heave his boyfriend took at the sight before him.

"Brody." tears choked up Jake's voice.

Raleigh's knees involuntarily gave in and he slipped to the floor, landing in a growing puddle of his best friend's blood as he felt the back of his eyes stinging.   All the pain came bursting from him in a desperate, agonised scream which made Jake jump before he knelt down, wrapping his arms around the other man's front.