The Cardboard Box's Unsolved Mystery

13. This Means War

    RECAP -

"Thank you. Oh and, um" Ammon quickly added, remembering something, "I was wondering what was in your notebook?" Luana grew even tenser and narrowed her eyes suspiciously. Ammon realised his foolish mistake. "I'm sorry, I don't mean to sound nosey. You just spend a lot of time writing in it during class and I was curious." Luana backed away, arms tightening around her notebook before storming off.

END OF RECAP -

Ammon played with a rubber band as he waited for the history lesson to begin. He stared at Ruby desperately to hurry up when Brody walked in the classroom, eyes scanning for a seat. Luckily, Ruby slid beside Ammon before Brody got there. "Sorry, did I take your spot?" She asked sweetly, giving Brody a wide smile. "Oh no, there's other seats" Brody stuttered, blushing as he barely made eye contact with her. Ammon leaned in close to Ruby. "I think he likes you," he whispered. Her blonde hair slapped him as she turned around suddenly. "Oh shut up." Ammon grinned.

"Pst." Ammon and Ruby turned around to see Delionia looking concerned. Her dark red hair was curled today and tumbled on the desk as she leaned forward. Where's Luana? she mouthed from the back of the room. Ammon realised that Luana was indeed nowhere in sight. "Uh oh" Ruby whispered. Delionia continued talking to her other friends, smiling and laughing, but Ammon noticed the distant look in her eyes as her mind wandered elsewhere. "What's wrong?" Ruby asked, noticing Ammon has gone very still and silent. 

"Luana isn't the only one missing." 

Ruby tilted her head. "What?" 

"Ryder is missing too."

Ammon could see the realisation sink into Ruby and they both turned around to Delionia at the same time. 

"Pst!"

It seemed Delionia had just thought the same thing because she got up from her seat, leaving behind her confused friends. Let's go, she mouthed. Ruby got up but Ammon stayed put. "Come on," Ruby urged, "what are you waiting for?"
Ammon looked around feeling uneasy. 

"Um, what if the teacher gets back before us?"

Ammon didn't like the glint in Ruby's eyes as she smiled widely, a touch of cheekiness in her grin. "Oh come on, don't be such a party pooper. It'll be fun." Ammon still was indecisive, glancing between Ruby and the impatient looking Delionia at the door. 

"Are you scared?" Ruby whispered teasingly in Ammon's ear. "No, of course not" Ammon replied stubbornly, which only made Ruby smile more. Ammon sighed in defeat. "Ok I'm com-"

Ammon stopped midsentence, his gut telling him something wasn't right. A sudden icy cold chill wrapped around his body. Time slowed to a halt, noise muted around him. For a few terrifying seconds, Ammon was focused on the steady, calm pulsating beats of his heart, clear and echoing like a church bell inside his head.
Then chaos broke loose.

Ammon couldn't breathe. His throat was being squeezed, but as he desperately tried to release the tightening grip, his hands found nothing at his neck. Panic and fear took over as Ammon squirmed, fighting relentlessly to get rid of the invisible control. "Ammon!" Ruby jumped back in fright as Ammon fell off his chair, thrashing wildly like a fish out of water on the floor, hands around his neck. Ammon felt his eyes bugling and his lungs burned, screaming for oxygen. He tried to shout, but only a small wrangled wheeze escaped. "Somebody help!" Ruby yelled, trying to hold Ammon down. Students began to clamour around, watching in frozen in terror. "He's strangling himself!" someone cried. Students managed to tear his hands away from his neck, but he continued to grow veins, jerking around and banging his head on the floor. Somebody help me! Ammon's mind screamed hopelessly.

"Guys" Brody's voice wobbled so much nobody heard him over the chaos.

 "Guys!" His shout only came out as a pathetic squeak as he shook fearfully. He squeezed his fists, determined to be heard. 

"Listen to me!" he shouted. A few worried eyes finally turned to him. It was enough. 

"Look!" he shouted, pointing a chubby finger to the back of the room. It was too much for Brody and he fainted in shock, collapsing on the floor. It was the box. The box that started everything. The box with the possessed toy. It was where it was before, on the self. Only this time, it was shaking violently.

His lungs were burning with acid, the searing pain leaving him writhing in agony. Ammon felt his consciousness edging away, the energy being drained from him. All he needed was some stupid air. He desperately tried to breathe, hoping for the smallest bubble of air to slip past his throat. He gagged and choked as his attempts were worthless. His throat was being tightened like a python constricting its powerful body slowly around a defenceless mouse. Shouts, thumping, clattering, yells. The noises seemed so distant as they bounced inside his empty head.

"This is all your fault!" Ruby screamed, tears building up in her eyes. It was a matter of seconds before Ammon was gone, his body growing limp as his hands grew a ghastly purple. She grabbed a tennis racket from a student's desk, not caring whose it was, and ran over to the shaking box, throwing it to the ground and repeatedly smashing it with the racket. She screamed in rage as she hit it, her anger fuelled attacks not showing signs of slowing down. A loud bang echoed through the room as a rush of teachers and paramedics enter the room. 

"Stand back!"

Kyle also runs into the room and bends down next to Ammon. "Ammon! Ammon! Can you hear me?" Kyle shakes Ammon's lifeless body, his head rolling around. "Ammon! Come on buddy, don't do this to me!" Uniformed police herd the students back and pull Kyle, who was yelling and crying hysterically away. Ruby slumped exhausted on the ground, her tears long dried up, glaring angrily at the beat up box. It was wrinkled and dented, but was surprisingly still intact. Delionia crouched next to Ruby, a hand on her shoulder and both watched in silence as the events unfolded.

Darkness. As black as ink, empty as oblivion. The silence is never-ending. No movement, no life. In the middle of the darkness, a box sits. The box is still, quiet. Nothing disturbs the silence. Then, the tiniest movement. The box, it quivers ever so slightly, but only for a second. The movement is like an earthquake compared to the utter stillness of before. It shakes again, a little harder this time, sending particles of dust up in a gentle cloud before descending again slowly like tiny snowflakes.

----------------------------------------------------

*Smiles smugly*

:))