The Cardboard Box's Unsolved Mystery

14. Escape

RECAP -

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.

END OF RECAP -

Delionia helped a shaken Ruby stand up, tucking her golden hair behind her ears for her. "I can't believe that just happened" she breathed, her eyes still staring at where Amon once was. Delionia just rubbed her hand on Ruby's back understandingly. A dark skinned boy with thick, black hair approached the two, twisting his hands nervously. "That was possibly the most terrifying thing I've ever seen, and I've watched a lot of horror movies." Luciano, Delionia remembering the Brazilian kid's name, gave a light chuckle but it turned out to be a shaky breath. Ruby gave Luciano a cold look and his face instantly dropped. "I'm sorry just trying to lighten the mood. I was serious about being dead set scared and I am struggling to deal with what I just saw." He shifted uncomfortably and Delionia was trying to find out why he was acting so strange. "Oh. Is this yours?" she pointed to the now dented tennis racket the Ruby held on with a deathly tight grip in her hand. "Yea, but I don't mind." Ruby softened her eyes and handed the string plucked racket back to Luciano. "Sorry." Luciano simply nodded.

"Look," Delionia said, "I think you need a break but if you are up to it, you can come with me to find Luana and Ryder."
Ruby shook her head and grit her teeth. Honestly, she just wanted to be alone and scream until the terrifying images left her alone, but she knew that they were imprinted into her head and would stay there for a long time. Every student in the room, small and tall, girl and boy, were shocked to the core. Most of the students were sitting very still, staring at nothing in particular, their eyes distant. A few people broke down, but other than that and Brody fainting, everyone sat very still. Ruby knew that behind all the empty eyes, the scenes were being processed in their minds, replaying the haunting images over and over like a broken record player. Delionia seemed to be the least shaken and Ruby was envious of her ability to be so brave and calm.
"I'm fine. Let's go."

"How are we going to leave?" Ruby asked. Police officers in thick navy vests walked around the room with notepads in hands, talking gently to students. Teachers stood at the door, eyes scanning the room. No one was to leave the room. Strict orders. A stern faced police officer was questioning Mr Wood with his arms crossed. 

"So you're the principle, correct?"

"Yes," Mr Wood stuttered, sweat patches soaking through his shirt.

"Where is the adult that was meant to be supervising the students?"

"I really d-don't know, um," Mr Wood's entire bald head was red and glinting from the excessive sweat, "I believe Mr Coleman was s-supposed to be here b-but I don't know where he is." 

The police gave a disapproving grunt.

"There are way too many people, and there's only one door" Ruby whispered in Delionia's ear. Detectives poked around the room with white gloves and tweezers. Delionia kicked the box under a cupboard carefully, not wanting to disturb it. "Wait for an opportunity," Delionia said.

Ruby eyed the clock. She felt trapped and useless. Her energy was building up inside, the pressure increasing dangerously. Usually this energy came from excitement. This time it was anger and fear. It had been 30 minutes since Ammon was taken away and it was tearing her up inside thinking of all the possibilities. What if the demon gets to him again? It can't just be a ghost, it's too powerful and cruel. It must be a demon. What if it possesses him and he strangles a nurse? He can't stay in the hospital alone, it's way too dangerous! Ruby sat cross legged next to Kyle, who managed to stop crying. Neither talked. Tissues littered the floor around Kyle, making an unkempt nest. When the tissue ran out, Kyle resorted to using his sleeve. His eyes were red and puffy and Ruby felt incredibly bad for him, but she didn't know what to say. Even for someone as positive as her, there was nothing smiley about the situation. Delionia paced around the room and talked to her friends. "We're never going to be let out." It was the first thing Kyle had spoken in a while. "They keep asking the same questions to the same people, but they are never satisfied. They don't believe us."
Ruby felt even gloomier than before. "Being strangled by an invisible force. You're right, they won't believe us. They think one of us did it." Ruby watched the officers carefully. She didn't like the way the police eyed the students suspiciously. They spoke to teachers outside the classroom, but she knew what was being said as she watched the interrogations through the window. The disbelieving and desperate looks on the teachers face as they try to defend the students, other teachers scowling mistrustingly and yelling while pointing at the students. Police raising eyebrows sceptically as classmates retell their story, before sending them back into the classroom and calling in another. Precious time was ticking, being wasted like a tap left on. The police were getting nowhere. Ruby craned her head as she looked around the classroom, looking for an escape. Her eyes landed on the window that looked out to the oval but dismissed it for the millionth time. It's too risky. Even if we escape, we'll look way too suspicious. Ruby bit her nails as she thought. She was so stressed she couldn't care less about her bad habit.