A Crow In The Darkness

1 Square Dance

1023 hours, June 17, 2020
Mass location: Northern Europe

Today felt, abnormal. It seemed like every piece of furniture was moved five inches to the left. It all seemed, off. Even my classroom that I've been coming to for that pass few months felt like it was unfamiliar, and I didn't know why.

I sat in my normal seat as the cold plastic of the chair pinched through my pants and arms as I rested on my desk. I waited patiently for the bell to ring and for class to start, and soon enough it did. I stared out the window as I watched red, orange and yellow leafs fall and dance in the wind as the teacher entered the room.

"We have a pop quiz to do today." The teacher says, followed by numerous amounts of people groaning and moaning in frustration.

"Take one, and pass it back." The teacher adds as she hands the tests to the people sitting in the front.

As the pile of tests came to me, I scanned the room and watched students' faces as they read what was on the test before I got the chance to. I grabbed my mechanical pencil and clicked it a few times until the lead showed at the tip then began writing my name at the top of the page. I hear a bird peck at the window I sat next to and I couldn't help myself but to watch. It was a crow with black endless eyes that twitched in sync with its head, side to side.

A monotone beep interrupts.

"Attention students," It was the principal. But he sounded different, almost shook. "We are currently in lock down, this is not a drill. I repeat, this is not a drill."

As if the bird heard the announcement, it flew, and I stood up. The teacher quickly locks the door and closed the blinds before grabbing other students that were roaming the halls and pulling them into our class room. We all scattered and sat in our designated lock down area.

We immediately heard scrambling and rummaging through the hallways. It went quiet for maybe what felt like 10 minutes. I looked around, many students were on their phone, texting parents asking to send help, asking friends if they're alright and even updating their statuses letting others know they are alright as well. A few more minutes passed by, which was long enough for students to think whether or not they are gonna die today.

I waited and watched the students as some of them examined their pulse on their wrist or kneel in order to help them pass the time. It was quiet. I could only hear the breathing of me and the girl I was beside. Until a large bang hit against our classroom door, startling my classmates and teacher. Screams echoed through the hallways and I watched a student start to cry. The teacher tried her best to calm him down with her words, but it was useless. I turn to the girl I was beside. "Do you know his name?" I hum and she nods, telling his name was River.

I crawl over to the student, who was on the edge of a panic attack. I don't know what came over me, some kick of adrenaline but I grab him and tightly hug him as he resists for a while but gives in, sobbing into my shirt softly. I covered his ears and waited for the banging on the door to stop and for the anxious environment to subside. He was a few years younger than me, still just a kid.

The teacher had moved onto calming down another student and after a good while, I let go of River but he stayed holding onto me. I pat him on the shoulder, put a finger to my lips and crawled back to my spot after escaping his hold. I became concerned for the boy, wondering if he'll be one to die today.

I close my eyes and listen. I could hear shallow thumps, as if books were being dropped one by one on the hard floor in the halls. Later I would soon realize that they were in fact, not books. A piercing scream was suddenly released and it shook my jaw and gave me the chills. It even echoed in my mind a little bit. This wasn't a normal scream that you would hear if you spooked someone. This was a chilling scream that sounded as if the person used every ounce of air to produce a pitch that could shatter glass. At this moment, all I could think about was how my parents are right now. If they know what is happening and if they are trying to do something to stop it from progressing. They probably had no idea this was even happening. I mean, I haven't heard the police or SWAT in the halls. Either they haven't arrived yet, or they are all laying dead in the hallways.

"Is this the class?" I heard a man say behind the door.

There was a pause, then, "Yes, sir. Right away, sir."

Suddenly the door was being kicked down and the teacher tells us to quickly find something to throw as I crawl under the window on the door to the other side so I could attack at a better, unpredictable angle. The door had splinters flying everywhere as the man continued to break it down. I was stupid for even attempting something this crazy but I didn't care, I was okay with dying. So I grabbed a chair, prepared to hit the attacker with it as I signalled my teacher to stay with a firm hand as she insisted she takes my place. But I stood my ground. She was already scared to death, so she didn't really try to stop me. Just proves that people truly want to only save themselves. She could see that I was ready for a fight and was shameful she couldn't match my aggression. My classmates were all in tears as they clutched onto staplers, erasers, books, and binders that acted as weapons to them. I saw the one girl I was once sitting beside. She was at a perfect angle towards the door to strike the man, and her face had metaphorical war paint all over it. She was ready to die with me.

The door falls and the students scream and throw their objects and I wait until the man was in the class far enough before hitting him with the chair then jumping onto his back, wrapping my arms around his neck. The man flips me forward, and I land on my back, catching a glimpse of the guy's face. He wore a mask that had a teethy smile on it that could zip open and closed, but was zipped shut. The mask crawled and covered his right eye and left his left eye exposed. The man grabs me by the neck and lifts me off the ground and I start to lose my vision. A few other students had pounced on him to try and save me, but he was too strong. He flicked them off like flies, all while holding me steady in the air. Another man in the same designed mask, but both his eyes uncovered, behind him walks in the classroom and aims a gun at my classmates and students. The guy continues to slowly choke me as his white hair falls in front of his dreary, uncovered eye. He pulls me closer to his face and whispers, "I can already tell you're gonna be a pain in my ass," His voice deep and muffled. At this point, I was at the brink of unconsciousness

I was about to croak while gasping as the air from my lungs were being sucked out of me by the second. "Kade, that's enough." The man behind him says.

Those two could possibly be brothers. They had similar face features but the only difference was their hair. Kade's was bright white, and stuck out straight in every direction but seemed well kept. While the other man's is black, almost purple, with a bit of wave at the ends.

Kade's eye went to the source of the voice, as he slowly blinks then returns his sight to me before letting go. I grab my neck as if it would help me breathe as I choked and coughed at nothing.

"So I don't get any fun? Jeez, what a buzzkill."

The dark-haired man scoffs, "Just count em' will ya?"

"Then give me the list," Kade groans.

The other reaches into his back pocket, digging and searching. Kade waited, but his patience ran thin. "Hurry the hell up, Ander. We haven't got all day ya know."

Ander started moving faster finally pulling out a large piece of paper and a pen, handing them both to the man with white hair.

Kade's outfit reminded me of a creature you'd find in the night. All dark colours and well blended no matter what his surroundings were. Black, dark greys, indigo, it was interesting.  My eyes trailed down to his feet. He naturally leaned on one foot which showed how powerful he seemed. A small but necessary trait to Kade's eerie first impression.

Kade looks down at the list, then to me. "You must be Blane Rouge." He says, his voice lower than before.

How did he know my name, not to mention my last name? This is so wrong. First they terrorize my school, hurting God knows how many people, then they do this to my classmates, and scar them for life.

I chose not to answer as I lay on the ground where he dropped me. "Are you Blane Rouge?" He asks again.

I snarl at him and gather spit in my mouth, then spew my saliva towards his shoe. But to my surprise, he moved his foot at what seemed like lightning speed. He dodged my spit, in a fraction of a second, making me slightly widen my eyes is surprise. He gets down on one knee and leans into my face. He stares at me and I stare back. I furrow my brows and show my canines. All Kade does is laugh then stand back up saying, "Yeah," his voice growls. "this one is Rouge."