No Smart Kids Allowed

Chapter 21: Fried Skin Strips

My heart stops inside my chest. The parents walk up to each one of their children. Rachel's mother walks up to her. 

"So, how do you like it here?"

"Are you all excited about this place?" 

"I bet you guys are going to love this place!"

The imposters continue asking questions, but the kids aren't having it. I can see the kids glancing at me, unsure of this place after hearing what I said to Rachel.

Oh no!

What if the kids tell those imposters what I had told them, then I'd really be done for good. I have to act quick. "They love it here," I say. "We had an awesome time together and I think that they'd all love to express their happiness back home."

Rachel nods, playing along with me. "Yeah!" She looks at her mother. "I'd love to tell you what I love about this place, mom."

I smile. "I'll be saying goodbye now. My teachers need me," I go up to each of the students and hug them, but as I hug them, I also whisper something in their ear. 

"Look at the fingernails and run," I say. It's a sad thing to do, but their parents aren't home anymore. Their parents are in this horrible school. After I'm done hugging all of them, I can see the blood fade from their skin they notice each of the imposter's fingernails.

"So," I continue. "Think about it with your parents. Stay safe and watch out for strangers. Remember, you can always contact the authorities if you encounter the wrong person." I'm hoping that they all understand what's really going on. I know it is hard for them to process, but I pray silently that they knew what they had to do. They need to get away from those things. Fast.

The parents give me a firm look before leaving the building. I stop myself from trying to leave with them, knowing I wouldn't have made it out anyways. It would have been a bad move.

Rachel walks out of a nearby office room and crosses her arms. "You haven't learned a thing."

"What?" I say, almost shaking. "I did as you said. They love it here."

"Didn't I tell you that we see and hear everything?" 

I try and keep my gaze calm, but I'm just too scared to look at her now. Things get worse when she says six words. Six words that turn my stomach, making me want to vomit. "Look at the fingernails and run?" She shakes her head slowly. "I had faith in you. Even though I despise smart kids, I thought you were smart enough to protect yourself."

"You can't keep doing this to us! Just let us go," I snap, while tears are pouring out of my eye.

She begins to laugh. "I tried everything to get you to trust me. Remember when I said that I don't play games, Cosima?" She takes out a walkie-talkie and speaks into it. "Bring Scott to room 127."

"Got it." Someone in the walkie talkie responds back.

"What are you doing?" I ask. "You can't take him."

She grabs me by the arm. "You can't do anything to him! He has nothing to do with this." I plead.

"Oh come on, how stupid do you think I am," she says, throwing me into the office. She closes the door behind herself. Before I can make another move, she stabs a needle inside of my arm. I can't move at all after that, so I just lay on the floor and watch as she looks down on me.

"You know too much and I'm tired of having mercy on you," she says. "Mercy is a gift. You ripped it up and kicked it out of the window. Now, I'll reward you with cruelty." She drops to her knees and takes my hand, laughing hysterically. "My favorite thing to eat from the cafeteria are fried skin strips. Do you know how it's made?"

My mouth only quivers but I don't have control over it. 

"We peel the skin off of the hand all the way down to the wrist," she says. "We do it so slowly and so perfectly."

All I can think is, where the hell is Scott. As much as I didn't want him here, I need him right now. I need him to stop this. Where is he? What's taking him so long?

Rachel massages my hand, but I feel nothing as she does. Thank goodness. "The best part is that you won't feel the pain now, but after this medicine wears out, you will feel the pain one hundred times worst as if I was still doing it...over and over and over again."

I'm just thinking that this isn't happening. This can't be happening. Someone has to save me and stop this. This can't happen to me. My skin is not about to be peeled off. Please, God no.

God doesn't answer my me in that moment. She starts with the fingernail she had knifed off of me before. She doesn't need fingernails to pinch my skin because her two stubs of fingers do the job perfectly. I have no clue how she manages to lift up a pinch of my skin but she does. She begins to yank and pull it down towards my wrist. She does if so slowly that I believe if I had not been paralyzed, I'd feel every bit of skin breaking away from my flesh. She does this in front of my eyes so that I can see it the horror of it.

"It tastes like bacon once it's fried, but way better," she winks at me.

The skin is dislocating away from my joints on that same finger. I watch as she peels in perfectly down until she reaches my wrist. Once she stops there, Rachel brings her mouth over my hand and breaks the skin away using her teeth. "That's one piece," she moans while licking her lips. "So good."

I close my eyes, letting her finish up my whole hand. I'm afraid to look, I'm afraid to watch. I wished to never see my hand again in that moment. I finally open them when pokes my eye. She holds thin straps of my bloody skin over her finger and in front of my eyes. "Skin bacon bits. That's what we should call, right?"

There's a knock at the door. If it's Scott, then he's too late. Rachel answers the door. "Welcome, Scott," I hear her say. "Come in."

Scott looks down at me and gasps. He doesn't say much more, but faces Rachel instead. She begins to explain. "I tired. I tried to have mercy on her-"

Something happens, but I can't see it. I can hear a lot of ruckus and it sounds like someone had tumbled over the desk in the room. I can hear Scott groaning. Whatever is going on, I hope Scott would make it out alive. There's a faint scream coming from Rachel, however, it slowly dims into a whisper, then into nothing at all leaving the room extremely quiet.