The Shedding Skin

Chapter Twenty-One

Morticia and Rebecca stared at the girl for a moment. Neither knowing what to do as they looked for Raven. It wasn't going to be easy to get rid of the little monster. Not with all these people hanging around. They couldn't exactly burn the doll right in the gym for people to see. And as they looked for their friend, they tried to keep calm. Making sure that Rebecca's friends didn't see how freaked they were. When they found her, they saw she was taking pictures with her friends. All of them were hamming it up and having a good time. Each of them taking turns taking pictures with Raven. A few pictures in, she noticed them waiting for her and gave them a confused look. When her friends were done with the photo shoot, she hurried over as she asked,"Okay what happened? Did someone get hurt?"

"The Snow White knock off is in the gym.",Rebecca answered in a low voice. Morticia glanced towards where they saw the monster. Surprisingly enough, she was still there. No one was even noticing the too young looking child standing there. It was just like when she appeared to Raven in her math class. And she waved at them as she stood there. The trio started to think of what to do as they looked for any way out. But the crowd of other kids were so thick they couldn't get through easily enough. Icy cold fear spiked itself in Morticia's stomach as she muttered,"We gotta find a place to burn this damn doll. Anyplace that won't set off a fire alarm."

Rebecca suggested the girls' room but there was a line. Other girls would think they were crazy if they tried that. Some would probably bring in a teacher. And that would end the party as well as piss of their classmates. As they discussed what to do, the thing got closer. Her grin growing wider as she headed straight towards them. The girls decided to try and find another exit. Carefully weaving through the crowds as they looked for a way out of the gym. It was as nerve wrecking as being trapped in the thing's basement. But luckily they found another way out of the gym. Unfortunately it was the inside of the school. And the other exit was very far away. But they figured that they could outrun the little beast. And Morticia was grateful that the school let her keep her baseball bat. As they ran, they didn't look back once. Fearing that if they looked away once that they'd trip over their own feet. 

Not long after they entered the hallway, they heard the singing. But it wasn't a song from any Disney movie. The song wasn't anything that they could recognize. It sounded like she had made it up on the spot. That wouldn't have been so bad if it wasn't for the fact her voice was still Snow White's. Only not as pleasant as the actress's voice had been. No where near as sweet or gentle as the voice actress. Instead it was mean, spiteful, and definitely mocking. They did their best to ignore her as they looked for another way out. So far they found nothing that wasn't locked or had an alarm attached to it. As they ran they spotted three costumed teachers walking together and talking. Each were eating food from the party and drinking cider. None of them had noticed the girls just yet. Nor did they seem to hear them calling out to them for help over the music from the gym. Instead they just talked and laughed together as they walked into the teachers' lounge. 

"Oh come on!",Morticia groaned as they passed the room. She debated going back to knock on the door. But realized that she wouldn't have enough time to run from the thing. And it seemed that Rebecca as well as Raven realized this as well. They continued running until they reached the front doors of the school. When they did, they turned around to see how far away the creature was from them. Listening intently as they searched for her. The singing had stopped entirely and they didn't hear footsteps. Instead they heard noises that reminded them of how beetles walked. Loud clicking noises that chilled them to the bone. Raven reached over to her girlfriend and gripped her hand. Rebecca grabbed Morticia's other hand with hers tight and was trembling a little bit. As they stuck together, they saw the thing was climbing along the cieling. And it's form was nightmare inducing...the thing was halfway between human and some sort of beetle. Face was a cross between the monster and a child. Fangs protruding wrongly from its jaw as it stared at them. So many limbs sticking to the ceiling as it made its way towards them. Giggles coming from it as it stared down at them. In a warbled high pitched voice, it demanded,"Give me the doll and I'll let you live...don't and I'll devour you and everyone else in that fucking gym."

Raven noticed that the science classroom was open. It had a place where they could burn the doll. She glanced at the creature and then at the science lab. Trying to figure if it would be worth the effort to make a run for it. And as she weighed her options, the creature started getting down from the ceiling. Its eyes fixed on Morticia and Rebecca as it moved its bulky frame down. It was all it took for her to run to the lab. Half leading and half dragging her girlfriend and their friend to it. Both girls trying to run quicker as the monster quickly gained on them. Its massive body almost upon them as they threw themselves into the room. Morticia and Raven slammed the door shut as Rebecca hurried to close the other one. The creature was clawing at the door as it hissed at them. Trying to get one of its legs through the door as it bellowed threats at them. Then it backed off. And it hurried to the other door but screamed when she discovered it was already shut. 

The girls scrambled to find anything that would light a fire. Each keeping a careful eye on the doors. As they looked for matches, they heard the creature growl,"Give me the doll or I'll kill the whole fucking gym! I swear I'll bring them back one by one and gut them in front of you! Kill them slow and make them beg me to end their suffering!!"

"GIVE ME THE FUCKING DOLL!!"