You tap your pencil on the edge of your desk as you wait for class to end.
Tap.
Tap.
Tap.
Only 2 more minutes until summer vacation.
Tap.
Tap.
Tap.
You notice something written in the corner of the battered wooden desk. You can barley read the chipped black ink. It's almost too faded to make out.
Almost.
Tap.
Tap.
Tap.
P-E-N-N-Y-W-I-S-E the broken letters spell.
What an odd thing to write on a desk.
Tap.
Tap.
SLAM!
A sound in the back of the class makes you jump. Your head jerks around. A clumsy boy had knocked a book off of his desk. His face was burning red. You have him a look of sympathy as everyone began laughing at him. The bell suddenly rang, and everyone hurried out of the classroom, the accident prone boy forgotten. You turned back around to your desk to pack up your stuff. How strange.
The word had vanished.
*************************************
You always ran around town after school. It was a great way to get your mind off of everything going on. You tossed your backpack in your room and changed into a sports bra and your favorite spandex. It was unusually hot today. You pulled your hair into a ponytail and laced up your shoes. You started your watch, and began running. You never ran too far, but today you were feeling good. Your breathing was in sync with the smack of your tennis shoes on the dry sidewalk. Your watch showed 2 miles. You hadn't realized you had reached the sketchy part of town until a man whistled at you. You looked down, remembering your decision to go in only a sport bra today. You sped up as another man raked his eyes up and down your feminine body.
"Where ya goin, baby?" A man shouted at you as you ran by. Sprinting now, you ran past the dead end and into the Barrens, hoping to hide before the creepy men could catch up. You were successful. They didn't see you slink into the mouth of the sewer just before they arrived.
"Let's go," the leader said, and the pack of men walked away, looking behind them as they did in case you came out of your hiding spot. Once you were sure they were gone, you crept out of the sewer. The hairs on the back of your neck stood up as you did. You felt strange. As though someone were watching you. You took the long way home. As you reached your front door, your watch showed 6 miles of distance.
*************************************
I heard her splash into the sewer, and could hear her heart pounding. Her breathing was labored and the smell of fear was overpowering. I wanted nothing more than to devour her delicious meat, but something held me back. She didn't seem like other humans. She was... different. Tomorrow, I told myself, as I watched her slowly leave.
