Tiny Terror

Child's Mother

  Rounding the corner, a piercing shriek hurt my ears, and I reflexively glared until I saw who it was.

  "What the heck? Zack Lee? And a girl?" Jace said as we stood outside the school at night. It was raining as Vasco was clinging to Jace and it looked like he was using him as a human shield.

  "Huh? Architectural guys?"

  "What? Are you scared of us?"

  "Oh. Uh, you appeared so suddenly." The girl replied as she stood under the umbrella with Zack. "....Weren't you scared, Zack?" She turned to the Boxer who was stiff and white as a sheet.

  "Wow, amazing! You really have no fear."

  "You....You guys scared Mira!"

  "We didn't do anything. You just were scared of us." I popped off.

  "But why are you guys here?"

  "We came....to meet....the 'Child's Mother'." Vasco said rather ominously.

  "....Child's Mother?" Zack paled again. "Mira, what is that?"

  "Zack, you don't know? About the picture ghost in the storage. At the end of the hallway, there is an old storage room.... They say the photo of her is there. She married into a rich family and on a rainy day, she was expelled after giving birth. So on days that it rains, they say she roams the halls looking for her child. If someone other than her child meets her, she kills them. Because she thinks they took her child." Mira explained. "To live, you have to cry 'waah waah' like a baby. Or if you offer a doll, she will thank you and vanish...."

  "....And if you give a doll to her she will grant you one wish." Vasco added while pulling out a creepy-ass doll with a huge head.

  "Woah! That's so cool, Vasco! So what are you going to wish for?" Jace asked with mock wonder.

  "....I wish people....would stop calling me a fool." Vasco mumbled as a tear fell down his cheek.

  "Puhahah! What ghost? There is no such thing!" Zack laughed while pointing, but he was nervously sweating.

  "No, there is!" Vasco shot back.

  "Isn't! You fool!"

  "Hey, be nice!"

  "There's no such thing!"

  "I beg to differ." I spoke up, getting everyone's attention.

  "What do you mean, Mia?" Jace rose a brow at me.

  "I've seen a ghost." I stated while sliding my hands into my pockets nonchalantly.

  "What? No, you haven't!" Zack said.

  "I have. Back in Australia." I began. "I had just gotten done taking out the Dingos, a gang that had challenged me on my turf boundaries, and I was resting in an old warehouse. It was late in the afternoon, so the sky looked like it was on fire as I was sitting on a pile of old pallets. Usually, I'd just chill after a fight before going home, my guys knew that, so they all had already left. Nothing happened until I was about to leave...." I glanced at them, seeing how focused they were and listening to every word.

  "I saw a shadow up on the second floor, and I just thought it was my pal Ash because the shadow was tall like him. I knew it wasn't safe up there, so I called out to tell him to get down, but he didn't move or even answer. I asked him why he was even up there, and the shadow began to move, and I heard what sounded like a chain being dragged behind him. I just watched him move along the railing before he began to come down the stairs. I was turning to leave, thinking Ash was just going to follow me out, but I stopped when the shadow began to step into the light. It wasn't Ash. It was a man, his clothes torn and bloody, and his skin was stretched taut over his bones, his eyes hollow and vacant as a twisted smile was on his mouth."

  "The chain he was dragging had a hook on the end, those ones used for hanging cattle in a butcher shop, and the guy began to laugh. It was raspy, sounding like an old tin roof in the wind, and he began to gather up the chain as he reached for the hook. I was frozen where I was, seeing the rust on the chain was actually old blood caked on there. He took hold of the hook, swinging it like a lasso before he threw it at me and-" They were intently listening, and I suddenly clapped my hands together loudly as it echoed in the empty halls. All of them but Jace screamed, and I started to laugh.

  "Mia! That's not funny!" Vasco raised his shaky voice as he looked like an old man holding his heart.

  "See! I told you ghosts weren't real!" Zack crossed his arms, but he was still shaky from getting startled.

  "Really? Then....here." Jace pulled out a marker and handed it to the Boxer. "Sign your name on the frame. What? Since you were laughing at Vasco....then there's nothing to be afraid of."

  "Afraid....? Pff! No way." Zack replied while glancing at the girl. "Who said I'm afraid of it?" He took the marker and stormed off.

  Since the girl was there to get her forgotten phone, we went with her to fetch it from her class and ended up just waiting in there for Zack. When he finally showed up, he was panting from running but was trying to play it cool.

  "....What? You did it?" Jace asked.

  "....Of course, kids.... If you don't believe me, go check."

  "Let's go home, Zack. I found my phone."

  "Okay!"

  "Let's go check, Vasco!" Jace looked over to the big guy clutching the doll he had brought with him. He got up, and I followed the big-eared male out into the dark hallway. It was still raining heavily outside, and lightning would occasionally brighten the hall while thunder vibrated the air. Vasco was walking extremely closely behind me as I was apparently the new human shield since Jace was further up ahead. 'I can't believe I got dragged into this....' I mentally sighed.

  When a heavy crash of thunder shook the windows in the hall, Vasco jolted while grabbing my shoulders. 'Oh, poor Vasco's terrified.' I thought.

  "J-Jace...." Vasco's voice shook, and I tensed when I felt his breath on my neck. "Can't we just check tomorrow?"

  "Yeah, okay, man." Jace nodded, and I was internally screaming since I could still feel Vasco's breath and his warm hands on my shoulders. I didn't dare look back because I knew how close his face had to be from how close his voice was. Vasco didn't let me go until we got outside, and he was sharing an umbrella with Jace again while I had my own and headed home.

  The next day, we went to check the picture, but there was no signature. Instead, we found Zack's name written on the bottom right corner of a window. Seeing where he had signed, the boxer ended up pissing himself and passing out.