Woodsfield

Chapter 4: Locked Away

Song - Never   
~
Larry Chance & The Earls      

Morning brought about the foggy day of September 20th, which also so happened to be the day that Jacob Calfrey and Becka Taylor would confront Natalia Smith. Both sat wide-eyed and paranoid all day, which didn't come as much of a surprise, considering the current events. But excluding that, the day before, September 19th, they had come up with a plan. A plan that would have a horrid turn, with disastrous results for more people than just Natalia.

The two had kept what they saw to their selves, at it would likely remain that way for a while. Their intentions originally were to tell the police, but later a drastic change of plans would leave them with nothing at all to say. It wasn't that day though, or the next, that the truth would be revealed to them. Not the whole truth, anyway.

And finally, at three 'o clock, the bell rang, and school was out. But among the students that still remained inside those doors were Jacob, Becka, and Natalia. Time, along with the day itself, remained foggy and quiet, but it was at seven the same night that Natalia Smith was confronted, and Tallie White would perhaps see something that she shouldn't have.

Anyway, back to that night. 7:00 PM.

Natalia Smith had been lingering in the halls long after school hours were over for some time now, leading Jacob and Becka to suspect that something was up. It also led them to believe that she would be waiting there that same night. Perhaps if their plan wasn't so flawed, or maybe even not so cruel, then they wouldn't have ended up with such dire consequences. The kind of consequences you get when you blackmail someone, I mean.

It started out when Becka told Natalia that Carol Woods was looking for her in Ms. Gale's science room, and then left her alone for a few minutes.  Of course, Carol Woods wasn't looking for her, neither was she even at the school that late. It was the few minutes that followed that would make them regret following through with their plan. Natalia Smith would enter the science room at 7:03, only to hear the door lock behind her. Jacob would witness all that would follow in utter confusion. But even more confused, would be Becka Taylor. A young girl who knew less about herself than others did.

And that brings us to those minutes that would prove to be nearly fatal, at least in the eyes of Tallie White.

But first, we'll go all the way back to that morning, where two students in particular met up in secret. These students were Drew Kraski and Natalia Smith.

~

Drew was an alright guy, at least from an outsider's perspective. He was tough looking and captain of the football team, so yeah, a pretty alright guy. Although, there was one thing that he kept well hidden, something that had continuously stirred inside of him since the day he was born. A legacy, some may call it. Or a darkness, black as midnight in the outskirts of Woodsfield. But given any name, he was still on his way to becoming a phsycopath, and his journey started with a single sheet of paper. The list that a young girl had found a day prior. It was nothing less than a hit list.

Should Becca and Jacob had known the day that Drew was planning on carrying out what that list ordered of him, maybe they wouldn't have chosen that time. Maybe they wouldn't have confronted Natalia in the first place. Or maybe, they would have. But that morning, none of that mattered to Natalia or Drew, who had skipped the beginning first period to sneak into the guys' bathroom, alone. It shouldn't have been very unusual when they showed up late to Mr. Halser's science classroom, but now Jacob and Becca knew something they shouldn't have. Drew Kraski wasn't Drew Kraski anymore. He was a young killer, and his first victim would be the students of Woodsfield High.

~

Lunchtime was quiet at our table. I say "our", because I was there too. But that's not important, as my name's not either. It wasn't unusual, the silence, as Will was usually the one to bring conversation to the table. But Will hadn't sat with us this year, not after September 4th. The day that Ally Bridgewood was killed. None of us really knew where he had gone off to each lunch period, but I didn't blame him for wanting to get away. He would pretend not to hear people whisper "killer" behind his back, but no one's that strong. Not by themselves, anyway. Which is why Charlie Kurt decided to use that day as a chance to finally confront his old friend.

I should probably tell you a bit about Charlie. I've never quite figured out why he chose to hang out with us, but it was likely because of Will. The two of them were friends when we met them, which was back in junior high, and they should've been friends now. At least that's what we told Charlie. But deep down, we were scared of Will, too. Maybe not scared, but at least a little bit uneasy. The kind of feeling you get when That creepy old man from the bus station asks if you want a ride home. You want to believe he's a good guy, but seeing the good in everyone could get you killed. And none of us wanted to get killed.

As Charlie had suspected, Will was in the media center. He had no lunch with him, just his backpack and jacket in a unorganized lump on the ground. As if expecting it, the second Jacob stepped foot into the room, Will bolted. He darted through the door on the left side of the library, leading to classroom after classroom. On his heels, though, was Charlie Kurt. It must have looked pretty ironic, as varsity track runner Will Acker was chased after by Charlie, a good looking guy, sure, but not very fast on his feet. But both parties were equally motivated, one to know the truth, and the other to keep an unbearable secret. But in the end, it was mind over matter. And Will realized that after reaching the locked door at the end of the left wing, only to hear a door slam in the classroom behind him.

~

Charlie hadn't planned to confront Will like this, but it was too late. They were already throwing punches. And maybe it was because Will was tired from running, but Charlie had backed him up into a corner. His original intentions were to say hello to his friend, maybe see how he was doing. But in an instant, only one thing mattered.

"What were you doing with Ally?"

Will's already frightened face turned even more so, with a hint of anger.

"I didn't screw with a girl and leave her for dead Charlie!" Will's voice was angry, but calm at the same time.

"Really. Then why did the cops find you burying her body in the dumpster?! She has a gunshot in her forehead Will! Why does she have a freaking gunshot in her head?!" Charlie didn't believe that Will had shot Ally, not one bit. But he had reached his boiling point. Anything went when he was this angry, and that included accusing his best mate of murder. And it had worked. Charlie had set a fire ablaze in Will's eyes, caused mostly by betrayal.

"You wanna know the truth, man?! I don't know what shit they're telling you but Ally wasn't shot! And you wanna know what?! I'm not even sure that was her blood! And you wanna know what?!"

"Will, I believe you." Charlie let his hands on Will's shoulder's grow limp, leaving him room to breathe. But instead was met with a punch to the side of his face. And he didn't hesitate as Will's footsteps echoed down the hallway, away from him. He likely deserved it.