Murder in the Dark

Murder in the Dark 13

The dedication is for my awesome new cover!  It's waaaay better than my first one!

"Oh no, he didn't," I gasped, hardly believing that the ringing in my ears was from an actual gunshot.

"Oh, yes he did," a guy gulped, slithering up to me.

"I don't believe this," I groaned.  All the implications of the situation I was forced in hit me like a fat elephant.  Our lives weren't simple toys with which to trifle.  Who did this guy think he was?

"You think there really is a bug that people can find?" the guy asked.

Hope flared inside of my chest as I remembered the bug.  If I could only find it, then I could call the police and this nightmare would be put to an end.  "There better be," I whispered.  "Otherwise we're all as good as dead."

"Unless you face the murderer head-on and take him out."

"Great idea.  Why don't you move your unarmed butt and go face off with the guy with the gun?  Why didn't I think of that idea myself?"

"You were ready to go kick his butt five minutes ago," the guy retorted.

"That was before I knew he had a gun!" I argued.

"Well, sorry for trying to help."

My heart began to race at the word 'help'.  I couldn't just sit here and relax while people were dying.  If I didn't do something, I would regret it for the rest of my now seemingly short life.  Claustrophobia has never affected me before, but with my newfound goal in mind, the walls suddenly began to close in around me.  I had to get out of that room and fast.

Standing, I tiptoed to the door, listening for any signs of life on the other side.  There were none.  I didn't know whether I should take that as a good sign or a bad omen.

"Where are you going?" the girl that I had previously assumed to be a freshman whimpered.

"I'm leaving.  I can't just sit here and watch people die.  If there is a bug out there, I'm going to find it or die trying."

"Technically, you can't watch people die here.  You can listen--"

"Oh, shut up!" I snapped at the nerd who had just corrected me.  "What if I don't want to be technical!"

"Sorry," the guy murmured.

"I'm leaving, and nobody better try to stop me," I stated, glancing behind me.  Everyone stared at me with wide open eyes, waiting to see what I'd do next.   Well, this is awkward, I thought.  Everyone is too big a coward to even bother with me.  Turning back towards the door, I began to slowly turn the doorknob, relieved that no one was holding it shut anymore.

Stealthily, I creeped out into the hallway and cautiously shut the door.  I paused, looking around for any signs of life.  All the teachers had disappeared: either to stop the murderer, find the bug, or protect the students, I didn't know which.  The hallway was almost completely black except for a small pool of moonlight streaming through the windows on the end.  Just outside the patch of light, I saw a large black mass.  My palms began to sweat, imagining what the object could possibly be.  Slowly, I glided forward to investigate.

As I neared the unknown entity, I pulled out my phone.  I may not be able to make calls on it anymore, but at least I could still use it as a flashlight.  Angling the screen towards my discovery, I gasped at what I saw.  It was a body, and although I could only see the back, I was fairly certain I knew who it was.  Setting my phone down, I used my arms to roll the body over onto its back.  A small cry escaped from my lips seeing the all too familiar Ms. Kingston.  Blood bloomed from a hole right next to her heart.