The Collector

As I ran down the hall, I heard a scream. I froze before turning to look behind me. Montana's body was lying in a pool of blood on the floor. Her face was contorted in pain. I ran to her side and prayed it wasn't too late.

"Montana no! Come back! Fight the spell—" I cut myself off when she grabbed my hand. "Montana you're alive!"

I moved to help her up, but she squeezed my arm with her pale cold hands. I slowly looked at her face. She had become a porcelain doll. Her smile was far too wide, and the strings protruded from her back leading up to a ceiling that was far above.

The Collector's lair.

***

10 hours earlier...

"Avery! Come on we're going to be late! The prom committee meet starts in half an hour."

That's Montana "Ana" Kleene my best friend. We met in seventh grade and now we're about to graduate together.

"I'm coming Ana, Jeez! Why I put myself in a position to be awake before 8 am on a Saturday." I sighed as I ran down the stairs.

I strapped on my brand-new platform heels, grabbing my phone and purse before racing out the door. I usually don't wear heals but these ones are a part of my prom outfit and I'll be dancing in them next weekend. A bit of practicing couldn't hurt. I grabbed my purse and we headed for Montana's car. It wasn't long before we were screaming along to Ashnikko's latest album. As we pulled up at the Rose Wood Gala House, I could see that the rest of the committee was already there. They were unloading boxes from a pickup truck and taking them inside. We quickly got out of the car and rushed over to join them.

"Alright! Now that everyone's here, let's start decorating! Prom starts in seven days and eleven hours. Let's move!"

All twenty 12th graders cheered before grabbing something to take inside.

"Wow look how big it is in here." Khadija marveled.

"If you think this is big, I wonder what type of hovel you must be living in."

I turned to person who spoke and was not surprised to see Allyssa. She'd been attacking Khadija ever since her ex-girlfriend, Natima, had broken up with her. Khadija and Natima became friends shortly after, bonding over their asexuality. I opened my mouth to tell her to shut up but Khadija beat me to it.

"Look I know you want to be rivals or something," she said sounding unimpressed. "But I don't fight kids."

Alyssa blushed as some of the students chuckled. Of course, she zeroed in on Montana and me. She walked over to grab a box of decorations making sure to elbow me as she pushed past. Melissa and Isabella, Alyssa's friends followed her lead and the trio left the foyer looking for somewhere to decorate. I rolled my eyes. Alyssa was like a real-life Nickelodeon bully at times and it usually made for good entertainment.

***

Six hours later we had finally finished decorating. The reception hall was all set with the tables and the dance floor, DJ booth and photo booth were ready for the professionals who would be working there. Everyone from the prom committee had gathered in the foyer. Our supervisor, Ms. Puppen, who was the school's assistant secretary was in the back office somewhere finishing up whatever she was working on. Montana and I were watching a TikTok when the lights flickered then turned off. Someone let out a squeak and moments later the flashlights from people's phones lit up the room.

"Did the power go out?"

"I'll get Mrs. Puppen."

"Hey, I think I lost the Wi-Fi..."