Short Stories

A living nightmare

2017. Why do I still believe this year can get any better? Eight dead bodies were found in the past month, and they were all students from our school; that meant anyone could be the next victim. We were no longer students, we were targets, with an expiration date that was unknown to everyone except the killer. Every parent tried to take their child to other schools, but that didn't seem to trick the anonymous assassin. I was more than terrified. My mom didn't seem to care though. "It'll blow over soon." She kept on saying whenever I brought it up. But I knew this was more than just teenage drama, as she labeled it. People were getting killed! This wasn't going to blow over!

Last night, I got a text message from my best friend Sarah.

"Hey! I'm at the school and I need your help. PLEASE COME NOW!"

It was the darkest night of the year. The moon lit up the entire town with its white glow as the owls gave it a mysterious soundtrack that could be heard from my bedroom. As I said before, the entire situation terrified me, but this was Sarah. What if she was in danger? I had to go! So, I took my phone and backpack and ran to the school, hoping to arrive there in time to grab her by the arm and run back home.

I got there twenty minutes later, when the school seemed more like a haunted building than an educational one. I had never seen the halls empty or filled with nothing but silence. It was strange and yet peaceful. But I couldn't stay in that peaceful moment. I had to find Sarah!

"Hello!... Anybody there!?... Sarah!?" I called out but got no reply.

I could feel the cold breeze around my sweaty neck as I tried to stop my hands from shaking, but it was impossible. While constantly checking my phone, I explored the entire first floor, hoping to find my friend hiding in one of the classrooms or stealing snacks from the cafeteria. But she was nowhere to be found. After forty minutes of looking for her, I thought this whole thing was a prank. Sarah knew how scared this murder mystery situation made me, maybe this was her way of making fun of me or something. She is the kind of person who plays pranks on people just for the fun of it.

"Screw it! I'm going home!" I muttered to myself as I made my way back to the front of the school. I started pushing the door when I heard the most unusual noise; a young boy screaming "NO! PLEASE! I'LL DO ANYTHING! I'LL GIVE YOU ANYTHING! PLEASE DON'T KILL ME!"

I felt my heartbeat racing and now my entire body was shaking, not just my hands. With my mind racing a mile a minute, I could only think of Sarah and how she could be the next victim. And so, I gripped my bag as hard as I could, and I started pacing towards the room where the current victim was begging at. I was about to open the door when I heard the same boy scream in agony. I'm not an expert in horror movies, but I was certain that was his last breath. And he used it to scream for help one last time.

"Oh God, Sarah... please tell me it's not too late" I mumbled under my breath as I slowly opened the door to find the boy's dead body... his headless dead body. My friend wasn't in the room, but I found the boy's head on top of the teacher's desk. Horrified by the crime scene, I took my phone and decided to call the police, but my fidgeting fingers were making it more challenging than it actually was. Without even noticing, I dropped my phone right in front of the desk, where the lifeless head was placed. Putting my fear aside, I bent down and tried to grab it without getting too close to that desk. While still being down on my knees, I got my phone back and I typed the number for a second time. And when I was about to call, the head's eyes opened wide, showing their bright white color, and a dreadful tune came out of its sialoquent mouth in a slowly and irritatingly loud voice.

"Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall...

Humpty Dumpty had a... great... FALL!"

And with that word, the boy's dead head fell on top of me. But I felt nothing, I just heard the bell ring. I looked around and I found myself sitting at my desk with Sarah next to me, she couldn't stop laughing at me for some reason and the rest of the class was laughing with her. I also saw some of the students who I believed had been killed, which was even more confusing. And to make things even better, I noticed my literature teacher, who was glaring at me with disappointment. He waited for the rest of the students to leave and he then remarked "You fell asleep in my class, dear. What is it with teenagers these days? Don't they like poetry?"