Short Story

The gossip flooded through the high school hallways about the new victim of the wrist-watch killer and why the school was having a pep rally. The bell had just rung for lunch, and Stevie and Kyle were outside waiting for Katie and Erik to arrive with their lunches.

Kyle was looking up at the grey clouds that filled the sky while Stevie was sitting cross-legged fiddling with the grass. Katie and Erik pulled up to Kyle and toss him, his lunch and Stevie's lunch, and then drove off to park. And with a crackle of thunder, the nightmare has begun.

Kyle, Stevie, Katie and Erik found a table outside under a leafless oak tree, and began to eat their fast food. Stevie sat quietly as he did every day and only smiled to the occasional joke that would be told. Kyle ate his food while pretending to be a gorilla. Katie and Erik sat side by side as they have done for the past year and a half. The thunder rattled again and it stopped Kyle's acting and caught the other's attention.

"I think it's going to rain." Kyle smirked.

Katie and Kyle made eye contact and held it long enough for Erik to get up and whisper into Kyle's ear "No shit Sherlock." And smacked Kyle in the back, then walked over to Katie and took her trash threw it away. Then came back and sat back beside Katie.

Kyle froze for a minute and then shook his head as if he was refocusing. "Guys, I think I figured out who the wrist-watch killer is." Stevie looked up from playing with his food, and Katie and Erik both turned to Kyle. "Ok, this guy has to be smart, you know? He also has to be smart with a knife," Kyle made stabbing motions and then continued. "'cause you know he cuts out the eyes and shit. He also has to be quick because people say that if he kills you, you don't even have time to scream before you're dead. And he…"

Erik cut him off. "Kyle. You're ranting on about nothing again. Just get to the point or please be quite about that topic."

Kyle squinted at Erik and then looked at Katie. "Ever since you and that she-beast got together you've changed Erik. You've changed. Anywho, this wrist-watch killer has to be a samurai doctor astronaut!"

Stevie looked back down at his food and Katie looked sternly at Kyle and disappointedly said "Kyle, can you ever be serious about anything?"

Erik quickly supported Katie, "yea, can you ever be serious?"

Stevie's phone then dinged, "Shoot, I have to make up a history test." He then got up and left.

Kyle looked at Erik and laughed as he counted on his fingers "Shoot – I – have- to – make – up – a – history – test. My God, Stevie said nine words! That's a new record!"

Katie giggled at Kyle's stupidity and then turned to Erik and told him that she had to go talk with some of her friends. Erik and Katie kissed then she left. Erik waved good-bye and then turned to Kyle who was pretend to kiss someone. "Kyle you're retard, wanna go wonder the walls for the rest of lunch?"

Kyle stopped kissing himself and smiled "of course."

Erik and Kyle had just stepped into the building when the principal's voice echo over the intercom, "Students, we need you to please report to the closest classroom, immediately. I repeat. Students, please, report to the nearest classroom immediately." He then the intercom clicked off.

Students and teachers rushed to the nearest classroom; however, Erik and Kyle smirked at one another and stepped aside letting the hurrying students and teachers breeze past them. As the hallways cleared and the noise went down to a murmur, Kyle and Erik poked their heads out to see if the hallway was clear. They saw now one, but only heard a voice. They could tell it was a woman's voice, but they couldn't put a name to it, so they crept closer towards the voice. As they approached the front of the school they began to see caution tape strung up around pillars. They got to the corner and peeked around and saw a blonde woman who couldn't be a year over 30 in a brown suit. She was standing over a bloodied body that was lying on a pep rally poster.

The walls were drenched in warm blood and reeked of human flesh, and all alone sat a silhouette of a person who picking the petals off a flower. "Loves me, loves me not, love me, loves me not." The flower, now petal less, is crumbled up by the silhouette and is smashed against a bloodied desk with such force that the desk snapped in two.

Erik felt his nose start to tingle, so he looks over to Kyle and distressedly whispers "Shit dude, I'm going to sneeze!" and then sneezes a violent sneeze.

The blonde woman in the suit looks up from the body then turns around. "Hey, come out from behind that corner now." She demanded as she put her hand on her hip. Kyle tugged on Erik's shirt signaling that they need to get out of there and hide. "What am I doing, of course they won't respond if I talk like that." The woman took a deep breath and calmed her voice, "Hey, my name is Agent Beth, but you can call me Beth. What are your names?"

Erik looked back at Kyle and motioned for them to go out of hiding and just talk to Agent Beth. Kyle was already a step ahead of Erik's thinking, "Hi, My name is…"

"Boys, why aren't you two in a classroom?!" the principal shouted, but then he gagged and ran towards the trash can.

Kyle leaned towards Erik and whispered, "Apparently, our round ol' principal can't stand the sight of blood." They both laughed. Then Kyle turns toward Agent Beth and continued talking. "My name is Kyle, and this over here is my good friend Erik. It is a pleasure to meet you… Mrs. Beth?"

Agent Beth giggled then sighed, "No it's just Beth."

Kyle smiled and began conversing with Agent Beth about her social life, but Erik stepped aside from them and looked at the dead body. Erik moved the cover from the victims face and then he froze. His heart dropped and knees gave in on him and he fell back and landed with a thud. Erik's breathing got faster and tears started to roll down his cheeks. "Watches…" Erik's voice dropped. He scooted backwards and the blood followed. He then looked at his hands and saw the red warm blood and whispered, "Cuts out eyes…" Erik looked up. "and replaces them with watches."

Kyle turned away from Agent Beth and saw Erik's expression of terror and fear, and then he looked at the bloody carcass it caught his attention. Agent Beth rushed over to the body and pulled the cover back over the victims face. Kyle turned, walked over to Erik, and reached down to help Erik up.

Erik couldn't take his eyes off the body. "That was Julie. She was one of Katie's best friends."

The principal managed to get his head out of the trash and calm his queasy stomach, and he turned to the boys. "Boys because you didn't listen to my instruction earlier, I will now have to escort you to the nearest class room." He motioned for the boys to follow him.

The silhouette in the bloody room turned to their right to a wall of TVs and saw Erik and Kyle walking down the hallway with the principal. The silhouette walked over to the screen of the TV with Kyle and Erik on it and rubbed its fingers down the screen suggestively. "No! No feelings!" the silhouette screamed as it turned away from the TV. "This needs to become more interesting. There needs to be more blood!" The silhouette grabbed its knife and a remote and climbed into the air vent.

"I've never really thought of this before, but these hallways are really long." Kyle said to Erik as they were walking down the hallway.

Erik smirked "We should ditch ol' roundy."

Kyle absolutely agreed, and the two went up the staircase that they were passing. As they got up to the second floor they stopped. Kyle walked forward and stepped in a puddle of blood. Erik crouched down and began walking forward with Kyle. They both saw a figure. With a knife in its hands, and there was blood dripping from the knife. Kyle looked around at all the dead bodies with watches for eyes, and he shivered.

The figure turned to Kyle and Erik and smiled a twisted smile. Then the lights in the hallway went out. The hallway was pitch black. Erik got to the ground and Kyle went closer to the wall but kept walking forward. There was a scream followed by the sound of knife slashing flesh. Erik pulled out his phone screen and used it as a source of light. He saw the figure holding a body by its throat. Then his phone screen went black. Erik cursed under his breathe. When he turned his phone screen back on he saw the figure standing right in from on him, face-to-face. The figure smiled and Erik could see the blood its face and teeth and Erik could smell the rotten flesh in the figure's breath. The phone screen turned off.

Moments later Erik awoke in a puddle of blood, and he pushed himself up of the ground. His shirt was soaked in blood. His vision was blurry. His phone began to ring. He answered it. It was one of Katie's friends telling him that when the power went out and came back on, that Katie had disappeared. Erik put his phone back into pocket and tried to walk forward, but he fell over. Erik crawled over to the wall and sat up against it. He looked at his hands, which were soaked in blood, and clenched his fists. He closed his eyes.

Agent Beth paced outside with the phone up to her ear. "Yes, the wrist-watch killer is in Marsh High School, I need backup ASAP!" She listened for the response, and was unhappy with it. "What do you mean it's going to take 30 minutes to an hour to get here? Do you not realize that innocent kids are in serious risk? You need to hurry up!" She hung up the phone, and stormed back into the school.

Agent Beth went down the hallway that she saw Kyle and Erik follow the principal down. And the lights began to flicker. She pulled out her gun and turned the corner. All the lights went out except one. Standing under that light was a figure with a twisted smile. "Put your hands up!" shouted Agent Beth. The figure listened, but as it put its hand up and the light shut off. Agent Beth reached for her flashlight but it wasn't there. She heard footsteps behind her. She turned around, and something smacked her across her temple knocking her out.

Erik felt like he was being shaken, so he opened his eyes. He saw Stevie. Stevie reached out his hand to help him up. "Dude, where have you been? And where is Kyle?" Erik asked Stevie. Stevie looked at Erik and shrugged and put his finger against his lips telling Erik to be quiet. Stevie moves towards the stairs, and Erik noticed that there was a tear in his shirt and around the wound was blood.

Erik went closer to Stevie and whispered "Dude, were you stabbed?"

Stevie stopped and put his finger to Erik's lips. Then he went up the flight of stairs leading towards the 3rd floor. Erik looked around, hesitated, and then followed Stevie up the stairs.

Once they got up to the 3rd floor they stopped. The walls were drenched is blood the hallways were filled with bodies. But down the hall they heard laughing. So the crept towards the twisted laugher.

The killer silhouette looked at its three prisoners: Agent Beth, Kyle, and Katie. The killer silhouette paced back in forth plucking a flower. "Agent Beth, Kyle, Katie, Agent Beth, Kyle, Katie, Agent Beth, and uh-oh tough luck Kyle." The silhouette put her blade up to Kyle's neck. Both Katie and Agent Beth screamed even though their mouths were taped.

Kyle looked the killer straight in its eyes. "Where are your jokes Kyle? You're a funny man. Please tell us a joke. Oh wait you can't because I'm in control here. I am your life. And I have decided that it is your time to die!" The killer slashed Kyle's throat open with her knife.

Blood spurted from Kyle's neck. You could see Kyle's dimples. He was smiling. Instead of panicking, Kyle kicked the killer's shin and it dropped the knife. Kyle then wiggled his way and managed to sit on the knife. But Kyle's eyes slowly began to close. The blood stopped coming from his neck. Both girls screamed at the sight of pulseless Kyle.

The killer tossed Kyle to the side picking up its knife again. Then the door was kicked in. Erik and Stevie can running in and saw the killer.

"Briana?" Stevie said.

Briana looked up at Stevie, "Do you see what you've done? You told me in 8th grade. 'Oh give it time. I gave everyone time! I have plenty of time to give, but it looks like your time has run out.

Briana threw the knife hitting Stevie in the chest, right were his heart is. Stevie fell to his knees. Erik froze. He didn't know what to do. He heart was racing, Kyle is dead and Stevie is dead. His two best friends are dead.

Briana pulled out another knife, and put it to Katie's throat. "Let's see who the hero will be in this story." She slit Katie's throat. "Oops, it looks like it isn't going to be the heroic boyfriend." Briana then walked over to Agent Beth, who was crying, "Hmm, what about the heroic citizen…"

"Stop! Please, just stop. Let's just talk this out." Erik shouted.

Briana laughed. "Talk it out? Do you know how many people I've killed? And you think I just want to talk it out. My god."

Erik stepped closer to Briana.

"Too close." Briana smirked and slit Agent Beth's throat. "You think that the good will always wins? You think that somehow how you're going to save the day? Why you? Let me tell you something Erik: Life is a story, and it looks like your life was a short one." Briana hurled her knife at Erik impaling him in the forehead. Erik instantly fell to the ground.