To Catch A Killer (Part II)

Clarissa was running up the street, screaming and yelling at the top of her voice with the cold, heavy rains beating down her body. She had first tried Mrs. Lancaster, their neighbour's gate but the loudness of the rain obliterated every other sound. Gasping for breath, she looked down the street. Her house was now just a glimpse. She could not see anyone but she was positive she was being followed.

She continued up the street, kicking every gate and yelling for help. A wild and delusional thought leapt into her head. She could climb up one of the gates and call for help from the inside. Fear quickly ridiculed this idea. She probably would be dead before she made it to the top of the wall. Another thought leapt in. School! But of course. It would be hard for anyone to find her in such a giant building. Fatigue lowered her pace. She could not increase her speed past a jog. School was now only about ten minutes away. As she jogged, she kept turning her head behind her. There was no one. Maybe she was just being paranoid. Either way, she decided not to take any chances.

She finally arrived at school. Her body was now almost completely drained. Her hands fell to her knees as she desperately tried to catch her breath. She turned around. There was still no one in sight. She tried jogging along the main path towards the entrance of the building but she only managed a few long strides. She settled for walking. Just as she had expected, the doors were locked and so she decided to go round the building. She had remembered a window the basketball team had shattered a while back while practising on the outer court.

It took her one full minute to get round to it. The window had been repaired but fortunately, there were no burglar bars. Her eyes looked around within the downpour. She dragged her feet towards the mini-forest that was just outside the court. Moments later she returned to the window with a heavy branch. It took her at least seven attacks before she broke most of the window into pieces. Once the job was done she paused again, trying to normalise her breathing rate. She placed her hands on the edge of the windowpane. She hauled herself into the room.

She fell with a loud thump onto the floor. She had landed in one of the tenth-grade classrooms. The room was very dark and she could barely see anything. She crawled to the left corner at the back of the classroom and hid herself under a desk. Breathing frantically, her body completely drenched in the icy water, she pulled out her cellphone from her bra. It was mostly soaked in water but she tried it anyway. It switched on for two seconds then switched off again. 'Come on, come on!' she whispered. She tried it again and thankfully, it stayed on. She thought of dialling her parents but she did not want them anywhere near her right now. It was far too dangerous. For the first time, she was glad she had not erased his number. With trembling fingers, she began pricking the buttons. She felt a warm liquid ooze down her wrist. She had accidentally sliced her palm when she climbed through the window.

She heard a loud bang further away from outside the room. She paused and listened again.

There was silence.

She resumed pricking the buttons.

There was another bang. And another one…and another one. It sounded like it was coming from farther down the hallway.

Her hands began to shiver, and not just from the cold. She was scared stiff. She pressed the phone against her ear and waited. 'Inspector Charles!' She covered her mouth. She realized she had spoken too loud.

'Miss Sherman, why are you calling me at this time of night?' the inspector asked her. He sounded very annoyed.

Tears fell down her eyes and mingled with the wetness of the rain. 'It's the killer!' she whispered. 'The killer is here! Here at my school!

The bang in the hallway got louder.

'Who is it?' the inspector asked her.

Clarissa's focus was now partially dedicated to the ear-shattering noise down the corridor.

'Clarissa!' the inspector yelled through the phone.

'Huh..?' She came back.

'Who's the killer?' he asked her again.

'It's uh…what?' She smacked her head as if trying to remember. 'It doesn't matter who it is, just get here, quick, please!'

'Deputy James and I are already on our way. Just maintain your position and do not move! Do they know where you are?'

'Uh…no, I don't think so.'

'Good. Just stay there. Which room are you in?'

Clarissa turned her attention outside again. The loud banging had stopped. She could hear her own heartbeat.

'Is it Janice?' Inspector Charles asked.

'W…What?'

'The killer, Clarissa, it's Sineas' aunt, right? Janice Murphy?'

She shook her head before placing her hand over her eyes. 'No, no, of course not,' she said.

'So it's Sineas?'

She did not reply.

'Clarissa, is Sineas the killer?'

'What are you talking about? How does that even matter? Just get here quick!' She suddenly heard a rather familiar sound coming from the hallway. That sound. That dreadful sound. She remembered it all too well. The sound of steel on concrete. The sound grew clearer and clearer, indicating that it was getting closer and closer. It was like a screech. The kind that you either hear when someone is sharpening a kitchen knife…or a scythe.

She drew her knees closer to her chest. She was sobbing, but quietly.

The sound kept getting louder and louder. She could clearly hear it now. It was just outside the classroom. Then it stopped.

She wanted to look outside the window but it wouldn't have been of much help. It was too dark to see much of anything. The only source of light she had was in her phone and even using that would expose her hiding spot. She quietly grabbed onto the edge of the desk and pulled herself up. She looked outside the window. She only saw darkness. She began to slowly sit herself back down.

There was a thunderous bang on the door of her room. She could not help herself. She screamed at the top of her lungs. She pulled herself into the very corner of the room, drawing her knees much closer to her chest.

Meanwhile, the pounding and banging on the door continued. The sound alone was nerve-wracking. It competed with the noise of the thunder outside. Splinters of wood could be heard scattering all over the room, hitting the floor, the teacher's desk and some even making it close to where she was sitting.

Clarissa screamed even louder. 'Please! Stop this, please!'

The noise continued despite her incessant screams and pleas. After a while, it stopped.

Clarissa stayed faithful to her corner. Her chest was heaving up and down trying to bring in as much air into her lungs as possible.

There was that sound again. The sound of metal on concrete being slowly dragged through the door.

She couldn't see anything except what looked like a shadow walk into the room...