Chapter 3

The air inside Cedar Hollow High was so tense it could be sliced through with a paring knife. Something had weaved and found its way into the conversations, a tension thick enough to be felt between the cracks of laughter and gossip. Elise walked through the hallway, her senses on high alert.

The scene, news and encounter from the day before had left her a shivering mess of nerves. She was constantly on high alert, looking out for an old person with milky eyes. The usual scenes played out around her, students leaning against lockers, the overachievers clutching stacks of books, the athletes shoving each other playfully, but the conversations had changed.

"I swear, my neighbor's grandpa was just standing there for hours. Wouldn't move, wouldn't talk."

"Then what happened?"

"He started running into the street like a lunatic, almost got hit by a car."

"Dude, my uncle said the same thing happened at the grocery store, an old lady just standing there, eyes all weird. Then she lost it and ran straight into a shelf."

"What the hell is going on?"

Elise tried not to listen, but the murmurs found her anyway, she wished she had brought something along with her to block her ears. She was feeling panicky enough, and didn't need their speculative conversations to add to it.

She let her eyes flick over to Marlowe. She was at her locker, deliberately looking anywhere but at Elise. The cold shoulder was nothing new, but today it stung differently.

She thought about speaking up. 

Maybe an apology, maybe just a Hey, you okay?

But Marlowe slammed her locker shut and walked off before she could work up the nerve.

Fine. Forget it.

Just as the bell was about to ring, a commotion erupted at the front doors. A man burst into the school, his face was taut with panic. She wondered who he was, it was a relatively small town but that didn't mean she knew all the people around. Elise was sure it was a parent, but parents didn't just barge in like this, unless they had a bone to pick with the teachers.

"Ivy!"The strange man shouted, voice raw with panic.

Elise turned to see Ivy freeze in the middle of the hallway. 

Was that her father?

Ivy groaned loudly, pushing through the crowd of students toward him. "What? What is it?" Ivy snapped, her tone laced with irritation.

The strange man's chest heaved. "We have to go. Now!"

Ivy scoffed, rolling her eyes. "Are you serious dad? I'm not leaving school just because you're having some sort of weird breakdown."

"Ivy." His voice dropped pleading with her desperately. "Something's happening, we have to leave."

Ivy folded her arms. "Oh my god, if this is about the fucking old people again… I swear to god."

Her father grabbed her wrist, his knuckles white, face pink from exertion "Please, let's go. Please." His voice wavered.

Ivy hesitated, her expression faltering for just a second. Then, with an exasperated sigh, she yanked her arm free. "Fine, whatever."

Elise watched them leave, unease curling inside her chest. The whole hall had been silent, curiously watching the display between father and daughter. When they were finally out of the halls, the murmur started again, in full force.

What did he know that no one else did? Elise asked herself quietly.

By the time Elise dropped into her seat, her stomach still hadn't settled. Her heart was pounding with fear and she was now fully convinced that something was horribly wrong with the town and the people in it.

She wasn't the only one on edge. Conversations felt hushed, tension tangible. People unable to settle, struggling to keep quiet even with the teacher's presence in the class. Even the teacher seemed distracted as he adjusted his tie, glancing at his phone before shoving it back into his pocket.

Elise let out a slow breath.

It's fine. It's nothing.

The class had barely started when they were suddenly startled by a noise outside the door.

BANG. BANG. BANG.

The whole class jolted.

A guy Elise recognized as part of the jocks was at the door, but instead of his usual collected look, his palms were slamming against the glass rapidly. His eyes were wild, his clothes torn, streaked with something dark and wet.

"LET ME IN!" he screamed, his voice raw with terror. "PLEASE!"

Desks scraped as students shifted uneasily.

Then, suddenly, he froze. His whole body went rigid.

Elise's pulse pounded in her throat.

The boy turned his head ever so slowly, looking over his shoulder. 

A sound ripped from his throat. A scream of pure, unfiltered terror.

He bolted.

Leaving his bloodied palm as a reminder that what just happened was not a figment of their collective imagination.

The entire class was silent, stunned.

"Was that…" someone started, voice unsteady.

"Probably some dumb Halloween prank," another kid muttered. But no one laughed, they all had been scared shitless.

If that was a halloween prank, Caleb had been damn good at faking terror. And that stain, Elise knew it was real blood. She had spent the majority of her 17 years of her life as a Doctor's child and in the emergency room, the consistency, redness of the stain was unmistakable.

It was blood.

Elise was suddenly sure it wasn't just some dumb halloween prank, something was outside that door, lying in wait for them.

The teacher exhaled sharply, rubbing his temples. "For God's sake, I swear these students." He shook his head and strode toward the door.

Elise's stomach twisted.

"Wait—" She started.

But he had already unlocked the door.

The second the latch clicked.

Something fell inside with a thud.

The class collectively gasped, desks screeching as students flinched back.

A man lay sprawled on the floor, limbs twisted unnaturally, his chest rising and falling in short, ragged breaths.

His face was obscured beneath a curtain of tangled hair.

The teacher hesitated. "Sir?"

Silence.

Slowly, the man moved. His arms twitched, his fingers curling against the floor. Then, in one unnatural motion, he lifted his head.

His mouth was smeared with blood.

Elise's breath hitched.

The teacher took a careful step forward. "Sir, I'm going to need you to…"

The man lunged.

Teeth latched and tore into flesh. 

The teacher let out a piercing scream. 

Blood splashing from the gash where he had been bitten.

Chaos exploded.

The whole class screamed. Desks overturned. Someone shoved past Elise, nearly knocking her over and out of her frozen horror.

The teacher thrashed, trying to push the man off, but the bloodied figure latched on with a crushing grip, burying his teeth deeper into the flesh of his neck. The sound of ripping filled the room, wet and grotesque.

Elise stumbled backward, her breath ragged.

A girl screamed, her voice piercing the silence of the school.

"RUN!" Someone yelled.

Students rushed toward the door at once, colliding into one another in a blind panic.

The teacher's screams grew weaker, a sickening gurgle replacing them. The attacker lifted his head, mouth slack, blood dribbling down his chin.

His milky eyes locked onto Elise.

Her stomach plummeted.

Then he moved.

Elise didn't think.

She jumped out through the open window.