The girl descended the stairs at a limping run and Melly turned and fled. She heard the gross sounds of rending flesh behind her and knew that Mac was now paying for her weakness and cowardice. The tears were drying on her cheeks as she ran, lockers whipping by her sight. She didn't stop running until she made it back to the front doors. When she looked out to the doorway she saw two people standing there. At first her heart almost stopped. Then she realized that they were not affected by whatever was plaguing the school. One was a short Asian girl with a long ponytail. The other Melly recognized as the dance teacher. “Miss Hutton!” Melly cried out in relief, managing to make her way to the front door without collapsing. The dance teacher turned, her green eyes focusing on Melly before recognizing her. “Oh, you're Natalie's friend,” she said in her soothing Spanish accent before catching hold of Melly's arms. “Melly was it? Are you okay?” “I'm just tired,” Melly said, her heart finally returning to a normal pace. “There's one of them back by the second floor stairs... What's going on Miss Hutton, please tell me!” Miss Hutton looked to the Asian girl and then back to Melly. “I don't know Melly, but if there are more of them around here we need to get to a safe place.” The quiet girl looked up at Melly through giant framed glasses that made here eyes look even bigger than they already were. In her hands was what Melly recognized to be one of the metal legs of a desk chair from a classroom. She was holding it tightly, with a look of determination on her face. Then she turned and followed Miss Hutton away from the way Melly had come. “We can't go outside,” Miss Hutton said softly, her Spanish accent becoming thicker from the stress. “Gina told me they've swarmed the outer gates. They've been picking people off as soon as they try to leave. Our best bet is to keep going up, and see if we can barricade ourselves somewhere.” “The roof?” Melly asked, her voice quivering. Their footsteps echoed loudly in the empty hallway as they made their way to the other side of the school. Every single step sounded so incredibly loud, Melly was sure that they would hear it and come running any moment now. “Possibly,” Miss Hutton said, her expression grim. Jazmin Hutton, 26 years old and now entering the third year of her teaching career, felt a shiver go down her spine. She had been alone in the dance studio, the music blaring out of her stereo as she performed for an invisible audience. In her mind, she was performing on stage at the Mariinsky Theatre, all eyes on her. She had just finished 6 fouettés when the door creaked open. She felt the presence in her studio and her eyes snapped to the door. A young girl was standing there. “Dance studio is closed at lunchtime,” Jazmin said, her voice harsh. While she normally was not too cross with her students, she did not like being watched without knowing. The girl did not move. Instead, she watched Jazmin with a hungry look. Jazmin felt something was wrong, almost immediately. Moving to the barre she picked up the towel that lay beneath it. She wiped sweat from her neck and with a toe she pushed the off switch on the stereo. The girl had now moved to step into the dance studio with her. “Miss, you need to leave. Come back after school if there is something you need to discuss,” Jazmin said, her voice still firm although she felt uneasy. This was not one of her students. The girl grinned, and Jazmin's eyes widened. She took a step back. The girl's teeth were stained red. Her eyes flickered to the door off to her left. It was an emergency exit, but at this point Jazmin was starting to think it might just be one. The girl lunged forward suddenly, at an odd loping gait. Jazmin dropped the towel and sprinted to the emergency exit, flinging the bar down and slamming her shoulder into it to open it. Outside she stood blinking in the sunlight. The dance studio was lit by artificial lights, with the few windows only being near the ceiling. Jazmin heard the girl right behind her and quickly descended the fire escape. Once in the schoolyard, she ran to the front of the building. And that's when she saw them. “The stairs,” Melly said quietly. Jazmin started out of her memory and looked up. They had reached the stairs on the opposite side of the building. The stairs were dark, the lights seeming dimmer on this side of the building, facing away from the sun. Melly felt goosebumps rise on her arms. Every part of her body was telling here something horrible was waiting for them up there, but it wasn't like they had a choice. They needed to get somewhere safe. “Let's go,” said the previously mute member of their party. The tiny Asian girl caught Melly's eyes as she ascended the first few steps. “We can't stay here.” The words echoed Melly's thoughts just moments before. “Yeah,” Melly said, suddenly struggling to swallow.
good job on my part. 2 separate instances where I typed "here" instead of "her". Please forgive spelling and grammar issues. This was rushed out quickly before Halloween festivities
Sorry for the late update. I have currently undertaken an enormous project. I will still be updating this as regularly as possible, and it will be simultaneously published on a website. Please remember that by signing up in the sign-ups, you've agreed to let me kill, maim and otherwise pervert your character. I don't want any hard feelings. Thank you for reading and bumping this. The stairs were wide enough for all three of the women to ascend side by side, yet Gina hung behind the two, in absolute silence. No one spoke as they ascended the landing and turned to face the second floor. Someone in their haste to escape must have hit the light switch because the hallway was shrouded in darkness. The only light leaked through the windows of the classrooms. The three shuffled awkwardly through the hallway, subconsciously sticking close to the left wall. Their pace had slowed to a crawl as they made their way down the hallway. Melly grabbed onto Miss Hutton's arm, not even realizing she was doing so. Each time they passed a classroom, Melly found herself looking into it, trying to picture how it looked filled with students. Suddenly her senses were overwhelmed with a disgusting odor. It reeked of something rotten and had the strong unsavory smell of urine. Melly retched and swallowed with some difficulty. “What is that?” she asked. Gina suddenly took the lead and pushed open the door to the women's bathroom with her make-shift weapon. All three put their hands up to block the smell but it seemed to permeate their fingers and go straight to their noses. The bathroom was pitch black save for a trickle of light coming in from the sole window at the end of the stalls that stood above head level. A soft whimpering was coming from the far stall, and Melly could see a pool of dark liquid seeping out from underneath it. Miss Hutton seemed to come to her senses and bravely stepped forward into the bathroom. “Is someone in here?” she asked, her voice quavering. A few shuffling sounds followed by a keening wail came from the back stall. Melly saw as she stepped further in, what appeared to be a leg was jutting out awkwardly from underneath the walls separating the stalls. It was at such an unnatural angle though, Melly thought it must be broken. The smell worsened the further they advanced. “Speak now or we leave!” Miss Hutton threatened, her voice cracking at the end. “H-Help,” came a pitiful voice. Melly's eyes widened. She recognized that voice. It couldn't be! Suddenly, adrenaline surged through her veins and she leapt forward, wrenching the stall door open. It cracked against the wall, the bang echoing in the room. Lying against the toilet and covered in blood was Natalie! Melly's breath quickened to a panicky pace as she saw across Natalie's body laid a dead girl with a gaping hole in her neck. Natalie was incoherent and seemed to be incapable of standing on her own. With the help of Miss Hutton, Melly hefted Natalie's arms over her shoulder and lifted her from underneath the dead girl. Natalie was covered in blood, and it dripped down Melly's back uncomfortably. They quickly exited the bathroom, and set Natalie down outside the doorway, resting her up against the wall. “Natalie, Natalie!” Melly said, slapping her best friend's cheek lightly a few times. Natalie's eyes were unfocused and she did not respond. “We have another problem,” Gina said suddenly, her quiet voice barely loud enough to be heard over their harsh breaths. The stairs to the third floor were in the center of the second floor, around which a small sitting area was placed. Various cliché greenery had been added, desperately trying to put a splash of color in the otherwise drab gray, black and white color scheme of the school. It hadn't really worked. Although certain members of the faculty were supposed to be taking care of the plants, more often than not they were neglected. In the darkness, they looked like bare withered skeletons, pitifully sprawled about the floor. When Gina spoke, Melly turned to look and saw a shadow about halfway down the hallway between them and the stairs. It lurched back and forth and seemed to be drawing closer. She looked to Miss Hutton for guidance and saw that the teacher seemed just as clueless about what to do either. Natalie let out a moan of agony and the shadowy figure paused it's movements. Then, it began running at them. Melly felt her breath catch in her throat and she tried to maneuver Natalie's arm about her neck again so she could lift her friend, but Natalie was dead weight and she wouldn't budge. She tried vainly to pull Natalie up by her arm but Natalie was uncooperative and refused to help in any way. Melly was surprised when Miss Hutton swooped down on the other side of Natalie and lifted the girl in her arms. “Go!” Miss Hutton said, gesturing into the nearest classroom. Melly went in first, and saw Miss Hutton stumble in with Natalie right after. Gina was last, closing the door quickly. Melly grabbed a chair and shoved it underneath the door handle. Gina gave her a disparaging look and yanked the chair away from the door. Instead she moved to the giant desk the teacher of this classroom had used and started pushing at it. Melly was a little embarrassed but rushed to help push the desk up against the door. “Natalie,” Miss Hutton was saying in her soothing Spanish tone, “Natalie! Wake up darling. C'mon.” Melly leaned against the desk and slumped to the floor, exhausted. Her legs ached from running and being tense all day. She looked at Natalie's blank expression and felt a pang of sorrow. Natalie always had been the athletic one, excelling at track and even able to participate in sports like basketball. Melly looked down at her hands, seeing them covered in blood. She had never been one to do the athletic stuff. She preferred being inside, working on her photography down in the school's dark room. A sudden thump against the door made her jump and scramble to her feet. From the light inside the classroom she saw the face on the other side of the door. It had the same bleeding eyes, teeth gnashing and bloody lips smacking together. She took a step back even though she had the door and desk between them. Right beside her, Gina had risen to her feet as well, and they both shared a glance. “I've seen some of these open doors,” Gina said softly. “I don't think they all can, but we need to be prepared if they do.” Melly felt a cold rush down her spine and she turned around, her eyes quickly canvassing the classroom. Her eyes rested on the metal legs of the desks. Looking back to Gina who was clutching the chair leg in a white knuckled grip, she decided it was better than nothing. She hurriedly flipped over one of the desks, surprised at its' deceiving weight. She began furiously trying to unscrew the bolts that attached it. Miss Hutton had left Natalie against the wall with the windows and was looking out them pensively. Looking down, she saw shapes of people milling around down in the schoolyard. It almost looked normal, but she knew better. She had been down there. She had seen first hand what they were. That's where she had met up with Gina and seen the tiny Asian girl wield her make-shift weapon like a mad woman. That was when they made their escape back inside the damned school. A sudden groan came from Natalie and Miss Hutton was brought back from her thoughts. She rushed to the girl's side and tilted her head so she could see her face. The girl was burning up suddenly, her long brown hair caked in blood. When Natalie blinked, Miss Hutton saw what looked like a popped blood vessel on the edges of her sclera. Miss Hutton leaned in closer and saw that both eyes seemed to be bloodshot. Miss Hutton's hands started shaking as she reached down and pushed aside the girl's long hair. It stuck at the back of her neck and Miss Hutton gently yanked it free. Fresh blood spurted out and Miss Hutton's eyes widened. Rolling Natalie to the side she saw a gaping wound at the back of the girl's neck, that had been previously hidden by her hair. Strands of brown hair stuck in the wound, where Miss Hutton had attempted to pull them free. “It hurts...” Natalie whimpered, her eyes closing. Miss Hutton slowly lowered the girl down onto the floor, unsure of what to do. Looking over she saw Melly desperately shaking the desk leg free, and Gina standing by the doorway, repeatedly smacking the metal bar into her palm. A hand suddenly gripped her hair around the back of her neck and Miss Hutton screamed in surprise and pain. Looking down she saw Natalie's eyes open and staring at her, unfocused and bloodshot. She tried to pull Natalie's hands off her hair but was unsuccessful. Natalie looked up at her former dance teacher and smiled, her pearly white teeth a stark contrast to the rapid darkening of her eyes. Miss Hutton screamed again, unable to break free of the sudden inhumanly strong hold. Melly had just managed to pull the desk leg free when Miss Hutton screamed the first time. Looking over, at first she didn't understand what was going on. Then Miss Hutton screamed again and began struggling. Melly suddenly felt numb as Natalie looked over towards her and their eyes met. “No...” Melly said softly, her voice barely a whisper.