3 comments/ 7145 views/ 2 favorites Happy Birthday, Kaylie By: Slappy101 *Warning: contains some graphic scenes of gore or violence. It's only PG-13 violence though really, so anybody on this sight should have no problems with it. However, if you really don't like horror-type stories or violence, I wouldn't read this. Also, if you could leave a vote and some feedback that would be great. Hopefully the feedback won't be too bad.* * The night was cold, as it normally is in late October. The air was chilly and their breaths could be seen in the air as they crawled from their individual cars. The six of them had decided earlier in the week that on Halloween night instead of trick or treating they'd visit with their old middle school teachers. They'd wanted to do so all year, and Halloween was as good a day as any. Kaylie Price slammed her door shut and remotely locked her car as Claude Knight, her boyfriend, climbed out of the other side. Kyra Taylor had driven as well, Hunter Fox had ridden with her, and Jonathan and Derek Able were exiting Jonathan's Jeep. The six of them had been familiar with one another in middle school but became better friends in high school. Some were better friends than others. For example Kaylie wasn't great friends with Kyra, but they were on good terms. And Kaylie suspected that Jon didn't really care much for Claude, but they had never had any real problems with each other. No matter how great of friends they were, the six of them hung out rather often, sometimes in smaller groups if a couple of them were busy or something. Halloween evening was like any other, except that it was Kaylie's birthday of course. She loved her birthday, a time when everyone was giving her hugs and presents and praise; pretty much every girl's dream. It was also a plus when she was younger that everyone just happened to be handing out candy on that very same day. The sky was beginning to darken as Kaylie nodded graciously to Jon and smiled as he held the door open for them all. He smiled back, though she sensed he was smiling more at Kyra whom she knew he had a thing for. They all walked together to the front office and Jon once again held the door. He seemed to have a thing for it. They approached the receptionist who smiled warmly at them and Kaylie spoke up in her tiny voice, "Hi, we were just coming by to stop in on a few of our old teachers. Would that be okay?" She gave the heavy-set woman behind the desk a polite smile. She had a great smile. "Oh, yes darling," the receptionist said happily, "you all just go ahead and speak to whomever you want. I'll let all of the administrators know you're here so they don't throw you out or anything." She continued smiling merrily as they all thanked her and went to leave. Kaylie noticed Jon grab a map off of a small desk near the door. "This will tell us where to find whichever teachers still work here," Jon explained, unfolding it and looking it over once they were back in the hall. "We know what a school map is," Derek noted sarcastically. "Shut up," Jon muttered, "Who do you guys want to visit?" They all made their requests and Jon, being the organizer he was, set up a small schedule and order in which to visit them. Jon led the way through the halls; he had the best memory of them all and knew where everything was even after several years. Somehow it seemed he always became the "leader," though he wasn't the strongest, and Derek got better grades than he did. He was simply liked by most people and tried his best to always be friendly. Also, he was the best at organizing things, which added to his ability to lead. The six of them visited about ten teachers. These were the only teachers they'd had that still worked at Carter Middle School. Most of the others had either retired or been relocated for one reason or the other. By the time they had finished catching up with the last of their teachers - whom had all been delighted to see them again - it was twenty minutes from seven o'clock. They had one teacher left to visit before leaving; they just hoped he was still there. As they approached Mr. Murdock's room they saw the light on and so Kaylie knocked lightly, not able to see if he was inside or not through the small window. There was no reply. They knocked again, still no answer. "Maybe he went home?" Kyra voiced the statement as a question in her soft voice. They all nodded and agreed but Kaylie knocked once more to be sure. Just as her knuckles rapped against the door for the final time someone behind them cleared his throat roughly and the lot of them jumped and turned. Derek let out a heavy breath, "Shoot Mr. Murdock, you scared the crap out of us." Hunter nodded, "I about peed." Kaylie couldn't help but smile at Hunter's country accent and truthful way of saying things. "Well, well, well, if it isn't the former students from Hell." Mr. Murdock joked. He was always joking. "What are you all doing back here?" "We came to see you sir," Derek said with a smile. "We missed you." "Who says I wanted to see you? I think it would have been more acceptable to send me an e-mail or something." "Oh come on Mr. Murdock, you know we were your favorite students," Jon piped in sarcastically. "Well, I'll maybe let you slide since you were all A students... but what's Claude doing here?" Mr. Murdock's face was always serious even when he was most sarcastic. "Aww, sir, that hurts," Claude said, his voice reflecting the hurt. "I passed with a C, and that was only because I didn't do that last project." "You expect me to think you're a good student when you blew off an entire project? You disgust me, shoo." Mr. Murdock waited as Claude awkwardly decided whether or not he should really leave. When he finally turned to walk away Mr. Murdock grabbed his shoulder and pulled him back. "Just kidding Mr. Knight, but seriously, who blows off an entire project?" They joked and caught up for the next ten minutes until an announcement over the PA interrupted them. "All teachers and other faculty should be advised that the doors will be locked in ten minutes. Repeat: It is now seven o'clock, teachers and anyone else leaving should do so within the next ten minutes." For some reason they'd all looked up at the PA above their heads as if trying to establish eye contact. "Well, I guess this concludes our touching reunion kids. Or should I say 'young adults?'" Mr. Murdock smiled at them all and shook their hands. "I'm sure I'll see you all around, the world isn't that big and I'm sure you'll all be on the news for something or another eventually. Except maybe Claude," It took Claude a minute to catch on. "I'm just kidding Claude, I'm sure you'll murder someone eventually. Kidding again, I'm sorry, I should really be going." They all waved goodbye and were on their way back toward the main hall. All of the classrooms that had previously been lit were now completely dark through the small rectangular windows. It took roughly four minutes for them to get back to the entrance, perhaps a bit more because they had been in the outskirts of the school to talk to Mr. Murdock. By the time they were walking past the office, the rotund lady they'd talked to earlier was packing up for the night. Kaylie waved goodbye to the lady and smiled warmly. The receptionist returned the smile and waved, then returned her eyes to packing up. Kaylie looked away and down the hall toward the gym and auditorium where she noticed a tall figure walking slowly in their direction. He was completely covered in a black robe and the hood was up, covering his face. Had he been wearing a silly mask, she'd think it was Scream. Before she could point him out to anyone else, the figure strode quickly into the auditorium. "Hey, did anybody else see that guy?" Kaylie asked lightly. "I did," Jon nodded, and Hunter agreed with him. "Think it was a teacher dressing up for a Halloween party or something?" "Maybe... but if it was, why would they head into the auditorium?" Kaylie was getting very curious; she knew she had to check it out. "What do you say we go check it out?" Jon proposed; he seemed to be curious as well. "What are we Mystery Inc.?" Derek asked sarcastically. "Well, we might as well; I'm a little interested too." He looked at his brother, "Let's go Scooby!" "That would make you Scrappy," Jon laughed as they all hurried down the hall. "And I guess Hunter is Shaggy?" "He does sort of look like him," Jon grinned. "Hey!" Hunter exclaimed. Kaylie stood behind Jon as he pushed the large, heavy door to the auditorium open and entered. The auditorium was lit dimly by reserve lights which stayed on the entire night. There was no sign of the mysterious man. They split up and began searching the auditorium row by row. Jon and Hunter both started by checking the opposite doors at the bottom of the auditorium which led to the hallways. There was no one there, it seemed he'd run off somewhere, or was possibly just a figment of their imagination. The group decided it would be best to just let someone know what they'd seen and then leave. With Hunter in front, they all exited the auditorium, Kaylie immediately noticed how dark everything was now. Apparently they'd been in the auditorium longer than they'd realized. The hallway lights had all been turned off, save for a few in evenly spaced intervals. The main hall was still lit, however, but the office was now dark and it was obvious no one was around anymore. They moved forward, everyone was pretty silent, trying to keep their cool. When they made it to the front doors, Jon and Derek moved forward and began checking them. They pushed and pulled as hard as possible on each. The doors wouldn't budge. "Well, what now?" Jon asked no one in particular. "Jon, I'm getting a little worried," Kyra said, her voice trembling slightly. "I don't like being in abandoned buildings like this. And what about that guy you and Kaylie say you saw, what if he's like a killer or something?" Jon laughed and put an arm around her gently hugging her. "Don't worry, I'm sure there's nothing to worry about, we'll be fine." He gave her another squeeze but she moved away from him slightly, he shook it off. "Look!" Jon exclaimed, pointing toward the main office. "What?" Claude asked, "I don't see anything." "The mop and bucket! They weren't here earlier. That means there must be a janitor still here cleaning up." Jon had already begun heading down the left hallway which he knew had a janitor's closet a ways down. "Sounds good enough for me," Kaylie agreed, "We may as well give it a shot." She jogged to catch up to Jon and the rest of the group went to catch up with her. The group moved cautiously down the darkened halls, paranoid at the aspect of a killer that Kyra had put in all of their heads, and simply a bit freaked that they may have to spend the night in an empty school. It wasn't long before they came up on the janitor's closet Jon had known about, which was open with the light on. There appeared to be no one around, so Jon moved up slowly, the others right behind him. Timidly they peered into the closet, unsure of what they were scared of. Kaylie watched as Jon's blue eyes scanned the inside of the closet and she could tell he saw nothing. Suddenly, Jon jumped, causing the rest of them to jump as well, each of their hearts pounding strongly against their rib cages. A strong black hand had grasped Jon's shoulder and instinctively he had spun around, ready to strike at the person who owned the hand. "Whoa, child!" A rumbling voice exclaimed, "Calm down!" The man standing behind them was about Jon and Derek's height, around 5'11" and pretty rotund. He had backed up slightly, both hands in the air to accentuate that he didn't intend to harm them. "It's okay son, cool it. I ain't gonna hurt ya." "You scared the crap out of me sir," Jon breathed out heavily, after noticing the janitor's uniform on the man. "Sorry about that, we're a little freaked out." "It's okay," the large man smiled warmly, "I shouldn't have startled you like that. I'm Felix Dice, a janitor here. What are you kids doing in school this late? By the looks of ya, ya don't even go here do ya?" "No sir," Kaylie answered him, "we don't go here anymore, we were just visiting. We thought we saw someone suspicious on our way out and decided to investigate. Then we got locked in." Felix rumbled a belly laugh, "What are you? Mystery Inc.?" "Yeah, okay, not that funny," Jon retorted dryly. "Sorry... so, you want me to let you out I assume?" "Actually, yeah, that's why we came looking for you, we thought you'd probably have a key to get out." Kaylie explained hastily, eager to get out of the school. "Well darlin', I'd be more than happy to let you all out. Let's get going, I'm sure you all have things to do." With that Felix pushed past them, but doubled back to grab a box of soap from the closet. "I was coming to get this when I thought I heard something in the stairwell, turned out to be nothing." He shrugged and made his way past them again. Felix was leading them back down the hallway toward the entrance when Hunter stopped and let everyone know he was getting a drink. They all paid him no mind and continued forth as he stopped at a water fountain. Each of them were talking to one another about non-important things, parties and the such when Jon stopped in his tracks and turned around. "Hunter?" The fountain had stopped running and only Jon had noticed. Everyone began scanning the darkness with their eyes. Hunter was gone. "Hunter?" Jon asked the hallway again, there was no response. Cautiously they crept back down the hall. "Hunter, this isn't funny," Kyra called out, making sure to stay between two of the guys at all times. When they were all near the water fountain Hunter had been drinking from they decided to search the rooms for him, unsure of what could have happened to him. They decided that Claude should stay with the girls, so Felix, Jon, and Derek began checking the classrooms and stairwell. Kaylie watched as Jon and Derek investigated separate rooms, flicking the lights on. Felix, who had a flashlight, went into the stairwell he'd checked earlier. After a few moments a deep bellow came from the staircase, followed by Jon and Derek rushing from the rooms and kicking their way into the stairwell. Claude and the girls followed. As Kaylie entered the stairwell, she noticed Jon and Derek were already down one flight and Jon had Felix's flashlight in hand. Kaylie was able to catch a glimpse of what they were standing over before Jon motioned for Claude to keep the girls back. It was Felix's body, soaked in blood, and she thought she'd seen some of his entrails. Suddenly Kaylie felt as if she had to vomit. The smell of blood was now pervading her nostrils and she choked a bit. Then the sound of Felix gurgling could be heard and Claude pushed the two girls out of the stairwell. Kaylie was fighting back vomit and tears when Jon and Derek rejoined them with Felix's flashlight. They didn't say anything except that his keys were missing. It was then that Jon took the lead as he usually did. "All right, we need to stay calm. Felix is dead, and Hunter may be too, I have no idea what is doing this to us, but I can only assume that it's that man we saw earlier. I can't imagine why. What we should do is check the front doors again and try to force our way out if need be." Everyone silently agreed, still somewhat choked up, except for Derek. "Well what about Hunter? We just leave him?" Jon nodded gravely, "What can we do Derek? This guy obviously has some weapons, a knife and who knows what else. We need to get out of here and then get the police to check it out. Now come on, let's check the doors." Kaylie followed instinctively as Jon moved down the hall and toward the entrance for what seemed like the hundredth time that night. She jumped slightly when she felt Claude's hand wrap around hers. After realizing it wasn't the killer she calmed down, nuzzling against his arm and feeling secure for the first time since they'd been locked in. After reaching the large glass doors again, the boys all tried forcing them open. They even went as far as to begin kicking the doors and the glass in their center. Their attempts were unsuccessful. It appeared that the windows had all been replaced by Plexiglas, probably because of the sniper attacks several years earlier. Jon even went as far as to check a classroom's windows and a bathroom's windows which also would not give way. Upon returning to the group, Jon was cursing, and Kaylie was becoming more and more worried. Everyone was getting tense now. "They'll replace every window in this damned place with plexiglas but they probably still serve that slop in the lunch room..." Derek muttered angrily. Kyra's tiny and shaky voice interrupted the frustrated silence, "I -- I'm going to try the police." She pulled her cell phone out as the rest of them mentally slapped themselves for not thinking of that earlier. Kyra dialed hastily and placed the phone to her ear. After a few rings everyone heard the operator pick up, "Nine-One-One operator, how may I help you?" Kyra attempted to keep her voice under control, though it was breaking slightly, "Hi, my name is Kyra Taylor and me and my friends are locked inside Carter Middle School." "Ma'am, you've called an emergency number. If this isn't a real emergency please hang up." "Miss, this is an emergency, we can't get out and we think there may be someone in here." "Ms. Taylor, he is probably a janitor, ask him to let you out." The operator sounded peeved at Kyra's assumed ignorance. "Do you think we're morons? We've been there and done that. The janitor is dead and we think our friend Hunter may be also. The person I was talking about is a murderer." Kaylie felt that Kyra did a good job of keeping her cool. She'd have yelled. The operator was on her toes now, "You're sure that there is a dead man on the premises?" "Yes!" Kyra was yelling now. "And our friend may be dead too! We need help!" "All right, calm down now. I'm going to send a unit over as quickly as possible, but it could take from twenty to forty minutes." The operator's voice was calm but apologetic. "Twenty to forty minutes? Are you kidding? There's a murderer somewhere in this building!" "I know sweetie, I'll get them there as quickly as possible. It's Halloween and all of our units are dispatched to keep children safe and subdue parties. This is our busiest night of the year. In the mean time try finding an alternate way out of the school." Kyra didn't bother responding, she simply threw her phone at the nearest wall in frustration. Jon went to try and comfort her as Kaylie and the others began panicking. Claude squeezed her hand, tracing his finger along her finger nervously. Derek went to the doors and continued banging and kicking in hopes that something would break. Jon spoke up finally, after managing to calm Kyra the best he could, "All right, panicking isn't going to do anything for us. What we need to do is check the other exits; the ones in the annexes may be able to be broken or could even be unlocked. Let's stick together and get there." "So we aren't even going to look for Hunter?" Derek had abandoned breaking the doors. "We'll look for him, but we need to focus on finding a way out first. If he is already dead then there's no point in risking our lives to find him." "What if he isn't!?" Derek was beginning to lose his temper, perhaps because his brother was staying so calm. "Don't you even care about him? You've known him your entire life!" "Didn't you see Felix!?" Jon barked, "What are the chances that Hunter is alive?" Derek didn't respond, he simply followed Jon who had turned and was making his way back toward Mr. Murdock's room. Kaylie and Claude followed, with Kyra in front of them. They made their way without incident until they reached a fork that led to two separate annex chains. The group agreed to split up, however Kaylie was a bit dumbfounded when Claude elected to check the right annexes with Kyra. Jon seemed a bit perturbed by this as well. Happy Birthday, Kaylie They didn't bring anything up, however, so Kyra and Claude started down the hallways to their right, flicking on every light they came across as they went. They chose the right hallway because it had accessible lights, unlike the hallway directly before them. Jon had the flashlight, however, and so they'd be able to use that to see. Kaylie walked in between the two brothers, hoping that they'd protect her if there was an incident. Actually, she knew they would. They'd always been very good to her, quickly becoming two of her best friends after she'd met them. They moved cautiously, Jon flicked the light back and forth, making sure that nothing was going to surprise them. Up ahead a bit there would be a hallway that connected the two annexes, though the exit to the back of the school went further than the hallway. They passed the connecting hall, glancing in and not seeing anyone. They continued further, the doors to the outside came closer and they could see the moonlight pouring onto the floor. Derek had been checking into every room for Hunter, and as he checked one of the last rooms, Jon moved forward to try and open the doors. He shook them, but they refused to open. Just as the elder Able brother was about to kick the door, Derek let out an audible grunt and Kaylie and Jon both spun. Derek was on the ground, struggling with the cloaked man from earlier. The man punched Derek in the face after rolling on top of him. Before he could get another punch in, Jon had rushed forward and kicked him soundly in the ribs. The man rolled off and stood up with a gleaming knife in his hand. Jon readied the heavy flashlight he held in order to use it as a sort of club; this eliminated any good light they had, impairing both fighters. Derek seemed unconscious, as he did not try to get up or even move. Jon struck first, trying to strike the killer before he did anything to his brother. He lunged forward, swinging the flashlight down and striking the offender in the shoulder. The knife-wielding murderer seemed unhindered by the attack, he also struck, the sound of his knife slicing Jon's skin made Kaylie flinch. Jon wretched backward a bit and the man came forward with the butt of the knife, hitting Jon across the forehead. Kaylie's tall friend collapsed to the floor. Surprisingly, the man did not come after her, nor did he kill either of the boys, he simply threw Derek over his shoulder and fled. Kaylie immediately rushed to Jon, trying to wake him. It only took a moment for Jon to lapse back into reality, his head propped in Kaylie's lap. He sat up rigidly, "Where's Derek?" he exclaimed, looking around for his brother. "That man took him," Kaylie responded, standing up and trying to help him up, making sure he could stand well enough. "Was he okay, he didn't kill him?" "No, it surprised me too. He's just trying to mess with us or something. I really wish I understood what was going on Jon." Her voice was on the verge of tears. This was all too much for her; she had no idea why this was happening. Jon tried comforting her with a hug and she felt the warmth of blood press against her side from his wound. The hug didn't last long, "Come on, we have to get going. Let's find Kyra and Claude and then find Hunter and Derek. I'm not letting this mental case hurt my brother." The two of them headed back down the hall toward the connecting hallway to go find Claude and Kyra. They approached the hallway and Jon opened the door quietly, going in first to check for the murderer. What he found wasn't the murderer, however, it may as well have been. Kaylie watched him peak in, and he just as quickly peaked out, she could tell his face was a bit pale even in the dim light. However, he smiled vaguely at her, "They're coming now." Kyra and Claude exited the hallway shortly, and separated, Kyra standing a little ways from Jon, and Claude took hold of Kaylie's hand once more. "Where's Derek?" Claude asked, looking around for Jon's brother. "The psycho took him according to Kaylie; I was out cold." "He didn't just kill you all?" Jon was silent for a moment, a sarcastic pause, "Obviously not..." "Oh, err... Shut up. I mean why didn't he just kill you?" Claude tried correcting himself. "Did you want me dead!?" Kaylie accused crossly. "Um, no, sweetie, I just... Oh forget it." Jon didn't change his tone, he just picked up the conversation, "It seems that he doesn't want us dead quite yet. I couldn't imagine why." He paused and without consulting them he began walking, not seeming to want to waste anymore time. "It does, however, give me hope that Hunter and Derek may still have a chance. We just have to find them." The group, down to only four now, strode down the annex and as they were entering the main hallways once more, the girls began getting ahead of them; Jon had given Kaylie the flashlight. Now that they'd separated a bit, Claude zeroed in on Jon, pulling him aside to talk. Kaylie turned around once to see if they were coming, Jon and Claude seemed to be arguing about something, but she couldn't be sure what it was. She looked back to Kyra, as they stopped walking but continued talking, allowing the boys a chance to catch up. Kaylie and Kyra continued speaking idly, speculating on who or what was doing this to them, but mainly why they were doing it. Kyra seemed to think it was Mr. Murdock, but Kaylie didn't believe that for a second. Worriedly, Kaylie turned to look back at the guys, she noticed that Jon was now bending down on the ground, she couldn't see Claude. Completely disregarding Kyra she practically sprinted down the hall. "What's going on!?" She exclaimed, flashing the light over the spot Jon was investigating. Claude's body was there, slumped against a locker and bleeding from the temple and mouth. It seemed that whoever had done this used the solid corner of one of the lockers which would make little noise. "Oh my God! Oh my God!" Kaylie began having a panic attack, dropping the flashlight and collapsing against a wall. Her boyfriend was dead. Gone. She broke down and curled into a ball, sobbing into her knees. Kyra approached now, scooping up the flashlight. Jon stood. Kyra flashed the light over Claude and then Jon, Jon's hands and shirt were smeared with blood, and the cut in his side was still bleeding it seemed. "What happened!?" Kyra exclaimed, backing up, repulsed. "I -- I don't know..." Jon stuttered, he seemed as shocked as they were. "I was coming to catch up with you two when I noticed he wasn't following me, I turned around, but I couldn't see him. I came back a bit and slipped on something... his blood. Then I found his body here. It must have been the killer, somehow he got around us." "Liar!" Kyra screamed. "It was you! You killed Claude! You've always been so jealous Jon! Ever since we were little you've wanted to be my boyfriend. Don't you get it? I don't want you Jon; we aren't even that great of friends really! I can understand trashing my boyfriends when you're jealous, maybe even threatening to beat them up! But murder Jon!?" "What? What's she talking about Jon?" Kaylie had snapped to, hearing this was making her brain race. "I'm sorry Kaylie, but Jon walked in on me and Claude in the hallway back there. He must have gotten so jealous he murdered Claude! I wanted to tell you, but I was going to wait for the right time. I'm sorry." "What are you talking about Kyra!? I never murdered Claude. Sure I was jealous, sure I wanted to hurt him, not only for betraying Kaylie, but for stealing you, like every other guy before him. But I didn't kill him! I'd never kill him! I had just agreed not to tell Kaylie. He said he'd do it, he just needed time. I didn't kill him Kaylie!" Jon sounded sincere, but he was covered in blood, Kaylie didn't know what to believe. "Stop lying! You're covered in his blood Jon! You were just jealous because you could never have me!" As Kyra yelled Kaylie stood and began to run, unsure of which way she was going. "Of course I wanted you, you've been the girl of my dreams since we were little, but I'd never murder Claude for something like that. All I ever wanted was for you to show me the affection I show you, is that too much!?" Jon was yelling now, waving his arms. Kyra, however, had forgotten about him, she turned her back on him and ran after Kaylie. Kaylie was now making her way down the main hall, back to the office and entrance to the school. Tears were flowing freely from her eyes. She sobbed as she turned the corner and found a corner to huddle in. Kaylie ignored the calls coming from Kyra behind her; she didn't really want to see her right now. It had been too much, Kaylie couldn't take much more. First the initial thought of a murderer, then the sight of Felix, now her boyfriend whom she loved had been disloyal to her and then he was murdered by someone she thought was her friend. Kaylie sobbed into the fabric of her jeans. Kyra finally entered the main hall, skidding to a stop and looking around for Kaylie. After finding her she made her way slowly, apologizing to her as she approached. Kaylie didn't want to hear it though, she blocked her from her mind. Suddenly, and surprisingly, the intercom beeped on and Kaylie heard a voice she never thought she'd hear again: Derek's. "Jon? Jon, it's me, look: I managed to get close enough to use the intercom, but he has my feet and hands bound. He's already killed Hunter," his voice broke and he began crying into the PA system, "I'm going to be next man. Please help me. I'm in the office, he's gone for now but he should be back soon man. I know he can hear me. Please help, I --" the intercom cut off suddenly. Kyra stood up and turned around to look at the door. She took the flashlight into her hand the same way Jon had earlier. "I'm going to go check it out. Maybe it's not too late for Derek." Kyra began moving forward with an out of nature bravery. Kaylie couldn't figure out why she did it, maybe she felt guilty, but soon enough Kyra was wearily entering the office. The door closed behind her. Kaylie sat there, trembling for a few moments before she heard a blood curdling scream. Unsure of her reason, Kaylie began to stand and moved forward. Everything was now quiet in the office. There were no noises of a struggle of any sort. As she moved closer to the office, she noticed the mop and bucket that Felix had left there on his journey to get soap. Kaylie cautiously grabbed the mop, shaking it as dry as possible, and then wielding it in both hands. Before she was able to take another step, however, there was a sudden thud against the window of the office, the glass cracked with the force, and Kaylie jumped back. It wasn't the sound that scared Kaylie the most; it was Kyra's face staring at her through the glass, bloody and dead. Kaylie was now backing up rather than stepping forward. The handle of the office door began to turn to her horror and very slowly the door began to open. Emerging from the office was the murderer, tall, and dressed in a pitch black robe, which was smeared in dry and wet blood. He walked slowly, and though his face was shadowed by his hood, Kaylie knew he was staring directly at her. As she continued to back up, Kaylie noticed the red glint of blood dripping from the man's knife. She knew she was as good as dead. She began to pray to God. Without warning, as if her prayers had been answered, a figure came hurtling from down the hall and crushed into the side of the killer. The bloody hunting knife clattered to the ground. The figure turned out to be Jon. Jon managed to get on top of the antagonist and landed punch after punch against his face. However, he was only in the seat of glory for a moment before he was thrown across the floor. The man stood and moved to where Jon was recovering, Kaylie could not seem to make her muscles move. The psycho then took hold of Jon's throat, picking him up slightly and choking him as Jon futilely struggled against him. Finally Kaylie felt her legs moving, she forced herself to walk toward the fight, and eventually she found herself breaking the mop across their adversary's back. Her plan had succeeded: the man dropped Jon who hit the floor gasping. However, he then turned to Kaylie, he didn't seem to be even hurt by her attack on his spine; simply peeved. He approached her slowly, but Kaylie had frozen once more and soon his strong hand was wrapped around her throat and her feet were dangling in the air. She was unsure of how long she'd been dangling there, but she could feel her extremities going numb and her vision began to dim. Then, she heard the sick sound of blade entering flesh for the second time that night, and she fell to the floor, free from the killer's grasp. She gasped, choking on air. Looking up at the scene before her, Kaylie witnessed the back of the killer's hand connect with Jon's cheek, the young man hit the ground and slid a bit. To Kaylie's horror, the larger man, whom Jon had stabbed in the side with the knife, reached down, grabbed the hilt of the knife, and yanked it from his side. The sounds of his muscles being ripped by the serrated edge were audible. The man then disregarded Jon for the moment and turned back to Kaylie, approaching her once more, though he seemed to be stumbling a bit. With blade in hand, the ominous figure stood above Kaylie, who was still gasping and choking. He raised the blade, and as she saw it coming down, her view was blocked by Jon's back. She could not see what had happened, but she heard the blade pierce flesh and muscle. The rivals turned, and revealed Jon grasping the man's wrist, and the knife had been pushed deep into Jon's chest. Kaylie watched on, as Jon somehow managed to force the knife out of his chest, causing the two of them to fall to the ground, wrestling over the knife. As she watched on, still trying to find her normal breathing pattern, Kaylie could tell that it had now become a losing battle for Jon. He'd now been stabbed twice, and he was losing blood very quickly. Kaylie, however, couldn't manage to make herself help him. He had killed Claude hadn't he? Why should she help a murderer escape a murderer? As Jon and the murderer continued fighting, Kaylie could hear the beautiful sound of police sirens, and soon the blue-red lights of the cop cars began flickering over the scene. Kaylie jumped inwardly as she witnessed Jon receive the knife once more as the two figures wrestled upon the ground; this time the blade sunk into his side. However, the murderer's victory wasn't long lived as almost immediately after he stabbed Jon a bloody tennis shoe connected with his chin. Kaylie was relieved to see Derek standing over his brother, though blood was trickling down his side from a gash on his neck. Derek did not seem satisfied with the initial kick, as he stepped over his wounded brother and proceeded to kick and pummel the cloaked man until he no longer struggled. Kaylie heard a bang behind her and glance to see the police using a metal ram to break open the front doors. Breathing somewhat normally once more, and satisfied that the madman was incapacitated, Kaylie crawled to Jon's side, propping his head into her lap as she had done earlier. His breathing was irregular and he seemed to be choking on his blood slightly. From the look in his glossing blue eyes, Kaylie knew that he knew he was dying. However, he tried to lift up his head and speak. "Kaylie..." he coughed up some blood, "Kaylie... I want you to know... I didn't kill Claude. I..." Kaylie was surprised that he was using the end of his life to deny his guiltiness. "I would never hurt someone who meant so much to you..." His eyes began to flutter and his breathing slowed. Kaylie glanced down at his chest. The knife had entered his chest where his lung and heart lay. Kaylie was amazed he was still able to speak. His eyes were dimming, but his lips parted once more and it seemed like he was trying to smile, "Happy... birthday... Kaylie..." His voice was soft and nearly inaudible, but she heard him and began to cry. She'd forgotten it was her birthday. Jon faded away in her arms, almost as soon as Derek had taken his brother's hand in his. Then the door burst open, sprinkling Plexiglas everywhere and the police rushed in with guns drawn, checking the area professionally. *** Later that night as the police questioned her, and the ambulance took her friends to the morgue, Kaylie learned the truth of the killer. His name had been Clark Kane, a former teacher at Carter Middle School. He had been fired the previous year after being wrongfully accused by a fellow teacher of sexual assault. After he was fired, his wife left him for being unfaithful, kicked him out of the house, and took custody of their one year old daughter. He'd come to the school that night to exact vengeance on the teacher that had ruined his life, however, they assumed that when Kaylie and her friends spotted him and he was forced to hide, his plans had gone awry. Kaylie cried the entire night. Four of her friends, including her boyfriend, had been ripped away from her on that night -- her birthday -- and it hadn't even been for a reason involving them. For several years after that night, Kaylie was unable to enter a room on her own, she refused to sleep in the dark, and when her birthday rolled around she locked herself in her room and cried almost the entire day each year. She stayed close friends with Derek, who had also been traumatically affected by the incident. Together they helped each other keep themselves sane. Eventually the two married and had a son whom they named Jonathan Hunter Able. * *Hope you enjoyed it. If you did, leave me a feedback and tell me what you liked and why. And if you didn't, leave me a feedback telling me what you didn't like, why, and how I can change it. I can't get better without feedback really. So thank you, and have a nice day.*