Untamed

by Steven Harris

Glenworth parking lot is empty for the exception of two vehicles. One is an old Ford truck, belonging to the University’s head janitor, and the other is Detective Lancaster’s black patrol vehicle. The janitor opens the school door and lets in Detective Lancaster and his partner, Detective Jones.

  “Thanks for getting back to us in such a short notice,” Frank thanks the old janitor.

  “It’s fine. It’s nothing much to do on a Saturday anyways. But the mess is over here.”

  Together, the three of them make a left around the corner and down a long hallway. Small pieces of glass crunch underneath their boots as they stroll through the vacant hallway. Frank eyes scan the area. The walls are covered in scratch marks and the decorative posters are ripped to shreds. They follow a trail of sprinkled glass to a classroom with no door.

  “I left it like this,” the janitor informs them. “I wanted to show you first. It happened on Thursday evening.”

  They all enter the class. They find glass on the floor, an indentation on the wall, the classroom door resting on top of chairs, and the teacher’s desk broken into two.

  “Sounded like animals were fighting in here,” the janitor explains.

  Frank sees black fur on the floor. He walks over and kneels down, grabbing a handful, and studies it.

  “What you got there?” Jones asks.

  “Animal hair,” Frank replies.

  “If there’s anything else I can do to help, just ask,” the old janitor says.

  “Is there a surveillance system in the school?” Frank asks.

  “Yes,” the old janitor replies.

  “Has it been reviewed?” Frank interrogates.

  “Not yet. We were going to wait for the Head of Security to come in on Monday before we review it. Do you want it?”

  “That would help us out a lot. Thanks,” Frank replies.

  “Okay, I’ll grab the tapes,” the janitor says before exiting the classroom.

  Frank sprinkles the fur onto the floor, brushes his hands clean, and stands. Jones walks over to him.

  “What do you think about this?” Jones asks.

  “There’s definitely something strange going on here. We’re getting close Jones, I know it. And that footage may be the break we need,”…