by N. Phillips
As Candice screamed in the background, I tried my best to concentrate and think of what to do. Being trapped on the third floor, the window wasn’t an option. And outside the door was James, who’s eyes were rolled to the back of his head with a demon peeking over his shoulder into the classroom.
Was there no way out this hellish nightmare we were dragged into?
“Ali, I’m going to protect you,” Lucas said, stepping in front of me. Tyler attempted to reposition the desks against the door, but it was useless. James was breaking down the barricade with his aggressive pounding.
“Lucas, really?” Robyn questioned. “We’re going to die and you’re putting her before us?”
He shot her a stern glare before turning to me. “Babe, please, I wanted to tell you, but I don’t even remember what happened. I don’t want this to be the last memory you have of me. I’m innocent.”
“Tell her the truth, Lucas,” Robyn yelled.
“I am. You did something to me. I would never have sex with you.”
“Guys,” Tyler shouted as he continued his efforts in keeping James out the room. “Can’t you do that later when we’re all safe?”
“Don’t act like you’re not guilty of keeping the secret too,” Robyn spat out with a devious grin.
“You knew?” I asked Tyler, who remained silent. I feared his confirmation.
“Yes, alright? I wanted to tell you yesterday. I’m sorry. Can we please deal with what’s in front of us? We’re all about to die, dammit.”
With a strong, inhuman-like thrust, James rammed his way into the classroom. Tyler backed away as the mountain of desks tumbled down with a loud rumbling crash.
Candice cried out for help at James’s presence, who looked around the room until his eyes landed on Jerome.
“Leave him alone,” Tyler demanded. His words fell on deaf ears as James walked over to Jerome, who looked up from his crouched stance and pleaded for his life.
“Please, don’t kill me. I’m sorry.”
“It’s too late for forgiveness.”
Lucas balled a fist and prompted himself to attack James. He was ready to charge and swing had Robyn not yanked on to his arm and shook her head in disapproval.
James’s eyes returned to normal as he stared down at Jerome. “You beat me up, kicked me around, and made everyone look at me as if I were weak. Like I was nobody. Now look at you. Tell me how it feels before you die, scum.”
Candice covered her eyes and turned away as we watched Jerome’s neck twist in horror. His eyes popped out of their sockets, with his tongue escaping his mouth. Blood oozed onto the floor from his eyelids and traveled to the back of the room where everyone except Robyn and I retreated.
James looked at us like we were nothing but a flock of sheep ready to be devoured. “You,” he said, pointing to Candice, “it’s your turn.”
“Stop,” I shouted, stepping back to shield her. “Enough is enough.”
“You never did anything to me. Go before I kill you, too.”
“No.” I stood my ground. Hell, someone had to do it. “I know these people hurt you in different ways, but taking their lives won’t make anything better.”
“You don’t know what will make me feel better,” he hollered, the demon behind him growing large and more demented. “You don’t know shit. They all tormented me and made my life even harder than what it is. You can’t imagine what I go through mentally and physically because of them.”
He glanced over at Candice, making her jump in turmoil. “You and your friends always thought you were better than me. You called me a retard every day in class because I couldn’t answer a simple question. You wanna know why I couldn’t answer it? Because I don’t have the knowledge. I don’t have the education because I can’t always make it to school. I’m afraid of walking outside my house and getting shot like my brother did. That’s the type of street I live on. That’s what I have to go through everyday outside of this building.”
“I didn’t know,” Candice cried out, sobbing in despair. “I didn’t know.”
“No matter how much I try to better myself and do the right thing, you’re still gonna see me as the same kid who’s not on your level. You’ll judge me like I’m a lesser being, like I’m a different species. I have emotions, too. But every day that I come here, I’m abused by those who think they’re above me.”
“I’m sorry. Please don’t kill me.”
“You think I wasn’t gonna reach my breaking point? That I wasn’t gonna wish death on all of you and get my revenge?”
“James,” I began, shifting his attention back to me, “I wish I had a solution to your problem, but killing everyone who made your life miserable isn’t it. Look around you. Look at what you’ve done. You’re either going to prison for life or you’re gonna die.”
He approached me and wrapped his hand around my throat. I could feel his fingers digging deep into my skin before Lucas rushed forward and threw a punch. His knuckles collided with James’s jaw, breaking the tight hold around my neck.
“Tyler, Lucas, take Candice and get out of here,” I coughed out. “Robyn and I will handle this.”
Lucas appeared puzzled by my words, but he chose not to argue. He and Tyler pulled Candice out of the room and let the battle between James and the two of us commence.
“You’re both going to die in her place,” he growled, his threat summoning multiple demons into the room.
“Now I can have fun,” Robyn said, extending her right arm. A long object covered in a purple glow began to take shape in her hand. A shockwave of black energy shook the room as it formed into an ebony scythe dripping with purple liquid from the tip of its blade.
She then took charge, slicing creature after creature with keen perception. I was astonished at how she could wield the weapon with such mastery.
“I don’t get it. If you had this kind of power, why didn’t you use it against the demon in the hallway?”
“Because I would’ve had to explain myself afterwards, and I hate talking. Only people with desires to stop evil can see Shade Crawlers and Shadows, so if I had summoned this baby earlier and started chopping these creatures in half, the only thing everyone else would’ve seen was me swinging my arms around like a cheap action figure. Not to mention I’m pregnant, remember? The only reason I’m fighting right now is because we have no other choice.”
Two ‘Shade Crawlers’ appeared out of thin air, with one ready to strike me with its claw. Robyn quickly used her weapon to shred the demon’s body in half, leaving dusk particles in its wake before ripping into the torso of the other.
“Ugh. I can’t believe I just saved you,” she muttered. “I guess I hate demons more than having your weak ass around.”
“Whatever. I’m so not saying thank you.”
We both locked eyes with James, whose demonic manipulator was the final challenge in the room.
“I’ll take it from here,” I told her.
“You’re still trying to save him? Fine, I’ll sit this one out. But don’t expect me to jump in when he goes nuts on you.”
She stepped back and leaned against the chalkboard with her arms crossed, giving me the opportunity to perhaps save James. “Don’t be like the people who bullied you, James. I know something’s telling you what to do. Fight it. Don’t listen to it.”
He backed away with his hands on the side of his head, groaning in what seemed to be excruciating agony. “Why do monsters live and good people die?” he asked as he scurried around the room, squeezing his head while battling the thoughts in his mind. “Bad people need to die.”
“Everyone deserves to live, James. This may sound crazy to you, but I can sense the emotions of every person that sets foot in this building, and I know for a fact that we’re all the same. We all have our problems. We all get bullied by society one way or the other. Revenge will get you nowhere and it’s not worth losing your life over. Keep striving to be better than the person they think you are. You’re stronger than th
at voice in your head telling you otherwise.”
The demon lurking around him whispered incoherent words in his ear. He continued to cry out and vent. “You’re wrong. There’s so many cruel people in this world who don’t deserve to live. They ruin the joys of life for everyone. I have to get rid of them.”
“No, you don’t. Don’t listen to the monster in your head. You can beat it.”
He fell to his knees, looking up at the ceiling of the classroom. “It… It wants me to kill you, now.”
“But you won’t. Because you’re not evil. You’re a good person.”
“I-I want to be a good person. I don’t want to be a killer.”
The ‘Shadow’ influencing James appeared thrown off by his resolve and twisted its massive body in an unorthodox motion. It began to react in a bizarre and unsteady nature, which intensified the darkness surrounding him.
“I can’t control my thoughts.”
As James screamed and struggled to exorcise his demon, heavy footsteps could be heard in the hallway marching toward the room. A squad of armed police officers rushed inside.
“Everyone get on the ground,” one of the officers demanded with his firearm pointed at us. James, however, refused to lay down.
“I said get on the ground.”
“Not until I get my revenge.”
I couldn’t help but feel disheartened by his reaction to the officer.
I had almost gotten through to him, but the negative influence of the demonic entity and James’s thirst for vengeance was too strong.
He charged at the officers, his face contorted into a wrathful scowl.
“Take him out, take him out,” one of them ordered.
“No, wait. I can help him.”
My cry for restraint was silenced by the ear-splitting gunshots. My body shook uncontrollably watching James collapse on the floor and cough out his last breath. There were no words to describe the overwhelming events that had unfolded.
CHAPTER 11
The sound of police sirens and stray voices howled in displeasure. Feeling the uncomfortable, cold steel beneath me, I slid off the emergency truck and removed the wool blanket wrapped around my body. Medical technicians soon came out the school carrying stretchers with thick white sheets that covered those who lost their lives in the building.
The feeling of distress and disappointment forced me to turn my head and look away. It was then that I peered at another emergency truck in the distance and saw Lucas and Robyn being medically attended to.
My body subconsciously wandered over to them before an EMT stopped me mid-way. “Please sit back down, young lady. I’ll need to check your pupils for a brief moment.”
He brought me back over to the ambulance and shined a flashlight in my eyes. “Alright. It looks like you’re not suffering from a concussion,” he said as I squinted from the blinding light until he removed it. “Your guardian hasn’t shown up yet, so stay put until they do, understand?”
The EMT waited for me to reply, but I didn’t. He turned to walk and assist Tyler at another ambulance nearby, but stopped when I grabbed his arm.
“Yes, young lady?”
“How did the police know what was happening inside the school?”
“Uh, well, I don’t think I should be sharing this bit of information with you, but the officers got a call from the FBI about someone with dangerous ambitions inside the building, and that he had already killed a few people.”
“Okay, thank you,” I mumbled before he scurried away. Staring into space, my mind drifted to an endless void of darkness. The only thought in that black hole was Lucas cheating on me with Robyn, and even when my brain did process something else, it would just be images of dead bodies.
What added to my suffering was the presence of Agent Grant, who approached the ambulance with a smug expression on his face. “Nice to see you again, Aliyah. Care to explain how so many people died this time?”
“I don’t know. Please, just go away.”
“Choosing to lie some more, I see. You mean to tell me that this school isn’t your playground for killing young sinners? That you’re not a part of the group responsible for everything?”
My eyes rose from his accusation. “What?”
“Don’t play dumb with me. People are dying, and I know you’re involved somehow. It disgusts me that you could sit there and act innocent after you’ve taken so many lives. Criminals like you deserve to rot behind bars.”
“What the hell is your problem?” I retorted, standing up. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. I—”
“Enough. I want the truth, and I want it now.”
I flinched from his aggressive demand. Before the interrogation could continue, my mother came to my aid.
“Baby, I’m so glad you’re safe.” She hugged me before addressing Grant. “What business do you have with my daughter?”
He mustered a smile through his frustration. “Simply questioning. That’s all, ma’am. I pray she isn’t in the middle of something like this in the future.”
“She won’t be. Now can you leave us alone?”
“As you wish.”
My mother waited until he was out of sight before she brushed my hair back and examined my face. “Why didn’t you come straight home? I don’t know what’s going on with you lately, but there will definitely be some changes. Come on. Let’s go.”
Day swiftly turned into night, but the misery consuming me didn’t decrease. I laid in bed under my sheets, heartbroken and resentful of the person I loved the most. Depression and loneliness had become my existence, and the darkness and silence of the room would have become my paradise had the tormenting demon not manifested near the side of my bed at 11:11 p.m.
“I told you he was screwing her. They have a child together. You mean nothing to him anymore.”
The demonic entity stared down at me and cackled with an uncanny screech.
“Valeria was the only one who cared about you. Maybe you should kill yourself, too.”
I glared back at the scarlet luminescence of the creature, standing up to face it even without my powers. “You’re a virus. A virus that has infected not only this entire city, but my best friend. You made her kill herself.”
“But that’s what she wanted.”
“No, it wasn’t. She was going through a tough time, who doesn’t? Everyone has problems in their life. Everyone. But you … You force people to live in that misery every day. You don’t care what it does to them. Death and destruction are your only goals.”
The light from the crack of the curtains revealed its barely visible figure backing away. If my words were affecting it, then good. I still had a lot to get off my chest.
“You pitiful, soulless monster. You don’t feel anything I’m saying because you have no emotions. You try influencing my thoughts and my actions because you feed off negativity like a parasite. You’re nothing more than the shadow of my sins.”
“If I am your shadow, then you can never escape me.”
“Maybe you’re right, because this isn’t a perfect world. There will always be misfortunes in my life, and you’ll try antagonizing me when they happen. But that doesn’t mean I have to listen. It doesn’t mean I’ll allow you to control who I am.”
A warm, soothing sensation flowed through my body, and a cold breeze circulated around my left hand. “It’s back,” I acknowledged, unwrapping the bandage. A powerful radiance illuminated the room, much to the dismay of the demon.
I understood now why I lost my light. It was because of fear; fear of letting the same thing that happened to Valeria happen to someone else. My desire wasn’t strong enough, but it damn sure was now.
I raised my left hand at the demon and released the energy contained in my palm. The creature shrieked in grief and anguish before dissipating.
The gleaming, visible aura ran down my fingertips before dispersing into small orbs that clustered on the carpet. A smile creeped on my face, astonished at what I had accomplishe
d.
The brightness dimmed until the room was dark again. A surge of overwhelming pleasure had taken over my mind, body, and spirit. My Shadow had been tranquilized.
“I swear, even if it kills me in the end, I’m going to purge every last one of them.”
CHAPTER 12
I stepped out a cab a few days later after given permission by my mother to go to Maylene’s house. The purpose of the visit was to check on her and complete the math assignment, but this opportunity was needed to escape the confinement of my room that only reminded me of Lucas and Robyn.
Before approaching Maylene’s door, I scanned my surroundings after sensing high amounts of negativity in the air. The familiarity of the urban area also captured my attention, with the ivory-colored house across the street vaguely reminding me of a brief moment in the past.
“You gonna come in or what?”
I turned to see Maylene walking down her stoop to greet me. “Yeah, I was just looking around because—”
“Your demon senses were tingling?” she joked. “Come on. My grandpa wants to meet you.”
She led me inside the house where we walked into a white living room that contained a fireplace and multiple photo frames on the walls. Most were an image of a man and a woman, who I assumed were Maylene’s parents. There was even one placed on a small table between a brown couch and a TV that displayed the selection menu on Netflix.
“She’s here,” Maylene called out. Walking out one of the rooms was a bald, elderly man with a long, gray beard.
“Grandpa, this is Aliyah. Aliyah, this is my Grandpa.”
“It’s nice to meet you,” I said, extending my arm for a handshake.
He squeezed my hand and bowed his head. “It’s very nice to meet you as well, young lady. I must say, you are beautiful. My granddaughter sure knows how to pick’em.”
“Oh? Oh, thank you.”
His comment turned Maylene’s cheeks as red as the fire she conjures. “Okay, Grandpa, we have work to do,” she grumbled while shooing him away.