Chapter 4
Cala - Murder, murder, murder
The sunlight hits my eyes as someone opens my curtains. My eyes pop open and I see Mom standing there, looking frazzled.
With a groan, “Mom, what’s up? It’s early.” It's not but I feel like I need a few more minutes before having to get ready for school.
She’s pacing around my room and it’s causing me to get anxious, “MOM!?”
She finally turns to me, “School has been cancelled for the day.” She says it matter of factly, but she still looks afraid—of someone or something.
I throw the covers off, now wide awake, “Why?”
She just shakes her head, “The administration didn’t give a reason in the text, you’ll have to find something to do today on your own. Your father and I have to go to work.”
I think she’s lying about the reason school was cancelled.
That was my safe space away from my parents, though she did say I could find something to do because they won’t be here.
But she’s lying about the reason. What would be a good enough reason to cancel school?
Other than a threat, I can’t seem to think of one.
Glancing at my phone to scroll through social media, it doesn’t give me the answers I want so I shower, throw on some clothes and decide to drive down to the coffee shop near my house and at least try to study.
Exams are next week and I want to pass. I don’t have to pass to graduate, but I’d like to do well to get away from here.
Still on edge by the interaction with my mother, I watch everyone as I enter the coffee shop. Something happened, but what?
I see Briar, the only girl I talk to in school, sitting in the back. I grab my order and slide in across from her, “What’s going on?”
She looks up at me and I can clearly tell she’s in shock, “You haven’t heard?” Shaking my head no, she passes me her phone and on it is a headline for the local paper:
Possible serial killer on the loose. Four students dead – no bodies found, body parts only!!!!
What in the hell?
“The Big Four,” Briar says, which is what some call Dorian and his little gang of minions. The four are dead?
“How? Why?” I ask in a whisper.
Briar shrugs, “The article said the building was blown up, and they only identified them from either fingerprints that weren’t burned or their teeth.”
Wow. That’s awful. Wait. This was my dream last night. Did I do this? Did I sleepwalk and do this?
We open our books and as I start reading but the only word that leaps out at me is murder. It flashes in my mind over and over like a broken neon sign.
Murder, murder, murder.
Those kids were murdered and while I won’t admit it out loud, I think they were murdered by me.