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Eddie fiddled with his pencil between his fingers while listening to his homeroom teacher Mrs. Boris lecturing the class about summer break. He had a tendency to slack off or fall asleep in class sessions. He was glad that Brad and his gang of bullies were not in class. He, for once, could enjoy a moment of peace. Not listening to the chattering from his classmates, Eddie pulled out his favorite Ramen Ninja Boy manga volume and began to read in silence.
Others were playing board games such as checkers and chess. His classmates urged him to play with them, but he refused. Eddie was very talented in those games, but he would rather play video games with Jacob and his mother. There was an announcement being made on the school's intercom. Everyone stopped what they were doing and turned to listen to the broadcast. It was the school's principle Mr. Anderson. Eddie felt sudden chills rundown his spine. He hated this feeling because 90 percent of the time it was a warning that trouble headed his way.
"Mr. Ferguson. Will you please report to the principal's office, on the double?"
Eddie's throat became dry. He was right, or just maybe. Normally, if the school office was in need of a student's presence for unknown circumstances, the office would have sent a notification ticket to the homeroom teacher. If a principle directly asked for a student's presence over the intercom, it was a dire situation, and in most cases meant bad news, especially on the final day of the school year. Eddie could only guess that it had to be about the incident that he and Jacob had with Brad and his cohorts.
His classmates remained silent. However, a roar of laughter could be heard from next door and the classes beyond his. Eddie became very tense from the chorus of roaring laughter until the students in the neighboring rooms were silenced by their teachers. He felt a hand on his right shoulder,snapping him out of his exploding thoughts.
"There's no need to panic,sweetheart," Ms. Boris said with a passionate smile. "It seems there is a bit of an emergency. Gather your things and head straight to the principal's office."
The entire school was a single building, only the basketball court, gym, playground, auditorium, and cafeteria had their own structures, isolated from the main building. It was rare that Eddie could walk the corridor and the lobby during class sessions after the bell had rung. The lockers and cubbyholes were clear of personal belongings. The walls were still decorated with art posters, drawn by students. Eddie saw several janitors whom he didn't recognize and had never seen before mopping the corridor floor. His eyes never left them as he drew near one of them. Unexpectedly, the elderly female janitor spun around to face him,scaring the wits out of him. Her eyes were abnormally pitch black. Her face was pale and many wrinkles showed that she was aged.
Her wicked smile made his heart hammer against his rib cage. She looked like a wicked witch, Eddie thought. Backing up, he was not aware of his surroundings when one of his feet slipped on the slick tile, and he fell hard on his behind. He grunted as he struggled to get to his feet, feeling the jitters and goosebumps numbing his legs.
"The principle's waiting for you,"she cackled like an old crone, proficient in the dark arts of witchcraft.
Eddie took this opportunity to distance himself from the janitors as he made a right turn out of the sight of the laughing and wicked janitors. What the hell was that about! Today's crazy! Eddie thought. Passing more classes, he noticed the classrooms were silent and there were no signs of life. He crept up to a classroom's door and peeked through the glass. The room was dark and flashy blue strobe lights barely made the room visible. At first glance, Eddie thought the students were watching TV or a projected film. His stomach lurched as the classroom full of students all spun their heads at Eddie in unison. They looked hypnotized, no signs of life showed through their glowing eyes.
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Eddie receded from the door frantically. He was startled by the sound and vibration of his iPhone's it went off in his pocket. Students were allowed to carry cellphones but they were not allowed to use their phones during school session unless it was an emergency. He was surprised to see his mother's number on the ID caller. There was no way his mother would call him during class sessions. Either this caller was a fraud and hacker or it must be an emergency.
Trusting his instincts, he pressed the receive button on his phone. "Hello," he said. He was relieved to hear his mother's voice on the other end of the line. Eddie could hear background noises and thought she was calling him from the Laundromat.
"Mom! There is something weird going on at school. . . "
"Eddie! You must listen to every word I say. Your school is no longer safe. You must not go to the principal's office. Instead, head to the boys' restroom."
"Why is this happening to me?"
"Just do as you are told!" she yelled. "Put your phone in your pocket and walk casually to the bathroom. Do not draw unnecessary attention to yourself."
Carefully slipping the phone back into his pocket without disconnecting the phone line, Eddie casually hurried down the hallway. It was vacant and there were no signs of life. Usually one could hear the chatter of students or teachers. More so, he could not clear the image of hypnotized children out of his mind. Dashing into the restroom, Eddie closed the door behind him. Eddie made sure that no one occupied the restroom but him by peeping underneath the doors of each toilet stall. To his relief, the bathroom was clear. Pulling out his phone again, he saw that the phone line was still connected.
"Pair your Bluetooth ear bud with your phone. This will allow you to be more proficient in your escape and you will have both your hands free to overcome the obstacles heading your way."
It took Eddie about a minute to pair his Bluetooth device with his phone.
"Mom! Just please tell me what the heck is going on? Why are my classmates looking like a pack of zombies?"
"I will go into details when you're safely in my possession. All you need to know is that bad people are coming after you and monstrous creatures that you grew up reading and playing video games about are very real. Goblins are scouring your school. The children have been bewitched by a powerful sorcerer. You have to enter the ventilation system and crawl through the air duct. It's the only way you are getting out of that building. The air duct is right above you. Carefully climb the bathroom beam and push the ventilator lid up."
Eddie carefully did as instructed. He hoisted himself up and came close to touching the lid until viscous poundings on the door spooked him. It sounded like someone was using battering ram to open the door. Eddie lost his footing and nearly fell back onto the concrete floor. His heart raced when the pounding grew louder. His mother was frantically screaming for him to hurry up. At any moment, the door would be breached. Eddie succeeded in opening the ventilator lid and hoisted himself above and through the opening.
Just as he made it to the air duct, he heard the door being ripped off its hinges. He heard sounds of splintered lumber and loud clattering that made his belly churn. Tiny thumping footsteps grew louder. He was in the opening and had a clear view below. Shadows of the intruder grew closer. His mother told him to remain in position and silent, no matter what he saw. And then he saw it. The dark, greenish figure, half-naked and only wearing loincloth made out of rawhide. It began speaking in a raspy gibberish unknown to him.
The creature was short, perhaps nearly the same height as Eddie and the children his age. He did not have a clear view of the creature's face and he was fortunate that he was not forced to look at it. That meant the creature would have glanced up to the ceiling and caught Eddie peeping from above.
The creature had long pointy ears that seemed all too familiar to Eddie. He did not need to see the creature's face to know that it was a goblin that had come seeking him, or at least that's what he thought the goblin's intentions was, although it had a flabby belly. It goblin had a spiked club made out of timber, which he was dragging across the concrete floor; the club made a rattling noise. The goblin called out in its native tongue, clubbing in each of the stall doors until it was very sure the bathroom was vacant. Eddie was afraid to move even when he was sure the goblin had left the bathroom.
"Son. Take a deep breath. Relax."
Eddie inhaled and exhaled to make him calmer.
"Good. Continue straight ahead and do not look back or stop for anything unless I instruct you to."