As if I had fallen into a deep slumber, all of my senses shut down. The miserable, empty feeling of betrayal sank deep into my heart. A stream of tears began to roll down my cheeks as the burning sensation in my lungs prevented me from screaming.

Why?” I managed to breathe. “Why?”

Lucas appeared at a loss for words. The bright, soulful eyes I loved to stare into were now full of regret and sorrow. “Aliyah, I’m sorry,” he said in a soft, fragile tone. “I don’t want it to be real, but it is. I’m sorry.”

We looked at one another, speechless. Unmoving. It wasn’t until a loud screech piercing the brick walls of Ravenvale High that a sound was heard.

“What was that?” Tyler questioned. Everyone in the room stood at attention as more alarming screams resonated in the hall.

“Sounds like something’s going on in the school,” Lucas said, putting his guitar back in its case. “I think we should pack up and get out of here. Ali, I—”

“Don’t.”

Bruce walked from behind the drum kit. “Relax, I’ll check it out,” he yawned. He turned the knob and mumbled, “Bunch of softies.”

At the crack of the door opening, a purple mist entered the room. “Bruce, wait.” I tried to stop him, but he walked out and narrowed his eyes in the direction of the school entrance, laughing as he pointed down the hall.

“Say something already,” Tyler urged as the rest of us waited inside the room for a response.

“Man, it’s just that punk ass loser we put the dress on earlier. He was probably the one screaming like a little girl. Yo, Jerome, get out here so we can—”

Bruce’s body stiffened, his face contorting as he gasped for air with his hands around his neck. He collapsed on the ground seconds later with a hard thud.

“What the hell?” Robyn muttered at the frightening scene in front of us. Jerome rushed to Bruce’s lifeless body and kneeled to shake him.

“Bruce. Get up, man. Get up,” he hollered as we all walked out of the classroom.

Tyler bent down and put his head on Bruce’s chest. “He’s not breathing.”

My eyes widened in shock not only because of Bruce’s death, but due to the eerie presence of James, the bullied student. He walked toward us with a deranged, maniacal grin that was only matched in horror by the unstable, ghastly demon that trailed behind him.

“The hurt, the hate. I’ll kill them all for it,” he uttered in a demonic voice as he began to twitch. “He should’ve left me alone. Now, he’s dead.”

“Wh-what do you want?” Lucas asked him before grabbing my hand and shielding me. His arm was trembling.

“I’m gonna kill every bully in this school. They’ll all pay for making my life a living hell.”

Robyn stepped in front of the group to confront him. “We didn’t do anything to you. Let us go.”

James’s expression transformed, his face dropping into a doleful stare. “You’re right. You didn’t do anything to me,” he started in a nonchalant tone, “but he did.”

He leered at Jerome. James’s level of animosity for him was among the highest I had ever sensed. An impulse of dark emotions hit me after he smiled.

“You’re next to die.”

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

The five of us fled in terror. We raced through the school in a panic and made our way to the upper floor, rushing into an empty classroom with Lucas and Tyler barricading the door with desks.

“What the hell is goin’ on?” Jerome asked as he stood in the corner, mortified. “I don’t wanna die.”

I paced back and forth, hoping to come up with a solution. The sound of sniffling caught my attention. I looked underneath the teacher’s desk and saw a familiar face curled in the fetal position. “There’s someone else in here,” I announced.

Everyone watched as the person stood up and revealed their disgruntled expression. It was Candice, who backed against the chalkboard with a broken glass tube in hand.

“Stay away from me. All of you,” she warned, waving the sharp edge of the glass in a crazed manner. “Get the hell away from me.”

I backed away as Tyler approached her. “Can you put that down? We’re obviously not here to hurt you.”

A flurry of tears flowed down her face. Pieces of glass shattered on the floor after she threw the broken tube down with force. “Why is this happening? I didn’t mean anything I said to him.”

“What are you talking about?” Tyler asked.

“That sophomore boy. Two of my friends are dead. He killed the detention teacher and the security guards too. He’s after everyone whose ever bullied him.”

“How exactly did he kill them?” I inquired.

“I don’t know. He just stared at them until they collapsed on the ground and died. I ran out with a few other people before he got to us. I tried to hide and call the police, but I couldn’t because my damn phone exploded yesterday.”

Tyler groaned hearing her whiny voice. “What you’re saying doesn’t make any sense. You can’t kill someone just by looking at them. Unless.” He looked at me; I nodded in response. “Damn.”

“I know what I saw,” Candice continued. “It was him. I saw the way he looked at everyone in the detention room who always called him names. Most of the time he stinks and never opens his mouth in class, so a lot of us tease him, but we’re just playing around. Personally, I never meant to hurt his feelings.”

“But you did,” I stated. “And I’m betting you’re the one who put Bruce and Jerome up to that stunt with the dress. You’re only apologizing now ‘cause you’re afraid to die. I can’t stand people like you.”

“Maybe you should leave her for dead while you escape.”

My heart clenched at the voice of my demonic tormentor, who stood in one of the empty corners of the room. It vanished just as Robyn approached me.

“We need to talk. Unfortunately.”

“I have nothing to say to you,” I shot back. “If all of this wasn’t going on, I’d punch you in the face right now.”

She curled her lip. “Yeah, whatever. If you care about the people in this room, you’ll listen to what I have to say.”

I sighed and followed her over to the window to speak in private. “What do you want?”

“I need you to get everyone out of here so I can kill that sophomore.”

“What? No. You’re not killing him. He needs to be talked to and treated like a normal person.”

She moaned in exasperation. “Great. I forgot you’re a saint and think everyone can be saved.”

“Yeah, and? What, did Lucas tell you that?”

“No. I’ve been watching you since before you was put into a coma, so obviously I know you have the power to free people from Shadows.”

Shadows? And I just knew she was stalking me all this time.

“What are Shadows? Are you talking about the demons?”

“You’re really that out of the loop?” She snickered before giving me an answer. “Shadows are different than the Shade Crawlers we kill with ease. They’re the ones that specifically manipulate a person with negative emotions. They look almost the same as Shade Crawlers, but the brighter red eyes give it away.”

“Shadows? Shade Crawlers? Where are these names coming from? How do you know all of this?”

“I picked it up from someone who knows about them. That’s all. None of that is important right now. I need you to slay the lesser demons that come into the room while I take out the Shadow. Can you do that?”

I looked down at my bandaged hand. “I don’t know. I haven’t been able to manifest my light since I got out the hospital.”

“So, you’re basically useless is what you’re saying? Fine, just get everyone out of here so I can—”

Interrupting Robyn’s speech was a loud bang on the door. I grabbed her arm just as she was about to walk away.

“Wait. I need to know one more thing. Are you pregnant just ‘cause you desire Lucas’s child?”

“Wow. Look, I get what you’re asking, and the answer is no. A person cannot manifest more than one desire. Lucas and I had sex; I got pregnant. It’s as simple as that.”

She pulled away and joined the rest of the group. Now wasn’t the time to pick up the pieces of my broken heart. Staying alive mattered more.

“I don’t wanna die here. I’m sorry, bro. I’m sorry,” Jerome cried out, crouching down to the floor with his head buried between his legs.

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 in the hallway was James, his deranged expression visible through the glass window of the door with the demon peeking over his shoulder.

Was there no way out of this hellish nightmare?