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Mikayla

November 1st

The scream. That was the worst part.
It started out with me unusually waking up in the middle of the. I sat up, huddled in my blanket and struggled to look at the three beds in front of me. In the darkness, I could make out that Eleanor was hidden under the covers on the bed next to the wall, trying to keep out any light, even if it came from the moon. On the bed near the window, Chloe was tossing and turning, as if she was having a nightmare. On the bed in the middle lay the small figure that was Amelia, snoring softly, completely immersed in her dream world.
I wondered what the reason was behind me waking up, and was about to go back to sleep, when I noticed the door to our room slightly ajar. Since I came to school a little late – which was only by an hour or two – I was stuck with the isolated bed in the room. Every room has one, and in my room, the bed was right next to the door. If I leaned to the right while in my sitting position, I could peep out into the hallway, and that's exactly what I did now.
The room opposite mine had its door open too. A bright light streamed in through the window from the streetlights outside and I could see a silhouette of three sharp objects, but they were curved inward so they looked more like large claws. While in my state of confusion, the three claws swiped down and though I couldn't hear them actually hit or scratch anything, I heard a bloodcurdling scream, and the voice sounded all too familiar. That was when I woke up, for real this time, to the sound of Amelia shouting my name.

"Get up Mikayla, or there won't be any hot water left for you!" Amelia yelled with her toothbrush in her mouth. When you first see Amelia, you would think she's cute and innocent because she's short, has black hair which is cut to make her look like a pixie, and has a pretty face, but behind those looks lie a warrior. She got her black belt in taekwondo when she was ten years old, and by now, most people know not to mess with her.
I sat up in bed and was surprised to see that everyone in my room was already dressed and ready for class. I walked up to my cupboard to grab my things and headed to the bathroom for a shower.
As soon as I turned on the water, the skin on my back, just below my shoulder blades, started to burn. Since I couldn't see my back, I tried to feel for any scratches that may be there, but I found nothing. I figured it was either because the water was hotter than I expected or I was just imagining things, so I brushed the thought out of my mind and carried on with what I had to do so I wouldn't be late for class. After my shower, I hastily put on a pair of jeans and a purple sweater which was a little big for me, but at the same time comfortable.
I took a quick glance in the mirror and ran a hand through my damp hair, realizing just how black my hair seemed to be in the sunlight that was streaming through the air vent. I was glad I got red highlights. It looked much better with black hair than blue. Once I was satisfied with my appearance, I grabbed my bag and ran toward the cafeteria for breakfast. I entered just as the prayer began, so I slowly crept up to an empty seat at my table. I was about to join in with the prayer when I heard somebody sniffling beside me. I turned and saw a friend of mine, Riley, with tears rolling down her cheeks.

"What's wrong?" I asked her once the prayer got over.
"My back," she replied taking a seat, "I don't know what happened to it. I woke up this morning and it was burning. The pain wasn't thatbad, so I didn't think much of it, but now it's almost unbearable."
It couldn't have been a coincidence that her back was burning in the same place mine was when I went for a shower this morning, and, relating to the dream I had last night, and the fact that she was in the room opposite mine didn't make things less confusing.
"Okay," I said in a calm tone. "Have you asked someone to check it out yet?"
She shook her head. "It wasn't this bad in the morning, so I figured it was nothing."
"Alright. After breakfast, I could take you to the nurse and we can see what she has to say about it." I suggested. She was about to say something, but then seemed to think better of it, and simply nodded her head.
When breakfast came to an end, Riley and I headed back to the dormitory, which was where the nurse usually stayed. We stepped into her room only to see that she was nowhere around.
"Great, she isn't here." Riley muttered.
"I think she's at the infirmary." I said. "She should be back soon. Until then, why don't you let me have a look at your back?"
She turned around and lifted her shirt. I didn't have to lean in to get a closer look. There were three huge scratches on her back, just below her shoulder blades. The first one curving outward to the left, the second one standing straight, and the third one curving to the right. The scars were tainted with fresh blood, as if the pressure of her lifting her arms caused the cuts to reopen after they had been healed. Around the scars, the skin was bruised and purple in colour.
Just then he nurse walked in and dropped the tray of syringes she was holding once she caught a glimpse of Riley's arm. "Is it really that bad?" Riley asked. I turned and looked at Riley. "I don't think you're going to school today."