Chapter 2:Wendy's P.O.V
A bright flash of lightning just outside the window was what woke Wendy, upon opening her eyes she glanced hurriedly around the room. She found herself lying on a rotting wooden floor with something damp seeping between her fingers. Jolting upright she snatched her hand out of a puddle, it's source being a leak in the wood above her head.
"Where am I..?"
Lowering her hand the noirettes fingers brushed against a small object, glancing down Wendy noticed her ID wallet sitting in another puddle. With a small sigh she picked it up and patted it dry on her sleeve, turning it over a slip of paper fell from the purple leather wallet, landing on Wendys skirt.
"Oh"
She mumbled, opening the wallet and tucking it back in. Why she had it was still a little hazy, but some impulse was telling her that paper needed to be kept safe. Wendy slid the ID wallet into her skirt pocket and looked at the mess surrounding her.
Around Wendy was a dilapidated classroom, desks had been overturned and shoved into a corner, broken chairs lay scattered around, certainly not the classroom she'd been in earlier.
Wait.
We did the Ever After Charm and then..
"Stan? Bebe? Guys?!"
Wendy jumped to her feet, her left leg giving way a moment later.
Ow, I must have hurt it when I.. fell?
Holding her knee Wendy's gaze found Bebe lying on the opposite side of of the classroom,
"Bebe!"
She called out, relieved to see her friend nearby. The blond girl stirred, rolling onto her back and sitting up.
"Hm? Is it lunch yet?"
Bebe yawned, rubbing her eyes drowsily, Wendy rolled her eyes and stumbled over to her.
"Is that all you think about?"
Coming out of her dizzy state Bebe looked at Wendy, then the classroom, her blue eyes becoming steadily more confused.
"Where are we?"
"I don't know" The noirette replied, looking at one of the less damaged chairs, "but all the furniture is so small.. I think we're in an elementary school."
"Looks that way"
Getting to her feet Bebe brushed dirt from her skirt,
"and the others must be here too. Have you seen them yet?"
Wendy frowned and shook her head,
"I just woke up, you're the only other person in here as far as I can tell."
"Then they must have all woken up before us."
Bebe announced, Wendy wasn't convinced. Standing up Wendy leant most of her weight on her right, Bebe noticed the difference in her friends posture immediately.
"You're hurt!"
She exclaimed, rushing to support her other side.
"I'm fine, I think it's just sprained."
Wendy did her best to smile, this seemed to reassure Bebe who loosed her grip on Wendy's waist.
"We'll get outside and I'll find something to treat you with, wait there!"
Bebe trotted over to the window, trying to pull it open. Disobeying Bebe's order Wendy limped to her friends side and pulled with her, but the window didn't budge.
"No use.." Wendy sighed, leaning against the windowsill. She watched Bebe pull her cellphone from her pocket and dial, the bright pink cell simply buzzed for a moment.
"Damn it!"
The blond hissed quietly.
"No signal?" Wendy asked, Bebe nodded. Reaching for her phone Wendy checked the screen only to find hers didn't have signal either. Grumbling unhappily Bebe began to walk around the classroom, cellphone extended above her head in a search for phone signal.
Turning her head Wendy stared out the window, beyond the filth covering the glass the noirette could make out nothing but blackness.
Where are we... And why?
A high pitched giggle cut through the air, Wendy turned quickly, looking for the source of the laugh.
"Did you hear that?"
"Hear what?"
Having given up her search Bebe returned to Wendy's side.
"Someone laughed just now"
"I didn't hear anything."
Bebe frowned, her eyes sweeping the classroom, a second later her face broke into a smile,
"Maybe it was one of the others! Lets go find them."
Leaning on her friends shoulder Wendy was able to walk out of the classroom, the corridor they entered didn't look in any better state than the classroom. Multiple floorboards were missing and more where in varying states of decay, the walls were oozing mould and either side of the corridor faded into darkness.
"Creepy.."
Wendy heard Bebe whisper, and she silently agreed.
"Lets go left, the floor looks more stable that way."
"Okay"
Bebe nodded, leading them down the dim corridor. The doors they passed usually led into more classrooms, some were supply closets and others were locked. Bebe paused to tug at one of the locked doors and allow Wendy to catch her breath. Over the rattling the handle was making Wendy picked up on another sound.
Footsteps?
Glancing over her shoulder Wendy watched as the figure of a little girl walked slowly from the darkness and stopped, her eyes shadowed by locks of thick brown hair. Wendy opened her mouth to speak, and the child's head tilted to reveal inky black eyes. A sudden fear welled in the pit of Wendy's stomach, crawling up to choke away any words she tried to form. The child's mouth parted, thick red liquid oozing from between her lips.
Wendy couldn't move anymore, all she could do was tremble as whatever it was continued to stare at her, blood spilling down it's pale green dress and creating a puddle around it's feet.
...
"-ndy? Wendy!"
Opening her eyes Wendy was greeted with Bebe's worried expression above her,
"..What?"
"Don't do that!"
Bebe scolded, lightly tugging Wendy to her feet. Dizzily Wendy complied, holding her pounding forehead she glanced at the spot the child had been standing,
"Do what?"
"You just collapsed, did your leg get worse?"
"Huh? No, I just.."
Wendy trailed off, not really sure what what just happened. There was no trace of the scene she'd just witnessed, no blood, and even more alarmingly no girl.
What was that?
"Well, I don't think anyone else is in here.."
Wendy turned to see Bebe grinning at her, the blonde wrapped her arms around Wendy and giggled, ".. it's just me and Wendy, alone together!"
Seeing her friends enthusiasm Wendy allowed herself a small smile,
"Yeah but that doesn't mean we shouldn't keep looking."
"Hmm, I guess"
Bebe sighed and laced her fingers with Wendy's, keeping her close as they continued to the end of the hall. Wendy turned to walk down the stairs but Bebe pulled her back a little and Wendy noticed the blondes cheeks were tinted red.
"Um, you carry tampons around right?"
Wendy blinked,
"Uh yeah"
Bebe nodded her head in the direction if the bathroom at the top if the staircase and bit her lip,
"Can I..?"
"Oh, sure"
Wendy chuckled and handed one of the sanitary items to Bebe, after a quick 'Thanks' the blonde disappeared into one of the few stalls still intact. Leaning back against the wall Wendy stared out of another darkened window, maybe the shadows moving out there were trees but even if they were it didn't give her any more information regarding where they were, or any comfort for her steadily building nerves. Moving over to the window Wendy gave the frame a couple of tugs, but, unsurprisingly it was locked in place. With a small sigh she glanced back at the bathroom, Bebe still wasn't done.
"Hm?"
Wendy's gaze rested on a tall grandfather clock standing in an alcove by the window, a little confused as to why she hadn't noticed it earlier. The gold pendulum was frozen mid-swing, the glass smudged and dirty. So, in no better shape than the rest of the school.
Wendy stared at the glass, behind her reflection the clock hands stood unmoving.
Dong.
The pendulum swung to the left, staying in it's new position. Something flickered in the top corner of the glass, drawing Wendy's eyes to the shape appearing beside her reflection. A patch of red blossomed from the centre of the clock face, spreading until the entire circle was stained deep crimson. Tension knotted in the pit if Wendy's stomach, the clock hands sunk into the liquid, melting into each other. From the red something began to push out of the clock, staring out as a bulge on the clock out stretched further. Wendy's breath hitched when she realised fingers were emerging, dripping red as they stretched nearer to her face. Her mouth opened in the beginning of a scream, but in a lightning motion the now fully formed hand shot to grab her throat.
Help!
Struggling against the fingers tightening around her neck Wendy could feel the air quickly escaping her lungs. No matter how hard she pushed against the hand it wouldn't budge. Her vision blurred, Wendy could feel her mind shutting down.
Then as suddenly as it had come the grip around her throat was gone and she fell backwards. Wendy coughed, realising someone was holding her.
"Bebe?"
She spoke hoarsely, but thankfully her vision was coming back into focus.
"Wendy what happened?"
There were blonde curls brushing against her cheek, Wendy breathed a sigh of relief, shifting her weight back to her feet she turned and pulled Bebe into a tight hug. After a moments hesitation she felt Bebe's arms gently return the hug.
"Hey are you okay?"
Bebe held Wendy's shoulders, her blue eyes swimming with concern,
"Is it your leg? Do you have a temperature?!"
"I-I..."
Wendy's brow creased, her fingers brushed against her neck. It didn't hurt.
What's going on..
Her attention was drawn to the pressure of Bebe's hand on her forehead,
"Hmm, you feel pretty hot"
The statement came with a small smirk from the blonde.
"Bebe."
Wendy rolled her eyes, shaking the hand away from her head. From the corner of her eye the clock came into view, the pendulum was back the way she'd first seen it,
"I think we're near the exit, lets get going."
Striding quickly down the stairs Wendy waited only until she could hear her friends footsteps hurrying down the stairs before walking forwards. The tension that had been knotting in her stomach unravelled when she turned a corner to see two large double doors,
"The exit!"
Bebe squeaked happily, jogging past Wendy to the door. The noirette followed more slowly, treading carefully over the piles of tiny shoes scattered around the foyer.
What happened to them?
Wendy wondered as she reached Bebe's side, confused as to what would make so many children leave so quickly.
Bebe wrapped her hands round one of the doorhandles',
"On three, lets open them together!"
Wendy nodded, gripping the other handle.
"One, two.."
She took a deep breath, her fingers tightened.
"Three!"
They pulled, but the door's response was only to rattle on it's hinges.
Wendy tugged again, hoping that it was only stuck. But the door refused to budge.
"It's locked.."
Bebe sighed, nonchalantly turning back round to check for any other exits.
Wendy on the other hand was on the verge of tears, scared and desperate to leave before anything else weird happened.
Giggling floated from behind Wendy, her breath quickened in panic.
"Bebe I think someone else is here!"
"Really?"
The blonde's eyes lit up,
"Is it Stan and his friends?"
"Didn't you hear it?"
"Huh?"
Bebe's heels did a slow circle, her eyes scanning the foyer,
"Wendy there's no one else here."
"But I-"
"Nu-uh!"
A finger was pushed against Wendy's lips,
"Lets go back upstairs for now I think I saw the sign for an infirmary."
...
Wendy didn't have the willpower left to resist, she let Bebe lead her upstairs until she was lying on the dusty sheets of a bed in the school infirmary. It was surprisingly big Wendy noted, considering they were apparently in an elementary school.
"All the medicine is out of date"
Bebe announced, perching on the edge of the bed with an opened first aid kit on her lap,
"but these might help."
Putting the rest of the kit in the floor Bebe wrapped yellowed bandages Wendy's injured leg.
"If only we had some ice.."
"I'm fine, thanks."
Wendy smiled gratefully, she wasn't bleeding but just having the soft bandages around her ankle seemed to soothe it. Wriggling closer to the wall she patted the space beside her,
"Quit hovering it's making me feel bad."
The mattress sunk a little with the added weight, creating a small dip for Bebe to nestle into.
"Wendy.."
The blonde mumbled, hugging Wendy's arm.
"Hm?"
"We'll always be together, right?"
Wendy blinked, a little confused before smiling,
"Sure, we'll always be friends!"
"Yeah.."
The smile Bebe returned wasn't as wide as Wendy was used to seeing and she released Wendy's arm in favour of adjusting her unruly curls.
The shift on the mattress caused Wendy to notice her wallet had fallen out of her pocket, she opened it and caught the scrap of paper sliding from in-between her cards.
Bebe rolled onto her side, looking at the paper with a surprised expression,
"Oh that's from the good luck charm we did, right?"
"Yeah but we must have done something wrong, it isn't giving us much luck right now."
Wendy chuckled softly, doubt flashing through her thoughts as for once she wished she wasn't right.
"I think I misplaced mine"
Bebe shrugged, getting up and brushing down her skirt,
"I'm gonna go look for it."
Wendy sat up, ready to follow her friend but Bebe shook her head, flashing Wendy a grin,
"You stay and rest, kay?"
"Okay"
She mumbled, her brow creased with worry as Bebe disappeared down the hallway. Wendy allowed herself a long sigh,
"So much for staying together.."
Dong.
The all too familiar sound of a clock filled Wendy's ears, renewing the sense of dread she'd felt earlier.
Across the room a lamp flickered into life, but even something as simple as that made Wendy want to run and find Bebe. But she couldn't. Her body refused to respond to the commands her mind was screaming at it. All except her eyes, they were able to watch as a wooden chair grated over the dilapidated infirmary floor, coming to a stop next to her bed.
"Karen, are you here?"
The voice didn't have a direction, a deep tone just seemed to echo around Wendy's skull. On the wall next to her the tiny cracks in the masonry widened, and from them blood oozed, sliding down the grey walls towards her.
Help!
As if only to worsen her situation the door leading out of the infirmary slammed shut, a dark red handprint appeared on the brass doorknob.
"Karen..?"
Her attention was drawn back to the chair, from the corners of the room all the darkness appeared to gather on that chair, shifting and warping before finally settling on a humanoid shape.
Help, Bebe!
Inside Wendy screamed, hoping her friend would appear again and save her from this nightmare. It had to be a nightmare.
A pair of eyes emerged from the darkness, the entire shadow then surged forward, grabbing her arms with solid tendrils.
The thought keeping her sane shattered.
Whatever creature was controlled the mass of darkness turned to the rest of Wendy, she could feel it grabbing at her skin and forcing her mouth open. It forced it's way inside, the sensation causing Wendy to gag and jerk upright.
"Get away! Get away!"
Finally she was in control, Wendy screeched in panic, racing across the room to yank at the door handle.
"Help!"
She let out a small yelp of alarm, realising there was a thick layer of brown hair wound around the handle and leading away to become tangled in various locations around the room, holding the door firmly closed. Wendy frantically tore at the wires of hair, all too aware of the heaving mass of shadowing getting closer.
"Please come back Karen."
Tendrils brushed against her leg, Wendy released the last of the oxygen in her lugs as a scream, ripping the hair blocking her exit and half running half falling into the hallway. She managed to scramble forward a couple of feet, turning her head to see the shadow person dissipate when it reached the hallway.
For a while Wendy didn't move, despite the splinters sticking into her sides and dirt rubbing into her skin and clothes. She lay there catching her breath, watching a candle placed by the infirmary entrance steadily burn and flicker in an unfelt breeze.
Choking back tears Wendy soon found the strength to sit up, looking down the hall on either side of her. Noticing a shape down the way she and Bebe had come from Wendy stood up and made her way towards it.
"Bebe?"
She called weakly, praying it would be her friend. As she neared the shape she saw it was a woman sitting on a chair, long red hair covered her face and eyes.
"H-hello?"
No response. Gingerly Wendy reached out to shake the woman's shoulder, her hand connected with the woman's body and she collapsed. Her neck twisted when it hit the floor, turning up face up to look at Wendy with empty caverns where there should have been eyes.
Instinctively Wendy covered her mouth, already feeling bile rising at the sight of the decaying person. Maggots started to emerge from the sockets, trying to burrow back into greyish leathery skin after their disruption.
This time Wendy gagged, turning round to avoid looking at the body any longer. But what she was faced with now was no better. The little girl was back, by now her dress was soaked completely in crimson, blood still dribbling from the corners of her mouth.
Horrified Wendy took a couple steps backwards, one foot landing on the woman's body accompanied by a squelch.
Wendy lost all the snacks she'd eaten at the festival earlier, stomach acid stinging the inside of her throat. She sunk to her knee's just as Bebe rounded the corner, thundering towards Wendy. Glancing up she noticed Bebe's eyes were panicked.
"Wendy the most horrible thing just-!"
The blonde paused to take in the decayed corpse and her friends state, her blue eyes widened a little,
"There are dead bodies here too?"
Wendy began to shake, her knuckles turning white with the effort of clenching her fists.
"Why did you take so long?!"
All of a sudden the emotions that had been building over the past couple hours bubbled over, and Bebe was their unfortunate victim.
"Why didn't you come back?! I almost died! And you made me think something terrible happened to you! I tried to call for you, why didn't you come?!"
Bebe fell silent, looking down at her shoes with of a mixture of shock and shame.
"I.. I only wanted you to rest.."
Bebe's voice shook, the moisture in her eyes about to spill over.
She frantically shook her head,
"No! Wendy wouldn't say that, she doesn't hate me!"
In a flash of blonde Bebe was racing away, her audible sobbing fading into the darkness of the hallways.
After a minute Wendy stopped shaking, covering her mouth upon realising what she'd just done.
I have to find Bebe and apologize.
Wendy got to her feet, the pit of her stomach filled with guilt. She walking steadily in the direction her friend had headed, a smell hit her nose as she neared the staircase back to the first floor. Wendy gagged a little, holding her nose she stepped forward and found the source of the stench.
Body parts littered the staircase, Wendy could cleary make various arms and legs, there was even a decapitated head spilling pinkish mush out onto the wooden steps.
Closing her eyes Wendy let the dizziness subside, she didn't allow herself to question the horror she'd stumbled upon, right now she had to find Bebe. Hurrying down the stairs Wendy continued down the hall, glancing into each classroom for signs of her friend.
Dong.
As she reached the end of the hall she heard the clock chime again, her skin pricked with nerves. Wendy's eyes were drawn to something on the floor, a block of bright pink plastic that contrasted to the entire building.
It was Bebe's cell phone.
She picked it up and glanced around the hall,
"Bebe?"
After a few seconds of silence Wendy look at the door the cell had been next to, 'toilets'. She pushed open the door and peered inside, some busted up sinks and four stalls. Wendy stepped into the washroom and let the door swing closed behind her.
"Bebe?"
One of the stall doors creaked.
"Bebe I'm sorry, I don't know what came over me."
She walked to the last stall, it was the only closed one.
"Please come out of there."
No response.
"Bebe I'll come in myself if I have to."
Silence.
"Bebe?"
Leaning forward Wendy gave the door a light push, it swung open with no resistance. The scene inside took Wendy's brain far too long to comprehend.
Bebe was swinging from a beam above the toilet seat, the noose around her neck suspending her there. Her face was white and streaked with fluids, blood and mucus crusting together just below her nose.
Wendy screamed.
That was all she could think to do.
Then Bebe moved, blue eyes shot open and her hands flew to the rope around her neck, trying to free her throat of the strangling fabric.
"W-nd-y!"
Between choking Bebe managed to muster enough oxygen to speak, the sound snapped Wendy out of her stupor.
"Oh my god!"
The noirette wrapped her arms around Bebe's waist, trying to hold her up. Her feet slipped, resulting in the rope being dug into Bebe's neck.
"S..ry.."
Bebe gasped, eyes bulging from lack of oxygen.
"Don't talk!"
Wendy shrieked, tugging at the rope around her friends neck. Blood trickled onto her fingers and down her hands, the rope continuing to dig into Bebe's skin. Panic was clouding Wendy's mind as she struggled to free Bebe, a thought suddenly hit her,
Something for her to stand on!
Scrambling out of the stall Wendy searched frantically for a useful object, her eyes landing on a bucket by the door.
Relief flared up in her chest but was quickly doused by disgust when she saw what the bucket was filled with.
Blood and intestines were dripping from a small crack in the metal, staining the wood around it deep red.
With a quick shake of her head Wendy grabbed the bucket, Bebe now foremost in her mind she tipped the buckets contents into the hallway and ran back to the toilet stall.
The bucket clattered to the floor, Wendy followed, dropping to her knees in horror.
Bebe's arms now hung limply at her sides, blood and chunks of skin hung from her nails.
Wendy felt hot tears sliding down her cheeks.
Dead.
The simple fact registered in her mind. Wendy screamed, finally allowing her sadness to gush out in the form of tears.
"No! No, no no! Bebe, why?!"
She wailed to the corpse in front of her, digging her fingers into her hair, still not willing to accept the scene.
"I'm sorry! I'm sorry Bebe! Please Bebe, don't leave me alone!"
...
In just a few hours I went from having fun with my friends in a classroom to watching one of them die right before my eyes. This reality, there's no way I can accept it. But, this is a place where anything can happen. This place.. Is the cursed South Park Elementary.