Chapter 4: Adventurez of Z
Back an hour and ten minutes and in the Photo Journalism classroom...
Z's rainbow-colored, dyed hair was tied to the side as she rested her head on her desk, tired. The bell rang for five minutes till class and she yawned, turning her head to the face a wall. She didn't get much sleep. The sound of chatter and the annoying sound of Sheryl, or better known to unpopulars as She-Devil, was probably the only thing keeping her awake. Sheryl was gossiping, and Z knew the victim, but she ignored the blonde. Closing her eyes, she winced against the sound of the last bell.
The talking in the classroom stopped and Z opened her eyes, figuring the teacher must have arrived. She looked at the teacher-or rather substitute-in surprise.
"Today, I have no idea what your teacher planned for you, but as of right now your assignment is to go around and take photos of the different classes. Go anywhere you like, if you're stopped by a substitute, show him your camera." The substitute paused, taking the kids in front of him into consideration. "Now excuse me, but I have another class I have to go take care of."
Surprised, the students eagerly grabbed the cameras, exchanging opinions of the sub and his unusual clothes. Z didn't move, still sleep-numb. Was that...really a...
There was a thud, and a video camera-not of the ones they usually used for class-was placed on her desk.
"I need someone to videotape what happens in the auditorium in...an hour, for now, go where you like." The substitute told her
Z mused about the oddness of the situation, the whole idea that there's a creepypasta substitute, and by what he said, he's not the only one. With a shrug, Z goes to the first class she can think of videotaping, Gym. She felt like she should be more alarmed, but she was instead smug.
It was a rather silent walk, and to entertain herself, she turned on the camera. The desolate halls make an excellent creep factor. As she focused on straight down the hallway, for a split second, the camera glitched. Was that...Slenderman?
She lowered the camera and looked around. No one was there, the hallways were just as blank and empty as before. Holding the camera back up, she looked at the screen and Slenderman appeared right up close!
Quickly, she lowered the camera and Slenderman stood before her, looming menacingly.
~What are you doing out of class?~ Came a cool, very different voice from inside her mind.
Gesturing to the camera, she coughed. She avoided making eye contact with his...face.
"I...uh...am in photojournalism and Na—our substitute said to go take photos of the classes...and-"
~I do not need to hear everything, but tell me child, do you know the his true identity or his label?~ Slenderman cut her off.
Z was very confused.
"His...wait...what?" She asked.
~I see, move along~ He dismissed her and vanished into thin air.
Feeling very odd, Z continued on her way to the gym, but was interrupted by someone saying her name.
"Z! Hey! Z! What are you doing out of class?" It was Lenore, Z knew her somewhat, maybe a bit more.
Z turned to her. Another girl accompanied Lenore, her name was Mandy, Z didn't know her.
"Photojournalism; just heading to the gym." She stated.
Lenore smiled. "Oh, we're going there too! Our sub told us to go there." She said.
Her friend piped up. "Yeah, the guy looked like a black and white clown with a freaky nose."
A little spark of alarm set off in Z's brain. That's three creepypastas, all inside their school. How many more? Wait...her friend was in band...Z wondered how she's doing. A little bell went off in her head, but she shushed it.
"So, what is your sub making the rest of your class do?"
Lenore shrugged, running a hand through her short blonde hair.
"Dunno, play "his song" I guess?" She mutters.
A stab of worry passed through Z again, and a good bit of pity, but she reasoned her friend will be fine. She let both of the girls accompany her to the gym and they walk there, silently. As they pass through the cafeteria, the hum of machines was gone, it was completely...silent.
"I guess my dad won't be here today, huh?" Lenore suggested, awkwardly rubbing her neck.
Z nodded absentmindedly, feeling a sense of unease. Maybe...just maybe...this wasn't a dream. Entering the PE hallway, Z thought she heard screams coming from the Health Room. She was tempted to check it out, but something told her not to and it was probably better left avoided anyway.
Before Z can enter the Gym, a voice stopped her.
"You girls from photography class?" Z turned slowly and her eyes fell on the infamous Jeff the Killer.
Z realized quickly she could probably save both of the girls lives by saying they're from photojournalism as well.
"Yes," she said, "I have a video camera and came to record some footage before going to the auditorium with my friends who are helping me." Z's words sound so fake to her own ears, but Jeff bought it. Because it's a dream, and I control it.
"O-kay, I would record the footage in the bleachers up there, probably those ones that are in the center. That way you don't disturb our kill—game." Jeff said, shrugging.
He doesn't seem to really care, but Z took his advice and the fact she's still alive and went up to the balcony. Lenore followed Z, but her friend was hesitant.
"Why'd you say we were part of your class?" Her friend hissed.
Z wasn't really in the mood for explaining, so she replied bluntly, "you'll thank me later."
It's a dream, I better do good deeds.
They made their way up to the center bleacher, built with the intention of the band playing there, which they do. Not keeping that in mind, since it doesn't really matter, Z found a spot in the middle and angled the video camera. When she was satisfied, she began recording.
The PE kids finished their warms ups, just as Jeff and—what was assumed to be Eyeless Jack—strode in. He gave them the instructions to a game and Z, though she couldn't hear them, could already guess the game wasn't going to be pleasant.
Their "game" began and all the PE kids scattered, sprinting as far away from Jeff and Eyeless Jack as they could. Those that went to try the doors quickly find they were locked and Z caught sight of the first kid getting stabbed to death.
The screaming and the chaos was underway with a horrible frequency. Z watched in horror as kid after kid's life was taken by Jeff or Eyeless Jack. Some tried to climb the bleachers to escape, but Eyeless Jack was agile and pulled them down or followed them up without a second to spare. Within fifty minutes, every single kid in the PE class was dead. Pictures of the event were on the camera, but Z had chose not record it on video after the killers started drawing out the deaths. Although, with the backup storage, the camera could have supported a video or two.
"Daaaaaaaaamn." Jeff shouted, his grin wide and eyes alight, "that was fun!" His white hoodie was drenched in blood and Z could see there was the same substance dripping from his mouth. Lenore was sobbing quietly and her friend was nowhere to be seen. Z didn't know how quite to take it all...she felt strangely empty. What just happened before her was not a good thing, but it didn't seem to be affecting her. Slightly revolted? Yes. Feeling a mixture of terror and awe? Yes. About to start crying and pleading for her life? No.
Z glanced around again, and wondered where that other girl Lenore was with went. Perhaps she was accidentally (or rather not) mistaken for-and then she sees it.
The girl was returning from the bathroom, having gone to puke her guts out. A few feet away from where she entered was Eyeless Jack who was rummaging around the inside of a body, deciding if that person's kidney was really worth eating if he couldn't find it.
Jeff saw this too and has already guessed the outcome of this situation as well as Z has. He looked up towards Z and grinned at her, he motioned her to turn the camera on what's about to be Lenore's friend's death.
The girl froze at the sight of Jack licking blood off his fingers, his mask lifted slightly for eating purposes. He turned to look at her, eyeless sockets focused in on her. He was still very hungry. Pulling out a scalpel, he attacked her.
Below on the gym floor, Jeff started to laugh, gleefully watching, while Z had no choice but to get it on video. When Eyeless Jack had successfully killed the girl, he eagerly cut her open and took out the kidney. Taking a quick bite, he grimaced and spit out her kidney causing Jeff to burst into even louder laughter.
Giving the body a distasteful look, he jumped down, swinging over the railing, and walked over to Jeff. The black-haired killer finished his laughing and patted Eyeless Jack on the back.
Looking up at the balcony, Jeff gave Z a strange look.
"Yo, rainbow hair girl and toothpick; I assume you two are going to the auditorium, right?"
Z nodded.
Grinning, he waved her down.
"Since we have time, how about you two tell us what classes you have. That way I know who to tell to spare you. Not bad with the shooting, I think EJ and I here would love to be the ones to kill you, but we can always wait till tomorrow."
In a way, Z supposed this was their way of being nice, but it still wasn't a solace to know. Nervously, she headed down from the bleachers with Lenore, even more afraid, tailing behind her.
…
The trip to the auditorium went fast and Jeff acted friendly enough...for a Creepypasta; he was still very crude and would comment quite a bit on his kills. Z was just glad she and Lenore hadn't become victims. When they reached the band door next to the auditorium, he declared he had business to tend to and disappeared into the band room. Z didn't question his actions and continued through the velvet curtains and into the auditorium. Pressing a button the camera began recording an unforgettable video in it's memory.
(BACK IN THE BAND ROOM, SAME TIME)
Skylar leaned forward, his head inclined towards the doorway. "It's silent." He commented.
Teagan, throwing caution to the wind, stuck his head out the doorway. He whooped in victory and danced out into the opening. The rest of us glanced at each other, dumbfounded. Was it really possible for someone to beat Jeff the Killer in a fight?
Ramone peeked his head in and grinned. His lip was bleeding and he had a gash on the side of his head. His arms were lined with various cuts and bruises. Some were bleeding profusely, absolutely pouring blood, but the teen seemed oblivious to it.
"You can stop your hiding, you pansy-assed niggers. We just beat the mothafucka's ass and sent him running." Ramone hollered.
Skylar was the first to go, heading to stand beside Teagan. I followed after him, twisting my hands nervously and Travis and Zak brought up up the rear.
The room looked remotely the same, except Jeff the Killer was gone. Did he really get beaten? Perhaps there was hope for surviving the day.
On the other hand, Eyeless Jack-who had been minding his own business-was glowering at us...or at least I thought he was. Rising slowly, with the grace of the cat, his eyeless sockets remained in our direction. He wiped blood off his mouth with the back of his hand and pushed his mask firmly down on his face.
Teagan was the first to notice the unearthly stare and he looked past Skylar to focus on the masked inhuman. He took a step back. Skylar turned around, his eyes betraying a hint of fear. Ramone and Ares didn't budge, but the former cracked his knuckles. The others just followed Teagan's idea and backed up, as did I.
"What're you staring at punk, get out of here. Go join your friend." Ares hissed.
Eyeless Jack cocked his head to the side. He trained his eyeless sockets on Ares and rolled up his sleeves. Gray skin lined with scars and scratch marks was revealed. A scalpel slid into his hand and he flipped his hoodie up. Ares had triggered him.
It didn't matter to the boy though, he stalked up to Eyeless Jack, within striking distance and shoved him down. Eyeless Jack didn't attack, yet. I could feel this sense of urgency and tension as the man picked himself up from the ground. Ares was on the defense, ready to shove Eyeless Jack again, but it didn't matter. Why?
In a matter of seconds with reflexes and flexibility I'd never seen before, Eyeless Jack had made a deep incision in Ares side with the small blade. Ramone stepped closer, getting ready to lunge, but his concern drifted to Ares as he staggered back, clutching his side. There was a pause, in which everyone held their breath.
The tension was too much. I took a breath.
Ares fell to the ground, coughing, blood spotting his lips. Eyeless Jack took a step forward and knelt down, his foot on Ares chest.
None of us made a move to help him, not even Ramone. By some universal evil, none of us could find the courage to help him.
Eyeless Jack removed his Ares kidney and I heard Skylar start retching. He ran back into the instrument storage room, coughs and spasms wracking his body. Tears were racing down his cheeks. It was like at that moment he too was trying to lose body fluids. Tegean collapsed to his knees, in dead shock. I couldn't move, my eyes were fixed on the organ in the monster's hand.
The man in the blue mask studied the kidney, and then squeezed it. Blood ran down his fingers, soaking his skin and flowing in dark rivers down his arm.
Travis gagged and covered his mouth. I felt bile rising in my throat, but could only stare as Eyeless Jack let the organ fall from his fingers and back onto the person who had dared cross him. He rose and looked at us all, and I swore I could see a tinge of a smirk under his mask.
Ares groaned from the ground, he was still conscious, but just barely. Ramone was shaking his head, looking at the floor. Slowly, his hand came up and pushed hair away from his eyes. The gleam of the knife in his fingers was seen, a blur of colors lunging at Eyeless Jack.
The two hit the ground hard. Ramone savagely beat Jack, his fist hitting the exposed flesh of his throat, his knife striking his arm. Eyeless Jack attempted to put a defense, but the sudden attack had him without the momentum and adrenaline to shove the boy off.
I watched, still frozen to the ground.
"Move!" I was broken from my spell when Skylar shoved past me, shedding his jacket.
He quickly laid the jacket across Ares' wound, but it wasn't helping. Determined, he kept the pressure there, his hands getting coated in blood. Zak, off to the side fainted, and Travis barely caught him before he hit the ground. Grimacing, Travis laid Zak on the ground and focused on the clock. He was reluctant to see the fight or Ares. Teagan hadn't recovered, he was sobbing, leaning against the wall, his body shaking.
My legs felt like jelly, but I couldn't sit. I just staggered to lean against the percussion storage lockers, my attention trapped on the fight.
Eyeless Jack had resorted to dirtier methods, thrashing under Ramone like a trapped animal, but Ramone-with his hate filled vengeance-didn't budge.
"Let's see what you like, you little shit, without your fucking mask. You think you're so tough…" Ramone's voice broke. "Well you ain't."
He ripped the mask off Eyeless Jack, and I leaned forward to see.
It...it was...different than I expected. His face could have been normal, but the gray skin had a black substance, tar perhaps, coating the eye sockets and staining his cheeks. Ramone looked down at the man disgusted.
"Fucking ugly, faggot." Ramone swung his fist and slammed it into Eyeless Jack's jaw.
The man had gone still. He wasn't dead, but he had stopped struggling. Ramone threw the mask across the room, and with a new wave of hate, hit Eyeless Jack again, hitting harder with each blow.
My stomach twisted and I put my fist in my mouth. This wasn't right. He...he shouldn't be hitting him like that, just let him go.
Ramone held up his knife, letting it catch the light, before plunging it straight into Eyeless Jack's socket.
"Shuuuuuuuuureeeek."
It was an inhuman cry, and Eyeless Jack threw Ramone off of him and scuttled onto his hands and knees. He lunged for his mask.
Ramone was stunned, but he got back on his feet. His knife was gone, but it didn't stop him. He charged Eyeless Jack. Skylar looked up and cursed. He bolted after Ramone to stop him, before Ramone could get himself impaled. Eyeless Jack had in one hand his mask, in the other the knife that had been in his eye socket. He had no emotion, his mouth set in a fine line.
This time, Ramone couldn't land a blow on him Ramone swung, kicked and shouted, but Eyeless Jack blocked, dodged and kept silent. Skylar hung back, stuck between jumping in and staying alive. Ramone lunged forward, throwing all his weight into a punch. Eyeless Jack dodged him, and then darted past the two boys.
Ramone fell to the ground the same time Eyeless Jack did.
The difference was where they fell. Ramone, too far away to save his friend. Jack, with the knife in Ares' chest.
Skylar and Ramone looked at the sight with horror. Eyeless Jack crouched behind Ares, staring out at us with an expression akin to triumph. With a small laugh, he put the mask back on his face, fixing it to stay. The scalpel flicked out between his fingers.
"ARG! YOU-IT'S NOT FAIR!" Ramone yelled in anguish, he lunged at Eyeless Jack and this time, so did Skylar.
Eyeless Jack would have dodged them, if wasn't for the metal stand that hit him in the back.
I watched with wide eyes, mouth open in awe.
Teagan had stood up, wiped his tears away and had picked up a stray snare stand and swung it at the retreating Eyeless Jack.
Eyeless Jack blinked, but didn't fall. He twitched and darted the opposite direction, but the blow must have affected him, because his agility was lost and he tripped over a dead body. Ramone lunged at Eyeless Jack, hands stretching to wrap around the man's throat.
The feeling of revulsion surfaced. Don't…
I couldn't watch this, I had to get out of here and tell someone to make it stop.
Sliding along the wall and through the mass of percussion equipment, I looked at the auditorium doors. The music drifting from it caught me off guard for a moment. Reality came snapping back.
Who could I get help from?
A painful numbness settled in my legs and I fell, my hands burning against the carpet. I didn't move a muscle, except for to blink and stare at the fight, as Ramone straddled Eyeless Jack, his hands tight around the man's neck.
There was so much noise...it felt like when I was little, hearing my dad screaming at my mom and-
CRACK!
The double doors to the auditorium swung open with such force that the old handle cracked against the brick wall. A looming figure appeared, the axe swinging in his grip.
"What is all the ruckus in here? I-" He fell short and stared at Ramone who had frozen in place at the sound.
It all happened so quick, I could only comprehend a few frames of the moment.
FLASH.
Laughing Jack was in front of Ramon, posed to attack.
FLASH.
Ramone was on the ground, a few feet away from Eyeless Jack, bleeding from his face and neck.
FLASH!
A knife was embedded in his groin.
FLASH!
Ramone was in the air, foot leaving his chest as he crashed into a row of chairs and hit the ground with a heavy thud.
His body was a gruesome mess; his head twisted at a 130 degree angle, blood poured in rivulets and raging rapids from his partly exposed collarbone and his pants were soaked with a mixture of sweat, blood and piss.
Yet, he was just barely alive.
I could tell by his eyes staring at me, and he was crying, his nose running and tears racing down his cheeks. He wasn't going to live and he's probably in pain beyond my wildest nightmares, despite knowing this, I couldn't hold his gaze. The wide eyes filled with pain and fear, malevolence having sunken away to a cold chill.
His body twitched and spasmed and the next thing I knew, he was dead.
Somewhere inside of me, I cried for him and for the fact I just saw someone died beside me.
In reality, I stared at the monsters surveying my other classmates and prayed he didn't turn around and notice me.
Laughing Jack paused beside Eyeless Jack, words were exchanged in short whispers. Eyeless Jack staggered to his feet, cracked his neck and adjusted his hoodie. The sleeves fell to his elbows and and the hood cast shadows over the mask. The clown just cast an offended look at him and slid the axe handle into a loop in his belt. They both regarded the boys frozen in place, either by sheer terror or indecision.
Travis rose, leaving Zac on the ground. Laughing Jack's eyes shot to him, but he didn't attack. Eyeless Jack walked off and Laughing Jack gave him a brief glance as the man left through the open auditorium doors, closing them behind him.
Laughing Jack regarded the boys again and tutted.
"Naughty, naughty, boys. You just couldn't follow the rules." Laughing Jack tittered, his hand coming up to rest on his chin as he bared his teeth in a malicious smile. His smile shattered and something in his brain clicked. "There wasn't just boys earlier, there was a girl…" He scanned them again and his eyes started traveling across the room, but they stopped when a boy coughed.
His calm demeanor flipped and he burst out laughing and before the boys could move, Laughing Jack's hand was wrapped around Teagan's neck, digging his sharp black nails in. Teagan gasped, and started clawing at Laughing Jack's hands.
"HehehehehehehahahahHaHaHaHaHaHeHeHeHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA…."
He whipped out a collar with a spike pointing up and a spike pointing down. His fingers darted quickly around the collar and secured it around Teagan's neck and clicked the lock. Teagan had no choice, but to tilt his head up to keep the spike from pushing into his chin and straightened his back to avoid the other spike digging into his chest. Laughing Jack turned to the others.
The other two conscious boys panicked. Travis looked wildly around for a weapon and Skylar back-pedaled.
"You're not going to even try to save your friend." Laughing Jack giggled. "It's not a surprise." He smiled sadistically at Teagan and kicked the him in the back of his knees. He fell and for a second the point dug into his chin and chest before he struggled to sit up. It didn't save him from the already large spot of blood appearing on his shirt.
Laughing Jack chuckled, and tilted his head towards Skylar. He paused to think and as if sensing something he shook his head. The clown rolled his shoulders back and whipped around.
He was staring right at me.
A wicked smile spread over his face.
"Found you." He murmured.
I jumped to my feet and darted to the other side of the room. My fingers wrapped around the door handle leading to the hallway and I twisted it. Oh I forgot, the door's locked. No, nononononononononono…..I yanked at it futilely and glanced over my shoulder. Laughing Jack was lazily walking towards me, he had pulled out his axe and was swinging it back and forth, a mini pendulum of doom.
Fighting the instinct to keep pounding at the door and scream for help, I turned to face him. God, this was the end. I sunk to the ground, my back against the door and I felt my muscles tense. This was going to be painful…
"Trying to escape, girly." He asked.
I shook my head.
"Liar!" He grabbed my shoulder and threw me away from the door. I crashed to the ground, my elbow scraping against the ground. Before I could whip around, a foot was on my back, a foot wearing very spiky boots.
I struggled, but I couldn't dislodge the weight. No…..I can't die...I…
"Are you scared, kiddo? Are you scared of the nice clown?" He taunted, and I felt the blade of the axe swinging lazily a few inches from my neck.
"I-I-I...yes." I muttered.
The axe paused.
"Why? Don't you like the game we're playing? Don't you want to keep playing?" He asked, the word weighing down on me.
Game? What game? If the game ends...does that mean I'm dead…but I can't lie.
"I-I...don't want to lose…" I was crying, I pressed my face to the ground. I felt so weak and useless.
"Too bad, kiddo."
I braced myself for pain, but it didn't come. One of the hallway doors opened.
"L. Jack!" Jeff, I think, said.
"What?" Laughing Jack whined, and I felt the foot dig into my back as he turned to the door.
"Your victims are escaping." Jeff growled.
"What!" The foot disappeared from my back.
I could practically hear the eye roll in Jeff's next words.
"Did you think you could sustain a trance on that many people? If you did, you're a dumbass."
"It's not fair." Laughing Jack muttered, sounding like a little kid.
Jeff groaned. "Stop bitching, and help me kill them."
There was a pause.
"But I need to kill this girl!"
"Kill her later; we need to go."
"Fine, but do I have time to write a detention pass."
There voices drifted out of the room.
"L. Jack we aren't teachers, we don't need to write a fucking detention pass."
"Oh...what are we?"
"Apparently, we're dumb-asses, now come on."
I lay on the floor, relieved. I was alive...I was alive...for the moment...
I had to change the tense of Z, i accidentally had it in first tense.
