Crunch!
Jackie took hold of Ryan's hand, feeling a large amount of fear and intimidation being around teamed up with Jessica and Jordan. Neither pair had ever spoken a word to each other, not even a 'hello' in the hallway, or even the class room. They were as different as a cat and a dog.
"We have to stick together though," Jessica announced, attempting to sound cheerful and assured of their safety.
Jackie did not want to announce her thought that she may be safer alone, because for all she knew one of the three people she stood with could be the killer, but deep down she knew that Jessica was right. That she was safer in a crowd.
"Over there," Jordan pointed towards the tech studies room. "I remember Jade saying something about hiding it near one of the machines in the metal work half of the room."
"If I were a dead body, where would I hide?" Daniel asked rhetorically to no one in particular. James punched his arm and hissed at him.
"Now is not the time for jokes," James said and finally allowed a single tear to roll down his cheek. "I don't know if we'll survive this, but I want to at least try!"
"We'll be fine," Justine said.
"Yeah, of course we'll be fine!" Eilish said enthusiastically. "Don't give up hope!"
"You can never give up hope," Anne whispered. "Hope and faith is what keeps us going. A hope that there's reason for us to pull through this, and faith that that reason is strong enough to keep us alive."
"So you're saying that as long as we hope, and hope, and keep our faith that God will save us, Anne?" Dylan asked, sceptically.
"Religion has nothing to do with it," Anne said. "Human will is strong!"
A pair of arms wrapped themselves around Teaghan's crying form. She jumped with a start, thinking that the killer had finally come for her, but when she turned around it was just Elaine comforting her.
"You're not the killer, are you?" Teaghan half-joked and Elaine half-laughed.
"No, I'm not," Elaine promised. "How are you holding up?"
"I shouldn't have left her, I feel terrible."
"There's nothing you could have done."
"I know … but I still should have tried harder."
"Should we check the gym?" Rachel asked Gary after exiting the music room. She was confident that Gary was not the killer. He wouldn't have killed his own twin, surely.
"Yeah, okay," Gary mumbled not really caring anymore if they got out or not. He just wanted his revenge on the bastard that killed Adam.
"Come on," Rachel said calmly, taking Gary's hand and leading him to the gym. "Maybe a teacher, like Josh, brought their phones and left it in there."
"Maybe," Gary mumbled again and nodded, following Rachel's footsteps as if she were dragging him, but he showed no resistance. He stepped in front of Rachel when they reached the gym entrance door.
"What are you doing?" she asked quietly.
"If it's a trap … I don't want to see you get hurt," he admitted and pushed the door open slowly and sighed in relief when nothing happened. They walked through and walked through the wooden doors into the hall itself and stepped forward until Rachel slipped over.
"Oh my God!" she yelped, looking up. Gary saw what she had tripped over, blood, and followed her eyes up to the wall above the door where crucified like Jesus Christ, with a garden rake instead of a pike sticking out his side, and stuck to the wall with several nails shot in by a nail gun was Cole Bryce.
"He's dead," Gary whispered and helped Rachel up before both of them ran from the gym, forgetting to check to see if there was anything in the PE office.
Helen and Jill walked in to the library together, with Jill a few paces in front. They had decided to check to see if anything could be found upstairs in either the library, the librarian's office or even the storage cupboards behind the library.
Jill walked over to behind the desk and started rummaging through papers, folders and books that had been sprawled over the place. Helen started going through the cupboards and drawers.
"Maybe there's something in the office," Jill said frustratingly, and Helen wasn't sure if Jill was talking to herself, or her. She just watched as Jill pushed open the door and there was a slight, soft crunching noise and Jill froze. Helen stood up and walked over to Jill and saw that a hammer had swung down, and the back of it had stabbed through Jill's forehead. Helen let out a blood curdling, glass splitting scream and ran out of the library.
"I've lost two of my friends on this trip," Russell complained to Dayna, Drake, and Aleisha. Dayna rolled her eyes, as did Aleisha, but Drake felt horrible for his classmate.
"You're not the only one that has lost people," Dayna said crudely. "Grow up and realise that unless we find one of those two stupid phones, more people are going to die!"
"Shut up, Dayna," Drake warned.
"Or what, retard?"
"Or I won't try and stop the killer from killing you when they finally get to you!"
"And what exactly is that supposed to mean?" she said accusingly.
"Shut up, the both of you! God!" Russell snapped. "Dayna, I have every right to be mourning my friend's death, you cold heartless bitch!"
"Why on earth am I stuck with the Rich-Bitch and the Know-it-All?" Gid complained to no one, but he definitely made it vocal so that the siblings could hear him.
"Oh, put a sock in it you twit," Carol said to him. "People are dying, quit complaining! We have to try and get out of this stupid school!"
"Yeah, we're not exactly thrilled to be stuck with you, either!" Danny said. "Of course I know who the killer is. I've known all along. But I'm not going to tell you."
"Oh, do shut up, Danny," Carol snapped at her brother and walked onwards.
"I found it!" Ryan shouted as he pulled the phone out from under the welding machine. Jackie, Jessica and Jordan ran over to him. Jordan hi-fived him whilst the girls congratulated him. Ryan felt proud of himself and was grinning broadly until someone crept up behind Jackie and grabbed her, though none of the three could see who it was that grabbed her.
"Run," Jackie squeaked before the assailant slit her throat and dropped her to the floor. Without looking all three of them ran from the tech studies room.
"Oh, no. Jackie!" Ryan cried as he ran. He felt guilty for running, but he knew he had to. He looked behind him, but could not see Jessica or Jordan anywhere. He pushed the phone inside of the pocket in his jeans and ran back to the art room.
"Come on, Jess," Jordan roared as he ran into the main building and up the stairs. "We have to keep going! Where's Ryan?"
"I don't know," Jess puffed out. She was fit, but she was tired after the sleepless night and full day. "He went a different way after we left tech studies."
The couple ran through the IT department and climbed out of the door leading to the fire escape and climbed up on to the roof.
"We should be safe up here," Jordan said and started pacing around the air conditioners. Jessica sat down, leaning against one and started to cry. She'd just witnessed a girl she'd never put any effort into knowing die and she felt terrible. It was unfair that people were dying on this trip. Jordan walked over and sat by her, wrapping his arm around her shoulders.
"We'll get out of this," he whispered in to her ear before kissing her on the cheek. "I promise we will."
"You don't know that, Jordan. We could die whenever this sick-o decides he's bored!" she said and kept crying into his shoulder. They stayed like that for a moment when Jordan jerked slightly and pushed Jess away. She looked at him in confusion.
"Jess, I know this is terrible timing," he started and pulled a blue velvet box from his pocket and opened it in front of her, displaying a ring with a small, but prominent diamond in the middle. "But will you marry me?"
Jessica was lost for words, she could not say anything and froze but suddenly she hiccoughed and nodded at Jordan.
"Yes, of course I will!" she yelped happily and both of them stood up and embraced in a tight hug before Jordan pressed his lips against Jessica's. They walked over, hand-in-hand to the edge and looked down saw James, Justine, Daniel, Drake, Dylan, Ryan and Lachlan running towards the art room. They felt relieved that Ryan was okay, but wanted to get their attention.
"We're up here!" Jordan yelled and all seven froze and looked up at them. Jess waved them down, but flinched as she heard a slicing and then crunching noise. She turned around and saw a javelin sticking halfway through Jordan's back, the other half coming out through his front.
"Oh no … Jordan!" Jessica cried as Jordan stared at the intrusion before looking at Jessica in shock and pain.
"I … I love you," he wheezed as blood seeped out of his lips. Slowly his body pirouetted and fell from the roof of the building. Jessica turned and saw the javelin had come from a set up trap by an air conditioner.
She looked over the edge and screamed to the whole school.
"You can't have me!" she screamed to the unknown killer and then she did the unthinkable. Jessica jumped from the building, plunging slowly to her own death, but willingly. She did not want the killer to have the pleasure of taking her soul. Her soul would forever belong to Jordan, and she would not let anyone else take it.
James gasped as he watched Jessica and Jordan's bodies fall to the ground and hit the ground with a loud, sickening crunch. Justine jumped and pressed herself against Lachlan, who wrapped his arms comfortingly around her. Aleisha ran around the corner, hearing Jessica scream and saw the bodies before she saw Lachlan comforting Justine.
Daniel closed his eyes and put an arm around, and gripping James' shoulder whilst Drake just stood there in shock.
Gary held Rachel tight as he stared at the bodies. He willed to the high Heaven's that the killings stop.
Ryan's gut felt like it had been punched. First he witnessed Jackie die and then he had to watch as Jessica and Jordan fell to their deaths.
Eilish sobbed herself as Anne cried on her shoulder. She promised herself then and there that if it meant that Eilish would die herself, she would make sure that Anne made it out of this damned school alive!
Russell started punching the home ec building until his knuckles started to bleed and Dayna had to pull him away.
"Calm down, Russell," she shouted at him as the crying, weeping boy struggled against her.
"No, let me go!"
Teaghan and Elaine stood silent and unmoving, unsure on what to do, neither had anyone that they could turn to for comfort and help.
Dylan stood, boiling with jealousy wishing he could be the one comforting Justine right now … but he also boiled with fury at just witnessing his best friend and his best friend's girlfriend die.
Helen could not take it anymore. So many people dying! She was a simple, quiet person, she didn't like death. She didn't want to be put through this.
BJ stood by Ben, Carol, Danny and Gid as they looked motionless at the two crippled bodies.
All twenty-two remaining survivors were wondering the same thing.
Who was the killer … and who was next?