It was noon, two days later, and you sat in the gym hall of the college, along with the students of a few different courses. One of your teachers stood in front of the group, telling you about some sort of winter fest, that was celebrated every year. All of the year's new students had to take a part and help with it. Margie and you had consented to sell waffles at one of the stalls in the hallway. Your mood could be fine, if there wasn't a certain janitor, wiping the floor of the gym somewhere behind Professor Miller, smiling your way every now and then. You tried to avoid his eyes, pretending not to see him, but it was hard to do. You could hardly believe that him being here right now, was a coincidence. You didn't even know how to feel again. You really were sort of pissed about how stupid he had made you look in front of Debra. How could he dare to kiss you out of nowhere? Thinking about it though, made your blood run faster and you cheeks heat up again. You had wanted to clear things up, but it had just gotten worse.
»...are you okay?« Margaret was looking at you from the side.
»...huh?«
»I asked if you're okay.«
»Uh...yeah. Sure. I'm fine.« You scratched your left shoulder trying to look relaxed.
As soon as the explanation about the fest was done, you jumped up and escaped the building as fast as you could. You didn't feel like facing Gabriel now. Margie escorted you home, talking about waffles all the way. She seemed pretty excited about the fest, for whatever reason. You made your way up the stairs and entered the apartment, ready to have a nap. But when you stepped in the kitchen, you saw someone unexpected sitting there.
»Ah, hey (Y/N)!«
Dan was sitting at the table with Tina. Books and sheets were all over the place, as if they had been studying for an exam. Which of course they didn't.
»Dan...? What are you doing here?« You were more than confused.
The blond boy turned to you, and you noticed how tired he looked. Thinking about it, you realized, you hadn't seen him for days. He put a finger onto one of the books on the table and smiled.
»Weeell... I'm about to solve a mystery here.«
»... ehh... what?«
Tina took a look over her shoulder, with a confident look on her face.
»Daniel will find Bryan's killer!« She cheered.
»... wait...what? How?«
»It took me a few sleepless nights...but...« Dan pulled a piece of old-looking fabric out of his bag.
»I managed to find a locating spell.«
You stepped closer to the table, taking a seat.
»What the hell does that mean?«
The brown piece of cloth looked worn out and had weird symbols on it.
»It means, with this scroll... and a few other ingredients... I can locate the source of almost any psychic
disturbance.«
Dan sounded like some sort of crazy wannabe ghostbuster again.
»...but... how?«
»With Tina's help.«
Your head turned to her, and she seemed almost thrilled. A few weeks ago she wouldn't even have talked to Dan, the supernatural nerd.
»What this spell really requires, is something or someone who had contact with the entity's energy. It's like it's psychic fingerprint. And Tina brushed Jason, when she escaped him.«
»Let's do it already, Daniel! We have to find those goths!« Tina squeaked.
This couldn't possibly be working, right?
You watched closely, as Dan placed Tina's left hand onto a round marking on the fabric and poured what looked like a mix of herbs in the middle. He then pulled a matchstick and lit it, while speaking.
»Ostendere.«
Then he threw the burning wood on the scroll, causing a huge flame that made everyone flinch in surprise. The herbs burned away in a bright yellow, along with most of the fabric. Tina pulled back her hand before the fire had reached it. Within a few seconds, everything but a small circular piece of cloth had disappeared, putting a big grin on Dan's face.
»Yes!«
»... that's it?« You blinked.
An awful smell had filled the air, making Tina wave her hand.
»That's all I need! Let's end this sucker!« Dan grabbed his bag and made a run for the door.
»W-woah, wait!« You jumped up and rushed after him.
What the hell had just happened? And what was he about to do now? Could this dirty old piece of crap really detect Bryan's killer? The trickster? Gabriel? Your stomach began to twist in a painful way.
»D-Dan, wait!« You finally managed to grab his arm.
»Hold on a second! What are you doing?«
»What do you think? I'll go and kill that trickster.«
»...K-kill him...? ...how?«
At that question, Dan just grinned proudly. He reached in his bag and pulled out a huge pointy stake. Your eyes widened.
»With that.«
»W-what's that? What the hell?!«
»What does it look like?«
»It looks like a freakin' stake! And … is that blood?!«
Dan slowly put the wood back into his bag, clearing his throat.
»It's... necessary.«
»Excuse me...?« You lowered your head to find his eyes.
»...blood... from... well... one of his... victims.«
Your mouth dropped open even more.
»... are you telling me that... « You swallowed a lump.
»...who's? And... how in god's name?!«
Dan lifted his hands in an attempt to calm you down.
»Listen... all teachers of the college get health checks once a year. And I... have a friend at the first aid facility. For fifty bucks he got me Professor Evans' blood sample.«
You just couldn't believe your ears. This guy... should be a criminal.
»And what... you wanna impale him with that?«
»Jepp. No more dead people. Dan Willson saves the day!«
With that said, he continued his hunt. And from that point on, he was unstoppable. Nothing you said could hold him back or slow him down. This was bad. If the spell really worked, he would find the janitor to be the source of all evil. And he would put a stake through him. As much as he gave you the creeps and messed with your head, you didn't want him dead. Sure, you could say he deserved it. He killed people. But that just wasn't what you wanted. You kept on running after Daniel, and before you could blink you stood inside the college, heading for the stairs. It worked. Your pulse pounded inside your head, nervousness filling your chest. He was about to find him. For real. You had no clue what to do. Helplessly you climbed the staircase until you reached the upper floor.
»We're close.« Dan finally slowed down, sneaking down the hallway now. He had pulled the stake, ready to attack.
That was it. You couldn't let him do this. After taking a deep breath, you were ready to grab his arm, when suddenly the lights went out. The streetlights from outside were the only thing to light the aisle now.
»L-Let's forget about it, Dan. Come on!« You whispered.
...
»... Dan?«
The boy still stood in front of you, but didn't move anymore. When you reached for his shoulder, you felt that he was completely stiff.
»D-Dan! Hey!« You tried to shake him, but it was useless. He looked like a statue.
»You know... you're really breaking my heart, sugar.«
You threw your head around, to see the silhouette of a short man standing about twenty meters away from you. Of course, his voice alone had given him away.
»I thought we were buddies... at least.«
He began to slowly walk towards you, stepping into the dimly moonlight. His face wasn't the same as usual. It was cold, and stern.
Fear took a hold of you, and you quickly wrenched the stake from Dan's hands. You stumbled backwards, your eyes stuck on Gabriel. When he noticed the stake in your shaking hand, his face darkened even more.
»So you snitched me.«
You just shook your head in pure terror, as your back touched the wall behind you. You pressed yourself against it, holding the stake in front of you, defensively. But Gabriel soon made his last step towards you. There he stood. Only a meter between you and him, angry eyes glancing down at you. So this was how his victims had felt. Bryan, Tina, Professor Evans. You felt your eyes tear up against your will.
»That's your attempt to kill me?« He sneered, pointing at your weapon.
»Go ahead. Kill me.«
You blinked, as he spread his arms, giving you plenty of space to attack. Your hands were shaking so badly, you could barely hold the stake. You lifted it up slowly, but a heavy feeling in your chest seemed to pull it down again. You couldn't do this. It was not possible.
Gabriel rolled his eyes at this, making it look like he was annoyed be the boredom of this show. With a quick move he took the wooden stake from you.
»That way, honey.«
Before you could even blink he had rammed the stake through his torso, making you jump in shock.
»Gabriel!« You screamed out, with your hands in your face.
The janitor bowed over, coughing badly. You hid your eyes, shaking from the picture you just saw. But your hands sunk down as soon as his coughing turned into dry chuckle. You opened your eyes to see Gabriel standing tall again, pulling the stake back out. Half of his blue work-clothes were drenched in an awful red from the visible injury in his chest. He just smiled sarcastically, as he let the stake drop to the floor.
»Hmm. That didn't work so well, did it?« He looked down at the bloody mess, unimpressed.
Your lips trembled, thoughts racing through your brain.
»Y-You... you are... you are not... a trickster.«
Gabriel grimaced like made a really dumb comment.
»Never said that.«
Your whole body felt so weak right now, the world around you seemed to black out. All the blood and fear made you wanna throw up. Your legs gave in and you felt yourself slowly sinking down to the ground unpleasantly.
Hey people! :) In case that will be deleted for being the wrong format, you can still read at deviantart username NESSASAN
