Chapter 6: An Alternate World
By X-treme X-taggano (backfire@subdimension.com)
The school courtyard . . .
Mind you, it wasn't exactly the same as the other school court yard, but it was certainly close enough for me to notice several similarities. It was raining instead of snowing, and very lightly at that. A few drops hit my head. I noticed the pavement surrounding most of the exterior was much more dirty and defiled then before. The trees looked brown . . . as if they were dying. They all limped in a way that painted pictures in my mind. They seemed to be crying out in pain.
I had to ask myself . . . had I been there before?
I noticed that the siren in my head seemed to be dying down. I waited a moment for it to completely clear out of my mind. The sound soon ended. I guessed that meant that it was safe to continue.
But somehow, I couldn't grasp all of my senses . . . as if this were some strange dream and not reality. The school had seemed very real, but this . . . it felt strangely more like a dream then reality.
Just like that alleyway.
I noticed a very large symbol in the middle of the courtyard. I was naturally curious as I walked up to it. I shined the light on it. It looked like a large triangle inside of two circles, one circle barely larger than the other, yet still leaving about a feet of space between them . . . the effect it made created an illusion. It looked like one big circle. There was a line the went back and forth inside of the triangle. It looked almost like a snake. In-between the gap of the two circles were various symbols. I certainly didn't remember this being here before. I started to wonder if I had seen this anywhere. I thought I had seen this symbol somewhere, but wasn't sure where.
I looked ahead to see a pair of double doors. I noticed how rusted and old they were. Maybe this really was the same school . . . but how? I started to quiver as two simple words found their way into my head . . .
Alternate school . . .
I had no idea where those words had come from, but I knew that this might indeed be some place else . . .perhaps . . .
Perhaps I had really been killed in the alleyway, just as I had feared.
Maybe this was hell.
I shook uncontrollably at the very thought of this being some sort of afterlife. I figured that, afterlife or not, I was in some sort of alternate school. The dirty steel door was there before me, almost calling to me. I swear I could make out worlds in the door, though none were written or had even intended to be. The rusted steel just screamed out to me . . .
Welcome to hell . . .
I shook my head. No more about these thoughts of the afterlife. I must still be alive! I walked up to the door and opened it slowly. The creaking sound it made was as sickening as it was frightening. I took a step inside and gasped.
The school was made of rusted metal that looked as if it had been burnt.
I remembered the vision I had experienced before entering the real school . . . the vision portrayed an atmosphere very similar to this one. I noticed the walls were covered with dried blood, as was the chain link floor that I walked upon. I couldn't see anything below the chain link floor . . . I was curious, but knew there was nothing I could possibly do to find out exactly how deep the hole went. I looked ahead, noticing yet another door. Curious, I walked up to it. I placed my hand on the knob and opened it slightly. I peered inside, wondering what was in the room.
I saw a skinless kid up ahead.
More monsters. I grabbed the gun out of my pocket and pointed it forwards. I suddenly heard it's deep laugh as it turned around. I knew it saw me . . . it's one eye squinted into my flashlight. I smiled as I aimed and pulled the trigger.
Missed it!
It then started to walk towards me at a much faster pace than I had seen these creatures move before. It continued to move, almost running. I panicked, wanting to fire again, but my hand wouldn't let me . . . almost as if this was some sort of nightmare where I was helpless against my enemy, as nightmares so constantly do. I decided that I'd close the door and keep him contained in that room. Then I could find a way out of the school.
I suddenly felt a knife dive into the back of my leg.
I swiftly turned around as an immediate reaction to the pain I had suddenly endured. I noticed the knife was still sticking into my leg, and it sickened me to know that a tool used for murder was still in my flesh. I saw the kid . . . two . . . three of them! I realized I was surrounded by them!
Without a second thought, I dove backwards into the room behind me where the kid was. I leapt past it and shoved it with both of my hands. I could feel it's body bounce of the palms of my hands. I had never felt one of these thing's bodies. They felt rubbery . . . it was disgusting, and I really had wished I hadn't touched it. As soon as it was out of the door frame, I slammed it shut behind me and sat against it, panting heavily. The kids pounded on the door as if trying to break it down. I got up, realizing for once, I was safe. I grabbed the knife sticking into my leg and yanked it out. To my surprise, I wasn't bleeding nearly as heavily as I had thought I would. I gave off a sigh of relief. I was surprised, though, that the pain wasn't entirely there. It seemed unreal for me, but decided that it was a good thing that the pain I had endured was kept to a minimum.
I noticed benches similar to the one in the "real" school lined up. Around them were more bottles. I wondered if they were perhaps the same bottles that I had found in the clock tower. I picked one up and read the label.
White Claudia.
So it was the same drug. Maybe all of this had something to do
with whatever was wrong with this town. I saw more liquid ooze from it.
I started to wonder if I could contain some of this to examine it. I tried
to scoop some up in the container, but none seemed to spill in. I noticed
some chunks in it that looked as if they were made of some sort of plant.
I was only able to get a little bit of the substance on my figure as I
examined. Noticing that there were bits of plant in the drug, I was guessing
it was some sort of hallucinogen. It was odd for them to make a hallucinogenic
drug in liquid form, but maybe it was to conceal the fact that it was an
illegal substance. I wasn't a drug addict, but I know a lot about them
from research for my novels. I did find it odd, however, that they would
clearly label a drug. I decided that maybe it was labeled that so no one
would suspect it even was a drug in the first place. I, after all,
had never heard of White Claudia before. Maybe they were trying to disguise
it as some sort of flower or plant of some type.
I noticed a strong breeze coming from within the room. I looked
around, trying to identify the source of the breeze. I then noticed something
up ahead . . . a large fan, still rotating. I approached it slowly, curious
about what a fan was doing here.
Suddenly, my light started to pick up something behind the fan.
I could only see something hanging and wondered what it was. The object
became more and more visible as I slowly began to realize what it was.
I then gasped.
A human body torn in half . . .
I turned my head as I ran from the fan and towards the door. I
than sat back against it, trying to keep my stomach under control. I started
to shake uncontrollably. My body slowly became numb and most of my senses
were lost.
I then started to cry.
I wept there for a long time. I tried to convince myself that I wasn't being a coward, and any normal man wouldn't have made it as far as I had. I felt so scared and so helpless, I couldn't figure out what I was supposed to do now. As soon as I was finished crying, I wiped the hot tears away with my sleeve and grabbed onto my pistol, ready for those kids. I wasn't any sort of coward. I was ready to fight to the death for my daughter!
I then swung the door open in front of me, pointing my gun both ways.
No one . . .
Where did all those kids go? I continued to walk into the darkness. I didn't care where they were. At least they were gone. I continued to walk to my left down the dark hall. I saw a rusty old door in front of me, and ran up to it, wanting to leave this room as soon as possible before any more unfortunate encounters. I ran through the door, which was fortunately unlocked.
I looked at my school map. This was the same place, all right. It was dark and twisted, yes, but the complex layout was exactly the same. I looked down the long hallway, wondering if the stairs were close by like the old school. I noticed the bathrooms to my left. I figured it wouldn't hurt to examine them, as where I needed to find some way out.
I noticed a thick stain . . . perhaps of blood leading into the boys bathroom. I held my breath and bit my lip as I slowly opened the door. Inside, the trail of what looked like blood continued up into the stall. I wondered what could have caused it, as where the sink was full of it.
I noticed an object under the stall. I couldn't tell what it was until I crouched down. It looked like some sort of book . . . a journal, perhaps. I wondered if perhaps some sort of helpful information was contained in it and decided to take it. However, it was barely out of my reach. I realized I would have to open the stall door to reach it. I then stood up and put my hand on the handle. I pushed the door opened. It made a loud creaking noise as it opened slowly.
A rotting human corpse hung above the toilet.
I gasped at the horrid expression on it's face. It hung on spikes . . . as if crucified.
Crucified.
Just like the body in the alleyway . . . I tightened my grip on the gun. Who the hell would do something like this? The violent damage done to this body was horrid . . . almost too much for me to bare.
I then noticed something written on the wall next to it in what was probably the victim's blood. I examined it carefully, trying to comprehend the crude letters.
Leonard Rhine
The Monster Lurks.
What was that supposed to mean? And who was Leonard Rhine? Was that some sort of warning? Was it trying to alert me of some sort of danger? I looked away from it. I figured I'd have to remember this phrase . . . The Monster Lurks . . .
I picked up the journal on the floor near the body, remembering it was why I had originally entered the stall. I walked out of the stall, though too scared to leave the bathroom. I looked at the writing on it . . . it looked like a teenager's writing. I started to read.
April 15th
Well, here I am . . . my new home. This town's so weird. I
wish we hadn't moved. School sucks. I hate all the shit the teachers are
making me learn. This school is all crazy . . . and it gives me the creeps
in some weird way. I might just be crazy, but the clock tower out in the
school courtyard has always creeped me out. I heard some kids found a way
into it and use the drugs we bought in there. They want me to use some
. . . I'm not sure, but I did pay for them, so I guess we'll see what happens.
Drugs? Maybe that was the White Claudia, or whatever it was I found spilled in the other rooms. I kept reading.
April 16th
Yesterday, I decided I'd finally go out and take a hit. That
stuff was pretty crazy and made me feel strange. It was funny. When I took
it, I felt different in a way . . . almost as if I was turning into some
sort of creature. I guess that's just part of the high. It is, after all,
a hallucinogen. But what really scared me was the clock tower . . . the
wall on the other side seemed to moan . . . I could swear I heard sirens
coming from it. My friends told me I was crazy. Maybe I am, but what if
there was something beyond that wall I saw?
I started to quiver. There was no wall blocking my way in . . . how could it have changed? I did hear the sirens, however. Maybe this really was some other world. Also, from reading this, I know that the White Claudia drug was a hallucinogen. I turned the page and read on.
April 17th
Busted . . . my English teacher, Mr. Gorden, found out we
went into the clock tower, although he never figured out why we went there.
He told me if we were ever caught there again, we'd be sorry. Geez . .
. he was really pissed. It was like the school was trying to hide something.
When my family moved here, I did here rumors about some sort of cult that
some of the teachers were in. I had always thought it was a load of bull
shit, but now I'm not so sure. I know there can't be anything past the
clock tower . . . but is there something happening to it? Or this town,
for that matter?
A cult? I started to wonder what was happening to the kids of this school. I remembered the previous entry . . . it talked about him feeling a beast from within. I looked at the next page, which apparently was the last page.
April 18th
Everything I've written before has come true. I am so scared
I can't think straight! My friends all took the drug again today at lunch
and everything went crazy from there. I kept having migraines at school
and kept having these visions . . . visions of our school turning into
some horrible nightmare. Now those visions are coming true. I'm trying
to hide as I write this entry down, and don't even know why I'm risking
my life to do so. Maybe this'll help some other person who comes out here.
Everything has turned pitch black, but I was lucky enough to find a flashlight
while I hide here in my locker. I'm guessing they won't find me in here.
Ever sense the school went pitch black, I keep hearing this voice in my
head. It sounds almost like some girl who keeps whispering "you're not
needed". My friends are all
The entry abruptly stopped there. The rest of the page was covered
in blood. I was curious as to what the kid was trying to say, but it all
didn't make sense. His friends were more aggressive? I started to think
of the skinless children, wondering if they were a product of the drug
usage. I decided against it. No drug could possibly do anything like that.
I placed the journal into my pocket, wondering if perhaps I'd need it.
I wondered, though, why the journal was near the body of what
looked like an adult. I was sure that whoever wrote this wasn't in this
alternate school as well. He described how things got darker. I wasn't
sure, but maybe this person who had been murdered and hung over the toilet
was someone who had found this journal and dropped before he was murdered.
I didn't know, but I was grateful I had found this. I looked at the body
one last time, my face wrinkled with disgust. I then left the bathroom,
stepping back into the hall.
I turned left and started running down it. After what seemed like hours, I finally made it to the stair case. I ran up the two flights of stairs, trying to outrun a foe that didn't exist. I soon made it to the top of the stairs and ended up in another hall. I started to wonder, however . . . was the roof open? I decided to check as I ran up the next flight of stairs.
At the top, I saw yet another rusted door. I then put my hand on the knob, putting a firm grip on it. I then twisted it.
It was unlocked!
I opened the door, wondering if there was anything useful out
here . . . some way to get out of this nightmare of a school. I looked
around, thin rain still splashing off my coat. I walked forwards, noticing
another mark much like the one in the courtyard, only much smaller. It
was engraved on the wall. I then saw something else . . .
A statue . . .
A few of them, in fact. All of them looked like the ones I had
seen in the painting in the teachers lounge in the normal school. Maybe
the writing about a school cult was true. The statues stood tall, the figures
looking proud and yet somewhat tortured in a way. I noticed the color of
the rusted metal mixed with the statue's plating quite well.
I walked forwards, noticing that there was some sort of drainage gutter up ahead. It suddenly came to my attention that a small stream of blood was in it . . . and every other time I had seen blood on some object, it was significant. I ran up to it, looking down at the blood in the ditch. It was much thicker than any other bits of blood I had found in this alternate school.
Suddenly, I noticed a shape being formed in the blood . . . it looked like a key of some sort. I hesitated before putting my hand into the blood, trying to grip the shape. I then pulled, but the key didn't come out of the blood. I was surprised the blood was really that thick. I moved my hand back and stared at it. More blood on it . . . I wiped the blood on my hand onto the wall next to me. A bloody hand print was left on the wall. How could I get that key out?
I suddenly noticed a large tank near the key. I ran up to it, examining it for a moment. I read the large label on it . . . it was some sort of gas tank. I noticed how it was located directly above the gutter. I suddenly realized . . . maybe gasoline could eat through the blood on the key! But how the hell would I get the gasoline out without shooting the tank? I had to think a moment, realizing that a bullet could ignite the gas. I searched the tank for some way to get the gas out.
I suddenly noticed a faucet head sticking out of the side. I realized it must be part of a gas-dispensing system. I also realized that it was right above the gutter! I laughed as I quickly opened the valve.
Gasoline poured from the small hole in the tank. It all flowed, slowly approaching the blood. I watched with a fascination, wondering silently to myself if it might actually work.
Suddenly, it all stopped flowing towards the key. I wondered what had stopped the flow of gas as I examined the gutter's route. I noticed that there was a large drainage hole in the middle of the gutter. I swore as I examined it. It wasn't that large, but it was big enough to stop the gasoline. I wondered how I could plug the hole. I was too frightened to do it with my hand for too long, as where it could eat right through my own flesh. I put my hands in my coat pocket, wondering if there was any way to rid myself of this dilemma.
My hand felt a round object. I grasped it and pulled it out of my pocket, wondering what it was that had brushed along my fingers. I held it in front of my face. It was . . . the pink rubber ball I had found in the school hall! I realized I could use it to plug up the hole! I wondered how I was so lucky as to have actually noticed it! Everything just seemed too fortunate . . . besides being trapped in this endless nightmare.
I knelt down beside the gutter and jammed the ball into the hole. It fit perfectly! The gas flowed over the hole and towards the blood. I leapt a bit as a loud sizzling noise emitted from the blood as the gas flowed over it. The sounded ran it's course in about 5 seconds and then stopped. I ran up the where the blood was. The key floated in the pool of gasoline, continuing to flow down the gutter. I noticed at the end another drainage hole. I gasped as I raced towards it. There was no way I was going all the way back to the court yard. I dived forwards, my hand in front of me. I grabbed the key as fast as I could . . . right before it fell below. I laughed as I shook my hand, trying to get the think gasoline off.
I walked back to the valve and closed it. The gas soon stopped flowing. I sighed happily. The key was finally in my possesion. I wasn't sure what it unlocked, but I was sure whatever it was . . . it was probably important.
I ran to the door. I swung the set of them open and ran back inside the school. I wondered what the key could open, but I decided that if a door was locked, I should try this key. As soon as I finished going down the stairs, I ran up to a door not that far in front of me. I opened the door. Okay, the key didn't unlock this one. According to my map, this was some sort of class room, although I couldn't see any objects inside that gave it that classification. No desks or chairs . . . I only saw a table a few feet in the distance. As I slowly approached the table, I realized that there were three old fashion phones on it. I walked up to one, hoping that maybe one of them would work. I pick it up and put the hearing piece to my ear.
Dead . . .
I soon discovered that all three of them were dead. I growled. Was every logical mean of escaping put there just to fail and disappoint me? I walked away from the phones, quite annoyed that none of them worked. The door was to my right, and I decided there was nothing more to search for in this room. I put my hand on the knob, ready to open it.
Suddenly, the phone rang.
The sound the phone emitted made me literally jump. I turned around, realizing it was nothing to fear. Just a phone ringing. I walked up to it. I had no idea who was calling or why, but maybe they could help me out of this hell hole. I picked up the phone. I opened my mouth to speak, but a voice came through before I had the chance.
"Daddy . . . . help me! Daddy . . . where are you?"
"Cheryl!"
Suddenly, the phone started to die again. I heard a few beeps and then nothing. That was Cheryl's voice . . . I knew it. Where could she be? I decided now was no time to stop. I had to press on and find my little girl . . . no matter what.
I walked to the door to my left and opened. As soon as I stepped out of it, I opened my map. I soon realized that there was a chain link fence blocking the other end of the hallway to my right. The school room I had taken was the way around it. I noticed that there stairway to the basement was down the next two halls. I closed the map and ran down the rest of the hallway until I saw a door to my left. I walked up to them and pulled on them.
Locked.
This was the door the key went to . . . I was almost positive. I pulled they key out from my pocket. I then placed it into the key hole above the metal plate. I turned it. It was the one, all right. I laughed as I pushed the doors open. I walked into the hallway, checking my map once again. in this hallway, there was a locker room and library. I scratched my head, deciding that maybe the locker room would be a good place to check. I walked up to the door that my map identified as the locker room and opened it up.
The locker room looked a lot like the one at the other school, but it was darker . . . more twisted and horrific . . . just like the rest of the school. I heard a rattling sound. As I had remembered, the last time I had heard that, it was one of the lockers. I remembered how I had found a cat inside of it last time. I decided that maybe whatever was rattling was worth checking out. I proceeded down the line of lockers and around the first set. At the other end, I saw one small locker door shaking. Curious, I walked up to it as quickly as I could, although still walking. I was still scared of the "no running" sign, fearing the worst. I always had to fear the worst in this town. I stared at the rattling locker in front of me. I then put my hand on it and pulled it opened.
Nothing inside but blood.
A lot of blood at that. The locker had a small river flowing out of it. What caused that rattling sound, I began to wonder. I looked deeper into, and still found no source to the sound. All I found was the gigantic red bloodstain that filled the empty locker.
I turned my head from it, disgusted. Nothing in the locker room. Just a worthless locker filled with blood. I started to walk away from it, deciding that all of my exploring was getting me nowhere. I made sure to walk and not run, as I had before.
Suddenly, one of the lockers flew open. I jumped forwards, not sure what came out of the locker . . . if anything at all. I then heard a hallow thump on the ground. I turned around slowly to see what it was that caused the sound. I then gasped.
A rotting child's body.
I noticed that by it's figure, it was probably a teen. I started to quiver as I examined it's face. It's mouth hung wide opened. The knife wounds were so deep into it's flesh, it scared me. The ends of it's figures had been sliced off and it's almost artificial looking veins hung out where it's fingers used to be. Who could do this to a child? I had seen adult mutilated bodies here, but . . . a child. How horrible and sick whoever did this was. Who could this child have been anyways and how did it end up in the locker?
I suddenly thought back to the journal I had read. I remembered that the kid in it was hiding in a locker before he was apparently murdered . . . but how did he get into this alternate school? So much didn't make sense. I could only think about how sick and disgusting it was to murder a child.
I noticed a card of some sort next to it's dead body. It must have been in the pocket of the jeans that were still on it's body. I picked up the card. It was golden with two black squares on it. I wondered what this could be used for, but knew that it was probably of some importance. After giving the card a secure resting place in my pocket, I walked back out of the locker room, continuing to follow the instructions on the sign in the previous school.
I knew I should probably head to the library from there. I wasn't sure what I was aiming for, but my only hope now was to get out of here. I hoped that maybe Cheryl had already done so. I walked down the dark, erie hallway, my eyes peeled for any type of . . . thing that might harm me. After several steps down the hall, I noticed a door. I stopped in front of it, though my footsteps still echoed through the otherwise quiet corridor. I opened the door and stepped inside. I quickly closed the door behind me, still afraid of the dangers that might be creeping up on me.
My head darted to my left as I felt something touch me. I leapt to my right, still staring in the same direction. What just touched me?! Another kid? I prayed not as I focused my eyes in front of me. I then gasped.
A kid . . . only without a knife and . . . almost invisible.
I could make out the basic shape of the child, but it was transparent . . . almost as if it were made out of glass. It walked and stumbled and fell on it's tiny face in front of me. I knelt down looking at it as it lay there in front of me.
Suddenly, I heard a small voice in my head.
Help me . . .
It was almost as if the child were talking to me with it's mind . . . like it was telepathically communicating. I continued to kneel by the child, wondering if it was trying to tell me something. It didn't get up, however. It just lay there . . . maybe it had died from some unknown cause. I wondered why it didn't try to attack me. It had a clear advantage over me with it's transparency, but . . . it seemed to be much smaller than the other ones. Maybe this one was different.
I got up, walking past it's invisible dead body. I noticed several books on a bookshelf against a wall. I laughed as I thought to myself that this wouldn't be a library without books. I was almost positive that none of them would help me, but felt driven towards them anyways.
I noticed an open book at the end of the shelf. I walked up to it, shining my flashlight on it. The letters written on the pages were very small, but I decided that I should read it anyways. I noticed the bold letters at the top of the page.
Leonard Rhine
The Monster Lurks
I started to quiver as I remembered that exact title written in blood near the body I had found. I knew by that title that I needed to read this. Perhaps it had something of some importance. I continued to read down the page.
Chapter 3: Manifestation of Delusions
In my recent research of manifestation, I have found that
many things are known to trigger them in people. Poltergeists are among
these. Negative emotions, such as fear, worry or stress manifest into external
energy with physical effects. Nightmares have, in some cases, been shown
to trigger them. However, such phenomena do not appear to happen to just
anyone. Although it is not clear why, adolescents, especially those
who are female, are prone to such occurrences.
The selection made me quiver. Manifestation? I didn't even want to think of Cheryl as manifested. I noticed that this page was it. Whoever Leonard Rhine was, he really seemed to know a lot about the topic of being manifested . . . but how?
I left the bookshelf and walked up to a door located near the back of the room. I wondered what could possibly be beyond this door. I stared at it for a few moments. I was in no mood to check my map for some strange reason. Without a second thought, I swung the door open and looked into the other room.
Just another part of the library.
I noticed that up ahead another book lay open. I quickly ran up to it, wondering if there was any more information about the manifestation theory I had read about earlier. I took a look at the book, starting the read.
"The lizard has returned," declared the village watchman. Hearing this, the hunter, armed with his bow and arrow, said "I will kill the lizard." But upon meeting his opponent, he held back, taunting "Who's afraid of a reptile?" At this, the furious lizard hissed, "I'll swallow you up in a single bite!" The huge creature attacked, it's jaws wide open. This was what the hunter wanted. Calmly drawing his bow, he shot into the lizard's gaping mouth. Effortlessly, the arrow flew, piercing the defenseless maw, and the lizard fell down dead.
I had remembered reading this before when I was child. The Tale of the Lizard . . . it was funny how this book was opened. Perhaps this was significant somehow. I wondered how on earth a story about a giant lizard was to help me, but I quickly tossed aside all doubts in my head. I then walked out of the dark library into a school hall which my map had said would lead to the basement. The basement seemed to be the only area I hadn't explored, so I guessed it was where something significant was.
As soon as I was in the hall, I started to run down it, hoping that my escape was somewhere nearby. Further and further I ran, hoping that this was all some nightmare I'd wake up from . . . because somehow or another, I felt like I knew this place, and I felt like this was a dream. I don't know why I kept having this sense of deja vue, but it was an overwhelming feeling that constantly threw my train of thought off.
I felt like I was being used somehow . . .
I eventually found the stairs at the end of the hall. I jumped down the flight of stairs almost like how I had when I was a child. As soon as I got to the first floor, I took a sharp left and ran down the next flight of stairs. I soon reached the bottom, ending up in a room very similar to the entrance to to the boiler room, except . . . the door that I entered the boiler room with at the other school had been changed. I suddenly gasped.
It was the same door as the one in the painting at the teacher's lounge!
The two statues stood tall and majestic looking, as if guarding something. I noticed a thin layer of blood spilling from one of the square shaped holes. I didn't know what was in it and figured I had best find out, as where I was guessing whatever it was that opened this door was in it. I looked into the square, looking for some sort of hint.
I noticed a small brick inside. I looked closely at it and noticed a thin slit in it . . . it almost looked like a card holder. This was no doubt the mechanism that opened the door. I wondered what could possibly open the door . . . probably a card of some sort.
And then it hit me. The card I had found next to the dead kid! I reached into my pocket and found it with my fingers. I then yanked it out and carefully slid it into the stone slit in the brick. I let back as the stone seemed to suck the card right in . . . as if devouring it. I then heard a loud clicking noise. I noticed how the door seemed to move forwards a bit. I figured this was a sign that it was safe to continue. I sighed as I lightly pushed on the door. It moved, so I pushed harder. Eventually, the door swung open. The area beyond the door was extremely dark. I couldn't see the other side of the room inside, but stepped inside. I walked forwards, wondering what was beyond this door that seemed to symbolize something . . . most likely some sort of danger.
I leapt, startled, as the floor beneath me started to move.
It lead downwards . . . like an elevator. It traveled through a shaft made of chain links, like the rest of the school. It took a while, but eventually I ended up at the bottom of the shaft. It landed in a round room.
Suddenly, I noticed something up ahead . . . it looked like another statue, only this one seemed to be some sort of effigy. I stared at the statue that was tied to a wooden post up ahead. Surrounding it was a metal barricade made up of gears and such that prevented me from approaching it. I wondered what this was.
Suddenly, the figure was engulfed in flames. I stared in disbelief, not expecting fire to erupt from the post. I wasn't sure where it had come from, but it had certainly startled me. I watched the figure slowly burn until nothing was left but mere ashes. The fire still burned, however, and I noticed that as the figure burned, the gears surrounding it were moving. This was quite a machine, indeed. A burning figure . . . I started to wonder what sick minded person would do this.
I then heard footsteps . . . footsteps that caused the floor beneath me to shake. Every single step sent a huge wave of shock through the floor. I wondered could possibly cause this. I then turned around. I gasped in complete horror.
A humongous lizard . . .
I was absolutely terrified as I started at the creature that was at least twice my size. It's thick, scaled skin moved with every step. I started to panic as I reached for my gun. The monster approached me slowly, my heart racing faster and faster. I saw it's blood red eyes focused on me. It's huge fore-arms stepping forwards as the lizard drew closer to it's prey . . .
Me.
I yanked the gun out of my pocket after struggling with it for a few seconds. I then pointed it at the monster and fired at least 3 rounds. I yelled as I realized every one of them had just ricoched off of it's hard skin. I noticed how one of the bullets, however, stuck very firmly in it's forehead. I noticed some pink substance ooze down it's forehead. I stared for a moment, noticing that the lizard had stopped moving. It stayed still for a moment. I wondered if the last shot I had fired had killed the damn thing. I continued to watch it's head.
Suddenly, it's head split right in half.
But it didn't stop! It was as if it's head was a larger mouth. I leapt back in fear, noticing the jaws within it's head. It then ran an me with incredible speed. I screamed, trying to run.
It was then that I remembered the story I had read earlier. The Tale of the Lizard . . . in it the hunter shot the lizard through it's head when it's mouth was wide open! I figured nothing in the town that I had seen was there for no reason at all. I stared one last time into it's humongous mouth. It then took a dive at me. I screamed again as I fired 3 more rounds. I then collapsed on the floor, putting my hands over my head.
The lizard didn't attack me. I stared up for a moment as I witnessed the horrid expression on the lizard's face . . . though it's head was split in half, it still had a facial expression on both halves of it's face. I then heard it moan and groan. It was then that it started to collapse on the floor.
My vision got blurry as I heard sirens in my head . . . the same sirens I had heard my head in the alleyway and in the clock tower . . .
My vision became normal again and the sirens stopped, but the lizard was gone. I wasn't able to fully explore my surrounding, but knew I was still in the strange room.
I then saw a girl sitting in the corner.
It looked like . . . Cheryl, only it was too old to be her. She looked more like she was in her teens, but she looked an awful lot like Cheryl. I guessed that's what Cheryl would look like when she was maybe 7 years older . . . exactly. The girl sat up and stared at me. I was curious as to who she was, but I couldn't find out as she then disappeared right before my eyes.
I noticed the nightmarish surrounding dissolve around me . . . as if I were waking up from a dream. In a matter of seconds, it all disappeared. No longer was I in the alternate school . . .
I was back in the normal school in the boiler room.
