Chapter 7: The Live Horn Society
By: Kim
Five dark, cloaked figures stirred in front of a small, picket-fenced house. The flowers in the front (As the said figures could see in the moonlight) were withered and frail. The moon reflected off of the dirty car in the driveway underneath a willow tree. One of the figures took out a shoddy piece of paper, read it, then put it back into his cloak. He read the address on the curb, and walked up the cement walkway. The others followed in silent procession.
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Sam stirred in his sleep, mumbled a few nonsense words, then turned onto his back and snored. He was a very disruptive sleeper, much to Lorelei's loathing. He shivered as a draft of cold air rustled the drapes of the balcony door. Being so careless in his state he had left it wide open. The sudden coldness stung at his face, forcing him to awaken from his nightmares.
The very tired man sat on the edge of his bed, bare feet on the hardwood floor. He slowly rose to shut the door. As he walked, the floor creaked, causing him to be weary. He didn't want to awaken his mother on the floor below him. Same tiptoed to the door and shut it quietly and got back into bed, wrapping himself in his electric blanket. But before he could shut his eyes, he saw a silhouette of a… thing against the balcony window. He pulled the blankets over his face, as if not being able to see the being would protect him from any further communication.
Suddenly, four more figures joined the first and they began to pound the window and door with their fists. Sam jolted out of bed in fright, grabbing his high school mace baton by his bed. He couldn't have them wake his mother.
He walked to the window, scared as ever, and opened the door. "WHAT DO YOU WANT?!" he screamed at the hooded figures. "We mean no harm Mr. Herrick, for we are promoters of peace. Please put down your weapon and invite us inside." One of the figures stepped towards him, but Sam was relentless. He backed up towards his room, gripping the baton. The figure sighed, glanced about, and pulled off his hood. Sam looked startled. "Eric?" The boy under the cloak nodded. Eric was a senior mellophone player in the band. "Sir, me and the rest of the horn section know something's up, and you're going to tell us. Why is this curse upon us?"
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"You shouldn't be here. It's a school night." Sam said wearily, pouring coffee into his "Get a life...A Musical life (nothing else matters)" mug. Eric munched on an Oreo. "This is the night when we meet. No one suspects a secret society to meet on a Wednesday night at one in the morning." The other horns nodded approvingly. Sam hoped his mother would not wake up. What would she say if she saw him and five others sitting at the table at one thirty?
"Well, what do you want with me?" Sam asked, sipping his coffee. "Anthony's missing. Half the band's dead. There's something up, and if I can remember my research correctly, you have something to do with it." There was a tinge of rancor in Eric's voice. Sam was shocked. Was Eric accusing him of all this? He sipped his coffee and thought of how to answer, then it came to him. He would just have to tell the truth.
"In 2002, my senior year, the same sad things began happening at Fake City high. All murders in the band. Me and…" he stopped. "Me and Lorelei." He said softly. "We found the murderer and killed him, but- He escaped." Sam paused. "He's back."
"Can't we call the police or something?" Frank, a freshman horn asked. "They officially closed the case down after the body went missing. The last to work on the case was Lt. Holst. He tried to keep the case open, however the department declared him senile. I don't know what became of him… he was such a nice man."
The horns sat silently, scared. "So, unless we find this… killer, we're doomed to be killed by some maniac who wants to kill band members? Why? I'm not going to let this happen. Maybe you can. But I won't. You're to blame! You let the killer walk free! YOU KILLED EVERYONE! YOU KILLED THE BAND, ANTHONY, AND YOUR WIFE!"
The horns gasped at Eric's bold remark. Sam shook with rage. He wanted to hit him. Tear him limb from limb. Eric didn't know what was down there. Down in the hole in the locker. Down in the darkness where the monster still lives.