It was snowing again. Calley and her friends couldn't believe it. It was
mid March, and it was snowing. As she gazed out the window during math
class, she watched the nasty snow, and out of the corner of her eye, she
could have sworn she saw movement. Probably just another starving
squirrel, she thought, deciding to start paying attention.
It had come during the night. Silent and unseen, the beast and its baby had fallen to the roof. She held it close, hungry and tired, she made her way across the roof to an opening, and slid into the building with her tiny offspring. Into the ducts, the best hiding place, they laid down. The mother was starving, and would not hold out, but just before she fell unconscious, somebody came.
He walked unknowingly beneath the creatures. He was tired and underpaid, and the duct needed repair, so he whistled to himself as he inspected the tear. A strange breathing he heard, high up in the shaft, and as he looked up to explore it, she lunged.
Ravenously she tore at the carcass, leaving only blood and bone. Sensing threat, she fled to the air duct, and scooped up her young. Feeling stronger, they made their way deeper into the labyrinth of metalwork.
The night was going smoothly for the math teacher, but as he returned from the copy machine, he heard a queer noise drifting from his room. He was too far away to accurately identify, so he moved in faster. The light was on, and the janitor's cart sat outside his door, so he assumed the slurping noise was a mop on the floor. He was surprised, however, when as he closed in and saw the mop upright on the cart, and the water bucket too, and a clattering sound was growing fainter as he neared.
Taken aback, but still casual, he slowly opened his door, and entered. What he saw was so shocking, he tripped over a desk, and spilled calculators and paper all over the floor, though they seemed to fall in slow motion, as he registered the scene...
His breathing went erratic, his pulse unstoppable, though trying his very best to stay calm. He crawled to the phone, and summoned the principle. As he sat on the floor, holding himself upright, forcing himself to breath, the rapid footsteps of the principal calmed him slightly. As the man stepped in the door, and the stench of death hit him, he was sick. Once he settled his stomach, they both ran from the room and headed down to the teachers lounge to collect their thoughts.
Such a terrible, unexplainable accident, and so many consequences. School could not be cancelled, no one could know. The teacher opposed, but the principal insisted all of it be kept under wraps. The mess was cleaned thoroughly, and the evidence was covered. To them, it never happened, though the teacher felt the most powerful of regrets as he lied to all of his loving students the next day, acting completely normal. But every time he glanced to the spot in the corner by the window, he held his breath thinking of the sick horror he was supposed to have forgotten.
While the rest of the school lay tense, and in denial, the mother and child slept. She dreamed of their home, and the task that lay ahead. She knew they had to survive, and in order to live, they had to kill. As she slept, bells rang, and students talked, and life was going on beneath her, though she knew she could not take it. Only a solitary prey, she knew, or else they would be discovered. No more messes, she cringed, how much more careful they must be.
As the final bell rang, and the kids ran to their buses, one particularly annoying student strayed into the stairwell, and commenced in spraying shaving cream all over the steps. He was not the brightest bulb in the box, though he was shaped very similar to one. Round, almost pig like, with an attitude to match. He swore as the can rolled down the stairs, due to his clumsy actions, and ran to stop the metallic clanging. As slow as he was, he sometimes knew better than to get caught. But he had this, knack, for being in the wrong place, at the wrong time...
She was awakened by the loud sound of metal against stair, and gazed downward through a hole in the ceiling. A plump boy was flailing down the stairwell, and she knew this was her chance. Silently, cautiously, she crept into the duct, and stood just above the grate. She carefully pulled it out of place, and positioned herself just above the boy. Down she fell, shoving his bulk against the floor, hissing menacingly. Just right, had she jumped, and she now had him pinned perfectly with his back to the ground, and her claws in his flesh. He cried out, but it was too late. She dragged him to the duct opening, and shoved him through, pulling the grate back into place with her tail, with nobody to hear his sobbing...
A pipe had malfunctioned, causing the pool to flood into the hallway. The water trickled past lockers, under the doors to the stairwell, and flushed the blood outside onto the grass. A very faint stain remained, but nobody noticed, and yet another piece of evidence faded away.
The math teacher drove home, a little depressed. No further incidents had occurred, but he could not help feeling strange. Seeing human remains does something to a person, but having no explanation is far worse. It stung at his mind, and he decided to do proofs to take his mind off it for the evening.
That night, the animal watched her prisoner carefully. A while after his capture, she had attached her baby to him, like a leech on a fish, and kept a close eye on its development. This was her only chance, for her fertility had been lost with the birth of this child, and there would be no second opportunity. It had to be perfect, they had to survive, it was the way of her people. Instinct drove her ragged, but the adrenaline kept her going. As her young one had its first shedding, she felt immense relief. The heat left her, and she sensed her hunger once again. Alert, she stalked through the pipes in search of another victim...
The English teacher sighed as she read the subs report from the day before. She knew her students did not act as the large woman had described, but she could not help but wonder. They had seemed oddly quiet today, she had felt it with her mothers instinct, and as she though of this the baby inside her rolled over. She adjusted her position in the chair, and started grading tests.
The noise had been very faint at first, but she had immediately perked up. Her pregnancy made her very in tune with her self and surroundings, almost like a psychic awareness that formed when carry another being. It got louder, then stopped, as though something was moving towards her, above her...
Mother beast stopper and sniffed, testing the air around her. Another force was near, she could sense it, but something was wrong. She could not tell what, but something was signaling to her that things were strange. She positioned herself very carefully above the grate, peering into the room where the weird vibes were being emitted. Her stomach growled, and her need for energy made her open the grate.
The English teacher went rigid with fear. Whatever had made the noises was now above her, very close, and she watched in terror as the grate on the ceiling began to move. She tried to scream, but couldn't, as the most horrifying beast emerged from the duct, and began to crawl toward her...
It had come during the night. Silent and unseen, the beast and its baby had fallen to the roof. She held it close, hungry and tired, she made her way across the roof to an opening, and slid into the building with her tiny offspring. Into the ducts, the best hiding place, they laid down. The mother was starving, and would not hold out, but just before she fell unconscious, somebody came.
He walked unknowingly beneath the creatures. He was tired and underpaid, and the duct needed repair, so he whistled to himself as he inspected the tear. A strange breathing he heard, high up in the shaft, and as he looked up to explore it, she lunged.
Ravenously she tore at the carcass, leaving only blood and bone. Sensing threat, she fled to the air duct, and scooped up her young. Feeling stronger, they made their way deeper into the labyrinth of metalwork.
The night was going smoothly for the math teacher, but as he returned from the copy machine, he heard a queer noise drifting from his room. He was too far away to accurately identify, so he moved in faster. The light was on, and the janitor's cart sat outside his door, so he assumed the slurping noise was a mop on the floor. He was surprised, however, when as he closed in and saw the mop upright on the cart, and the water bucket too, and a clattering sound was growing fainter as he neared.
Taken aback, but still casual, he slowly opened his door, and entered. What he saw was so shocking, he tripped over a desk, and spilled calculators and paper all over the floor, though they seemed to fall in slow motion, as he registered the scene...
His breathing went erratic, his pulse unstoppable, though trying his very best to stay calm. He crawled to the phone, and summoned the principle. As he sat on the floor, holding himself upright, forcing himself to breath, the rapid footsteps of the principal calmed him slightly. As the man stepped in the door, and the stench of death hit him, he was sick. Once he settled his stomach, they both ran from the room and headed down to the teachers lounge to collect their thoughts.
Such a terrible, unexplainable accident, and so many consequences. School could not be cancelled, no one could know. The teacher opposed, but the principal insisted all of it be kept under wraps. The mess was cleaned thoroughly, and the evidence was covered. To them, it never happened, though the teacher felt the most powerful of regrets as he lied to all of his loving students the next day, acting completely normal. But every time he glanced to the spot in the corner by the window, he held his breath thinking of the sick horror he was supposed to have forgotten.
While the rest of the school lay tense, and in denial, the mother and child slept. She dreamed of their home, and the task that lay ahead. She knew they had to survive, and in order to live, they had to kill. As she slept, bells rang, and students talked, and life was going on beneath her, though she knew she could not take it. Only a solitary prey, she knew, or else they would be discovered. No more messes, she cringed, how much more careful they must be.
As the final bell rang, and the kids ran to their buses, one particularly annoying student strayed into the stairwell, and commenced in spraying shaving cream all over the steps. He was not the brightest bulb in the box, though he was shaped very similar to one. Round, almost pig like, with an attitude to match. He swore as the can rolled down the stairs, due to his clumsy actions, and ran to stop the metallic clanging. As slow as he was, he sometimes knew better than to get caught. But he had this, knack, for being in the wrong place, at the wrong time...
She was awakened by the loud sound of metal against stair, and gazed downward through a hole in the ceiling. A plump boy was flailing down the stairwell, and she knew this was her chance. Silently, cautiously, she crept into the duct, and stood just above the grate. She carefully pulled it out of place, and positioned herself just above the boy. Down she fell, shoving his bulk against the floor, hissing menacingly. Just right, had she jumped, and she now had him pinned perfectly with his back to the ground, and her claws in his flesh. He cried out, but it was too late. She dragged him to the duct opening, and shoved him through, pulling the grate back into place with her tail, with nobody to hear his sobbing...
A pipe had malfunctioned, causing the pool to flood into the hallway. The water trickled past lockers, under the doors to the stairwell, and flushed the blood outside onto the grass. A very faint stain remained, but nobody noticed, and yet another piece of evidence faded away.
The math teacher drove home, a little depressed. No further incidents had occurred, but he could not help feeling strange. Seeing human remains does something to a person, but having no explanation is far worse. It stung at his mind, and he decided to do proofs to take his mind off it for the evening.
That night, the animal watched her prisoner carefully. A while after his capture, she had attached her baby to him, like a leech on a fish, and kept a close eye on its development. This was her only chance, for her fertility had been lost with the birth of this child, and there would be no second opportunity. It had to be perfect, they had to survive, it was the way of her people. Instinct drove her ragged, but the adrenaline kept her going. As her young one had its first shedding, she felt immense relief. The heat left her, and she sensed her hunger once again. Alert, she stalked through the pipes in search of another victim...
The English teacher sighed as she read the subs report from the day before. She knew her students did not act as the large woman had described, but she could not help but wonder. They had seemed oddly quiet today, she had felt it with her mothers instinct, and as she though of this the baby inside her rolled over. She adjusted her position in the chair, and started grading tests.
The noise had been very faint at first, but she had immediately perked up. Her pregnancy made her very in tune with her self and surroundings, almost like a psychic awareness that formed when carry another being. It got louder, then stopped, as though something was moving towards her, above her...
Mother beast stopper and sniffed, testing the air around her. Another force was near, she could sense it, but something was wrong. She could not tell what, but something was signaling to her that things were strange. She positioned herself very carefully above the grate, peering into the room where the weird vibes were being emitted. Her stomach growled, and her need for energy made her open the grate.
The English teacher went rigid with fear. Whatever had made the noises was now above her, very close, and she watched in terror as the grate on the ceiling began to move. She tried to scream, but couldn't, as the most horrifying beast emerged from the duct, and began to crawl toward her...