Metus

A stone cold silence stretched through the air, piercing the skin and chilling the very bones. It seemed like hours before Bill and Tom moved up the walkway with stiff and robotic movements. Though I couldn't see it, I guessed their expressions. Tom would look like he was going to rip someone's head off. But Bill.... he wouldn't have any expression. He would just look concentrated.

I was reminded of a horror movie for some reason, and I realized I was doing just what I hated: waisting time thinking about the problem instead of solving it. I glanced at Gustav, knowing he was thinking the same thing, before we joined our bandmates rushing to the door.

The crazy thing is, the closer we got, the less we could hear. Perhaps it was shock that numbed our senses, making us focuss solely(sp?) on the task at hand. There was a strange whirring in my ears when we opened the door. Lor was leaning against the far wall of the entranceway, breathing heavily and clutching her neck with a bit mark on her lip. The boy (her classmate, I figured) was in the fetal position, clutching his stomach in a pool of his own blood. I didn't want to know where it was coming from.

The rest went by in a blur. I remember Tom keeping his brother away from the boy (Bill looked like he was going to kill him) and grabbing Lor once Bill had calmed down a little. Someone- I couldn't remember who- told me to call Lor's mom and brother and tell them we were taling her to the hospital. Gustav was the only one who thought of calling the police.

The next thing I knew we were all at the hospital. The doctors wouldn't let us see Lor yet, they were trying to stop the bleeding from her neck. I guess I hadn't noticed it. Lor's classmate was in surgery, apparently his eye had been popped out sometime durring the struggle.

Lor's mom and brother had both (literally) worried themselves sick, but I was more worried about Bill. He hadn't said anything and he still had the concentrated look on his face he wore after a fight with Tom. Lor's dad, sister (who was now in Palm Springs too) and friends were called by Gustav, who was the only one with a level head at the moment.

A doctor came out and Lor's mom rushed up to her. They talked for a minute before the doctor left and she came back to tell us what happened.

"Lor's fine." she said, her voice shaking a little. Tom's head snapped up, Gustav and I looked to the stout woman in front of us, but Bill still didn't change. Lor's mom ignored it. "The cuts in her neck weren't deep enough to effect her breathing and vocal chords, and her lip will heal in time." There was a general sigh of releif.

"What about the boy?" Bill asked, his voice monotonous. Tom stared at his brother in disbeleif.

"H-He's fine. I haven't heard much, but we can visit Lor now."

Bill nodded and continued looking at his feet. Lor's mom and brother heasitated before walking away to Lor's room. It was quiet, the steril sounds of the hospital becoming unnerving. The sound of a door slamming echoed through the halls and I turned to see Ashley, Angie, and Lexi running through the door. Lexi looked like she was just getting into costume, since she was wearing a wig and had a long, strange looking skirt on. Shaley was in the same boat, except only half of her face had make-up on it.

"We came as fast as we could!"

"Where is she, is she alright?"

Angie just looked pained.

"She's fine," Gustav said, taking the lead. "You can go visit her, but I doubt we can go in all at once. " Lexi rushed to Lor's room.

Ashley looked from Bill, to Tom, to Gustav, then to me. She looked like she was going to have a mental breakdown. No one moved for a moment, but I couldn't stand to just sit here and do nothing. I waited for Lor's family to leave before I went in alone. She was sitting up, propped up by the bed; staring aimlessly at the wall across from her, a notebook in her lap.

"The acursed notebook." I said, smiling at her and taking ym seat next to the bed. She smiled sympathetically at me.

"The acursed notebook indeed."

It was quiet again. Lor had gone back to staring at the wall, a pained expression distorting her features.

"You don't have to stay here you know. It's no big deal. You've had people do crazy things to you."

"Lor, someone tried to claw your throat out. The worst I've had was had a bra catch on the neck of my guitar."

"I handled it." she said through clenched teeth.

"You realize that if you don't tell people, you're going to get emotionally constipated."

She shrugged. "If something shitty happens to me, I don't tell people. If something crappy happens at school, I'm not going to tell people at home and bring the crappy mood home with me."

"That's a recipe for emotional constipation." Gustav said, who was leaning on the doorframe. Apparently he'd been listening. "You hurt that kid pretty bad. Where'd you learn to pop someone's eye out?"

"I took a self defense class when I was in 4th grade. That stuff really sticks with you."

Ashley walked in. "Hey Lor. Want an update?"

Lor nodded.

"Turns out our dear friend was criminally insane with Renfeild syndrom. Gets off on blood."

"Disturbing." Lor said. Ashley shrugged. "Where's Bill and Tom?"

Ashley bit her lip.