Castle High's After School Horror

"Ray...."

Ray clenches his fists but continues to pretend that he doesn't hear her.

"Ray, talk to me."

Ray gives her an angry glance, then continues to look forward.

"Ray, I'm sorry if I hurt you but I do love you," Chelsea whines.

"You're so full of shit," Ray responds.

"I'm serious." Everyone behind them is quiet. Chelsea fidgets. "It's just..." She takes in a deep breath. "I'm not used to having someone care about me like you do. It's strange to me. But I really do love you."

"Mikey, is she telling the truth?"

Chelsea's jaw clenches. He trusts that psychic freak over her?

"Not entirely," Mikey says quietly, clearing his throat. This time, Chelsea looks back. Mikey is staring at his feet. Gerard is staring at Bonnie. Bob and Bonnie are holding each other very awkwardly as they walk.

"Mikey!" Chelsea groans.

"It's true that she's not used to having people care about her but...I don't think she loves you like she says she does," Mikey says to the back of Ray's head. Chelsea's head aches.

"How does she love me?" Ray asks, keeping his intent stare in front of him.

"Mikey, don't," Chelsea breathes.

She doesn't know if she loves him. She never even thought she truly cared about him until all of these crazy things started to happen. He's the only person that cares about her. He doesn't hang out with her because she's popular, he isn't nice to her because he's scared of her. He's with her because for whatever reason...he wants to be.

"She doesn't," Mikey states. Chelsea groans as the pain in her head reaches a peak. "She just likes to feel loved."

Ray stops and turns his stare onto Chelsea. She wishes he hadn't. He looks so sad and heartbroken. And angry. It breaks Chelsea's heart to see him this hurt.

"I can't believe I wasted so much of my time on you," he mutters. He starts walking again, his stare straight up ahead.

"Ugh!" Chelsea groans. She shoves Mikey's shoulder, tears welling up in her eyes. He hits the lockers and lets out a small whimper. "Mikey, you're such...as if Ray has always been honest with me! Tell me what he thinks of me!"

Mikey looks at Ray. "He is completely in love with you."

Chelsea swallows.

"I'm sorry," Chelsea breathes, staring at Ray.

The group of them go around a corner and reach a rather dark hallway. They stop. The lights are on but very dim, making it difficult to see. Chelsea swallows. She grabs for Ray's arm but he sees her from the corner of his eyes and starts forward again.

"It's just at the end of the hall," Ray says.

He quickly gets a few feet ahead of them with his extremely long legs. Chelsea's heart accelerates. She can barely see him in the shadows. Her hands are shaking, fearing for him. She wants to call out to him but he probably doesn't want to hear her voice. This fact crushes her.

"Oh my God, I think you do love him," Mikey gasps. Chelsea blinks as her tense muscles relax at hearing that strange four letter word.

"What?" Ray asks, hope in his tone. He glances back just as the lights flicker on. Chelsea is ready to run forward and embrace him when he slips and falls to the ground with a loud thump, sliding slightly across the floor. He groans and everyone rushes over.

"Ray, are you okay?" Chelsea urges nervously.

Ray's eyes are closed. He's lying in a puddle of some kind of clear liquid. He moans, sounding as if he's in pain.

"Don't step in that!" Bob says.

"Why?" Gerard asks.

"Ray, are you okay?" Chelsea repeats, leaning over but being careful not to step in the liquid.

"Do you hear that?" Bob asks.

As Chelsea leans over, Ray groans. His eyes are still shut as he starts shaking. The sound Bob is speaking of is some kind of strange sizzling sound coming from where Ray is lying. Chelsea feels a burning feeling inside of her nostrils and steps away just as Ray starts screaming.

"What is it?" Bonnie squeals nervously. Chelsea rubs at her pained nose and finds blood in her hands.

"It hurts!" Ray yells at the top of his lungs. Chelsea flinches and stares at him fearfully, wiping away blood from her nose.

"Acid," Bob says. "Just the fumes can hurt you."

Ray screams, turning his head back in forth. "Please make it stop," he moans. Chelsea's breath catches as she sees the raw flesh from Ray's neck, the skin having been eaten away by the acid.

"Acid from where?" Bonnie asks, sounding hysterical.

"The school lab," Mikey answers.

"But don't they dilute that stuff?!"

"Not all of it."

"Stop the fucking small talk!" Chelsea screams, shaking all over. "Can't you see Ray's in pain?!"

It is true. Ray's breathing is erratic and uneven. His moan turns into a pained wail. His body is convulsing in pain. Chelsea's catches glimpses of Ray's corroded skin, all red and raw and melted away. Blood drips into the pool of acid and sizzles away with a hissing sound.

"We have to help him up," says Mikey. He and Chelsea reach their hands over but Ray doesn't move.

"Ray, give us your hands!" Chelsea screams. Her hand is shaking insanely.

"C-can't," he says.

He takes in a few gasps of breaths and screams. Mikey and Chelsea pull their arms away, hissing. There's blood dripping from Chelsea's arm but it doesn't matter. What matters is Ray, and the fact that the acid is eating away at him. There are patches of raw skin on his arms and face. His clothes are disintegrating beneath him. He's screaming painfully at the top of his lungs. Chelsea can't seem to get any air to her own lungs. A very strange thought invades Chelsea's consciousness. It says, another life lost because of me.