Castle High's After School Horror

After the gum debacle, things are kind of slow and boring. Bob hears Frank apologize to Beth for spraying the corner of her locker and stuffing the spray can in it. Bob stares out the window, thinking that he might die of boredom. He nods off a few times. When he thinks he is about to fall asleep he hears a loud bang, which causes him to suddenly be alert. He stares at Malone, whose eyes are unusually dark. Malone is holding a text book, which he slams a second time on his desk

"Don't do anything stupid while I'm gone," Malone says suddenly. His voice is stern, more so than usual. He almost sounds like a robot. Everyone had been trying not to fall asleep when he stands up and heads out the door.

"Well, that was random," Frank acknowledges then yawns.

Bob shrugs and puts his head down again. He closes his eyes, wishing for sleep. Then he notices something strange. He doesn't feel the heat from the sun anymore. What happened to the sun that was glaring down at him through the window? He looks at the window through a slit in his eye. Shocked, he sits up with wide eyes and takes another look.

"What the hell?" he gasps.

Everyone's eyes wander to the windows. The promised summer-like sky is gone and is replaced by an infinite blackness of clouds. Bob's breath catches in his throat. He's never seen anything like it. It's as if the sky is a black hole that will suck them all in at any moment. All the buildings surrounding the school are gray silhouettes, barely visible against the darkness of the outside. Bob looks at the clock on the wall. 4:15.

"Well, that's strangely creepy," Gerard comments nonchalantly.

"Beth, you made the world sad!" says Chelsea. Beth scratches her arm.

"Wasn't it sunny two minutes ago?" Bonnie asks.

Suddenly, a loud roar of thunder makes everyone in the room jump. Bob stares out the window with wide eyes as buckets of water start to pour down and into the classroom, wetting everything near the windows. The wind crashes angrily against the building. Bob, Gerard, Ray, and Mace run over to the windows and push them down quickly. The room is eerily quiet after, with only the whistling sound of the wind coming from outside. Bob's clothes are wet.

"What the fuck..." he breathes.

"Nice job, Beth," Chelsea comments. "You've got mother nature upset that you exist."

"Really, Chelsea?" Gerard spits. "Is that necessary at all?"

Chelsea shrugs, hops from her seat, and gets up onto the desk. "Who else am I supposed to insult, your girlfriend?"

Mace and Bonnie Hart gasp in unison. "Do not insult my sister," says Bonnie at the same time that Mace says, "Do not insult me."

A flash of lightening from outside turns everything in the room blue for a moment. Things are quiet again.

"Ray, your girlfriend needs a leash," Frank mutters. Bob laughs.

"You son of a-" Ray starts, stomping over to Frank. Little Beth springs up and puts her hands on Ray's chest.

"Frank's gonna apologize," she says then looks back. "Right Frank?"

Gerard and Bob glance at each other, both amused by the altercation. Mace and Bonnie hold hands and stand close to each other, glaring Chelsea down. Chelsea chomps on her gum and glares at the side of Frank's head. Mikey smiles and puts his head down on Frank's shoulder. Gerard looks at them with confusion.

"I'm..." Frank begins quietly, looking at Chelsea. He clears his throat and holds a pained expression before spitting out, "sorry!"

Chelsea smiles nastily as Frank holds his chest, as if the words were painful to say. Mikey laughs into Frank's neck.

"Now, Ray, you have to admit that Chelsea's-" Beth starts, but Chelsea interrupts.

"I dare you to say something about me, bitch," Chelsea spits.

"Chelsea, stop," Ray says boredly.

Gerard wanders to his seat, eyes on Frank and Mikey. Bob's eyes fall on them as well. Frank is whispering into Mikey's ear. Mikey bites his lip, suppressing a smile. Bob finds this oddly interesting.

"Yeah, Chelsea, shut up," Beth says, chin high and face stern.

"Why don't you?" Chelsea hisses. "God, no one wants to hear you. You fucking hillbilly."

The room is filled with awkward laughter. Bob can tell by the hurt look on Beth's red face that she can't take it anymore. She looks around at everyone, eyes glassy and cheeks pink. Beth clenches her fists and turns on her heel. She storms to the door and walks out with out another word. Chelsea scoffs.

"Dramatic much?" she says.

"Way to go," Ray says, sitting down next to Chelsea.

Another crash of thunder invades their ears, followed by lightening. The lights in the room turn off, incasing the eight teens in total darkness. Bob notices a blue light somewhere amongst the layers of dark. The light seems to come from Mikey's face. Mikey is holding a cell phone. Everyone else starts turning on their own phones for a light source.

"Did that crazy bitch go and turn off the lighting or something?" Chelsea said.

"Chelsea, no one wants to hear you," Mace's voice hisses.

There's a bang and the sound of breaking glass. Bob covers his ears. The room is filled with fearful, girly screams. He groans. The noise of the storm outside amplifies into the room. The lights flicker on and Bob glances at everyone. Chelsea is holding onto Ray's arm. The Harts are hugging each other and staring at the door, faces contorted into horrified stares. Mikey and Frank are staring, too. Gerard glances over.

"Th-that sounded like a gun," Bonnie whispers.

"Oh, please," Bob starts. "You're just being paranoid."

Bob's heart thuds hard in his chest. The glass of the door is broken and so is the window opposite the door. Gerard stands and walks to the door slowly, carefully.

"Gosh, you people have to stop being so dramatic," Chelsea says, though the fear in everyone's faces is evident in her tone. "This is all just a bad joke."

Gerard glares at Chelsea for a moment. He steps through the broken glass on the floor carefully, reaching his hand out to the doorknob. He opens the door slowly and looks down on the ground. There's a thud. He stumbles backward, mouth open and eyes huge.

"Oh my God," Mace and Bonnie squeal.

"What is it?" Frank yells.

"Mr. Malone!" Mace screams.

Everyone stands up and glances down at the doorway. Lying face down over the threshold is Malone's big frame, red liquid pouring from the back of his head. Motionless.

"M-Mr. Malone?" Gerard stutters.

The pool of blood grows beneath their feet. They all move away from it. Bob breathes nervously.

"Bad joke," he mutters. "Really not funny. At all."

"What do we do?" Frank says.

Gerard shrugs and glances at everyone. They are all looking at him as if he has the answers.

"Uhm..." he starts, trying not to look at the body near his feet.

"The Dean just got shot in the head and we're just standing here?!" Bonnie screams,

"My phone has no signal," Chelsea whispers.

Everyone looks at their phones. No signals.

"We aren't alone here," Gerard says quickly. "Someone else must've...heard that."

"L-let's go to the main office," Mace whispers.

Bob nods, stepping around the blood and wishing to wake up from this nightmare. It doesn’t want to sink in. Bob just can’t believe it. As if an afternoon with Mr. Malone wasn’t scary enough…