Castle High's After School Horror

The art room is a large room with canvases lining the walls. There are all sorts of supplies in the back, including a black paint bucket with the top off and a paintbrush stuck in it. When Mikey turns on the lights Chelsea hears a strange noise. She looks up at the large, metal ceiling fan and her jaw drops.

"Frank!" Mikey screams.

There's a noose tied around Frank’s neck and tape on his mouth. The rope is tied around the ceiling fan that is struggling but whirring to life, lifting him from his standing position on the only stool in the room. There's some kind of wound on Frank's head, dripping blood down his chin to a puddle forming on the floor. Frank's eyes flutter open as the rope gets caught up by the fan, tightening the grip on him. His eyes go wide as he realizes what's happening. Chelsea gapes for a moment, unsure how to react. She sees Mikey run to the middle of the room and jump up on the stool, struggling to get the rope off.

Stupid move, but when you're desperate...

"Turn it off!" Ray yells at Chelsea, who's closest to the light switch. Chelsea nods and reaches her hand over to the switch. Nothing happens. She looks at the switch and flicks it up, down, up, down.

"Chelsea!" Mace yells.

"Nothing's happening!" she yells back.

"Scissors!" Mikey screams.

The group pours into the room and heads to the back, full intention to find a pair of scissors. Chelsea looks back. The fan’s engine is roaring and its blades are twitching, trying to move despite the weight that’s stopping it. Chelsea notices the tape tied around Frank's wrists. Ray is on his knees, supporting Frank's feet with his hands as if to stop the noose from getting any tighter around Frank's neck. Mikey is holding the rope near the top with one hand, trying to stop the fan with the other. The medal blades of the fan strike his hand and he groans. His face is close to Frank's. Frank's eyes are wide and frightened.

"Chelsea..." says Bonnie. Chelsea looks at her. "[I[Look."

Chelsea nods and starts the search for a pair of scissors. Gerard, Bob, the twins, and Chelsea look through the bins, turning out the cabinets, desperately searching. Pencils, markers, brushes, all over the floor. No one seems to be able to find any scissors.

"What's going on?" Mikey yells back. His voice is so desperate, so horrified. Chelsea looks back at Frank. The fan seems to still be tightening the rope around Frank's neck. Frank's eyes are barely open. Chelsea watches curiously as Mikey snatches the tape off of Frank's face. Frank starts coughing. They give each other intense, fearful looks.

"We can't find any scissors," Mace calls back. Chelsea tears her stare from Frank and Mikey and looks around the room, trying to figure out what they could do.

"Go to another classroom!" Ray yells.

Bonnie and Mace hold hands and walk out of the room. Chelsea bites her lip and looks around helplessly at the mostly empty room. What could they use to cut the damn rope? Chelsea hears the wheezing sound of Frank's desperate breathing and doesn't know what to do. The Twins are taking too long.

Gerard and Bob are looking through the closets now. Chelsea feels a sharp pain in her head. She has to try harder. She sees a textbook on the floor and bolts to it. She picks it up and gives it to Mikey without thinking. He grabs it and uses it to stop the fan from moving. Mikey's hands are red from trying to stop the fan with his bare hands. Chelsea bites her fingernails nervously. Ray's face is pained from holding Frank up. Frank's body is tense but motionless, blood still trickling down his chin. Chelsea can't tell if he's breathing.

"We found scissors!" the Hart twins say, entering the room. Bonnie is holding a pair of scissors.

Mikey accepts the scissors gratefully. The Twins and Chelsea step away from the scene and huddle close to each other in a corner of the room. Gerard walks over and holds the textbook in between two blades of the fan, tip-toeing to reach. Bob stands behind Ray as Mikey cuts the rope, a look of determination and pure terror in his features.

"Bob wasn't kidding, you know," Bonnie says. Chelsea looks at her, confused.

"About what?" she asks.

"Frank really is Mikey's boyfriend."

Chelsea's jaw drops. She looks over at Mikey, stretching as he slices the strands of the rope tying Frank to the frozen ceiling fan. She understands the look they gave each other now. It was just like the look Ray gives her and Mace gives Gerard...

Mikey finally finishes cutting the rope. Frank falls backward, into Bob's ready arms. Gerard drops the textbook and helps Bob gently settle Frank to the ground. The fan spurs to life. Ray breathes, massaging his hands. Mikey falls to his knees next to Frank. The girls step over slowly, watching as Mikey cuts the rope that is still tied around Frank's neck.

"Come on, come on..." Mikey groans. "Frank, wake up!"

Frank's eyes flutters open. He tries to breathe but fails to do so. He coughs and moans painfully turning his head away from Mikey.

"You're going to be okay, Frank," Mikey says.

His hands are shaking as he cuts the rope. Frank's eyes are squeezed shut for just a moment. Then, his features are relaxed and still. Chelsea covers her mouth and shakes her head. Everyone's watching, hopeful and fearful. When Mikey's cut through the rope, he pulls it out from under Frank's neck and throws it aside. Frank's neck is red and lined with abraded skin. He doesn't move. His features are smooth and his body is limp. Chelsea's teeth clamp down on her lip. He definitely isn't breathing.

"Frank?" Mikey mutters. He holds Frank's face gently, lovingly, pulling his head up and searching his face for some kind of reaction. There is none. Mikey let's Frank's head down softly and rests his ear in Frank's chest, over where Frank's heart is.

Mikey stays still. His breath is uneven and shaky as he holds his body close to Frank's. His hands shake as he holds fistfuls of Frank's sweater. He whimpers, digging his face into Frank's chest.

"Mikey?" Mace says gently.

"His..." Mikey sobs, "h-heart isn't... H-he's, but...he can't..."

"He's dead," Bob whispers.

Chelsea can't tell if what he says is a statement or a question. Mikey lies on top of Frank's body, every inch of him shaking. Chelsea wipes the tears from her eyes before anyone can tell she's crying.