Fan Fiction ❯ Terror High ❯ The earthquake ( Chapter 5 )

In band class, everyone was talking about the windows shattering. The only ones that had been fixed were in the principal's office. That was all the administration could afford to fix, he had said at an assembly outside. He had also explained away the windows breaking as a seismic boom.

 

Only at this school?

 

Medina sat down next to Ella, opening her flute case. Ella had a bandage on her side and her arm was bandaged as well. She had cracked two ribs and was lucky for that. What she dreaded though, was waking up in Rory's lap…

 

She would have to block that memory out…

 

Chase sat down on the other side of Ella and looked at Medina viciously. Ella had been hurt and Medina had escaped unscathed. Thanks to Aaron and Rory, not that she'd say thanks or anything…

 

Chloe walked over to Ella and Chase, ignoring Medina. Ella wasn't mad since she had been unconscious, but from what she had heard from the group is that Aaron and Rory had saved Medina's life and she hadn't even said a simple thanks… Aaron had even cut his hand saving her…

 

Ella got another flashback of waking up in Rory's lap… She tried once again to forget it…

 

Chloe whispered something in Chase's ear and Chase nodded. They walked over to a corner and Rory followed. Ella sighed and then felt a sharp pain in her side. Everyone had sacrificed something for Medina that day…

 

Mr. Hepner sat down in his conductor's chair and took the attendance. He stopped halfway through the roll call and looked around the room.

 

“Sarah Gold?” he asked.

 

“In here!” She called from the band closet. “Just getting my instrument…”

 

That's when the earthquake started.

 

Instruments toppled over and Sarah screamed.

 

She was completely covered with instrument cases.

 

After a minute, no one could hear her screaming anymore.

 

Kevin and Rory stood up, trying to balance. The room was still shaking.

 

They opened the door and pried the cases off of Sarah.

 

The shaking stopped.

 

All anyone could hear was the distant breathing from the closet.

 

Rory pulled the last case off Sarah and then fell over, exhausted.

 

Sarah screamed again, this time in pain, and Mr. Hepner walked over to the closet.

 

Sarah's arm was bent completely backwards.

 

Mr. Hepner rushed her outside after he dialed 911 on his cell. The ambulance was there within 15 minutes.

 

The students were all alone for the rest of the class.

 

An hour later, Mme Groom walked into the class, explaining that Sarah was fine.

 

The bell rang and the class dispersed into the hallway.

 

The rest of the school was left untouched by the earthquake.

 

**

 

The November chill was unmistakable even inside the school, but nobody seemed to care that it was only slightly warmer inside the building. It was the night of the school's fall concert, and the Junior Concert Band had just finished playing. The grades eights had left the stage already and were enjoying some downtime in the hospitality room. Instruments gleamed even under the harsh fluorescent lights, and people talked in groups around the small room. It was the dance team's practice room, but it was hard to imagine that it could fit 60 teenagers and their instrument cases. Still...it worked.

 

Chloe, Ella, Chase, and Rory were talking away in a corner of the room.

 

“Damian obviously knows more than he's telling us,” Chase was saying. “The freshman curse is something everyone knows about, especially now, and he doesn't even seem to know it exists.”

 

“Hardly a freshman curse now, but you do have a point,” Chloe said.

 

“Remember the book that he had?” Ella asked. “Whatever's in there has to figure in with the freshman curse, I'll bet. He was so protective of it.”

 

“Yeah…” Chase was thinking. “He could have caused this, couldn't he?”

 

“No way,” Rory said. “When these incidents started, he was four. We were four. No way could he have caused it.”

 

“Wait - what is causing the incidents?” Chloe asked. “I mean, we've had two suicides, a disappearance, and a hanging, not to mention the whole black-cloud-of-whatever thing. One person couldn't be causing this, and I know you know it.”

 

“Well if we're not looking for a person, then we're looking for something that shouldn't exist,” Rory said. “Like something supernatural…”

 

“Do not say a ghost,” Chase groaned. “Ghosts aren't real. There's no such thing.”

 

“Then you give me one logical explanation for what's been going on around here,” Ella challenged.

 

Chase was silent.

 

“Hey everyone! Kevin's going to jump!” someone yelled.

 

The four of them looked at each other.

 

“He's going to what?” The other grade eights were perplexed.

 

“He's going to jump off the C wing balcony!”

 

Chloe ran towards the door, dragging Rory along with her to avoid the rush. The others followed, just beating the crowd of people heading towards the door.

 

Chloe sprinted down the hallway, letting go of Rory as he realized what she was doing.

 

When they got to the C wing balcony, they couldn't believe what they were seeing.

 

Kevin Freeman, one of the sax players in the grade eight band, stood balanced on the edge of the balcony. It wasn't a far drop to the benches below, but it'd certainly hurt when he landed.

 

If he jumped.

 

Chloe stared, shocked.

 

“The freshman curse hits again,” Rory mumbled.

 

Chloe punched him to shut him up. She wanted to see this.

 

Kevin was completely and utterly petrified inside. It wouldn't show on his face - something was making him do this, and he couldn't name what.

 

Was this what Melanie felt like? What Jack felt like? He wondered. Were they scared to make their jumps?

 

He knew they hadn't been, though. He thought he was the only one who'd felt this scared.

 

And it wasn't even that far a fall.

 

He took a deep breath, took a last glance at the people below him…

 

And with that, he stepped off the balcony.