Kingsly
Ian and his parents pulled up to the Kingsley boarding school on a particularly dreary September morning. The clouds were a deep gray, and it was evident that a nasty rain storm was brewing. He was not thrilled about the prospect of living at a boarding school most of the year with whiney rich kids. Although his face clearly reflected his feelings of disdain, his parents paid no notice and took his bags out of the car.
“Come on, why do I have to go to a boarding school?” he moaned.
“Because, it’s a good experience for you, socializing with children your own age. Besides, they have a marvelous curriculum,” his mother said.
“We only want what’s best for you son,” his father added, walking ahead of him with arms full of bags.
“Sure, it’s about what’s best for me,” he grumbled to himself, following his oblivious parents.
They made their way up the large stone staircase into the lobby of the massive boarding school. Boys and girls in uniform, their parents, and school staff were all milling about. A man and woman, both dressed up in nice suits, walked over to greet Ian and his parents.
“Hello, my name is Thomas Dolan, and this is Jane Grayson. I’m the Headmaster of the boys, and she is the Headmistress of the girls. If there is anything we can do for you, just let us know. Orientation is at nine o’ clock tomorrow morning, and we will have our staff take your bags and set up your dorm. The house rules will also be explained during orientation. In the mean time, you can use this free time to mingle and meet your peers,” Thomas said. Two smiling faculty members relieved Ian’s father of the luggage, and walked away with is slung over their shoulders.
“Well son, make us proud. We know you’ll do wonderfully here,” his father said, giving him a firm handshake.
“Be good baby, keep in touch. We’ll come visit soon,” said his mother. She gave him a kiss on the cheek and a hug, and then they both left. Ian scanned the room, and began to feel extremely uncomfortable. He hated social situations like this, especially being thrown into it. Groups of teenagers were eagerly conversing around him, and all he wanted to do was sit somewhere quiet and draw. It felt like the room was spinning, so he navigated himself through the crowd to find somewhere to sit. Reaching the end of the lobby, he spotted a bench with a girl sitting on it. She was reading a book intently, as if no one was in the room at all. Her long, straight, brown hair rested on her shoulders, and she never took her eyes off of the page.
“Excuse me, do you mind if I sit here?” he asked nervously.
She looked up, and he noticed that her eyes were brown too, and almond shaped.
“Sure, there’s plenty of room,” she said with a smile.
“Thanks,” he replied, taking a seat.
“My name’s Noelle,” she said cheerfully, looking over at him.
“Mine’s Ian.”
“Nice to meet you,” she said grabbing his hand to shake it. He began to blush, not used to a girl touching him.
“Same. How can you read with all of this noise, anyway?”
“It’s easy, really. I prefer books over people, so I block them out.”
“So, have you been here long?” he asked her.
“It’s my first year here, actually. My parents decided that it would be a good thing. Offspring tend to get in the way of vacations to Brazil and Italy of course. So, they picked Kingsley for me, the best kennel for children money can buy.” Ian began to laugh, amused by her sense of humor.
“I’m sure the grooming is excellent too, and the cages, five star,” he added, and they both roared with laughter until it hurt.
“Ok, everyone. The dorms are ready, see the list posted on the board for your room assignments. Be ready by five o’ clock sharp for the Welcome Dinner tonight. A staff member will lead each floor down in an organized fashion,” Thomas said into a microphone. The students began to crowd around the board, and before they got up, Noelle handed Ian a slip of paper.
“Here’s my cell number. Text me later, and hopefully we can meet up at dinner,” she said.
“Will do,” he said smiling. She got up and walked over to the girls’ room assignment board, and after a moment he made his way to the boys’ list. He spotted his room number, 234, and went to the elevator. At least it was only the second floor. After finding his dorm, he went inside and found the T.V. blasting with ESPN. The boy watching was shouting at the players, and was glued to the screen.
“Fan-fucking-tastic,” Ian said to himself and went over to his side of the room.
“You my roomie?” the sports-zombie said, not taking his eyes off of the game.
“Yeah, I’m Ian.”
“Phil,” he answered, and then said nothing else. Ian noticed that his bed was by the window, and faced a beautiful view of the boarding school grounds.
“At least there’s something,” Ian thought, setting up an easel by the window. He unpacked his clothes and neatly arranged them into drawers and his small closet. When he was finished, he wondered if he should text Noelle, but didn’t want to so soon and seem desperate. He wasn’t sure if he could do it at all, actually. At five o’clock there was a knock on their dorm room door. A balding man with a mustache, glasses, and a maroon shirt with the Kingsley logo was standing there.
“I’m Mr. Lieder, a math teacher here at Kingsley. It is time for the Welcome Dinner,” he said. Phil finally turned off the blaring television set, and the followed Mr. Lieder down the hallway with the other boys from the second floor. Ian smacked his head and realized he didn’t text Noelle.
“Damn it, she’s going to think I’m a moron,” he thought, taking out his phone. Hand shaking, he texted: Hey, I’m coming down to dinner now. He then quickly shoved his phone back in his pocket. Not even a minute later, he felt it vibrate in his pocket. “She must be a hell of a fast typer,” he said to himself, and took his cell phone out of his pocket. He paused for a moment, nervous as to what she might have said. When he could finally read it, the message said: Nice, we can’t sit together but I’ll see you inside. They don’t want us breeding, we haven’t been spayed and neutered yet ;)” He stifled a laugh, and sat down as instructed with the other boys of his hall at the long dining room table. The table was set with expensive silverware, and food was being served by neatly dressed waiters.
“May I have your attention please before we begin our meal,” Jane said on the stage in front of the room.
“It is my great pleasure to welcome all of our new students enrolled to Kingsley this year, as well as our returning ones as well. This year, as well as all of your other years here, will be an enriching experience. We have amazing teachers, staff members, and school activities to nourish the mind and soul. Enjoy your meal, and I guarantee you that your experience at Kingsley will be one you will never forget.” Everyone clapped and then began to eat their dinner. The boys around him feverishly talked of sports games, cars, dorming arrangements, and which girls they were hoping to bed. Ian ignored the chatter and looked around the room for Noelle. He spotted a table in the corner with uniformed girls, and noticed her right away. She noticed him too, smiled, and waved. He waved back, hardly able to look at her.
“Hey roomie, is that your girl?” Phil asked.
“No, I just met her today. We’re friends,” Ian responded in annoyance.
“Well, you better get on that, because I’m sure plenty of guys at this table would hit that if you don’t,” Phil said, and the whole table laughed and high fived. Ian shook his head in disgust and continued his meal, ignoring the idiots around him. He then laughed to himself, imagining what she would do to them if they even insinuated those intentions. He doubted they’d have hands to high five with. He was happy that he found one really cool friend there, and would definitely not partake in the male bonding that would surely ensue with these jackasses. When the meal was finished, the students filed back to their rooms in organized lines. Ian spent the rest of his night sketching the trees and pond by his room, until it was too dark to see the landscape. He slept peacefully, until a hard knock on the door roused him. He groaned, rolled over, and after noticing Phil wasn’t going to get the door, got out of bed to do it. Again, Mr. Lieder was at the door in his neatly pressed khakis and maroon shirt.
“Boys, it is eight o’ clock a.m. Orientation is in one hour. Make sure your uniforms are in pristine condition and be in the lobby no later than 8:50. That is all.” After relaying the message, he quickly did an about face and walked to the next room. Ian shut the door, annoyed that he had to be awake so early. He was definitely not a morning person, and this added to the list of reasons why he hated the school.
“Phil, get up. We have orientation in an hour,” Ian said, shaking his roommate.
“Alright, Jesus Christ,” he moaned, rolling out of bed with his eyes half open. Ian got his uniform out of the closet, inspected it for a moment, and put it on while Phil was in the shower. When both boys were ready, they made their way to the lobby which contained other half asleep adolescents. At nine o’clock sharp, Jane said, “Good morning students, and welcome to your Orientation,” in a voice that was unnaturally cheery.
“We are going to set up some ground rules before we begin the tour of the campus and the programs we offer. Firstly, curfew on school nights is nine o’clock. On weekends, it is midnight, except for seniors. Secondly, males are not allowed in female dorms, and vice versa. We have the common areas and the school activities as places for you to mingle. Anyone found violating this rule will be suspended with possible expulsion. Thirdly, absolutely no drugs, alcohol, or any other inappropriate materials on campus. This will also result in disciplinary action. We have Hall Managers, which are the teachers that led you down here today. They will be on guard at all times for any suspicious activity. Your grades must total to a GPA of no lower than a 3.0. Anything under that will result in Academic Probation for one semester, and then expulsion. Remember, you not only represent yourselves, but Kingsley as well. Any shameful action you bring upon yourself disappoints us all. Finally, your schedules will be distributed by your Hall Manager shortly. They will also be conducting your Orientation. Anything they say, goes. No questions asked. That is all,” Thomas said sternly.
“You’d think this was a concentration camp,” Phil whispered to Ian.
“It sure feels like it,” he said back.
“Follow me,” Mr. Lieder commanded, and the group of boys obliged. In his dull voice that Ian considered less interesting than static, he pointed out where the classrooms are as well as the gym and auditorium were. In painstakingly boring detail, he also described the different academic clubs and sporting activities. Ian blocked them all out, letting his mind wander about Noelle and his window with the view. After the tour to nowhere ended, he wondered if he should text Noelle and see if she wanted to hang out. It wasn’t normally something he did; in fact, he hardly spoke to girls back home. She seemed different, though, and not the kind that would laugh at him. After his mental battle raged for five minutes, he asked her if she wanted to meet up outside in the Quad of the school. She said she’d love to in about thirty seconds flat, so he couldn’t get away from his robot tour guide fast enough. He quickly took his schedule out of Mr. Lieder’s hand, and practically ran to the Quad.
“Hey stranger,” she said with a grin when he walked over to her.
“Hi.”
“How did you like that snooze fest? Three hours just to show us where rooms in a building are, what a joke! I think they just like to hear themselves talk.”
“It was torture. No, torture would actually be more enjoyable actually.”
She giggled at him, and he could feel his cheeks burning.
“Come on, let’s go to the bookstore and spend Mommy and Daddy’s money on textbooks we aren’t even going to read,” she said, and they both walked over.
“Taking anything interesting?” he asked her.
“Not really, just the usual crap they tell us freshmen need. You know, math, science, social awkwardness, all the basic classes.”
The book store was crammed with students, and it was difficult to squeeze through the aisles.
“Algebra, when the hell am I going to need this in my life? I want to be a writer,” Noelle griped, picking up the massive book.
“I know, I’m going into the art field, so I don’t think gym is really going to help me,” he responded, taking an earth science book off of the shelf.
After making their purchases, they went to the dining hall for lunch and sat down.
“I can’t believe we have to sit with our hall during the week for lunch, that is such bullshit,” Noelle said, taking a bite of her grilled cheese.
“Yeah, it’s boot camp starting tomorrow, ugh” Ian groaned before starting on his cheeseburger.
“And that dorm rule? Please, if people want to have sex, they’re going to do it anyway. Now they just have a challenge,” Noelle continued.
“Not the perfect little Kingsley angels! Sex, what’s that?” Ian joked.
“You know, I can tell we’re going to be best friends. It’ll be cool to have a partner in crime, that is if you can handle having me around,” she said with a wink.
“I’ll be fine, you should see the spawn of hell I’m forced to come in contact with on my floor.”
Noelle let out a loud laugh and said, “I already have met most of them; they made many feeble attempts to flirt with me the first day I got here. After a while, I just pretended I was deaf.”
After finishing their food and cracking a few jokes, an announcement was made over the loud speaker that class was starting tomorrow morning, so the curfew was earlier tonight. Everyone had to be in their dorms by eight, and lateness to class would not be tolerated.
“I better get going, I really need to finish my book and make sure I’m ready for class tomorrow. I’ll text you later,” Noelle said.
“Sounds good, I’ll talk to you soon.” They both made their way back to their respective dorms, and Ian could not wait to drop his heavy load of textbooks.
“Hey bro, I saw you with that girl from the dinner last night. God is she hot, but I heard she might have a hearing problem,” Phil said while watching a baseball game. Ian started laughing hysterically, and then decided to take a shower so he could sleep a little later the next morning. Around two o’clock in the morning, he heard his cell phone make the noise it did when he got a text message. Normally he would ignore it, but his gut feeling told him it was important. It was from Noelle, and read: I’m at the door, didn’t want to wake up Phil. Ian immediately sprung out of bed, fumbled for his glasses in the dark, and quietly made his way to the door. Noelle was standing there in pajama pants and a sweatshirt, and looked really pale.
“Is everything alright? You’ll get in huge trouble if they find you here.”
“Do I look like the kind of girl that cares about getting into trouble? And no, everything is not alright.
You see all that security at the girls dormitory?” Ian went to the window in the hall and saw the place swarming with faculty, and an ambulance.
“What happened?”
“They found this girl Melina dead in her dorm room. She lives on the fifth floor.”
“Dead?”
“Murdered.”
Ian’s eyes widened in shock and fear.
“Murdered? How? Her roommate didn’t see or hear anything?”
“Her roommate was out past curfew, so she didn’t find her until she snuck back in. By that time, it was too late.”
“This is terrible, oh my god,” he said. He sat back down on his bed, and put his head in his hands.
“Her roommate is absolutely traumatized, of course. From what I hear, she found Melina tied to her bed, and there was marks around her neck…”
“She was strangled with something,” Ian finished.
“They’re canceling classes tomorrow, and putting the school on lockdown so no student can leave and no intruder can get in. I’m sorry if I’ll get you in trouble, I just needed to get out of there.”
“Did you want to stay here tonight if you don’t feel safe?” Ian offered.
“No, I’m alright, just wanted to talk to you. I’ll see you tomorrow,” she said with a weak smile.
“Text me when you are back at your room, and if you see or hear anything suspicious, get the hell out of there. I’ll be here if you need me.”
“Thank you,” she said, and then hugged him. His heart began to pound, and after a moment she pulled away and left.
Ian sat down on the bed, sick with worry. Beads of cold sweat formed on his brow, the thought of Noelle being in danger making his stomach turn. He tossed and turned, unable to sleep. He watched the hours go by, minute by minute, until his alarm went off at eight. He groggily rolled out of bed, running on zero hours of sleep. Practically sleepwalking, he got washed up and threw on his uniform, barely having the energy to brush his hair into place. There was a loud knock at the door, followed by Mr. Lieder’s voice.
“Everyone is to report to the first floor common room for a meeting in a half an hour.” he said, a hint of panic in his voice.
Ian opened the door, not even bothering to wake up Phil, and walked down to the common room. He squeezed his way through the crowds, scanning for Noelle. Figuring she’d be off by herself, he went around the outskirts of the room. Noticing an air pocket in the sea of bodies, Ian thought he had finally found Noelle, but was sorely mistaken. In the corner of the room was a beautiful young girl sitting in one of the folding chairs, which everyone was strangely avoiding like the plague. Her short black hair fell just below her chin. Ian couldn’t help but notice the large white bandages wrapped around her head. She noticed him out of the corner of her eye, giving him a cold stare.
“I was in a car accident.” she sighed, already knowing what Ian was about to ask.
“I’m sorry to hear that.” Ian replied, a bit startled.
“No you’re not, and even if you were, pity is for the weak.” she sneered.
“Listen, you haven’t seen Noelle around have you?” he asked.
She shrugged her shoulders and went back to staring into space.
Ian continued searching the crowd until he felt his phone vibrate. He pulled it out of his pocket and saw that Noelle had sent him a text.
The message read “At nurse’s office.”
He tried to slip out of the room to see her, but one of the faculty caught him as he made it to the door. He was tall, and appeared to be in his early thirties. His short blond hair fell across his face as he looked down at Ian.
“Where do you think you’re going?” he asked, giving Ian a stern look.
“I just needed some air. It’s really crowded in there and I’m not really one for confined spaces.” Ian replied earnestly.
“I understand, not one for crowds myself really. Just wait out in the hall I guess. I’ll let you know when the announcements begin.” he replied.
Ian walked out into the hall and slipped away to the nurse’s office, surprised his plan had gone off without a hitch. He opened the door and spotted Noelle immediately and ran over to her. She was standing next to one of the beds.
“Are you alright?” he said, his heart pounding in panic.
“Yea, they had me take Melina’s roommate to the nurse because she started vomiting this morning. Must be the shock of seeing something so horrible finally kicking in.” Noelle replied with a sigh, looking down at the girl next to her in pity.
“What happened?” Ian asked.
“I don’t know. When Mrs. Lancaster came to check on things this morning, she found her in the bathroom vomiting. She was all ready and dressed too. I hope she’ll be alright.” Noelle replied.
The girl in the bed rolled on her side and grabbed a bucket from the floor as she started feeling sick again, painfully waiting for the inevitable. Ian and Noelle quickly turned away, starting to feel nauseated by the whole thing. A young girl came walking down the hall dressed in white. She wore her long brown hair in a ponytail, which she had wrapped into a bun while she worked. She adjusted her square frame glasses as she looked over her chart. By her age, Ian could tell she was one of the students, probably assigned to be the nurse’s assistant.
“Okay Fiona, time for your medicine.” she said, pouring some antacids into a medicine cup.
Fiona took the cup and downed the medicine in one gulp, wincing at the horrid taste. She immediately turned back to her bucked and began vomiting.
“Are you friends of Fiona’s” the girl asked looking at Ian and Noelle.
“No, we were just assigned to bring her down here.” Noelle replied.
“Okay, well you’ll have to leave now, since you’re kind of in my way. I have too many people to treat and you’re not helping any.” she sighed, ushering them out the door.
They walked back down to the common room only to find the meeting was already over. Phil walked over to Ian, giving him a light punch in the shoulder.
“Hey man, way to play hooky. The meeting was pretty boring. Just about how some girl drowned last night and how nobody’s supposed to leave or some shit. I see you’re still hanging out with the deaf chick.” he said with a laugh.
Noelle gave him a hard slap to the face and stormed off, dragging Ian along with her.
“Guess she’s not as hard of hearing as everyone says.” Phil groaned, rubbing his cheek.
“I thought you said she was murdered in her bed, so how did she drown?” Ian asked.
“I swear she was murdered, found lying in her bed. Everyone on my floor was in a panic over it and I was so worried and…” Noelle said, starting to ramble.
“I know, I believe you. I was watching the lake last night and there wasn’t a soul out there. Something’s up, and I don’t like it.” Ian groaned, trying to find a place away from the crowds.
“Definitely, and I’m not going to just sit here and let it blow over like this, I want the truth damn it!” Noelle snapped.
“No surprise there, and I suppose you want me to help you figure this all out…” Ian said with a laugh.
“Of course, you’re the only one I trust in this hell. You’re dying to know what really happened too though, I can tell.” Noelle said with a grin.
“Guilty.” Ian replied.
They walked to one of the upper floor common rooms, which were usually less crowded because of the arduous task of walking seven flights to get there. They sat down on the couch in the small empty room and started to think.
“Who would want to kill Melinda?” Ian thought out loud.
“Well, my roommate was good friends with her, and my roommate is a snobby bitch. If Melinda was anything like her, the list could be endless.” Noelle groaned, rubbing her head.
“Okay, so she was strangled, right? The person had to have access to her room somehow. Could Fiona have done it? It would make sense, saying she was out past curfew for an alibi. She was the first to discover the body too.” Ian said.
“Could be, but I don’t know. It could be anyone really, and Fiona could have really been out in the halls. Her boyfriend is on the next floor right by the stairs.” Noelle replied.
“If you don’t talk to people, how do you know all this?” Ian asked skeptically.
“Because snooty girls brag about everything I couldn’t give two shits about.” Noelle replied with a laugh.
"Is Fiona going to be alright? She looked pretty sick." Ian sighed.
"I don't know. She's going through a lot right now." Noelle replied.
"Want to pay her another visit? I've got a few questions I want to ask her anyway." Ian said, rising to his feet.
"Sure, I've got some time to kill." Noelle replied.
They walked down to the first floor and back to the infirmary. Ian put his hand on the knob only to find that the door was locked.
"Odd, why would they lock the infirmary." Ian said, giving the door a light knock.
"I'm sorry, but we've quarantined the infirmary. There's been a bug going around. If you need something, ask Raine in 102." a voice said from behind the door.
Ian and Noelle walked down to room 102 and opened the door. The girl they had seen helping Fiona earlier sat at the teacher's desk looking through papers. She looked up at them with a smile.
"Hello again, how may I help you?" she asked.
"I was hoping to speak to Fiona, see how she's doing." Noelle replied with a worried smile.
"Oh, well I'm afraid I can't let you see her. Whatever it is she caught has spread to everyone in there. I'm taking over for Nurse Loman until everything calms down." Raine said, going back to her paperwork.
"Guess we'll just have to wait." Noelle sighed, walking out.
"This is all so confusing. I thought Fiona was just sick from being in shock." Ian groaned, rubbing his head.
"I'm pretty sure she was. Everything was fine yesterday." Noelle replied.
As they wandered the halls, Ian and Noelle continued pondering the reasoning behind the recent events. As they walked, Ian noticed the teacher he had met in the common room earlier. He was surrounded by about seven girls who were practically fawning over him. Ian ducked into one of the rooms to avoid being spotted, dragging Noelle with him.
"What the hell are you doing!" Noelle said, panicked and confused.
"I can't let him see me. He caught me sneaking out to see you, but I told him I was just getting some air. He'd recognize me right away." Ian whispered.
"I guess that's the famous Logan Hanno. Apparently he's worshiped like a god by most of the female students. I don't see why they're so hung up on him, I mean, he's not as old as some of the other teachers but he's still a good ten years older than them. Disgusting..." Noelle spat.
"You can't blame them for having their girlish fantasies I guess. Looks like he's gone now." Ian replied, stepping back into the hall.
"I guess you're right." Noelle sighed in agreement.
They continued wandering the halls, bored out of their minds.
"Now what?" Ian asked, mind beginning to wander.
"Beats me. Don't have much to go on now anyway." Noelle replied with a heavy sigh.
"Did you know Melina?" Ian asked.
"Not really. I knew who she was, but never really talked to her. As I've said, I'm more interested in books than people." Noelle replied.
"Would you mind asking around the girl's section of the dorms, find out some more about her? Maybe we can piece together a motive." Ian shrugged as they continued walking.
"I guess, but the less I have to talk to those stuck up bitches the better." Noelle spat.
"Good point. Maybe we should just wait for Fiona to get better." Ian sighed.
"How do they expect us to kill our time if they give us nothing to do?" Noelle groaned, leaning against one of the walls.
"Yea, I know. Let's see..." Ian said, trailing off into thought.
"I heard there's a ping pong table in one of the common rooms, I'll play you." Noelle said with a grin.
"Sure, I'm game." Ian replied, smiling back.
They walked from floor to floor looking for the table. As they wandered, Ian noticed each floor's common room had a theme to it. The seventh floor was more of a lounge, sixth dedicated itself to the feel of an arcade, fifth was full of board games, fourth had all sorts of musical equipment, and the ping pong table as well as a pool table and other large games were on the third floor. Noelle grabbed a ball from the basket on one of the counters while Ian went looking for a paddle. He searched the drawers, cabinets, shelves, and even under the sink, but they were nowhere to be seen. It was then he noticed the small sign saying that all equipment was in the closet. He walked over to the small closet and opened the door. Speechless, he went pale as he stood face to face with a corpse. He was one of the older students, possibly a junior or senior. His mouth was full of blood, his teeth cracked and displaced. Amidst the blood, Ian could see black and white specks. The body fell forward, unable to support its own weight. As it hit the ground, a handful of bloody miniature soccer balls rolled out of his mouth.
"What a bizzare way to go..." Ian stammered, backing away.
"What should we do?" Noelle whispered, going into a nervous panick.
"Why not just tell one of the faculty?" Ian suggested.
"We don't want to make ourselves a target, considering whoever's doing this isn't going to stop until they finish what they started." Noelle replied.
"I've got an idea..." Ian said, looking around the room.
He walked over to the phone used to call for repairs and picked it up. Dialing the extension taped to the phone, he left the phone off the hook and walked out.
"That should do it." Ian said as he and Noelle walked down the hall.
"I'm really scared... it's not safe here anymore..." Noelle muttered.
"I know, but you'll get through this. I'm going to make sure of that even if it kills me." Ian replied.
"Thank's Ian. I think I need to go lay down though." Noelle replied.
"Alright, text me if you need anything." he replied.
As soon as Noelle was out of sight, Ian made a break for the bathroom. Plowing into one of the stalls, he hunched over the toilet, sick from what he had just witnessed.
. After he finished vomiting, he heard an announcement over the loudspeaker that all students must return to their dorms right away, and attendance would be taken. The school was officially on lockdown, and classes were canceled until further notice. Ian quickly made his way back to the dorm, hoping not to arouse suspicion.
“Yo man, where were you?” Phil asked him.
“I was in the bathroom, felt really sick…”
“Well I hope you didn’t eat any of the cafeteria food. Some chick died from food poisoning today.”
Food poisoning? Ian thought to himself. That isn’t possible, Fiona was being questioned all day, and then was taken to the infirmary. She couldn’t have been in the cafeteria.
“How did you hear this? Are you sure?” Ian asked.
“Yeah, Lieder told us. We are supposedly having some safety assembly tomorrow due to all the accidents going on.”
“They aren’t accidents, don’t you get it!”
“What are you talking about? Kingsley is one of the best schools in the country, you don’t think that someone is actually going around killing people, do you? This isn’t some kind of horror movie.”
“I don’t believe that all of these incidents are just magically happening at the same time for no apparent reason,” Ian countered.
“Whatever you say man. It sucks we have to be stuck in these dorms all day though, ugh!”
Ian agreed, and then decided to call his parents. He had to let them know what was going on, and hopefully they would take him out of this school. Since Noelle’s parents were god knows where on planet earth, she would come with him, no matter what anyone said. He dialed their number, but the call wouldn’t go through. After trying several more times, he realized his phone wasn’t getting any service.
“DAMN IT!” Ian yelled, throwing his phone.
“What’s the matter?” Phil asked.
“My phone isn’t getting any service, try yours.”
“Sure thing,” he said, and tried making a phone call. After a moment, he shook his head grimly and said, “No dice.”
What the hell is going on? Ian thought to himself, and laid down in his bed. His heart was pounding in his chest, and he could barely drift off to sleep.
Meanwhile…
Noelle was a nervous wreck, and her mind wandered about the horrible events that took place the past few days. She wrote a text to Ian because talking to him calmed her down, but it kept saying “send failed.”
“Why is it not going through?” she asked herself, but her thoughts were rudely interrupted by her door being opened.
Hanno and her roommate Mandy walked into the room, laughing.
“Thanks for agreeing to tutor me Mr. Hanno, I appreciate it.”
“Anytime for one of my favorite students,” he answered flirtatiously, and Mandy giggled back. Noelle rolled her eyes in disgust and rolled over.
“Damn, I forgot my books in the music room! I’ll be back in a few!” Mandy said cheerfully.
“Don’t be long,” Hanno quipped back as she walked out. After Mandy left, Hanno went over to Noelle’s bed and sat down.
“Hey kiddo, are you feeling ok?” he asked sweetly.
“Yeah, just tired,” Noelle answered, feeling extremely uncomfortable by his presence.
“Well, if you need to talk, I’m here for you,” he said with a grin, and began rubbing her leg.
“I’m fine, thank you!” Noelle said, jumping back.
“You’re very pretty, are you in one of my classes?” he asked her. She began to get really uncomfortable, and was praying Mandy would be back soon. The vibe he was giving off was definitely wrong, and she could feel it throughout her body.
“Yeah, third period,” she said coldly.
“Ah, that’s right. How could I have not noticed you sooner? I apologize,” he said slyly.
“Think nothing of it,” she responded, inching away from him. Before he could advance again, Mandy strode into the room.
“Ready when you are sir!” she chirped.
“That’s my girl! Off to the library then!” he said, and then turned to Noelle.
“I’ll see you around,” he said, touching her face and then leaving the room with Mandy. Noelle could have sworn that Hanno put his arm around Mandy, but they were gone before she could see. She began to feel nauseous and wanted nothing more than to see Ian right then.
***
Ian had a horrible sleep, and the next morning he felt something wet on his face.
“WHAT THE FUCK!” Phil bellowed. Ian jumped out of bed and realized the carpet and their sheets were soaking wet. They both looked up and realized it was coming from the ceiling.
“Why is that water coming through the ceiling like that?” Phil exclaimed. There was a knock on the door, and Mr. Lieder informed them that it was time for the assembly.
“Mr. Lieder, look at our room. It’s soaked! Something upstairs has sprung a leak!” Phil said.
“Alright, I’ll call maintenance. You can use the staff bathroom to get ready for now,” he instructed them. The boys grabbed their uniforms, quickly changed in the staff room, and followed their floor to the auditorium.
When everyone took their seats, Thomas began speaking.
“It has come to my attention that over the past few days, some unfortunate incidents have occurred. Today, we must discuss safety because if we are not cautious, more of these accidents can take place,” he said.
“Now, in response to this, we are taking appropriate measures to insure the well-being of everyone at Kingsley. First of all, due to Melina’s tragic boating accident, more staff will be on hand during outdoor activities, as well as an active lifeguard. Our poor Fiona has passed away from food poisoning, so we will have much stricter food handling practices. And sadly, we have just received word this morning that Dennis has died from being drunk and trying to take a bath. Our staff will be more vigilant in surveillance of the dorms and there will be no leaving of the campus.”
Ian and Phil looked at each other, immediately realizing where the water was coming from.
“That is bullshit, Dennis would never touch alcohol! He hates the taste of it!” Phil whispered to Ian.
“Just what the hell are they trying to pull? And they didn’t even mention the kid in the games room. Probably because they couldn’t even come up with an excuse for that,” Ian thought to himself.
“We need to get the hell out of here, and now!” Ian said to Phil.
“How, they’re watching everything, and at every door!” he said frantically.
“Boys stop talking!” Mr. Lieder commanded.
“Yes sir,” they answered. After the assembly, the students were able to have some heavily supervised free time. Phil and Ian quickly left the auditorium, eager to find Noelle and inform her of their theories. When they saw her, she didn’t look like she normally did. She wasn’t smiling, and was pale and nervous.
“Noelle, are you alright?” Ian asked concerned.
“Yah,” she said and shook her head, but it was weak.
“Come on, we can tell,” said Phil.
“Hanno was in my room last night because my roommate was going to be tutored by him. She left to go get her books in a classroom and…”
“Did he do something to you? I will kill him…”Ian began.
“He did hit on me, but Mandy came back and they left together. It was creepy.”
"That explains the cult following..." Ian mumbled.
"Yea, I heard roumors about the guy. All the girls wanna get in his pants or something. I just find it fuckin wierd." Phil replied.
Ian looked around and noticed Hanno standing off to the side flirting with some girls. Looking over at Noelle, he gave her a wink from across the room. Ian was ready to attack, but his common sense kept his rage in check. He turned back to the group, noticing Noelle seriously disturbed.
"It's not safe to talk here. Let's go up to one of the common rooms." Ian said, leading the group towards the stairs.
Ian went to walk up the stairs, but he felt himself being pulled back by the collar. He turned to see a young woman grinning at him, playfully wagging her finger at him. Her black hair was braided into two long braids hanging down her shoulders.
"You know everyone's supposed to stay here until curfew. Faculty's a bit short staffed so I'm lending a hand, making sure no one sneaks away." she giggled.
"Slender, young, and fit, just Hanno's type..." Ian thought, letting out an exasperated sigh.
"Sorry, what can I say, Hanno's orders." the girl replied.
"Fucking knew it." Ian groaned.
"Now what? We're not going anywhere anytime soon." Phil said, sitting down on one of the couches.
"Not much we can do really. We just have to wait this out until the teachers start loosening up, or become too spread out. That's our chance to get somewhere we can actually talk about all this." Ian replied.
"And why not talk about it now?" Phil continued.
"Because whoever is doing this is stuck here with us. No one gets in and no one gets out. If they heard us talking about it, we're going to be the next ones to have an 'unfortunate incident', as the headmaster put it, packed wrapped and sealed in bullshit." Ian sighed.
"I agree, we should lay low for a while, not to mention I've got my own problems to deal with. I seriously hope faculty don't just carry around keys to the rooms in case of emergency." Noelle said, the thought of Hanno having a key to her room sending chills up her spine.
"Phil, you knew Dennis well, right? Would anyone have a grudge against him, some motive to kill him?" Ian asked.
"He was pretty much a straight edge when it came to drugs and the sauce, but it didn't mean he was a good guy. Honestly, he was kind of a douche. He was a constant pain in the ass, especially for the teachers. He was a prankster who just didn't care how far he took it. He went as far as to replace the entire file cabinet holding that years final exams with a whole new cabinet full of surveys from some online sex site. Funny as hell, but that wasn't the end of it. Turns out he hid the final exams somewhere and wouldn't give them back. One of the professors ended up finding at the bottom of the lake. Nobody was laughing when we had to retake all our finals, nobody except Dennis." Phil said with a laugh.
"So it could have been anyone... that's a big fucking help." Ian groaned.
"Hey, sorry I can't help more, but that's all I know." Phil replied.
"It's not that. I just can't help but wonder who that other victim was. It's pissing me off that they didn't even announce his name. Hell, they could have made up a cause of death and nobody would have been the wiser." Ian muttered.
"Wait, there was another death?" Phil asked.
"Yea, I found him in the game room upstairs. He had miniature soccer balls shoved down his throat." Ian shuddered.
"Well fuck, I don't even know what to say to that." Phil replied in shock.
"Finding out who he was could be the missing link to this whole thing..." Ian sighed.
"Or just lead to more questions. Let's focus on what we do know." Noelle replied.
As they were talking, Ian noticed the girl who had been in a car accident wander towards him. She tripped, falling to the floor. Ian quickly got up and helped her to her feet, grabbing her hand. She stood up, gave him a barely noticable smile, and walked off. As he sat back down, he noticed she had left a small slip of paper in his hand.
'You're being watched ~Viola'
"Thanks for the tip..." Ian thought, passing the note along to the others as he scanned the crowds.
"We'll continue this later I guess." Noelle sighed, glancing over at Hanno to see if he had finally given up on her.
They made general chit chat for the remainder of their time in hell, waiting for curfew to arrive. The teachers finally dismissed them and led the masses to their dorms. As Ian got undressed, a small slip of paper fell out of his pocket. Picking it up, he read it to himself.
'Meet me on the roof tomorrow evening. Come alone. ~Viola'
"Wonder what she wants from me, and why alone..." Ian thought as he threw on some sweatpants and climbed into bed.
The alarm clock went off bright and early the next morning, Ian groaning as he rolled out of bed. He and Phil walked down to the faculty bathroom to change and wash up, since repairs from the unfortunate bathing incident had yet to be finished. They wandered the halls in search of Noelle, but she was nowhere to be found.
"Where the hell could she be..." Ian thought, starting to worry.
He and Phil made their way to her dorm. Giving a light knock, they waited for a reply. Phil ran down the hall, noticing one of the doors ajar. He called over to Ian as he slipped inside. Noelle sat on the floor in complete shock. As they walked further inside, they suddenly saw why. Viola hung from the bathroom ceiling, a noose made of a phone cord tied around her neck. Ian ran over and cut her down, but it was already too late. As she slumped to the floor, Phil noticed something on the insde of her vest.
"What the hell are you doing?" Ian asked, watching Phil unbutton the single fastened button on the vest.
"There's something written on the inside." he replied.
They read the long message aloud, still trying to piece everything together.
'I know they are coming for me, it was only a matter of time. I have written here all I know about these horrid events. When I first came to this school, a similar set of events had occurred. There were a series of murders, though no common motive could be found. In the end, the police found evidence against a small number of students, explaining the lack of common motive. I had dropped out of schooling for two years before returning here, hoping everything would have returned to normal. The repetition of history only proves that there was more to what happened here three years ago. I am sorry I couldn't tell you this in person. I appreciated your kind words upon our first encounter, I just regret not being able to return the sentiment, Ian. ~Viola'
“Two years ago? What the hell does this all mean?” Phil asked nervously.
“It means this isn’t the first time this has happened, and god only knows how long it has been going on,” Ian said.
“We need to get the hell out of here,” Phil said.
“That isn’t going to work, and you know it. Besides, we need to solve this before any more innocent people are murdered. I couldn’t leave in good conscious and know this was still going on,” Noelle said.
“We need to figure this out, and fast. If not, this is just going to keep going on, and we have to be one step ahead,” Ian said.
“Agreed, but how do we go about it?” Phil asked. “We’ll draw attention if we are snooping around.”
“What’s really bothering me is that Viola wrote ‘they’. This person isn’t acting alone, it could be a whole network of people. It could be anyone, anywhere, anytime,” Ian said.
“We should hit up the library and maybe see if they have some periodicals about the deaths. We could also try getting into the records office when no one is around, maybe late at night. The most important thing is not arousing any suspicion,” Noelle said. They began to hear voices down the hall, but before they could leave the room it was too late. The girl with the braids, Mandy, and some other of Hanno’s groupies walked into the room and gasped.
“Oh my, what is this!” the girl with the braids exclaimed.
“We just found her like this, it’s horrible!” Noelle said.
Ian made sure to hide Viola’s note in his pocket so they wouldn’t see.
“Viola was always so depressed, especially after her car accident. Suicide is such a tragic thing,” Mandy said.
Ian wanted to scream that it was murder, but thought twice and kept quiet.
“You guys shouldn’t be in the girls dorm, especially unsupervised. My name is Anna, and I am one of the new hall monitors. I believe we have met before Ian,” the girl with the braids said. Ian became very uncomfortable, and didn’t know how this girl knew who he was.
“Now, you boys get back to your dorm before you get into trouble,” Mandy said to Phil and Ian.
“I don’t feel comfortable leaving Noelle alone, especially after what we have just seen,” Ian said.
“Rules are rules Ian. We’ll make sure she’s looked after,” Mandy said.
Ian and Phil looked at each other uneasily, but knew they couldn’t do anything about it. Noelle walked up to Ian and gave him a hug. While embracing him, she whispered “Library, seven o’clock.” He nodded, and let go of her. After they left the room, Anna, Mandy, and the other girls turned to Noelle.
“We’re terribly sorry that you have had to see something so horrid. Not to worry though, Mr. Hanno is a counselor here. We will take him to you right away.”
“No, it’s alright, I’d rather just lay down and sleep,” Noelle said.
“Sorry, school policy states that you must seek some sort of counseling if your mental health is at stake,” Anna said.
“Fine, I’ll go,” Noelle said rolling her eyes and following them out of the room.
They led her to his office on the second floor, and knocked on the door. Mr. Hanno opened it, smiled, and said “Hello girls.”
“Hello Mr. Hanno. Noelle is in desperate need of counseling, the poor girl has been through so much today,” Anna said.
“Well, you have come to the right place. Step right in Noelle, and we’ll begin,” Hanno said smoothly.
Noelle walked into his office and sat on the leather couch facing Hanno’s desk.
“Now, what seems to be going on sweetie?” Hanno asked.
“I found a good friend of mine hanging from the ceiling,” Noelle said curtly.
“I’m so sorry to hear that Noelle, things have been so awful here lately.”
“Yes, they have.”
“Hmm, how to cheer you up?” Hanno asked with a wink.
“Listen, I really hate talking about my problems to people, so can we just call it a day?” Noelle asked, hoping to get the hell out of there as soon as possible.
“I’m sorry, but counseling sessions are one hour, and the other girls were really concerned about you.”
“You wouldn’t understand,” Noelle said crossing her arms and rolling her eyes. Hanno got up from his desk and sat next to Noelle on the couch.
“I’m sure I would. I hate seeing you this way; you are too beautiful to be sad. You aren’t like the other girls that go here,” he said, putting his arm around her.
“Do you mind not touching me,” Noelle said sharply, throwing his arm off of her.
“I’m just trying to console you,” he said.
“No, you’re trying to get in my pants. And you’re right, I’m not like every other girl in this school, I have a brain. So, the answer is no, I’m not fucking you!”
Hanno began to grin and then laughed.
“My oh my, you are quite the challenge.”
“You better knock if off or I’m going to the headmaster.”
“The headmaster and I go way back. He isn’t going to believe some fifteen year old girl. All I have to say is that you were coming on to me, that I told you it wasn’t appropriate, and out of jealousy you made up this story. Besides, I’ve seen you with boys quite a few times, so you aren’t that innocent.”
Noelle shook with rage, but there was nothing she could do, Hanno would win if she tried to report him.
“You look so angry Noelle. That’s just going to make you feel worse, here let me help you relax” he said.
Noelle immediately jumped up and ran out of the office, not stopping even when she got to her floor.
***
Ian and Phil returned to their dorm and found Mr. Lieder waiting for them.
“Shit!” Ian muttered under his breath.
“You boys missed role call, where were you?” Lieder asked.
“We had to go to the library to study. We wanted to go early before anyone was there,” Phil said.
“You know that we are on a lock down, and we can’t have you just disappearing whenever you feel like it. I don’t want to see you boys sneaking off again, do I make myself clear?”
“Yes sir,” Ian and Phil mumbled.
They got inside their dorm, and Phil pulled out his laptop.
“The library might block access to certain websites, but my computer has wireless internet access. Let’s see what we can find.”
“Sounds good,” Ian said, looking over his shoulder.
Phil pulled up google and searched “Kingsley deaths.” A few articles came up, so they began searching through them.
“Look at this one,” he said, and motioned to the article. “A boy named Sean Connell was found burned to death nearly a year ago. Circumstances unknown, ruled accidental.”
“Of course it was,” Ian muttered.
“And this one, three years ago. Jennifer Allar apparently was drunk and jumped off of the roof. However, none of her friends knew she was a drinker. She was, however, a very vocal activist against the favoritism shown by staff in the school to wealthy students whose parents donate funds. Three days after a demonstration that she held, her body was found. Again, ruled accidental.”
“Jesus, these date all the way back to 1952,” Ian commented.
“Yeah, the school opened in 1935. So something must have happened that year to cause this,” Phil said. He then searched “Kingsley, 1952.” An article came up titled “New organization at Kingsley seeks to better school’s morale and discipline.” Phil clicked on it, and the article described the “Order of Justice.” It was an organization that comprised of students and faculty, and basically acted as a policing system within the school. The original founder, a teacher named Henry Smalls, wanted to ensure Kingsley up kept it’s sterling reputation.
“ Do you think this is connected?” Phil asked.
“I don’t know, they don’t seem to be around anymore,” Ian answered.
“We have to get into the records room tonight,” Phil said.
"Actually, don't they list all the school clubs and their members in the yearbook? The library should have a record of yearbooks since the school was founded. Maybe that could point us in a direction." Ian replied.
"Good point. We've still got some time until seven, but I wonder if Noelle's alright." Phil sighed.
"Let's go look for her, I'm starting to worry." Ian replied, rising to his feet.
No sooner had Ian stood up there was a knock at the door. Looking through the peephole, Ian saw Raine standing outside. He motioned for Phil to close his laptop and opened the door.
"Which one of you isn't feeling well?" she asked, without even a wave hello.
Ian and Phil looked at her in confusion.
"The call 'did' come from this room, right?" she continued.
"Sorry, you got the wrong room." Phil replied, turning on the game.
"Oh, sorry to bother you then." she sighed, walking down the hall.
Ian closed the door and walked back over to Phil.
"Weird, we don't even have a phone in our room, and cells get no service." Phil groaned.
"There was no call. Did you notice the way her eyes were moving?"
"Nah man, I just tried to play it cool." Phil replied.
"She was scanning the room. Someone definitely sent her here to check up on us. Whoever it is must already know we're on to them." Ian groaned.
"Fuck, that don't make things any easier." Phil replied.
"I'm really starting to worry. Let's find Noelle and fast." Ian said, walking out the door.
Ian turned just in time to see Noelle go flying up the stairs. Ian and Phil quickly made chase, hoping to catch up to her. She stopped at the fifth floor, completely out of breath. Ian walked up to her, putting his arms around her, she flinched, readying a fist.
"Oh thank god it's you..." she sighed, loosening up.
"Hanno again?" Ian asked, figuring he was the only one who could get Noelle this upset.
"Yea, his merry band of whores took me to his office for 'counseling'. What a load of crap that was." Noelle sighed, trembling.
"We can tell the headmaster." Phil suggested.
"Hanno and the headmaster go way back apparently, so that wouldn't work." Noelle groaned, now getting frustrated.
"Let's hit the library. Maybe the yearbook will give us some clues." Ian said, making his way down to the main floor.
The group walked into the massive library, weaving their way through the towering bookshelves until they found the collection of past yearbooks. They searched through them until they found the book from 1952. Opening it, they scanned the clubs and organizations section for the Order of Justice. Finding it, they looked through its members.
"Holy shit, half the faculty is on this list. Leider, Dolan, Grayson, everybody!" Phil said in shock.
"Well let's keep looking, maybe we'll find something in the later books." Ian said, grabbing another one.
They flipped through books until the 1979 yearbook, when the club suddenly disappeared.
"So they disbanded in 78'..." Ian said, grabbing that year's book and flipping to the club.
He noticed a few new names added to the list, Hanno being among them, but nothing out of the ordinary that would explain the club's sudden disappearance.
"I'm going to check out the staff files tonight. Maybe I'll find something." Ian said, putting the yearbook back.
"I'm coming with you." Noelle said.
"Me too." Phil added.
"No, you're not. The more people we have, the bigger the chance we all get caught. I can slip in, check the files, and slip back out no problem. Trust me, it's better this way." Ian said, more out of wanting to protect Noelle than anything else.
"Fine, but if you need anything, give me a call on this." Noelle said, handing him a hand radio.
"How did you get a hold of this?" Ian asked, surprised.
"Stole some from the janitor's closet when I was hiding from Hanno before. Here's one for you too Phil." she said, handing him a radio.
"Use frequency five. There's usually nobody on it." Noelle continued.
"Okay, I'm going to go get ready for tonight. If you guys think of anything, let me know when I get back." Ian said, walking out of the library.
He walked back to his room, locking the door behind him. He grabbed a small bag and stuffed it full of supplies, such as a wire hanger, a flashlight, a screwdriver, and some other tools he could use as a lock pick. Phil walked in at about eight and turned on the game.
"All set?" he asked.
"Yea, shouldn't be too hard." Ian replied.
"The file room usually isn't all that secure. If Dennis could steal a whole fucking cabinet, I'm sure you could easily sneak a peak at a few files without a problem." Phil said with a laugh.
"Thanks man. How's Noelle feeling, any better?" Ian asked.
"Still shook up about the whole Hanno thing, and I can't really blame her. The dude's a fuckin creeper for sure." Phil replied.
"Yea, I'll be sure to take a good hard look at his file." Ian said with a grin.
The two made small talk, killing time until about one in the morning. Ian snuck out the door and ducked down the stairs. Creeping his way into the basement, he struggled to see in the dark as he made his way towards the file room. Finally finding it, he picked the lock and slipped inside. He opened the faculty cabinet and skimmed through the files, coming across Hanno's personal file. The thick file was packed with unprocessed sexual harassment complaint slips, which Ian quickly sifted through finding no other useful information in the file, to his disappointment. Putting the file back in place, he skimmed through the file cabinet once more, another sizable file catching his eye. He opened it to find its contents similar to Hanno's, mostly sexual harassment forms, all of which were also unprocessed. He looked to find the owner of the file was James Hanning. Curious, Ian skimmed for other Hannings in the cabinet. He finally came across one at the very back, belonging to Kenneth Hanning. He opened it to find almost no information at all. Something caught Ian's eye at the back of the file. He was the co-founder of the Oder of Justice. Not only that, but the file listed which of his direct family attended Kingsly after him. The first was James Hanning, and the second, Logan Hanning. Ian quickly closed the drawer, noticing a shadow walking past the window to the file room. He ducked behind one of the desks as the door creaked open. Light swept across the floor as the clicking of heels echoed through the tiny room. Afraid to look up, Ian curled in a ball under the desk, praying not to be seen. Unfortunately, that was not the case. He felt himself being dragged to his feet by his collar, staring at a familiar wagging finger as Anna smiled at him.
"You shouldn't be in here." she chimed.
She bashed Ian in the side of the head with her flashlight, knocking him out cold. She dragged him out of the room, smiling all the while.
When he awoke, Ian couldn't see a thing, and his head was throbbing. He could tell he was tied to something, arms and legs outstretched, though if he was upside down, right side up, or facing any which way he couldn't be sure. The only thing Ian could be certain of was that he felt like he was in a furnace.
"Where am I?" Ian groaned, still groggy.
"Alone with me, that's where." Anna giggled.
"I'm serious, where the fuck did you bring me!" Ian shouted.
"It's a surprise." Anna replied innocently.
He could hear Anna walking towards him, her heels clicking as she went.
"What do you want with me? Oh god, you're going to kill me aren't you..." Ian sighed, starting to panic.
"Well that's for you to decide." Anna said, removing the blindfold.
As his eyes adjusted to the light, he realized he was in the boiler room, tied up to the pipes running down the wall. Anna stood in front of him, smiling like always. She had already taken off her blazer, which was in a heap on the floor.
"I'm sure you have plenty of questions, so how about we play a little game." Anna said with a wink.
"Do I have a choice?" Ian asked, already expecting the answer.
"Yes, play or forfeit." Anna replied with a malicious grin.
"Fine, I'll play your game." Ian groaned.
"Okay, here are the rules..." Anna said, walking towards the furnace.
"Oh fuck I'm so dead...." Ian groaned.
"I'll ask you a question. If you get it right, you get to ask me a question. If you get it wrong, I take a tiny shovel full of hot coals and put it in this bucket. When you ask me a question, if I get it wrong, I take some of the coals and put them back in the furnace. If I get it right, you lose a piece of clothing." she finished with a giggle.
"Wait, what?" Ian exclaimed, in complete shock.
"Well, you are kinda cute... and who knows, I might be inclined to throw some of mine in the furnace when you get a question right." she said with a wink.
"So the game ends..." Ian stammered.
"Oh right, when the bucket is full, I get to feed you a nice hot dinner, if you catch my drift." she said with a grin.
"At least I'll die happy." Ian groaned, eying Anna's body.
"First question. Who was the first headmaster of the school?" she asked.
"Of the boys or girls?" Ian asked in response.
"There was no separation when the school first started, and I'm counting that as an answer." Anna said, shoveling a few coals into the bucket.
"Who was the founder of the Order of Justice." she asked, smiling.
"Henry Smalls." Ian replied quickly.
"Wow, you know your stuff." Anna said coyly, taking a few coals out of the bucket.
"So how do I win?" Ian asked.
"You don't. You only prolong your loss, and maybe get a little bit of enjoyment out of it." Anna replied.
"Okay, then for my question..." Ian began.
"That was your question, and I got it right, so off with your blazer." she giggled, taking a pair of scissors and cutting off his blazer.
"My turn, who is Hanno's favorite student?" Anna said, brimming with joy.
"Fuck, this is hard. Think Ian, which of these sluts is that womanizing bastard's favorite..." Ian thought.
After a moment of silence, Anna started getting impatient. Worried, Ian wracked his brain.
"You." he answered.
"Very good!" Anna chimed.
"What was Dennis most famous for?" Ian asked.
Anna was stumped, she stared off into space for a moment, looked back at Ian and shrugged her shoulders.
"Pranks." Ian replied.
"Wow, you got me." she said cheerfully, taking a small batch of coals from the bucket.
"And I'm feeling nice today..." she continued, unbuttoning her blouse and tossing it into the furnace.
"Well someone isn't wearing a bra..." Ian mumbled, blushing.
"I'm glad you like the view." Anna said with a wink.
"Which one of the lucky students did I kill?" Anna continued.
"Dennis?" Ian asked, unsure.
"Nope, killed the boy in the game room. He was kinda cute too, but he didn't think the same of me. Too bad for him." Anna said, taking more coals out of the furnace.
"What's Hanno's real last name." she asked.
"Hanning." Ian answered.
"So you did get that far in the file, damn." Anna groaned.
"What was Dennis' biggest prank?" Ian asked.
"Hell if I know." Anna replied.
Ian breathed a sigh of relief as she took some coals out of the bucket. Giving him a coy smile, Anna removed her skirt and tossed it into the furnace with the coals. Ian's face went red as he realized she wasn't wearing anything underneath the skirt either. She walked up to him, leaning her body against his and kissed his ear.
"I knew the answers to your questions. I just wanted to show off." she whispered, giving Ian a wink.
"So now I'm pretty much screwed." Ian sighed.
"When did the Order of Justice officially disband?" she asked.
"After 1978." Ian replied.
"Very good, but now you're fighting a losing battle." Anna replied.
"What the hell does Hanno want?" Ian yelled.
"He wants to make this school his paradise, where only the worthy may dwell." Anna said, walking over to Ian again.
She gave him a gentle kiss, putting her hands on his chest. After she finished, she took a step back, starting to pout.
"It's a shame you have to die. I would have taken good care of you." Anna smiled.
"The same way you took care of the guy in the game room?" Ian exclaimed.
"Only if you crossed me, or if that bitch Noelle got in the way." Anna spat.
"Don't you dare talk about her like that!" Ian snapped.
"If not for her, you'd be all mine. Even Hanno finds her more interesting than me, which really pisses me off." Anna growled.
"If any of you lay a hand on her, I swear I'll..." Ian screamed, going into a rage.
"Swear you'll what, kill us? I'm the only one in the position to be doing any of that." Anna replied, shoveling more coals into the bucket.
"What the hell are you doing?" Ian said, his heart racing.
"Well, it looks like you lost interest in me, so what's the point of playing anymore?" Anna replied sadly, starting to pout again.
"Lost interest? Okay, you're beautiful, I admit, but do you really think any sane person is going to try to get with a girl who's trying to KILL HIM?" Ian groaned, trying to think of a way out of this mess.
"So that's it, hm? If I promise not to kill you, you promise to be mine forever?" Anna asked with a smile.
"Yes!" Ian said, willing to say almost anything as long as it ensured he wouldn't meet a painful end anytime soon.
"Yay!" Anna squealed, running over to him.
Ian could hardly breath as she suddenly started kissing him. She ran her nails down his back, letting loose her pent up desires.
"Time to take my prize." she said with a wink, sliding her hand down to unbutton Ian's pants.
Phil and Noelle nervously paced the boys’ dorm, anxious for Ian to return.
“Damn it, it shouldn’t be taking this long!” Noelle said nervously.
“Listen, you have to get back to your dorm before they find you here. I’ll wait up for Ian and make sure he gets in alright,” Phil said.
“Thanks Phil, you’re the best!” Noelle quickly ran out of the room and hurried to her dorm. A few minutes later, there was a knock on Phil’s door.
He walked over to the door, but didn’t open it.
“Hello?”
“Phillip, it’s the nursing assistant, Raine.”
He breathed a sigh of relief and opened the door.
“I heard there was a sick call here, and I wanted to see if you were alright.”
“Yeah, I don’t know why that call was placed, everything is fine here.”
“That’s a nice television over there, I bet it’s great for baseball games,”
“Yeah it is,” said Phil turning to face it. When he turned his back, Raine came up from behind him and stuck a syringe in his neck. He tried to scream, but she put her hand over his mouth.
“Shh baby, the nurse is going to make it all better,” she whispered.
Phil woke up groggy, and everything looked blurry to him. When his vision came into focus, he realized he was in the infirmary. Panicking, he tried to move his body but couldn’t.
“Ah, my patient is awake I see,” Raine chirped
“What the hell did you drug me with?” Phil said, his breath labored.
“Don’t worry about that, just know that for now you are paralyzed.”
“What the hell do you want with me?”
“Well, tonight we are having an operation, how does that sound?”
“Oh god, please…”
“Now the great thing about this drug is it renders you helpless, but you can still feel pain. No anesthesia for you my love.”
Phil’s heart began racing, and he felt the cold metal table underneath him. Jessica was humming while setting up a few medical tools on counter next to the table. She put on latex gloves, and picked up a scalpel.
“Now, where to begin…” she said to herself.
He tried to scream, but the drug made him too weak to even raise his voice.
She started humming again, and then cut the buttons off of his shirt with the scalpel. When his shirt was opened, she took the scalpel and made a cut under his belly button. Phil moaned in pain, and tried with all of his might to move.
“What should we take out first? The kidney, liver, intestines? Patient’s choice,” she said with an evil grin.
“Stop, I don’t even know you.”
“But I know you, and I know you have been sticking your nose where it doesn’t belong. You’ve been a bad boy Phillip, but don’t worry I’ll fix you.”
Noelle got back to her dorm, and frantically tried texting Phil or Ian, but was not getting any service.
“Shit!” she said. The door opened and Mandy walked inside.
“Mandy, we need to find Ian, he’s missing!”
“Oh, I’m sure he’s in good hands,” she said.
“What are you talking about! He could be dead or hurt!”
“Ian’s not who you should be worrying about right now,” Mandy said coldly.
“What?”
Mandy lunged at Noelle, and pinned her to the floor.
“Lights out bitch,” she said, and put a rag with chloroform over Noelle’s face. She became woozy and passed out. Noelle woke up tied to a large conference table, still feeling nauseous from the chemical.
“Do you know where you are?” Mandy asked.
Noelle couldn’t speak because she was gagged, so she just shook her head no.
“We’re in a secret little room that only the Order knows about. It’s our meeting room. See this over here,” Mandy said, motioning to a large group photo on the wall. Noelle moved her head and noticed that it was an old picture of previous members. She also saw Hanno in the front row of the photo and Mandy was staring at him longingly.
“Do you know what it’s like to love someone that doesn’t love you back?” Mandy asked angrily.
“Oh shit” Noelle thought to herself.
“Of course you wouldn’t know. Ian loves you, Hanno wants you. It isn’t fair!” she screamed.
Noelle was afraid, and wanted to talk some sense into Mandy. She began trying to speak, asking Mandy to undo the gag in her mouth.
“What’s that? I don’t understand what you’re saying. I can’t take that off though, I don’t want anyone to hear you scream. Now, if I give you to Hanno, he’ll love me for sure. I’ll be his favorite again. Now don’t go anywhere,” she laughed and walked out of the room.
Ian struggled as Anna undid his pants, sliding them down around his ankles. She licked her lips as she ran her fingers up Ian's thigh. Finally, Ian managed to pull with enough force to pull the weakened pipe from the wall, the rope sliding off of it, freeing his hand. He reached out to swing at her, but Anna quickly backed away. He undid the ropes around his wrist and legs, freeing himself while Anna ran to grab the bucket of coals. He pulled up his pants and ran for the door. To his dismay, it was locked, but at least now he had a fighting chance. He grabbed a pipe from the floor and swung at Anna's head, she ducked, tossing the bucket of coals at Ian. He dove to the side, but not before one of the coals grazed his leg. Anne turned to grab the shovel from off the floor. Ian took his chance and cracked Anne in the back of the head, leaving her in a heap on the floor. He turned on the hand radio and put it to frequency five.
"Noelle, Phil, you guys there? One of Hanno's followers just tried to kill me, so keep on guard." Ian said into the radio.
"Phil is in surgery at the moment, can I take a message?" a sinister voice giggled, Phil's weak moans barely audible in the background.
"What the hell did you do?" Ian screamed.
"I'm fixing him, that's all." the girl replied.
With that, the radio went dead. Ian stuffed it in his back pocket and looked around for the key to the door. He searched Anna's blazer only to find some lint in the pockets. He took the shovel and pulled her clothes out of the furnace. He put on some rubber gloves from the table and dug through the ashes, finding the key. He unlocked the door and ran back upstairs.
Noelle struggled to break free of her restraints, but it was no use. Hanno burst into the room, a mischievous grin on his face. He looked over Noelle, stroking his chin as the thought. He ran his fingers down her cheek, kissing her on the forehead.
"You look so beautiful when you're scared." he whispered, licking her earlobe.
Noelle squirmed and thrashed about, but it was no use. Hanno had her right where he wanted. He laid her down on the couch and sat at her feet, taking off her shoes.
"Here, let me help you relax." Hanno said, slowly massaging her feet.
Noelle tried kicking at him, but Hanno pinned her feet down.
"Well, looks like I'll have to calm you down another way." He sighed, taking out a small syringe.
He injected a small dose of tranquilizer into her arm, the drug immediately taking its toll on Noelle. She started feeling groggy, her body suddenly weighing her down. Hanno took his time torturing Noelle, sliding his hand up her leg. She tried to shake him off, but the tranquilizers were too strong, and she barely had the strength to lift her head let alone fight off Hanno. She struggled to roll off the couch, her mind racing, hoping to figure a way to get out. Despite her mind's activity, her body was too weak to do anything. She groaned as Hanno slid his hands up her shirt, a hungry gleam in his eye.
Ian ran through the halls of the first floor, racing towards the infirmary. As he turned the corner, he locked eyes with Leider.
"Ian, what the hell are you doing out this late past curfew?" he scolded.
"Phil's missing, and I think he's in trouble!" Ian replied.
"Calm down, what's going on?" Leider replied, concerned.
"Just follow me." Ian said, running past him and straight into the infirmary.
Leider followed from a distance, still not sure what to make of the whole situation. He watched as Ian looked around frantically.
"Is there an operating room at this school?" Ian asked.
"Yes, it's downstairs, but why..." Leider began.
"Shit, I hope I'm not too late. Take me there, hurry!" Ian replied frantically.
Leider ran ahead of Ian, leading him down the stairs. They came to a large steel double door leading to the operating room. Ian tried to open it, but it was locked.
"Out of the way, Ian." Leider said, taking out a set of keys.
He unlocked the door and pushed them open, the dark gloomy operating room daring them to enter.
"I hope Phil's alright..." Ian thought.
Leider flipped on the light switch and nearly froze in terror at what he saw. Phil was strapped down to the operating table, covered in blood. Leider noticed a few organs strewn about the room, one of Phil's kidneys, his left lung, apendix, and it looked like Raine had been in the process of taking out his bladder before she had been interrupted.
"He's still alive! I'll call an ambulence." Leider said, picking up the emergency phone on the wall.
"Professor, you were in the Order of Justice at one point, weren't you?" Ian asked.
Leider froze for a moment, beginning to tremble.
"That was a very dark part of this school's history. I'm ashamed to have had any association with that horrid organization." he replied, waiting for the call to go through.
"They still exist! Who do you think has been doing all this!" Ian protested.
"Yes, you're right, but since most of the faculty were members at one point or another, we try to keep it under wraps and deal with the problem internally. We've been trying to track down who's behind all of this, but each year whoever it is lets the students take the fall..." Leider sighed.
"It's Hanno. His grandfather was the co-founder of the organization, so he had his name changed to avoid suspicion." Ian replied.
"Hanno is Hanning's grandson? It's finally starting to make sense now. Hanno is continuing in that lunatic's legacy." Leider groaned, finally getting a hold of the local hospital.
"Where would he have taken Noelle?" Ian asked.
"Probably to the old club room. It's on the fourth floor, hidden behind the bookshelf in room 433."
"That's Hanno's office!" Ian replied.
"No wonder he was so insistant on making his office in that room..." Leider said.
Ian ran off while Leider explained the situation to the emergency medical staff.