"Man is not what he thinks he is, he is what he hides."
–André Malraux
ACT 2, Scene 6
AVA'S POV
Clueless, I stood before the long glass doors of the library, now tall and shadowy. It was more of a 'do or die' thing. Ignoring the note I came across down the hallway while returning back to the dormy after a failed attempt of preventing Ms. Campbell's death with Ryan would only make matters worse.
I sighed as I turned around to look behind me for the one last time. Who knows what might lie in the darkness of the library? With a deep breath, I pushed open the door and made my way through, until I heard the door shut behind me, now enclosed in a realm of darkness. For a moment I stood there, frozen and numb, the world around me was too dark that I could barely see my own hands and feet.
And then I heard something, a sound of someone choking. I walked to where the sound came from until I noticed two silhouettes in the distance. One of them who was bound to a wooden chair, gasping and struggling for breath. As I neared, I realized that the figure was none other than Mia, her uniform blood stained and her face dripping with blood.
"Mia?" I called out to her, half confused and afraid. "Ava," she choked out, struggling for words, a tight strap of clothing around her mouth. "Ava, Run, Run before it's too late, Save the others," she gasped with difficulty, her broken glasses on her lap as tears rolled down her cheeks.
I tried to move but I couldn't, not even a word would escape my mouth. It was almost as if I was having a battle with myself, I couldn't even move a limb. Come on Ava, do something, do something before it's too late.
And then a dark figure approached Mia who sat there sobbing helplessly as blood continued to drip down her face, the figure pulled out a knife, its blade glinting in white light as I stood there, almost invisible, as I witnessed in horror as the figure plunged the knife into Mia repeatedly killing her completely.
* * * * *
"Mia," I breathed out loudly as I sat up, half asleep and looked around. It was a nightmare, Mia's dead and the library's closed. It was just a nightmare, the inner voice in my head told me. I got out of my bed and glanced the room, Hannah and Thea were asleep, snoring soundly while Emma's bed remained empty although the nurse did inform us she'd be returning by tomorrow while Mia's bed would always remain empty unless some new student would fill her in.
A ray of moonlight fell through the thin purple curtain, making a little pattern across the floor. I pushed them aside and looked out, there wasn't much to see but something fell in me. An unknown voice in my head filled me with motivation, told me that I should do something about these murders, nothing should stop me from bringing justice whether the police were going to do it in time or not.
The little clock on the shelf Dad had got me alerted me that it was ten. I should probably get back to bed again, not wanting to drop out of lessons tomorrow. It's a pity we still have to learn out there, in the very same surroundings where people are dying and there's someone killing them. But Ms. Campbell was right, they couldn't close the school down, it would only complicate the investigation.
And then came short rapid little knocks on the door, I turned around pretty surprised, wondering who it might be. My steps were slow filled with panic as I pulled open the door slowly, a beam of light from the hallway falling on my face, my eyes aching to adjust to the brightness around me. It was Ryan.
"It's important Ava. Sorry if I'm late," he spoke quickly, looking left and right repeatedly, not wanting anyone to hear our conversation. It didn't look like he was sorry, just cold and blank like he always was but now a little hopeless that we didn't achieve our mission.
"Is it about the interrogation? Are we suspects or something?" I asked sleepily, my heart ringing loudly.
"No we aren't. The police did interview everyone involved, the matron and the two of us although they didn't find anything useful. The last person to visit Ms. Campbell in the log book was Talia Fret. They interviewed her but are confirmed that she wasn't the killer because they say it was a confirmed suicide." he continued quickly with short breaths.
"What do you mean? That-that's impossible, that's outrageous." I replied furiously. I felt wasted. What was I trying to prove all this while with Ryan? "About the bag we found at the terrace with pictures of Ms. Campbell and that threat note? What did the police say about it?" I questioned, fighting the fury with myself.
"They didn't look into it Ava. It's useless. They aren't gonna believe us unless we have concrete proof. The police have confirmed that it's suicide, they say she did it because she was being pressured by parents and other officials to act fast or close the school down due to the ongoing murders." Ryan exhaled.
"I bet this has got something to do with Talia, she's Hannah's cousin and she's always on bad terms with everyone. It must be her." In fact, I suspect her a lot, she always hated Ms. Campbell ever since she's been here at Mount Preston High, after once being involved for bullying a junior.
"There's rumours that someone found a box of blades in Talia's dorm room, the same blade that everyone believes Ms. Campbell slit her wrists with. There was a deep cut on her left wrist. It doesn't look like the police are gonna change their minds about this, I tried telling them" Ryan felt hopeless as much as I did.
"It will never be suicide. Not when Ms. Campbell's left-handed. Her right hand's so weak she can't hold a thing with it, not even a blade."
So here comes another suspect.
@ahlanazarx ⛓
YOU ARE READING
THE NOTE { DISCONTINUED }
Mystery / Thriller❝ It's a pity you don't know me. Perhaps you never will ❞ Mount Preston High, the once prestigious boarding school has now become a hellhole and an intense game of survival with a murderer on the loose. Ava Anderson has a ton of suspects on her sus...
