Black Water ↠ Stiles Stilinski [Teen Wolf, Vol. One]

Requiem

I'm sorry this took so long. Work has been bonkers and I've been existing in a state of perpetual high level anxiety because of the news, the state of the world, etc. Fun time to be alive.

I'm 'falling over' level of sleepy, so there are probably grammar errors I didn't catch. Forgive me!

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Chapter 25 - Requiem

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The hallway was completely dark. Or it should have been. The fluorescents above her head didn't hum and the moon beyond the window shone too faintly, but Charlie found herself enveloped in a dim glow. It was cold and blue, no warmth to it. Like fireflies, spots of light flickered to life only to extinguish a moment later. They hovered around her in a swarm, reflecting against the glass of the windows and metal of the lockers, just bright enough to illuminate any shadow that happened to flit by. Charlie's hands itched to find a light switch, but could find no break in the dull, stippled beige of paint on cinder block.

Charlie spun on her heel. She wasn't supposed to be at school. Nobody was. Once they found the janitor's body tossed unceremoniously into a dumpster, the police had locked it up and wrapped it in bright yellow tape. A cruiser sat in front, a man inside it to wave off any curious passerby. So how had she gotten in? How did she find herself so clearly in the midst of another 'incident'? Good things never happened in rooms this quiet.

On one side the hallway was infinite, flashes of blue illuminating it until the walls converged to a single point. On the other stood the school entryway, the door handle a few feet beyond her grasp. Several long steps brought it within her reach. The metal was icy as she seized it. Her breath came quickly, ready to mix with the cool night air.

Bang!

The slam of a door echoed through the hallway and stilled Charlie's hand. She stopped in her tracks. Wind whistled in through a small crack to the outside world, crisp and fresh and promising a clear night. It replaced the stifling air in her lungs, just a taste of freedom. She willed her hand to widen the gap and step beyond the door, but something else gave her pause.

"Help!"

The voice, high and panicked, sent a chill down her spine. It belonged to a small girl. As a child Charlie had been afraid of the dark. This one must be terrified. She stepped from the door. The click of the latch behind her was quiet, subtle, but rang against the lockers like a shotgun blast. She moved down the hallway, flickers of blue swirling around her in eddies as she waded through.

"Hello?" she called out hesitantly. Her words didn't echo. They were cracked and diminished. "Hello? You don't need to be scared—I'm here to help! I'll take you home."

Broken sobs replaced the eerie, childlike voice. They were soft, but they were also everywhere. They surrounded her. Each corner sniffled and whimpered with quiet desperation. Charlie spun, searching for the source. The exit disappeared from behind her. The hallway stretched on either side, marked by a never-ending line of classroom doors. She began to walk, but the view never changed. Her steps didn't bring her closer to anything, and the watery tears still whimpered from every angle.

Blue lights winked mockingly as panic clawed at her. Each gulp of dry air seared her throat. Her breaths came in gasps, cracking her lungs like paper set too close to a fireplace. Her calm fractured and she picked up her pace. At first footsteps quickened. Then they rang less often. Long strides morphed into a jog and finally a sprint. The blood in her ears drowned out the little girl's tears. She edged out of Charlie's mind, forced to the side by her need for escape. The floor sank like sand beneath her feet. Each step was heavy, her knees ached. She panted. Her lungs filled with blood. She reached for the classroom doors. None had handles. On her eighteenth try she fell against the surface, back against the cold wood, and slid to the floor. Her limbs weighed like lead beneath her, too heavy to move. Her chest gurgled with each inhalation. Her eyelids drooped.