Wolf Sirens: Forbidden: Discover The Legend Page 6

  On my way back from the toilets in fifth period a warm hand grabbed around my neck pulled me back into the shadows of the hall adjacent the bathroom into a store cupboard. For a second I thought it was Reid. But the hands continued with force. The arms were strong, rigid and stiff, like warm marble. The other hand cupped my mouth and pressed down hard as I struggled; my gasp was muffled and futile. I thrashed as his other arm bonded around me and my scream was stifled.

  “Ssshhhh,” a hot breath hissed in my ear. It burned like steam over my skin. The tactile texture of plastic scooped over my head. I wriggled feebly in panic.

  “Don’t go with them,” came a low whisper.

  Hands covered my eyes, then, forcefully stuffed something in my mouth and thick tape stripped from its roll, wound around my hair rapidly and covered my mouth.

  “Are you going to go?” it hissed as my blood pounded beneath my flesh. And drained from my face.

  I shook my head as best I could under the iron grasp and a moist tear rolled from the corner of my eye. I was dragged away further, disorientated in the dark. I thrashed my legs about to little effect, against the force.

  “I don’t believe you.” The harsh whisper burned my ear. I felt a heavy push then, downwards. My hands were hurriedly bound with tape and, too suddenly to believe, I was thrown backwards onto the floor of the store cupboard. And the whoosh of cold air flowed over me as the door closed quickly with a thud and a snap as it was locked from the outside. I lay sprawled and bound, stiff on the floor in shock.

  “Ouch,” I gasped as I tried to stand up. I’d hit the back of my head on the pile of boxes about me. It was pitch black - no matter how wide I opened my eyes I could not see - covered in soft plastic and secured with heavy tape that pinched my hair. I panicked and struggled with the restraints on my hands. The terror of claustrophobia tensed my body and I writhed, struggling in fright to be released from the bonds. I stopped and told myself not to panic, though my heart was beating furiously. I sat up on the linoleum floor, twisting about feebly. Enough of my fingers poked out of the binding tape to touch the cold floor but were of no use to reach. What had just happened? I suppressed some tears. Would they come back for me? Was this part of the clique prank? Or was this some other terrifying incident? Would I be raped or tortured? How violent or cruel was this person who had taken me, exactly? Who was it that had followed me and dragged me in here? Was it one of the guys

  - Reid or Sky? Surely they were the only boys in the school strong enough to single-handedly drag me in here - with such swift force? I tried to think if I’d seen anything: a look before I’d exited class, anyone missing who could have grabbed me at just the right spot. Did Cresida have an accomplice? She was the only one who had expressed the idea of not wanting me to attend the after-school practice.

  I stood up and tried to budge the door with a kick. Of course it didn’t budge, it was heavy.They had thought this out well. My cries were muffled moans that frightened even me.

  I struggled and pulled the tape from my hands to no avail, it was tight. I hit the door and began to kick it repeatedly but it was solid. Maybe I could dislodge the lock. I beat it again and again as my heartbeat thumped.

  I didn’t give up at first. As my legs tired I lay kicking the door with one foot, repeatedly, and my mind began to wander. As it slowed my subconscious began to entertain me.

  My mind kept flashing images of Sky. Did he look like a bad guy? What did bad guys look like?

  Could that be why Cresida played a part in this to get back in with him? It was cruel and though I didn’t know Sam, she was the leader, and I sensed the most heartless of the group whether it was due to her upbringing or her money, or both. But how cruel was she and how many strings did she control, how come no one knocked her from her pedestal? Why did they let her play leader – if that’s what she was? Sam had been the one to invite me, someone who didn’t like them had uninvited me it seemed – Cresida was the only one who fitted the bill.

  Minutes ticked by, then, it seemed, hours. I pushed the door, I banged, and I yelled and slowly gave up. I pressed my knees into the hollows of my eyes and prayed to get out and that whoever released me wouldn’t hurt me further. My fingers stung from trying to pry the tape off and work the door handle from behind me. I panicked, writhing in my restricted bondage. I felt weak, helpless, and my muscles did not have the strength to free me from the bonds.

  I knew mum wouldn’t notice me missing for hours, maybe not even then. I heard the bell for end of class. It was faint but it ran a jolt through me. I beat the door, jumping up, and yelled again louder. Everyone would be in the halls, this was my best chance to escape. ‘Somebody, please help, I am trapped, help get me out!’ All I could manage was a muffled moan. I felt the tears, trying to escape the plastic blindfold, as weak and as cold as I felt. More minutes passed - it could have been half an hour, it could have been an hour. I sat again, crouching with my hands pinched in the stretched electrical tape, my head throbbing and shoulders bruised from slapping and punching the door with my body weight. I waited, shivering, my eyes wet as my mind raced and my body throbbed with adrenaline. I started creating scenarios. Was this to save me from my date with the dance troupe?

  I thought with terror that perhaps I was now the victim of a serial killer.

  I waited. Would it be dark outside? Would anyone come back? Would I be left in here until the Janitor found me?

  All of a sudden I heard a clank, a rattle and a click and the door creaked open, my heart stopped and then beat like a drum. This both terrified and gave me hope. My adrenaline surged once more. Under force I was lifted, I was on my knees my hand bonds were severed and my palm felt the hard cold of the linoleum and then I was crouching and he was gone. I heard the sound of footsteps echo, running away fast against the floor in the still hall. I waited momentarily in anticipation of my captor’s return. I used my hands to grapple with the bag, tearing it off and pulling at the tape around my head in desperation, glad to have the sense of sight back. I tore the tape off my mouth without feeling the sting and cleared my throat, prizing the rag weighted with saliva off my tongue. Throwing it down I tensed but there was only quiet. I crept out the door all the while terrified something might grab me again. My surroundings came into focus like a kaleidoscope. Nothing greeted me but silence. I shivered. No one appeared when I reached the hall, ready to fight or run. I ran, I didn’t think of anything except getting out of the building. My eyes adjusted to the light. I just wanted out into the open air. I pushed through the doors. It was dusk and birds flew from the pavement, back into the trees, startled by my presence. I momentarily thought of going back into the office for help. I glanced at the bus stop under a streetlight. There sat my bag near the phone box and the bus sign. No one was around and the only sound was the dry leaves scattering across the pavement in the breeze. The office would be closed. I searched for anyone, but no one appeared.

  I ran over to my backpack, wondering, as I did, if it was a trick to get me to a spot where they could ambush me. I looked all around, there were no cars, no people. Only the noise of traffic in the distance broke the eeriness which spun around me. A note taped to the top of the bag read: ‘Keep quiet, no one will believe you – sorry I had to do it. They are dangerous, leave town now P.S-’ an arrow pointed to the edge of the paper. I turned it over‘I wouldn’t tell your mother.’ My hands were shaking; the late bus rolled up, as I tore the note off and fumbled with the zips to find my phone. Relieved to find it, I jumped on the bus, glad to see the driver. I was visibly shaken and panicked, I fumbled in my bag pockets to pull out a bus ticket and called mum from my mobile as I sat. I stared at the sparsely seated adults; they were traveling home from work. I took a shaky breath and noted the time, feeling disoriented. I’d been trapped against my will for around two hours and fifteen minutes. I knew it was a terrifying prank.

  The phone began to ring, one, two, three rings - for once I begged for her to answer, contemplating what to say in my mind: Mum
I’ve been attacked, it’s okay, mum sorry, I would have called if I could, I’ll be home soon. I heard the words in my head – I was locked in a store room - and then failed to say them. She answered, sounding groggy. I knew she’d been asleep. When I heard her voice my heart lurched.

  “Hello?” she croaked.

  “Hi mum, it’s me,” I said meekly.

  “Lila?”

  “Yeah.”

  Her voice was raspy. “Did you want me to make dinner?”

  She assumed I was out, having fun.

  “No.” I thanked God she was okay.

  “Good, I’m tired, I had to work an extra today, are you coming home soon?”

  “I’m on my way,” I said.

  “Could you pick up some painkillers? We ran out.”

  “Not now I’m on the bus, can it wait?” I was annoyed.

  “It’s okay we’ll go out later and get some, sorry baby I’ve got a bad headache, is that it?”

  “Yeah…”

  “Bye.” She hung up.

  I tipped my head back; I don’t know why I was so surprised.

  I told myself the reasons I didn’t tell, I didn’t want to cause a fuss, that I didn’t want her to have to deal with me and this right now, not when I wasn’t sure what had happened, myself. Not after we had just settled. I was fine, maybe bruised, shaken, but otherwise okay. Nothing seemed real as I reread the note left on my bag. The bus driver glanced at me in the revision mirror.

  I slumped home in denial. I guess after a hot shower that was far too long I contemplated never going back, and then shelved it. There was one person I would need to talk to, one person who used to know them and had been chewed up and used. Someone who had tried to warn me. I had ignored her warning. In my room I re-read the note again. I remembered my dream in pieces, the one of Sam’s eyes, blue like ice, flecked with copper and metallic brown - looking into my face, and of the wild dogs running in the woods. I needed to talk to Cresida and I knew where to find her.

  I had been locked in the storeroom securely and long enough to miss practice and released without harm. I found the yearbook in my room and it fell open on the page with her photograph. I had looked it over before, the picture of Cresida’s face. I skipped through the pages further along to the school portrait photo section, where there was a comments page and a few words hand-written by students in pen printed over the page. Amongst others was one sentence signed by Cres. I matched first the scrawled note Sam had passed me in class, then the note from my bag to the handwriting on the page. I was no expert but the scribe matched. Under the photo she had written the line: ‘Give peace a chance – Love Cres’. One thought occurred to me, was I attacked or was I protected?

  7. Entitled Creatures

  I would confront Cresida for the truth; the other option was to risk my mother’s safety. After what had happened to me I shuddered to think what would be done to her, and Sophie was fragile at best.

  In anticipation I hesitantly slipped a knife in my pocket from the kitchen drawer and left without saying goodbye to Sophie.

  I found Cresida, sure enough, in a corner of the library. I didn’t waste any time.

  “What are they?” I blurted out as I thrust the note left for me at her -“and who locked me in a store closet?” I was trying to whisper and yell at the same time.

  “Sshh,” she raised a finger to her lips, urgently quieting me. She nodded toward the exit. “Let’s talk outside,” she coaxed with a serious stare. The thinner librarian was frowning at me, so I followed her, with the note in my hand.

  She led me out the door. “Grab your bag,” she said low at me though we were outside and no one was around. I touched the knife in my pocket through the cloth of my jumper subconsciously and let it go.

  “Are you going to get yours?” I gestured. I assessed her. She was wearing a brown jumper, which didn’t seem to fit. It was a v-neck, similar to one my grandfather would have worn, which was far too big, and the same pinstriped pants as yesterday. Her eyes were still hard and expressionless, the same as when she had approached me in front of my house.

  “Why should I go anywhere with you?” I added in a rush “What the hell is going on here!” As my voice heightened she glanced around, obviously wary of others. She looked distracted then her eyes glazed over, frozen like a deer hearing a predator approach. What was she hearing? I wondered - or was this all part of a drug-induced psychosis?

  Fed up, I said, “You have exactly two minutes to explain to me what’s going on, Cresida-” My voice was riddled with panic and it felt strange to actually say her name aloud - “or I am going to report you and your friends to the Principal.”

  She smiled as though my threat was as hollow as it sounded. It didn’t strike me as a nervous expression, it was a smirk across her thin lips and the expression frightened me.

  “What do you think is going on exactly?” she questioned, obviously intrigued now, instead of cautious. She seemed to resume relaxed movement, as though her previous action was a seizure. I decided to cut to the chase.

  “Either there’s some cult going on here or they really are werewolves or this school takes practical jokes to a whole new level - are you on drugs?” I added.

  She scoffed. “I wish,” she murmured, smiling to herself.

  “That isn’t helpful Cresida. If you think this is funny-” I turned to leave - “I am going to Mr Crealy.”

  “Don’t,” she called. “You don’t know what you’re doing - let me explain. I don’t want to-” she huffed frustrated - “but it’s inevitable, you are destined for trouble, but you need to figure this out for yourself.”

  My forehead creased in a frown. What a bizarre thing to offer me as an explanation: a prediction?

  “I want to show you something, come on,” she urged with her teeth gritted and she gave an annoyed glance.

  “Is this supposed to scare me, or something.” I stiffened. This was getting trickier than I’d imagined. “Look, Cresida I am giving you an out here. You can go with me, tell everything and we can really get them to stop all this…teasing, this hazing, if that’s what is even going on here?” I frowned.

  I waited for her reply.

  “Come with me,” she said in a calm voice. “I shouldn’t be showing you this,” she said, almost to herself.

  I automatically started to walk with her and then thought better of it.

  “Is this the part where they get me in a secluded area and jump out in masks?” I accused - I wasn’t falling for it. I pulled up short, grabbing her by the arm she raised one eyebrow. She spoke before me.

  “Lila.” She said my name with familiarity. “They want to make you one of them,” she said firmly, wide eyed.

  “With hazing?” I felt unsure if this was where she was headed. She didn’t reply.“I am not going anywhere with you Cresida, you’re really fucked up,” I said with a hint of sympathy.“I can help you – let’s go and we can explain everything to the teachers, because I’m not going anywhere with you, - whatever is going on isn’t right.” There, I had said my piece.

  She huffed and shook her head in disbelief.“Good, go home,” she said sadly. I wondered if she meant for me to go home to Horkum, back to the relative safety of the city, away from Shade. Like the note still in my hand had suggested.

  “I will.” I began to walk away as though I wasn’t afraid. “After I go to the principal’s office on my way,” I said quietly to myself as I walked at a steady pace.

  Surprisingly she let me walk away without as much as a word. I gulped. This was going to be easier than I had anticipated.

  As I rounded the bend to the principal’s office, standing in the door there she was! I wasn’t walking slowly. I wasn’t sure how she could have made it there before me? I managed to look disgruntled instead of surprised but she didn’t seem to care, as she casually slouched in the doorframe. I narrowed my eyes and pinched my lips.

  I could see the office wasn’t even open yet. In a standoff we glared at each other. She
reminded me of an Anime warrior. The black backpack over her shoulder could have been replaced with a gun strap, her jumper was off revealing a different too large, cutoff t-shirt that read Bali Hang Five and strikingly far too muscular arms, tanned and ripped with a silvery scar sweeping across her forearm and a matching one which swept from her shoulder under her upper arm. I wondered what could have done it.

  “I’ll just wait until he gets here,” I said in my toughest voice, folding my flimsy arms.

  “I know,” she replied in a deeper tone than mine. There was a moment of silence as three juniors passed us. They seemed to sense the tense atmosphere and hurried past. Or perhaps it was my imagination. She looked at her watch. “Since you’ve got nothing to do for the next 30 minutes how about you just humour me.”She seemed to be pleading, doing her best to not sound as threatening as she looked, I guessed.

  “I don’t want to humour anyone.” Especially at my own expense, I thought. I had been sympathetically aiming to get her on my side and it seemed she was trying to do the same.

  “How’d you get that scar.” I glanced at her arm.

  She shrugged. “In an accident.”

  We were silent for a few moments.

  “Look, do you know who forced me into the store room?” I barely whispered, as though I had thought it aloud.

  She started walking. “Yes, I’m sorry…please come outside, we’ll be safe there,” she said robotically staring ahead as though she was having one of her seizures again.

  “Fine, I’ll walk with you – outside,” I added, feeling claustrophobic in the building, a result of the residual crawling fear from being trapped in the storeroom. I needed to get out into the open. I hoped this wasn’t an ambush. Not that I was actually deluded enough to think anyone would stop them if they gathered around me in broad daylight….