Night School

Allie’s heart pounded and she stared at the closed door.

Bloody hell, what was that?

A sudden flutter of wings above her head made her jump, but it was only birds flying up into the darkening sky from a nearby tree.

With her hand on the heavy iron ring that served as a door handle, Allie considered her options. Someone was definitely inside – she’d seen them.

Unless it was a trick of the dark.

I should go. Get back to the school, she thought. I’m just spooked.

Then she imagined what Carter would have done if he were here. He would have opened that door without hesitating and demanded to know who was in there.

‘But he’s a psycho,’ she muttered unconvincingly. It didn’t really matter, of course. She already knew what she was going to do.

She turned the ring.

Yanking the door open with effort, she leaned inside without actually stepping through the door.

‘Hello?’ she called. The room was so dark now that she could barely make out the drawings on the wall. ‘Is anybody there?’

The only sound she heard was her own voice echoing back at her. But the silence that followed had a weight to it, as silences always do in ancient buildings, and she felt goose-bumps rise on her shoulders. She was just about to step inside when she heard quick footsteps cross the churchyard behind her.

Spinning around, Allie crouched down as if to avoid a blow … there was nobody there.

There was no sound but the wind blowing in the trees.

Squinting, she peered into the thicket around the church. Every sound made her jump.

You know what? Fuck this.

Using all her strength, she shoved the door to. As the latch was still clanging shut she ran to the churchyard gate, slamming it behind her with a careless bang. Looking neither right nor left she ran down the path, speeding up as her muscles loosened until she was hurtling through the forest. But as she sped around a curve in the dark, she skidded on a stone and went sprawling, hitting the ground with such force that the breath was knocked out of her and she gasped for air, clutching her sides.

As her breathing steadied, she picked gravel out of a scrape on the palm of her hand while building up the courage to look at her knee. Blood oozed from a shallow wound and ran down her leg. She hoped it looked worse than it was.

Air hissing through her teeth, she pulled herself to her feet and experimented to see if her leg could hold her weight. It hurt, but it worked, and she limped down the path, cursing under her breath.

The path seemed endless, now. After what felt like hours, she stopped to rest her leg. It hadn’t taken nearly this long to get to the chapel, had it? Had she taken a wrong turn?

A rustling noise in the trees stopped her fretful thoughts. She held her breath and listened.

‘Carter?’ she asked, tentatively.

After a second, she heard it again, but now it seemed to be on the other side of the path. Allie spun around to face it, squinting as she tried to see through the trees.

‘Hello?’ Her voice shook slightly; she tried to steady it. ‘Who’s there?’

Silence.

‘If this is some sort of a joke, it’s not funny,’ she shouted into the dark.

After a moment, she hurried down the path, limping as quickly as she could.

… twenty-five steps, twenty-six, twenty-seven …

The sharp crack of a breaking twig behind her made her jump. She froze in her tracks. That rustling sound again. But closer. Much closer.

Now, ignoring the pain, she ran down the path, jumping over roots, feeling rocks skitter under her feet but keeping her balance. Her fists pumped the air beside her.

After a minute she turned to look over her shoulder – the path was empty. But when she turned back to the front, someone was standing right in front of her.

She screamed and skidded but Sylvain’s hands caught her and pulled her close.

‘Hey … hey!’ He looked at her with concern. ‘Are you OK? You’re bleeding. What happened?’

Her words came out in broken phrases as she panted. ‘There was … somebody … the church … in woods.’ Her voice was breathless and frightened.

His hands tightened on her arms. ‘Did someone hurt you?’

Allie shook her head. ‘No … fell. But … could … hear someone … nearby. I think he was watching me. I heard him breathing.’

‘You’re shaking.’ Sylvain pulled her into a hug. ‘Come on, let’s get out of here.’ With his arm supporting her, she hobbled towards the school.

They both heard the footsteps at the same time.

‘Do you hear that?’ Allie whispered.

Sylvain nodded and looked in the direction of the sound, pushing Allie behind him. She peered over his shoulder as Carter stepped out of the woods. His face darkened when he saw Sylvain.

‘I didn’t know you were here.’ Carter’s voice was cold, and he looked at Allie. ‘What’s wrong? Are you OK?’