Simon Death High (4 page)

“
What,
she left?” Lucy gasped.

“
But,
how?” Michael said. “What if someone took her?”

“
Maybe
we should go find her. She is probably sleep walking again. With
all the loud thunder and rain, we must didn't hear her
leave.”

Lucy hurried to put her
rain boots on, while, Michael started the car downstairs. He didn't
know how to drive yet, so he hopped in the passenger seat. Well, he
tried to get his license back when he was sixteen, but would freak
out whenever he was in the driver's seat. Driving reminded him too
much of his mother—she died in a car crash five years ago. It was
not a good way to live his life—but it worked for him.

He flared his nostrils up
for some odd reason to try to smell the garage. He found it odd how
the house smelled like a sewer but the garage didn't smell like it.
“Um, it doesn't stink in here,” he said to Lucy as she got into the
passenger seat.

“
What
are you talking about?” she snapped.

“
Well,
your downstairs smells like crap.”

“
I told
you it's a pipe!”

He wrapped himself in a
raincoat that was on the backseat, while Lucy began to drive. “Hmm,
you should get it fixed, or tell your parents to fix
it.”

Lucy began to laugh, “I
don't talk to my parents like that.”

Michael's heart began to
pound harder as the rain hit the windshield like rocks. “We should
head back home. This weather is dangerous.”

“
Oh,
don't be a baby,” she teased. “It's just rain.”

“
And
lightening, and thunder, and hail,” he cried. “Please, let's just
go back home!”

Lucy pushed on the gas
break harder, “HA!”

Michael tugged on her
shoulder, “Please stop!” he hyperventilated. “You're gonna kill
me!”

She pushed on the breaks
and then stared at Michael, “I wouldn't want that—I was just
kidding.”

4 |
Secrets Unraveled

Linda could feel vomit
sliding up her throat but she swallowed it down. Her eyes began to
water as she tried to make sense of where she was. She felt someone
gently brush her hair back as loud music filled the
room.

As she tried to reposition
her body, it felt as though she would fall because she was on a bar
stool. She grasped the edge of the table and tried to focus her
eyes. However, everything was a blur, as Linda couldn't even
remember how old she was.

“
You
cannot be here!” a blonde girl, who Linda tried to recognize said.
“Linda, go home!”

“
Nah,
let her stay!” said a man, standing behind Linda. “She's
funny.”

“
This is
between me and you! I don't know how she found us here!” the girl
cried. “What if she tells someone?”

Linda opened her eyes
wider as she made out the girl to be Hannah. She tried to say
something, but no words would come out. She turned her head back to
see who was standing behind her, just to realize the man looked
like Dr. Smith. Her heart began to pound like crazy as he sipped
his drink. She wanted to scream and run like hell, but it was like
she wasn't in control.

Hannah leaned in with her
bruised wrist to pull Linda off the bar stool, but instead her ring
got caught onto Linda’s belly ring. Hannah tugged on her finger and
Linda gagged in pain. Dr. Smith snatched Hannah's hand hard off,
ripping Linda’s ring right through the hole. If she were sober, she
probably would have cried in agony, but she held her stomach,
trying to understand what just happened.

Linda touched the ripped
hole, and blood was on her hands. She tried to cry, but Hannah put
her cold palm over her mouth and lifted her to her feet.

“
Why do
you always do this?” Hannah shouted. “Just stay out of my
business!”

“
Whhh?”
was all she could say.

“
You
hate to see me have a life? I’m not Michael; you cannot control me
like you control him!”

Dr. Smith walked over to
Linda, “She won't remember in the morning. I promise.”

“
How do
you know?” Hannah said.

“
Because—” Dr. Smith took his huge fist and slammed it into
Linda’s face knocking her out cold. Her head snapped back, not hard
enough to break her neck, but hard enough to give her a cramp.
Hannah wanted to cry as Linda collapsed to the floor, but she knew
if she showed any emotion...he would do the same to
her.

With her head swollen,
Linda lifted her head up in confusion. She looked around as she
realized she was in the school cafeteria. The room was empty, but
she could tell it was almost lunch because it smelled like mystery
meat.

With squinted eyes, she
looked around the table and all her stuff was around her, including
her phone. She went through the fifty missed calls and text
messages—most were from Michael, Lucy, and Tyler.

She turned around as she
heard footsteps enter the cafeteria—it was Michael. He came
running, hair dripping from swim practice, and then he hugged
her.

“
You're
okay?” he cried. “I'm so happy. I got worried when I didn't see you
in class today!”

Linda shoved him off her
sore body, “How did I get here?”

“
Ugh,
you tell me. Lucy and I were looking for you last night, but like
an hour after we were searching, your dad claimed you were
home—”

“
And you
believed him?” she snapped. “He's an old mental drunk. He probably
thought the cat was me!”

Michael held in his laugh.
“Well, you're okay now. Where were you? Were you with Tyler?” he
said as he lifted one eyebrow, hinting he wanted details. “You
don't have to lie about it.”

“
I'm not
sure where I was, but I had a hell of a dream about
Hannah.”

“
Hmm,
strange. I didn't see Hannah in Economic class today. I usually see
her sitting at her table when I walk by. I didn't even see her with
the dance team today either.”

“
Ha,
yeah...she was like in super small shorts—I mean short like how I
like my jeans. And she had her hair all big and wavy—but the oddest
part is that she was with Dr. Smith,” Linda laughed. “It didn't
make sense though because I remember her like...I can't remember
but, yanking my belly button ring out.”

“
Eh,
weird dream. I had a dream about Dr. Smith once. I dreamed he moved
in next to me,” he shivered.

The bell rang, and within
a second students came running to the cafeteria line. Linda seemed
entertained as she was never in the cafeteria this early. She
enjoyed watching teens fight over food. Lucy ran over to the table
as she saw Linda sitting there. She threw her bag onto Michael’s
lap and hugged Linda.

“
Oh,
Linda! You're okay!” she cried. “You had us so
worried.”

“
Michael
told me,” Linda said.

“
Where
were you?” Lucy asked as she sat on her hands, trying to warm
them.

Linda pouted and leaned
her head on Lucy's shoulder. “I'm not sure, but I don't feel good.
Can we all go home instead of going to our last classes?” Linda
said. “I just have an odd feeling here.”

“
Yeah,
baby,” Lucy said. “I really didn't want to be here today anyway. I
have mega cramps.”

“
Why
don't you take those pills?” Linda said.

“
What
pills?” Lucy said.

“
The
ones you said are for menstrual cramps. You know, the ones that hit
the floor the other day and everyone stared at you,” Michael
added.

Lucy shook her head in
confusion. “I don't have menstrual pills.”

Michael stared at Linda
with a funny face. “Um...okay...”

“
Have
you guys seen Tyler today?” Linda said, changing the
subject.

“
Nope, I
thought he would be with you,” Lucy said. “I don't ever notice him
though.”

“
No, I
didn't see him either,” Michael said.

“
Have
you seen Hannah?” Lucy said.

“
No, but
tell Lucy your crazy dream about her,” Michael
said.

“
Later,
because it feels like I’m going to pass out. Can we just leave?”
Linda said. “Like now!”

“
Okay,
let's go now—” Lucy got quiet as she stared across the
cafeteria.

Michael and Linda turned
to see who she was looking at—Adam Black.

Adam was nothing more than
Lucy's summer fling. A lot of crazy things happened last summer,
but Adam and Lucy were the most memorable. Everyone just knew they
would graduate as high school sweethearts—not until he left her
right before school started. He never gave a reason why, and
anytime someone would bring up the subject, Lucy would give them a
death stare. Their breakup was always on Linda’s mind—mainly
because she was nosy.

Also, Linda thought he was
gorgeous, like Shia Labeouf gorgeous. Although she would never tell
Lucy, Linda wanted to snag him up after they broke up—but, that
would break the friend code.

Michael tugged on Lucy to
get up and pulled her to her feet. “Come on, let's go
home.”

The gang went to Lucy's
home like usual, trying to get answers on where Linda had went. She
couldn't have gone far since their town was small. Also, someone
they knew would have seen her.

Michael turned on the
television on full blast, trying to block out the loud rain from
outside. He flipped on the local news and as usual the Simon High
deaths were breaking news.

“
...Detectives have just released new info that connects all
the deaths of the teenagers that attend Simon High. They're saying
that all of them had bruised wrists. They're not sure if this is
due to after being killed or before—”

Linda’s eyes got large as
she remembered Hannah's wrist from her dream. “Hannah had that in
my dream.”

“
What
dream?” Lucy said.

“
I don't
know, one of the ten weird dreams I had. It was when she was
leaning for me and then her ring got caught onto my belly button
ring and she pulled so hard, it yanked out—” Linda lifted her shirt
and screamed. She stared at her belly button that had hard blood on
it. She poked at it, which was red and purple.

“
Ew?”
Michael said in confusion. “What happened?”

Linda put her shirt down,
“I'm not sure.”

“
You
know, sometimes in dreams things happen in real life too. Like when
some people dream about peeing in the toilet but they're really
wetting the bed,” Lucy said.

“
So, you
think I pulled my own belly button ring out?”

“
It's
possible,” she sighed.

“
No!
That's crazy!”

Michael sat close to
Linda, “So, what else happened in that dream?”

“
Where
is Tyler?” Linda said, ignoring Michael. “What if he is the next
victim? What if I was supposed to be the next victim last
night?”

“
I'm
sure he is fine. Why don't you just call him?” Lucy
said.

“
I don't
have his number yet. I don't think he has a cell phone.” Linda sank
down into the blankets and tried to think back to her dream. “I was
at a bar,” she said, remembering back. “A bar for people at least
twenty-one. Um, that's all I remember...”

“
What
type of bar? It must have been out of town. I don't know any bars
out here,” Michael said.

“
No,
it's an underground bar just before you leave Simon. Like around
South Simon. I used to go there back when I was depressed. I used
my looks to get in.”

“
Are you
sure you were dreaming?” Lucy said.

“
Ew, I
had to be!” she shivered.

“
Why?”

“
Because
Dr. Smith was in it,” Michael answered for her.

Linda gagged and leaned
back onto some pillows. “It's not just that, but...but...he was
there with Hannah...like a date.”

Lucy's face turned fearful
as she turned the television off. “How would you know
that?”

Linda’s eyes narrowed, “I
wasn't dreaming, was I?”

“
How...how...would I know?” Lucy stuttered.

“
You're
stuttering. You know something,” Michael snapped.

“
I don't
know anything,” she giggled.

“
Is
Hannah having an affair with Dr. Smith?” Linda said. “And you knew
about it. That's what you guys were talking about in the restroom
the other day!”