Silent Prayer

[Etienne Mbane]

Ms. Jenkins finished swabbing Thomas' throat, and put it in the analyzer. "That wasn't too bad."

Thomas nodded, shivering. He hadn't spoken much because his throat hurt. While the analyzer worked, Ms. Jenkins got a cool cloth and laid it gentle on his forehead. He initially came to the nurse's office because he had a fever, and his roommate made him go. Since he had arrived, Ms. Jenkins had kindly tended to him, checking his temperature, and tucking him in to one of the beds with some orange juice.

The analyzer beeped, and Ms. Jenkins smiled at Thomas. "There, all done. Don't go anywhere. Promise?"

Thomas smiled, and nodded. She went over to the analyzer and read the display, nodding. "Just as I thought. Just strep throat. I'll have the doctor prescribe some anti-biotics, and you'll be back on your feet in no time. Lucky for you, your parents live in town. Would you like me to call them so you can spend some time at home."

Relieved, Thomas nodded again. He was afraid that he would never be able to talk again, by how much his throat hurt. Ms. Jenkins went to her phone and called his parents. After a short conversation, she returned.

"They're on their way. See? Everything will be fine."

She continued to apply wet washcloths to soothe his fever until his parents took him home. She waved to them as they drove off, expecting him to be back in a couple of days.

***

Ms. Jenkins locked up her office as she left for the day. She smiled to herself, happy that she could help another student feel better. She knew how lucky she was to have her job, and even as she left, she looked forward to tomorrows work.

Walking to the train station, she saw one of the street lights ahead was flickering. It happened more often than it would have otherwise, but with so many heroes in Paragon City, there were these little inconveniences to deal with. As she approached the light, she was startled by something small and shaggy darting out at her.

The puppy wagged its tail as it spun in front of her, wanting attention. She laughed out loud, both at the puppy's antics, and at herself for being startled. Dropping to one knee, she scratched the dog behind its ears, causing the puppy to flop over on its side. Laughing again, she obliged it by scratching its tummy.

"Well, aren't you friendly. Do you belong to someone? Are you all alone?"

While she rubbed the puppy's belly, she checked for a collar. It looked like there used to be one, but it had come off. Her best guess was that the dog belonged to someone in the neighborhood, and it had escaped. Well, there wasn't much traffic, and its owner must be looking for it.

"Poor thing. You must be starving."

She checked in her purse and found the half of a roast beef sandwich she hadn't finished from lunch. She took out the meat and fed it to the puppy, who wolfed it down hungrily.

"There you go. Tell you what, if you can't find a home by tomorrow night, I'll take you home myself, OK? You going to be OK? There's a good puppy."

She scratched behind its ears again, then stood back up, and headed home. The puppy started following, then something in the shadows cast by the flickering light caught its attention. Dropping low into an aggressive crouch, it growled at what it found there.

Ms. Jenkins heard a yelp behind her, and turned to look. The street was empty behind her, she couldn't even see the puppy. A sudden chill crawled down her spine, settling in the pit of her stomach. She wrapped her coat more tightly around her, she turned back toward the train, quickening her pace.

[Etienne Mbane]

Thomas checked his ringing phone to find his mother's number flash on the screen. Smiling, he answered.

"Hi, Mom. I just got off the train, and I'm walking to school."

"OK. Be careful. Stay in the light, and if you think anyone is following you, call for help, OK?"

Thomas laughed. "Mom, I'm a security licensed hero. I think I can handle walking a few blocks at night to get back to school."

"Well, I'm your mother, and I get to worry about you, even if you become the greatest hero that Paragon City has ever known."

"OK, Mom. I'll call you when I get back, OK?"

"OK. I love you."

Thomas disconnected the call and walked the rest of the way to school. As he approached, a sudden chill came over him. He wrapped his long coat around himself tighter and turned up the walk toward the dorms.

The late hour of his return made it easy to come in unobserved. The antibiotics had cleared up the strep throat, and he was anxious to get back to school and his friends. Almost all the windows were dark, as it was approaching lights out. Hopefully he would get back in time.

Halfway to the dorm, he stopped, noticing a light on in the main building. He counted the windows, and realized the light was in Ms. Jenkin's room. Carefully, he listened, tuning his sensitive hearing to the office. All he could hear was a slow, steady dripping. Getting another chill, he decided to stop in, and say thanks.

The building was dark, the only light coming from a flickering exit sign over the door. Walking down the corridor, his footfalls echoed hollow through the air. At the far end of the hall, a sliver of light shone from the nurse's office, bleeding through the door that stood ajar.

The hair on the back of his neck stood up as he drew near. Carefully, he reached out to push the door open. "Ms. Jenkin's? It's Thomas. I wanted to--"

His breath stopped. Ms. Jenkins, kneeling on the floor turned to him, her face gaunt, and her eyes a solid white. Black veins spider-webbed her skin, as she turned to face him. Behind her, a human skin stretched across a black metal frame, dangling with unidentifiable bits of dried or desiccated animal. Above her, and the source of the dripping, a skinned human body hung on a meat hook from the ceiling by its ankles. She stretched a bone, elongated finger at her and hissed, showing a mouthful of yellowed, decaying canines.

Thomas backpedalled and crashed into the door jab, knocking his head hard enough for him to see stars. He dropped his bag, and scrambled down the hallway. Certain he was being chased he slammed into the door, unable to get it open in his panic. He pounded on it, screaming at the top of his lungs.

***

Security came running as soon as they heard the screaming. They pushed the door open from the outside, and grabbed Thomas, keeping him from sprinting off into the night. Seeing the lights out everywhere but the nurse's office, they quickly moved to check on Ms. Jenkins.

Inside the nurse's office, they found Ms. Jenkins, collapsed on the floor. Her office was neat and tidy, as it always was. After checking to make sure she wasn't injured, they searched the room, finding nothing missing, and nothing out of place.

[Diego Mendez]

Diego was riding high as he took the Kings Row exit out of Pocket D, emerging out of the back of a parked truck into the dark, cold night. He was going to be sore as hell from all the dancing he’d been doing on the dance floor, but it had been oh so worth it in his mind. Attercap from the Cape had put on a great show, the music had been awesome, and the company had been most excellent indeed. He was never going to see another pair of socks without immediately jumping to Lorne’s new safety phrase: “nice socks.” He chuckled a little as he slipped his hands into the pockets of his coat. The wind kicked up, biting and bitterly cold. He hunched his shoulders, regretting the fact he’d left his scarf behind. Oh well. The train wasn’t too far off. Just a few ports and he would be on his way back to campus. The streetlight above him flickered, giving a last frantic sputter before going out entirely. The hair on the back of his neck stood on end, his heightened reflexes setting off a silent warning. Diego narrowed his eyes as he glanced around, but he didn’t see anything. Above the normal din of the city, all he could hear was a steady dripping sound. The wind kicked up yet again, cutting right through him.

Screw this.

There were plenty of capes around in Kings Row on patrol. It was freezing cold and he had a test to study for. There was popping sound, a plume of dense purple smoke, and the teen was gone. He emerged several blocks later, but that eerie, unsettling feeling from before didn’t go away. Another quick port, followed by another brought him to the train station. He made his way up the ramp and managed to make it onboard before the doors slid closed behind him.

********

There were a few people down in the commons, but none that he really recognized. He offered a friendly wave all the same before going on up to the dorms. His room was empty, but hopefully tomorrow that would change. Maybe Jeremy was going to be his new roommate? That would be pretty cool. He didn’t know the guy very well, but he seemed alright. He’d taken Pocket D in stride, and had seemed eager to try something new. That was always a plus in Diego’s book.

He paused, felt the silent alarm going off in his head again. And there was a dripping sound. His hand slapped out to the switch by the door, flooding the room with light. He scanned the room and saw…nothing. He willed his heart beat to slow as he reached for his Algebra text book and settled into his bunk to start studying.

[Etienne Mbane]

Butterflies danced in her stomach as the young couple walked, hand in hand toward the bunker. Julie had been crushing on Raoul for almost a month before he finally asked her out. She knew he was going to, being a precognitive telepath, but it still surprised her when he'd finally gotten up the nerve.

They weren't going to the bunker to practice, although that would be their excuse if they got caught. There were enough nooks and crannies for a couple to hide in that it was a fairly popular place when a couple wanted some privacy to talk on campus. Julie felt a chill run down her spine, and shivered, figuring that she her nerves were starting to get the better of her. Checking over their shoulders, they slipped inside and sat together, face to face, neither giving up the other's hand.

He struggled to say something, but Julie started speaking first.

"Raoul, I wanted you to know how I felt. I mean, I think you like me..."

She looked down and away, fighting a blush that came on strong. "I hope you like me..."

She looked back up, and her words caught in her throat. The flesh on Raoul's face began to melt off before her eyes, dripping in sickly yellow rivulets, pooling on his lap. Unable to tear her eyes away, her hand, still holding his, began to ache with cold as his skull started showing through the streams of flesh. His mouth fell open, sighing out a hollow scream, and she looked down at their hands, only to find her fingers intertwined with bones barely held together with rotting sinew. Finally able to fight off the paralyzing fear that overwhelmed her, and shoved Raoul back.

Raoul, now rotted almost completely to a skeleton hit the wall hard, shattering into individual bones. Julie tried to get away, only getting a few steps around a corner before she collapsed, a quivering mass of fear, and wept softly.

***

An hour later, Mr. Deathrage came to clean up the bunker, and found her. Checking to make sure she wasn't injured, asked her what happened.

"Raoul...r..r...raoul...."

Looking toward the direction she stared, he followed the hall around the corner. Lying in a heap, Raoul bled from the back of his head. The injury wasn't too serious, but head wounds bled a lot. He grumbled under his breath, knowing it would fall to him to clean up the mess. First things first, though. He called Mr. Herrera and reported the incident, and made sure the two of them got to the infirmary.

[Lorne Hazlewood]

Lorne walked happily down the school hall on the way to the science lab. Classes were out for the day, but he wanted to check on his carnation experiment for biology. He had added food coloring to the water in the hopes of affecting the color of the flower. He had heard that it would but it was neat to see it first hand.

He was lost in thought thinking about carnations when his ears perked momentarily as he heard something further down the hall. He came to an abrupt stop and strained harder to hear. A little girl? Was she crying? Maybe one of the younger students got lost on campus. He picked up the pace to follow the sound of the sobs. They got louder and louder as he approached the intersection in the halls. It wasn't just that he was getting closer. The cries were getting louder. She was scared! He broke out into a run heading for the intersection and slid to a stop peering down the other hall.

There was nothing.

Everything was silent.

Lorne stood there for a second staring down the long empty hallway. He looked back where he came from. He looked down the third hall at the T intersection. Empty in all directions. Just then he heard a door close. Another student was heading out of a class room.

"Did you hear that?" Lorne asked with a bit of a tremble in his voice.

((Whoever wants to should feel free to jump in))

[Arthur Rawlings]

"I heard nothing, I wasn't here, and I don't know you," Ar rattled off as he put a bit of distance between himself and the room he had just allegedly vacated. With Fuzzy's senses, it was way too late to cloak and run. "Where am I anyway?"

He hadn't even bothered to be sneaky because he hadn't expected to find another student in the halls. It was school, after all. No sane individual stayed there a moment longer than absolutely necessary. As he considered the issue, Ar came to the conclusion that he should have expected to see Lorne. He also should have heard Lorne running around out here in the dead-quiet hall. No more mood music on covert ops.

"Better question: What did you hear?"

[Lorne Hazlewood]

Lorne thought about telling him, but decided against it. He was probably just hearing things and no sense in letting Ar think he was crazy. "A mouse I think. I thought I heard a mouse. I'll uh... I'll go see if I can find Mr. Deathrage."

[Lorne Hazlewood]

Mr. Herrera stood in the hall looking impatient. Next to him examining the wall was Josephus Benectus Maximilian the 32nd but everyone called him Joe. Joe could trace his ancestry back nearly a thousand years by repeating the same three words over and over again. Each of them was a wizard. Not a one of them ever decided to name their son Hank.

Mr. Herrera let out a sigh. Joe looked back over his shoulder at him peering over the top of his round sunglasses. “There a problem, Mr. Herrera?”

“I don’t know. You tell me.”

Joe looked back at the crack in the wall. It still had a bit of blood stain on it. “Well this wasn’t magic. This was a girl shoving a boy into a wall and when that girl is Julie Fallenburg it tends to leave a mark. There is something though. Just the faintest feeling of dread. A chill down the spine or hairs standing up on your arms.”

Mr. Herrera looked at him incredulously. “You can get that from a spider. We need answers.”

“I’d say that there was definitely a magical presence here, but beyond that I can’t be sure. Whatever it is, it covers its tracks really well and it’s long gone now.”

“Well Joe, you’re our resident magic expert. We’ve got two kids freaked out and another injured. On top of that nurse Jenkins has been on sick leave for the last week straight. We need to do something. What do you advise?”

“I’ve already hit all the major magic wards: garlic, salt, holy water, iron, silver. I’ve also done the common rituals to ward off evil spirits and demons. You ever hear the saying, ‘When you hear hoof beats think horses, not zebras?’”

Herrera nodded. “Yeah.”

Joe turned to Herrera frowning. “We got ourselves a zebra.”

[Diego Mendez]

Diego had forgotten to charge his iPod. At some point during the night, in the middle of Freebird, the mp3 player had shut down. He turned in his bunk, his sleep becoming restless. The room was quiet…except for that dripping sound. He rolled over and put a pillow over his head, trying to block the sound out. The sound thundered in his ears and simply refused to go away. His eyes opened as he sighed. Sleep wasn’t going to come anytime soon, it seemed. He pushed the covers off and sat up, rubbing a hand over his face. He suppressed a groan as he saw the alarm clock on his desk. 4am. It was way too early to be up under normal circumstances. He shuffled his way over to sink, trying to keep quiet so he wouldn’t wake Jeremy. He turned on the faucet, splashed some cool water on his face. He’d take his laptop and iPod down to the common area, let the damn thing charge while he did some web surfing.

He glanced up at the mirror as he reached for the towel on the rack. Something was on his face. He flicked the light switch next to the sink and leaned in close. Was that…blood? He looked down. The faucet was still running, but it wasn’t water coming out of it Blood, thick and rich was flowing from it and into the sink. Diego yelled out and backpedalled, more than a little freaked out.

“Madre de dios!” He rarely spoke Spanish, aside from saying hola in greeting. Usually it only happened when he was upset, which was definitely the case. The normally calm Diego was DEFINITELY not calm now as he scrambled and slapped at the light switch. He looked back to the sink.

Clear water was running from the faucet. No trace of blood whatsoever.

[Etienne Mbane]

Mr. Herbert and Mr. Hendricks stood at the head of the cafeteria during Monday's lunch period. One of the few times the entire student body was reliably in one place, they had been confirming the rumors that Ms. Jenkins, the school nurse, had returned to duty that morning.

No more rowdy than usual, the two were doing what teachers have done since time began, complaining about their students. Their complaints were more the friendly one-upmanship of who had to deal with the worse prankster, or the funniest situation. Good friends, they had this conversation countless times, but it never failed to leave them laughing.

Suddenly, the entire cafeteria was flooded with darkness as one of the fluorescent bulbs burst in a shower of sparks, somehow cascading down the line. After a few seconds, the remaining bulbs, all as one, they flickered several times, leaving flashes of images in the air behind them.

Finally, they flickered back on, dim but steady, showing everything as it was before the lights went out, save for the one burst bulb. The entire room burst in a cacophony of noise as everyone tried to talk at once.

"Did you see that?"

"It looked like someone hanging from the ceiling."

"Not hung, lynched."

"Did his face look familiar to you?"

"Yeah, but I couldn't place it."

Listening to the confusion, Mr. Herbert and Mr. Hendricks looked at each other for a brief moment before moving into action. Mr. Herbert grabbed the microphone for the cafeteria P.A. to try to calm everyone down, while Hendricks went to get Mr. Herrera.