Beast
Shannon slammed her mountain of books down on the table. Amy and Drew looked up with reddened eyes obviously deprived of sleep. The library was crowded that day, as it was most days. Bookshelf to bookshelf children were crammed into the horribly small room for reasons even they did not fully understand. Many days, parents had called about their missing children yet the teachers were unable to find them amongst the ocean of lives. Amy, Shannon and Drew were directly in the middle.
“This is so stupid!” Shannon shouted in the room that was unusually quiet for one with so many children.
“Keep your voice down. She’ll hear you.” Drew whispered.
Shannon ducked down as an icy chill filled the room. A little ways through the tangled arms and legs of children, Shannon could see the beast. Her head was up and searching for the one who shouted. Terror gripped Shannon’s throat and seeped into her heart. If she was discovered, she knew she would never leave the school again. To her relief, the beast gave up her search and went back to signing detention slips.
“That was close,” Shannon said nearly inaudibly. “You guys look tired.”
“It’s not our fault. She’s the one who assigned the entire math textbook for homework over Christmas break. Of course, she has that stupid rule about not being able to take textbooks home...” Drew ranted.
“But we’re halfway through the year; surely you guys must have been at least part way through the textbook.” Shannon felt relieved she had decided to drop math that year.
“No way! You had her last year; you know how she feels about working ahead.” Drew looked over his shoulder toward the giant fiend. “She was so busy signing detention slips that we didn’t even open the things.”
A long silence filled the room. Sharon stared at her unusually large pile of books which towered nearly to the ceiling. While daunting, she felt blessed. More than half the students had twice the amount of books she harboured and more than ten had been buried underneath their own with no hope of escape. She knew people would die in this room so only having one giant stack of books was a great relief. Drew and Amy weren’t so lucky.
“I quit!” Amy collapsed onto an open book about obscure math. Too loud was her resignation for the Beast’s head once again rose above the children.
“Amy!” Shannon gasped as Amy’s face twisted into pure terror.
The beast arose from her huddled pose over an ocean of death certificates and study hall slips. The floor creaked and shook beneath her hooves. The icy chill was stronger now. It was so strong that the children nearest the beast fell over in icy defeat while their souls left their bodies. Through demonic eyes the beast pierced the bodies of the traumatized children who dared not look up from their studies.
“Who spoke?” The beast vibrated out of her moulding voice box.
No one answered.
“I heard someone speak! This is study hall and you all know the rules. Now WHO SPOKE?”
Still, no one replied.
“Fine; Voices are a privilege, not a right. Since no one will confess to this crime worse than murder, I will make it so no one is able to speak!”
Amy’s mouth dropped as the beast yanked a young girl up by her hair. With her massive arms she plunged her hands upon the child’s throat and sealed her lips as though by magic. The child’s screaming cease and left a ghastly mumble in its wake.
“We need to get out of here!” Shannon screamed no longer caring about the silent restriction.
“I’m not losing my voice!” Drew said as he rose to his feet.
Despite the fear and looming doom that filled her heart, Shannon could still feel some greater threat. She glanced down at the table and immediately realized what was wrong. On the other side of the table, Amy remained as frozen as ever. Her lips began to tremble while her helpless eyes glanced to Shannon and then to the beast as if choosing between death and escape. The room was no longer silent as children screamed while being yanked from their seats and silenced. Tears filled Amy’s eyes as she fell to despair.
“Her feet! Help me with her feet!” Drew shouted.
Shannon hadn’t realized it, but Drew had gone under the table. She ducked down herself; half to see what he had discovered and half to avoid being seen. There, under the table and around Amy’s legs, were two thick chains holding her down. Shannon jumped under the table and began, like Drew, to pull at the chains though all three knew it was futile. Amy was going to perish.
The ground began to shake and the room grew silent as fewer and fewer children could be heard. The trio froze under the table, fearing for their lives. Shannon wondered if she should just leave with Drew and leave Amy to her inevitable demise. The look in Drew’s eyes showed that he would not leave their friend. She realized, too, that if Amy would die, she would die herself.
The final scream of a child echoed through the corpse-filled library as the last child’s detention finally ended. With a muffled cry, the child screamed no more and his corpse fell silent to the floor. It was horrible and wrong and made even the worst kind of killer look mild in comparison with this monster of a teacher. Power corrupts and Shannon knew that the inclusion of study-hall into her small-town school had been the signature on all of their death certificates.
“Please,” Amy whispered, “leave me and save yourselves.”
“No, we can’t leave you; not like this!” Drew resolved.
“We… We love you Amy!” Shannon’s words came out a jumbled mess. All three cried under that table.
The rumbling continued to grow louder, bouncing the children and their table higher with each step. The menacing shadow of the beast grew larger and soon appeared to be all around them. Shannon’s mind raced as she racked her mind for an escape. She needed something, anything to get the chain off of Amy’s leg and to stall the ever closer beast. Alas, her mind was empty and with a final step, the beast stopped beside their table.
Ann, Drew, and Shannon huddled close, as if their proximity to each other would halt the beast’s rampage. The breathing of the beast was heavy as if smelling for a child left unharmed. Drew peeked out of the table and saw the beast in all her terror. She was taller now and wider too. Fangs had grown from her mouth and her eyes were a mix of black and red with no white showing. The beast was no longer human at all but had become the nickname they had given her.
“I smell you and you are mine.” The beast said as she reached her hand to the table and sent it flying across the room.
That was the first mistake the beast made. Where the chain around Ann’s leg was attached on the other end to the table’s leg, the beast’s throw has broken the two apart. Without thinking, the three bolted toward the door. They didn’t know if they would make it or if they should even try but they ran anyway. Glancing over her shoulder, Amy could see the beast growing larger and angrier still. As a bull about to charge, the beast wiped her feet along the floor to gain traction. This caused a treadmill like effect for the trio as the carpet was ripped up and the edge raced toward the beast.
Glancing over her shoulder, Shannon could see the sea of crying bodies racing toward the beast. Shannon wanted to help them desperately though she knew she would be of no use. One by one the children vanished as the beast engulfed them in her rage. Shannon had to turn away; she couldn’t risk being caught as well. Suddenly, a loud boom echoed through the air. Within a fraction of a second, the beast was in front of them. They were trapped and knew this was to be their demise.
A loud ring echoed through the air. It was familiar yet foreign almost as if it were something from a dream. The trio glanced at the clock on the wall and back at the beast. To their astonishment, she was completely human again with normal eyes and all. She no longer looked angry or terrible. Behind them, the bodies of the children arose and the seals on their mouths vanished. The teacher bent down and began to straighten out the carpet.
“What are you still doing here? Recess is over, don’t you guys have class?” The teacher said as she stood up.
The three were silent. All they could do was turn around and head for their toppled books. Their piles seemed smaller, almost manageable. Everything was normal as if study-hall had never existed. All of the students in the room began to laugh and talk with their friends as they left the once terrifying room. Shannon didn’t understand how they could be so happy and calm after nearly dying. There seemed to be less of them as well.
“What’s going on? Why is everyone so normal?” Shannon asked her two now leaving friends. She noticed the chain had left Ann’s ankle and vanished.
“What are you talking about? Come on, we’re going to be late.” Ann said.
Confusion enveloped Shannon. Was it all been a dream? Why was everyone so normal? What’s going on? Perhaps she would never know.
As the three left the room, Shannon felt a hand rest on her shoulder. The beast, the teacher, smiled down at Shannon as she handed her a piece of paper. Shannon felt her terror return.
“I see you didn’t finish your homework.” The teacher said. “You know what that means. Tomorrow, you’re back in study hall. Pack a lunch, okay?”
Shannon just nodded and walked toward the hallway. Her steps were slow and careful. Glancing over her shoulder, Shannon caught a final glimpse of her teacher. She was normal, yet something was off. There, on the teacher’s face, Shannon saw it. The eyes of the teacher were red. Then, a moment later, they had changed back and the teacher headed off in the other direction. Shannon just turned around and kept walking, feeling the heavy paper in her hand.
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Inspired by real life events. Thanks for reading!
