The Carter Hollow Murders

Walter McGraw - Task One

User: Flufflepuffs

I rolled up to the gates of Carter hollow academy in the black taxi I had called in. I didn't feel it was safe to drive on these roads, so I called the same taxi or car pooled to get here, that way if anyone had died it would be far from my fault. A cynical out look but a logical one as well. My head seemed to have gotten lost in itself and the rest of me in the Cherry Coca-Cola I had spared the extra dollar for. Cherry Coke was the one thing that could take my mind off of it; Orientation Day, or as the other teachers like to call it, "the first-first day of school" Despite Carter Hollow's reputation high school was still high school, a bunch of hormone infested teenagers with problems larger than galaxies it seemed, finding there place on the spec of dust we call earth, in turn furthering themselves from it. You've got the nerds, goths, pops, jocks, and ghosts, all thinking there better or worse than everyone respectively, an it doesn't help that they all have trust funds larger than the revenue of most third world countries. Issues and power, bad combo!

I exited the cab and paid the man behind the wheel a practice that had become routine after my years of traveling here. As I shut the door I panned my vision toward the school in the most dramatic way I could manage. Making things cinematic was a habit of mine, I can't help but feel like I'm in some sort of movie, show, or story...but I know that's ridiculous. I broke into a small jog up the small set of stairs to reach the academy grounds as I did everyday of the school year. I gazed from a distance at the stampede of students and parents gathering in front of the school. I continued my short journey to the swarm as I passed my favorite statue on the premises; a fountain depicting baby angels spitting water. I humor myself by choosing to believe that they have too much saliva! As I inched near to the crowds of people, a familiar sound registered in my mind, A synthesized roar, the melding pot of worried discussion, friendly chatter, and the monotone voices of other teachers, a sound I knew well. It almost passed me by that this sound was different, it had a few ingredients that I was not used to hearing, namely a dash of panic and a whole bottle of pure, undiluted fear.

My light jog turned into sprint to get a view of what was happening. Adam seemed to have his hands filled with fidgety parents and a friend of his wasn't to far behind. Without warning, he shot me a look I hadn't seen since he was my principal, he quickly looked toward the entrance of the building and then back to me. Without a sound he mouthed a word which I instantly picked up on; "GO"!

I shifted into a mad dash for the door before the average person could blink. I had never seen Adam so serious, I know that something was up, something bad! I heard the front door of the building slam against the wall as I rushed up the primary staircase. At first I didn't know where exactly I was "GO"-ing to but my instincts told me to follow the single blood-curdling scream.

I couldn't feel my feet hitting the floor as I raced down the hall. As I turned the corner I found a girl, slouched like a marionette without string on the floor. I recognized her from the my roster, this was the Le's kid! I examined her for injuries but found none, I shook her shoulder in hopes of a response but she did nothing but bend to the whim of gravity and lock into place once more. Her eyes were a different story. They were dead, fixated on what was in front of her. My head began to turn, my eyes moving in the same direction, an action I would soon regret. My eyes delivered the message and my brain painted the picture, my eyes soon matched those of the Le girl. A boy lied died in an expanding pool of blood. The scene was twisted and traumatizing but as a teacher one of my responsibility was to protect the students so I ripped my eyes off of the boy and onto the girl beside me. After many failed attempts to make contact with her I decided the only way to get her out of here was to bring her with me. I lifted the girl onto my

 shoulder and began to run in the opposite direction I had come, thankfully she was pretty light.

We teachers were ordered to take the kids to the nearest hospital incase of any injury, so I took the girl in one of the staff's cars. All the way there she was silent and didn't move a muscle. It was the same story at the hospital but about an hour into the situation her eyes snapped back into focus. A few minutes after we made eye contact, I could see that she had alot on her mind but I was ordered to question her. She looked down from my gaze and back into her lap. Then she started to laugh. What started as a soft giggle quickly mutated into a loud, hardy, dark bellow. A small fear stirred in me, for all I know this girl could have been the culprit. She turned to me and smiled, I could see in her eyes that something final snapped. In response to my previous questions she had but one answer, an answer that sent chills up my spine;...

"There isn't much to say...He was murdered..."