Monsters in The Dark

1

My feet hit the ground and I took off running. My best friend, Jonah, was at my side. My other best friend, Sam, was slightly behind us. The Creatures were chasing us and the portal was about to close.
   
Wait. Maybe I should start at the beginning.
   
It was a normal day. Past tense. The day started normally enough. I groaned about waking up, almost missed the bus, and was half asleep through first period. Like I said. Normal. I took a quiz I wasn't prepared for and a test I was slightly more prepared for. Things didn't get crazy until gym class.
   
We were jogging around the gym to warm up and was talking to Jonah. I was complaining about being totally unprepared, and he was telling me I should've studied more.

"Well, it's true. If you study, you'll do better on quizzes and tests."

"Not a chance. I value free time and sleep way too much," I argued back.
   
He smiled. "And video games?"

"Dude. You know that falls under 'free time.'" I playfully shoved him. "Hey, did we ha-"
  
I was cut off by the loudspeaker. "This is a lockdown. This is a lockdown. This is a lockdown. This is not a dri-" our principal's panicked voice said. She screamed after a gunshot.
   
The gym teachers ushered a third of us to the boys' locker room, a third of us the the weight room, and a third of us to the girls' locker room. Jonah grabbed my arm. "C'mon Riley. Let's go to the weight room."
   
When we were all in the weight room, Mr. Delvinsky locked the door, turned off the lights, and closed the windows. We could feel the tension in the air.
   
Just then, the loudspeaker crackled to life. A gravelly voice started speaking. "Send Riley Jacobs and Jonah Marcs to the office or we will find them and destroy any of you that get in our way."
   
Everyone turned to look at us. We looked at each other with a 'what-did-you-do-now' look. I looked out at my classmates and said, "Whatever it is, we didn't do it." It wasn't my greatest moment.
   
"Way to convince them we aren't guilty of whatever the hell is going on," Jonah hissed.
   
"I'm sorry, I panicked," I whisper-yelled back.
   
"Shhh I hear footsteps," someone whispered. Cue a bunch of people shushing each other.
   
The lock clicked open and the principal was shoved into the room. The door slammed close and was locked again.
   
Almost everyone had to take a second to process what had just happened. Our principal, Principal Meyers, was bleeding from her leg. She was bruised and her clothes were ripped. She had put up a fight. I could hear one girl throwing up her lunch in the back of the room. Everyone was freaked out. Mostly because we had fought a glimpse of the creature that was in the school. Yes, creature.
   
I looked at Jonah. If this was what I thought it was, we were in trouble. I looked at my best friend and my heart skipped a beat because we had the same thought. I gulped and whispered, "Oh no."
   
"Oh no is right," was his response.
   
"Oh no what? Why are you saying that?" Alec asked, sounding worried. To be fair, he had every right to be worried.
   
Mr. Delvinsky looked over from where he was trying to stop the bleeding in Principal Meyers' leg. "What's going on?"
   
Jonah elbowed me. "You tell them. You're way better at explaining things than I am."
   
"Well, I might know what it is that's keeping us locked in here." Everyone, and I mean everyone, looked at me. "They're Creatures, with a capital 'C'. They're from a video game. Technically, their full name is 'Creatures of the Night', but no one actually calls them that. They wear these long, black robes with hoods. They're really pale, with these creepy dead-looking eyes. They don't have a nose, and a hole filled with teeth that never completely closes. Creatures reek of death and are the most common monsters you'll fight in the game. The game is called 'Monsters in the Dark.'"