The Huntress [2018 Archived]

Chapter 5

The contents of the letter struck me right in the chest. A cold, numb feeling ran through me. Who...what could have done this? What revolting monster could have murdered two people in cold blood?

And now three.

I ran as fast as I could, the 'Dear Alexis' letter clenched in my fist. It was a Saturday. Who could possibly be at the school?

I almost screamed with horror when I remembered that Mr. Parker held drama club meetings on Saturday. Every Saturday without fail, even though no one showed up except the foreign exchange student, Zhang Li. And only because Mr. Parker pounced on her and confused her into going.

I rounded the bend to see the brick walls of our school. The doors were going to be locked! How was I going to get in?

I rushed up to the doors, yanking on them desperately. "Someone help me!" I screamed, pounding on the door. "Let me in! Someone!"

I could tell that no one was around. And even if Mr. Parker and Zhang Li were still alive, they wouldn't be able to hear me up on third floor.

So I did what I had to do. I took a rock and chucked it through the window.

They could sue me later.

I climbed through the window, not bothering to be careful of the shards. They pricked my skin until blood was running down my arms, but as soon as I was in, I started to run, yelling the whole way.

"Mr. Parker!" I screeched, racing upstairs. "Mr. Parker! Mr. Parker!"

I flew up the stairs and burst into the classroom.

Zhang Li was sitting primly at a desk. She looked at me, surprised as I blew in. "Alexis," she said with her accent. "What is going on?"

"Alexis Morgan," Mr. Parker scolded as he breezed through the door with a sad stack of two music sheets, freshly printed. "Why are you screeching so? And how did you get in?"

Relief flooded me. So much so, that I almost collapsed. He eyed my bloody arms, choosing to refrain from remarking about my blatant disregard for the law. He didn't care if I had vandalized the school so long as he had another pupil.

"I-I just really am into drama," I wheezed, falling to my knees. "I was afraid you had left."

"Well, you were screaming bloody murder," he drawled, looking at me suspiciously. "Are you sure there is no-"

Suddenly, something zinged through the air and found its target with a thunk!.

Blood splattered everywhere. Mr. Parker's mouth rounded into a large O, his dark eyes were shocked. Zhang Li and I screamed at the same time, lurching forward to catch him.

His body collided with mine, dead before he ever even hit the floor.

Blood was smeared all over my face, and for a second, I couldn't see through it.

But of course it was there. With heart-wrenching clarity, I could see the silver tail feathers of that horribly familiar arrow sticking out from his backside.

...

I don't know how much time I spent screaming. Mr. Parker's battered corpse was still in my lap, his frozen eyes staring up at me. I wanted to close his eyelids and push him off of me, but I couldn't do anything. I couldn't move.