Kids in the Dark [S.S. Book One]

Thirty-Three

I found my way to the school. Why, I wasn't sure. I saw Lydia, "Lyds? What are you doing here?"

She frowned. "I could ask you the same thing. I don't know how I ended up here."

"Neither do I. Whoa. What's that?" I pointed to something being dragged.

"I think it's a body," Lydia said quietly. "Should we--should we follow it?"

"Yeah. Let's see where it takes us."

We followed the body into the locker room. I pointed to the showers and Lydia nodded. I stood at the entrance and saw my corpse underneath a stream of flowing water. The Darach placed a garrote around my neck and choked me, leaving my bloody body sitting against the wall.

I couldn't breathe and began panicking. I felt someone grab my shoulders, but I didn't know who it was. My breath raced and I struggled to catch it. I registered a familiar female voice. My best friend. I heard her say that it was okay. I heard her call my name. My breathing finally slowed and I saw Lydia looking at me with a terrified expression on her face. "It's okay, Lyss. I'm here."

I hugged her as I heard a voice say, "Lydia? Alyssa?"

I turned to see Stiles and Allison. "It's the same thing. Same thing as the pool. I got into the car heading somewhere totally different, and ended up here. Lyss told me the same. And you told me to call you if there's a dead body."

Stiles looked at the two of us. "You guys found a dead body?"

I shook my head. "Not yet."

""Not yet?" What do you mean "not yet"? Lydia, Als, you're supposed to call us after you find the dead body."

Lydia shook her head. "Oh, no, I'm not doing that again. You find the dead body from now on."

"We're not doing that again," I said, expanding on Lydia's comment.

Stiles groaned. "How are we supposed to find the dead body? You're always the ones finding the dead body."

"Guys," Scott called, "I found the dead body."

"It's always the school," I muttered. "Why is it always the school?"

The next day at school, I saw Stiles talking to his dad, and I could only presume it was about Tara and the sacrifices.

I walked into English and sat at my usual desk as I pulled out paper. Subconsciously, I began drawing a werewolf and various other things I'd seen. I also drew a tree. Why, I didn't know. That was Lydia's thing.

Ms. Blake was going on about writing and English terms. "Idioms, analogies, metaphors, and similes, all tools the writer uses to tell their story. Lydia, I wasn't aware you had so many talents. I see you have hidden talents as well, Alyssa."

Lydia looked up from her tree. "You and every guy I've dated."

Ms. Blake hesitated a moment. "Oh, um, well, that was an idiom, by the way. Idioms are something of a secret to the people who know the language or the culture. They're phrases that only make sense if you know key words. Saying "jump the gun" is meaningful only if you know about the starting gun in a race, or a phrase like "seeing the whole board.""

"Like chess," Stiles noted.

Ms. Blake nodded. "That's right, Stiles. Do you play?"

My boyfriend shook his head. "Uh, no. My father does."

Moving on, Ms. Blake asked, "Now when does an idiom become a cliché?"

After class, Scott told us a plan he'd thought of during class. "I think I can get to Ethan. I'm pretty sure I can make him talk."