Chapter 2

                                                                            TRAPPED LIKE PREY

The hallway felt wrong. Loud, yet... empty. Students still lingered, but something about their laughter echoed too sharply.

Maddie hurried to the bathroom and opened the door. At first, it seemed normal. Then she heard a sob.

By the sinks stood Esther, an 11th grader, shaking like a leaf, mascara running down her face. She held a finger to her lips and pointed to the stalls.

Maddie stepped forward, confused—then froze.

Through the cracked door of the last stall, she saw Mrs. Bailey.

Lying in a pool of blood.

Her eyes were wide, glassy, ​​yet somehow still alive — a single tear slipping down her cheek.

And then Maddie saw them.

Boots. Black ones. Standing just beyond Mrs. Bailey's body.

A man was in the stall. Watching. Waiting.

Then Mrs. Bailey's mouth barely moved:

"Run."

A gunshot exploded.

Maddie stood up, arms crossed. "James, I really need to use the bathroom."

"No way," he said, eyes glued to his phone. "You're not leaving. Bailey's been gone like... what? Fifteen minutes?"

"She's been gone too long," Maddie insisted. "Something's weird."

"You'll survive," he muttered.

"Use a diaper," Egor joked from the front of the class. He smirked as he wrote on the board, already halfway through his punishment:

"I WILL NOT DISTURB CLASS THIS WEEK."

Line 156 out of 300.

"You're disgusting," Maddie snapped.

"Maybe Mrs. Bailey got diarrhea," Josh chuckled.

Maddie rolled her eyes and grabbed her jacket. "If I get in trouble, Lola will explain for me."

"Sure," Lola replied flatly, blowing a pink bubble of gum.

Gracie glanced at James, who just shook his head. She, James, and Maddie didn't look like it at school, but they were cousins. Their dads were brothers, and the three of them had grown up more like siblings than relatives.

Every Saturday they had sleepovers at someone's house - snacks, video games, and arguing over movies. James was the oldest and always got stuck watching them. Gracie was the calm one. Maddie... she was the wild card.

But in school? Maddie had rules. "No family drama, no calling me your cousin, and definitely no big brother behavior."

Now, as Maddie pushed open the hallway door, James had that gut feeling - something was off.

Maddie rushed through the echoing hallway. Some students were still packing up, but the building already felt... wrong. Like a storm was building just beneath the surface.

She pushed into the girl's bathroom.

At first, nothing.

Then a soft sound - a choked sob.