She was right about it coming from the windows—the ones surrounding the courtyard, in fact. She didn't know how it was possible for the light to be this bright when it was so muted in the doorway, but it was all-encompassing.
For once, since this whole nightmare had started, Dylan felt safe. There may have been shutters covering the foyer windows behind her, and anything could have caught them unawares—but being able to stare unabashedly at the tree made it all worth it. She had never seen anything more beautiful in her life.
She didn't know how it was possible, and she was sure that in any other circumstance it wouldn't have been—but the tree that was only a few years old was now a towering monstrosity.
It wasn't accurate to call it a redwood—its trunk was nowhere near the diameter of one, its canopy said otherwise though.
Even with how short and gnarled it was, its branches arched over the roof—stretching beyond their sight, enclosing the entire courtyard within its embrace. She wondered if the wood would ever break under its own weight, or if it would keep reaching out—trying to envelop the school.
The strangest thing about the massive tree wasn't the spider-webbing branches though. It was the glow.
The shimmery light they had seen was coming from the underside of the leaves. There were thousands, all of them varying in size—each and every one glowing like little fireflies. And when the wind picked up, the branches swaying to the gentle rhythm of the breeze—glittering stars appeared.
She tried to look past them, attempting to catch a glimpse of the sky above it. She couldn't. She didn't know why it unsettled her, but it felt foreboding. Despite the fact that we can see through these windows, we're still trapped…
"Dude, look!" Saphris exclaimed, pulling her out of her revere. "You can see the other side!"
She was right. In fact, all the windows surrounding the courtyard were left uncovered.
Did that mean the courtyard doors were unlocked too?
She walked to the door and tugged on the handle, and to her surprise it opened easily.
Saphris gasped, "we can get closer?" She sounded almost giddy at the prospect. The girl darted forward, nearly pushing her out of the way to get through the door, and ran up to the mystical tree to lay her hand against it.
Of course she'd want to touch the giant glowing tree. She should've expected nothing less, she thought as she herself stepped into the courtyard and let the door fall shut behind her.
There was no wind outside… and yet the branches kept swaying to an unheard beat.
It was even more overwhelming without the glass separating them. It seemed to fill the very air with its presence, calling her to touch it as well.
She didn't even realize she was standing right next to it until she had laid her palm against the smooth bark, it humming with approval.
That was another thing that amazed her—the bark was smooth. Despite its rough and aged appearance, its trunk was so velvety to the touch it was almost like it was polished.
Where did this come from? This couldn't have been the same tree from before, could it? There's no way.
She glanced over at Saphris, only to double-take. "Saphris?" She called, confused. "Where did you go?" She was just here!
"Up here!" Came the cheery reply. Dylan craned her neck back to stare up into the mesmerizing branches, and spotted Saphris among the stars almost immediately.
"What the fuck are you doing up there?" Dylan asked incredulously. It didn't occur to her to keep her voice down—as far as she knew, the tree would keep her safe.
"What do you think? This tree's perfect for climbing!" She called down before looking up again and pulling herself higher. "Come on!"
Dylan stared, baffled. "Are you crazy? I can't climb that! You have fun—I'll stay here, where I won't break my neck." She yelled back, and went back to studying the wood next to her hand.
It's like petrified wood, and as that thought crossed her mind, she lifted her hand and knocked on it. It felt like stone. It is petrified! So the limbs won't break? Unless something crashed into them, I bet.
"Are you dumb?" Saphris accused, and Dylan glared at her. "This could be our way out!" She continued, pointing to where the branches met the roof. The wood was still thick, even that far out—it'd be easy to get to the roof's edge.
Well… easy for Saphris, at least. She wasn't sure how she was supposed to get up there.
She kept herself from voicing that thought. "How are we supposed to get off of the roof afterward?" She threw out instead, trying not to focus on the anxiety building in her chest. Every time it wanted to crescendo, the tree would pulse, and she would calm again.
"I don't know!" Saphris shouted, frustrated. "But it's better than being murdered by monsters!"
Dylan gnawed on her lip, torn. Of course she was right, but how the fuck was she supposed to climb a tree when only half her body works right?
It's do or die, Dylan. "You're right," she answered, reluctantly—finally nodding to herself. "See if you can get to the edge!" She continued, building her resolve.
"Way ahead of you!" Saphris replied, already halfway there.
She sighed, bracing herself –don't think—just do. This isn't a thing you can back out of– and grabbed one of the gnarled knobs, looking for another hand-hold.
She found one easily, and gripped them both as tightly as she could and tried to lift her right leg up. We can do this, we can do this, we can do this. If she could do that, she'd be golden.
Shit.
Her arms weren't strong enough—more like her right arm couldn't bear the weight of her whole body.
Shit. Shit. Shit!
She had to get her foot on the first knob! It shouldn't be that hard!
The panic started to set in as she tried again and slipped. Fucking why. Why can't I do this? Why can't I climb a stupid fucking tree?
Tears began to blur her vision, but the tree pulsed again and her vision cleared. The stupid tree won't even let me cry. God why? This should be easy!
"Wait, what?" Saphris' confused mutter pulled her from her spiral. Get it together!
Her friend was mere feet from the roof's ledge, but unlike before—when there was a clear path to it, it was now so densely crowded by other branches that it was impossible to get through them—the nearby limbs literally curving to block it off. The foreboding feeling from earlier came back full force.
"They moved to cut me off!" Saphris yelled in disbelief, "what the fuck!" She slapped the branch in front of her and yelped, clutching her hand to her chest.
"Is this shit petrified?" She questioned, looking down at the tree limb she was standing on.
"Yes, dumbass! You didn't know?" Dylan called, stepping away from the massive –maybe sentient– tree.
"I'm sorry—I was too busy climbing the sparkly tree to notice!" Saphris griped, jumping to test the wood—it didn't budge. "So much for propagating it." She muttered glumly.
"Where did you think you were gonna put it?" Dylan questioned, unsurprised that that was her initial plan.
The girl shrugged, and started making her way back down. As she moved away from the tree's outskirts, the branches swung away from the one they were crowding. If it's actively keeping us trapped… then why does it make me feel safe?
When Saphris hopped down, using the last couple of knobs as stepping stools, she asked her: "do you get any kind of vibes from the tree, too?"
Saphris pursed her lips, thinking. "If by vibes, you mean those weird pulses, then yes." She commented, giving the overlaying limbs above a look. "I think it's trying to talk to us, if I'm being honest." She added as an afterthought.
Dylan hummed, "I felt those pulses too," she affirmed. "It kept giving me the feeling of being safe… the question is, why would it do that if it won't let us out?" She asked, trailing off.
She glanced over at Saphris only to see the girl's brows furrowed. She wasn't looking up at the twinkling canopy anymore, instead laser focused on something past the trunk—on the other side of the courtyard.
"What is it?" She asked, concerned.
Thump.
She jumped.
Something hit one of the windows.
Saphris pointed, "look."
Dylan turned, and took a step closer to Saphris to see what she was pointing at. Her heart dropped, it was a boy—his hand pressed against the glass. He was standing a couple feet away from the door on that side of the courtyard.
But something wasn't right about him.
His face and the palm of his hand were littered with dark scars—to the point where it was difficult to look at him without her skin crawling.
"Should we… go help him…?" Saphris asked, almost like she didn't want to say anything at all.
"No." Dylan responded, grabbing onto her best-friend's arm to keep her from walking over to him, despite the fact that Saphris wasn't moving. "I don't like this—and I don't fucking like him." She said, trying to keep a straight face. She didn't want to provoke him in any way.
The longer they stood there having a stare off with the boy in the window, the more unsettling the whole situation became—and the more Dylan believed the kid wasn't human.
His eyes continued to bore into them, unblinkingly—and the fact that he didn't give the massive alien tree a single glance didn't bode well with her.
But she only truly realized what they were dealing with wasn't human when she noticed that his scars would close up, only to appear again moments later.
"Are you seeing what I'm seeing?" Saphris whispered, horror creeping into her voice. Alarm bells started ringing in the back of her head, but she didn't dare turn her gaze toward her friend.
"What?" She really didn't want the answer.
"Maggots."
As it registered in her mind, her skin began to itch. Those aren't scars.They're holes.
She took an involuntary step back.
The boy placed his other hand against the window—like his other hand and face this one was also pitted with deep, dark holes. Is he even alive?
She could feel Saphris shift back a step, the boy mimicking her—getting closer to the door. Doesn't matter, I can't let him get close.
"Fucking hell," Saphris shuddered. "Where do we go?"
Dylan's brain was spinning a mile a minute. "Cafeteria's out of the question—it's dangerous and we just came from there, and if we go straight–" she stuttered when the boy took another step. "–and turn left—we'd be running into the foyer, giving him easy access to us–"
"What about up the stairs?" Saphris interjected.
"That could work, if we're fast enough." She answered, "who knows how fast he'll get to the other side of the courtyard though? What if he sees us running up them?"
"Easy. We dart into a classroom—that's all that's there anyway."
"If he sees which one though, we're screwed—he'll wait us out." She pointed out.
"Guess you'll have to keep up then," her friend quipped. The response threw her off-kilter a bit—the faint humor was unexpected, especially when they were strategizing a plan to get away from this new monster.
She scowled, "you'd leave me for dead?" Only half-serious.
"No." Saphris replied without hesitation, "but you are the slow one."
"Fuck you." Dylan muttered, no heat behind it.
The door opened, and she snapped back to reality—watching as the inhuman boy took slow methodical steps toward them.
"Run?" She asked.
"Run." Saphris affirmed, before turning tail and sprinting toward the door they came through, Dylan hot on her heels.
Behind her, the boy picked up speed and although she was on the slower side—he, at least, seemed to be a tad bit slower than her. She'd imagine being full of holes would do that to you.
As long as she didn't falter on the stairs, she'd be fine.
She slammed the door shut behind them, hoping that it would buy her a few scant seconds more; Saphris was already halfway up the stairs, and she was just barely starting up them.
The courtyard door opened sooner than she expected—she was hardly halfway up the steps. Shit. Come on, I gotta get up there already!
Hearing the pounding footsteps gaining ground behind her made the fear that much more potent—adrenaline pushed her feet faster.
"Go right!" Saphris yelled back to her, completely forgoing the need to be quiet, and disappeared down the hall.
She pushed off the last step and nearly tripped, catching herself at the last second. She almost hesitated before remembering: right, dumbass! and sprinting down the correct hall, damn near colliding straight into the door Saphris was holding open. She hadn't anticipated it being one of the very first doors in the hallway.
"Come on!" Her friend hissed, shoving her in the room and slamming the door shut behind them—locking it. The sound echoing down the hall.
They scrambled into the corner, staying as flush against the wall as they possibly could—keeping out of sight of the classroom door's window. I never thought we'd have to use lockdown drills for real—let alone in a situation like this…
Mere moments later, the heavy footfalls of the boy slowed to a meandering pace. She and Saphris held their breaths as he came to a halt outside the door, the muted red glow from the hallway outlined his silhouette on the floor—he was staring through the window.
Please leave, please leave—he didn't see me… did he? He stood outside that door long enough for her to question whether he actually did see her and Saphris disappear into the room.
Finally, his shadow shifted away from the window, and they both breathed a sign of relief—relaxing their postures some.
Then Dylan noticed a new figure in the window, its shape stretching across the floor much farther than the previous one. This shadow was thinner, almost skin-and-bone thin, and the smell that seeped from under the door… it made her want to cry.
Why is it so strong?! I don't want to imagine how big it must be to create that pervasive smell…
She knew that smell. It was so distinct it could be nothing else—of that, she was certain. It was the pungent musk of dirt and… webs. The heady scent of her worst fear clouded her mind, the terror gripping her heart growing so strong she ceased to breathe.
Beside her, she could feel Saphris' confusion—her breath hot on her ear as her friend inhaled, about to whisper a question. Without thinking, Dylan shifted her head away and silently shoved a hand against Saphris' mouth. It mustnot know they were here. Her instincts were screaming at her that they would die if it did.
Her heart almost stopped when she heard the door handle try to turn. She felt Saphris freeze underneath her hand. Thank god she thought to lock it.
There was a long pause.
In the dim light of the classroom, they both watched the door handle as it sat in that slightly tilted position—indicative of the pressure being put upon it on the other side. So suddenly that they jumped, the handle of the door jiggled furiously—trying in vain to give way.
As quickly as it started, it stopped. After a long, agonizing minute, the shadow on the floor tilted its head—and that more than anything else creeped her out the most. It was analyzing the room—them—it was looking for a reaction.
She refused to give it one. She would play dead until it left.
After a few minutes, it seemed to grow bored of the silence, and she could see the silhouette shrug: suit yourself, it seemed to say to them—and moved out of sight of the window.
But she knew it was baiting them, waiting for a sound to come from the room. The smell hadn't abated for even a moment—it was just out of sight. Saphris sagged against the wall, but Dylan shook her head, keeping her hand pressed against Saphris' mouth.
It took a long, long time for the stench to fade from the room, and only when it completely dissipated did she pull her hand away—wiping away the dampness on it against her pants.
She sighed in quiet relief, the tension fleeing her body—leaving her exhausted.
"What the fuck was that?" Saphris whispered, shaken.
"I don't know," Dylan answered,"but it smelt like spiders."