Cootie Shot (Part Three)

The next day, lunchtime came around quickly. I took Kevin and Margo to the R.E. Room, where, as he had promised, Oliver was waiting. He sat on a table, swinging his legs and drinking a Coke. I knew that fizzy drinks weren't allowed in our school, but didn't mention it.

We stood there awkwardly until Oliver gestured towards the table in front of him and said, “Going to sit down then?”

We squashed onto the table in front of him and waited expectantly as he sipped his Coke. Then he fixed his eyes on us.

“I heard that you all believe in cooties.” He said, keeping his gaze steady. I was sitting in the middle and felt as if he was staring at me alone instead of at us all.

“Cooties!” Kevin shrieked.

Oliver raised one eyebrow.

“Lots of us do,” Margo explained. “Kevin started it.”

“Do you believe in cooties, Jade?” Oliver asked, watching me closely for any kind of reaction.

“Yes,” I muttered.

“Well, then,” he got up and threw his Coke bottle in the bin. “It seems that you all need cootie shots.”

“Cootie shots?” said Kevin. “I've never heard of them.”

“You wouldn't have,” said Oliver dismissively. “Come here. I've got the shot in my pocket. Don't tell me that you're-” he looked at me with a glint in his eye, “chicken?”

“No!” yelled Kevin, stalking towards him. Oliver took a long needle out of his pocket. Kevin stepped back a bit.

“Come on,” Oliver sounded a little impatient now. He grabbed Kevin's arm and stuck the needle in. Kevin gave a stifled scream and then dropped to the ground.

Margo and I stared. What had Oliver done to him?

“Have you killed him?” whispered Margo, beside me.

“Yes.” Oliver replied breezily. “Now, girls, come with me.”

We were so scared that he would hurt us that we followed him out of the classroom, through the twisting hallways. Soon enough we were in a part of the school I didn't know and didn't like – the corridors were narrow and painted either black or grey. Margo grabbed my hand and squeezed it hard. I squeezed back and we carried on.

“How do you know about this bit of the school?” I asked bravely, but when I got no answer I didn't speak again. Margo was frozen from the waist upwards, her hand now limp in mine. She bit down hard on her lip and I saw a trickle of blood there.

Suddenly we came to a dead end. Oliver turned to us and gave a snake-like smile.

“Now, girls, let's go in.” He said, the smirk fixed onto his face.

“It's a wall.” Margo pointed out.

Without a sound, the boy turned and pushed a hand against the wall. It slid open to reveal a chamber with nothing but chains attached to the walls inside.

I wanted to run. I wanted to scream. But suddenly I realised that I was frozen to the spot. Oliver was now inside the chamber and was beckoning us towards him with his index finger. I felt myself walking towards him and I tried to fight it, but it was no use. He'd put some kind of spell on me.

He attached the chains around my wrists and ankles, and then did the same to Margo, who looked terrified.

“Goodbye girls,” he said, his eyes suddenly turning cold with evil. “Have a nice century.”

And the wall closed shut, shrouding us in darkness.

“Is that story true, Auntie Sophie?” asked Mary. “Was there really an Oliver, and a Margo and a Kevin and a Jade?”

“I don't know, honey.” Auntie Sophie shrugged. “I doubt it. It's just a story. Will you go to bed now?”

Mary let herself be tucked in and then said, “Auntie Sophie?”

“Yes, darling?” the aunt replied.

“How much do you love me?” Mary cracked a smile.

“To the moon and back,” laughed Auntie Sophie. “Night, honey.”

“Wait!” the little girl yelped.

“What is it?”

“Are you sure you don't know if the story's real?”

“Why do you ask?” the woman cocked her head and smiled slightly.

“Because you told it as if it was you were Jade.” Mary said simply.

“Ah. Well, no, honey, I don't know if it's real.” Auntie Sophie lied.

Because her name didn't used to be Sophie. It used to be Margo, and she had gotten out that day, left her best friend Jade in the chamber to die and decay. She never forgave herself.

But that's a different story.

The End.

That's it! Is it good? :)