The Sting - XTales (Crime, Psychological, Suspense, 10-20 mins., Creepypasta)
A prank turns fatal, but that isn't all. There's more to what meets the eye.
Reading time: 15 minutes.
Now, also available on Wattpad and Pratilipi.
SENSITIVE CONTENT WARNING!
1
The freezing cold whispers of the wind passed through the trees on both sides of a lonely road. The foggy silence clanged loudly on the road covered with snow. Then, a rattling noise broke this symphony of the winter. The sound came from the engine of a car. It suddenly died when the vehicle came to a screeching halt. And just like that, it went dead quiet again almost instantly.
The person behind the steering wheel, a shabby, half-sleepy man, stared at the white figure on the road, squinting his eyes. His face was covered in a thick, greying beard, and his rugged clothes carried as much filth as the seat cover of his car. He couldn't see clearly for three reasons. One—it was still pretty dark. Two—the figure blended with the fog as if they were but one. The third was a secret the driver wanted to hold dearly close to his heart.
The driver tried to revive the engine, but it didn't work. As if the chilly grasps of the winter held it in place. It was inevitable now and unfortunate. The driver stepped out of the car, trying to stay awake, hiding his secret. The lady winter blew onto his ears and ruffled his hair like a lost lover. It sent a shiver down his spine. He cluttered his teeth involuntarily while he tried to make heads and tails of the situation.
The figure appeared to be someone hiding under a sheet as white as the fog. The driver wouldn't even see it if not for two dark spots where its eyes should have been. He cursed under his breath and asked loudly, "What the hell! Is this a joke?" His croaky voice echoed through the trees on both sides of the lonely road and died.
There was no answer. Why would there be? The driver didn't even expect an answer. For a few seconds, both just stared at each other. Then, the figure moved.
The driver almost screamed with caution and panic. He stumbled a few steps back and said, "Agh—hey! Hey! Hey! Let me tell you that I'm armed. If this turns out to be a prank, you'll be really sorry."
The white figure blended with the fog and disappeared for a second. The driver lost his pretend-cool and fumbled for something in the glove compartment of his car. His confidence soured when he tightened his grip around a handgun. Now, he wasn't scared anymore, just cautious.
He stood upright and looked at the front again. The white figure stood just next to the open door, only a few inches from his face.
"JESUS!"
The loud gunshot echoed through the trees, breaking the serene melody of the winter.
2
The cold, grey afternoon a few days later was as dreary as that day of the incident. But even a gloomy day and mourning couldn't stop the little chatter or the whispers. Everyone deals with death in their own way.
"It's all our fault," a short, blonde, skinny, white boy whispered, staring down a crowded hall. Everyone looked like tiny, black, moving blobs to him. He couldn't have been more than seventeen. "We should've ended the prank when Tony warned Jason. We all knew how he was."
"Don't say that, Mike!" said a girl who stood near the boy. She was brunette, a little taller, and appeared to be just as old as Mike. She stood close enough for her whispers to be barely audible. "It wasn't our fault. We didn't know Tony would shoot him. I thought they knew each other."
A third tall, black kid closed the circle. "Yeah, you can not blame yourself like this," he said.
The boys wore dark suits, and the girl—a black skirt. The three teens stood in a corner away from the rest. They were the only kids there. The fourth one was, well...dead.
"I agree with Brendon," the girl added. "It's not like anybody cared about Jason, anyway."
Mike gaped at his friends. "You are not serious. Are you?"
"Selena's right," Brendon replied. He looked around the hall to make sure no one could hear him. Then, he leaned in even closer and whispered even quieter. "Did you know Tony was also his dealer?"
"No freakin' way," Mike almost shouted.
Selena hit Mike on the shoulder to remind him to be quiet. "Everyone knows that," she added. "Besides, he was a mean bully. No one liked him. Not one person. I'm gonna go out on a limb and say that even his parents must be relieved."
"How can you say that?"
"Uh...I wouldn't go that far," Brendon pointed out. "But yeah, the town is merely shocked at the suddenness of it all. I don't think anybody's actually sad about Jason."
"What happened to the footage?" asked Selena.
"It's still on my phone," Mike replied with disinterest. "I couldn't look at it. I only kept it to show the police. I'm gonna delete it."
"Does it show Tony shoo—you know?" Brendon asked.
"No, we were looking the other way at Selena when it happened."
"Yeah, Selena," Brendon said, turning towards Selena. "Why did you walk away?"
Before Selena could answer, she saw a middle-aged couple enter the hall. "Oh, my parents are here," she said. "Be right back." She tapped both boys gently before leaving.
The boys mumbled and kept looking at Selena, who walked across the hall and joined her parents.
"Oh, honey," said the woman. She wore a grey cardigan over her blouse and skirt. Her slouched posture made her look older than she actually was. Her voice, however, was still of a young woman. "How're you holding up?" she asked, embracing Selena.
"I'm alright, mom."
"You can talk to us," said the man. He had some grey in his hair and beard. His voice sounded tired—as if he had not slept for a while. He also wore a dark suit and had a scarf around his neck.
"I know," Selena replied, hugging her dad. "But really, I'm okay."
"Alright, dear," said the mother. "We'll talk to you later. We gotta go see Jason's parents."
"Alright, see you."
Selena joined the boys while her parents walked towards another group standing across the hall. This group of adults seemed to be in a serious conversation. Their whispers were even fainter than those of the teenagers across the hall. They all went silent as they saw Selena's parents approaching them.
After a formal greeting, Selena's father turned to a couple and said, "Our condolences, Mr and Mrs Kensington."
"We are very sorry for your loss," Selena's mother added.
The Kensington couple couldn't bring themselves to say anything. Mrs Kensington let out a short sob while her husband closed his eyes and nodded. They looked older than the other couples and much more sad, obviously. They saw another guest entering the hall.
"Excuse us," said Mr Kensington before walking away with his wife closely following him.
"Did you hear about Tony?" asked a tall, black man. "The police found a crapload of drugs in his car."
"Yeah, we heard," another man replied. He was short, beefy, and pale—as if he hadn't seen the sun in his entire life. "I heard Mike saying something to your son about it."
"I asked my son to stay away from that Tony. I always thought he was bad news."
"We have seen Tony with Jason," Selena's mother interjected. "So many times. I thought they knew each other."
"They did," replied a black woman with long curly hair. She wore a long, black dress with full sleeves, and she had been listening intently. "Brendon told me they used to hang out all the time. That's why I pressured Andre to talk to Brendon."
"That's interesting," commented yet another short, stocky woman. "Mike never tells us anything."
"Neither does Selena," said Selena's father.
"Mr and Mrs Baker," Andre started. "I'm telling you. Keep tabs on your daughter. So do you, Mr and Mrs Gibson."
"You know how those teenagers are," Mr Gibson replied. "Locked up in their room all day, barely talking. Besides, I'm at the office all the time."
"But we asked our Selena so many times if something's bothering her," said Mrs Baker. "She seems quiet for the last few months. We figured it must be something at the school."
"Yeah, she suddenly just stopped laughing, it seems," Mr Baker added. "The night before the incident, she told me she felt sick. That was probably the first time we talked in days."
"What happened?" Brendon's mother asked.
"Oh, it was just a little fever. Sh—"
Mr Baker was interrupted because Brendon came dashing towards the group.
"Mom, Dad!"
Brendon's father split from the group and took him a little farther. They whispered something to each other, followed by a satisfied look on Andre's face. Brendon then left, and Andre joined the group again. "They got Tony," he announced.
Everyone gasped with relief and satisfaction. The women clutched their hearts and thanked the god.
"Where was he?" asked Gibson.
"The sucker scaled the entire forest on foot, trying to flee the state."
"What an idiot!" said Andre's wife. "Why did he ditch the car?"
"Because he was high as fu—" Gibson began but controlled himself. "If he could think straight, he wouldn't have pulled out a gun over a stupid prank."
"What were those kids doing pulling a prank at five in the morning?" Mrs Gibson asked in frustration.
"They were shooting one of those toktok videos," Mr Baker answered.
"Tiktok," Mrs Baker corrected.
"Poor Jason," Mrs Gibson said with sadness behind her words. "It could've been anyone else but—good god!"
"Now, hold on a second," Andre interjected. "How come Tony was working the shift? I thought you worked Tuesdays, Mr Baker."
"That's right," Mr Baker replied. "But Selena was sick, so I took a day off. Only Tony was available on such short notice."
"Wasn't Selena with the boys shooting the prank?"
"I know! I gave her some pills and put her to bed. A few hours later, she sprung back to normal. I could've gotten my shift back, but I had already called Tony." Mr Baker finished with a sigh. "So—I...uh...decided to stay home. I was sound asleep when she left."
"Yeah, she had left before I came home," Mrs Baker added. "When I called her, she texted that Mike needed help with something."
"Teenagers!" Mr Gibson retorted. "Mike said to us that Selena had called him. He just said they were shooting some videos. I didn't even know it was supposed to be a prank."
"Oh, I didn't let Brendon step out of the house until he told us everything," said Andre.
"Yeah," said Andre's wife. "It sounded harmless, so we let him go."
"It WAS harmless. It's not the kids' fault Tony was snorting the powder!"
"That's right."
"Yeah, correct."
"No, it wasn't their fault."
The whispers died soon, and no one said anything for a long minute. Then, people started leaving, and the hall got less crowded.
"Let's go," said Mr Gibson. "I think it's time for the service."
Everyone started moving towards the exit while Mrs Baker advanced towards the kids in the opposite corner of the hall.
"Let me check up on the kids."
3
"...I always used to say to him that he's gonna miss us when we are gone just so he would talk to us and spend some time with us," said Jason's father. He was giving a brief eulogy.
The sun had finally come up from behind the grey clouds, but it couldn't do much about the freezing winds outside the church. It wouldn't have been enough, anyway. The gloom that covered the town just as much as the snow would linger for a few weeks.
Everyone listened to Mr Kensington without a hint of sadness on their face. They looked content that the Kensingtons could now live in peace. The words that echoed in the chamber did contain pain and remorse.
"I had never thought that I'd have to see this day. Jason had issues, but we believed he could grow and be a better person. Now, we will have this pain for our entire lives that he never got the chance. I can not find the strength in me to keep going."
Mr and Mrs Baker's eyes started welling up. Mrs Baker let out a soft, low whimper that no one heard. She wrapped her arms around Selena, who sat between her parents.
Selena, on the other hand, was staring at Mr Kensington without blinking. Her squinted eyes contained something sinister, and her clenched jaw struggled to keep her words in, unsaid and unheard. But the struggle ended soon. She let the air out of her lungs with a relaxing sigh as she slumped further into the chair. She looked at her mother and consoled her by lowering her head on her shoulder.
Eventually, Mr Kensington's words started to invoke some sympathy in people. A series of low sobs and loud sniffles echoed in the hall.
Selena looked again at Jason's father, who was about to finish his eulogy. Everyone's hearts were filled with sorrow. The echoes of people's sobs filled the chamber with gloom. And when no one could even conjure a happy thought, Selena's lips stretched into a menacing grin.
4.
"How far is this place?" asked Selena. "It's getting darker."
"Just a little further. It needs to look scary for the horror vibes."
"Are you sure we are on the right track? Maybe we missed Mike and Brendon somewhere behind."
"I'm sure," replied the other one, a six-foot muscular boy. He was leading the way through dense bushes and tall trees. The only light came from the boy's smartphone.
The hot summer winds had started cooling down as the night was approaching. A clear, grey sky was slowly turning black. An eerie silence has taken over the chirping of the birds. Selena could hear her and the boy's footsteps leading her further into the darkness.
The boy stopped in a clearing. He turned back to Selena, who finally breathed with relief, resting her palms on her knees.
"Phew! I should start exercising."
Selena then looked up at the two silhouettes only a few feet away. The boy was holding the smartphone, pointing its flashlight at Selena. The other one appeared to be a man, bigger and stronger.
"Brendon, is that you?" Selena asked. When no one answered, she looked at the boy. "Jason, who is that? What's going on?"
Cricket chirped away when all three stood in silence, and Selena tried to make head and tails of the situation. Jason turned the flashlight off, and the woods plunged into darkness.
"Wait, what are you doing, Jason? Where is Mike and Brendon? And who is that with you?" Selena heard footsteps approaching her in the darkness. She sensed danger and quickly backed away, reaching for her smartphone in the pocket of her jeans. Before Selena could dial a number, someone grabbed both her hands. She looked up at a frightening smile that shivers down her spine. "Tony?"
An ugly face laughed at her. Selena struggled to free herself, but Tony was stronger. Jason jumped and snatched her smartphone. "No! Jason! Tony! What the hell are you two doing? Let me go RIGHT NOW!"
"Shut up, you—" Tony slapped Selena so hard that the world started spinning around her. He put one hand on her mouth and pushed her to the ground.
Selena's heart started pounding in her chest while the world was spinning around her. A hot stream of tears trickled down her face. She tried to scream but couldn't. Tony had held her mouth shut.
Meanwhile, Jason guffawed with excitement. "Man, this settles it," he said. "I owe you nothing now."
"Whatever!" Tony grunted. "Are you leaving now?"
"Hell nah!"
Jason turned off the flashlight, and no one else saw what happened next. They were so far away from the town that none could hear Selena's muffled screams.
5
A dried leaf fell on the window frame. No one but Selena noticed it because she was the one staring out the window. Her face was deprived of any emotion known to humans. She only moved when someone shouted her name.
"Ms Baker!" said the aged, wrinkled man standing at the front of the classroom. "Pay. Attention."
"I'm sorry," Selena whispered loud enough for the man to hear.
The man stared at Selena for a second, then looked away. "As I was saying," he continued. "Why does the queen bee keep her most aggressive workers, or as we can call them 'rouges' at the front of the defence line?"
Mike raised his hand.
"Yes, Mr Gibson."
"To protect the colony, right? The most aggressive ones will be more effective. Wouldn't they?"
"Partially, yes. But that's not all."
Selena stopped leaning against the chair, straightened her back and sat upright. Her face, finally, showed some curiosity, and her eyebrows narrowed.
"The rogues are not very efficient workers, but they are better defendants. The problem is they deliver too much. The objective is to scare away the threat, but they engage, sting the enemy, and die."
"Do bees always die when they sting?" someone asked.
"Yes," the teacher replied. "Well, except for the queen bee. Some other species don't die, either. That's why those who go rogue don't survive for long."
"Does that happen more often?" Mike asked again.
"No, they are usually well bee-haved—"
Everyone rolled their eyes except for Selena.
"—but sometimes, they do wander off from the colony."
"Why do they still obey the queen?"
"Well, it doesn't happen instantly. The bees start stealing and getting aggressive. That's when queen bee puts them in front of the line."
Everyone looked at the door where Jason had appeared. Selena's face turned pale and emotionless once again.
"Mr Kensington," said the teacher. "You are late—but what is the point? It's not like I can ever expect you to learn anything. Go, sit down."
Jason grinned as he walked across the room and chose to sit next to Selena. Suddenly, her body jerked as if someone had pinched her. She didn't turn to face Jason, who was grinning like a maniac. He must've pinched her again because Selena stood up and pushed herself next to Mike and Brendon.
The teacher couldn't see what Jason did, but he did see Selena change her seat. He must've concluded something because he didn't say anything. "So, back to it then."
Mike raised his hand again.
"Yes."
"You said I was partially correct. What's the other part?"
"Yeah, I was getting to it. Putting the rogues at the frontline works best to defend the colony. But as these rogues over-deliver, sting the intruder, and die. The queen bee gets—"
"Gets rid of the rogues," Selena completed the sentence.
"Exactly. Thanks for finally paying attention."
"Do these rogues ever fight each other?" Selena asked.
"The workers sting each other accidentally, but that's because they mistake them for intruders. I haven't seen it, but two rouges may get into a scuffle. It could result in one of them stinging the other one."
"What happens—" Selena paused to process her thought. "—when a bee stings the other one?"
"They both die. The one who stings is destined to die anyway, but the other dies first."
Selena didn't ask any more questions or listen to anything else. She stared out the window again and looked at the naked trees. They had shed all their leaves and stood as skeletons, the ghost of the summer. The leaf on the window sill flew away with the wind, and Selena's lips stretched into a menacing grin.
6
The dense fog gripped the road and the forest. A deathly silence accompanied it. The whispers echoed through the trees and bounced back.
"Why did you cut these holes so tiny," asked Jason. He had covered himself with a white sheet with two holes for his eyes. "I can barely see through these."
"What do you have to see?" Mike replied. He led the way towards the road.
Brendon and Selena quietly followed them behind. Selena's face was flushed red, and her eyes contained uncontainable eagerness.
"What if they don't stop?"
"Aww, is cute Jason scared to do a little prank?"
"Shut the hell up or else—"
"What?" Mike snapped. "Gonna walk out and start your own tiktok with twenty-two followers?
The white figure stared blankly at Mike. The silence was only broken by the engine of an upcoming vehicle.
"Someone's coming," Mike whispered. "Go, quick!"
Jason stumbled through the trees towards the road. Once, his sheet got caught in his foot, and he fell. Mike shook his head in disappointment. Jason picked himself up and ran in the middle of the road, where he stood still.
Mike, Brendon, and Selena watched it from behind the trees. Mike was recording the entire thing on his smartphone.
The vehicle came to a sudden, screeching halt. No one moved for a minute. The driver tried to revive the engine, but it didn't work. So, the inevitable happened. The man stepped out of the car.
"What the hell! Is this a joke?"
"Wait a minute," Mike whispered. "Is that Tony?"
"It does sound like him," Brendon replied.
Jason took a step towards Tony.
"Agh—hey! Hey! Hey! Let me tell you that I'm armed. If this turns out to be a prank, you'll be really sorry."
While Tony fumbled to find something in his car, Jason slowly crept towards him. Mike and Brendon looked at each other with worry.
"What do we do?" asked Mike.
"Should we call it off?"
"I don't know. What do you think, Selena?"
"Selena?"
Mike and Brendon looked behind them. Selena was already walking away with a sense of pride in her stride.
"Selena, where are you going?" Mike asked as loud as he could, keeping his voice to a whisper.
Before the boys could get an answer, their bodies trembled with shock. A loud gunshot echoed through the quiet forest and faded into the grim, silent symphony of the freezing winter.
1
The freezing cold whispers of the wind passed through the trees on both sides of a lonely road. The foggy silence clanged loudly on the road covered with snow. Then, a rattling noise broke this symphony of the winter. The sound came from the engine of a car. It suddenly died when the vehicle came to a screeching halt. And just like that, it went dead quiet again almost instantly.
The person behind the steering wheel, a shabby, half-sleepy man, stared at the white figure on the road, squinting his eyes. His face was covered in a thick, greying beard, and his rugged clothes carried as much filth as the seat cover of his car. He couldn't see clearly for three reasons. One—it was still pretty dark. Two—the figure blended with the fog as if they were but one. The third was a secret the driver wanted to hold dearly close to his heart.
The driver tried to revive the engine, but it didn't work. As if the chilly grasps of the winter held it in place. It was inevitable now and unfortunate. The driver stepped out of the car, trying to stay awake, hiding his secret. The lady winter blew onto his ears and ruffled his hair like a lost lover. It sent a shiver down his spine. He cluttered his teeth involuntarily while he tried to make heads and tails of the situation.
The figure appeared to be someone hiding under a sheet as white as the fog. The driver wouldn't even see it if not for two dark spots where its eyes should have been. He cursed under his breath and asked loudly, "What the hell! Is this a joke?" His croaky voice echoed through the trees on both sides of the lonely road and died.
There was no answer. Why would there be? The driver didn't even expect an answer. For a few seconds, both just stared at each other. Then, the figure moved.
The driver almost screamed with caution and panic. He stumbled a few steps back and said, "Agh—hey! Hey! Hey! Let me tell you that I'm armed. If this turns out to be a prank, you'll be really sorry."
The white figure blended with the fog and disappeared for a second. The driver lost his pretend-cool and fumbled for something in the glove compartment of his car. His confidence soured when he tightened his grip around a handgun. Now, he wasn't scared anymore, just cautious.
He stood upright and looked at the front again. The white figure stood just next to the open door, only a few inches from his face.
"JESUS!"
The loud gunshot echoed through the trees, breaking the serene melody of the winter.
2
The cold, grey afternoon a few days later was as dreary as that day of the incident. But even a gloomy day and mourning couldn't stop the little chatter or the whispers. Everyone deals with death in their own way.
"It's all our fault," a short, blonde, skinny, white boy whispered, staring down a crowded hall. Everyone looked like tiny, black, moving blobs to him. He couldn't have been more than seventeen. "We should've ended the prank when Tony warned Jason. We all knew how he was."
"Don't say that, Mike!" said a girl who stood near the boy. She was brunette, a little taller, and appeared to be just as old as Mike. She stood close enough for her whispers to be barely audible. "It wasn't our fault. We didn't know Tony would shoot him. I thought they knew each other."
A third tall, black kid closed the circle. "Yeah, you can not blame yourself like this," he said.
The boys wore dark suits, and the girl—a black skirt. The three teens stood in a corner away from the rest. They were the only kids there. The fourth one was, well...dead.
"I agree with Brendon," the girl added. "It's not like anybody cared about Jason, anyway."
Mike gaped at his friends. "You are not serious. Are you?"
"Selena's right," Brendon replied. He looked around the hall to make sure no one could hear him. Then, he leaned in even closer and whispered even quieter. "Did you know Tony was also his dealer?"
"No freakin' way," Mike almost shouted.
Selena hit Mike on the shoulder to remind him to be quiet. "Everyone knows that," she added. "Besides, he was a mean bully. No one liked him. Not one person. I'm gonna go out on a limb and say that even his parents must be relieved."
"How can you say that?"
"Uh...I wouldn't go that far," Brendon pointed out. "But yeah, the town is merely shocked at the suddenness of it all. I don't think anybody's actually sad about Jason."
"What happened to the footage?" asked Selena.
"It's still on my phone," Mike replied with disinterest. "I couldn't look at it. I only kept it to show the police. I'm gonna delete it."
"Does it show Tony shoo—you know?" Brendon asked.
"No, we were looking the other way at Selena when it happened."
"Yeah, Selena," Brendon said, turning towards Selena. "Why did you walk away?"
Before Selena could answer, she saw a middle-aged couple enter the hall. "Oh, my parents are here," she said. "Be right back." She tapped both boys gently before leaving.
The boys mumbled and kept looking at Selena, who walked across the hall and joined her parents.
"Oh, honey," said the woman. She wore a grey cardigan over her blouse and skirt. Her slouched posture made her look older than she actually was. Her voice, however, was still of a young woman. "How're you holding up?" she asked, embracing Selena.
"I'm alright, mom."
"You can talk to us," said the man. He had some grey in his hair and beard. His voice sounded tired—as if he had not slept for a while. He also wore a dark suit and had a scarf around his neck.
"I know," Selena replied, hugging her dad. "But really, I'm okay."
"Alright, dear," said the mother. "We'll talk to you later. We gotta go see Jason's parents."
"Alright, see you."
Selena joined the boys while her parents walked towards another group standing across the hall. This group of adults seemed to be in a serious conversation. Their whispers were even fainter than those of the teenagers across the hall. They all went silent as they saw Selena's parents approaching them.
After a formal greeting, Selena's father turned to a couple and said, "Our condolences, Mr and Mrs Kensington."
"We are very sorry for your loss," Selena's mother added.
The Kensington couple couldn't bring themselves to say anything. Mrs Kensington let out a short sob while her husband closed his eyes and nodded. They looked older than the other couples and much more sad, obviously. They saw another guest entering the hall.
"Excuse us," said Mr Kensington before walking away with his wife closely following him.
"Did you hear about Tony?" asked a tall, black man. "The police found a crapload of drugs in his car."
"Yeah, we heard," another man replied. He was short, beefy, and pale—as if he hadn't seen the sun in his entire life. "I heard Mike saying something to your son about it."
"I asked my son to stay away from that Tony. I always thought he was bad news."
"We have seen Tony with Jason," Selena's mother interjected. "So many times. I thought they knew each other."
"They did," replied a black woman with long curly hair. She wore a long, black dress with full sleeves, and she had been listening intently. "Brendon told me they used to hang out all the time. That's why I pressured Andre to talk to Brendon."
"That's interesting," commented yet another short, stocky woman. "Mike never tells us anything."
"Neither does Selena," said Selena's father.
"Mr and Mrs Baker," Andre started. "I'm telling you. Keep tabs on your daughter. So do you, Mr and Mrs Gibson."
"You know how those teenagers are," Mr Gibson replied. "Locked up in their room all day, barely talking. Besides, I'm at the office all the time."
"But we asked our Selena so many times if something's bothering her," said Mrs Baker. "She seems quiet for the last few months. We figured it must be something at the school."
"Yeah, she suddenly just stopped laughing, it seems," Mr Baker added. "The night before the incident, she told me she felt sick. That was probably the first time we talked in days."
"What happened?" Brendon's mother asked.
"Oh, it was just a little fever. Sh—"
Mr Baker was interrupted because Brendon came dashing towards the group.
"Mom, Dad!"
Brendon's father split from the group and took him a little farther. They whispered something to each other, followed by a satisfied look on Andre's face. Brendon then left, and Andre joined the group again. "They got Tony," he announced.
Everyone gasped with relief and satisfaction. The women clutched their hearts and thanked the god.
"Where was he?" asked Gibson.
"The sucker scaled the entire forest on foot, trying to flee the state."
"What an idiot!" said Andre's wife. "Why did he ditch the car?"
"Because he was high as fu—" Gibson began but controlled himself. "If he could think straight, he wouldn't have pulled out a gun over a stupid prank."
"What were those kids doing pulling a prank at five in the morning?" Mrs Gibson asked in frustration.
"They were shooting one of those toktok videos," Mr Baker answered.
"Tiktok," Mrs Baker corrected.
"Poor Jason," Mrs Gibson said with sadness behind her words. "It could've been anyone else but—good god!"
"Now, hold on a second," Andre interjected. "How come Tony was working the shift? I thought you worked Tuesdays, Mr Baker."
"That's right," Mr Baker replied. "But Selena was sick, so I took a day off. Only Tony was available on such short notice."
"Wasn't Selena with the boys shooting the prank?"
"I know! I gave her some pills and put her to bed. A few hours later, she sprung back to normal. I could've gotten my shift back, but I had already called Tony." Mr Baker finished with a sigh. "So—I...uh...decided to stay home. I was sound asleep when she left."
"Yeah, she had left before I came home," Mrs Baker added. "When I called her, she texted that Mike needed help with something."
"Teenagers!" Mr Gibson retorted. "Mike said to us that Selena had called him. He just said they were shooting some videos. I didn't even know it was supposed to be a prank."
"Oh, I didn't let Brendon step out of the house until he told us everything," said Andre.
"Yeah," said Andre's wife. "It sounded harmless, so we let him go."
"It WAS harmless. It's not the kids' fault Tony was snorting the powder!"
"That's right."
"Yeah, correct."
"No, it wasn't their fault."
The whispers died soon, and no one said anything for a long minute. Then, people started leaving, and the hall got less crowded.
"Let's go," said Mr Gibson. "I think it's time for the service."
Everyone started moving towards the exit while Mrs Baker advanced towards the kids in the opposite corner of the hall.
"Let me check up on the kids."
3
"...I always used to say to him that he's gonna miss us when we are gone just so he would talk to us and spend some time with us," said Jason's father. He was giving a brief eulogy.
The sun had finally come up from behind the grey clouds, but it couldn't do much about the freezing winds outside the church. It wouldn't have been enough, anyway. The gloom that covered the town just as much as the snow would linger for a few weeks.
Everyone listened to Mr Kensington without a hint of sadness on their face. They looked content that the Kensingtons could now live in peace. The words that echoed in the chamber did contain pain and remorse.
"I had never thought that I'd have to see this day. Jason had issues, but we believed he could grow and be a better person. Now, we will have this pain for our entire lives that he never got the chance. I can not find the strength in me to keep going."
Mr and Mrs Baker's eyes started welling up. Mrs Baker let out a soft, low whimper that no one heard. She wrapped her arms around Selena, who sat between her parents.
Selena, on the other hand, was staring at Mr Kensington without blinking. Her squinted eyes contained something sinister, and her clenched jaw struggled to keep her words in, unsaid and unheard. But the struggle ended soon. She let the air out of her lungs with a relaxing sigh as she slumped further into the chair. She looked at her mother and consoled her by lowering her head on her shoulder.
Eventually, Mr Kensington's words started to invoke some sympathy in people. A series of low sobs and loud sniffles echoed in the hall.
Selena looked again at Jason's father, who was about to finish his eulogy. Everyone's hearts were filled with sorrow. The echoes of people's sobs filled the chamber with gloom. And when no one could even conjure a happy thought, Selena's lips stretched into a menacing grin.
4.
"How far is this place?" asked Selena. "It's getting darker."
"Just a little further. It needs to look scary for the horror vibes."
"Are you sure we are on the right track? Maybe we missed Mike and Brendon somewhere behind."
"I'm sure," replied the other one, a six-foot muscular boy. He was leading the way through dense bushes and tall trees. The only light came from the boy's smartphone.
The hot summer winds had started cooling down as the night was approaching. A clear, grey sky was slowly turning black. An eerie silence has taken over the chirping of the birds. Selena could hear her and the boy's footsteps leading her further into the darkness.
The boy stopped in a clearing. He turned back to Selena, who finally breathed with relief, resting her palms on her knees.
"Phew! I should start exercising."
Selena then looked up at the two silhouettes only a few feet away. The boy was holding the smartphone, pointing its flashlight at Selena. The other one appeared to be a man, bigger and stronger.
"Brendon, is that you?" Selena asked. When no one answered, she looked at the boy. "Jason, who is that? What's going on?"
Cricket chirped away when all three stood in silence, and Selena tried to make head and tails of the situation. Jason turned the flashlight off, and the woods plunged into darkness.
"Wait, what are you doing, Jason? Where is Mike and Brendon? And who is that with you?" Selena heard footsteps approaching her in the darkness. She sensed danger and quickly backed away, reaching for her smartphone in the pocket of her jeans. Before Selena could dial a number, someone grabbed both her hands. She looked up at a frightening smile that shivers down her spine. "Tony?"
An ugly face laughed at her. Selena struggled to free herself, but Tony was stronger. Jason jumped and snatched her smartphone. "No! Jason! Tony! What the hell are you two doing? Let me go RIGHT NOW!"
"Shut up, you—" Tony slapped Selena so hard that the world started spinning around her. He put one hand on her mouth and pushed her to the ground.
Selena's heart started pounding in her chest while the world was spinning around her. A hot stream of tears trickled down her face. She tried to scream but couldn't. Tony had held her mouth shut.
Meanwhile, Jason guffawed with excitement. "Man, this settles it," he said. "I owe you nothing now."
"Whatever!" Tony grunted. "Are you leaving now?"
"Hell nah!"
Jason turned off the flashlight, and no one else saw what happened next. They were so far away from the town that none could hear Selena's muffled screams.
5
A dried leaf fell on the window frame. No one but Selena noticed it because she was the one staring out the window. Her face was deprived of any emotion known to humans. She only moved when someone shouted her name.
"Ms Baker!" said the aged, wrinkled man standing at the front of the classroom. "Pay. Attention."
"I'm sorry," Selena whispered loud enough for the man to hear.
The man stared at Selena for a second, then looked away. "As I was saying," he continued. "Why does the queen bee keep her most aggressive workers, or as we can call them 'rouges' at the front of the defence line?"
Mike raised his hand.
"Yes, Mr Gibson."
"To protect the colony, right? The most aggressive ones will be more effective. Wouldn't they?"
"Partially, yes. But that's not all."
Selena stopped leaning against the chair, straightened her back and sat upright. Her face, finally, showed some curiosity, and her eyebrows narrowed.
"The rogues are not very efficient workers, but they are better defendants. The problem is they deliver too much. The objective is to scare away the threat, but they engage, sting the enemy, and die."
"Do bees always die when they sting?" someone asked.
"Yes," the teacher replied. "Well, except for the queen bee. Some other species don't die, either. That's why those who go rogue don't survive for long."
"Does that happen more often?" Mike asked again.
"No, they are usually well bee-haved—"
Everyone rolled their eyes except for Selena.
"—but sometimes, they do wander off from the colony."
"Why do they still obey the queen?"
"Well, it doesn't happen instantly. The bees start stealing and getting aggressive. That's when queen bee puts them in front of the line."
Everyone looked at the door where Jason had appeared. Selena's face turned pale and emotionless once again.
"Mr Kensington," said the teacher. "You are late—but what is the point? It's not like I can ever expect you to learn anything. Go, sit down."
Jason grinned as he walked across the room and chose to sit next to Selena. Suddenly, her body jerked as if someone had pinched her. She didn't turn to face Jason, who was grinning like a maniac. He must've pinched her again because Selena stood up and pushed herself next to Mike and Brendon.
The teacher couldn't see what Jason did, but he did see Selena change her seat. He must've concluded something because he didn't say anything. "So, back to it then."
Mike raised his hand again.
"Yes."
"You said I was partially correct. What's the other part?"
"Yeah, I was getting to it. Putting the rogues at the frontline works best to defend the colony. But as these rogues over-deliver, sting the intruder, and die. The queen bee gets—"
"Gets rid of the rogues," Selena completed the sentence.
"Exactly. Thanks for finally paying attention."
"Do these rogues ever fight each other?" Selena asked.
"The workers sting each other accidentally, but that's because they mistake them for intruders. I haven't seen it, but two rouges may get into a scuffle. It could result in one of them stinging the other one."
"What happens—" Selena paused to process her thought. "—when a bee stings the other one?"
"They both die. The one who stings is destined to die anyway, but the other dies first."
Selena didn't ask any more questions or listen to anything else. She stared out the window again and looked at the naked trees. They had shed all their leaves and stood as skeletons, the ghost of the summer. The leaf on the window sill flew away with the wind, and Selena's lips stretched into a menacing grin.
6
The dense fog gripped the road and the forest. A deathly silence accompanied it. The whispers echoed through the trees and bounced back.
"Why did you cut these holes so tiny," asked Jason. He had covered himself with a white sheet with two holes for his eyes. "I can barely see through these."
"What do you have to see?" Mike replied. He led the way towards the road.
Brendon and Selena quietly followed them behind. Selena's face was flushed red, and her eyes contained uncontainable eagerness.
"What if they don't stop?"
"Aww, is cute Jason scared to do a little prank?"
"Shut the hell up or else—"
"What?" Mike snapped. "Gonna walk out and start your own tiktok with twenty-two followers?
The white figure stared blankly at Mike. The silence was only broken by the engine of an upcoming vehicle.
"Someone's coming," Mike whispered. "Go, quick!"
Jason stumbled through the trees towards the road. Once, his sheet got caught in his foot, and he fell. Mike shook his head in disappointment. Jason picked himself up and ran in the middle of the road, where he stood still.
Mike, Brendon, and Selena watched it from behind the trees. Mike was recording the entire thing on his smartphone.
The vehicle came to a sudden, screeching halt. No one moved for a minute. The driver tried to revive the engine, but it didn't work. So, the inevitable happened. The man stepped out of the car.
"What the hell! Is this a joke?"
"Wait a minute," Mike whispered. "Is that Tony?"
"It does sound like him," Brendon replied.
Jason took a step towards Tony.
"Agh—hey! Hey! Hey! Let me tell you that I'm armed. If this turns out to be a prank, you'll be really sorry."
While Tony fumbled to find something in his car, Jason slowly crept towards him. Mike and Brendon looked at each other with worry.
"What do we do?" asked Mike.
"Should we call it off?"
"I don't know. What do you think, Selena?"
"Selena?"
Mike and Brendon looked behind them. Selena was already walking away with a sense of pride in her stride.
"Selena, where are you going?" Mike asked as loud as he could, keeping his voice to a whisper.
Before the boys could get an answer, their bodies trembled with shock. A loud gunshot echoed through the quiet forest and faded into the grim, silent symphony of the freezing winter.
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