WEBVTT
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First period attendance by lunch desks on the ceiling, Latin
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in the events, and a shotgun that won't let go of
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its owner. It's time for back to school, so don't
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get caught chewing gum and welcome to Academia deemonia.
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What's that you want to be scared? Come with me.
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You will experience tales over opera, ghosts and death.
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It is not recommended for the week.
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At heart, Heart listen as in the dark, it's more
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fun at that way way.
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This is Weekly Speaking.
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Hello, my spookies. It's Wednesday, and you know what that means.
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It's time for a little spooky in your weekly. I'm
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your host and narrator, Enrique Kuto, and tonight we've got
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a story to get you ready for back to school, baby,
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something that I honestly find truly terrifying. I mean, the
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story's good, but more so going back to school. But
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before we get to that, I want to say thank
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you so much, my spookies, for joining us as we
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prepare for the Halloween season. You will love the spooky
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all year long, but many more spookies will be joining
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us to enjoy the festivities in October and to make
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October extra special for all of us. I'll be providing
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thirty one shows in thirty one days right here at
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Weekly Spooky. Whether it's another short story, a novella, a
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horror movie review, or something entirely different, you know it'll
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be spooky and it'll bring the chills. So make sure
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you're subscribed on your favorite podcasting app. And if you
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want to support us, simply head toweeklyspooky dot com slash join.
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For as little as one dollar a month, you get
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two bonus shows every month and over five years of
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exclusive creepy pasta readings and audiobooks. That's at Weeklyspooky dot
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com slash join. But now, as for tonight, they say
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some schools are haunted by rumors, others by promises. One
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hundred years ago, a hit man was buried shallow and
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prayed for revenge. Tonight, the lights flicker, the shadows walk,
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and a serpent chooses its host. When the bell rings,
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class begins and something old is taking attendance, So get cozy.
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That story starts right after this Academia Demonia by David O.
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Hanler August nineteen twenty five. He crept along the side
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of the farmhouse sticking to the shadows as he pushed
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the shotgun shells into his Winchester eighteen ninety seven honeysuckle
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drifted on the night breeze. He pinched his nose, trying
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to fight the urge to sneeze. The man rarely strayed
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from the grimy comfort of the Chicago streets out in
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the Illinois Boonda. His allergies were giving him fits, and
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the goddamn mosquitoes loved his aftershave more than the wars
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on State Street. He couldn't wait to be back home,
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and it wouldn't be much longer, just eight pulls of
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the trigger. Once the sneeze passed, the man continued his
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slow stalk to the back porch. Something sat sourly in
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his stomach. Vincenzo Rissouli was paying a premium for a
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job that anyone could do. One nosey accountant, his family,
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and a four man contingent of state police. Rissoli could
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have hired a half dozen zips for what he was
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paying for the shotgun man. The man killed exclusively with
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his Winchester shotgun, so that was the moniker he'd been given.
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Gangsters were terrible at names. Admittedly, he liked the simplicity
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of the title and the anonymity it provided. Guys like
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Riz worried too much about their names. They wanted people
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to know who they were. They wanted to be feared.
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But the man knew fear didn't have a name, It
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had a sound. He racked the pump and kicked the
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back door. One of the coppers tried to earn his
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paycheck and capped off two rounds into the broken jam
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the shotgun man. He returned fire, turning the gunfighter's face
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into a part of the decorps. He had perfected his
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craft in the trenches. He kept the trigger depressed and
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worked the pump to slam fire the weapon. Unless than
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three seconds, the shotgun was empty and all the cops
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were down, three were dead, and one was catching up.
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The shotgun man pulled a shell from his bandolier and
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loaded it straight into the smoking chamber. He listened to
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the soothing death rattle of the one he'd caught in
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the chest. During the war, the Germans had claimed shotguns
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caused unnecessary suffering, seemed more like a perk to him.
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Feet stomped frantically overhead as the family upstairs looked for
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places to hide. He wondered if they'd split up. A
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witness with a clear description would kill him as dead
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as a cop with a gun could. The accountant had
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brought his wife and two kids to the safe house.
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The shotgunman hated shooting kids. They moved too much. Three
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hours later, the shotgunman stood over the shallow grave he'd
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prepared on the opposite side of the farm. He'd moved
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the eight victims from the farmhouse before setting it ablaze.
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Authorities would find no remains in the ashes, and if
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there were no bodies, then there were no murders. The
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shotgunman struck a match with his thumb and puffed a
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lucky to life between his thin lips. He held the
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match inside the stolen ford. There you are. He grabbed
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the boy's arm and tossed it into the pit. With
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the rest of the child. He started the grueling task
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of filling the hole back in. When headlights turned onto
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the gravel road, he watched the three pairs of lights
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jostling on the rough terrain. He dropped the shovel and
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retrieved his shotgun. The motors were too loud to be
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the oldsmobile thirty seven's the state police used, but any
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guest was an unwelcomed one. At a crime scene, a
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pair of Buicks arrived first, flanking both ends of the
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shotgun Man's model T. He couldn't see the drivers, but
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he knew exactly who they were. When the third car
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pulled in, a parade of flaming elephants would have been
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less conspicuous than Rizzoli's rolls Royce Phantom, the shotgun man
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watched as the goombas unloaded from their cars. A gut
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feeling told the show he should be shooting already. The
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Phantom's door swung open, and the gangsters stepped out, giving
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a wave to the assassin. Got him all pallly, Riz asked,
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of course you fucking did, Hugh Mook see that pit?
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The shotgun man always comes through. That's why he's gotta go.
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Rizzo whipped the Tommy gun from behind the door. The
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shotgun man never had a chance to move. The bullets
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stitched him up from groin to gullet, sending him into
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a backwards jig until he fell on top of the
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Knight's other victims. Riz had betrayed him, paying him off
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with thirty pieces of lead He could smell his gums
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cooking against the hot slug buried in his jaw. He
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was losing feeling in his limbs. He struggled to wrap
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his fingers around the walnut grip of the shotgun. He
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wanted that to be the last thing he felt. A
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shovel full of dirt hid him in the face, then another.
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He squeezed the shotgun tight in his dying grasp and
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prayed for revenge. Someone was listening.
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Don't go away weekly, Spooky will be right back.
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One hundred years later, Michelle Iomi and Dia Patel passed
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the vape pen between themselves in a butterscotch scented cloud
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that seemed to hang indefinitely over the picnic table the
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four cheerleaders had commandeered for their free period. Shahri Riley
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watched Ethan Crow carving into another table on the far
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side of the yard. What is he even doing here,
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she growled. We running short on rusties. Rusties were the
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people who lived south of the town's junkyard During the
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Great Depression. Children from the area would bathe in the
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creek and the water would stain their skin with the
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rust that washed down from the yard. Almost a century later,
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the pejorative was still going strong. Then again, so was
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the poverty school choice law. Dia told her address doesn't
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matter anymore. Well, it shouldn't apply to him. Shahri defended
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her stance. He's always given me the creeps, not the
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only one. Chelsea resolutely pointed to the far end of
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the school. That perv's been hanging around since I got
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off the bus. What perv? Michelle looked around. I don't
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see anyone that guy right, shit, he was right there,
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Chelsea shrugged. He's been watching us for like an hour.
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Maybe he finally filled his spank bank. You mean that
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weird guy in the hat, Dia asked, you saw him too.
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Chelsea took the vape from her right before I came out.
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Dia said he was hanging by the library. What kind
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of freak wears a trench coat? Dude gave me the
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serious dick. He was right there, though, Chelsea said, you
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couldn't have seen him inside I did. Dia squirmed. What
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if there's like a group of them, like one of
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those peto pizza cults. Don't be stupid, Shari rolled her eyes.
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This town is full of degenerates like hey, where'd Ethan go?
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Don Roberts kept his eyes on the map as he
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navigated halfheartedly to his classroom. He'd grown up wanting to
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be a teacher. After thirty years working in Chicago public schools,
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he just wanted to retire. This was his first year
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at LAHHS. It was a smaller school with less problems,
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but kids were kids everywhere you went, and kids were
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always little shits. His first year teaching, he'd been stabbed
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by a student. His last he'd been turned into a meme.
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Both had cut him deeply. Thankfully, he didn't have a
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class scheduled until second period, so he'd be able to
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get in a nip of jamison before the little bastards
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rolled in if he ever found the damn classroom. Roberts
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jumped at a shadow on the wall. The black shade
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of the long coat and the hipster cap were distinctive
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on the mint green paint. His eyes traced the sketched
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form back to an adjoining hall. The teacher took careful
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steps so that he could get a good jump out
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of the truant student. He paused at the corner and
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tried to wipe off the shit eating grin. Hey kid
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he shouted as he swung into the corridor. What the heck,
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where'd you go? Kid? No one was there. No footsteps
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had retreated across the speckled flooring. Yet the closest place
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to hide were the bathrooms at the far end. Windows
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lined one side of the hall, and Roberts glanced uncomfortably
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at his squat shadow directly opposite them. Despite the august
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sunlight spilling in, he found himself shivering. Roberts beat a
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quick path to the restroom. Okay, kid, time to get
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back to class. No one answered. Roberts walked into the
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men's room and heard the rattle of feet pulling up
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onto a seat. The teacher pushed the door. It swung inward,
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bumping against the teen's knee. The kid took out one
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earbud and held his hand out expectantly. You here to
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help me wipe, he asked, Pinch it off. Roberts nodded
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to the exit. You're missing class. I'm not missing a
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goddamn thing, the kid responded, Kid Ethan, The teen corrected him, Okay, Ethan,
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you need to get back to class now, or what
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Ethan snickered, you'll expel me from the place. I don't
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want to be for not being here a bit early
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in the year to be this defeatist. Bruh. I got
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forty six days until I turn eighteen. Ethan put his
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earbud back in. Hugh and the rest of the faculty
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can ignore me that long, then I'll get out of
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your hair. All four you got left, that'll be enough.
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Roberts grabbed the teen's arm. Let's go see Ms. Wardlow.
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He's back, Kevin Spacey. He shouldered into Roberts to knock
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him away. You can't touch me. This ain't nineteen eighty four.
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Then act your age and walk yourself. Why don't you
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suck these balls of academia pops. Roberts snapped a finger
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at the door. Now the lights flickered, drawing the teacher's
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attention long enough for Ethan to run for the exit.
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The bell rang, swallowing the sound of the door banging
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into the wall. By the time Roberts got there, the
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delinquent had melded into the swell of students escaping first period.
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I should have stayed in the city, Roberts grumped. Chelsea
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watched out the third floor window of her ap history class.
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The first day of school, normally had lots of vacant
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desks as the teens begrudgingly broke from their summer routines. However,
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by fourth period, Chelsea was sure something else was going on.
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Despite thirty six desks, only nineteen students occupied the classroom.
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Two of the missing had just been with her in
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trig She wasn't the only one that noticed. No one,
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including the teacher, seemed particularly interested in the curriculum. A
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sudden bang drew attention to the the room where Darcy
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Smith sat. Darcy stared at the book she dropped with confusion,
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but didn't make a move to pick it up. Chelsea
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turned to the window again and gasped at the silhouette
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of a man outside. Dia screamed. Darcy was convulsing at
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her desk. Foam flew from her mouth and her eyes
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rolled back before she fell to the floor. Most of
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the students shrank away from the violent seizure, clinging to
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the walls while pulling out their phones. The teacher slid
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to the girl's side. I'll get the nurse, Chelsea said,
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chancing one last glance around for the specter in the
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window before darting out of the class.
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Au sh it was only the wind. You are safe,
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weekly spooky, We'll be right back.
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Nurse McBride was occupied with her sixth case of I
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don't feel good for the day. Hunter Prescott made a
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show of holding his stomach while groaning. McBride poured him
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a shot of pepto, but when she turned around, Hunter
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was missing. The door was still closed, and she hadn't
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heard it open. She shrugged, downing the pink syrup herself.
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The first week was always full of whiners looking to
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go home sick. There were at least three waiting outside
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the office for their chance to try. A warm, wet
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droplet exploded on McBride's hand. She looked down at the strange, foamy,
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green yell spatter yuck. She raised her eyes to the ceiling,