#then when i trecked back with a flashlight and my watch i found out i couldnt ping it without wifi

[candlewitches]

There’s truly no joy like a northern mix in snow up to their chest

I wanted to stay on the already trampled path around the meadow perimeter, Kal said we had to go through the middle so he could look for bunnies

[creepypasta-fictions]

The Teacher (pt.7)

HEADS UP: Filler is finally here! Had the biggest writers block ever.

On her final day of Harvard, before it closed for safety reasons, Susan decided to take a treck through the woods, and photograph anything she found suspicious. Yes, she was slightly disappointed that this would impair her education, but she was even more disappointed because she thought the investigation was going to stop. Well, she overheard Mr Blackburn and Mr Andrews talking about it whilst she was walking past the principal’s office earlier that week before Mr Blackburn was arrested…

“Sir, is it really necessary to close the school?!” Mr Blackburn protested.

“I’ve already told you, Christian, your job is over!”

“But what am I supposed to do if there are any more murders?!”

“Nothing. And there won’t be. The case is gonna be closed.”

“Oh, that’s sure sly, Steve! I was helping you out! I thought you had my back! And now they’re gonna let me go down for this?!”

“Better you than anyone else.” The principal snapped.

Susan fought the urge to gasp. Could it be possible that the principal of Harvard was also involved with the murders?! It was funny, since he took exactly the same schedule off as Mr Blackburn, during which time, they could have gone to Connecticut and did their dirty work there… could it be possible that Mr Andrews was helping Mr Blackburn?

Susan knew she couldn’t tell this to the police. It would surely threaten her return to Harvard. In fact, she knew she would be expelled if the principal was roped into the investigation, whether or not he was an accomplice. Which lead her to question which of the two was more important: Susan’s education, or justice for the victims? And possibly saving lives of multiple law student victims yet to come in both states?

***

Before she proceeded to enter the woods, she thought she would wait for Mr Andrews to leave, just to see what would happen. She had a feeling it wasn’t going to be a good thing. Since winter was coming and the nights were drawing in, it was getting dark quickly, and before she knew it, Susan was surrounded by a starry sky. She lay on the grass and looked up at the constellations. Suddenly, for a split second, a shooting star flew by past Harvard. Closing her eyes, Susan wished for justice for Amy. All the time she spent waiting, she kept her eyes mainly focused on one certain star; the brightest star in the entire sky. And she couldn’t help but think of Amy.

Out of nowhere, she heard a familiar soft voice coming from beside her.

“You know Susie, they say that stars shine at their brightest when they’re at the end of their life. As if they’re about to explode. Remember in 8th grade when we did astronomy?”

“Yeah, I remember, Amy. You used to say that you always dreamed of being the brightest star, and now you are,” she pointed up at the bright shining star in the sky.

“No, Susie, that’s you. Everything is in your hands now. It’s your job to stop the killer.”

“Can you tell me who killed you?” Susan asked. She held her breath, waiting for a reply. But there was nothing but silence.

Susan sat up, taking a gander at her surroundings. But there was nobody there. There were no sounds of footsteps to signify that anyone had gone away. Amy wasn’t really there. Amy was dead. And Susan was sitting in the middle of the Harvard grounds, staring at the stars and hearing her voice. She didn’t know how much longer she could take this.

She was about to lunge up when she heard quiet footsteps coming from outside the main entrance. A silhouette of a portly bald man came into view. Unfortunately, it was so dark that she could not see where he was looking. To keep on the safe side, Susan lurked in the bushes, watching as the man whom was quite clearly Mr Andrews, as he loaded a large trunk into his car, struggling and grunting as he did this.

What the fuck was in that trunk?

She decided it was best to run away before the engine started and she got caught in the fog lights of Mr Andrews’ fancypants vehicle. However, she did stare at him as he drove off, down the path into the woods. Realising this was a life or death matter, Susan decided to follow him. Her awkward lanky legs became springs at the moment, every footstep leaving a crash, almost as loud as her heart was beating. She followed the trail of fucked up dust left behind until she saw Mr Andrews getting out of his car. Not wanting to be seen, she slipped behind a tree, her feet scraping onto the piles of crunchy, decaying winter leaves.

Hauling the trunk out of the back seat, he set it down carefully up on the pile of leaves. After that, he leaned back on his car, and crossed his arms. He remained that way for about ten minutes, until a second car drew up, a few yards away from Mr Andrews’ car. Out stepped a tall ominous figure, one that was becoming very familiar to Susan.

“A Honda Prelude, huh?” Mr Andrews asked inquisitively, giving the rather unfamiliar looking car a once-over.

“Yep, first one I picked up from the parking lot by the gas station. Y’know, the one down the road from the Sherrif’s office.” Mr Blackburn’s voice responded. At this moment, if there was any chance of her remaining unseen, Susan would have growled out loud, maybe even screamed. How the hell did he get released so damn early?

Then she realised.

There was no fucking evidence.

Shit.

This was her moment. And Susan knew it. She was 99% sure the burden of proof lay upon her that Mr Blackburn was guilty of these murders. She now knew that she had to find that extra 1%.

She continued to spy on the two shifty men.

“So, when did you get out?” Mr Andrews asked, as he began rummaging through the large trunk in which he had brought from Harvard.

Mr Blackburn shrugged, seemingly unfazed by this huge ordeal. And it pissed Susan off even more. “Meh, about three hours ago. I got your text, had to go and take care of some stuff and then I came straight here for my share of the deal.” During the last part of the sentence, Mr Blackburn’s tone turned to a slimy one, almost like a hungry beast from a fantasy movie.

“When you say stuff, what kind of stuff? Did you do what I asked you to do?”

“Yeah, and more besides. I went to the Harvard enrollment department. I unenrolled Higginson from the degree course, so when Harvard opens again, which shouldn’t take long, she’ll be gone. And we can get back to business as usual, right?”

Susan gasped. She had been expelled for trying to uncover the truth. Although she was not going to let this stop her.

“What even is business as usual anymore?” Mr Andrews muttered, scratching the back of his head. His eyes kept darting around from place to place, almost as if he had a sixth sense, and could feel that he was being watched. And the perplexed look on his now sweaty face, also indicated he knew who was watching him. Yet he didn’t act on this.

“You know, Steve! We rob the victims, then we sell all their items! That’s why the police can never find any evidence!” Mr Blackburn hissed.

“That’s exactly why I brought this.” Mr Andrews pulled up a large sack out of his trunk of what looked to be stolen goods.

“Does this mean I finally get my payment?” Mr Blackburn asked impatiently.

“Yep. God help you if the police got their hands on this shit,” Mr Andrews croaked sarcastically, handing the bag to Mr Blackburn. They both started cackling maniacally. Susan had decided she had had enough at this point. They had angered her to the point her blood was fully boiled. Their little midnight gathering criminal party was over.

Grabbing her phone from her pocket, she hit the “flashlight” button and pointed it in the direction of the two men, who froze on the spot.

Suddenly spooked at this moment, a part of Susan’s mind knew that this could be the last thing she ever did, and was about to meet the same fate as Amy and all the other victims before her.

“HIGGINSON!” Mr Andrews bellowed, echoing around the woods.

Susan instinctively marched forward, with purposely heavy footsteps to try and give the appearance she was exuding with confidence, however, on the inside, she was shitting her pants.

“Reckon you’ve exposed us now, have you?” Mr Blackburn sneered. “Getting men arrested yesterday for stealing a car? Nice move. Too bad they couldn’t prove anything!” He spat. This caused the two men to burst out in cackles of evil laughter. Susan, however, was not amused by their cockiness.

“Aww, why the scowly face, Susie?” Mr Andrews mimicked. “Scared we’re gonna kill you next?”

“Tell me what’s in the trunk and I won’t call the police. I have an alibi this time; stolen goods. There’s no way that came from the school. Nor did any of the contents in there. So not only are you two murderers, but you also ROB the victim’s?!”

“You’re off your head, Higginson. People like you are the reason I had to close Harvard.”

“Why? Because you’re scared that if you didn’t someone else would catch you strangling or stabbing someone?!” Susan yelled.

“No, because we were afraid of this happening! Okay, we may be thieves, but I am certainly not the killer!” Mr Blackburn snapped.

“Higginson, you’ve got no proof, and you’re gonna get yourself into legal trouble if you don’t stop playing Detective here,” Mr Andrews laughed ghoulishly, causing Mr Blackburn to join in. What they didn’t realise amongst their fits of laughter, was that Susan had picked up a very heavy tree branch, and, not thinking about her actions, swung it with all her strength so that it knocked down the two men.

Dropping the stick, she heard the men grunt in pain, clutching their noses. Neither of them were knocked down. This gave Susan some time to run forward, grab the trunk and bolt towards Mr Blackburn’s latest stolen car. This was literally how she got him arrested, but at this point she didn’t give a shit. She just knew what she had to do. Just as she frantically put the key into the ignition, the two men had realised what had happened and were struggling to their feet.

“Get back here! You won’t get away with this, Higginson!” But she was already driving off with the trunk in the back seat. She was driving in the middle of the forest. It was dark. She was unlicensed. She had just committed a battery on two different people. She had just stolen a car. She had broken the law. But none of that mattered to her. All that mattered was getting the trunk to the police station.

***

She parked the stolen car outside of the Sherrif’s county office and brought the trunk inside. At this hour, the place was virtually empty, so it didn’t take long for an officer to come and see her.

***

“Unfortunately, Susan, Christian Blackburn was released yesterday as we could not prove that any of the murder inquiries linked to him. However, he was charged with car theft but was bailed out yesterday.”

“Bailed out by who? Was it Steven Andrews?”

“I’m not at liberty to say, I’m afraid. So, what is in this trunk?”

“Stolen goods, as far as I’m aware. Mr Andrews has got Mr Blackburn a little “business” so that he kills law students, and Mr Andrews robs the victims and gives the stolen goods to Mr Blackburn. I overheard them discussing their little business, and then I found them in the woods with this trunk, so I decided to take it here. It needs to be investigated.”

Two minutes later, Susan was sitting in a room with five officers, who were opening the large trunk. She was watching, shakily sipping a glass of water. Suddenly, as the lid was lifted, she sidled over to the table and gasped in horror at the amount of stolen goods that were in there. She was given a pair of gloves and started helping the officers shift through.

“Susan, maybe you can be of help to us in separating each victim’s belongings?” One suggested.

“I’m sorry sir, the only things I’ll be familiar with are things belonging to Amy Parker,” Susan choked on her words, feeling the tears again. But she chose to be strong, despite how difficult this was.

The most emotional part came when she pulled out a liquid eyeliner pen from a small plastic bag which was labelled “trash” inside the trunk. This liquid eyeliner was similar to Susan’s own. In fact, no. It was exactly the same. The label was a bit chipped off, but that was because of how old it was. At this point, Susan was thinking only one thing;

How in the hell could they label this trash?

“Susan?” A lady officer snapped her out of her thoughts.

“Oh, I’m sorry. I was just remembering….”

The officer placed a hand on Susan’s shaky shoulders. “We understand what you’re going through, we really do, but this investigation cannot be emotionally orientated. If you give us any information, you must be factually sure. I am also very aware that you have extensive knowledge about the law already, which is why we encourage your help.”

“I know. But this eyeliner, it belonged to Amy. I even remember the day she tried it on. Her wings were always on fleek, but mine, I hadn’t ever worn it before so mine were a bit of a fail. I don’t usually tend to wear makeup that much, but sometimes, just… for Amy, y’know?”

The officer nodded, smiling. “Well have another dig through all this stuff and see if you can find anything else that belongs to Amy. Once we are done testing it for evidence, we will send it back to her family.”

“It has to be stuff she carried in her bag at all times. I remember she was carrying her bag on the day she was murdered.”

Suddenly, Susan saw and snatched Amy’s handbag, the one in which she was holding the last time she was seen alive. It had been emptied, and robbed of everything she carried in it. “How could they do this to her?” Susan cried out loud.

****

-time skip-

Anne wouldn’t stop crying that night, going over countless of Amy’s things. Susan stayed to comfort her, of course, and to help her sort out Amy’s valuables.

“You know, Susan…” she said in between sniffs. “I don’t think I can possibly keep any of this stuff, with her not being here anymore. It just reminds me of how much she suffered! I’ve already gotten rid of my copy of her autopsy report, because it’s basically a document telling me how my daughter was tortured in her last moments alive!”

“I understand, Anne. I really do. Obviously for scrutiny purposes, I’m going to keep my copy, but don’t think that it doesn’t upset me. It would be wrong of me to say I was hurting on the same level as you, as she was your only daughter,”

“No, no, no, Susie, you can’t think like that! You’ve been a good friend to Amy for years! She was always saying how much you supported her, through everything, and she loved you! You were important to her, Susie, and I think if the decision was placed in her hands, she’d want you to have everything in this bag,”

Susan hesitantly took the bag out of Anne’s fragile hands. “I don’t know if I can keep this either, but I understand what you mean when you say Amy would’ve wanted this. She wouldn’t want to cause you grief by holding onto this.”

***

That night, Susan decided to sort through the bag of Amy’s belongings. From makeup to old CDs that they used to listen to together, on their long summer drives, to a little friendship bracelet Susan had given her in 8th grade. There was even a white tank top that had blue stains all over it. Susan let out a single laugh, when she found this shirt. She remembered that day like it was yesterday. She and Amy had decided to go into town. It was freshman year, and they both had decided to skip school and go get some ice cream. When Susan mentioned a situation about a silly boy, Amy laughed just a little too hard, and... well, she got blueberry icecream all over her white shirt. Her mom was mad, of course, but to Amy, it was all one big light hearted joke. Everything was a light hearted joke to Amy.

Susan longed for it to be a light hearted joke for her too. But she couldn’t allow that. There were peoples lives at stake, and perhaps she could find an alternative clue in this bag. First, she pulled out what she believed to be Amy’s latest phone. She had the iPhone 8, and the screen was as cracked as Susan’s heart. It looked as if someone had smashed a hammer against it.

She tried switching the phone on, but of course, it needed a pass code, and it was freezing cold as it hadn’t been turned on in weeks.

In hope of finding something significant, Susan continued rummaging through the plastic bag. She pulled out a pair of earphones, the ones that Amy always had either in her ears or could be seen hanging out of her pocket. Susan remembered the times when they were both in class together and they got bored so Amy would put some music on her phone, and always give Susan one of her headphones, and they would have a discrete classroom party.

Amy’s purse was missing, of course. She should have guessed that Mr Andrews and Mr Blackburn would’ve taken it during their raid of her bag. Speaking of her bag - her school bag, that is - Susan worked her way around until she came to it, and looked inside, curious to see what exactly it was that the two men had taken, even if it was not of any value to them. She found Amy’s folder, and decided to pour through all the law work that she had done in class, just to see if Mr Blackburn had written anything that eluded to the fact he hated her. There was nothing that jumped out at Susan, in particular, however she did notice an array of criticisms on the essay she wrote on Mens Rea for Murder.

Such included, ‘Try not to use ongoing enquiries, you can use existing cases to stablilise your definition’

This was written when Amy had mentioned the current serial killer on the loose. She had mentioned the fact that repeated offences were evidence of direct Intention to murder. This probably pissed off Mr Blackburn; hence why he grew colder and colder towards her in the last few weeks of her life.

Susan emptied the handbag, and took out any folders, a hairbrush, and whatever makeup might have been in there.

Now, you’d think that once she removed all these things, she’d set the bag aside. But she didn’t. And she didn’t know why, either. It was as if something was controlling her hand, forcing her to dig back into the bag, and pull out a single tissue on its own. There was no packet, no other tissues, just one individual tissue, crumpled up and slightly muddy from being on the ground. However, there was one thing that really caught Susan’s attention. A stain on the corner of the tissue. The stain started off red, and then eventually turned to dark brown as it grew more inwards.

Confused, Susan peered inside the bag once more. And what she found, was absolutely terrifying...

***

To be continued....

HEADS UP: Hey! I know this was meant to be like a filler but it didn’t really turn out that way I guess, it was too eventful and I decided to lump a bunch of things together. What do you guys think was in the bag? Find out in the next chapter! Thank you for sticking with me (and Susan) on this journey for justice! Much love!

~ Talia