Two Faced

I’m Watching

As night fell, Reign, Danrae, and Zoey stood outside the locked school gate. Reign climbed the gate first flawlessly, helping Zoey over before Danrae followed.

The cold air pressed against them, making every sound—every creak of the floorboards or distant rustle of leaves—feel unnaturally loud.

“We’ll start in our classroom” Reign said, his voice barely above a whisper. “If there’s anything left from last time we need to find it.”

“You didn’t have to come,” Reign said, glancing back at Zoey as they made their way to the classroom.

“I told you, I’m not just sitting this out,” Zoey replied, her voice firm. Despite her brave words, her hands fidgeted with the flashlight she carried.

Danrae smirked. “She’s braver than you, Reign. At least she’s not shaking.”

“I’m not shaking,” Reign muttered, annoyed.

The three crept into the classroom, careful to avoid making noise. The air still carried a faint metallic smell, and the yellow tape hung loosely, swaying slightly from the breeze.

Zoey turned her flashlight toward the ceiling, the faint stains visible even in the dim light.

“Danrae, the luminol,” Reign prompted.

Danrae nodded and pulled out the small vial, handing it to Zoey. “Why don’t you do the honors, since you’re so eager?”

Zoey rolled her eyes but took it. “Okay. Where should we start?”

“The ceiling,” reign said, gesturing towards the spot where Jhane’s body was found.

Zoey sprayed the luminol and shone the blue light, revealing faint streaks of blood. The sight made her pause, swallowing hard.

“It’s still here,” she whispered.

Reign stepped closer, his eyes following the blood trails. “It’s not just a random spot. Look—some of it runs down the wall.”

Zoey traced the glowing lines with the flashlight, and sure enough, the stains seemed to drip toward the floor, pooling at the base of the wall.

Danrae crouched, inspecting the ground.

“Wait,” Danrae said, his voice tense. “It doesn’t stop here. Come here, there’s a trail.”

They all crouched, following the faint trail of blood that stretched across the tiles and out the door.

“Someone dragged someone or something out of here.” Reign said grimly.

Without answering, Reign signal for them to follow. The trail continued through the hallway, faint but visible with the use of luminol. It led them to the base of the stairwell that climbed to the rooftop.

Danrae stopped, staring up at the dark staircase. “I don’t like this,” he muttered.

“Neither do I,” Reign admitted, gripping the railing tightly. “But we don’t have a choice. We’ve already got this far, might as well finish this right?” he jokingly said, letting a nervous laugh out.

Zoey didn’t hesitate. “Let’s go.” She said.

They looked at each other, then silently followed.

Danrae arrived at the doorstep first, “ I can’t.” he said while moving away.

Danrae and Zoey looked at each other, seemingly trying to read the other one’s thoughts. Then, they both looked at Reign.

Reign, quickly understood the assignment. He slowly took a step forward, then with a deep breathe he pushed it open, and the cold night air hit them like a wall.

The rooftop stretched out before them, shining only by the faint glow of the moon.

The faint blood trail led them to the center, where the janitor’s trolley had been found earlier that day.

Danrae sprayed more luminol across the whole rooftop, and Zoey shone the blue light over the area.

At first, the glow revealed nothing but smears and streaks of blood.

Then, as Zoey swept the light further, a series of words emerged, written in jagged, bloody letters across the rooftop tiles.

I’M WATCHING!

Zoey’s breath caught, and her hands trembled as she lowered the light. “Is this… what is this?”

Reign’s stomach turned. He stepped closer to get a better look, the words burned into his mind. “This isn’t just a warning. It’s a message. Whoever’s doing this—they knew we will gonna be here. His one step ahead.”

Danrae took a shaky step back, his voice cracking. “This is insane. You mean we’ve been played? It was all for nothing?”

Before anyone could respond, a noise broke the silence—a screeching, wheeling sound coming from the floors below.

Reign and Danrae looked at each other, their eyes widen.

“What is that?” Zoey asked nervously.

The sound grew louder, Reign spun toward the rooftop door, his flashlight trembling in his grip.

“Run!” he hissed.

The three bolted for the staircase, their footsteps pounding against the tiles. As they descended, the sound of the trolley seemed to follow them, growing closer with every turn.

“Stop right there!”

Reign, Zoey, and Danrae froze, their flashlights trembling. They took a big gulp and slowly turned their heads around.

A tall figure stepped out from the shadows, a man with unusual thick eyebrows and noticeable scar running from his right earlobe down to his chin, holding a flashlight in one hand and a trolley on the other.

“What are you kids doing here?” the man asked, his tone sharp but not unkind.

He was a police officer, dressed in plain clothes, though his holstered firearm and firm demeanor made it clear he was there on official business.

The kids stopped, and they let out a deep breath they’ve been holding for a while.

Reign cleared his throat, trying to sound calm. “We… uh… we’re just hanging around.”

“Hanging around?” the officer repeated, raising an eyebrow.

His eyes narrowed as he glanced at the luminol spray bottle in Danrae’s hand. “That doesn’t look like something kids just ‘bring along’ for fun.”

Zoey stepped forward, her voice steady. “We’re trying to figure out what happened. The janitor, the body on the ceiling, the blood. The girl who died was our friend and no one’s telling us anything, and people are scared.”

The officer’s expression softened slightly, but he remained cautious. “You shouldn’t be here. This is a crime scene, and it’s dangerous for you to be wandering around. If the person behind all this is still nearby…”

Reign crossed his arms, meeting the officer’s gaze. “You’re here investigating, right? Did you find anything? Or is the school just covering this up?”

“Yeah, you almost gave us heart attacks. Dragging that cursed trolley around. We thought you’re a ghost or something.” Danrae followed.

The officer hesitated for a moment before sighing. “Don’t worry, there’s nothing to look deep into this. We’re gonna find the murderer and we promise you this will be the last.”

Reign shifted uncomfortably. “So, what do we do? Go home and pretend we don’t know any of this?”

The officer glanced at the rooftop staircase, his face shadowed by the dim light. “You go home. Let us handle this.”

Reign didn’t move. “What about the blood trail? It leads to the roof. Don’t you want to see where it goes?”

The officer’s jaw tightened. “I know where it goes. That’s why you need to leave.”

Before the trio could argue further, a scream from a woman echoed from the rooftop. The officer’s head snapped toward the sound, his hand instinctively reaching for his holster.

“Go,” he said firmly, gesturing toward the exit. “Now.”

Reign exchanged a nervous glance with Zoey and Danrae before reluctantly nodding. As they backed away, Zoey whispered, “He’s hiding something. He knows more than he’s telling us.”

Reign didn’t respond, but his clenched fists said enough. As they are descending, the officer’s silhouette disappeared into the stairwell, his flashlight aimed toward the rooftop where the blood trail ended.