THE GOLDEN BOY: A CAMPUS HORROR STORY

The chlorine stung my nose a familiar smell that I don’t even register anymore.The university pool was full of chaotic swimmers having their afternoon practices.Shouts echoed, rhythmic splashes of water from the swimmers diving in and friends helping each other everyone wanted to break a record.All I could do was to sit there and watch alone and listen to all the conversations from all swimmers. “Karl’s gonna crush it at regionals no doubt” Mark shouted with a lot of confidence try to deafen my ears My fingers tightened around my pants as I pretended to stretch as Karl walked past me but my eyes couldn’t help but stare at his mysterious face,he was like a god in this pool, the golden boy of Blackwood University.Each stroke was wokeover,he laughed gently with other swimmers but didn’t exchange in deep conversations with them but his charisma kept drawing them.Karl was everything I wasn’t.The golden boy of the school,very confident,speaks when he needs to and is popular.Life looked easy for him and I envied it. Me? I was just a random dude Liam,who spent most of the time warming the bench instead of being in the pool like others.And Joe he was getting close to me!!, “Hey Liam,you gonna try out for the relay team This year?” I looked up it was Ben, a friendly team mate .He was grinning down at me. “Nahh Im gonna sit this one out man” “You should you go, you’ve got the speed man. At some point you have to show the world how good you are ” He dapped me on the shoulder then turned away as Karl approached. “s**t” I quickly got up and bumped into him. “Sorry!!” I yelped my cheeks burning. “It’s okay,you alright mate?!”.His voice sounded warm and concerned,his eyes usually bright and sparkling blue,seemed to burn with an unusual intensity. He gets closer and all I can smell is his scent,was it musk or chlorine. My heart was racing. The energy in the locker room seemed different from that of the pool,though sweat from the bodies lingered in the air but something felt different so I carried my belongings- a towel, a water bottle,with a copy of twenty thousand league under the Sea. I was so eager to escape back to the dorm and be on my bed. As I looked towards the pool, I overheard Karl speaking to the Coach from a distance. “….I just need a little minute,Coach.Feeling a little…off.His voice was so strained,tight with an emotion I couldn’t quite place. “Dont pressure yourself to much Karl” Coach responded with a pat on Karl’s back. He sounded so concerned. “Regional’s are next week.Get some rest.” I frowned.Karl’s eyes were to bright,his smile was to tight,his breathing to heavy! It was like he was fighting something or someone fighting him. “Ohhh s**t!!!” I smacked my forehead.Where’s my lucky swim cap.Mom knitted that cap for me years ago.A ridiculous piece,but funny enough I couldn’t swim without it.I turned back to check if anyone was inside the lock room.The team had left the room leaving it silent. I moved towards the room but the silence broke with a series of ragged breathing coming from far end of the room.Strained breaths,like someone fighting for air. My heart started racing, was someone dying,I thought very worried. I moved towards the direction of the sound,my footsteps making noise in the stillness but I kept going regardless . As I got to the last row of the lockers,I heard another strange sound,a low,metallic groan. It quickly sent shivers down my spine,my hands were sweaty and shaky.I kept hearing metals bending and twist sounded so strange. Fear and curiousity played with me,Something was wrong for sure. I pushed opened the door to the end .My heart racing and my hands and feet’s cold as ever. I couldn’t believe what I saw with my two eyes. It was Karl!!! He stood with his back to me, his body was positioned in an impossible strange position.His muscles writhed beneath his skin, it was shifting and bulging in a way that question human anatomy.His spine pointing out sharp ridges like a jagged mountain.His hands spread against the steel locker,were tearing through the metal as if it were paper,leaving long and brutal marks. The smell of blood lingered in the air….amd something else.Something strange.Something predatory.Something thats making me feel weird…. Then he turned…. His eyes burned,flames on his eyes,inhuman feral glow that pierced the shadows.His face was distorted in a strange way,his body elongated,his mouth twisted with a snarl that revealed teeth far too long,far too sharp. “Stay….Away Karl” he growled,his voice sounded so harsh very far from how a human’s voice sound. At the same time it seemed like he couldn’t resist me.Those words words slipped from his mouth “stay….away” smelling my neck lile he couldn’t resist me.I could feel his breath on my shoulder,my heart was racing non-stop,hands were shaking and feet’s were cold. Karl was a monster!!! I just started running, I ran so fast without turning my back breathing so fast.