Free Good vs. Evil High by April Marcom Page B

the knob. Sliding through the slightly open
door, I shut it very carefully behind me.
    My adrenaline was pumping full speed. I
turned around, praying I hadn’t entered someone’s bedroom. But no
one was there. In fact, it was completely empty except for a stone
fountain that was at least a foot taller than me. Made from the
same icy material as the walls on the lower levels of North Haven,
it had three tier bowls, the one on the bottom being the
largest.
    As I moved closer to it, smoke began to fill
the top and spill over the edges to the lower chambers. But
something strange happened when it rolled over the lowest one. A
purple hand wrapped itself around the edge and seemed to pull a
person up. And then a ghostly figure was crawling out of the basin,
hair drifting in and out of her wild face. And just when I thought
it couldn’t get any more terrifying, one wide eye fixed itself on
me through an open space between her hair.
    My muscles refused to move. My voice wouldn’t
work.
    Then she threw her head back and screamed a
terrible scream that echoed all over the room, as if several women
were there, all crying out in terror. I covered my ears as she
proceeded to climb out of the fountain. The way her body bent back
as the awful cries continued was enough to get me going.
    I bolted back to the door and reached for the
handle. It wouldn’t turn. I twisted with all my might. Nothing. I
was trapped, with no escape.
    Looking back, I saw two very scary things.
One: Another hand belonging to a second and equally bloodcurdling
woman wrapped itself around the fountain’s edge and began pulling
up her body. Two: The first body, still screaming, took a labored
step toward me.
    That was it. I didn’t care if Coach found out
I heard him or not. I started pounding against the door and calling
out for help. “Can’t anyone hear me?!” I screamed desperately.
    I looked back. The first woman seemed to be
rooted to the spot. The second one threw her head back to let out a
new series of wretched cries. Both stared threateningly at me.
Whatever they were, I was sure they wanted to hurt me.
    With shaking fingers, my hand dove into my
purse and searched for my con. When my finger touched it, it rose
from my bag and began to unfold. “Call Headmaster, CALL
HEADMASTER!” I screamed, not caring if I got in trouble for being
in there. He was right down the hall, waiting for me. He could be
there before anyone else.
    It was difficult to breathe as I threw myself
into a corner with my back to the horrifying figures, my con moving
with me.
    “Hello, this is Headmaster.”
    I looked up into his kind face. “I can’t get
out! I’m stuck in the first room past the elevators. I’m sorry, I’m
so sorry. I didn’t mean to come in here, but—”
    The screen went black. “Headmaster?” I
shrieked. “Call Headmaster!”
    Connie appeared on my con. “He is temporarily
unavailable. Sorry.”
    “What?”
     

 
    Chapter
Eleven
    ~ The Baring Springs ~
     
    The door burst open and Headmaster tore in,
running straight through the two women to the fountain, where a
third one was climbing out. The women broke apart, vapor
dispersing, as Headmaster leaned over the fountain, grasping the
edges of the middle tier. The purple smoke still pouring over the
edge became pink. Bubbles rose from the top, followed by a pink
smoky woman. She began laughing and twirling playfully around.
Headmaster looked back at me. “Are you all right?”
    “I—wh, wh,” I stopped to attempt to swallow
down my fear. “What were they?”
    “A reflection of your feelings. You were
afraid when you entered this room. I’m sure when you saw what came
out of The Baring Springs, you became even more frightened, thus
feeding the fear and making it all the more powerful. It was given
its name because it bares the naked feelings of anyone who comes
near it.” He walked over to me and held out a hand to help me up.
“The Baring Springs is our school’s invention for this