It was late March, and it was a rather hot day today. Birds happily chirped in the nearby blooming trees, announcing the return of spring, as children came out in the playground along with the sound of the bell. A few flower petals fell graciously from the branches in coordinated movements, the children below taking joy in the last few moments of playtime they had before they went back home. We could see a few parents already arriving, along with a few school buses, ready to take the students back home.
Clara was looking out on the playground from her classroom window. She sighed, sipping her coffee and looking down at a small blonde boy who was playing with toys.
“Don't you wanna go play with them, Arthur?”
The boy ignored her as he kept making his two barbie dolls fight, alongside a dinosaur. Clara sighed, crouching down to the boy’s level and watching him play. “What's the story this time?”
Arthur turned around for a second. “The blonde barbie found the dinosaur. She wants to clone him and make tons of dinosaurs so she can have a big army!”
He knocked the two dolls into each other, simulating explosions with his mouth. “Brown barbie doesn't want that. Brown barbie is a superhero, and she's gonna stop blonde barbie.”
Clara chuckled and smiled. “Heh, do you think she's gonna win?”
Arthur shrugged. “Only if blonde barbie wants her to. She's a really strong villain y'know.”
Clara sat next to Arthur and watched him play.
Arthur Woods, 6 years old. He was a new kid in her class, transferred there only a few months ago, and it seemed he never really fit in with the others. He had great cognitive abilities, and he learned to read faster than the rest. He, however, didn't really like playing with his classmates. He'd rather just stay inside and play with toys than go outside and play with other people. Clara sometimes encouraged him, but it seems like he always liked being alone.
“Can I play with you?” Clara asked.
Arthur nodded and handed her the brown haired barbie. “Now you have to stop the dinosaur!” he made a roaring noise and moved the dinosaur, and Clara did her best to play along. He did seem to appreciate Clara's company. He accepted her asking to play with him and didn't mind talking to her. That at least reassured the woman a bit. She did hope he would one day socialize with the other kids, but that wasn't her job to do so. It was his parent's job. She'd talked to them about it a few times, but she never saw any results. She would try again today once they came to get Arthur.
The playground was starting to empty out as the kids were picked up by their parents or went into the buses. Slowly, one by one, the school buses and the cars drove out and away from the school. Arthur was now looking out of the window, staring at the nearly empty parking lot. He wasn't saying anything, his face just as serious as it always was. He let his toys fall on the colorful carpet and walked up to the window, placing his small hands and his face up against the glass. Clara looked around, and then at Arthur. “It's okay honey, your parents are a little bit late, that's all. I'm sure they're fine.”
It was a bit odd though, as his parents were almost never late, but looking at the time, it wasn't that late, so Clara didn't worry too much.
Clara’s phone rang in her pocket and she picked it up. She looked at the number and saw that it was her colleague's, and she picked it up.
“Clara? Clara, turn on your TV right now! Shit is happening, you have to see this!”
“Brenda? I'm still at school, Arthur's parents haven't arrived yet.”
Clara moved a bit away from Arthur so he wouldn't hear the conversation. “What's happening?” She then asked.
The teacher's voice sounded panicked. “There’s a lot of traffic. The cars aren't moving, and it said a few minutes earlier on the radio that there's been accidents all over the place. Some sort of… epidemic, as they say. Not sure what exactly is happening. What I do know is that people are told to stay home and not go out until further notice!”
Clara could hear a police siren in the distance. At least now she knew why Arthur's parents were running late.
“I'd advise you to stay at school for now. With all the traffic you might not even be able to get back home.”
Clara nodded and made an agreeing noise. “Stay safe Brenda, I'll talk to you again when I can.”
“Got it.”
Clara hung up and turned to look at Arthur. He was sitting down again, his back against the wall, looking down at the carpet sadly, the blonde barbie in his hands, spinning around. She scratched the back of her neck nervously, and walked back to the kid, crouching down to his level and clearing her throat.
“Hey Arthur. Your parents might take a few hours to get here. There's some stuff going on outside.”
Arthur frowned a bit, and Clara saw fear slowly appear in his eyes. Realizing she might've said something bad, she quickly stuttered her way out to try and calm him down. “It's okay, your parents are strong, right? Plus, I'm sure it's nothing too bad, they'll be fine.”
Arthur looked down for a second, then looked up again and nodded. “Y-yeah, they'll be okay!” He said, his voice shivering a bit. Clara smiled softly and ruffled his hair.
A noise coming from outside made the woman gasp and look up the window.
There was a man walking in the playground.
He seemed lost, maybe even sick, judging by his slow shamble as he looked and walked around the empty playground. Clara frowned and walked up to the classroom door that led to the playground. She stopped for a second, her hand hesitantly moving around the doorknob. It had been said that it was better to stay inside. But there was a man outside. Maybe she should warn him. He might not know about the accidents.
“There’s someone outside. Stay here and play, I'll be right back.” Clara told Arthur, who looked out the window, then quickly back to his toys. “Okay.”
The woman sighed and walked outside, opening the classroom door, feet tapping on the asphalt, still warm from the burning sun of the afternoon, in a moderate but determined pace. As Clara got closer, her pace got slower, and less certain. There was something… odd, maybe even scary, about that man. She stopped as he turned his head to the side. He probably didn't see her, which was a good thing because as soon as he moved, Clara realized that she should probably go back inside and call the cops. The man was missing a shoe, something that wouldn't have bothered her that much, although that man's naked foot was bloody, his soles mangled, as if he had dragged them across the burning concrete and asphalt of the playground and road without even acknowledging the pain. And that man's face. Ghostly pale, as if he were dead, his eyes completely white, devoid of any expression or emotions, his mouth slightly open, loose jaw hanging and pale lips moving ever so slightly whenever he breathed. His eyelids and fingers sometimes twitched, like he had been struck by lightning.
And then he turned around. And Clara gasped in terror.
On the man's head was some sort of bulge, a tumor, a round spot of his skull and skin bulging up, no hair or blood on it, as if something had grown inside of the man's brain.
The man groaned and started drooling as he walked faster towards Clara. The woman took a few steps back and, despite the fear, tried to talk to the man.
“E-excuse me mister, this is a private property. You s-shouldn't be here! O-or else... I'll call the p-police!!”
He didn't seem to understand, or even just hear her. He kept walking. And Clara had enough.
She ran back inside, quickly closing and locking the door behind her. Arthur, now standing up, looked at her in confusion, then looked out the window.
“The weird man is getting closer, Ms. Clara. Are you gonna let him in?” He said, tugging at her hand. Clara shook her head. “N-no, he's not allowed to come inside. But he probably wants to…” she then grabbed the boy's hand, leading him out of the classroom. “Come with me, we'll try to find the janitor, Mr. Smith, maybe he can help us with that.”
Clara was starting to feel very uneasy. She didn't understand what was going on. This man outside… she had never seen anything like it before. Maybe he was the reason they needed to stay inside?
The teacher took out her phone as they were walking towards the janitor's room and quickly dialed 911. She brought the phone to her ear and waited.
Nobody was picking up.
She felt her chest tighten as the call automatically stopped.
This wasn't supposed to happen.
Why wasn't anyone picking up?
She tried again, the slow ominous beeping of the line making her more and more worries as it went on, before the call disconnected again, and silence came back.
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