*Gore Warning*

The door creaked as it slid open, a dark silhouette could be seen from the opening.

Dan, luckily, had noticed something afoot had entered the room with him, and he scrambled back into the crook of the desk where he could be unseen. He cautiously and silently moved the teacher’s chair to cover himself up even more.

The figure hadn’t seen him move, due to its eyes adjusting in the dark, and strode in carefree. Light taps emitted from where it stepped, and Dan covered his mouth to make sure his breathing couldn’t be heard. Therefore, he forced himself to exhale and inhale quietly through his nostrils.

Dan sensed the blood that coated his fingers, so he tried his best to suppress a gag. What was more important to him was his life, he no longer wanted to think about his hemophobia, or his blood phobia. It shouldn’t matter to him at this point if it was going to get him caught.

Terror pumped through Dan’s veins. If he was discovered, maybe it would be his blood on the floor instead.The figure’s steps became more pronounced as it drew near the desk. Each step made Dan’s heart pound more and more, until it was the only sound that filled his brain.

He could see from the corner of his eye that the shadow gracefully sidestepped the puddle of crimson. Two long legs continued to follow the path to the desk and stood right beside his hiding spot. The silver belts on the tips of its shoes glinted slightly, reminding Dan of two pearly eyes staring him down.

From above, the shadow cleared its throat, alerting Dan even more of its presence. The low tone of its voice sounded slightly familiar to him, but he couldn’t place where he recognized it. Then the sound of spilling items and scratching keys on wood followed suit.

The figure was rummaging around the surface of the desk, clearly looking for something, but unable to. It searched ruthlessly, and the jingling and scratching on the roof of the desk distressed Dan without an end.

He bit down on his lip even harder, to fight off a scared whimper. His hand that had been covering his mouth grew clammy and was starting to get tired, but the adrenaline Dan felt at that moment gave him more than enough energy to keep his arm up.

When Dan finally thought he was able to keep his position, he felt his soul nearly leave his body as the figure slammed its fist down on the desk. All the little trinkets above flew up and cascaded over the edge and fell around him.

From his vantage point, he saw various pens, keys, and papers spill as well. But none of them were what the figure had been looking for.

Dan stared long and hard at the keys on the floor. They had fallen near the figure’s foot, which was tapping against the ground in frustration.

At first, he didn’t really think much of them, but then an idea came to mind. Perhaps they were able to get him out of the school?

Dan didn’t really want to make a move now. If he started to grab the keys from under the figure, he was sure he would be spotted. He would have to wait for it to leave before he made his move. But what if the figure still roamed the halls of the school after it left the room?

Dan didn’t really want to play hide and seek with his enemy, but he had experienced so much tonight, to add something else on top of his list of fears was meaningless now.

So the plan was set, he decided he would grab the keys, and make a run for it after the shadow was able to leave a good distance away from him.

With a goal in mind, he waited patiently (albeit fearfully) until the figure made a move to leave. Yet, much to his dismay, the figure did not budge as he had hoped.

Instead, while he had been waiting, the shadow had scrawled on various pieces of paper that was left on the desk, and had picked up the candle Dan had observed earlier.

Its hand reached into the pocket of one of its legs that had been standing in front of Dan and had pulled out a lighter. Soon a faint red and yellow glow filled the room, as the candle lit up. 

The soft light danced around the walls as the flame moved. Now that it was able to see, the figure made its way towards the blood puddle.

Dan hugged himself closer to the corner of the desk in order to not be seen. It was even more crucial now, because if the figure dared to turn its head, it would spot him immediately due to the candle light.

So, acting as a turtle, Dan took a quick peek around his “shell” and reverted back inside. It only took him less than a second, but Dan saw that the blood puddle was not a puddle at all, but a pentagram.

Around it were symbols, and bloody handprints (which, some were his due to crawling around). He did not see the face of the enemy yet, but Dan discovered it was a tall, well-dressed man that was adorned with a cane in his hand.

Dan was not able to see what else was going on, but he did not care, he didn’t want to know. He just wanted to leave so bad.

Oh great divine being above, LET ME FLEE THIS PLACE!

Since Dan could not (chose not to) see what happened next, let this author let you all be informed instead.

The man grabbed ahold of his cane even tighter and used it as a brush to paint more symbols around the pentagram. The smell that had bothered Dan earlier rose up to the man’s nostrils, but he did not flinch. He had gotten used to it by now.

With ease, the man then tipped the candle, fused with spiritual energy, and let several drops of wax hit the ground. As he did so, the blood began to sizzle. Wisps of red smoke ascended from the reaction.

Another aroma filled the man’s nostrils after this, one filled with bitter herbs and a cupric musk, yet it did not hinder his work.

He kept spilling wax, and watching it mix with the blood. Then after he was satisfied, he took the talismans he drew up on the desk earlier and scattered them around the floor. Some fell in the wax and blood, and some fell out of it. But it did not matter. It would work, it had to this time.

All the steps had been completed except for one. With this in mind, the man extended his cane, and tapped it on the ground thrice.

As if it was a staff, he waved it around the pentagon and murmured an ancient dialect.

The pentagram started to sizzle even more, and emitted twice the amount of smoke as it did earlier. Then from the center, it began to glow faintly. 

The light followed the lines of the blood, and once the entire circle had been lit, it glowed more than a thousand suns.

The man turned his mumbled words into shouts. A chaotic roar had begun to resonate from around him and he felt the earth shaking under his feet. 

Luckily, he had the experience to know how to react to this sort of thing. He took his cane once again and slammed it into the ground, using it as an anchor. He was able to steady himself and kept on chanting.

The man smiled profoundly, everything was going according to his plan. He had strategically calculated his efforts. Before tonight he had planned the location, gathered all the ingredients, and reduced any attempt of getting caught. From his point of view he saw that he was about to succeed.

Yet, he just didn’t account for one flaw.

And that flaw became known to him when a cell phone started to ring over his ceremony.