Scott's is practically wheezing as we get near the light. The ink is still falling and people are still dying. Just a few more steps and we're almost there! Felix and a couple of others stop. There's now a figure at the end of the tunnel. Whoever is standing there is blocking our way out. We're just a few feet away from the person now and I can finally see who it is.

Dexter.

"You can't leave!" Dexter yells.

Some adults and kids don't bother with his words. They try and get past him, but Dexter attacks them all with this impossible speed. Behind us, I can hear Ace and her words grow louder and get closer. Everyone who is with us stops when they know they can no longer pass Dexter without dying.

"Dexter," Scott says. "Please let us go. If we die, you'll still be alone. Killing us won't make anything better."

Dexter just stares at us as Ace's words grow closer and the fire grows brighter. 

"Dexter!" Someone calls out. The person that yelled, walks past us now. I recognized her voice and now I can see who she is. It's my mother. She walks towards Dexter and he has his hands out like he's going to attack her.

"M-mom," I say, wanting her to come back.

She stops and faces me. "Hush," she says in a low voice then turns back and face him. "If they get out of here alive, you won't be alone again. You know why?"

"Why?" Dexter asks.

"Because you're not properly buried. No one here is. Everyone is just cemented together and no one is resting peacefully. We're going to get out of here and make sure you all have a proper burial so that you can be free."

Dexter stares at her and I'm waiting for the second the attacks because it looks like he is about to. "No one cares about us!" Dexter shouts. "Everyone here will go home and live their lives. I know they don't care...and neither do you!" He grabs my mother by her head and snaps it right off then stares at us.

The fire behind us is nearly blinding me from its bright light and I can feel the intense heat. Ace is behind us and she's bigger than she had been. There are hands and feet kicking and reaching out of her glob body that is on fire. Her face sill resembles a human but her body is a swollen mess of thick black ink. Screams are coming from her body and it looks like hell itself, only in a human form.

Scott backs away because the heat is too intense now. He walks closer to Dexter and away from Ace. 

"Aaliyah," Felix whispers. "Do it now."

To my surprise, Aaliyah slides off of Felix and onto the ground. With all of her strength, she quickly stands up, reaches into her pocket, and pours a small bottle of liquid on Dexter. "Eat sulfuric acid!" She yells.

Dexter takes a hard swing at her face and just like that, her entire face peels halfway off. It hangs there while Dexter dissolves on the ground. Felix quickly picks up Aaliyah in his arms and carry her past the tunnel's exit. "Come on!" He yells out.

Scott limps towards the exit. Everyone else makes it out, but we're just getting past Dexter. Ace is behind us laughing, screaming, yelling, cursing, and calling our names all at once. The sounds coming from her scares me greatly because my ears are filled with words of hatred. I can hear her telling me she's going the shred me up, feed me acid, stick wood through my eyes and more frightening things. 

"G-go!" I tell Scott, ready to escape.

Felix runs inside and grabs me now. He's about to grab Scott's hand, but Scott waves him to go. Felix runs out with me and I'm able to see the sun, trees, and grass again. Finally, we turn around and face the tunnel. 

Ace is behind Scott and her arms are stretching out around him. A single tear falls from my eye as I watch Ace grab him and he falls into her body. The last things I see from him are his hands reaching out and the faint scream of him calling my name.

"Cosima...Cosima..."

Ace roars at all of us so loud that the trees behind us move. "This isn't over! We're out there. We're everywhere. Nothing stops us and we never die!" She says. She then turns around and in the blink of an eye, her body is gone along with all of the fire.

Felix falls into the grass with me laying on his chest and Aaliyah next to us. She holds her face together and I can hear her whimpering. We made it out alive, but I feel so dead. About four adults stand over us and about ten children. 

"Let's get out of here," one adult picks me up and another picks up Aaliyah. Felix walks behind us along with the rest of the children who are crying. Felix's face is full of shock and his body is shivering really badly. I can see the tunnel and the school, but as we get farther away from the school, it looks like nothing but a dry and black piece of unkempt land. Then there is no long a Johnson City Middle School.

***

One month later

Felix was sent to a home for drugs. He visited me once but told me he wasn't doing so well and often talked about suicide. There wasn't much I could tell him except to be patient and hold on just for me. Aaliyah was able to get her face redone. She doesn't look the same, but at least she's alive. 

I'm still in the hospital and cannot be released until after three days. I will spend my life in a chair after I leave this place. I won't be able to walk again and they told me that it will take many months for me to learn to keep my hands under my own control. I was basically a newborn baby who had to learn to do everything again.

As I lay on my hospital bed, I can't help but wonder about my mother's last words. She said if they all had a proper burial, they could rest again. Was she right? The question definitely made me want to talk to authorities and the mayor about it. I make a promise to myself that I will do my best to get it done.

My doctor walks in and this is my first time seeing her because through every operation, I always had to look at the ceiling while wearing dark shades.  She walks in and approaches me. I smile at her.

"Hello, Cosima. How're you?" She asks.

"Fine," I lie. "How're you?"

"Great and I have wonderful news!" She says. "You're being transferred to a place where they can do a robotic surgery on your arms and legs. You'll be able to walk again, Cosima!"

I'm not sure if I want this. But what else did I have to lose. I couldn't walk now and I probably would miss is. Without talking about it, I consider it. "Fine. When will this happen?"

"Today!" She says, full of excitement. "We're going to get you in the ambulance now. You'll be fine again faster than you know it."

***

She by herself gets me ready then straps me down in the ambulance. No one helps her and it's just me and her.  I lay there as alone in the back as she drives. I'm no expert, but I know I shouldn't be in here alone. 

The ambulance stops and I hear her approaching the back door. She opens it and jumps in. "We're here!" She says, unstraping me.

My heart stops when she unstraps the lace from over my forehead. On her hand, I notice something. Something I never noticed before. Something I thought I would never have to see again.

She doesn't have any fingernails. 

Any air left in my lungs is gone. She picks me up, smiling down at me. When we get out of the ambulance, a building with a huge sign welcomes me. You know what it says?

Johnson City Middle School

...

If I could give any advice to those reading my story. If your parents try to send you to this school, say no. There are many schools with this name. The one you need to look out for is the one in New York. It is indeed a real school.

Also, if you ever see a person on the streets and they don't have fingernails...please, please be careful. You never know the murderer sitting next to you....

The End

And yes, there will possibly be a sequel to this one day :3 Thanks for reading, guys! I enjoyed writing this<3 Sorry if you were expecting a happy ending, but you never know what happens in the next book.