Scratched: Chapter 4

Justin

2.57 a.m.
Saturday
Sea of skulls

Amazing. There were at least 80 heads. All perfectly taken cared of. Us falling through the floor had messed up the original arrangement. Not that Duke or Claire cared, they were busy making out at the corner. Some were broken, others shattered. Hope the owner doesn't bite! Haha... cryptic.

I decided whist lovebirds decided to build their nest in the dingy atmosphere, I'll scout the vicinity. A sudden excitement had overtaken my endocrine system, I am an cockpit running automatic on adrenaline.

The basement, was a basic one. Rectangular, never heard of a mop, broom or soap, desperately needed a bath and a paint job.

The skulls have been arranged in a system. It was not according to anything physical, like size, instead, all were in circles. Some 7, 8... there were even 2 facing each other. No mathematics controlled the formations, it was random. Yet, all circles of skulls were spaced half a foot away from each other. Creepy but thought provoking.

Something caught my eye, as I picked up a skull, and asked Duke if I could take it home. He grunted, again. Talk about PMS-ish guys. Plus, he's a jock. What was that... the faint scratches on the walls...fingernail? Stuck in a crevasse in the wall, a fingernail stood erect. There were names on the wall, again, a formation, names in circles... Andre, Jillian, Jennifer, Mark... all in one circle. Penny and Thomas faced each other.

The names went on and on, every skull on the floor was accounted for on the walls... Some names were scratched, some untouched. Queer. The numbers didn't match, even if tried upside down or right side up. Faint sobs pricked my conscience. Claire was crying in Duke's arms. Poor dear, she had been going through so much, and Duke isn't the easiest guy to be with. I make my way over to her, thinking of all the good times we have together during Further Maths tutorials. Stealing pizzas into the library, hiding Duke's shorts while he was in the shower, taking photographs of Duke sleeping during philosophy classes....

EYES. They were eyes, that was what Claire was looking so intently at. Eyes.