Enough To Help Me Sleep At Night

Hel found that the longer she sat there, staring up at the enormous grandfather clock on the other side of the room, time would not pick up the pace. Hours had passed since having entered and the only thoughts rushing through her mind were in relation to the awful tragedy that had taken place in the space of a few days. College had begun again a mere week off from Autumn and trees were no longer able to withstand the cool breeze, as they released ombre leaves onto grassy plains. In all a flurry of emotions, the brunette had found a secluded spot in the library and pulled her papers out of her messenger bag, splaying them out on the rounded oak table in front of her. The librarian wasn’t really paying her any mind as she dove right into her studies, intent on forgetting everything that had happened. Two students had been brutally butchered with what appeared to be an axe, on campus, which immediately ignited fear in all students and tutors alike; it was in everyone’s eyes.

“Little late in the day to be cracking down on essays now, isn’t it?” a soft voice appeared from out of nowhere, though she recognised the intruder straight away as he took a seat across from her - eyes boring into her own when she finally pulled her focus away from the book and looked up at him. The boy made it impossible to show any sort of irritation at his impromptu arrivals, so all she offered him in response was a shrug of the shoulders and elongated sigh. Shifting a little closer in his chair, the oblivious writer for the college newspaper picked up one of the open books lounging on another, as the girl’s eyes were fixed solely on the one in her own hands, unaware that he had moved at all. If he held an opinion regarding her reading material, she likely would not be phased by it at all. Curiosity, for lack of a better word, generally kept people alive if they understood the rules of the game. And for all it was worth, Hel had been wanting to improve her knowledge on the subject since it happened - purely out of fear that the less she knew, the worse it would be for her in the long run.

“Woah, not very light reading. What the hell are you studying this for?” he whispered, though it was quite clear through his tone that he was growing frustrated with her lack of care or concern. He was fully surprised that the librarian had even stamped the books repeatedly over the last few days. As a result of two unfortunate souls lost at the hands of a lunatic, one would assume books of this nature would be forbidden for quite some time. Particularly, as the methods in which the victims were killed, completely coincide with the stories in the book he had now dropped, closed, on the other end of the table and far out of her reach. “Or are you even studying it at all?” brows furrowed, he leaned back in his chair and waited on a reasonable response, albeit not expecting one.

“I’m a firm believer in being prepared, Paul. Does it not concern you at all that there is a killer loose on campus because no one has been taken in yet? Or do you tell yourself little white lies in all those news stories you write in the hope that it’s all just your crazy imagination?” she snapped, biting hard on the inside of her cheek as soon as those words left her mouth. That was cruel, uncalled for and a tiny bit of foul-play; she soon realised that, but before she was able to offer an apology for being rude for no real reason, he beat her to the punchline, yet his words were not in a joking manner at all.

“Yea, yea… you’re sorry, right? You know, I never pegged you as the type of girl who could be such a heartless bitch,” he retorted, slamming his hand down on the table as he rose from the chair - sent a scowl her way and left the library as her eyes followed his every move until he was out of sight.

Shit.

Gathering up her own belongings a good hour and a half later, she stored the books back, knowing where they belonged without needing much aid from the librarian whom was now waiting patiently - so she could lock up. A smile settled on Hel’s lips as she turned toward the elderly woman, walking towards the door she held open for her and received a smile in return. It was nice to know that some were still able to do so; offering that small bit of comfort to others during such rough times was all it took to shine a light for the future and the brunette was thankful for it. As she strolled the length of the corridor and down the winding staircase to the floor below, the lights flickered and her heart sped up so much, she feared a panic attack and a fainting episode would take place, but as quickly as it had happened, it stopped and the lights stopped flickering altogether. Regaining her breath, she waltzed down another corridor, making a note of the fact that all she had to do was walk through the double doors at the end and enter her dorm, safe and sound without any hassle to speak of.

But as the lights flickered once more and shut off completely - she darted into the nearest available room after finding one that was unlocked, slamming the door shut behind her. Her heart thumped a mile a minute all over again until she rose a hand to her chest, patting gently and following a rhythm marked out by her palm, to bring herself back down to earth. It was only then she realised whom this room belonged to, at the sight of a pile of papers, notebooks and newspaper clippings scattered all over a desk with a single lamp, along with the notice board directly above it, featuring all manner of twisted and sadistic press stories. Pulling some very unattractive faces as she read through a load of them to pass the time, her ears perked up at the sound of scratching on the door. Fear flamed up her insides and her throat burned with how dry it became as a result of her rapid breathing. Backing right up until she hit the wall, the young woman cowered and pulled her knees tight to her chest and waited, hopeful, that the noise and whatever was making it, would just disappear.

The scratching increased and the bulb of the lamp a few feet away from her blew; darkness being all she could see, whilst the scratching turned to scraping and soon enough, the familiar sound of someone turned the handle of a door. Her arms flew upward and her hands covered her ears with so much force, she almost tore her hair out as she rocked back and forth, frightened half to death by whatever was on the other side of that door. But, when the noise died down and doorknob stopped twisting, all was quiet for at least several minutes and the bust lamp on the desk suddenly lit once again, as though it had not blown a fuse at all. Severely panicked and having a difficult time trying to control her hyperventilating self, she rose her head from her knees as the door began to open. Half expecting to find the killer standing there wielding an axe high above their head, she screamed until there was no longer any breath left in her, but stopped short when she saw his baby blue eyes.

“Hel… what’s going on? Why are you screaming.. hey, it’s okay.. everything’s fine,” he comforted her to the best of his ability, though had no idea why she was hiding out in his room or why she was so keen on screeching like a demented chicken for absolutely no reason as soon as he walked in the room. Had she been expecting someone else? Was she slowly losing her mind; had been reading up on urban legends too much, perhaps? He didn’t know the answers to any of these questions. No doubt, it would take her a while to calm down so that she might explain herself to him properly - and with that in mind, he lowered himself down the wall beside her after locking the door, wrapping both arms tight around her shaking form as she fell against him, fingers curling into the fabric of his shirt as quiet sobs escaped her throat. “Shh, it’s all right, no one’s going to hurt you here.”