The Locker Exchange

The biting Colorado autumn air clung to Brynn Hastings as she left Westwood High, the setting sun casting long shadows across the empty student parking lot. Close to eight at night, her white Jeep sat alone, a beacon in the encroaching gloom.

She tossed her backpack onto the passenger seat, collapsing into the driver's seat, exhausted from hours of filing paperwork. Just as her fingers brushed the volume dial, an ear-splitting screech pierced the silence, followed by a desperate, distant cry for 'Help!'

Adrenaline surged. Her older brother, Baylor, on the phone, urged her to call the police, but the thought of it being too late gnawed at her. Pulling on a spare hoodie, Brynn crept towards the noise, her heart pounding a frantic rhythm against her ribs.

The football field was eerily still. Then, a black figure appeared at the top of the bleachers, flinching at her gaze before vanishing. Stepping forward, her foot met something warm and wet. Her eyes slowly swept down to a horrifying sight: a puddle of blood, and a whirlpool of soaked blond hair.