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Luke slowly uncrossed his arms, he was petrified. He leaned closer to the table, his gaze fixed on the jacket.
There was blood. Dried up and darkened into another shade of red. He picked up the jacket and straightened it, by the right shoulder, it was torn."My goodness" He breathed almost silently.
Rain swallowed, finally she looked at him. "Mason found it…" she paused, darting quickly to Mason who sat by the corner. Shoulders sagged. "in the fog." she added.
Luke's eyes shot to her, "at the town's exit?"
Rain nodded. "Yes."
Luke frowned. They had found Grayson in the woods and the jacket ended up at the exit? He exhaled. None of it added up, but at least Grayson was safe.
"That's not all." Nora's voice pierced through his thoughts. Luke didn't have to speak, his raised brows said it all. Nora turned to Mason. "Tell him." She said simply.
Mason blinked. He looked drained. He pushed himself to stand upright taking small steps forward. Finally, he stopped at the table. "I saw it…" he started.
Luke leaned closer, the hairs on his skin spiked up. Alert. "What?"
Mason swallowed, his fingers twitched at the edge of the table. "The thing that took Grayson." Tension hung in the air, as silence took over.
Luke's brows lowered. "You mean the animal?" He tried to correct, but Mason disagreed firmly.
"No. I know what I saw," his voice cracked. "And it wasn't just some wild animal…" he paused. "it was a monster. "
Luke stared at him speechless. His eyes swept over their faces, and they looked like they all believed him. Except Nora. She held an expression on her face that didn't quite sit with him.
His gaze returned back to him. "What did it look like?" Luke asked.
Mason's body stiffened. The creature's shriek still echoed in the back of his mind. His breathing became uneven.
Dave was the closest to him. He pushed his glasses up and observed him quietly. Fear had settled across his face. "Mason." Dave tapped him by the shoulder.
Mason blinked, his vision easing back into the moment. "it had…. Gray skin" He said finally.
"Gray skin?" Luke repeated.
He nodded, then continued. "The way it moved… so fast." He shook his head. "also, it's eyes.."
"What about it?" Luke asked quietly, their attention perked. Mason bit his nails as they trembled slightly.
"I…" he paused, "i don't think it had any."
The slience was heavy. Luke stared at him for a beat, then dropped his head.
Nora scoffed lightly, folding her arms.
"Mason," she called. "Come on." His head instantly snapped towards her. "What?" She shrugged, "You were panicking."
Rain shot a quick look at her.
"You could barely breathe when we found you." Nora continued, trying to sound reasonable. "You looked scared, and half out of your mind. I wouldn't be surprised if you were mistaken."
Mason released a dry laugh. "Wow," he muttered, then shook his head before looking away.
Nora locked eyes with Luke, Rain noticed it and stepped forward before either of them could speak. "He's serious." she sounded firm. "I know Mason. Even when he panics he wouldn't just make things up."
Mason's eyes flickered towards her. For the first time since walking into the room, his features softened.
Luke dragged a hand through his head. "Okay," he exhaled heavily. "Maybe you saw something weird, or…you were panicking and might be mistaken."
Mason's jaw clenched.
"But," Luke continued, his voice sharpened. "What we do know is something attacked Grayson." he gestured to the bloody jacket. "And what every it was, it messed him up badly."
No one argued.
"So from now on, everybody stays cautious." Luke striaghtened. "No wandering around late." his eyes moved around the room.
"If it's getting late, everybody should be indoors. Atleast six"
Nora scrunched her nose. "Six? Thats too early. Seven?"
Luke tapped the table once. "By six no more walking alone. No disappereaing in to the woods and no going anywhere without telling someone." he added, "Got it?"
"Got it." they all gave a collective response.
He looked at Rain and then the others, "If anyone notices anything weird, say something immediately."
The room stayed quiet. The stress lingered in the air, Luke sighed then stepped out. Dave nodded at everyone quickly before following behind.
The door clicked shut. Mason leaned back into his chair, rubbing his face tiredly. Nora hesitated for a second before moving closer to him. "You okay?" she asked softly, stretching her hand toward his shoulder.
Mason slapped them off. "I'm fine." His said sharply, "Thanks for having my back, by the way." he muttered bitterly then walked off.
He slammed the door shut, as it echoed across the classroom. Nora stood still, surprised.
"I was just trying to be realistic…." she whispered. Rain walked over to her, resting against one of the desks. "You know Mason…" she stated, "he doesn't make things up."
Nora rolled her eyes. "Think about it Rain." She said, "If some monster was really chasing him, why didn't it follow him outside the fog?"
Rain lips parted to speak, then stopped. Nora had a point. But deep down she knew Mason wasn't lying.
She looked outside the classroom window, and fog rested faintly beyond the football field. Still.