Whispers in the Dark by Chase J. Jackson

Adrian,” Christy reassured me calmly.
    She still looked the way I remembered her.
    â€œCome closer, Adrian,” Christy told me. “I won’t hurt you.”
    I walked closer toward her, and I said, “What happened? Is this . . . ? Is this your
. . . ?”
    â€œI won’t hurt you, Adrian,” Christy repeated.
    She started removing the blanket from the baby’s face. I leaned over to look at the
baby, and as the blanket pulled away, I noticed that the baby’s eyes were completely
black. No white at all.
    â€œBut she will!” Christy said.
    I looked up. Christy’s eyes were completely black, with blood coming out of them.
    â€œNoooo!” I cried out, and started backtracking out of the kitchen.
    I woke up and realized that I was still lying in bed. Lea was still in the shower.
So that really was Christy. Was it Christy who’s been trying to contact me this whole
time through my dreams? Just to tell me that she won’t hurt me?
    But what did she mean by, “but she will”?

Chapter 9
    T he next morning, I arrived at school early to talk to Mrs. Ramsey. I was still bothered
by the dream, yet enthused that it was the end of the week. I really needed some
time to get my thoughts together.
    I opened the door to the front office and saw Denise sitting there. She waved and
smiled when she saw me, then said, “You can go on back. She’s expecting you.”
    â€œOkay,” I replied. I went to Mrs. Ramsey’s door and knocked.
    â€œCome in,” she said. I opened the door. “Have a seat, Mr. Ramirez.”
    â€œAll right. How are you doing today?” I asked, sitting down.
    â€œNot too good,” Mrs. Ramsey replied. “I got a voice mail from the parent of one of
your students. Mrs. Fuller, the mother of Dorian Fuller.”
    â€œYeah, I know Dorian.” I nodded my head.
    â€œI want you to tell me about the dispute that’s been going on this week with Dorian
and the twins. And I want to know about the meeting you had on Wednesday with these
three students,” she said. “After I saw Raven and Dorian yelling at each other in
your class on Tuesday, I knew something wasn’t right. Then I heard about them getting
ready to fight in the cafeteria. So I want to get to the bottom of things. We will
not tolerate any of that here at this school. I’ve already spoken with the twins,
but I want to hear your side of what’s been going on and what you’ve done.”
    â€œWell, there was a dispute,” I started telling her.
    â€œA dispute about what?” she asked. “I need for you to be specific, because this is
a serious matter.”
    â€œOh, I understand it’s a serious matter,” I said, defensively. “And I’m trying to
get to the bottom of things, just like you are. Dorian is a very opinionated young
man, and he said he doesn’t like the twins.”
    â€œAnd why is that?” she asked.
    â€œHe believes that they were the reason two of his friends aren’t here at the school
anymore,” I explained. “I sat the three of them down to work things out, but no one
wanted to talk. The three of them had an opportunity to say what was on their minds,
but they didn’t. I was hoping to resolve the issue, but clearly it’s something that’s
been going on since before I got here.”
    â€œSo that was all that happened in that meeting?” she asked.
    â€œYes,” I replied.
    Mrs. Ramsey looked at me for a moment, as if she knew I was holding something back,
then said, “No. There’s something else. What are you not telling me?”
    I thought for a moment. Did I really want to tell her what Dorian and I saw? Would
she believe me, or would she just brush it off? I’d better just play it safe.
    â€œNo, that’s it,” I finally said. “I thought it was resolved.”
    â€œWell, I want you to listen to this voice mail that