12 Nightmare Gates of High School (12-4-23) part 2

As promised the last part of the "book". I had to cut a lot out in the first half.

*Note from the Author*

This book contains and mentions sensitive material relating to mental illnesses/anxiety, several eating disorders, suicide/suicidal thoughts, post-traumatic stress disorder/survivors’ guilt, murder, gore/violence/school shootings, alcoholism/drug abuse, fires/bomb threats on schools, social pressures/stressors and many others. Reader discretion is highly advised for this story is for mature audiences only and it is important to practice self-care during and after reading. Some of the events, people, and timelines are based on true aspects of my life, so keep a clear mindset.

To my inner angels who kept fighting against the demons of my mind as I walked through each gate of hell, I want to thank you for it. And to those inner monsters of mine, thank you for being my inspiration for the books and stories that came out of these nightmares. To the outward angels who stood beside me while I battled the evil inside under my own skin that I kept covered, these books and stories will represent how you have been there for me. 

And to the younger me, who probably didn’t know that they were the main character in their own grand tale; you were going to do great things. Don't you ever look back and question the choices and gates that lead you to the me that I have become...

Melody helped Jayden push the next gate open as Rayman took the tape off his own mouth after untying the boy, “Melody, what’s this nightmare going to be?” Jayden nodded as he removed his tape, “Let’s not rush in like the others.” Melody looked at the gate and then to the boy, removing her tape, “This one looks like we need to be ready to run, but I can’t tell from what.” The other boy bolted away before Melody could even get most of the tape off him. He ran through the gate as more outcasts came to the next gate. No one moved because a mechanical ticking echoed through the dark corridor as the boy turned to look at Melody. Just then the two walls came crashing into together, smashing the boy. A handful of outcasts screamed as the boy’s blood slapped across the front row of teens. 

The walls pulled apart and revealed the crushed body of the boy. A pair of girls walked calmly through the gate trying to not slip on the bloody floor. Both girls had been seen murdering others yet they got through the last two gates, Melody thought as the pair walked past where the boy had been stopped. Other outcasts slowly began to follow the pair, leaving Melody and the boys to watch carefully. Rayman looked over at Melody as more mechanical clicking was heard, causing Melody to react, “RUN YOU GUYS!” The outcasts began to run in two different directions, some ran to Melody and Rayman as they held out their arms to them and others ran forward trying to outrun the walls. Jayden pulled a girl into his arms just as the walls closed again. A blood curdling scream came out Rayman as the walls crunched the bones in his arms. He had pulled Melody away from the gates before she was fully crushed.

The walls pulled away causing at least seven more bodies to drop. Melody stood frozen in the storm of her thoughts, looking at where Rayman’s arm should have been…

Rayman bled out before they could get to the next gate. Melody looked down at his corpse, sitting in her thoughts. Jayden picked up Rayman’s bag and started to check the dead teen’s pockets for anything else. Jayden found a handful of different necklaces and dogtags in his jeans. So you collect their names too, Ray, Jayden thought as he pulled out his own collection of the dead. The names were held in a little wooden box that he moved from his back pocket to Rayman’s bag. He found Rayman’s name engraved into the metal of a watch that was on the arm that was still attached to him. After removing the watch and taking the hand of the girl he pulled to safety, Jayden took his free hand and pulled Melody to her feet, “Come on, Melody. We are halfway done.” 

The walls from the last gate had finally stopped moving in on each other, leaving only about thirty or so outcasts left. The next gate didn’t have to be forced open as smoke and flames engulfed the gate. Outcasts clawed and ran through the flames while others were unlucky enough to get caught by falling debris. Melody felt Jayden pull her through the fire even when the other girl let go of his hand. She may be surrounded by heat and fire but she felt cold as ice, running through that hellish gate. Melody didn’t even see the 9th gate in front of them due to the smoke. 

The group of remaining outcasts then stepped through the gate and onto what can only be described as a literal minefield. Melody couldn’t run after seeing a few teens, who tried to make a mad dash to the next gate, blew up. Jayden continued to hold her hand leading her carefully across the minefield. He could feel the difference under his feet between the soft dirt and the hard compacted spots where mines would have been placed. All that mattered now was to get to the next gate, no matter what, he thought as his hand tightened around Melody’s. The group had dropped in numbers drastically as the pair and a handful of teens came to the next gate…

Melody didn’t remember when Jayden let go of her or when she picked up Rayman’s backpack. She couldn’t hear out of her left ear for some strange reason and she didn't remember why she was covered in blood. She didn't even feel the bullet hole in her arm, she couldn't feel anything. She can't remember the way in the bullets, she couldn't remember the bodies dropping around her, hell she even forgot her own name. Did she even have a name? Who was she and why was she even here? The thoughts raced through the soul surviving outcast’s mind as the final gates stood before her… 

Two government officials walked down the narrow pathway of the Mental Hospital’s Halls, talking amongst themselves about the only surviving Outcast, “ I heard that she was only 17 years-old and now she's crazy.” The two came to a small locked padded cell when one brought a finger to his lips. The men peered inside the room through the little food tray flap, where they found a girl standing in the center of the room that had been completely covered by names written on the walls. The girl was restrained by a straight jacket and stood crookedly trying to itch a scratch that she will never be able to reach. The men began to whisper to each other, “I heard that she can’t remember her name but yet she can say the names of 186 outcasts and each gate they died at.” The men continued to watch the girl as a nurse with a food tray walked towards them. The nurse cleared his throat to drive off the men, so he can do a check on the girl. The girl didn’t turn to face him but he didn’t mind, as he started to set out medications. The girl didn’t usually speak to anyone unless she was spoken to and even then it was like pulling teeth together to get an answer, so it spooked the nurse when a raspy voice came out, “What’s your name?” 

When the nurse turned to answer her question he fell to the floor in absolute horror. The girl had somehow gotten ahold of the necklaces and dogtags of the dead and had hung herself to the padded wall of names. She was still talking even though her neck was clearly broken, “What is your name?”

THE END  

*Note from Adaline*

You have now made it to the end of this nightmare. I hope you can sleep tonight because there are more creatures hiding in the shadows, waiting for fresh prey. And I will be there too, watching from my garden of black roses. Will you join the dark or will you flee from it? I will extend my hand to guide you on this journey of fear, the real question is if you will take it or not...