Event #4: "So Many Red Flags" [TTW Class 2-3 | TAG: Misha]

[Peyton Cross]

[OOC: This takes place after everything with Madonna and after both Naya and Cameron left the auditorium]

Peyton slammed the auditorium door open, and paced around inside, mumbling to herself. She was frustrated and confused and hurt. Everything was so messed up. The one person she wanted to be around wouldn’t even trust her, the sweet girl that she was starting to form a friendship with was acting like nothing was wrong, and the blonde guy seemed to live in his own little world. Of course, once again under her care, the adult in their group perishes while trying to tell the raven haired something. But what? What were all these people trying to say? Why her?! Why now?!?! Why did have to die right in front of her?!?!

She felt as if she was slowly losing her sanity, but then she remembered. The wall…

Peyton sprinted to the wall, slamming into it. Just right after that loud noise, she started banging her fists against it.

“Hey! Anyone in there?” she screamed.

[Misha Charisse Quinn]

Misha brought her knees closer to her frame, her hands resting against her legs as she kept her eyes lowered towards their content. The phone. Andrei’s phone.
What the hell was that supposed to be?

So many strange, confusing things kept happening, so much information for her to handle. She didn’t consider herself to be someone who despaired easily, but between all the deaths, Andrei, Madonna, Ryan, Alex and his amulet, and now… whatever that video was supposed to be… it was becoming too much for her, and she needed a break, to relax, and to think.

Just as she pondered on everything going on, she heard a blaring, distant vibration somewhere around her, like something heavy being forced against a wall. It didn’t seem to come from anywhere in this room however, so maybe it was from one of the adjacent rooms… or the ones under. She lowered her eyes towards the ground. She had been downstairs, and now she was up. Was someone still down there somewhere? Was Alex there? Or…
BLAM

 – OW. She exclaimed, unsure herself if it was because of the loud sound right beside her ear, or in empathy because whatever that was must have hurt. Something had just rushed right into the wall she was resting against at full force. Was that a person, or debris collapsing? If it was the latter, she needed to move away from the wall asap.

Quickly jumping to her feet, she was stopped in her escape by more banging sounds coming from the same place. Those were too constant and methodical to be pieces of the wall or the roof falling down…
“Hey! Anyone in there?”

Fuck. She knew that voice. Peyton! And, by the sound of her hitting and the level of her tone, in the middle of a complete freak out, again. Quickly, she moved towards the sound, waiting for a break between two thuds to speak.

 – Peyton, I’m right here! Calm down! – she screamed, hoping the girl would be able to register her voice despite her alarmed state. – What’s wrong? Did something happen? Are you hurt?

At least, she wasn’t dead. It was sad that this alone had become the most wonderful of news around here.

[Peyton Cross]

“Peyton, I’m right here! Calm down!”

I know that voice…that’s-

“Misha! Holy shit, I can’t believe I found you again!” Peyton said. She hadn’t really expected to see other people from her first group for the rest of their endeavor, despite seeing Naya again. Even then…

“What’s wrong? Did something happen? Are you hurt?” the redhead asked alarmingly.

“I’m in the same physical state you left me in,” she sighed. Where was she supposed to even begin?

“Um…ok so….Misha…something isn’t right here. And I know that’s obvious but…there’s something else to it…I uh….” Peyton couldn’t seem to say it outloud. Not directly. Maybe if she asked…

“Misha….have you seen Naya? Like really recently! After everything in the entrance hall,” the raven haired asked.

[Misha Charisse Quinn]

Peyton seemed about as surprised to find her here than she had been, if not more. Well, it was always nice to feel welcome.

 – Nice to hear you too. – she replied back, somewhat cynically. At the very least, she assured her that she wasn’t physically distressed; though that didn’t explain her initial freak out. Maybe she had been trapped in here so long that the walls were closing in on her, simple as that. She had even mentioned the fact that things “weren’t right”, which at this point, was an understatement.

Yet, something in her tone as she said that told her that she was in for a ride; and the fact that she didn’t seem to know where to even start her sentence wasn’t a good sign either. She braced herself.
“Misha….have you seen Naya? Like really recently! After everything in the entrance hall.”

Somehow, she hadn’t expected that. It sounded almost… innocent.

 – …Yeah? I mean, I didn’t see her, but after we were separated, I could talk to her through the wall, like right now. She seemed fine; I mean, shaken and unnerved, like all of us, but … “fine”. – she answered, furrowing her brows in confusion, unsure where she was going with this. She wished she’d just get to the serious stuff. – Why, did something happen to her?

Had the creeper attacked her somehow? Or… if she went and attacked someone right after I told her to be careful with the texts, her thought started, almost aggressive….almost. … I’m gonna feel either really pissed or really guilty.

[Peyton Cross]

"…Yeah? I mean, I didn’t see her, but after we were separated, I could talk to her through the wall, like right now. She seemed fine; I mean, shaken and unnerved, like all of us, but … 'fine’” Misha answered. She paused for a second, "Why, did something happen to her?”

Peyton rubbed the backside of her neck, biting her lower lip in nervousness. She wasn’t really concerned about telling people most things, but she hadn’t exactly spoken her concerns out loud. The raven haired was worried that Misha might think she was crazy, or someone might hear her “observations” and try to axe her off like with what happened to Madonna. Maybe she was being paranoid, but Peyton’s instincts couldn’t help but feel the uneasiness of everything. She wasn’t even entirely sure if she could trust Misha with the information, but for now this is all she’s got. And the raven haired might go crazy if she doesn’t speak up about her observations sooner or later.

“It…it’s just that….look this is all gonna come spilling out of my mouth like it’s no big deal but-“ Peyton looked around, hoping no one else was there to hear her, “Something is wrong with Naya. She’s in my group and the entire time I’ve been with her, she’s like a completely different person. Like that Jekyll and Hyde story. It started off simple enough, with her saying me and Emery should kiss. It was weird, we both laughed it off, but then Emery started having a freakin meltdown. It was like…no…it was EXACTLY like how Andrei reacted before…ya know. And then, she kissed me! Just without even saying anything! She and Naya left, but when they came back, Naya was so…chipper. Like everything was fine and it was a normal school day. Emery was so completely and utterly disturbed and she won’t tell me. It’s like she’s afraid of something, and I know Emery. She’s not usually like this. To top it all off, Naya suggested that me, her, and some blonde guy that’s with us to help out Mrs Truman ELSEWHERE, who just woke up, and then told Emery to take care of her by herself. I didn’t trust it, so I decided to stay. Next thing I know, Emery knocked down a bookshelf and it landed right on top of Mrs. Truman. So,” Peyton’s voice cracked, fighting back tears, “Now she’s also dead.”

The raven haired sniffed a little, and tugged on her hair. This all most likely didn’t make any sense, but Peyton was desperate to get someone to believe her.

“Naya is so nonchalant about all of this, and it’s worrying me. And I have never EVER seen Emery like this before. You gotta believe me Misha. I know this all sounds fucking crazy, and it’s hard to take in, but my instincts are screaming at me that my whole group is fucked up,” she said, almost spastically. She pressed her back against the wall, hugging her knees, "The one person I thought I could trust turned her back on me. Now I don't know what to believe anymore."

[Misha Charisse Quinn]

Though it only took Peyton a few seconds to keep on talking, Misha could feel every one of those seconds; one of her friends could either be hurt or hurting someone, and she wasn’t being told. All she wanted was for her to spill the beans, was that really so much to ask?
By the time she got her wish, however, Peyton was unstoppable, words coming out of her mouth in a frantic succession, to the point it was becoming difficult for her to follow the story. Her accusations of Naya being too “happy” were questionable; after all, the last time she’d talked to the girl, she was trying to keep it together, but she was still affected by their situation. Maybe Peyton simply didn’t know the poor girl that well, as for the kiss, even if it took Peyton by surprise, she could probably blame it on yet another sexually harassing prank from their personal text creeper, same for Emery’s panic.

What came next was what really shocked her.

“Next thing I know, Emery knocked down a bookshelf and it landed right on top of Mrs. Truman. So, now she’s also dead.”
The anguish in the girl’s voice told her that this wasn’t just some sick joke, not that she expected Peyton to ever be the one to do something like that. Madonna was truly dead, ironically not from blood loss. She had been killed.
Killed by Emery.
In a quick association of ideas, her thoughts immediately went to Alex, and what he would think if he heard this. She shook her head to chase that question away, as her brain was still trying to register the information.
Emery had killed someone. She had pushed a shelf onto someone’s head, right after freaking out because of a text.
Did that mean it had been… on purpose?

Would Emery actually… murder someone just because she was… asked? Or had it been…

I don’t believe in accidents anymore.

Andrei’s fall hadn’t been an accident. All those strange behaviors people had right after receiving texts weren’t accidents. Madonna’s injury hadn’t been an accident, and she was certain the increasing amount of auditory hallucinations she was being told about weren’t accidents either. Heck, at this point, she didn’t even believe the earthquake was an accident anymore. Something was going on in this school. Something was asking people to do stuff. And people were obeying.

Now… what did that mean for Naya’s “unusual” attitude?

It took Misha a few seconds to realize she had been silent for too long, that Peyton was at her breaking point and probably waiting for her to say something back. As if she had any idea how to respond to any of this. Another person had been added to the death toll. And students were starting to act crazy. What was she to do?

Taking a deep breath, Misha lowered herself on her knees, supporting herself with one hand on the wall. Maybe it would be easier to think if she tried to take it easy. She didn’t believe that for a second, but it was worth a try. And Peyton truly needed her to say something right now. She just wished people would finally learn she was the worse source of comfort they could get, once and for all. She couldn’t even handle her own feelings, even less someone else’s.

 – … the kiss was probably because of a text. – she offered, trying to keep her voice quiet, calming. She wasn’t good at it. – Maybe Naya received something asking her to say this, and Emery noticed and she kissed you because she was scared of Naya getting hurt, or herself. Or you. – She took a few more seconds before continuing. She didn’t want to have to share this with anyone else, but… despite how harsh of a reality it was, it seemed like it was needed. – I didn’t want to tell anyone this before, because I wanted to believe it was just a coincidence, but… earlier, when we were in the same group, and Naya and I left for a while… the text asked her to grope me. And she did, because she was scared. And I got really mad at her, and I made her cry. So when I received a text too, asking me to kiss her… I snapped, and I told the texter to go fuck himself. And then… I couldn’t breathe. I just started choking on air, and I panicked and I thought I was dying. Suddenly, it stopped… I wasn’t the only one too. I was with Alex earlier, and… he received a text telling him to harass me too. He didn’t do it, and he was choked. It was like he was… it doesn’t matter. – she shook her head. Peyton didn’t need more gruesome details right now. – The fact is that people who don’t obey the orders are being punished, and I think that Emery was punished in the past too, from what her brother told me. So she might have just done what she did to you because she was scared. It doesn’t excuse it and I get why you’re mad, I was too. But it… explains it, at least.

What it didn’t explain was… Madonna. Even if she had been punished, even if she was scared, was this enough to… convince her to kill someone? And…

 – … I don’t know what’s going on with Naya. I talked to her so recently and she was… herself. She told me she was sorry for groping me when she did, that she shouldn’t have done it, and that she wouldn’t kill or hurt anyone even if she was asked. I want to believe she just wants to try and keep her spirits high, but… I don’t understand what she’s doing, and I’m not even there. … maybe Emery received a text asking her to do… what she did and Naya was trying to cover for her, but… – she took a long, deep breath – It’s fucked up. I don’t know what she was… trying to do, if it was on purpose, but… it’s fucked up. I didn’t…

I didn’t think we would have people snapping this quick. I didn’t think Em of all people would be the first to kill.

What would Alex say?

 – I’m sorry, Peyton.

[Peyton Cross]

Peyton put her hand on her mouth, trying to drown out the sobs. She wasn’t usually so emotional, but she felt so betrayed. She never thought that in this place, at this point in her life…there was no one she could trust. Not really. She had hoped that maybe Misha could help her, prove her insanity wrong, say that she’s right, that this is what was happening. After moments of silence, coming close to thinking her fellow friend had left, Misha spoke up.

“…the kiss was probably because of a text.”

What?

“Maybe Naya received something asking her to say this, and Emery noticed and she kissed you because she was scared of Naya getting hurt, or herself. Or you.”

No no no, I know Emery. It wasn’t a stupid text. I never saw it.

Misha started going into her experience with Naya and Alex, but Peyton wasn’t listening. She was stuck in her own loop and thought process. Her hands tugged at her hair, making it a mess, threatening to pull it out. Was she really crazy? Damnit why wouldn’t people listen to her?! Tell her things? Confess things? Why couldn’t she just know instead of being kept hidden in the dark? What was really going on here? Why why why why why why-

“I’m sorry Peyton,” the redhead said.

Peyton’s eyes opened wide, her eyes glistening in the dim lighting, glowing like blue diamonds. She froze for a moment. Sorry.

Those weren’t words someone said to her often.

The raven haired wiped tears from her eyes and let out a small chuckle.

“Don’t know why you’re saying sorry. It’s not your fault.”

She was silent again, contemplating on what she wanted to say next, what felt right to her. Replaying it over and over again in her head, before finally letting it spill from her mouth.

“I would’ve known if it was a text. I would’ve seen it. Emery was right there. Right next to me the whole time. She never checked her phone once, she just started screaming. If it was a text, I would be concerned…but…no. Emery would’ve told if it was a text, and she didn’t. There’s something else I’m not getting here…"

[Misha Charisse Quinn]

Her wall friend was shockingly silent during her entire speech; knowing her attitude, she would have expected some kind of interruption, maybe a scream or harsh words here and there, but not… this. It seemed so out of character that she was starting to be a little worried.
It wasn’t until she herself went silent that Peyton let out a small, unexpected chuckle. Taken aback, Misha raised an eyebrow as well as her head, staring at the wall as if looking hard enough would let her see her face. What the hell had she said that was so funny? I swear to God, if this was all some kind of joke…

“Don’t know why you’re saying sorry. It’s not your fault.” That reply astonished her even more. She didn’t know what she was expecting her to say, but for some reason, it wasn’t this. Even though… it somewhat explained her reaction. So THAT was the only thing able to snap her out of it, uh?

 – You haven’t listened to a single word I just said, have you? – she didn’t know whether to feel amused or exasperated; Peyton was honestly too much for her sometimes, and that was saying a lot. Nervous, she let out a chuckle of her own. – Eh, don’t read too much into it. It’s what people say when they don’t know what to say. Like that supercalifragilisticexpialidocious bullshit.

“I would’ve known if it was a text. I would’ve seen it." continued Peyton, finally back on track. Misha slowly moved forward to rest her head on the wall, her unfocused eyes looking straight in front of her as she listened.

Things were getting… complicated. In all honesty, she didn’t believe that it was impossible that either Emery or Naya received a text without her noticing it, and that they simply wanted to keep something from her to protect her or prevent her from freaking out – or… from stopping them, in that case. Peyton wasn’t as observant and in control as she wanted to believe she was. But… there was also another possibility. A possibility she didn’t want to think about, didn’t want to have to consider again after so many revelations, but…

 – People have been hearing voices. – the words escaped her before she could stop herself or reconsider. Taking a moment to dwell on it, she consented to continue speaking; it was useless to keep it secret after letting her hear that. – Voices that told them that they were nothing, that other people weren’t worth saving… pretty much telling them to let people die. I don’t know… what the logic behind those things is. – In Alex’ case, he had some glowy, spooky amulet around his neck when it happened the second time, but not the first. And Max had… nothing. – … I received a video earlier, showing Amanda talking to herself, before… her suicide. And she sounded very affected. So… I don’t know if this is real, if something has been drugging us and we’re starting to hallucinate, but… if either Em or Naya heard something in their head asking them to do things… you wouldn’t have been able to hear it. And… I don’t know how far those voices go, compared to the texts.

Finally, she stopped. Knowing her, there was a chance that Peyton might not even listen to that either; or that she would just freak out. But at this point… she had no idea what to do about anything, everybody kept coming to her with new creepy info about supernatural stuff happening, every logical she tried to give was either busted or ignored, and people were starting to murder each other. The best option she could think of was to share what she knew, and… hope somebody could come up with the solution that was escaping her.

[Peyton Cross]

“People have been hearing voices,” Misha said.

Voices….voices. Voices could explain it.

“Voices that told them that they were nothing, that other people weren’t worth saving…”

Peyton had been hearing voices of her own, in her dreams. But this clearly sounded different. The voices she was hearing was her own mind working against her. This sounded like something else in it’s entirety…like another entity lurking in the shadows. Taking away their hope, feeding off their fear and self-doubt. Maybe there really was a monster in this place. It was the only explanation she could come up with, despite never wanting to believe it’s accountability.

Misha digressed into a video she found…of Amanda. The poor redhead who had taken her own life. From how it sounded, it seemed that Amanda had her own issues. Yet Misha’s claims seemed like it was all connected somehow, interwoven with multiple threads on a bulletin board. The raven haired frowned.

“Do you think…whatever Amanda was talking to…is connected to all of this?” She paused, biting her lip after saying those words, and then shook her head. “No…that’s crazy. I don’t know where that came from."

[Misha Charisse Quinn]

“Do you think…whatever Amanda was talking to…is connected to all of this?” Peyton finally answered, after some thinking. “No…that’s crazy. I don’t know where that came from."
Misha chuckled, somewhat improperly.

 – Honestly, I don’t know what is or isn’t crazy anymore at this point. – her voice was still laughing, but couldn’t hide her anxiety. – All I know is that she heard voices, and then she killed herself; now other people hear voices telling them to hurt people. And Amanda’s death… it was right before the earthquake. It just… feels like too much of a coincidence. I don’t know if she was the first victim or the trigger, but… she clearly knew something we didn’t, and now… she isn’t with us.

Which was a shame; not only because of the loss of a human life, but because… it sounded like whatever had happened to Amanda, what she had heard… wasn’t a first time for her. Maybe she knew more than she let on what was going on in this school. Maybe she could have given them all some answers, helped them understand.
Maybe that was exactly why she was dead.

Misha sighed.

 – Look, Peyton… I can’t know if that’s precisely what’s happening to Em and Naya, I don’t even know if it’s some kind of drug or hallucinations or whatever, but… if it is all related… then those voices are dangerous. They want people to hurt or kill each other; pushed someone to throw herself off a building. We need to be careful. – she paused for a moment – … I know you’re close to Emery, and I know you don’t want to hurt her. But if she starts acting… weird, again. You might have to defend yourself. Or someone else. And I want you to be ready then. – Like I’ll have to be ready too. She thought. She didn’t even want to think about what she would do if Alex… no, she refused to think about it. – l told you, you’re not allowed to die until I can give you that slap I owe you. Deal?

[Peyton Cross]

Peyton heard Misha chuckle behind the wall, and told her her own suspicions. That everything revolving around Amanda was weird, unnatural. Everything about it…it couldn’t have been a coincidence. The raven haired smiled a little bit. For once, her and the redhead agree on something.

“Look Peyton,” Misha spoke up again, " I can’t know if that’s precisely what’s happening to Em and Naya, I don’t even know if it’s some kind of drug or hallucinations or whatever, but… if it is all related… then those voices are dangerous. They want people to hurt or kill each other; pushed someone to throw herself off a building. We need to be careful. … I know you’re close to Emery, and I know you don’t want to hurt her. But if she starts acting… weird, again. You might have to defend yourself. Or someone else. And I want you to be ready then.”

The thought horrified her. That Emery might be forced - or worse, willingly - kill her. End her life right then and there, and that isn’t how she’s gonna go. She will not die from the hands of some sort of evil force….more evil than her own mother. Those were words she never thought would appear in her mind, but it was true. There are worse things in the world than a racist, homophobic drunk. Currently, that worse thing is what - or who - was keeping them there. And worst of all, it was corrupting Emery. Her Songbird. The closest thing to family she had…is being lost to this place…and she might never be the same because of it. The only person she trusted and cared about might stab her in the back, and Peyton would have to protect herself. The raven haired WON’T die here. She’s come too far for high school to be the end of her. Too far to watch everything she worked for, everything she loved crumble into a pit of agony. She’s gonna come out of this alive. She’s gonna punish the person who did this…and she’s gonna punish her mother. It all needs to stop and end. Here and now. Let that bastard throw everything it’s got her way. She’s ready. After all, it can’t get any worse.

“I told you,” said the redhead, “You’re not allowed to die until I can give you that slap I owe you. Deal?”

Peyton furrowed her eyebrows, and smirked a little.

“Deal.”

[End of thread]