They finished their school work and watched the clock until it read 5:50 before heading to Analy High School again. They met at the school library a couple of minutes past their meeting time. It was still pouring rain, but the wind had picked up and become louder than ever.

They opened the doors to the library and stepped into the heated building. In the back of the library, there was a small dark room with a large monitor on the wall and three chairs in front of it. The police must’ve sat there when they were watching the footage. Hunter and Glynna stood behind the chairs and turned on the monitor. With the controller under it, they clicked through files until they found the ones from the correct time and date.

The first one they watched was a couple minutes before Ms. Cindy’s estimated time of death. The monitor showed mostly gray save for some brighter-colored cars in the background. The second one they watched was clearer, but there were still no signs of human life. Hunter and Glynna went through every file with still no luck.

Hunter grabbed for the remote and said, “Hey, wait, I have an idea.”

He messed with the controls and opened the ‘trash’ on the monitor. There were many old files in there, but all the way at the bottom was a single piece of footage fitting the exact time and date. They played the footage and watched the events unfold.

On the monitor, Glynna and Hunter could clearly see Ms. Cindy walking across the street toward a boy on a skateboard. While this was happening Hunter pulled out his Android phone and began recording. Hunter and Glynna both had their individual thoughts about who it was. They watched him slam into the teacher, and for a split second his face was revealed. They gasped simultaneously when they realized it. They watched him collide with Ms. Cindy and then proceed to beat her with the skateboard. Her body went limp and Magus began to visibly panic. He dragged her out of sight of the frame leaving a trail of blood from the wound in her head.

When the footage ended, Hunter and Glynna gaped dumbfoundedly at the black screen. Magus, their own classmate and peer, had killed Cindy Lynch. Before they could react or call the police, they heard a gun load behind them. Hunter and Glynna both whipped around to find Magus pointing a gun at them.

“I knew you two were up to something,” Magus said with a pained look on his face. His eyes were bloodshot, like he hadn’t slept in days, and tears were pouring down his face, burning against his wounds when he fell off his skateboard.

Glynna responded first, but her voice came out shaky, “You don’t want to do that, Magus.”

“Oh, I don’t?” He waved the gun around in a crazy, almost play like manner. “You think I want to destroy my life?” He was almost yelling at the two of them. The door to the library was open and the wind was blowing everything around. “I’m not a bad guy,” he said. “But I’m not going to prison.” He cocked the gun and pointed it straight at them.

Hunter took a brave step toward Magus in a panic. Magus reacted quickly and held his gun over their heads. He pulled the trigger and shot a bullet straight through the window next to the monitor. Hunter and Glynna both ducked and covered their ears. When they let go, the sound of the gun being fired echoed through their heads. A pile of broken glass from the window lay next to them and the sound of fierce wind whirled around their heads. The rain picked up and was even more aggressive than when they entered the library. The water hit their backs and necks, sending icy chills down their spines.

Now that they knew Magus wasn’t bluffing, Hunter and Glynna were even more petrified. They couldn’t move, and they didn’t dare to breathe—they were cornered from all sides.

Just then, the door to the library was slammed open, and someone came running into the room. With the door and window open, the heated library dropped 10 degrees, and the sounds of wind and rain multiplied. They watched Officer Chris Miller run into the library behind Magus and yell at him to get his attention. Chris popped his gun out of his holster and pointed it at Magus.

Magus turned around to see who had come to visit. While he was distracted, Hunter took the chance and slapped the gun out of his hand. Magus had no time to form a reaction before Officer Miller pinned him to a wall.

“Run, guys, run!” Officer Miller shouted at Glynna and Hunter.

They followed orders and ran as fast as their legs could take them out of the library. When they got outside, Glynna scrambled to find her phone and called the authorities. They could hear shouts coming from inside the library. They were about to run back inside to help Officer Miller with containing Magus when they heard sirens round the corner of the street. The red and blue flashing lights were blinding in the heavy rain. The police had arrived, and Hunter and Glynna were more relieved than ever.

They watched officers climb out of their cars and start running towards them, holding weapons and radios in their hands. One policeman came up to them first and asked them what happened while the others ran through the open library doors. They explained how they figured out it was Magus who killed Ms. Cindy and how he tried to kill them.

After listening to even more shouts and yells coming from inside the library, Officer Chris Miller finally stepped through the doors looking beat up and exhausted. He was holding Magus by his arms, and he was dragging him across the ground. Hunter and Glynna sighed in relief.

Hunter asked his family friend, “How did you know to come save us when you did?”

“I was in the area when I heard a gunshot, and I knew something must have been wrong,” Officer Miller said.

“Thank you, Officer,” Glynna added, “We’re grateful.”

“And thank you two for solving the mystery.” Officer Miller responded, sounding out of breath but at ease all the same.

Before they could continue their conversation, three policemen and policewomen stepped out of the doorway followed by Magus, the killer of Cindy Lynch, in handcuffs. He was being led into a police car. Officers swarmed around him making sure he couldn’t escape. Even if he tried, he would never make it out untouched. There were more police cars surrounding the school than Hunter and Glynna had ever seen.

“Before we were taken I recorded the footage,” Hunter said. He went to show her the evidence on her phone, but it was blurry and unclear what was happening.

A woman who had been helping Magus into the car came up to the two and told them that they should be getting home. School would likely be canceled the next day, but with the many police interviews to come, they should be getting some rest. Hunter and Glynna left the scene of the crime shaken about the fact that one of their classmates turned out to be a murderer. At the same time, however, they were happy they could help.