Chapter 1: Classroom Six

Katie sat in the middle of the classroom jumping inwardly every time Mr Jacks, the English teacher shouted for silence.Trembling in her seat she stared unbelievingly at his contorted face as he slammed both of his hands down onto the table directly in front of Mary and spat angrily, ‘Do you have any brains girl. I told you to shut up and yet you're still talking'
A gasp of disbelief rippled through the classroom.
The girls were already silent, but Mr Jacks was fed up with the job and with his life but his anger rose even higher and his face turned purple with rage as he spotted, through the corner of his eye, Katie whispering to Fiona.
‘You!’ he shouted pointing to Katie with a shaking finger. ’Yes you!’
Katie held onto her seat with both hands as her heart began to thump violently against her chest. Looking innocently at Mr Jacks she fluttered her deep brown eye lashes whispering to him innocently, ‘Me sir? Yes Sir.'
However, the eyes did nothing to Mr Jacks; he was in a bad mood and she was the one he could use as his scapegoat for the day.
‘Go to Room Six,' he snapped' I told you, I want silence. I won't have disobedience in my class, go on get out, get out now.' he screamed as he pointed towards the door.
Katie could not believe her ears, not Room Six, she was new to the school, but she had already learnt how the room was for the bad kids, the naughty rude ones like Rachel and Joanne, not her surely not her but she also had a very good reason for not going to the legendary classroom.
She was not being bad; she was just asking Fiona to pick up her pen from the floor.
It was so unfair, so embarrassing, how could she walk out in front of everyone. She could not go.
She tried to plead with him, ’But sir I was just….'
‘Now!’ he shouted as he walked towards the door and opened it, ‘Get out now, I won't have disobedience, you will obey me, go to Room Six NOW!'
Rachel's anger began to boil, how could he treat Katie like that, it wasn't fair.
‘But sir she was only asking for her pen on the floor down there. said Rachel indignantly, pointing to the yellow pen lying in front of him.
Mr Jacks pounced on his new victim, ‘How dare you interfere, I told you that I wanted silence, go on you can join her.’ he snapped.
‘But I was just saying that…’
The argument between teacher and student intermingled into a confusion of angry words as each tried to shout the other one down, but the teacher was having none of it and was determined to have the last word, and the last word did the trick.
‘Are you deliberately disobeying a teacher, are you? I'm sure your parents will be interested in that. Do you want me to get Mr Brown to get you out?’
‘No.’ was definitely the answer, Mr Brown the Deputy Head had excluded Rachel only two weeks ago and she knew that her parents had agreed that if she got into any more trouble that they would move her to another school. She had to back down. Picking up her bag slowly she stuffed her books and pencil case into it. Then picking up her coat she walked as slowly as she dared towards the door and looking Mr Jacks straight in the eyes said bravely, ‘You're not fair, and I'm going to tell Miss Craig.’
‘I don't care who you tell, you can tell the Queen if you want to, as long as you get out of my class.’ he said a self-satisfied smile crossed his face.
Katie sat quietly with her eyes down on her work, hoping and praying that he would forget all about her, but she could feel his eyes boring deep into her skull. Everyone was looking at her in silence, but then she made the mistake of looking up at him and as her eyes met his, she quickly slipped off her chair, went under the table, picked up her pen and holding it up for him to see, smiled weakly at him whilst still on her knees.
‘Please sir, please, she begged pitifully, as he unemotionally stared down at her, ‘Please sir, look it's my pen.’
But the teacher just stood in front of her, with his arms folded and now with a determined look on his face.
‘I can't go in there sir, really I can't. Please sir I will be good, honest I will, I won't make a sound. You can send me there if I do, just one more chance, please sir, please.’
Sitting in her chair with a straight back and folded arms, she bit her lips together, to show that she would say no more.
Mr Jack’s patience was wearing thin, with his lips pursed and his eyes now narrowing into slits, he bellowed out of a purple face, ‘GET TO ROOM SIX…NOW.’
Katie's heart thumped against her chest as she rose from her seat. She could barely see her bag as the tears misted up her eyes. Picking up her coat and slinging the bag over her shoulder, she ran out of the door like a frightened mouse.

Rachel was still outside and resolute.
‘That was so unfair, he always picks on me’ but she stopped when she saw Katie's face turn white as a sheet in front of her,

Knocking on Miss Craig's door, which was next to Mr Jacks' room, Rachel opened it tentatively and looked in.
Miss Craig her Head of Year was teaching a group of year ten girls.
'Yes Rachel,' said Miss Craig as the students moaned at yet another interruption, ‘is it really important?
‘Yes, I think it is. said Rachel as she looked back at Katie trembling in the corridor behind her.
Miss Craig was taken aback to see Katie outside gasping for air. Putting her arm around her shoulders, she asked, ‘What on earth have you done to her Rachel?
‘I haven't done anything to her,’ said Rachel indignantly, ‘it's that Mr Jacks again, he's in a bad mood and he's sent us to Room Six.’
‘Whatever for?’ asked Miss Craig stroking Katie's hair out of her eyes, and rubbing her back as she tried to calm the girl down.
‘He's sent us there for nothing.’
‘Come on.’ said Miss Craig, ‘he's not going to send you there for nothing, now is he?’
‘I was trying to tell him that Katie was just asking Fiona for her pen and that he was being unfair, so he sent me to Room Six.’
The words Room Six was too much for Katie, ‘I can't go to Room Six Miss, I can't.’ she blurted out with tears now streaming down her white cheeks.
‘It's not fair, every week he sends me there,’ said Rachel forcefully, putting her arm around Katie's shoulder, ‘and look what he's done to poor Katie Miss, she's shaking like a leaf.
Miss Craig was shocked to feel Katie trembling like a caught sparrow, but what was more alarming was the way her heart was pounding in her chest.
‘I can't go in there Miss, I can't, please don't make me go, please.’ Katie implored.
Miss Craig could not deal with both girls and turning to Rachel, she asked her gently to go to Room Six.
Rachel began to cry, ‘But I didn't do anything Miss.’ she protested loudly.
Miss Craig gave her one of her knowing looks.
‘Alright, I know I spoke when I was supposed to be quiet, but I was only sticking up for Katie Miss.’
‘I know your intentions were good, but you still broke the teacher's rules. Do it for me Rachel will you?’ she said gently.
Rachel nodded her head, and as she wiped her eyes on the cuff of her sleeve she said, ‘Alright, but only for you Miss, but not for that old git.
Miss Craig had helped Rachel out many times in the past and at least she had always been fair with her. Rachel resigned herself to her fate and walked off down the corridor proudly, like a soldier going off into battle.
Miss Craig stood looking at Katie for a long time, while the child's heart and breathing slowed.
It was a dilemma and one that was not going to be easy to fix.

Knocking softly on Mr Jacks' classroom door she waited.
Suddenly the still angry Mr Jacks flew out ready to pounce on his next victim, but he pulled himself up when he saw Miss Craig standing there with Katie by her side.
‘Shall I have this girl for you Mr Jacks?’ inquired Miss Craig calmly, ‘I don't think she's in any fit state to go to Room Six. She's having trouble with her breathing.’
Mr Jacks turned on Katie who was now unfortunately breathing quite normally.
He wanted to prove that he was in the right and stood in front of Katie towering over her and asked vehemently, ‘Did I not tell the class several times to be quiet, didn't I?
Katie tried to explain by saying, ‘Yes, but I…’
But he cut her off and would not let her finish. He was not going to let her say anything, except for the words that he wanted to hear.
‘Did I tell the class to be silent; did I?’ he repeated.
‘Yes sir, but I was trying to….’
‘So you were in the wrong weren't you, you knew what I said and you deliberately disobeyed me, didn't you, didn't you.’ He bore down on her again and again until she finally said the words.
‘Yes sir, I'm sorry.’
With that, he turned triumphantly to Miss Craig.
‘There you are pure disobedience. She has to go to Room Six.’
Katie burst into tears and pleaded with Mr Jacks again but he stood there coldly ignoring her pleas and rolling his eyes up towards the ceiling.
‘Please sir, I won't do it again, honest I won’t, honest I'll be good, just give me another chance please.’
Mr Jacks looked very calm and Miss Craig thought that he was just about to give in, but then he looked at Miss Craig and said evenly, ‘I want this girl to go to Room Six now, please.’
Then ignoring the new wave of sobs from Katie he turned and walked back into his classroom and closed the door.
Katie fell to her knees, ‘I can't, I can't go in there, I'll die if I go in there, honest I will.’she said earnestly.
‘No, you will not, said Miss Craig as Katie began to hold her breath, ‘now breath, she said firmly as she shook the girl by the shoulders.
‘What's the worse that could happen to you in Room Six, nothing, it's not going to kill you, its only a room, you're not going to be tortured in there now are you. said Miss Craig, as she tried to reason with the now trembling mass of flesh on the floor. ‘Come on it's nothing to be afraid of, come on up you get.
‘I can't Miss, I'll die if I go in there, I will,' said Katie as a stream of snot dripped out of her nose.
Miss Craig handed her a tissue and said softly, ‘You won't, nothing is going to happen to you in there, you'll stay there for two lessons and then you'll go back to class and nothing else will happen.’
‘You don't understand miss, it is dangerous in there, no, I can't, I can't.’ she said as she fell back onto her knees.
Miss Craig had seen some good acting in her time, but this was not just over acting this was pure fear. Katie had whipped herself up into such an emotional state and who could blame her.
We can all get into a bad mood at some time in our lives, but lately Mr Jacks seemed to be like it all of the time. He was so hard hearted and she wondered if he had ever cared about any of the children in his care. She had never seen him smile or joke with the students. What he did seem to enjoy was being sarcastic and belittling them in front of the class and he was even happier if he was able to push a child to the point where they were in tears.
Miss Craig was tired of trying to plicate angry parents who wanted to know why their children had come home so distressed, but he knew how to play the system and was never fazed at any complaint from a parent.
‘They disobeyed the rules,’ he would say smugly, opening the child's homework diary and reading off the myriad of rules which he helped to compile.
Katie was a good girl, a real softie, as any teacher would tell you. All he needed to do was to threaten to put her outside the classroom and he knew that she would shut up. She was not perfect, sometimes she did chat in class too much, but she was a likable child and she got on well with everyone and had not really given anyone real grief.
No, although she did not want to undermine his authority, she could not send Katie to Room Six, at least not for now. Leaving her on the floor weeping inconsolably, she knocked firmly on the door.
Still purple with rage and trying to contain his temper Mr Jacks opened the door.
‘Yes.’ he said curtly.
‘I'm sending Katie to the school nurse. She can't go to Room Six in this state.’ said Miss Craig flatly.
‘Why, what's wrong with her. She's such a drama queen.’ he said sarcastically.
‘She's having trouble with her breathing.’ she lied.
‘If she's that ill then surly she should go home?’ he retorted as he slammed the door shut in the teachers face.
‘Come on Katie, let's get you to the school nurse.’ Miss Craig said as she picked up Katie’s bag and coat and holding the tiny child under the arm, she led the girl, who was still gasping for breath, down the stairs and towards the medical room.
On the way, she met Miss Crenshaw.
‘Just taking Katie to the nurse Miss Crenshaw, do me a big favour, look after my lot in there will you?’ she said nodding back towards her own classroom.
Maisie, the school nurse took Katie by the arm, and just in time. Katie fell slowly towards the floor but the nurse expertly steered her towards the chair by the door and encouraged her to put her head down on her knees. After checking her pulse, she turned and said seriously to Miss Craig,
‘I think she'll have to go home. Call reception will you and ask them to call for Katie's guardian to come and pick her up.’
Miss Craig picked up the telephone and looked on anxiously as the nurse stoked the child’s head.
The nurse shook her head, ‘Who did this to the poor wee thing?’ she said.
‘She was sent to Room Six by Mr Jacks for talking.’ said Miss Craig .
‘Talking, silly old fool he's getting worse. When is he going to leave? Everyone knows it's time he retired, that is everyone except him. It's obvious he doesn't like children.’ said Maisie who was now holding the child's hand and patting it gently.
‘Will she be alright?’ said Miss Craig looking anxiously at Katie.
‘Yes, I think so, we just need to get her home.’ the nurse said, as she covered Katie up with a thin brown blanket.
‘I have to get back; Miss Crenshaw is looking after my lot.’
‘I'll make sure she goes home.’ said Maisie as she went to the sink to get Katie a drink of water.
The nurse gestured to Miss Craig and they both walked over to the door,
‘I'm going to speak to the Head about this,' whispered Maisie glumly, ‘and I think you should report him.’
Miss Craig nodded and left.
This was it; surely, the Head would not keep him on now. Mr Jacks had recently had a number of parents complain about him. He had pulled a chair from under one child when she didn't move from her seat quickly enough. He had insulted another student because of her religion and his sarcasm to some of the girls about their lack of bodily development was just plain cruel, but surely this time he had gone too far, would this be the last straw for him, she thought as she walked back to her classroom.
But the following days brought even more problems.
Katie recovered quickly from her ordeal and returned to school the following Monday.
She looked a lot happier, but Mr Jacks had not had his own way and was determined that Katie would do her Room Six detention as soon as possible.
Miss Craig tried to reason with him.
‘You pamper those kids far too much,’ he said to her in the staff room during break time, ‘she's no different to any other student in this school and she has to take her punishment.’
‘I'm not saying that she is different, I'm only pointing out that she's new to the school and doesn't really understand the system. Is there some other way, maybe break or lunchtime detention? I'm sure she would be delighted to do that and it would stop her fainting again, which I'm sure you would want to avoid.’
Mr Jacks screwed up his face and shook his head.
‘No, I still want her to do her detention in Room Six.’ he said stubbornly.
‘Can't you let it go Tom.’
‘No, I shall write a letter of complaint to the Governors if she does not do the detention.’
‘Alright, alright, but she'll have to do it with me, so that I can keep an eye on her.’
‘If you want to waste your time then you can. You will inform me when she is in there so that I can check for myself.’
Miss Craig couldn't believe her ears. ‘Surely that's a bit childish Tom, even for you. Don't you think the girl has gone through enough without you wanting your pound of flesh?’
‘Rules are rules.’ he said in a superior voice, ‘and it's our job, both yours and mine, to enforce them for these young people, you know it's only for their own good.’
‘Come off it Tom, it's only for your pride you mean!’ said Miss Craig crossly, as she heads for the door.

Miss Craig had to tell Katie about the decision and she did not relish the task and during form time, she called Katie out of the classroom and took her to her office downstairs.
‘Now Katie, the first thing I want you to remember is that I will be with you. Repeat what I just said.’
Katie gave Miss Craig a puzzled look. ‘Remember that you will be with me,’ she repeated but just then, the penny dropped and Katie's bottom lip began to tremble, ‘Please Miss not Room Six.’
‘Look last week,’ said Miss Craig sitting closer to the girl, ‘you were in the wrong and so was Rachel. Rachel had to go to Room Six and it's only fair that you go there also.’
Tears began to glisten in Katie's eyes.
‘Now stop that, I said I will be with you, didn't I.’
‘But you don't understand, you don't know what can happen in there. I could die if I go in there,’ said Katie seriously, ‘I'm not being a drama queen, I'm not over reacting Miss, I know that I will die and so will you if you're with me.’
‘Nevertheless you will come with me during period one today and I will sit with you and I will make sure that you do not die.’
The bell sounded through the school and Katie tried to be brave as Miss Craig held her firmly by the hand and led her towards the dreaded room.
Stopping outside the door Katie put her hand on the doorframe and tried to stop herself from entering the room, but Miss Craig was stronger and pulled her inside.
‘There you are, no problem just a room, look normal tables and chairs. You sit there dear and I'll sit here next to you.’ said Miss Craig sitting on a chair next to the window,
Opening up the book she had brought with her she began to read, while Katie looked anxiously around the room.
True the room did have a creepy feeling about it thought Miss Craig, but that was due to the grey paint, which was peeling off the wall and the fact that only one of the florescent light strips in the ceiling were working.
The light outside went darker as black clouds began to fill the sky. Miss Craig stared at the blanket of clouds hurrying over the mountains in the distance, as large raindrops began to splatter on the windowpanes.
Something was wrong, everything went quiet there was no sound from the classrooms below and nothing from the traffic outside, not even the tick of the white clock hanging on the wall, in fact, the clock had now stopped and everything was eerily silent.
Katie looked nervously at Miss Craig, moved her chair nearer to the teacher and clung onto her arm tightly.
Suddenly a tear in the middle of the wall behind them began to rip open and a red ghostly light escaped through the gap.
Miss Craig screamed hysterically ‘WHAT'S THAT!’ as hand with long thin fingers stretched out of the tear in front of them. Katie hid behind her protector, but just as the scabby hand was about to snatch up its prize, the door flew open.
Mr Jacks stood transfixed by the scene as another great hand opened up the tear even further and the creature squeezed its large hairy head and then its burly body half out of the gap.
Then without any warning, it grabbed hold of Mr Jacks by the leg and began pulling him into the room.
An ugly leathery head with red eyes and a thin scabby nose now peered at its captive and grinned wickedly. With its teeth, dripping with blood it opened its mouth and licked its crusty lips with a lizard like tongue.
Mr Jacks hung onto a table leg for dear life and bellowed ‘NO, NO, NOOO¦as he desperately tried to stop his progress towards the monster, but there was nothing else to hold onto. Looking earnestly towards Miss Craig and Katie, who were now creeping slowly along the wall and towards the door, he pleaded, ‘Help me, help me please...’
How could they help him, the large creature pulled the man off the table leg and holding him up in the air it slipped his legs into its mouth, licking each of them slowly. Mr Jacks screamed at the top of his voice and kicked his legs so violently that at one point he was able to fix one of his feet onto a large pointed tooth and kick it so hard that they all heard it crack. But the being took no notice; it shook the man like a rag doll, tipped its head backwards and closing its mouth, tore off both legs with one bite. Blood spewed everywhere as it pumped from the torn veins and arteries. The monster then began to crunch on the rest of his body and finally it dropped the head into his mouth and chewed on the skull, just as if it were crunching on a boiled sweet.
Mr Jacks' blood dripped from the corners of the creature's mouth and after a large belch escaped through its lips, it wiped its jaws clean with the back of its hairy hand. Then with a satisfied grin on its leathery face, it began to clean its teeth with one of its long clawed fingers, pulling out a piece of cloth, which looked like Mr Jacks' trousers and threw it down on the floor.
Miss Craig and Katie were nearing the door and about to escape when the creature spotted them. Miss Craig felt sick with fear, but Katie kept pushing her nearer to the door.
Katie, behind Miss Craig's back, put up her hand to the monster, as if she were halting traffic and suddenly her eyes flashed red.
The monster looked at the child fearfully and pushed itself back into the tear in the wall and grinning at them from behind the tear it said, ‘He was nice and grumpy, just the way I like them.’ and with that it sealed up the tear behind itself.
The sounds of the school returned and this time Miss Craig dropped to the floor. Kneeling beside her Katie rubbed her arm.
‘I told you it was dangerous in there.’ said Katie wisely.
‘Yes Katie, but never in my wildest dreams would I have thought that one up.’ said Miss Craig shakily, relieved to see the tear finally close.
Katie smiled wickedly as the pupils in her eyes change to red, ‘No you wouldn't Miss, but I would.’
Helping Miss Craig up off the floor and pushing her out of the door, the woman's foot suddenly slipped and falling forward she hit her head hard on the doorframe and fell to the floor unconscious.

Waking up Miss Craig was surprised to see Maisie bending over her and holding a cold compress on her head. She felt dizzy as she tried to sit up and flopped back down onto the hard pillow.
‘What happened,’ she asked wincing as she felt the large bump on her forehead.
‘Don't you remember Jane; you fell outside Room Six, Katie was with you.’
Looking up at the nurse she blushed, ‘Oh yes, that's right, I remember now.’
However, she was lying; she could not remember anything that had happened for the whole of that day.

A long, white limousine drove up and parked in front of the school gate and the driver, a tall thin man, wearing a black suit and silver sunglasses opened the back passenger door for Katie and waited for her to get in.
Katie slipped quietly into the back seat and sat with her eyes down looking into her lap not wanting to look at her guardian's face.
‘I am very disappointed with your performance today Katie,’ said the Count seriously, ‘you acted irresponsibly, you're supposed to show control, but instead you nearly got yourself and that teacher killed, you must be more careful in future, you know we cannot afford to let anyone know why you are here.’
‘I know, but it wasn't my fault,’ she said solemnly still looking into her lap and brushing down her skirt nervously, ‘it was that Mr Jacks he wouldn't listen to me, I told him not to send me in there. It serves him right he got exactly what he deserves.
Sitting in the dark her guardian's eyes flashed crimson and he snapped, ‘Nether-the-less, you will not put yourself, or any other innocent bystander in that predicament again, will you.’ he said in a menacing tone.
Katie squirmed uncomfortably in her seat and said softly, ‘No sir I won't.’
‘And the box, have you put it somewhere safe?’
‘Yes sir.’ said Katie sheepishly, pulling the seatbelt over her shoulder and snapping it into the lock.
Katie gave a great sigh of relief when the Count sat back in his seat and told the driver to drive home.
This was not going to be as easy as she first thought.
‘So who's next on your list?’ asked the Count as the limousine drove off down the busy road.
‘I don't know,’ she said biting her lip thoughtfully, ‘but that new cook, Mrs Stewart, she may need a bit of a lesson, she's always rude to the girls and keeps giving my friends the wrong change!'

J.A.Evans