The Eagle's Shadow

The school day had ended hours ago, leaving behind the usual silence that always felt both like a relief and a burden for Principal Edward Carter. He stretched, feeling the familiar aches of stress and age in his body as he walked the empty halls.

The silence was broken only by the echo of his shoes on the linoleum floor. He breathed in the scent of cleaning spray and the faint smell of daily clogged toilets, a constant reminder of the small battles fought within these walls.

Then he saw it – a thick, black graffiti tag on locker 2158, the unmistakable symbol of the Franklin East Crew, or as he now knew them, the Southside Eagles. Annoyed by the extra work this would create, he took a picture with his phone. As he zoomed in, his eyes caught something horrifying jammed in the locker door – a bit of white material stained red with what looked like blood.