by Rose Pressey
The moon shone across the front of the three-story building. The branches on the surrounding trees swayed just a bit. The wind had picked up.
“Should we go inside?” Brannon asked.
“The sooner we do this the sooner we can leave,” I said as I rubbed my arms, fighting off the chill.
Brannon raised an eyebrow. “You’re not worried. are you?”
“Of course not.” My voice wavered a bit.
Brannon pulled the keys from the ignition. “I promise I won’t let anything happen to you.”
“You know I trust you completely,” I said as I opened the car door.
“I sure hope so,” Brannon said.
I hurried toward the front of the car to meet Brannon. We stopped in front of the car and stared at the old building.
Side by side Brannon and I walked up to the building. I was on edge. Every sway of the branches made my heart beat faster. The closer we got the worse my anxiety grew. What was wrong with me? I’d been in this building by myself. Oh, yeah. That was what was wrong with me. I’d actually been in here and knew how bad it could be. At least Brannon was with me now. Nothing would happen now that we were together, right? We had reached the bottom of the stairs now. I peered up at the building.
“Ready?” Brannon asked.
“Let’s do this,” I said, trying to sound brave.
Brannon stepped up to the door. Good thing they didn’t keep the doors locked. I had no idea why or who even owned the place. It was such a shame to let it sit here like this. Maybe the owner was just too scared to come around. Brannon opened the door and gestured for me to enter. I raised an eyebrow.
“How about we enter at the same time?” Brannon asked.
I’d still have to step through the door even if he was right beside me. It looked like I had to enter this spooky place. I moved up the steps and to the door.
I’d almost stepped over the threshold when a sound caught my attention. My breath caught in my throat and I spun around. “What was that?”
Brannon shone his flashlight around the area. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary. Though someone could easily be hiding behind a tree.
“Must have just been the wind,” Brannon said.
I stood there for a few seconds longer just to be sure. Ultimately, I turned and stepped inside the building. The uneasiness didn’t go away. I had Brannon by my side now though so I reminded myself to keep going.
“Where should we start?” Brannon asked.
“When I was here the second floor seemed to be the most active.”
“Let’s start on the second floor then.” Brannon shone his flashlight down the long hallway to our right.
The staircase that led upstairs was at the end of the hallway.
“There has to be some reason why they were here and why the psychic wanted me to come here,” I said.
“It’s definitely a mystery,” Brannon said as we walked down the hallway.
We made it halfway down the hallway when a loud bang rang out through the school. I froze on the spot with my heart thumping wildly in my chest.
“Where did that come from?” I whispered.
“The noise echoed through the whole building so it could have come from anywhere,” Brannon said.
Brannon was tough but I thought that noise had even caught him off guard.
“Yeah, I guess so,” I whispered.
Brannon caressed my cheek. “Let’s keep going. The spirits are probably just trying to get us to go away.”
Maybe we should have done as the spirits asked and left. No, no. I had to go forward with this. Brannon and I continued down the hallway until we reached the staircase. The only sound was the echo of our footsteps against the floor. The air seemed cooler with each step. My anxiety increased as we slowly made our way up the stairs to the second floor. I held my breath as Brannon opened the door that led to the second-floor hallway. Whew, thank heavens nothing was there waiting for us. So far everything was quiet.
That all changed in a second. There was no noise, but the shadow zipped down the hallway right in front of us. It had been completely black. I spotted it out of the corner of my eye.
“Did you see that?” I asked breathlessly.
Brannon shone the light in that direction, but the shadow was already gone. “I think it went into the room on the right.”
“That is the room where I saw the ghost,” I said.
“It looks like you’ve seen the ghostly resident of Walton Academy again. Shall we go take a look?” he asked.
I didn’t budge. I wasn’t sure why I didn’t move. It was as if my legs wouldn’t work now. The whole purpose of me being here was to look for the ghosts or any other reason why the psychic had told me to come here. Now I was frozen. That really wasn’t like me.
“Why don’t you stay here, and I’ll go take a look for it,” Brannon said.
I nodded and watched as he walked slowly toward the room. I hadn’t stopped him or offered to go. What was wrong with me? Now I was in the hallway all alone. This wasn’t any better. I should have just gone with him.
Another loud bang rang out. I gasped and spun around. I thought for sure the sound had been right behind me. It couldn’t have been though. There was only the stairwell. I shone my light down the staircase. Of course, there was no one there. The ghost really was playing games with us. I shouldn’t be surprised. It seemed like it enjoyed that. I tried to steady my racing heart. Where was Brannon and what was taking him so long? I didn’t want to wait alone in this hallway a second longer. I had to go find him.
“Brannon?” I whispered as I eased down the hallway.
My shoes squeaked against the floor with each step. He didn’t answer, but he probably hadn’t heard my soft voice. Every step I took that I didn’t find Brannon made me that much more anxious.
“Brannon?” I called out louder this time.
Why was I whispering in the first place? I was pretty sure the ghosts knew we were here. Still Brannon didn’t answer. Brannon wasn’t the type to play practical jokes, so I was pretty sure he wasn’t doing this on purpose. When I reached the door, I paused just in case the ghost decided to lunge out of the room toward me. After releasing a deep breath, I peeked around the edge of the open door. No ghost popped out at me. Even worse, Brannon was nowhere in sight. What was going on here?
“Brannon?” I called out again.
It was no surprise that he didn’t answer. However, I was completely panicked now. The room was large and had windows that ran the length of the room on one side. I was positive this had been a classroom. Another door that led into the room was just a bit down from the one I’d entered. Had Brannon stepped out of the room just as I’d stepped in? Yes, that had to be it.
I rushed back over to the door and peered out into the hallway. As I looked to the left and then to the right, Brannon was still nowhere in sight.
“Brannon? Where are you?” I called out in fear.
I had no idea what to do now. I had to look for him. Where would I start? I darted down the hall and stopped at the entrance to the next room. No Brannon in that room either. I moved my way to each and every room on the floor but couldn’t find him. Why had I left my phone in the car? I was just too scatterbrained sometimes. On more than one occasion I questioned how I was organized enough to be a librarian.
Now I’d have to check the other floors. Maybe I should go out to the car and get my phone. No, I specifically remembered Brannon locking the car. I had no choice but to search the entire school for him. Maybe he’d even gone outside. What if something bad had happened? I hated to even let the thought creep into my mind. I raced up the stairs to the third floor. Moving down the hall, I checked each room to the left and the right.
With each trip to each room there was no Brannon. Now I was fully panicking. He wasn’t on the bottom floor either. Was he looking for me? Had he fallen and injured himself? If so, then where was he? I had to check outside no matter how scary it was out there. Surely it couldn�
��t be any worse out there than it was inside this old building. I made my way to the front entrance doors, the same doors Brannon and I had come into when we’d arrived. I stood on the front steps peering out into the dark night.
The full moon cast a white glow over the area, but it didn’t help illuminate much. It certainly didn’t take away the creepiness either. I saw no sign of Brannon outside, though I supposed I needed to take a walk around the perimeter of the building. This was going to take all the bravery I could muster. This place was seriously spookier than any place I’d been to, and I’d been to a lot of scary places. I moved down the stairs and turned to my left. I kept my eyes out for Brannon, or anything for that matter. I didn’t want to be surprised by something or someone.
I walked the length of the building and turned to my left. I was careful with each step—I didn’t want to step in a hole or trip over uneven ground and fall. Still Brannon was nowhere in sight. However, when I turned the corner, I spotted someone. At first I thought it was Brannon, but then I realized the man was shorter and had a different build than Brannon. I didn’t call out to him because I had no idea of his intentions. He didn’t notice that I was behind him or if he did, he didn’t let it be known.
I continued the trek around the building right behind this mystery man. My mission was to find Brannon. Maybe something had happened to him. Maybe this man had done something to him. He’d be sorry if he had. Nobody messed with the people I loved.
I hurried around the side of the building. The man was gone. Where had he gone so quickly? He must have taken off in a run when he turned the corner, which meant he probably knew that I’d been following him. Now I took off in a run too—which I hated, but this was an emergency.
I fully expected this guy to be waiting for me when I turned the corner. To my surprise he wasn’t there. In fact, he was nowhere in sight. Sadly, Brannon was nowhere in sight either. His car was still here so at least I knew he hadn’t left me here.
The sound of footsteps over fallen tree branches caught my attention. I whipped around to see if someone was behind me. My heart beat fast as I scanned my surroundings. No one was in sight. I’d definitely heard the noise though. I had a feeling the man I’d seen had disappeared behind the trees in the distance. The school’s abandoned playground sat in the distance. One of the swings swayed as if someone was sitting on it and moving back and worth. A chill tingled along my spine.
Movement out of the corner of my eye caught my attention. I spotted another person—just the silhouette as the person moved into the tree line. This time I was almost sure this was a woman. The height was much shorter, and she had an hourglass figure highlighted by the moon. Her dark hair seemed to be pulled up into a ponytail. That was the style Roxanne wore often. She disappeared into the darkness of the trees. At least she had left me alone, but what if she had been involved with doing something to Brannon? What would I do now? With no way to call for help I was in complete panic mode. Had that been Roxanne?
I sensed someone behind me. My breath caught in my throat. I was terrified to turn around, though I knew I had to see who was behind me. Or did I? Maybe I should just run. Where would I run to though? I didn’t have the safety of the car because the doors were locked. I could run down the driveway toward the road, but this was a rarely traveled road now since they’d built the new one. That was one of the reasons this building was abandoned now. Seconds had passed but I knew the person was still behind me.
I mustered up all my courage and slowly turned around. Brannon stood behind me. I reached out and hugged him. Strangely he didn’t hug me back. Was he mad at me? Maybe he thought I’d left him in there on purpose. I stepped back just a bit and stared at his face.
“Are you okay?” I asked.
Something seemed off. Was it just the strange look in his eyes? It was almost as if he didn’t see me at all. Or was it the way he stood there emotionless?
“Brannon?” I waved my hand in front of his face. “Where have you been? I was looking all over for you.”
At that second, he looked at me as if he had finally snapped back to reality. “Rip, where were you? I looked all over for you,” he said.
At least he was speaking to me now. Though there was still something strange about his voice.
“I was inside the building. I looked everywhere for you. Did you find anything in that room? Did you leave right after going in there? Because I never saw you leave. It was almost as if you had performed a magic act.”
“I didn’t find anything. Then I was just looking for you. It’s only been a couple minutes,” he said.
I checked the time on my watch. It glowed in the dark of the night. “It’s been thirty minutes.”
He chuckled. “That’s impossible. I’d know if that much time had passed.”
I showed him my watch.
He frowned. “I guess it took longer to look for you than I thought. You shouldn’t take off like that.”
I raised an eyebrow. “Me?”
He nodded. “We should stay together.”
“Never mind about that,” I said with a wave of my hand. “I saw two people out here. I don’t know who they were, but they took off in the same direction into the wooded area.”
“Which way did they go?” Brannon asked.
I motioned toward the area where I’d last seen them. “That way. They went at separate times, but I have a feeling they were here together.”
“You saw them in the building?” he asked.
“I saw them outside the building while I was looking for you. I thought maybe they’d done something to you,” I said.
I still hadn’t gotten over that feeling either. The fear that I’d felt was unlike any I’d felt before.
“I’ll go look for them,” Brannon said.
“What? Do you really think that is such a good idea?” I asked, unable to hide the fear in my voice.
“I’ll be fine,” he said.
He hadn’t looked at me when he said that. Now I was going to be left all alone again? What if the man and woman circled back and slipped up behind me? What if other people were lurking around out here? If there were two then there could certainly be more.
“It’ll just take a second. I want to make sure they’re not out there somewhere.” Brannon touched my arm.
Still no hug from him. Brannon headed in the direction of the wooded area. Halfway toward the area I had pointed out, Brannon stopped. He looked to the left as if he had heard something. I stepped a bit closer, but Brannon looked back at me. He held up his hand, instructing me not to come any closer. He pointed to his left. I couldn’t see what he might be pointing at because the building blocked my view. He started walking again toward the area he’d pointed out. My heart beat faster. I hoped he wasn’t actually going after someone he’d just seen.
“Be careful,” I said as Brannon moved out of my sight and around the side of the building.
Brannon hadn’t responded, of course. I figured it was because he didn’t want to alert anyone that he was headed their way. However, I couldn’t get over the fact that he was acting a bit strange. I hoped he snapped out of it soon. I didn’t like his behavior at all. I hated that this thought had even crept into my mind, but I wondered if some kind of bad spirit had attached to him. If he continued to act this way, then I needed to call the demonologist and ask for help. Brannon was a tough guy, but even the toughest could succumb to the unseen powers of demons.
Once again, I was left alone. Would he disappear again? I sure hope not. I wasn’t sure how much more of this I could handle tonight. I needed to be home with a cup of hot chocolate in my hand. I hoped it didn’t take him long to look around either. With each passing minute my anxiety grew. I should have gotten my phone before Brannon had taken off again. I happened to look down and noticed a footprint in the mud. Right away I recognized it. The print was identical to the one I’d seen at the graveyard. This time I even made out the designer. I knew the pattern because I’d bought a pair for my fath
er.
Thank goodness I spotted Brannon step out from behind one of the trees. How had he gotten over there? At least he had returned. I’d worried that I’d be stuck out here looking for him all over again. Brannon walked up to me. Much to my relief he seemed more alert and more like himself.
“What happened?” I asked.
“I didn’t find anyone. There were no signs that anyone has been here,” Brannon said.
I pushed the hair out of my eyes. “I wonder if they walked here. If so, where from? There’s really nothing close by anymore.”
“They probably parked along the road somewhere and walked through the woods over here.”
“My next question is why?” I asked.
“Another mystery,” Brannon said.
“We have too many mysteries,” I said. “Are you feeling better?”
He furrowed his brow. “I’m fine.” Brannon looked at me, perplexed, as if he had no idea why I would ask that question. Apparently, he had no clue that he had been acting strangely.
Something on the ground caught my eye. I wasn’t sure how I’d missed it earlier. On the ground by the front steps was a magazine. Not just any magazine, but a copy of Paranormal Monthly. Why was it here and who had left it? I reached down and picked it up. Brannon watched the tree line in the distance, not paying attention to me.
“Look what I found? Hello?” I waved the magazine.
He finally snapped to attention. “What?”
“The magazine,” I said.
“I guess someone forgot it,” he said with a shrug.
Why wasn’t he interested? Maybe we just needed to get out of here.
“Can we get out of here now?” I asked.
He took me by the arm to guide me toward his car. “Sure, I think that’s enough investigating for one night.”
The eerie feeling as if someone watched us remained. Were the couple still out there? Was it a ghostly presence inside the school peering out at us? When Brannon opened the car door I slid inside. Once the door closed, I released a breath of relief. At least I felt a bit safer now.
