"First and only stop, the middle of nowhere!" An aged feminine voice resounded throughout the bus.

I'm actually back. It's still so odd. I never imagined I'd get permission to come back. I was fully prepared to have to hike it back to the states on foot as soon as I turned eighteen. And that entails finding a way across the Atlantic with no money.

But no. After years of pestering, Dad just sent me back like it was no issue at all. I'm not sure what changed his mind, but something did. He just completely flip-flopped one day.

He may be trying to get rid of me. Wait, that couldn't be it. He put up with my begging for seven years. He's not gonna crack out of nowhere. I'm gonna have to remember to call them though. Especially Violet... and Mary and Katy and Alexis and Claire and Rylee. I'm fairly confident they'll hurt me if I claim I 'forgot' like that one time in Switzerland.

In my defense, I lost track of ti-

"Ethan! Time to get off!" Was what tore me from the abyss.

"Oh..." I mumbled as I rose from my seat in the back of the bus. Right, bus ride. I forgot about that.

Slowly, I made my way towards the front of the bus, only stopping once to cast a goodbye to a guy slumped against the (by now) cold window. He shrugged with a yawn and drew his hoodie down over his face.

"Welcome back, Ethan." The bus driver presented me a warm toothless grin as I reached the door.

"Alicia?" I questioned with raised eyebrows. "Did people actually get you to start being nice?"

She snorted and shook her head. "No, I'm just not in character yet."

I nodded. "Noted. Anything change in the last eight years?"

"You know it hasn't." She assured me as she opened the door to the frigid night air. "Are you sure you want let off here, dear? I can drop you off at your aunt's if you like." She motioned towards the mostly deserted seats. "As you can see, not much going on this gloomy December night."

I waved her concern away. "It's fine, really."

"If you insist."

I turned to walk off only to be stopped with a parting parcel of advice.

"Ethan, dear, if you and your friends end up going to Centralia." She flashed a look of concern. "Do wear a gas mask. The fumes there will do you no favors if you breathe them in."

"I don't have much intention of going there?" I spoke in a manner that suggested a question. "Why are you giving me advice about it?"

"I know how bored kids can be some days. Just a warning if you find yourself in the area."  

Starting my descent down the stairs, I dropped behind an "I'll keep it in mind, thanks."

"Oh, one last thing!"

Glancing back with pursed lips, I asked, "hm?"

"I suggest staying away from your old elementary school." She wagged a wrinkly index finger at me. "I'm sure it's in shambles by now."

I walked into the sleet-coated night with, "will do."

Waving, her face morphed into a scowl as she spat, "now stay off my bus."

I waved back with a laugh and pulled up my dark blue hood as she drove off. I turned to the bus stop and wiped the ice off the green wooden bench before taking a seat.

Pulling out my phone, I mumbled, "9:32." I got about three hours yet so that should be enough time.

I wonder if any of them are at the old school yet. And yes, Alicia did tell me to stay away, but I'm going to check it out and see how it's holding up after that fire sevenish years ago.

Step one, indulge myself with a stroll down memory lane. While step two is to get settled in. After that, I guess I'll just slog through the rest of my educational days... as usual. Thankfully, I'll at least have friends coming into school this time around.

Almost as if on schedule, my phone buzzed three times in quick succession. There they were. Texts from my eldest sister, aunt and a close friend of mine.

Come home immediately after you get off the bus. I don't need you getting sick not a day after you get here. - Aunt Renee. Yup, she hasn't changed a bit. Still pretty much treats me like her own.

Call me immediately after you put your computer back together! I wanna make sure your flight went okay! - Violet. And there's Violet. Just as protective of me if not more than Mom. It's annoying at times, but I suppose I'd rather have them care too much as opposed to too little. I still get shudders whenever they ambush me, though. Seven on one is in no way fair, and they'll never convince me to the contrary.

Meet halfway? That pothole under the streetlight is still there if you need a marker. And yes, the light's still lit shockingly.

In silence, I took a look at my left and was already starting to dread what was coming. A deserted road surrounded by forest with only the occasional flickering streetlight to free it from the night's hunger.

I peered down at my phone and committed.

On my way.

I got to my feet, hit send, slid around a bit thanks to the ice coating the road and drooped, "hello hypothermia, the name's Ethan."

- - - - -

"Where is he?" I mumbled aloud with a glance at my surroundings.

Sure enough, the pothole was here. The pale amber streetlight too, but no Gael. Most of the trees don't have leaves, so he can't use them for camouflage.

Coming to a halt at the edge of the pit, I called out through the ever-increasing sleet, "Gael!"

I still remember this. Alicia would bitch and moan every day about having to come through here, but nothing was ever done about it. Hell, the hole's large enough that you could probably convince me a grenade was responsible.

"Gael?!" I screamed as the light flickered, my gaze finding its way to my phone straight after.

Where are you? I typed out.

Or tried to. Right before I finished an arm wrapped itself around my neck, a knife's glistening blade finding its home firmly against it.

My heart leaped straight up my throat and threatened to jump out of my mouth and flee for help. How am I this unlucky? I'm getting mugged in some rural town?

I might as well be in the middle of nowhere! It's not like I have cash!

"H-hey..." I stammered, "t-take whatever you want. J-just, I don't have cash!" Why would you tell him that?! You have nothing to give him and now he knows that you dumbass!

"Hey, Ethan..." A boy sputtered with a tone that implied laughter was about to ensue. "G... g-give me your..."

That piece of shit. I am going to murder him. It's not gonna be quick either. He doesn't deserve that mercy.

"Gotcha!" He snorted after he pulled the ice-cold knife away.

"Screw. You." I growled.

With a hand against his face, he continued cracking up, "y-you! You should've seen the look on your face! Priceless!"

I scowled. "Of course I'm freaking out you asshole! You held a damn knife up to my throat! You could've killed me!"

"Oh?" He smirked and pressed the knife against his palm with a sawing motion. "The blade isn't even sharp anymore. See?"

Not a single word left my lips after that. It wasn't sharp? Why didn't I notice that?

I was quiet for maybe fiveish minutes? I didn't need to speak. He simply stood there and filled the silence with his hyena-like cackles.

"You done?!" I finally yelled as tears started to form in his eyes.

Wiping at his eyes, he dropped the knife into his green backpack and gave me a stern pat on the shoulder.

"Y-yeah," he wheezed, "I'm done but damn you haven't changed. It might be true what they say."

I rolled my eyes and started walking onward, "and what's that?"

"Your friends really never do change!" He screamed after me as he jogged to keep up. "They act the same way the day you met them!"

"No that's wrong," I replied, just barely repressing my venom. "Last I checked you never held a blade to my throat!"

"Semantics!"

I spun on my heel, middle finger raised, only to cause him to chuckle harder.

I redirected myself and was about to stomp off, but he performed his usual routine. He pulled me into a hug from behind and gave it everything he got.

"Seriously though," he rocked my shoulder as he did his best to recompose himself. "It's nice having you back. It's been a boring eight years."

"Love you too... you ass," I groaned. I despise him... and myself. I genuinely can't bring myself to stay mad at him when he's like this. I haven't the slightest clue why either.

I mean, come on Ethan! All you gotta do is hate him. It's not that hard to find a reason... and yet you can't.

Resting his head on my shoulder, he grinned, "by the way. You ever go to Australia during your time away?"

"Yeah?" I fought the urge to scratch my head. Why is he... oh.

Nevermind, I know exactly why. He remembers our joke.

Nodding, I replied astutely, "Yes, and I can indeed confirm that Australia isn't a government conspiracy and it does in fact exist."

"Well that's no fun." He sulked and targeted the cracked asphalt with a kick. "I'll figure out what's really behind you Australia. I mean it." His dedication to a joke is something else. I'm pretty sure he asked me that about four years ago.

"Alright, genius," I called over to him, successfully snaring him in reality's net.

"I'm just lamenting having my viewpoints smashed," he retorted with a sigh like I was unbelievable. "Next thing you'll tell me is that the planet isn't actually in the shape of a velociraptor."

It was inevitable. Another smirk sprouted on my face as I waved him after me.

"Let's go check out the school. Oh, and everyone knows we're actually on the back of a giant tortoise."

- - - - -

"Dang, hard to believe that's really it." Whistled Gael at the darkened elementary school building down below.

I walked forward in silence, leaning on the iced-over guard rail overseeing the crater beneath us. "Yeah, it's surreal actually."

"Never thought those days would end." He reminisced, joining me on the rail.

"Neither did I," I let out a nostalgia-soaked sigh. It's kind of depressing to see it all like this. It's just... hollow? I'm not sure if that's the best way to describe it. It's like a part of my life never properly finished.

And yet... here it is.

I dug out my phone, scrolled to the gallery and took a peek at the old photo. A small red brick building with a metal roof dressed in blue. It was the only building and thinking back; it's probably nostalgia making me remember this place fondly.

Only six classrooms exist. One for each grade, kindergarten to fifth, and a cafeteria. As for staff, an office, and a lounge. Nothing more nothing less.

"Let's get a move on." Nodded Gael with a punch aimed for my shoulder.

Dodging out of the way, I granted him a sarcastic bow complimented with, "Lead the way."

With a glance to the rainy night sky, he mumbled, "Sure thing. Just be careful on the hill down. Probably a nice sheet of ice over everything."

I tightened my hood and replied, "Same goes to you. Really don't wanna be carried back home."

"Nah," his brown eyes lit up under the few streetlights. "Definitely dragging you back if it comes down to it."

I gave an eye-rolling laugh in response as we broke into a brisk jog to a small roof projecting over the school doors, only stopping once to comment on how strange the area around the school was.

There were sprawling hills for miles, then an entire forest of oak and spruce only parting for a crater that held a lone school building. The entire thing was just uncanny in every stretch of the word.

"And feet dry!" Gael laughed, that same chippy laugh he always used when we were in an awful situation. "Whoo! Gonna be hell to get back home, huh?"

Rubbing my hands together, I breathed into them, "That's putting it lightly."

"Shit." Gael shivered with enough force I could swear his pearly white teeth were chattering. "I was banking on the storm lightening up by now. Maybe we should've called it quits for tonight."

"Nah. I've been dying to see it." My eyes lit up at the decrepit parking lot. If I try hard enough, I can picture the times we spent during recess surprisingly well. Dad just had to relocate overseas.

No, I shouldn't think like that. He did it for the family.

I'm still amazed they haven't simply filled in the crater and called it quits. The parking lot hasn't seen any cars in years apparently, and it's coming up in bits and pieces. You can't even see any of the lines anymore.

Most of the street lights are in decent condition, but that's ignoring the fact that the only ones that function are at the top of the hill. Hell, some of the ones down here were torn out of the ground which was disturbing to keep it brief. Although, that unmistakably fits the theme of the school now.

There's one... odd thing though. That's the front door to the school. There was a crimson emergency light on, which implies the school still has power. Gael's not mentioning it, but I know he's thinking the same thing.

This building hasn't been used since the fire. Power should be a foreign notion to it by now.

"Ga-"

"I know," he shot me down. "We'll talk about it when everyone gets here."

Sliding down the building, I picked up a piece of chilled asphalt and tossed it into the sleet. "Any of them answer back?" I asked in an attempt to change the topic. It's been an hour and they can't give us a status update?

"Just texted 'em again." Said Gael as he plunged into his backpack.

"What'd you bring?" I probed, wringing the moisture from a large lock of my brunette hair.

"Towels." He answered, smashing any doubts of it being a farce as he slugged an orange towel at my face.

The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

I caught it and fought the urge to let my eyebrows leave my face. "What, you got shampoo in there too?" I shook my head, mostly kidding.

Peering into the darkness of his bag, he nodded. "Yes, actually. Sun-ripened strawberry. " Always one step ahead Gael I swear.

"Why... do you have shampoo?" I asked, drawing out my words with a blue-eyed gaze of confusion.

"My reasons are my own!" He proclaimed into the rainy night, his eyes somehow mimicking his confidence.

Turning to him, I conceded with a shrug, "You know? I think I'm already done second guessing you when it comes to packing."

"See? It's not that hard." He laughed, brushing the frost from his short black hair. "Now if only Ash and Zay could do the same."

"I wouldn't count on it," I smirked as we slipped into silence.

"Still no ans-" Gael attempted to speak up roughly ten minutes into our solitude.

Hushing him, I cupped my hand up to my ear. "You hear that?" It was clear as day to me: Music.

"Um... I still do-"

"Shh!" I glared at him with the implied threat of duct tape. He probably has some in the bag honestly.

I got to my feet and looked to the dimly lit ridge to see him.

He started rattling the guard rail until it broke off. His silhouette shrugged and propped it up at the top of the hill.

"Is he gonna?" Asked Gael like he was unsure if this was reality.

"Yeah... I think he's go-"

The lunatic did it. He actually used the guard rail as a throwaway sled. It's official. He might really be trying to get himself killed.

Gael and I looked at each other, a look of bewilderment stapled unto our faces.

"What's up?" A baritone voice called from the shadows, its red-headed owner following suit.

He stopped before us and nodded at Gael. He stared at me and lumbered over, arms outstretched with a heart-stopping grin stuck to his face.

"Ethan!" He guffawed and squeezed me as tightly as he could. "God, it's been eight years since we talked in person."

"Y-yeah," I stammered, never the more thankful that neither he nor Gael could see the dumb smile on my face right now.

"Nice to s-see you." Get a grip, dumbass. The sooner you're over it the better. It beats gushing over him as you have been for the last five years.

"God, that sounds even sadder in my head." I internally sulked as Ashton released me.

Motioning towards me, Ashton brought out his phone and asked, "Hey, you hear this?"

"Yeah, I've heard it plenty," I assured him. " The album's Helix."

Acting impressed, Ashton clasped a hand over his heart. "Nothing gets by you, my short friend." I'm five foot seven. It's not that short. He's just six foot two, so he insists on bringing it up... the dick.

"You know where Zayden and Danielle are?" Questioned Gael with another glance at his phone. "They aren't responding."

"Oh, that? They're inside." He waved us after him towards the door. "Probably sucking face or something."

"One, they could've at least told me." Sighed Gael with exasperation, "two, I have flashlights, so here." Of course, he does. How do you get a guy that always forgets to study, but never neglects items that you may never need?

No, really. How? I'd like to know.

"Anything else?" Ashton rolled his blue eyes as the rusted metal door scraped along the floor.

The door opened, splashing the dull amber light onto the mostly flawless (what?) black-speckled white tile floor.

Why aren't there any scorch marks?

Grabbing Gael by the shoulder, I whispered, "I thought you said an electrical fire broke out?"

"Yeah," he nodded sluggishly, "that's what we were told. It was even on the local news. I remember the report."

Taking a step back, I shuddered a bit, "Ashton? You don't have any idea about this, do you?" It's a long shot, but... maybe?

"No, I don't." Replied Ashton, drawing out his words.

Before we could say anything else, Ashton reached out and flipped a light switch. I'd be lying if I said nothing happened. On the contrary, the lightbulb blew.

"The whole thing has power?" Muttered Gael like he had a headache. "Thought it was just..."

"It loo-" Ashton was cut off as a light came to life in the second classroom to the right.

"Gael," He tensed up, "you still got the you know what? Might need it if it's some drugged up homeless guy."

"Yeah," confirmed Gael with a reluctant step forward, "should be able to knock him out if it comes to that."

"Oh, it's you guys." My cousin Danielle let out a sigh of relief as her head rounded the door frame to see us. "I thought I recognized Ash's music."

We all stopped and looked amongst ourselves as relief rained down upon our heads.

"The term is perfection, not music." Ash corrected with a raised index finger.

Doing our best to play off our scare, we casually strolled into the third-grade classroom to meet up with Danielle, now plopped in a desk's chair, and Zayden sitting atop the teacher's metal desk.

The room wasn't right. Nothing was wrong with it. No ash like I expected. No holes in the roof, just black mold here and there. No broken floor tiles. No desks rotted to near nothing with filing cabinets rusted shut. The equipment was clearly aged, but it all seemed to be perfect otherwise.

Propping his chin up with his arm on his leg, Zayden adjusted his glasses and ran his fingers through his short black hair. "You noticed it too?" He asked right as he noticed our gaze.

"Yeah," Gael spoke for us. "We weren't imagining that report or anything were we?"

Shaking his head, Zayden replied, "no. Got the whole thing on a tape if you want it and still got a VCR. My mom was recording a show of hers when the broadcast interrupted it." He lowered his gaze to the floor, "whole thing's on it."

"Then if the school's still functional?" I aimed a finger to the cracked windows behind Zayden. "Why does the outside tell differently?"

"Great question, man." He responded like he was unsure of it himself. "Two things are obvious: The fire, if any, didn't do much at all. And this stuff definitely hasn't been wasting away for eight years."

Gesturing to the lone lightbulb illuminating the room, he continued, "entire thing has power. Plus, it looks like it's been maintained."

"Um... backup power? Or maybe they just forgot to shut off the power to the building or something?" Suggested Ashton as him and Gael took a seat by Danielle, clearly realizing it was a long shot at the absolute best.

"Doubt it." Zayden shrugged, "and even if that were the case, it wouldn't explain the maintenance."

"How long do yo-"

"S-stop it." Danielle shakily spoke up, cutting me short. "None of this weird shit we fantasized about as kids, okay?" She cast me a pleading blue-eyed gaze that implied she might need backup. "Ethan's back in person for the first time in almost a decade."

Getting to her feet, she strode over to me and wrapped me in a hug. "Let's just explore the school and get out. Then we can have his welcome back party first thing in the morning."

Leaning up to my ear, she giggled, "by the waay, Aria. I still have a spare in my bag. Just in case you wanna relive your glory days."

I felt my heart basically shrivel up and die right then and there. Of course, she brings that up. What kind of fool am I to think my past would stay buried?

Blushing, I shot back quickly yet quietly, "You keep quiet about that. They still don't know."

"Really?" She asked, clearly awed my secret never got out. "That's rich."

"Yes, now shut up about it." I pleaded, "please. I'll never hear the end of it."

"Don't worry," she assured me with a gentle tug on my ear lobe. "Your secret's safe, I'm just teasing."

Disentangling herself, she left off with, "and don't let Gael or Zay see the holes in your ears. They still haven't closed."

Reaching for my earlobes, I murmured, "Thanks, Dani."

She smiled and led the charge to the last place I was expecting, the cafeteria.

I looked back to the rest of the group to get their sign off and more or less got it. Zay just shrugged and followed Dani into the darkened hallway.

"Knew these would come in handy!" Gael beamed as brightly as his flashlight when we echoed their actions.

We were silent throughout our journey down the hall. The school's condition was clearly freaking us out.

Why would they lie about this? It's not on the internet for some reason. It was never reported on outside of the local news. Did they just misreport or something?

"What's up?" Ashton called forward as Gael's flashlight landed on Zay and Dani, both inspecting a glass display case in the hall.

They were silent until we caught up, silent and smiling.

"What are you..." I trailed as my eyes recognized the contents in the case.

Class photos. One for each teacher and their class for that year. I tore my gaze over to our third-grade photo, our last one.

As expected, the photo was identical to the copy I have in my bedroom. All twenty-four students hastily lined up, some just barely getting into position as the photo went off.

We convinced our teacher, Ms. Clark, to forgo the alphabetical method she was using and just let everyone stand wherever they wanted. The results were probably the most chaotic out of all the pictures, but I'd say we looked like we had the most fun.

Laughing softly, Zayden grinned, "those were the days," and kept on.

"Ms. Clark was objectively the best teacher." Gael chimed in.

"I second that," Ashton added as a tile crunched beneath his foot.

We followed Zayden's lead slowly. It was almost as if we were recalling a group of kids roughhousing in the hall, so we were taking it slow for them to get broken apart like always.

We emerged into the cafeteria right as Zay flipped the lights. A good chunk of the lights came on, and out of those, the majority were producing a low buzzing sound and flickering.

There weren't any tables set up, they were all folded against the large glass windows on our right. The spot we'd typically stand for lunch had its familiar metal shutter pulled down.

"We all know what we're here for." Danielle took the lead as she tied her brunette hair back into a ponytail.

We found our prize immediately; floor tiles. The entire cafeteria had floor tiles identical to the hallway except for the far end. Each teacher had their own style they'd use and their class for that year would imprint their names onto them.

"Found it," Ashton called over to us from the middle most row.

I walked over, crouched down, and saw our names in Ms. Clark's cosmos themed flooring.

Zayden Parker

Danielle King

Ethan King

Gael White

Ashton Frazier

Tracing his finger around each of our names, Gael chuckled, "Remember how painful it was for her to put our names out of order?"

Signaling Gael after him, Ashton laughed, "Oh yeah, definitely. You could tell we hurt her with that. Help me with this shutter, will ya?"

"Got it." nodded Gael as him and Danielle followed suit.

I went to join them but was stopped by a brightly smiling Zayden, hand outstretched towards me.

I accepted with an eye roll and we shook hands only for him to pull me into a hug with exactly three pats on the back.

"Good to have you back rich boy," he teased.

"You don't know when to quit, do you?" I groaned. Every time I swear.

Releasing me, he continued, "You know I don't. How was the trip around the world?"

"If by around the world, you mean mostly Europe and Australia, then just fine." I shrugged.

"Eh, close enough." He gestured me after him, "I mean it though, it's really good to have you back. It's been a long eight years."

"It's great to finally be back. We moved a lot, so I didn't exactly have the luxury of close friends." It kind of killed a lot of my traveling for me in all honesty.

Arms outstretched, he assured me, "well we're here now. Our little band of misfits is back in force."

We joked a bit with each other on our way towards everyone else. It looks like the only thing different about us was our age. That and Gael's knife incident... That better not be a recurring gag.

Zay, Dani, Ash, and Gael? They haven't changed a bit.

"What's up with you guys?" Said Zay as he climbed over the metal counter towards everyone else. For some reason, they were all stopped and gathered around something on the floor.

Scratching his head, Ash called back and pointed to the ground. "Hey, do you remember this?"

"Um... no?" Zay asked as we reached them, never the wiser of what was before us.

"What are you..." I trailed as my eyes landed on what they were talking about.

A manhole; rusted and shut from what appeared to be years of neglect.

We were all draped in silence. No one had to say it. This was never here. It's either new or it's been hidden from us. Every single day we passed by this if the latter is true.

"Ash?" Questioned Dani with a step backward as Ash leaned down. "Maybe we should head back now. We can take some pictures and call it quits."

"Gael, help me with this," Ash tapped the lid with his foot as he lobbed a nod Gael's way, deliberately ignoring Danielle's voice of reason.

Gael tossed it back and dug his hands under the manhole.

With surprising ease, they pried the hatch from its rusted shackles, revealing nothing but the pitch black shadows down below.

Ash stood up and cast a glance at each one of us before clearing his throat.

"So who's first?" He grinned with zeal.