My name is Caleb. Last week I made a huge mistake. The year I turned 21 my high school closed and no one ever talked about it. 

I assumed it was closed because it was old: It had been up since 1802 and although it received some renovations over the years it never got updated the way we all thought it should have. 

I graduated at 18 and spent 3 years at home. My time spent at home was normally spent taking care of my parents, both of them had health issues. When I wasn’t home with them, I was spending my time working at Jack's Auto Shop down the street. 

My mom and dad died that third year and I left. I couldn’t stand to live in the house and although I didn’t have the heart to sell the house so I just decided to leave and not look back. My plan always was to come back once I had a clear head. 

I was away from home for four years. 

A couple of months ago I decided I should return to my childhood home. Rent was rising in my area and I was starting to grow tired of the hustle of living in a big city. What pushed me to leave was the headaches I had been having. For a while they were under control but as time went on they only got worse. 

Seeing the Welcome to Greenridge sign, it felt like a wave of relief was washing over me. Something about being in a familiar place made me feel relaxed. Despite having not been here in years everything was coming back to me in waves. I knew where the nearest grocery store was, all of the important stores, and even the theater. I was shocked that the theater was still up and operational.  

As I drove down the street I decided to go check out my old stomping grounds. I drove past the middle school and could tell it had just been freshly renovated. The once-brick building was replaced by a white building with large windows. I was not surprised to see that the football field was renovated as well. The biggest surprise was seeing the new hockey rink on the grounds. Hockey was always popular here and I was happy that the kids would have access to the sport in a comfortable environment. 

My next stop was the high school, since it was Monday I figured they would already be done with classes because I was arriving around 4:00 PM. When I finally reached the building I was shocked to see the windows shuttered and the grass overgrown. It looked like no one had been in here in years. 

I heard rumors a while back about the school closing for renovations the same year I turned 21. But there was no other building here, I thought they might have put it somewhere else. But I wondered why they would keep the building up if no one was using it. As I moved my car forward to turn around I noticed a man standing in the grass tending to the weeds. 

It took me a minute but I finally got my car over enough to speak with him. 

“Excuse me?” I called the man. 

“Yeah?” He called back without looking up. 

His clothes were tattered and worn down, covered in dirt and grime. I could recognize that he was wearing the custodian's uniform from high school. It even had the gecko on the back. 

“What happened to the high school? I used to go here years ago. Did they build a new building or what?” I asked him as I leaned out of the driver's side window. 

“Come back tomorrow and I’ll tell you the story.” The man said before walking away.

I laughed a little, that was a completely observed request. I told him I would be back and decided to take a shortcut back home. There were no other cars behind me, and none near my house. Cutting through the high school was the fastest way to reach my street. 

As I drove down the street I looked at each one of my neighbors' houses. Everything looked old and each one had a for sale sign on the yard. Something must have happened, I remembered this street being lively and active. 

I pulled my car into my house, took the keys, and opened the door. Everything was just as I left it, waves of sadness washed over my body. I remembered walking into the living room to find my dad watching TV or reading the paper. My mother would be baking something or would meet me in the living room to show me what she bought while I was out. 

Running my hand through my hair I walked right over to the couch and sat down. I sneezed because of the dust and let my current situation set in. After thinking about my life for a while I got up to start cleaning the house. It wasn’t as hard as I thought it was going to be, I focused on the living room. The rest would have to happen later. 

I ordered a pizza for dinner and set my laptop up to watch some TV. The last thing on my mind was school, especially since I was finally able to get comfortable in my parent's house. As I sunk into the couch and looked out the window it dawned on me how quiet the street was. No cars came down the road, the only sound was coming from my laptop. 

I sighed and turned off my show. Before going to bed I decided to do some research on the high school. I couldn’t find anything. There was nothing about it anywhere online, I thought I was losing my mind. 

I looked for why the school was closed, I searched for the name of my street, and for both of those things, I couldn't get any answers. When I started to get annoyed I closed the laptop and went to bed on the couch. 

Tuesday

When I woke up on Tuesday I had a splitting headache. It felt like the weight of the world was resting on my face, the pressure was too much to ignore. I got up and hobbled to the bathroom to see if there was any medicine left over, though it would be expired by now. 

As I got to the bathroom, the pressure began to lift from my head. It’s hard for me to explain but it felt like I had to leave the house, almost like I was compelled to go. 

I took a quick shower, brushed my teeth, got dressed, and left the house right after. I figured I would stop for breakfast or something, I just had to get out of the house. 

When I got outside I triple-checked everything and made sure the door was locked before getting in my car. My hands were trembling. I took a sharp left to go to the closest store, I wanted to grab coffee and something to eat. As soon as I turned down the street the pain in my head came back, this time it felt much worse. I had to slam on the breaks, luckily no one was behind me. 

I turned my head back and backed the car up just enough to turn around and start heading back to my house. The closer to the house I got the more the pain increased. At this point, I could hardly see the road. I kept driving until I hit the turn that led to the high school. I could get to the clinic faster by cutting through. 

The pain in my head began to lift again as I approached the high school. Once I pulled my car over to the curb, the pain was gone completely.  

“You came back.” A familiar voice called to me. The man was here already, tending to the same spot on the grass he was tending when I left yesterday. 

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“Yeah,” I said under my breath before opening my car door and stepping out to talk to the man. The weather by the school was nice and warm, much warmer than outside of my house. It felt like it was summer. 

“You told me to come back after all.” I laughed as I leaned on my car, “So, can I hear about what happened here? I tried to look it up but the internet has proven to be of no help.” I told the man. I figured that I had some time to kill before trying to figure out what to do about my head. My first thought was a tumor, but that wouldn’t clearly explain why the pain came and went depending on where I was. 

The man stood up fully and put his weight on his rake. 

“Four kids were killed here a couple of years ago. Four more before that. Four more before that.” He waved his hand as if he was telling me a fairy tale or something like he was telling me something that didn’t sound extremely serious. 

“Each time there was a murder, they got more and more gruesome.” He said solemnly. 

“Five kids were supposed to die each time but one always got away.” He explained before turning to face the school. 

“The murders left our whole city divided. Blame was thrown all over, some thought the killer was a teacher and others thought it was a parent.” He said before turning back to face me, “I’m surprised you don’t remember this.” He told me. 

I didn’t. I never heard about any murders. 

“So who was the killer?” I asked as I shoved my hands into my pockets. 

“No one knows.” The man said as he moved to continue tending to the grass in the same spot. He moved over, and over again, but the grass never changed. 

“Wait. 12 teenagers were murdered and they never caught the person who did it?” I was baffled. You would think that would be the top of the list for the police department. 

“13.” The man corrected me. 

“The last time there was a murder it was supposed to be twins. Two girls,” He said as he adjusted his cap. 

“One of the girls survived though. Youngest of the bunch.” He shrugged. 

“Survivors would be turning 16 this year.” He pointed out to me before starting to walk away. 

I had so many questions and the most pressing one was, who exactly was this guy and why had he been tending to the same spot of grass for two days? That was a lot of murder and no one told me? No one called? I never heard about anything like that in the news and for the life of me I couldn’t find anything about the school on the Internet. 

I got back in my car and went to leave, my curiosity was satiated. As I got to the end of the parking lot the pain came back, and it came back with a vengeance. It felt like someone was drilling a screwdriver into my forehead. 

I slammed the brakes and backed up, I went back to the property of the school and put my teeth together. 

Something wanted me to be here. 

As I moved my hand to clean the blood trickling out of my nose and down my lips, I considered my options. I thought I was going insane. I considered driving to the clinic but if my vision went out again I would accidentally kill someone. 

For a moment I considered calling 911, but in the back of my mind, I knew that was a bad idea. Something wanted me to be here. My hands tightened around my steering wheel and I closed my eyes. A nap wouldn’t hurt, after all, who was going to bother me? 

Wednesday 

I woke up to knocking on my window. It was the groundskeeper. I had to rub my eyes and make sure it was him, why was he at my car window? 

I rolled the window down, “Hi-” 

He tossed a flashlight onto my lap, “You’re going to need that.” He told me as he walked away. 

I don’t think I’ve ever been more confused in my life. These last few days have been something else. I clenched the flashlight and jumped out of my car like I was moving on autopilot. Something wanted me to go to the school. Deep down I think I wanted to go in too. I felt like I was both in and out of my body. Like I was extremely tired but also extremely awake. It was a weird feeling, to feel like I was being torn in half. 

I walked up to the front doors and opened them, I was honestly surprised they weren't locked. 

The main hall was exactly like I remembered it. Our mascot, the Greenridge Geeko was stamped right in the middle of the floor. The downstairs area was dedicated to electives and the lunch room. The auditorium was to my left behind the big brown doors. The gym was further in, and the lunchroom was to the right. 

Despite the building looking worn down on the outside, the inside of the building was in great condition. 

“Hello?” I called, hearing my voice echoing was weird. This place used to be so full of noise. I wasn’t expecting an answer. 

My blood ran cold when a scream came from the auditorium. It cut through the silence like a warm knife through butter. I turned as quickly as I could and ran for the doors. I stopped at the seats furthest in the back, I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. 

A hooded figure wearing a sleek red mask was holding a girl by her neck. Her toes couldn’t touch the ground. Both figures were blue, almost completely see-through. 

The figure plunged a knife into the girl's abdomen three times, each time the knife was ripped out the victim gagged, eventually, the killer slammed her body down and continued stabbing her, the final blow landing right between her eyes. 

“What the fuck-” I spit out before turning to the door to run away. I was going to go get the cops, maybe they could catch this guy. I assumed it was the same killer the groundskeeper was talking about. 

As I left the auditorium a blue figure came walking past me. It was the same girl who was just on the stage, I could recognize her white jacket. I reached my hand out to grab her arm and was shocked to find I could. She looked completely see-through, almost like a ghost. 

“You can’t go in there,” I told her seriously. 

“You’re going to die,” I warned. I watched her face twist in confusion. 

As I turned to look back into the auditorium I could see the masked figure waiting for her on the stage. We made eye contact. 

I tightened my grip on the girl's arm and pulled her out of the doorway. A blue spark appeared at the edge of the door, and the rim of the doorway lit up with a baby blue color. 

“What the hell?” The girl asked me. She looked beyond confused and I was right there with her. 

I tugged at her again, “Follow me.” 

I watched her body materialize. I watched as the color came back to her skin, I could see the color return to her eyes. I watched her come back to life. I almost threw up, I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. 

“You’re alive,” I mumbled. 

I could see the tears gathering in her eyes. 

“I was stabbed.” She told me. 

“Not anymore.” I said with confidence, “Now, we are leaving.” I pointed to the front door and we started to run for it when I heard something catch the air behind us. In a flash, I turned around and backed up with the girl. 

An ax hit the door from on top of the stairs. A man wearing a mascot head was standing on the stairs holding another ax. 

“Are you kidding me!” I screamed before turning to the door to open it, as my hand hit the door an ax hit my wrist. I screamed out and watched my hand hit the floor. My world was becoming a blur. 

I slowly reached down to pick up my hand. Blood was pooling on the floor. 

“We have to run!” The girl screamed at me. 

I could barely focus. 

I felt a sharp pain in my shoulder. 

The world was ringing. 

The next thing I knew my legs were moving. I turned my head slightly, there was a smaller ax sticking out of my shoulder. I thought I was going to lose my arm. 

The girl was dragging me. 

Once we hit the emergency exit I thought she was going to disappear. I thought that everything would disappear. But it didn’t. Instead, we went running across the parking lot in the back and looped around to my truck. 

“Hospital,” I mumbled. 

“I’ll drive.” She said before helping me into the passenger seat. 

The rest of what happened is all a blur. I know we got to the hospital. I know I was there for a while, and I know we went back to my house. I was in and out throughout most of the process, hell I don’t even remember my hospital visit. 

My hand and arm are completely wrapped. Both cuts were clean. 

The lapses in my memory are scaring the hell out of me. The girl is still with me, she says her name is Kira. We have a lot of talking to do.