“Hello?” I called out again as I stepped onto the landing at the top of the stairs. The basement acted like a storage and supply room for the whole school. It was dank and smelt musty and the air felt suffocating with the thickness of the dust that had accumulated over time on the shelves and objects contained on them. Old books were nicely stacked in corners and lots of old team uniforms were packaged up in boxes that were lined along the back wall. The supply cupboard was in between it all, containing the teacher’s stationary and an array of whiteboard markers in various colours.
More rustling sounds came from the other side of the room. I gulped and fought the urge to run. Moving down to the first step, I could hear Georgie breathing heavily behind me.
“Is someone there?” I yelled, gripping the railing tightly, my breathing heavy and my body alert.
Nervous giggling was the reply. I looked across the room in the direction that it was coming from and saw two people emerge from the shadows. The familiar figures stepped into the dim light laughing awkwardly and looking slightly embarrassed.
Roderick and Reese. I breathed a sigh of relief.
“There are your ‘ghosts’ Georgie!” I laughed. “What are you two doing down here?!”
A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.
Roderick moved forward towards me looking sheepish and trying to fix his shirt in an awkward attempt to tuck it into the top of his jeans.
“We’ve got a free period so we ah… thought we’d do some study.” Roderick replied, his cheeks reddening.
“The study of human anatomy?” I laughed and Georgie sniggered behind me. I could feel the heat from their embarrassment from where we stood.
“Ah no, we were working on our science project.” Roderick stammered and tried to brush out his hair with his fingers, it was all mussed up and standing on end.
“In the basement? Why, Reese isn’t even in your science class!” I feigned mock horror, I enjoyed seeing him squirm. “Look we’re just here to get some markers for Mrs Newman then we’re out of here so… as you were.”
I made my way carefully down the stairs, navigating each old rickety wooden step with care, then walked towards the supply cabinet with Georgie following behind. Roderick and Reese stood brushing themselves off from the dust that they had accumulated on their clothes.
Suddenly, there was a loud metallic bang and the floor beneath our feet began to shake violently. With my heart racing, I stumbled, tripping on the uneven concrete floor beneath my sneakers. I reached out, disoriented, but before I could steady myself, Georgie walked straight into the back of me and we both fell to the floor. The door at the top of the staircase slammed shut with a heavy thud, giving us a fright as we tried to stand up.
The sound of sirens erupted in the air and the feeling of unease that had been in my stomach all morning grew into overwhelming fear.
As I tried to make sense of what was happening, complete darkness engulfed us.