9 Days till the fall of Almadel
The door clicked shut and Jeremiah locked it with a large rusted deadbolt. Dean paused for a second, allowing his eyes to adjust to the low light inside the school. A single lightbulb hung in the corridor, illuminating it only slightly. The orange light reflecting off a large dusty mirror hung in the entrance way made it feel like sunset, as though they had jumped forward in time by walking through the door.
Dean glanced at Trix, “shall we go?” he said. She looked at him witheringly then set off down the corridor without him. Jeremiah strode off ahead without looking back. Dean hurried to catch up, turning right at the first junction just in time to see Jeremiah disappear into the third door down. Dean was about to follow him into what he assumed must be Mrs Pooley’s office when he noticed the door opposite was ajar. Through the gap, the room beyond was almost entirely dark. As he turned away, something caught his eye. Something shining in the darkness. At first he thought it might be a beam of sunlight making its way through a gap in the curtains, but as he looked closer he saw it move, floating up and down rhythmically. Too regular to be the wind blowing the curtains apart. Occasionally it would blink out for a second before reappearing. He stood there transfixed, watching the light move.
He poked his head through the gap in the door, unsure why he was so filled with curiosity. Was he even allowed in this room? Something made him want to continue, pulled him further toward the light. The way was lined by furniture covered in dust cloths, stacked high and pushed against the walls, leaving a single path down the center of the room, at the end of which the red glow was dancing. He stepped forward, pushing the door just wide enough to enter and strained his eyes to see where it was coming from. He saw now that the light was tinged red. The shadows surrounding it seemed to shift and change tantalisingly, the shape of the thing behind the glow obscured by its very brightness.
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He took one more step forward, the darkness closing in behind him, enveloping him like a thick curtain. He felt like he could see the outline of something, now. A shape that shifted as the glow danced. He took another step, he should be close enough to touch it, yet still the object resisted all deciphering. The world behind the door lay forgotten now, his curiosity had become burning desire. He had to know. He reached out his hand, trembling as it grew closer and closer to the light, when--
“Dean? Where did you go?” the girl called from the corridor. Then she screamed.
The glow had become an orb of burning red light. Now the shape in front of him snapped into focus. An eyelid had opened. The eye was in the face of a black cat, apparently quite normal other than it’s one glowing red eye --- not the eye of a cat, but that of a human. Round and white-edged, with a glowing red iris. Dean stumbled backward, falling down as he tripped over one of the dust covers. He shuffled backward on his hands, unable to look away. It was peering down at him now, from its perch on a chair, the big round eye staring at him unblinking as he scrambled backwards toward the door. He felt a strong hand grab his coat and pull him the last few steps out of the room.
Jeremiah stood above both of them, his hand against the closed door, breathing heavily. “Come on children” he said, “no time to nose around...” he paused to catch his breath “...in places you don’t...belong.” He turned his back to them and pulled something from within his waistcoat, using his body to conceal what it was. He fumbled with the lock for a second before turning around.
Trix was standing behind him, one hand clasped over her mouth, her eyes wide.
“Perhaps I should accompany you for these few short steps to Mrs Pooley’s office after all” said Jeremiah, and he put a hand on each of their shoulders, leading them smartly into the door opposite, on which a small brass sign read “Head teacher”.