HORROR NIGHT

BY

PALVI SHARMA

CHAPTER 1

BIRCHTREE STREET WAS ONCE an idyllic part of town. There were small beautiful houses

with green lawns out front, a family market that sold the most exquisite goods from around the world

and a cinema that showcased vintage movies. However, the main attraction of this town was the

Birchtree Private School. It comprised of a well-stocked library, swimming pools, tennis and

basketball courts and Chem labs. The school offered an accredited degree and very few students

gained entry into this prestigious establishment.

There was even a large park in front of the three-storey school building that was lined with

benches and large shady trees where students could come and relax after a hard day of studying.

It used to be the best school in the city until one day a fire erupted in the building, consuming

half of it before being contained by the firefighters.

The school had to be closed down, although repair works were undertaken to bring it back up

to standard and resume its activities.

Mia stared out the windshield of her car, drumming her fingers on the steering wheel. Eight

weeks had passed since the terrible tragedy in the city and her heart still went out to those who had

perished in the fire. She had heard that a few students had lost their lives and she couldn't imagine how

distraught their families must be.

The building before her was now shadowed in darkness. The street lamps around the school

were off and the only light came from the street lamps from twenty feet away and the small security

guard cabin.

She hated waiting in the darkness. There was something eerie about this place. Even in this

low light, she could still make out the dark marks smeared all over the front of half of the school. The

windows were broken and the grass below them was charred.

Mia shook herself from these thoughts and turned her attention to the two boys dawdling by the

gate. Both of them were on their phones and in that light, she recognized them both as Ronit and

Danny. She knew both of them well, though until today, she had barely spoken two words to them.

Danny was in her math class and from the way Professor Mila praised him, he was undoubtedly a

genius of some kind. He was always dressed in the same clothes. A green beanie cap, rimless glasses

on his narrow eyes and a red hoodie jacket over dark blue baggy jeans.

Ronit, his best friend was one of the clever ones as well. He always got straight A's in every

subject — something Mia found intimidating, since her grades were usually a solid C.

Ronit was dressed in a checked shirt and khaki pants. His dark hair was neatly combed to the

side and she was sure that his hair smelled of some herbal hair gel.

Mia shivered. Ronit and Danny were lucky – they got to work on this group project together.

She leaned back in her seat and sighed. If only she had been paired with her best friend Ravina.

Instead, she would have to share the awkwardness with two intelligent minds and a snob.

Mia tried to not even think of Jake- the fourth member of the group project. If only Professor

Philips hadn't formed the groups. Even as he had announced the group names, Mia had experienced a

sinking feeling that she was going to be paired with someone she wouldn't get along with. And when

Jake's name was called along with hers, she had sunk back in her chair and muttered a disgruntled "oh

no".

Ravina who was sitting beside her had said nothing. She had been angry and her eye had

twitched. After class, her best friend had still said nothing and Mia wondered if it had something to do

with her not being part of the group, or that Jake was in her group instead. Speaking of Jake, Mia was

getting tired of waiting for him. There was no way she was going to give him the satisfaction of

waiting outside the school for him. If anything, he would have to wait for her.

Fifteen minutes later, she saw a cab stop from across her and a tall boy—wearing a dark blue

jacket over a black t-shirt and jeans—emerge. He paid the driver and then sprinted across the empty

road to walk up to the gates of the school.

Mia frowned. Even in the dull lights, there was no doubt that this was none other than Jake. He

was taller than the other boys and walked in the same arrogant manner that seemed to say that he was

better than everyone else.

Jake usually drove a classy car, and if he had to take a cab to get here, that meant his car must

have broken down. For some reason, that made her feel slightly happy.

Mia saw him talking to the other boys and finally got out of the car. As far as she knew, Jake,

Ronit and Danny weren't friends and she had no intention of letting Jake brainwash the others against

her. She had to get there quickly and take charge.

Mia got out from the driver’s seat, slammed the door of her car and strode towards the darkened

building. It was right after sunset and the sky still showed the last vestiges of light.

Everywhere else, the street lamps had come on, except here.

Mia brought her large purse closer to the chest and felt for her video camera. The thick bulge

confirmed that she had indeed not forgotten to pack it, and she hastened the pace towards the

silhouettes of three boys waiting outside the entrance of the building.

"Finally." One of them said when she started to climb the stairs.

"Hey Danny." She said, recognizing her classmate's voice.

"What took you so long?" Another complained.

The third boy stood up from the bench and blocked her path.

Mia sighed. "I'm here aren't I?"

"We were supposed to meet at five. It's seven now."

Mia rolled her eyes. She knew she and Jake weren't going to get along and if the circumstances

had been different, she wouldn't have had him in her group anyway. But Professor Philips had been the

one to form the groups and despite her opinion of him, she had to comply with the Professor's orders.

She could have called him out on his own tardiness, but then he would know that she had been

here before and kept them waiting on purpose.

"What part of 'we're making a horror movie' don't you get?" Mia asked, trying to side step him,

but he blocked her path again. Behind her Danny and Ronit stood silently.

"That wasn't a group decision." Jake said.

Mia put her hand on his chest and pushed him away gently. "I make the rules here."

"Because you're the principal's niece?" Jake mocked.

Mia started to put the key in the lock and paused. She hated how the whole school seemed

prejudiced towards her just because she was Principal Walker's niece and it bugged her to no end, but

tonight, she decided that since Jake had thrown in that card, she might as well pick it up and play it.

"Yeah, now suck it up." She said, turning the lock and opening the door. Reaching into her large

handbag, she took out her torch and switched it on.

The boys behind her sighed reluctantly and turned on their own flashlights.

"Why do you have the keys to this school, anyway?" Jake asked.

"My other Uncle is a principal too." Mia said. "He used to be…of this school."

"A family of principals." Jake mocked.

Danny snickered and nudged Ronit. "Principles, get it?"

"I think we should reconsider our project." Ronit said. "Professor Philips isn't going to be

impressed by a horror movie. We should pick a social cause and do a movie..."

"Boooorrring." Mia interrupted then turned around to throw the light of her torch on his face.

Ronit squeezed his eyes shut and then adjusted his glasses.

"Literally everyone is doing a movie on some cause or the other. Gita is doing a movie on

animal testing." Mia turned the flashlight away from Ronit's face and shone it on the wall beside them.

"Sharona is doing a movie on teen pregnancies and Keith is doing one on racial discrimination."

"We could do one on..." Danny began but Mia interrupted yet again.

"No! Our best chance is to stand out."

"Horror is the lowest form of cinema." Jake grumbled.

"Says who?" Mia challenged. "In recent years low budget horror movies have earned more

than big budget movies."

The boys didn't look convinced and Mia sighed. "Besides I have another motive."

"Go on..." Jake was being sarcastic again.

"There's going to be a horror film festival in a few months."

"I haven't heard anything." Ronit said.

"Of course not." Mia said. "My Uncle told me about it."

"Basically you want to enter this film in that as well?" Danny asked.

"Two birds with one stone." Mia smirked.

Ronit and Danny looked at each other and she could see that they were almost convinced. Jake

on the other hand, was raising his eyebrows at her and probably thinking of a sarcastic comment.

"You all in?" Mia asked.

"Fine." Danny said.

"Okay." Ronit nodded.

Jake shrugged and Mia took that as a yes.

"So what's the story?" Danny asked, removing his beanie cap.

Mia pressed her lips together. "Oh...well... Eight weeks ago there was a terrible tragedy in this

private school. There was a fire and almost half the school was damaged by the fire."

"We all know that." Jake said. "What's the story of this movie?"

“Technically…” Danny interjected, “More than half the school was destroyed by fire. It even

spread up till here before the firefighters subdued it.”

“You know what?” Ronit said. “I don’t think Professor Philips is going to go for this. He

would want us to stick to something informative with an enlightening message. We should play it

safe.”

Mia frowned at them. It seemed that if one of them agreed, so did the other. “Arrgh, okay

fine!” she said. “Here’s what we’ll do.”

Jake leaned against the dusty wall and looked on at her dubiously as if she were just going to

utter the most ridiculous plan. She knew this wouldn’t work with Jake, but now that they were both

here…

“Look, we could do a short movie on fire safety in schools.” She said. “How about that?”

“Great, now let’s come here in the morning.” Jake turned to go and Mia imagined pulling him

back and shaking him.

“Hold on a second!” she said. “I still want to enter that Horror festival that is for high school

students only. This is the last year before I am no longer one, so I want to make that movie.” She

adjusted her purse strap and sighed. “And I could use a little help from you guys.”

She said the last in a low mutter and Jake stepped closer. “What? Didn’t catch that?”

Mia shook her head and crossed her arms. “Are you guys in or out? Because I could find

someone…”

“I’m in!” Danny said.

“Provided we get credited.” Ronit added.

“Of course.” Mia looked at Jake who just shrugged.

“And like I said before – whatever.”

CHAPTER 2

Danny shone his flashlight ahead of him and then walked a few steps down the corridor. The

walls were blackened and with no light, Mia couldn’t gather much of her surroundings except for a

dank smell over a much stronger one that she couldn’t identify.

“What caused the fire again?” Danny asked.

Mia shone her flashlight over the door of a room and put her hand on the handle, but it didn’t

open.

“In the newspapers said that the cause was never determined but that it may have started in the

chemistry lab.” Ronit said.

Ronit and Danny were walking ahead and Mia realized Jake was walking right beside her. She

hastened a few steps and pushed open a door on her right. Peeking in, she saw a small classroom with

about ten to fifteen chairs.

“Perfect.” She said.

Jake came up behind her and shone his flashlight all around the classroom. “No fire alarms.

That explains it.”

“Oh there’s more than that.” Ronit said, entering from his side. Mia followed him and looked

at the burnt blackboard that was hanging askew.

“There’s a rumor that one of the students started the fire. A boy, I think.” Ronit said. “He

apparently was playing a prank. Or was a vandal.”

“Perfect!” Mia said, turning around suddenly. “I was thinking we should make the ghost a boy

instead of the typical girl student with long hair and flowing gowns.”

"Students in flowing gowns?" Ronit asked Danny who snickered.

“We’re doing the fire safety thing first.” Jake said, sitting down on one of the desks. “I’m

guessing the fire didn’t spread all the way in the classroom.”

“What makes you say that?” Mia asked, accidentally shining the flashlight on his face.

Jake put a hand up to shield his eyes. “Ugh! My cousin is in the fire department. He taught me

some stuff. There aren’t too many patterns here and this classroom hasn’t been destroyed by fire that

much.”

Mia nodded. “Uh-huh. The fire probably started somewhere at the back of the school.”

“Where the chemistry lab is.” Ronit said.

“Now about this horror movie…” Mia said. “I was thinking we don’t do the clichéd stuff. So

no little girl ghosts and no bad lighting effects.”

“Our project is due in two weeks.” Jake reminded her. “Our focus should be in getting a better

grade than F.”

“We could come back during the day for the fire safety part. I specifically called you guys at

night to shoot the horror movie.” Mia replied.

“Where’s Danny?” Ronit asked suddenly.

“Wasn’t he right behind you?” Jake asked, jumping down from the creaky and wobbly desk.

“That’s what I thought.” Ronit said, walking out of the classroom.

“Can’t you guys, stay in one place?” Mia complained. Her flashlight flickered then and she

tapped the end with her hand until it shone properly again.

Jake and Ronit had walked out the classroom and Mia blew a breath. This was taking way too

much time and she wanted to get back home in time for her favorite TV show. Her Mother was

cooking Chinese food tonight and she really wanted to get home before her dinner got cold.

She started to walk out the classroom, when she heard a loud thunking sound – as if something

had just been dragged across the floor. She whipped around and threw the beam of her flashlight

everywhere at once. Everything appeared to be in place and she frowned.

She walked down the rows of the desks and was suddenly aware of how silent it was. Her

mouth went dry and she licked her lips as a cold creepy feeling crawled across her back. Blowing out a

breath, she was about to turn around when her eye caught something.

Shining her flashlight, she saw one of the chairs pulled away from the desk at the back of the

class. She walked towards it, holding her flashlight steady. Had all the chairs been moved around?

She had been certain that when she had entered the classroom, all the desks and chairs had been aligned

in an orderly manner. Mia went over to the chair and moved the beam of light all around it, but saw

nothing.

She shrugged and walked out the classroom as fast as she could.

"Danny!" Ronit called.

"You guys still haven't found him?" Mia asked.

"I wish the damned electricity was on." Jake complained.

"Umm…the school burned down." Mia reminded him. "The cables were no doubt damaged as

well. And don't you think the first thing they would have done is turn the electricity off? Or didn't

your cousin teach you anything else?"

Jake started to respond to her sarcasm when Ronit spoke up.

"Guys…" Ronit said coming over to them. "I can't find…"

Just then the lights in the corridor came on and Mia felt her heart jump in her chest.

"What the hell…?" Jake said, looking all around them.

Danny came down the corridor, grinning. "You're welcome."

"How did you…?" Mia saw that her flashlight was still on and switched it off. "I thought there

wouldn't be any electricity."

"I have my ways." Danny winked.

Ronit slapped him on the shoulder. "How did you accomplish that?"

"The electricity only works in this half. I couldn't get it to turn at the back." Danny explained.

"Well, that's exactly where we're going." Mia said. "Besides, you're going to have to turn this

off. We can't have people thinking we're trespassing or something."

"But you do have special permission from your Uncle, right?" Ronit asked.

"Of course." Mia said and turned away from the boys.

The front door behind them suddenly blew open and Mia jumped.

"Hey!"

Mia could actually feel her heart stop when she heard the gruff voice. Turning around, she saw

the security guard walking in, clutching at something in his pocket.

"What's going on here?"

Mia stood before the small group. "I'm Mia Walker. My Uncle is...was... a principal here. I

have permission to be here." She blubbered.

The security guard looked at them all suspiciously. He looked to be in his early twenties with

short sandy hair, grey eyes and acne on his cheeks. He was skinny and would otherwise look

completely harmless, except the glaring expression in his eyes showed he could get aggressive if he

wanted to.

He nodded thoughtfully. "Ah. Your Uncle did mention you would come."

Mia felt her shoulders relaxing and nodded at her group.

"But you're not supposed to be this late. Come in the morning." He said gruffly.

"Look..." Mia started.

"Out. Now!" He said in a threatening tone.

"Good job, Mia." Jake muttered behind her.

"Which one of you got the lights on?" The guard asked.

Danny stepped back further and Mia rolls her eyes. "Will you let me say something?"

The guard regarded her with hostility.

"We're making a movie here. A horror movie to showcase at the festival."

"The After Midnight Horror festival?" The guard narrowed his eyes.

"Yeah." Mia answered. "I kind of need the darkness for this movie."

The guard stood silently with his hand in his pocket, but Mia could see that he was showing

interest in their project.

"We'll credit you." Ronit said quickly.

The guard grinned. "Really?"

"Absolutely!" Mia said coming towards him. She put her hand forward. "We'll credit everyone

who helps us with our project. Welcome aboard..."

"Peter." He said, adjusting his hat and then shaking her hand. "So how can I help?"

"Well..."

"I always wanted to be in the movies – to be an actor." Peter said excitedly. "Things didn't work

out then. But when opportunity knocks... You open the door."

"Hmmm..." Mia said distractedly.

"This is going nowhere." Jake grumbled. He was standing by her side again and Mia groaned

inwardly. "Your hotchpotch plan is going to get us all an F. I say we just ditch this whole thing...."

"No!" Mia said. "We are doing this. Everybody listen up." She turned to the others and stood

before them. "It's night time so it's best we get some shots for the horror movie. Tomorrow morning we

come and get shots for the fire safety project. Okay?"

"What is my role in all this?" Peter asked.

"Role?" Mia quickly gathered herself then. Peter seemed like a wannabe actor but if lying was

what it took to get him off their backs…

"You get to guide us to the back of the school where the fire took place." Mia said. "In the dark,

everything probably looks a lot spooky."

Peter looked disappointed that he wasn't being offered a role, then nodded and started to lead

them down the corridor. "So what is the story?" He asked.

"Yeah, what is the story, Mia?" Jake taunted.

"I want our movie to stand out." She said. "And in order to do so, I want to avoid all the horror

movie clichés."

"Meaning what?" Danny asked.

Mia shrugged. "You know… no crappy lighting stuff. No looking under the bed for monsters.

No looking away from the mirror and looking back to see 'someone' behind you." She said and then

snapped her fingers. "Oh and no, girl ghosts. The ones with long hair over their faces roaming around

in long white dresses. Nothing of that sort."

"You've already said that." Jake said dryly. "We get it – no girl ghosts!"

"Then what is in the movie?" Ronit asked.

Mia smiled. "The opposite. I'm thinking of a guy ghost. The fire and what Ronit said has given

me an idea. Maybe he started the fire to kill the boys who were bullying him, but he dies instead and

now he has unfinished business."

"Unfinished business?" Jake scoffed. "Now that's not clichéd? And a nerd taking revenge on

bullies. So original." he rolled his eyes.

"Alright. Then how about he was wrongfully accused....?"

"Already done." Jake said before she could finish.

Mia frowned at him. She knew this wasn't going to work out with Jake. But now she was stuck

with him and he hadn't said he wouldn't help her. And right now, she needed all the help she could get.

"I'll get some inspiration when I see the fire damage." She said and walked forward so that she

was no longer walking with him.

"You got your flashlights?" Peter asked.

"Yup." Mia said.

"From here onwards, we'll need them." Peter said and then turned around. "Oh and stick

together. You do not want to get lost here."

"So what exactly happened here?" Mia asked.

"There was a fire." Peter shrugged, stating what the all already knew. They came to a dark

corridor and Peter turned on his flashlight. "From here on we stay together."

"We're not kids." Jake mumbled.

"How long have you worked here?" D anny asked.

"Two years." Peter replied. "Do I get to act in this movie?"

Ronit and Danny turned to Mia who looked away from them. "Uh…let's see what's ahead. You

were saying something about the fire. The newspapers didn't give an exact reason."

"That's because the firefighters were unable to determine the seat of the fire." Peter said.

"That means the point from where the fire began." Ronit explained.

"Got it." Mia said, rolling her eyes. "And why was that?"

"They said something about the fire patterns not being regular." Peter said. "At first they said

they thought it was a chemical mix up in the lab that caused the explosion. Then they said that the

flames didn't look like it was caused by chemicals."

Ronit nodded thoughtfully as if he understood and Mia frowned. "Alright, then where else

could the fire have started?"

"The fire investigators said they found fire patterns in the Principal's room and the room where

student records are kept." Peter said. He stopped walking then and turned around. "Hey, you still

haven’t finished telling the story and what my role is going to be."

Mia started to open her mouth when Jake stepped in before her. "There is no story." he said.

"Mia wants her movie to stand out. And what better way to stand out than not have a plot?"

"Actually." Mia interrupted. "Peter has given me an idea. So I do have a story now."

"Do tell?" Jake said, feigning interest. "Huddle up guys, Mia has a story to narrate for us."

Mia decided to ignore his sarcasm and smiled. "Okay, so the story is going to be about the fire

in the school. A student- a guy—"

"Because girl ghosts are clichéd." Jake told everyone.

"This guy started the fire to kill the people who had tormented him all through high school."

Mia said.

"Isn't that too extreme?" Danny asked.

Mia shrugged. "Oh well these guys really tormented him and…" she paused, thinking of ideas

and then nodded quickly as an idea occurred to her. "He was about to kill himself. Then he thought that

his life was way more precious than the bullies’, so he sets fire in the…um…gym where one of the

bullies was working out. Except, things didn't go according to his plans and he died instead of the

bully."

"And now he's roaming the school corridors, looking for vengeance." Jake yawned.

"Uh-huh." Mia said. "What do you guys think?"

"I think…" Jake started, but Peter interrupted him.

"Not bad. I would love to play the role of the ghost." He said excitedly.

"Oh…he's a high school student." Mia reminded him.

"Make-up." Peter said, snapping his fingers. "I could dye my hair and wear some..." he eyed the

boys in front of him and frowned at their appearances. "T-shirt and jeans, instead of baggy pants"

Danny looked down at his baggy pants and frowned. Mia ran her fingers through her ponytail

and watched as Peter prattled on about lighting and wearing even more make-up so that he looked like

a ghost. She glanced at Jake who was smirking at her and she decided to put an end to this.

"Peter…uh, tonight we're just going to take some shots of the school that we'll later edit." She

turned to Danny and Ronit. "One of you guys can handle the editing part right."

"Okay." Ronit and Danny said in unison and then they both looked at each other and grinned.

"And what else is going to be in this horror movie that is not going to be clichéd?" Jake asked.

"You've pretty much crossed out a lot of stuff. Let me guess, a door is suddenly going to bang shut

somewhere?"

Mia started to get irritated with Jake but resisted the urge to just tell him off. She took a deep

breath and took a step back from him. She could suddenly feel her head getting lighter just by moving

away from him.

Under the pretext of studying the classroom doors, she thought hurriedly for an idea. She hated

to admit it but Jake was right about the suddenly slamming doors. Too many horror movies had used

the same gimmick and she needed something different.

Think, she told herself. She remembered what had happened in the classroom she had been in

and whirled around.

"I have an idea!" she said.

Jake crossed his arms and leaned against the wall. Peter looked excited though and that was

enough to encourage her to state her plan.

"Okay…" she said, licking her lips. "In fact I have an opening shot." She raised both her hands

at head level. "We do an exterior shot of the school, put on some eerie music and then slowly, walk

inside, showing the dark corridors. And then we make a turn and enter a classroom where all the desks

and chairs are lined up neatly."

"And the eerie music is still going on?" Jake asked.

"Obviously." Mia said. "Then we slowly zoom on the desks, when out of nowhere, a chair in the

back row, pushes back—as if someone is about to sit down. Fade to black and the title comes on."

"That's not bad." Danny said.

"Yeah, it could be pretty creepy if executed properly." Ronit agreed.

Mia turned to Jake who seemed disappointed that her idea was being approved.

"How do we make this chair move?" Peter asked.

Mia blinked and then rubbed her hands together. "Ummm….oh wait!" She reached into her

purse and took out a spool of pale white string. "We tie this to the leg of the chair and on cue, one of

you will pull on the end and it'll look like an invisible force pulled back the chair."

"On it." Danny said, taking the ball of string from her.

"We'll try it right now." Peter said.

Mia smiled widely at the three men and walked past Jake who was still sulking.

"Which classroom?" Ronit asked.

"Any." Mia said and pushed open the door of the nearest one on her right. "This will do."

Peter shone his flashlight inside and nodded slowly. "Yeah these classrooms weren't damaged

like the ones in the back."

Mia took out her camcorder and switched it on.

"Does it have night vision?" Danny asked.

"Of course it does." Ronit said.

Mia switched on the night mode and turned all around the room with it. "Hm…the lighting is a

bit off. It’s too dark. I need a little bit more light."

"We could use an emergency lamp." Peter suggested. "I'll go get it from my cabin."

"Thanks." Mia said as Peter jogged away. She then turned to Danny and Ronit. "You guys tie

the string to the chair leg and test it out. Then let me take a shot of it and see if it looks good."

Danny went to the back of the classroom and stood in the middle. Ronit gestured towards the

desk on the left and they both bend over with their flashlights.

Behind her, she heard Jake walk in and press on the light switch. "The electricity is out here."

"Obviously." Mia said dryly, still staring at the small screen of her camcorder. "Danny only

managed to get it on in the front, remember?" She walked over to the front desk and sat down on it

with her legs resting on the chair.

Jake shuffled his feet and then went over to sit in a chair behind her.

Mia rolled her eyes and then turned to him. "You know, if you don't contribute you won't get

credit."

Jake made a face at her and then stood up. "Well leave it to Mia Walker to blackmail me." He

leaned over on her desk and whispered. "Again."

"I think it's in our best interests to move on from all that." Mia said quietly so that Ronit and

Danny wouldn't listen in. "We're stuck together for a project so let's do that and then go our separate

ways."

"Yeah, let's work on the project then." Jake said. "I'm stuck making this crappy movie with you

because the other idiots agreed with your ridiculous plans. It's like you forced us into making this."

Mia went back to check the lighting on her camera. "I asked for help."

"Didn't sound like it." Jake retorted.

"Fine then, don't help." she snapped. Looking up, she saw Ronit pull on the string and the chair

moved, then wobbled and almost fell over when Danny grabbed it.

"It's not the first time you haven't helped someone." She said dryly.

"And here we go again." Jake said, irritated. "You and your friend…"

"I don't want to get involved." Mia said and started to get up from the desk when Jake grabbed

her arm.

"Then you shouldn't have interfered in my life." He said angrily.

Mia shrugged him off and went over to Danny and Ronit. "You guys ready?"

"Yeah." Danny said, pushing up his glasses.

"Here." Ronit said, handing over his flashlight to her. "How about we use this in the meantime

to give extra light?"

Jake took the flashlight from her hands and put it on the desk from across the rigged up chair.

Mia looked into the small screen and nodded. "Well it should suffice for now. I'm ready to record."

She walked to the back of the classroom, sat right back on the desk while resting her feet on the

chair, and held up her camera. "When I raise my hand, pull on the string, okay?"

Danny held the string ready in his hands, while Jake and Ronit moved to stand by her side. Mia

directed the camera towards the left of the classroom and raised her hand.

Danny started to pull on the string slowly. The chair slid back slowly making a soft dragging

sound that echoed in the dark and silent classroom.

Mia kept looking at the small screen and felt her excitement bubbling. The shot did look good,

though she would have to tell Danny to bend over even more. She could see the back of his red hoodie.

Also, they could use a bit more lighting and she hoped Peter would be back with the lamp soon.

"This looks…" Jake started to say and Mia turned around angrily.

"Shh.." she said.

"Don't shush me!" Jake snapped.

"I don't want there to be any sound." Mia said.

"I could edit that out." Ronit said, helpfully.

"Or Jake could just shut up." She muttered under her breath.

"Can we move this along?" Jake demanded. "Why is the ghost taking so much time to pull back

a chair?"

Mia felt a sudden chilling sensation in her back and shivered. "Can you close the windows?"

she requested, still looking into the screen. Jake was right, the shot would look better if Danny yanked

a bit more on the string.

"The windows are closed." Jake said.

Mia looked up and turned to the windows. Jake was right; they were closed, yet she continued

to feel a chill in her back. She turned her flashlight towards the vents and frowned. "Am I the only one

who's feeling chilly all of a sudden?"

Jake groaned behind her and she turned to Ronit. "Do you feel something?"

"No I…."

Just then, the chair on which she had been resting her leg on slid from underneath her and

dragged across the room. The sound of metal dragging against the tiles reverberated around them and

before Mia could shine her flashlight on the chair, it smashed hard against the wall.

"What the hell?" Mia felt her breath being knocked out from her as she straightened.

Danny slowly got up from his hiding position and adjusted his glasses. "Woah!"

Mia felt her heartbeat accelerate and her breath stuck in her throat. She dropped her hands to

her side and was only aware of the loud thudding noise of her own heartbeat in her ears. She started to

feel light-headed and clutched at the desk behind her.

"That wasn't funny." she said, dazedly. Her head started to feel lighter and dark clouds appeared

before her vision.

"I didn't do that!" Danny protested.

"How in the hell did that happen?" Ronit asked.

"Guys, that was a terrible joke." Jake said.

"I did not do this." Danny repeated.

While the three boys argued, Mia walked slowly towards the door and out of the classroom. The

tightness in her chest was making her feel weaker by the second. She couldn't breathe anymore and

bent over. Her purse dropped to her side and she reached for it and hastily opened it. Her hands

rummaged through it, until finally, her hand clasped over the round metal box.

She plucked it out and quickly opened it. Blinking away the tears from her eyes, she picked up

one of the pale blue tablets and swallowed it quickly. Straightening, she felt her breathing and heart rate

return to normal.

Her hand on the wall, to steady herself, she felt her anger returning.

How dare they pull such a mean trick on me?

Jake had probably planned this prank with the other guys and now they were probably laughing

at her in the classroom. She would never forgive them. If they knew that they had almost killed her

just now, would they still be laughing?

"Hey!" Jake said from behind her and Mia dropped the small tin. The tin rolled away from her

and then opened, scattering the contents all around Jake's feet.

Mia ran over to him and started to pick up the tablets. Her heart started to beat faster again and

she tried to control her growing temper that only made her feel sicker.

Jake bent down and held up one of the tablets. "What's this?"

Mia snatched it from his fingers and put it back in the tin. "None of your business. Just back

away."

"What's going on?" Danny asked, peeping through the classroom door.

Ronit stepped out and Mia heard a small crunching sound from underneath the soles of his

shoes.

"Move!" Mia said and when Ronit stepped back, she saw the powdery remainders of at least

five of her tablets. "Look what you did?"

"Are they mints?" Danny asked, looking at the tin in her hand.

Mia didn't say anything and gathered up the rest of the tablets. She stood up and tossed the tin

into her purse. "What you did in there wasn't funny."

"I swear I had nothing to do with that." Danny said. "Ronit and I were working in front of you

the whole time."

"Yes and then Jake distracted me." Mia said, feeling her face getting warm. Her head started to

feel lighter again and she pressed her cool hand on it. "You know what, let's just go home."

She turned around and started to make her way back to the main door.

"Mia, this wasn't a prank." Jake said, trying to keep up with her hurried pace.

She tried to slow down on account of her heart, but she was too mad to listen to any excuses.

"Yeah, the chair just happened to move all by itself and smash against the wall."

"I don't know how it happened, but it did and…"

"You know what, Jake?" Mia said, turning sharply on her heels. Jake almost stumbled when

she did and put his hand on the wall to steady himself. "This isn't going to work out. I don't think we

can move past what happened between you and Ravina. I think we should just go to Professor Philips

and tell him that we simply cannot work together."

"You're overreacting. Again!" Jake said.

"I just want to go home." She told him in a low tone. Her chest started to tighten again and

dark spots appeared in her vision, that were quickly expanding.

"You look pale." He said.

Overhead the tube lights in the corridor started to flicker and that only increased the light-

headedness she was feeling.

Jake looked up and groaned. "Whatever Danny did to start up the lights in this part…"

The lights suddenly went off and Mia heard her heart clench tightly before relaxing. She felt her

limbs turn into jelly and crumpled on the floor.

"Hey!" Jake said, putting his hand on her shoulder. "Are you okay? Danny, get the light!"

Mia held her head as the pounding of her heart grew louder in her ears.

"Drink this." Jake said, and passed something between her lips.

The coolness of water seeped into her mouth and down her throat. She felt some of her energy

returning but her heart still felt tired.

"Can you get the lights on again?" Jake asked.

"I don't know." Danny said doubtfully. "Let's just take her home."

"What's wrong with her?" Ronit asked.

Jake started to put his arms under her legs, but she put her hand up to stop him. "I'm fine." She

mumbled.

"Let me help you up." He said.

"No…not right now." She blinked in the darkness and reached for her purse. "I think I dropped

my camcorder."

"I have it." Ronit said.

Danny shone his flashlight on her and she blinked. "Can you turn that away from me?"

"Should we call an ambulance?" Ronit asked.

"I'm fine." Mia said. She put her hand on the wall and slowly raised herself up. "I was just

feeling faint for a bit. I'm okay now."

"We should go home now." Jake said solemnly.

CHAPTER 3

Mia walked as slowly as possible to the main door, feeling a bit embarrassed by the fact that

Jake may now have a hunch that she was sick. And that was exactly the thing she wanted to avoid.

Ever since she had turned fourteen, she had been diagnosed with heart arrhythmia.

It hadn't been serious initially and she had been advised by the doctor to avoid getting stressed

and eat healthy. She had been doing all that and her symptoms had seemed to decrease. Then one day,

while she had been studying, her heart had suddenly started to race and she had felt faint.

Her Mother blamed it on her stressing too much about her grades and the Doctor had once again

advised her to live a stress-free lifestyle. But this time, she was given medication.

Mia still remembered the day her parents had looked at her, with fear in their eyes, as if she was

about to drop dead. She had assured them that her condition wasn't that serious, but they had treated

her like a child for days. She wasn't allowed to stay up late, her meals were brought up to her room and

her parents would sit with her until she had cleaned her plate. She wasn't allowed to watch action or

horror movies either, which irked her.

Then her Uncle had come to visit her and when her parents had gone out, he had put on a horror

movie DVD and they had watched it. She couldn't recall the name of the movie, but she did remember

how her Uncle would comment at every scene, making jokes about how silly some of the scenes were

and even point out the plot holes.

Instead of being scared, she had been laughing throughout at her Uncle's witty remarks. That

was when she had decided that she wanted to make a horror movie that her Uncle wouldn't find a single

plot hole in, or even ridiculous. It had been her little secret that she shared with her Uncle Tom. If her

parents ever found out she had been stressing herself and making a horror movie, they would freak out.

More importantly, she never wanted any of her classmates to know of her condition; or why she

was making a horror movie. But now Jake must have guessed and he would probably tell his friends,

then word would get around that she was just a feeble girl who should be treated like an invalid.

She put her hand on the door and pushed. When it didn't budge, she shook herself from her

thoughts and shone her flashlight at it.

"What's wrong?" Jake asked, behind her.

"It won't open." She said, pushing on the door again and again. She heard a jingling sound in

the lock and frowned. "I didn't lock it when we came in. Did Peter lock us in?"

Jake came to her side and tried opening the door too. The door moved slightly backwards, but

still didn't open. "Peter!" he called.

They received no response and Mia bit her lip. The silence was getting heavier and she tried to

calm herself, but she could feel small threads of fear crawling up her back. Taking a deep breath, she

felt her chest getting lighter. She imagined her medication was finally taking effect and opened up her

purse.

"Well, I do have the keys somewhere." she said. "Can't believe that Peter decided to play a little

prank too. How juvenile." She rummaged through her purse, but her hands didn't feel the metallic

keys.

"Well?" Jake asked.

"Hey!" Danny said. "We're ready to go."

"I can't find my keys." Mia said. "I just had them."

"What’s going on?" Ronit asked.

"The door is locked and Mia can't find her keys." Jake said in exasperation.

"I didn't think Peter was going to lock us in, okay." Mia said and then turned her purse upside

down and let the contents fall on the floor. Ronit and Danny knelt down to help her while Jake called

for Peter again.

"Damn it!" Mia exclaimed, throwing her hands up. "It was supposed to be here. I unlocked the

door, stepped in and then…" She sighed when her hands reached down her pockets. "I put it in my

pocket."

Jake put out his hand and Mia gave him the keys. She started stuffing everything back in her

purse, careful of her little tin that held her medication. Hopefully the others still thought they were

mints.

Jake put the keys in the lock and turned it. He pushed the door and Mia heard the clanging of

the door again. "It won't open." he said.

Mia slung her purse strap over her shoulder and got up. "What?"

"These are the keys, right?" Jake asked angrily.

"It went inside the lock, didn't it?" Mia retorted. She pushed him aside and turned the key

again. The key moved in the lock, but the door still wouldn't budge. She removed the key and stared at

it. "This is the key."

"Where's Peter?" Danny asked, dusting his baggy pants.

"He's still not back and he locked us in." Jake said, massaging his forehead with his thumb and

forefinger.

"How could he have forgotten us?" Ronit asked. He pushed past both of them and banged

against the glass door. "Hey! Open up!"

"Can you see anyone out there?" Mia asked.

Ronit shook his head. "It's too dark. Peter's cabin light is out."

Mia twisted the strap of her large purse. She felt a sharp electric twitch in her heart and

breathed in deeply. Stepping away from the others, she removed her phone and started to dial her

Uncle's number when she noticed the 'No Service' sign in the corner of her screen.

"I have no signal." She said.

The others removed their phones as well. "Same here." Ronit said.

Danny used his forefinger to poke at the screen and then frowned. "That's weird. I just called

my brother ten minutes ago and it was working fine then."

"Jake?" Mia asked and he shook his head. She turned back to Danny. "Well then there must be

a signal from wherever you were calling before."

"Back at the classroom." He gestured with his thumb.

"Let's go." She said and they started to walk back.

Jake snickered. "If this were a horror movie, it would be another cliché."

Danny chuckled. "True. I hate it when it happens. Let's not put that in our movie."

Mia said nothing and wished she didn’t feel so scared. There was no other light except for their

flashlights and she kept imagining them going out of battery. If that happened and they couldn't leave

this school building, she would have a panic attack.

Danny opened the room to the classroom and turned on his phone. "Hmm…still nothing." He

walked around the classroom with his phone raised.

Mia took out her own phone and swallowed the thick lump in her throat. Something about this,

didn't feel right to her. Where was Peter? Why had he locked them in? Most importantly, why wasn't

her key working?

"Anything?" Ronit asked, with his own phone raised.

"No." Danny replied. "I was standing right here when I made the call."

"Alright, let's not panic." Mia said, more to herself. "We're on the ground floor, so let’s open up

a window."

Danny and Ronit walked up toward the windows while Jake continued to walk around the

classroom looking for a signal. Mia glanced down at her phone, wondering if her parents had tried to

call her. She had told them she would be home by ten and now it was close to nine.

The panicky voices in her head suddenly woke up and barraged her with questions.

What if they were stuck here for the whole night? Without electricity….in the darkness? What if

there was no water as well?

Her throat suddenly went dry and she heaved a breath. She stepped back towards the open door.

It was getting hotter and stuffier inside the classroom. She heard a small ping sound and looked down

at her cell phone to see a small bar blink before becoming steady. She took another step back and

another bar came up.

Mia looked up and the panicky voices started to subside. Licking her suddenly dry lips, she

took another step back, outside the classroom and in the corridor once again. She unlocked her keypad

and scrolled down the list for her home number.

She was about to hit the call button when another bar came up. The signal was getting stronger.

Mia took another step back. A moment ago there hadn't been a single bar raised and now she found it

odd that almost all the bars were coming up.

She was still stepping back and staring down at her phone when she decided to just call her

parents. She hit the call button and backed down, expecting to lean against the wall. Instead, she found

her back against something less solid.

Her mouth fell open as she realized she had backed into some person. She looked up to see the

three guys still in the classroom. Her breath hitched in her throat and she stood extremely still, until

she realized that it could only be one other person.

Looking down, she saw her own feet, but turning sideways, she saw someone's leg. Whoever

was behind her was wearing a green pleated skirt—clothes that a male security guard would never

wear. She turned around sharply and came face to face with a girl who looked about her age.

She had long straight hair down to her shoulders and was dressed in a white shirt and green

pleated skirt—both had dark marks on them, as if they had been charred. Mia could feel her heart

racing and she wanted to scream, but she could barely even move now.

The girl's face was burned off on the right side until she could see parts of the bone underneath.

Her right eye was red and swollen and damaged. Her skin was yellow and pink and had a deathly

glow. The girl raised her arm and let it fall on Mia's shoulder. Her touch was blazing hot on her skin

and Mia finally emitted a loud scream.

She closed her eyes and dropped to the floor, still screaming, when she felt someone grab her

shoulders. She screamed again and struggled in the grasp, certain that the girl had her in her grasp.

"Hey!" Jake shook her until she opened her eyes. "What the hell happened?"

Mia turned around her and saw nothing but empty darkness.

"Why were you screaming?" Danny asked, coming out. "Did you see a rat?"

"There was someone behind me!" she blubbered. "A girl. She was dressed in…in…the

uniform….and…her face…it was burned…and…"

"There's no one here." Jake said.

"Maybe she saw Peter." Ronit said, shining his flashlight down the corridor.

"It was a girl!" Mia cried. "I know what I saw. There was someone here!"

They looked down the corridor, using their flashlights to look, when all of a sudden, a shadow

passed by from one classroom to the other.

Mia let out another scream and pushed herself back on the wall. "Did you see that? Did you?

There's someone here!"

"It's probably Peter." Danny said.

"We'll go check it out." Ronit said. "It must be Peter just trying to prove his acting skills. Or

probably just a shadow from the tree." His voice was kind and Mia pulled her knees up and hugged

them.

When they had walked away, Jake sat down from across her. "Are you sure you saw a girl?"

Mia kept her eyes on the two boys walking down the corridor and heading towards the

classroom on the left where they had seen the shadow.

"Yes…she was…I felt her…" Mia said.

Jake didn't say anything for a few minutes. Then, "Are you sure you weren't hallucinating?"

Mia clutched the phone tight in her hands. Jake had let his flashlight sit upright on the floor,

throwing light all around them, so that she could see him looking at her with doubt.

"What?"

Jake nodded towards her purse. "Your medication. Maybe one of the side effects is…"

"Shut up!" Mia stopped him. "Just…stop!" She got up and walked towards the classroom to

find Danny and Ronit. The anger at being accused of hallucinating was pulsating in her veins. Not only

did Jake know she was sick, he thought she was delusional as well. Tears welled up in her eyes as she

opened the door to the classroom.

"Anything?" She asked in controlled voice.

Danny and Ronit turned to her. "Nope. Maybe it was just a shadow of a tree. "

Mia wanted to argue and tell them again about what she had seen, but what was the use?

Chances were Jake would tell them about her medication and that she had been confused. She held up

her phone. "I had a signal back there. A pretty strong one."

Danny came out and took her phone. "Well, there's nothing here. Let's go back."

Mia nodded and walked back with them.

"We couldn't get the windows open." Ronit said. "They're jammed."

"Let's try again." Mia said.

Danny and Jake were in the corridor and talking while Ronit headed back to the classroom to

check the windows again. Mia thought it was better she stay away from Jake and followed Ronit.

Ronit was pulling on the handle and pushing, when she entered. "It won't budge." he said. "Just

like the door."

Mia put down her purse on the nearby desk and tried the adjoining window. The handle moved

in her hands but wouldn't push open. "This is just weird."

"Do you think defective windows and doors were also a cause for why the students who died,

were unable to escape the fire?" Ronit asked in a gasp. He was still trying to push open the window

with no success.

Mia pulled out the rubber band from her hair and smoothed her hair. "Probably."

Danny came into the classroom and plonked down on one of the chairs. "No luck. No bars in

anyone's phone."

"You should have just called when you had the signal." Jake grumbled, taking his seat beside

Danny.

"I…saw someone." Mia finished softly.

"I think we'll have to break the window." Ronit said.

"We are not vandalizing the school." Mia said.

"It's not vandalizing if we're trying to escape." Jake said, coming to Ronit's side.

"My Uncle is going to kill me." Mia said, sitting down on the chair.

Jake stood before her. "We'll be needing that."

Mia got up and walked back towards the teacher's desk. The only reason her Uncle had given

his permission was if she promised to not touch anything and went inside with the security guard. She

had intended the small horror movie to be a surprise for him and so hadn't even told him that she would

be visiting the school at night.

Her Uncle was going to be so mad at her for not following his instructions and she wondered if

she should just pin the blame on the boys?

"Ready?" Ronit said.

Jake raised the chair. "Alright, back away."

Danny and Ronit stepped away from the window and Jake tossed the chair as hard as he could

at the window.

Mia recoiled and ducked down immediately, expecting the glass shards to fly off in every

direction. Instead, all she heard was a loud thud and nothing else. She got up from her position and

stared at the glass. There wasn't even a small crack on it. The other three boys stared at it,

dumbfounded.

"Didn't you…" Ronit began.

"I did." Jake said.

"But then why didn't the glass break?"

Jake turned to her and she kept clutching the teacher's desk to steady herself. "What kind of

glass is this?" He touched it and frowned. "Is this supposed to be unbreakable? Bullet proof glass?"

"I…don't know." Mia said uncertainly. Why would the school use unbreakable glass? "Maybe

you didn't throw the chair hard enough."

"You're kidding right?" Jake retorted in annoyance.

"Now what?" Danny asked, removing his cap and flinging it down at the nearest desk. "We're

stuck here."

"Peter will come back for us," Ronit said, but his tone was underlined with improbability.

Mia put both hands on the desk and leaned forward. "Well…"

"You have an idea?" Danny asked.

Mia nodded. "There are no windows in the right wing. I noticed that while coming in."

"Isn't that part of the building risky?" Jake said. "I saw it all taped up ahead. It's been wrecked

by fire and chances are the ceiling would come down on us."

"We'll just find the first classroom and go through that." Mia said. "Do you have a better idea?"

"There must be another exit." Jake argued.

"Probably, but I'm pretty sure it's on that side." Mia replied and looked down at her phone. It

was now ten o' clock. Her parents would have noticed she was still not home and try to call her. When

they couldn’t reach her, they would call Ravina.

Even though her family didn't know where she was out tonight, Ravina did. She would no doubt

tell them and they would come and get her. She was going to be safe, she just knew it.

"Let's give it a shot," Danny said. "I don't think Peter's coming back."

"What the hell is wrong with that guy?" Ronit asked, picking up his bag and flashlight. "You'd

think he would be grateful we let him partake in our project."

"Some security in this school," Jake muttered. "Come on, lead the way."

Author’s Note: I hope you enjoyed this excerpt. To read more, you can

buy the book here:

Club Lighthouse Publishing

Or visit my blog for more details: My Blog