When night falls

(Short note)

In the prolouge you'll hear the event from two different characters. The first one is the Janitor and the second one is from a student named Stacey Darleen Jones.

(Dawn of a tragic morning)

It's a cold day at the beginning of April. The sun is once again high in a darkening sky. With a weak wind blowing over the old city. Down the corridors at Pinewood high, all lights are turned off by the flick of a single light switch, while the janitor quietly shuts down the school. Not one eye can be seen on the deserted hallways other than the janitor himself. The last teachers had gone on weekend at least two hours ago.

Things are going quietly. The janitor goes one last round. He's about to walk towards the exit when there's a rattle. It echoes through the hallways until it finds its way toward the exit. "Hello?" No response. He walks with cautious steps down the hall. The further down he reaches, the faster his heart beats. He points his flashlight down to the corner. "Is anyone there?". The light from the flashlight casts long shadows over the lockers and further up to the ceiling. But nothing. Not a single sound.

He reaches around the corner, but there is nothing. After a moment, he goes back to the exit. It can't go too fast. Throughout his entire career, he has experienced strange things, but never asked the slightest question. Maybe it was for the best? His hand wraps around the handle and pulls it down. Badly does he reach out before another sound catches his attention. Down the hall, he can see something moving. He squints his eyes but it's way too dark for him to see what it is.

A shrill metal-like sound screams down the hall. He doesn't hesitate for a second with his heart in his throat, he slams the door shut. Fumbling with the keys before getting them in the keyhole and locks the door. Then he sets off running towards his car and rushes away. Don't play with fire if you don't want to get burnt.

(Character shift: Stacey Darleen Jones).

She packs her things into her sports bag. With a heavy sigh, she sits down on the bench next to her bag. She pulls out her phone from one of the inside pockets of her black jacket. The screen dazzlingly lights up the dressing room.

20:30.

"So late?" she murmurs to herself in surprise. Although it's temptating with a well-deserved bath, she must skip. If she is quick, she can reach the exit before the janitor locks the school doors for the night. She puts on her jacket, ties her shoelaces and swings the sports bag over her back.

As she wanders down the hall, she keeps an eye out for Preben. Maybe he was a tad late? She could be lucky. As she makes it through the school, she passes by the physics room. The door is wide open. Maybe it's Preben? She pokes her head in. It's too dark for her to could see anything. With her hand, she gropes for a light switch or just something that would could help her.

Her hand hits the light switch and the familiar Click from the light sounds. The room is lit up with a few flashes from the lights and the buzzing sound that follows. She must squint her eyes to see anything for the bright light. The room is completely empty. "Preben?". The silence is overwhelming. She shrugs her shoulders and leaves the room.

She has barely made it five feet away from the physics room door before the sound of broken glass reaches her ears. Her heart skips a beat. She slowly backs down to the doorway. True, she can see the shards of glass from a vessel that normally contains water. She stands frozen to the ground. It hadn't been close to the edge of the table before, had it?

"Hello?" Sounds her shaky voice. With one hand, she slowly reaches for her phone. With a shaky finger, she presses into the camera and takes a picture of the broken glass at her feet. Click! She doesn't know why, but still does it just in case. You can never be too sure.

The hair on her neck suddenly rises like the bristles of a cat whose tail you've just stepped on. The room suddenly turns cold, as if she were outside in the cold autumn cold. She shakes her thoughts of what might have knocked the glass away and walks towards the exit. Preben must have been waiting for her, right?

She reaches for the corner. A loud metallic, shrill sound echoes through the long hallways. Then the sound of the large exit doors slamming shut and the familiar Click from the key being turned and locking the doors. You've got to be kidding me! She sets off running towards the doors. When she reaches it, she rips the door handle, but it doesn't give an inch. They are locked. She's too late. This can't happen. She has been locked up in the school. Alone.

Again, she gropes for her phone. This time, she clumsily typed in her parents' phone number and pressed call. A moment passes, then another but no one answers. Finally, it switches to voicemail. As she's about to record her message, a notification pops up on her screen.

10% Battery left.

The phone is dying. Great! She lets herself fall to the ground and sits up against the locked doors. Tears are really pressing on now. firstly, she did not reach the exit in time, just as she had agreed with Preben. Secondly, she was locked up in the school, and last but not least, her phone was dying. She had to spend the night at the school, and face the shame the next day, when the doors would be opened again and the students would be pour in. She would be a laughing stock in front of all the school's students and forever be known as "The locked up girl".

Stacey Darleen Jones stop yourself. Are you seriously giving up? Stacey Darleen Jones who won the cheerleading competition on her own? With an angry movement, she wipes her eyes. We are not giving up. Slowly, she gets back on her feet. Not like this. Not ever.

20:59.

Time passes slowly as it creeps along. She chooses to walk back towards the sports hall. Maybe because it would be easier to relate to it if there was something she could do instead of sitting still and doing nothing?

The minutes creep by as she lays up on one of the climbing frames they use for gymnastics. I wish it soon would be morning and the school would be unlocked again. There is not much time left! Her legs dangle off the stand as she stares up at the ceiling. The only thing that kept her entertained was counting the stars on the ceiling painting. So far there were 62. Maybe 63? No idea.

A buzz makes her stop looking for the stars. Down on the bench, her phone lights up. With a swing, she reaches the ground again and to her phone.

Mitci<3

"Mitci!" she exclaims happily.

"Where are you?"

She takes a deep breath and starts to explain the whole story of where she is and why she is locked up in the school.

"Jeez! So glad it's not me. I can ask my dad if he has the keys so we can go to school and let you out again."

"Thank you so much. Can't wait to get out of here". She nudges her sports bag a little to make room for herself. The short-term joy quickly comes to a stop. "Hey, M.C. Would it sound crazy if I said I feel watched?" It's quiet for a bit.

"What do you mean?" Sounds Mitci's confused voice.

"I don't think I'm alone" She pauses for a moment. "Earlier when I walked past the physics room-" Click.

"M.C?" she asks. "M.C.?!" but no answer. She looks at her phone. 0%. The screen goes black. "No". "No, no, no, no, no, no," she repeats frantically. "Fuck!" she exclaims frustrated. "Fuck, shit, piss!!!". Furious, she takes her sports bag and swings it over her shoulder. She might as well walk down to the exit and wait for Mitci. It shouldn't be long.

A quarter of an hour has passed but no trace of Mitci and her father. However, her paranoia has increased. It feels like every breath she takes is being watched. The hairs on her arms and neck rise again. It's becoming a routine for her. Her heart hasn't stopped pumping hard in her chest since she heard the lock Click and the hour is running late.

As she waits for Mitci, her gaze wanders around the semi-dark hallway. The polished floors, chalky white walls, the paintings on the ceiling down the hallway and the bright red lockers with a hint of metal color over the middle of some of them. Wait. She stands up and runs her fingers over the surface of the lockers. Most the lockers have deep marks in them, even through the locker door. What the-

Maybe it's time to turn back? She has a bad feeling. Since when has anyone managed to destroy the lockers as in ever? They could just as well be made of titanium. It shudders down her back as she realizes. No normal human being would be able to do anything like that with their bare hands.

"Stacey..."

She turns around at the whispering sound of the stranger's voice. It repeats her name again, this time louder. It gets louder and louder until the voice sounds up close. She can feel a puff on her neck. The air is as cold as ice. She slowly turns around. Nobody. There is no one. The sports bag slides off her shoulder and lands heavily on the floor.

"Run" says the whispering voice. Praying it in a sugary voice.

She doesn't have to think twice about it before she starts running. Down the aisles. Doors to the various classrooms she passes rush past her in a jumble. She needs to get out of here! Whatever it is, she doesn't want to know. This isn't normal. It's not real. It can't be real. It's but a bad dream. Nothing more, nothing else.

She runs straight past the sports hall and towards a back exit. The door is locked. She begins to try all the handles for the different doors. None of them give in. why, why, why. I have to get out of here. Finally, she reaches a door that is not locked. Without a single hesitation, she runs in there.

The air is warm and clammy. The swimming pool is covered in a layer of warm moisture. Of all the places she could be than this must be the worst. Even in the sports hall, she could hide behind several things. There's hardly anything here unless she wanted to end up on top five-meter. She is about to turn around when she hears a weak voice repeating her name. At the door, a few claws run over. It sounds like a cat pulling its claws down over a blackboard.

Swimming pool it is. She hides behind some of the tools and holds her breath. The handle for the door is slowly pulled down. The door opens with a loud, pain full creaking sound. Whatever goes in, she can't see it. There is nothing?

She's about to get up when something whizzes past just three feet from her face. She pulls back and makes herself as small as possible. One-minute passes, then two. Not long after, she can hear the door closing. She sits quietly. Doesn't make a sound. Inside, she counts to 10.

The door opens again. "Stacey?" sounds a familiar voice. Mitci! They had finally arrived. "Stacey are you here?" Mitci is turning around and walking out of the room again. With a twitch, Stacey gets her body going again. "Mitci!" she shouts happily. "Mitci I'm here". Mitci turns to face her. "Why have you been hiding in the tools?!" she asks, confused.'

Stacey grabs Mitci's arm. "Don't have time to explain. Is your father here?" Her confusion only increases until a smile takes its place. "He's waiting in the car." Her heart is still beating fast. It suddenly hits her, how can Mitci have made it down here without the monster taking her? "Mitci?" Mitci turns her attention towards her. "Is it really you?".

It's quiet. She doesn't answer. Stacey slowly backs off. Had she shown that it would be past a typical Friday night for her, she would not have gone here. Maybe she would have laid on the couch in the living room and watched a boring movie with her parents, and later called Mitci or Annastacia. Maybe, maybe not.

What used to look like Mitchi's figure slowly turns into something else. Long, sharp claws instead of ordinary nails, black eyes and a taller body. It towers over her. She wants to run, but it's no use. It would catch up with her sooner or later. She's about to scream as its claws pierce her and lift her high. "Whose shape should I take?" It goes from Mitci to the Janitor and finally to herself.

She is hurled through the air and crashes into a nearby window. The moisture-coated glass is shattered. She can feel several new cuts on her body from the shards of glass. The last thing she is aware of is that she is lying on a lawn, with the bright lights from the swimming pool. "What about your figure?" She sees a distorted version of herself, walking out the window and onto the grass. When it reaches her, it lifts the boot above her head and then nothing.

A fresh wind blows over the unsuspecting city. Pinewood the city where everything goes wrong. A city that is not marked on any map.