The Hallways

The cold air in the hallway felt even heavier now, pressing against the group as they took a cautious step away from the well room. Ivy, usually the calm and collected one, plucked a few of the yellow rue flowers on impulse, her fingers quick and precise as she tucked them into her bag.

Ethan, still a bit shaken by their close call with the well, glanced at her. "Why are you taking those?" he asked, his voice barely above a whisper. "What's the point?"

The atmosphere in the abandoned classroom grew colder, the air thick with tension as Evie plucked the yellow rue flowers with a calm precision. Her fingers brushed the petals gently as she murmured to herself. "I feel like we kind of need it. It's supposed to ward off evil, right?" she said, her voice low but certain.

Fiona, still eyeing Evie suspiciously, tilted her head. "This isn't like you, Evie. I know you're into strange stuff, but... who are you really?" Her voice wavered slightly, uncertainty creeping in as she watched Evie handle the flowers with such familiarity.

Before Evie could respond, the room around them seemed to shift in an unnatural way. A sudden cold breeze rushed through the room, and with a horrifying speed, a pair of unseen hands shot from the shadows, gripping Ethan and Fiona, yanking them both out of the classroom with an unnatural force.

"Close your eyes!" Evie shouted without warning.

Ethan and Fiona, frozen for a moment, instinctively obeyed, shutting their eyes tight as they felt themselves being dragged across the cold, dusty floor. The air around them seemed to hum with dark energy, and laughter echoed from all directions, a sound that seemed to come from the very walls themselves. It wasn't the kind of laughter that should be heard on Halloween night; it was deep, distorted, and inhuman.

The laughter rang in their ears as their bodies were jerked along, and all they could do was trust their friends and hold on tight. The pressure on their limbs was unyielding, pulling them faster than they could keep up with. Then, just as abruptly as it had started, the laughter stopped.

"Okay, open your eyes now," Richard's voice echoed through the darkness.

Ethan and Fiona slowly opened their eyes, their surroundings now completely unfamiliar. They were back in the hallway outside the classroom, but everything felt wrong. The walls seemed to be closing in, the shadows growing deeper and more menacing.

"Where... where are we?" Fiona gasped, trying to steady herself. The world around them was dark, distorted, as if the hallway had been warped by some unseen force.

Ethan, still trying to process what had happened, looked back at Evie. "What just—"

"I told you not to look into the well," Evie said, her tone more serious than they had ever heard it. She quickly inspected Fiona, making sure she was unharmed but visibly shaken. "Now look at this place. It's not just haunted, it's something else. Something's been waiting."

Damien, standing guard at the entrance of the room, scanned the surroundings with a wary gaze. His hand rested on the hilt of a knife, but his eyes never left the hallway. "Evie is with me, and Richard. We are out of the classroom, except you two—Fiona, Ethan. You're not talking to any of us."

The realization hit them all at once: The classroom wasn't the same. The energy had shifted. The moment Ethan and Fiona had been dragged away, something had changed in the air. It wasn't the school they knew anymore. The walls felt like they were closing in, and the laughter... it had been too real. Too personal.

Evie looked at them both, her voice taking on a serious tone. "Whatever that was, it's a part of this place. The well, the rue, it's all connected. We've crossed into something else now." Her eyes narrowed, scanning the hallway for any sign of movement. "And we're not alone."

The air grew thicker, colder. The sound of the laughter still lingered in their minds, like a haunting reminder of the darkness they had unknowingly stepped into.

Damien's gaze darkened, his fingers twitching near his belt as he pulled out a small, old-fashioned knife. "We need to stay together. Don't stray from the group. And whatever you do, don't trust what you see."

Fiona looked at her, shaking, her voice barely a whisper. "What are you talking about?"

But before Evie could respond, a strange creaking noise echoed down the hallway, followed by a faint whisper that made their blood run cold.

"You shouldn't have come..."

Richard gripped his flashlight harder, its beam cutting through the suffocating darkness. "We're not supposed to be here. None of us. We need to get out."

The group's unease was palpable as the hallway seemed to stretch on endlessly, the walls closing in with every passing moment. Fiona's eyes darted around, searching for any hint of where they should go. "But where?" she murmured, her voice tight with tension.

Richard's panic was growing by the second. "Shit! Shit! Did we get trapped?" he shouted, his voice rising in pitch as he started pacing back and forth, his thoughts racing.

Evie remained eerily calm, though her eyes were sharp, scanning every inch of their surroundings. "I don't think so. It seems like..." She trailed off, her mind working as she tried to piece things together.

Ethan, growing increasingly impatient and on edge, snapped, "Like what?!" His hands were clenched into fists, and his breath quickened as he struggled to control the rising anxiety.

Damien, ever the one to try to keep his composure, took out his phone and stared at it, as if trying to pull something from the digital world to help them. "Hmm," he muttered, swiping futilely through apps. "Hey, if we're in a horror movie, do we get internet?" His attempt at humor was as dry as the air around them, but it did little to lighten the mood.

Fiona sighed, rolling her eyes in exasperation, but the tension had reached its peak. "We don't need a signal," she said, more to herself than anyone else. "We need a way out."

Ethan finally sighed in frustration, lowering his shoulders. "This is insane. We can't even find our way out of here." His voice was tinged with disbelief, but there was a growing understanding that this wasn't a normal night.

Richard dramatically threw his hands up in the air. "Of course! Of course! We're lost in an abandoned, haunted building, and now what—our phones stopped working? What else could go wrong?" He sighed deeply, clearly not handling the situation well.

Just as the tension in the air seemed unbearable, Damien's phone buzzed, and he glanced at it with a raised brow. "Oh, internet is back," he said, almost sounding amused.

Everyone immediately rushed to him, crowding around to see if they were finally out of the technological dead zone. Damien sighed and held his phone up. "Check your phones, guys."

One by one, everyone checked their devices. The relieved sighs filled the hallway as the familiar signal bars returned to their screens.

"Okay, it seems we're safe," Fiona muttered, a wave of relief washing over her.

Evie, ever the one to act first, quickly dialed a number, bringing the phone to her ear. "Oh, hey. I want to know, is there supposed to be something on the map that's not marked?" she asked, her voice steady but with an edge of urgency.

Ethan's eyes widened as he leaned closer to her. "You're calling Mr. Rayback?!" he hissed in disbelief, glancing nervously over his shoulder.

Evie shot him a quick glare, her finger raised to her lips. "Shush," she muttered, not taking her eyes off the phone.

On the other end of the line, Mr. Rayback's chuckle was unmistakable. "Ah, I see you're in the thick of it now. Well, I did forget to mention a few things," he said with a slight amusement in his voice. "First off, don't look in the well. Second, if the hallways start moving, just follow the map. Third, if there are no windows in the room, don't step inside. Fourth—"

Before he could continue, Evie cut him off. "Hey! I didn't sign up for this! You should've given us clear instructions first!" Her tone was sharp with frustration, her hand gripping the phone tighter as if that would somehow help her communicate her irritation more effectively.

Damien shook his head and looked at the others with an incredulous smirk. "Seriously, this is like being in a bad horror movie," he muttered under his breath, but he couldn't hide the hint of nervousness creeping into his voice.

Evie let out a frustrated sigh as she paced in a small circle. "He's not wrong. I should've known there was more to this place than what was on the map. This entire night has been one big puzzle."

Richard, who had been silently observing the conversation, suddenly spoke up. "Wait, does that mean the hallways are going to start moving? Like, literally moving?"

Evie didn't have an answer to that. Instead, she just shot him a look that seemed to say, I hope not. "Great, just what we needed," she muttered, turning back to Damien. 

The sudden ping of a message on their phones made everyone flinch, snapping them back into focus. Ethan stared at his screen with wide eyes. "Mr. Rayback made a group chat with us..." he muttered, his voice tinged with unease.

Richard snorted, trying to mask his growing anxiety with humor. "I guess we're officially an occult club now, with an unexpected advisor."

Evie let out a deep sigh, glancing at her phone. "At least he knows more about this place than we do," she muttered, her voice carrying a hint of exasperation mixed with something else—maybe relief. It was hard to tell.

The group waited in tense silence as the rest of the message loaded, and once it did, they all read the instructions with growing concern.

Mr. Rayback:

First, don't look in the well.

Second, if the hallways move, just follow the map.

Third, if there's no window, never step in.

Fourth, if someone whispers next to you, never run, just ignore them.

Fifth, if there's a red door, you can enter but you need to say, "Pardon me, I'm passing through."

Sixth, if someone asks which class you're from, say you're from 5B.

"I guess that's all for now if you're following the route I told you," the message continued. "Be cautious. Once you lose focus, you'll be dragged into another route. And that's when the real headache begins."

Everyone stared at their screens, the weight of the words sinking in. Ethan looked visibly pale. "What... what does he mean by 'dragged into another route'?"

Richard shuddered. "I don't know, but it doesn't sound good." He ran a hand through his hair. "Honestly, if we weren't already freaked out, this message just turned everything up a notch."

Evie's grip tightened on her scythe, her eyes narrowing in focus. "We need to be extra careful. It sounds like things are about to get a lot weirder around here."

Damien, still eyeing his phone with distaste, nodded. "Just follow the map, keep calm, and whatever happens—stick together. That's the only way we'll get through this."

Fiona frowned as she glanced around, the walls seeming to shift and warp around them. "We already passed the first classroom with the well. If the hallways move, just follow the map," she muttered, though even her voice carried a hint of doubt now.

The group's pace quickened as they moved through the increasingly erratic maze of hallways. The map in Evie's hands appeared to be the only thing that kept them grounded, but the further they went, the more disorienting everything seemed.

Ethan, already on edge, broke the silence. "What time is it?" His voice had a slight tremor to it.

Richard checked his phone. "It's ten—wait a minute..." His brows furrowed as he looked at the screen again, confusion spreading across his face. "Is it just me, or is time moving slowly? It's 10:35... and we've been walking for what feels like hours, yet—"

Evie cut him off, her voice calm but tinged with concern. "It's not just you. This place… messes with time. Mr. Rayback warned us about it. I don't know how, but it's like everything slows down here. I don't think we're in sync with the outside world anymore."

Damien, who had been quietly observing the changing hallways, added, "It doesn't feel like we're even walking through the same space anymore. It's like the building itself is… alive."

The air around them seemed heavier, the pressure of the place pushing down on their shoulders. The walls, once just a backdrop to their journey, now felt more like barriers, closing in around them.

Fiona looked up at the flickering lights, her fingers tight around the map. "Okay, so time's messing with us, the hallways are shifting, and we've already broken some rules. Fantastic. What next?"

Damien gave her a sharp glance. "We follow the map. And don't overthink it. We're not getting out of here by standing around."

Evie nodded. "Damien's right. We keep moving. The map still works. We just need to stay focused."

Richard sighed. "Stay focused, huh? Feels like everything's trying to mess with us. I can't even trust what I'm seeing anymore."

"I know," Fiona said, pulling up the rear. "It's like... I can't shake the feeling that we're being watched."

Just as the last word left her mouth, they heard something. A faint whisper, soft at first, but growing louder with every step. The walls around them seemed to hum with an eerie energy.

"Ignore it," Evie said immediately, her voice sharp. "Mr. Rayback said not to listen to the whispers. Keep walking."

The whisper became clearer.

"You shouldn't be here…"

The group stiffened, the sound of their own breathing suddenly too loud in the stillness.

"Not good," Damien muttered, quickening his pace. "Not good at all."

As they turned the corner, the next hallway seemed even darker than the one before it. Shadows stretched along the walls, shifting unnaturally, and something—someone—felt very close.

The ground beneath them trembled, the vibrations making the air feel heavy and charged. Then, without warning, the lights flickered and went out entirely. Darkness engulfed them for a moment, and in that eerie silence, Fiona's scream sliced through the air. Her voice echoed off the walls, amplifying the sense of claustrophobia pressing in on them.

Then, just as quickly as it had gone dark, the lights flickered back on. But when they opened their eyes, the familiar hallways were gone. They now stood in a narrow corridor lined with classroom doors—countless classroom doors. Some were slightly ajar, some locked, and some... had no windows at all.

Damien's voice broke the silence, low and grim. "So it begins…"

There was a moment of tension, the group collectively holding their breath as they tried to make sense of what was happening. The atmosphere was thick, oppressive, and the feeling of being watched had intensified.

Panic was starting to creep into their minds, each one of them eyeing the doors warily. "What now?" Ethan muttered, his voice shaky.

Evie, however, was the first to compose herself. She raised her hand, silencing the group with a sharp, confident tone. "Stop," she said, her voice steady despite the chaos. "Don't randomly enter any classroom. Remember the rules. Don't enter a classroom that has no windows."

Fiona nodded, though her hands were shaking. "Right... but the map doesn't show us anything but this hall full of classrooms."

"And we have no idea which ones are safe," Richard added, his voice tinged with worry. "It's like we're stuck in some twisted version of the school... or a maze."

Evie glanced at the map, her eyes scanning it quickly. "The map doesn't make sense anymore. This place… it's shifting. We'll have to make a decision, but we can't afford to just rush in without thinking."

Damien, who had been silent for a moment, glanced at each door and then back at Evie. "We need to stick to the rules. If there's no window, we avoid it."

"But we don't know where we're going!" Ethan argued, his voice rising in frustration.

Evie's gaze hardened as she turned to him. "We'll figure it out. One step at a time. We need to stay calm and trust the rules."

The tension in the air thickened. The classroom doors in front of them seemed to loom taller, darker, as if each one was a doorway into another world. The group stood in the middle of the hallway, unsure which way to go, the unsettling whisper of the building's mysterious energy pressing down on them.

Damien, with his usual calm demeanor, was the first to break the silence. "We move forward. Let's stay close and stick to the map. But no matter what, don't break the rules. If we're lucky, we can still get out of here."

The feeling of something—or someone—watching them grew, but they didn't speak of it. They just kept moving, clinging to the rules, their hearts pounding in unison.

And somewhere, deep in the corridors of the building, the unseen forces of the night began to stir, waiting for their next move.

The group moved cautiously, trying door after door, each one more perplexing than the last. Some classrooms had windows, but they were covered with heavy curtains, blocking any view of what lay beyond. Others had windows that were eerily wide open, yet something about the emptiness inside made the rooms feel even more foreboding. The furniture, too, seemed to defy logic—some classrooms had chairs and tables facing the door, others had none at all. A few rooms were barren, the blackboards completely missing, as if time had swallowed them up.

Richard's voice broke the uneasy silence. "This is getting confusing," he muttered, frustration creeping into his tone. 

Damien glanced at the rooms, his eyes narrowing with a mix of curiosity and wariness. "It's interesting, actually. Because we already crossed out the rooms with no windows. Now, it's all about the ones where the windows are either covered or... unsettling."

Evie's gaze flicked over the rows of doors. "It's like... the classrooms are intentionally designed to throw us off. Nothing seems normal here, not a single room is the same. It feels like we're walking through a dream, or maybe a nightmare."

Fiona shuddered, her hand gripping the strap of her bag as if it would ground her. "What do we do now? Keep opening doors and hoping for a clue?"

Damien took a deep breath, his usual calm demeanor back in full force. "We're looking for something. The question is, what exactly are we supposed to find?"

Ethan fidgeted with his phone, his earlier relief from the return of the internet now fading into unease. "I still don't get it. How are we supposed to figure this out? We're walking blind at this point."

Evie raised her hand, stopping them. "Hold on," she said, her voice steady but with an edge of uncertainty. "We've been following the rules... but we're missing something. The windows aren't the only thing that matters. It's the way the rooms are set up. We need to pay attention to the details, the little things that don't make sense. There has to be a pattern."

Damien turned to her, a faint smile playing at the corners of his lips. "You might be onto something. Let's go back to the basics. No windows? Avoid them. If the classroom feels off, trust your gut."

They moved past another door, and this time, it was different. The windows were covered, but as they peered closer, they noticed something strange—a faint flicker of movement inside. It was subtle, like the shadow of something—or someone—moving just out of sight. The air around them grew colder, and the feeling of being watched returned.

Fiona froze, her heart pounding. "Did you see that?"

Evie nodded, her voice barely a whisper. "I saw it too."

Damien's eyes narrowed, his hand instinctively going to his side. "No more second guessing. This room... we need to check it."

They gathered in front of the door, each of them feeling the weight of the moment. No more avoiding the unknown. They had to face whatever was waiting on the other side.

Richard took a deep breath, his hand hovering over the handle. "Ready?"

With a slow turn, he opened the door.