Nightfall (Devil's Night 4)

I needed to get out of here. It was dark, I was starving, and they didn’t really lock the doors during a lock-in, right? I mean, I was pretty sure that was illegal, but now I didn’t know.

Skipping the stop at my locker, I exited the locker room, swung open the door, and stepped into the hallway, slipping through the students who were

trying to get into the gym. I turned left and jogged up the darkened stairs, their footsteps and chatter fading the farther up I climbed.

Mrs. Dorn was not only the swim coach, but she also taught biology on the third floor. I took biology two years ago, though. What did she want?

Was this about me quitting swimming?

Fear cooled my blood. She knew something didn’t sit right about why I’d quit. I could see it on her face.

Reaching the top floor, I grabbed the door handle and pulled it open, entering the silent third floor and looking around.

No lights shone except for the lanterns that glowed outside, and tiny droplets of rain spattered the windows that peered into the courtyard below.

Great. Now I was going to get soaked walking home.

The door closed behind me, and suddenly, the lock-in was miles away.

“Coach?” I called out, walking down the hall toward her classroom.

Heading up to the door, I stopped and peered inside. Stools sat upside down on top of the long, black worktables, and I looked to the teacher’s desk, seeing her computer off, her chair pushed in, and the classroom pitch black.

“Coach?” I said louder this time. “It’s Emory Scott.”

Stepping back into the hallway, I turned, looking around. “Hello?”

But there was no answer.

I dug in my heels, charging down the hall and glancing into classrooms as I passed, all dark and not a soul to be found. Everyone was either home or downstairs on the first floor.

I rounded the corner and then the next, coming up on the teacher’s lounge and found the door cracked.

Creeping up, I pushed it open a sliver more. “Hello?” I said. “Coach, are you in here?”

Every hair on my arms stood on end, and all I could see was dark.

What the hell?

Then, a shadow suddenly moved across the wall in my view, and I sucked in a breath.

I swallowed. “Coach?” I choked out.

Rain tapped the windows behind me, and I knew someone was in the room.

I almost pushed the door open, but whoever was in there heard me.

And they weren’t responding.

To hell with this. I tried. She could talk to me Monday.

Jetting off, I ran to the end of the hall and threw my body into the door leading to the other stairwell.

But it didn’t budge.

I grabbed hold of the bar and shoved again, the door jiggling but not opening.

“No, no, no…” I pushed again and then tried the other one, kicking at it and growling. “They don’t really lock the doors,” I mocked myself.