مدرسه روح زده فصل 12

The haunted School - Chapter 12

The elevator rumbled and shook. I grabbed the wooden railing on the side. Gears clanked noisily. The floor vibrated beneath my shoes.

We stared at each other, realizing what was happening. Neither of us spoke.

Ben finally broke the silence. “This is impossible,” he murmured. His words came out in a choked whisper.

“Where is it taking us?” I asked softly, gripping the rail so hard that my hands hurt.

“It’s impossible!” Ben repeated. “It can’t be happening. Elevators only go up and—” The car jolted hard as we came to a very sudden stop.

“Whoooa!” I let out a cry as my shoulder slammed into the elevator wall.

“Next time, we’re taking the stairs,” Ben growled.

The doors slid open.

We peered out. Into total blackness.

“Are we in the basement?” Ben asked, sticking his head out the door.

“We didn’t go down,” I replied. A shiver ran down the back of my neck. “We didn’t go up or down. So…” “We’re still on the first floor.” Ben finished my sentence for me. “But why is it so dark here? I can’t believe this is happening!” We stepped out of the elevator.

I waited for my eyes to adjust to the darkness. But they couldn’t adjust. It was too dark.

“There must be a light switch,” I said. I ran my hand along the wall. I could feel the outline of tiles. But no light switch.

I swept both hands up and down the wall. No. No light switch.

“Let’s get out of here,” Ben urged. “We don’t want to get trapped here. We can’t see a thing.” I was still searching for the light. “Okay,” I agreed. I lowered my hand and started back to the elevator.

I heard the doors slide shut.

“No!” I let out a sharp cry.

Ben and I banged on the elevator doors. Then I felt along the wall for the button to open the doors.

Panicked, my hand trembled. I swept my open palm all along the wall on both sides of the closed doors.

No button. No elevator button.

I turned and leaned my back against the wall. I was suddenly breathing hard. My heart pounded.

“I can’t believe this is happening,” Ben muttered.

“Would you please stop saying that!” I demanded. “It is happening. We’re here. We don’t know where. But we’re here.” “But if we can’t call the elevator, how do we get out of here?” Ben whined.

“We’ll find our way,” I told him. I took a deep breath and held it. I decided I had to be the calm one since he was being so whiny and scared.

I listened hard. “I can’t hear any music or voices or anything. We must be far away from the gym.” “Well… what do we do?” Ben cried. “We can’t just stand here!” My mind whirred. I squinted into the darkness, hoping to make out the shape of a door or a window. Anything!

But the blackness that surrounded us was darker than the sky on a starless night.

I pressed my back against the cool tile wall. “I know,” I said. “We’ll keep against the wall.” “And?” Ben whispered. “And we’ll do what?”

“We’ll move along the wall,” I continued. “We’ll move along the wall until we come to a door. A door to a room with a light. Then maybe we’ll be able to figure out where we are.” “Maybe,” Ben replied. He didn’t sound hopeful.

“Stick close behind me,” I instructed him.

He bumped up against me.

“Not that close!” I said.

“I couldn’t help it. I can’t see!” he cried.

Moving slowly—very slowly—we started walking. I kept my right hand on the wall, sliding it along the tiles as we walked.

We’d only taken a few steps when I heard a sound behind me. A cough.

I stopped and turned around. “Ben—was that you?”

“Huh?” He bumped into me again.

“Did you cough?” I asked softly.

“No,” he replied.

I heard another cough. Then a loud whisper.

“Uh… Ben…” I said, grabbing his shoulder. “Guess what? We’re not alone.”