مدرسه روح زده فصل 17

Seventeen.

“My—my fingers!” I shrieked.

I held both hands up to show them. My fingers had turned gray. The gray was spreading onto my palms.

Ben grabbed my hand and pulled it close to examine it. “Oh no,” he murmured. “No…” “Ben—yours too!” I cried.

He dropped my hand and studied his hands. His right hand was almost entirely gray. The fingers on his left hand were gray, and the color in his palm was starting to fade.

“No… no…” he repeated, shaking his head.

I raised my eyes to the five gray kids. “You—you weren’t joking,” I choked out.

They stared back at us with blank expressions.

Mary stared at my hands. “It moves quickly,” she said finally. “You’ll see.” “No!” I cried, jumping to my feet. “What can we do? We can’t turn gray! We can’t!” “You have no choice,” Eloise said sadly. “You are in Grayworld now. All color fades so quickly here.” “You are one of us now,” Seth repeated. “Once you turn completely gray, you will never be able to turn back.” “No!” Ben and I both protested.

“We’re getting out!” I cried. I kicked my chair aside and ran back to the classroom door. I turned the knob and struggled to pull it open.

Ben stepped up beside me, and we both pulled until we were groaning and our faces were bright red.

“It’s bolted shut from the other side,” Seth called. “You’re wasting your time.” “No—” I insisted. “We’re getting out. We’re getting out now!” With a desperate cry, I raised both fists and started pounding on the wall. “Help us!” I screamed. “Somebody—help us! Can you hear me? Please—help!” I pounded until my fists hurt. Then I lowered my hands with a sigh.

“Don’t you think we already tried that?” Mary asked bitterly. “We pound on the walls and call for help all the time.” “But no one ever answers,” Eloise added. “And no one ever comes to help.” I gazed down at my hands. They were completely gray to the wrists. I pulled up my sleeves. The color of my arms was starting to fade.

“Ben—!” I started. He was staring at his graying skin too.

My mind whirred. I suddenly felt dizzy.

“How do we escape from here? How do we get back to our world?”

“Maybe the elevator?” Ben suggested.

“It’s no use,” Seth warned.

But we ignored him and bolted through the aisle between the desks. To the alcove in back of the big gray classroom. The narrow alcove that held the elevator.

“There’s no elevator button,” Mary called after us. “No way to call the elevator.” “It never runs,” Seth added. “It hasn’t run in fifty years. When we heard it moving tonight, we couldn’t believe it.” “There’s got to be a way!” I cried.

I smoothed my hand over the wall beside the elevator doors. “There’s got to be a hidden button.” The wall felt warm and smooth.

I pounded it with my fist until my whole hand ached.

Ben pressed his hands along the crack between the two doors. With a groan, he struggled to pry the elevator doors open.

No luck.

“A screwdriver?” he called over his shoulder. “Does anyone have a screwdriver?” “Or maybe a knife, or a stick, or something?” I added. “To pry the doors apart?” “We tried it,” Eloise moaned in her hoarse, scratchy voice. “We tried everything. Everything!” I kicked the metal doors hard. I felt so frustrated, and angry, and frightened—all at the same time.

Pain shot up my foot and leg. I hobbled back against the wall, breathing hard.