The Walk-In Closet - Continued

*CLATTER!*

The strike was heavier this time. Everything shook for longer. It felt like it was angry. My arms trembled. I didn't know if I could even throw my lunch box.

I expected a stronger strike on the door but what came next was like pressing. It sounded like someone's hands were pushing on the door. The motions continued like a relentless tremor. Whatever was on the other side really wanted to get in.

I waited through it, my legs aching at my position, my lungs desperate to take a full, normal breath outside of my hands.

Then, it stopped. The shaking settled. All was quiet, except for those slow footsteps advancing on the door just past mine. When the 'wham' on that door came, it was with a sense of relief. There were only two more, away from me and towards the sinks.

With that last sound, the stalls settled. I expected the steps to make their way to the door and out. I didn't hear the footsteps at all. I tried to listen really hard.

*WHAM!!!!!!*

The door in front of me burst open and slammed back and forth quickly. I didn't want to look out. I tried to stay still. I could see a quick, dark frame of the outside of the opening as the door ricocheted back and forth. I thought I saw glimpses of a figure standing there. I held my spot, forgetting the lunch box I held in my hands.

When the door finally settled down, open a narrow crack, I trembled. I expected the person who kicked the door to suddenly slam it again and yell or do something. But that was all. Just that kick. I didn't hear the footsteps anymore.

It took me a long while before I had the courage to leave my little spot by the toilet. When I did, I held up my lunch box protectively. I could see a little more detail in the darkness. Enough to know that what I thought had been a figure was just a shadowed part in the wall. Looking all over the bathroom, I could find no one.

My eyes darting around, I made my way to the faucets to wash my hands. I slowly turned the handle. Water didn't come out. I waited. A deep, rumbling groan came from the pipes. Then it got louder and higher. The faucet vibrated a little. It began to sound less like rumbling and more like a stretched out, anguished scream. For a moment, I thought the sound wasn't coming from the pipes but rather behind me.

I reached over to shut off the faucet. I would be fine without washing my hands. I turned it closed quickly. But the sound continued till it squeaked off. At the very end, I thought it burst out with my name, "Aaaaallllaaan…"

At this point, I felt like I would be fine with breaking any window I came to so I could get out of the building. I took a few breaths to calm my racing heart and clutched tightly to my lunch box. I walked slowly towards the door I'd come through. The little curve of the hallway looked even darker from this side. I didn't want to get closer. The shape of the darkness looked more like long and skinny arms reaching out from a tall mass. I knew it wasn't that, but I wished so hard I was just home in bed with my parents in a nearby room. Even though it had been a long time since I asked them for anything before going to bed.

Stepping into the dark spot made me instantly feel cold. I knew it was just a common draft, but I didn't like it one bit. As I reached the doorknob, I paused. Over my shoulder, from where I had just come, I was sure I could hear the faintest whistle. It wasn't a kettle whistle or a mechanical one. It was too uneven for that. It was faint and ragged, like someone was softly whistling through uneven teeth.

I didn't want to stick around, and I didn't want to go back into the hallway, even if it did have a couple lights on here and there. Still, I got the door open and made my way out.

Of course, I emerged into the hallway to find that none of the lights which had been on before were on now. At least my eyes were used to the dark, so it didn't bother me too much. I had only one notion of how they could turn off. *Someone* had to turn them off. Or, thinking later, power could've gone off in the school. But only the first notion occurred to me then.

I slowly made my way down the hall. At night, the school looked so different. I had a vague sense of where I was, though nothing looked like I expected. I still held out my lunch box protectively.

I made my way to the junction of the halls and towards the main office. Since that front door was always open, even when my parents would come for a meeting later in the day, I figured it was my best chance for a way out.

The ceiling above me creaked. Probably just from settling. But, in my head, it sounded like footsteps tracing right above me. Areas with windowed classrooms looked skeletal in the dim light. I glanced by a particular window with a curtain across it and froze. Right in the middle was a silhouette of a human shape.  

I darted back quickly, afraid I would hear a voice or that whistle. Holding onto my breath, I watched the shape. It was strongly defined from the waist to the head. An arm was up in the air, as though raised to wave to someone. I wondered if some light was on because the shape was so sharp.

Watching, I puzzled at how still the form was. The curtain was on the hall side, which meant I could lift it up. I didn't want to. But I was really hoping for a normal reason for what I was seeing. A random statue in the classroom. Anything.

Nudging up to the edge of the curtain, I got a quick look and a sudden burst of relief. Pasted in the window was a picture of a cowboy smiling and waving. His grinning expression was a little spooky in the dark, but it made me feel better. I continued down the hall with a slight sense of release. At least till I came to a window that opened onto the kindergarten play area.

There was another silhouette in this one. The shape, however, wasn't quite the same. The arms were down and it was turned slightly, as though it was looking left towards me. Keeping to the side, I edged towards the shape carefully. I hoped a similar look through would reveal just another pastie. Keeping far to the side, I pulled up the curtain and glanced through. Immediately, I inhaled sharply and ducked down to the floor.

There was nothing pasted in the window. There was nothing at all. Certainly nothing which could make such a shape. Crawling along, I made my way to the opposite side and turned around to look at the window. I really wish I hadn't.

The image was straight and the head bent down a little. It looked like it had turned to stare right at me. I scrambled away with my lunch box. Unfortunately, I took another look back. It was angled right and the head was still locked on me.

I raced away till I came to the office area. I didn't look back again, I just grabbed for the door at the front.

I pushed hard. I pulled hard. It wouldn't budge in either direction. I tried kicking it. Still nothing and each sound I made was like I was announcing myself to something dark and scary right behind me.

A nearby sound of scuffing forced me away from the door and around into what was the receptionist's area. I ducked low and hid in a small wooden area that kept me fully concealed. With my cheek pressed up against the wood, I quietly wished for my mom and waited.

Except for little shifting sounds made by me, all was quiet. I wished so hard there was a tiny hole or crease in the wood for me to look through to make sure it was safe. But I feared I would see the darkness of something looking back at me. So I sat there as I tried at the same time not to breathe too much but also not to hold my breath so much I risked coughing noisily.

I don't know how long I stayed in that little space until I decided to take a chance. It felt like hours. I was really stiff when I finally crept out. Over the desk, there was nothing. There also looked to be no doors which might lead me out. I felt defeated and at the verge of tears. I didn't want to go back through the hall with that dark thing I'd seen, especially with the chance it might not even be in the window when I passed by again. So I slowly made my way through the office area and peered at the desks. It occurred to me that one might have a key to open the doors.

Searching was slow, because I had to carefully try each drawer. Very few opened and those that did just had what felt like paper clips and pencils with the occasional squishy eraser on top of unreadable papers.

Working my way back to the vice-principal's office, I picked up my lunch box shield again and entered a small hallway. I stopped. There was an opening in the floor. It looked so strange, like a reverse version of pull-down attic steps. A piece of the floor was raised to reveal steps traced in the faint light. Past the first three steps, there was nothing but blackness.

I told myself to just turn around, but I remembered something I'd heard once in playground stories. The basement had an area which was hidden from view but which was a direct route into it from outside. Some older kids talked about sneaking into the school at night to cause trouble. I really hoped it was a way that I could get out.

I just had to get past how creepy the steps looked. I kept myself low and felt for the next one as I moved down in the dark. Soon, even the faintest light filtering in was gone. I could only make my way by touch. Slow step by slow step, I felt for the next bit of floor and brought myself down. Down down…bit by bit.

I didn't count the steps but it felt like a lot. More than there should've been. Just when I was ready to clamber back up and try something else, my hand felt cement. I'd reached the basement.

The basement felt cold, colder than any other part of the school, colder than made sense for this time of year. The air was thick with moisture. Not the kind after a rain. More like wet dirt mixed with mold and a slight bit of rust. Moving my arms to feel around for what was in front of me, I caught bits of cobwebs across my skin. In the darkness, I imagined they were skinny fingers drifting across me. I batted at them and pushed my hands ahead. Eventually, I touched a wall. It was rough and worn but welcome.

I followed it bit by bit. There were electrical cords, like a denser version of the cobwebs, which snaked across my skin. I thought I could hear a far off hum. At least it wasn't whistling. But I couldn't quite figure out if it was a mechanical noise. It was too faint.

I could also hear a slight crunch at my feet. The sound of gravel and dirt against my shoes. Nothing strange there…I stepped softly.

I knew I had to be careful I didn't put my hand on something electrical or dangerous. I moved slowly. I was going along fine. Until I heard the scratching.

I wasn't sure I'd heard it at first. It came on top of the sound my shoes made on this ground. Then, it came when I stopped to take a breath. I wasn't moving at all, so I couldn't have possibly made it.

I turned around, although I couldn't see anything. Nothing in the dark. Then, it came again. I couldn't quite place where it was coming from. It seemed like it was in the air, as though there was a blacked-out window I couldn't see and a bird was scratching at the glass. But the scratches sounded a lot heavier than what a bird could make.

Swallowing, I clenched my hands around my lunchbox and took a slow breath. I wasn't sure if I wanted to backtrack or if I even could. So, I continued inching forward in the dark.

There was a wall ahead of me. I wasn't sure if I wanted to try going left or right. To the right, I suddenly heard a single sound. Like someone beating on a door, only it shook like metal, echoing. I figured I'd try the other way, but I soon found it just led to a blank wall.

I had to go right...