Sofia's short story - October

Leia was reading a book during breakfast, so absorbed that she didn’t even notice how the ketchup on her toast was starting to drip onto her lap.  She barely noticed her mother as she came into the room, holding a newspaper.

“Did you see?“ her mother asked, dropping the newspaper onto the breakfast table. „Melody went missing.“

Leia pulled herself out of her book. „I‘m sorry?“

“Melody‘s gone.“

“Gone where?“

“Nobody knows.“

Leia picked up the newspaper and skimmed it, aware of the title:

STUDENT GOES MISSING; BODY HAS NOT BEEN FOUND

„They say that she might have wandered into the school too far and… fell somewhere?“ Leia looked up at her mother for confirmation, but her mother was too busy packing her bag for work. 

 

After getting off the bus, Leia walked the short way to school, and on the way she met one of her friends, Sky.

“Hey,“ he said, his blond hair sweeping in front of his eyes. „I‘ve heard about Melody.“

“Yeah, me too,“ Leia answered. „Where do you think she went?“

Sky checked around them to make sure that no one was listening, and then whispered into her ear, „The forbidden classroom.“

The forbidden classroom hadn‘t been used in years, and no one except the principal knew why. A disappearance hadn‘t happened for nearly twenty years, and now it appeared to have started its pattern again.

“That one?“ Leia whispered back. „Why would she go there?“

„I dunno, but I‘m going to check it out later.“

“What? Why?“

Sky looked pained. „Because if they don‘t find her… Melody, she… I owe her one. If it weren‘t for her, I might not have been able to find my place here. She helped me to adjust to the school, and… I can‘t stay around here forever, with these new friends that I have without remembering her. I have to help her back.“

Leia, after listening to this small speech, checked her schedule on her phone. „After school, maybe? My mom‘s not coming back till eight.“

Sky gave a nod and they parted ways.

 

Throughout the day, the entire school seemed hushed. There was no chatting in the corridors. No laughter. Teachers avoided questions about Melody. The cafeteria was deadly silent as students kept turning their heads to look into the direction of the forbidden classroom. They knew what had probably happened. They could tell that the teachers knew too, especially the principal, but did not talk about it. The loudest points during the day were when the bells rang for the end of lessons.

After school, Leia met Sky by the enormous chestnut tree that was outside. Its branches stretched out widely, and chestnuts littered the ground. 

„Ready?“ Leia asked. 

Sky nodded, but looked slightly unsure now. Keeping their backpacks, they walked back into the school through the side door, treading silently as they made their way past the corridors. The door to the forbidden classroom was red and rusty with ominous scratches that peeled off the red paint, showing silver. It gave off a dark aura, and the couple of students began to worry what they would find.

Leia outstretched her hand and placed it on the doorknob very carefully. Nothing happened. She opened the door, which creaked and whined as it dragged against the floor. Whatever was inside was barely visible as it was pitch-black. Nervously, Sky turned on his phone‘s flashlight, and what they saw was incredible.

 

A dark tunnel, seemingly going on and on. Sky shone the light onto the floor, and there were footprints, not looking too old. Leia also turned on her light, and shone at the ceiling, where spiders and other creepy-crawlies scuttled away, their legs tapping eerily. Leia and Sky proceeded forward, remaining cautious as they walked down the tunnel. It was narrow, and the temperature dropped. The door behind them slammed shut, making the jump and turn around.

“How-„

Leia slapped out a hand to stop him from speaking further. „Shh,“ she warned. „We don‘t know what we might find. Or who.“

They continued, and suddenly, their phones snapped off, leaving them in total darkness.

“I don‘t like this,“ Sky whispered. „We should turn back.“

Leia agreed, but when they tried to turn around and walk back, they found out that the way was shut: instead of a tunnel, there was a wall. 

„There‘s only one way, then,“ Leia said, reaching out a hand to prevent her from crashing into anything.

“Be careful where you step; there could be a ditch or something,“ Sky warned from behind. 

Leia led them forward for a while, which appeared like years to them. Finally, they saw a small light and kept going forward until they reached it. It was a wall of light. Behind them, the tunnel had caught up and there was nowhere to go except forward.

Leia reached out and touched the light; it felt warm. She could hear it hum. Sky attempted to plunge his hand in, then quickly pulled it out. Nothing.

“We have no choice,” whispered Leia. “We can’t go back; the tunnel’s sealed itself. We have to go through.”

Sky agreed, and they stepped through. 

What they saw was a flash of light, then the light split apart and small comet-like shapes whizzed past them. When the lights stopped, Leia found herself falling out of the sky and into a vast forest. She fell through the air, too shocked to scream, and as she neared the trees, she limped and got tossed down branch to branch until she landed on the ground with a dull thud. Scrambling to her feet, she saw Sky also stand up a few metres away from her.

“I’m fine,” he called. 

“Where are we?” Leia asked, looking up at the thick canopy. 

Sky checked his phone and nearly dropped it. “Leia, come over here.”

She did so.

“Look at the date.”

Monday, twenty-first of October, as usual. But the year?

“No way,” Leia whispered. “Two thousand ninety-four? But…,” she looked around her, “where are we?”

Sky checked Google Maps.

“The school,” he whispered. “It’s not here anymore.” 

 

(TO BE CONTINUED…)