As a shriek echoes through the room everybody instinctively turns towards the source. What we see though, is Sarah holding her hands close to her body, and a semi-translucent figure hovering in front of her. “Nora?” I inquire. (What the hell, she just got a jump scare and gave everyone a heart attack…) I think as I move closer to them along the others. “Sorry I didn’t mean to scare you.” Nora calmly apologizes. “Oh no… it’s just that… I haven’t seen you before and I just…” Sarah tries to catch her breath and calm down. “Then you’ve only appeared to us so far, Nora?” I ask the spirit. “No, I’ve also informed the boy with the glasses.” She slowly points at Chris. “It’s true. She told me everything and I passed it on to Sarah.” Chris explains and turns back to her. “Is something wrong, Nora?” Max inquires, stepping forward. “I’ve got the location for one of the keys. I can lead you there.” The spirit calmly explains, but the excitement on everyone’s face is visible. “That’s great! Were you searching this whole time?” Chloe asks, her face lighting up. “I have. I want you to escape, as much as you do.” Nora replies without hesitation. “Sweet! You ready to go everyone?” Max asks, referring to the entirety of the group. 


After some small preparations, everybody is ready for departure, as we set out of the Home Ec classroom once again. “Third floor, left hallway. This never ceases to confuse me…” I mutter as we find ourselves in yet another distorted floor. “Follow me.” Nora announces as she glides down the hallway, on the classic formation that has already become second nature to us. “I sense danger approaching… Grave danger for us all…” Anette who is just a few steps behind Nora spells out as we continue to follow behind. (Well that’s ominous…) “What sort of danger?” Chris asks, and Anette shakes her head. “I can’t say for sure. I just feel it growing…” She answers vaguely, just like the majority of times. (Though, I can’t really blame her. Who knows HOW it feels to sense all that?) “We’re almost there.” The spirit in front of us announces as she takes a turn to the left and leads us through a set of double doors. We follow closely behind her, opening the doors after having Anette’s approval. “The library?” I ask as we step inside. “The door on the other end of this library leads into the hall closest to the key.” She states while gliding past the tall bookshelves. “Hey wait! Could we make a little stop here, if possible?” April suggests, having stopped walking and I quickly catch on. “What for?” Max inquires looking back at her. “We might find something related to what is happening to this school here. There are all of history books in here that might have what we need.” April explains. “And you want to do that now?” Max inquires once again, this time with a disapproving expression. “I think it’s a waste of time.” Chloe joins in too. “Well now is a good time as any. We might never come across the library again.” April though, doesn’t waver. “There could be something useful here…” Anette timidly states as well. “I don’t think it’s worth it. We could use that time in order to escape.” Chris joins in on the anti-library team. (As much as I’m glad that I’m not the only guy here anymore… Work with us pal!) I internally voice as Sarah speaks up too. “I’m with April on this one. If Nora can wait for a while we might find something helpful.” Sarah states, making this whole ordeal a tie of 3. “I can wait. I will be able to guide you there, even if some time has passed.” The spirit hovering about states calmly and April nudges me. “So what’s it gonna be?” Max poses a question, while she looks at me, making me aware that I alone can turn the tie around. “I agree with April. Knowing what we’re dealing with could be key later on. Think of it as an investment, if you may.” I explain my reasoning as April gives me a cheeky smile. “Alright then. Do your thing.” Max, who was never a sore loser, calmly compromises with the situation while Chris and Chloe follow suit. “I’ll inform Nora.” Anette announces as she chases after the spirit that has glided further away from us.

Barely a few seconds later, Sarah, April And I are standing in front of a bookshelf, in the town’s history section (Yes there is such a section actually….) “So, any ideas?” I ask, hands on hips. “I thought you might have some actually.” April replies without hesitation. “Are you for real?” My rhetorical question is followed by a sigh. “I figured they’d have it split into a section for town history and a section for school history… Instead, it’s all jumbled together!” She goes on about her illogical reasoning. “It’s ranked by author name though, so it’s not jumbled.” I reply with a sigh. “It’s jumbled.” She throws back not wasting a moment. “NO. IT IS NOT.” I firmly hold my ground. “YES. IT IS.” She replies on the same note letting her true personality slip out. All the while, Sarah chuckles in the sidelines and we both turn around with a “What?” “You two get along pretty well… Are you dating?” She casually throws a bombshell and we both turn beet red. “W-Wha-What? No way! Pfft!” April tries to brush it off but stutters. “Yeah… No way!” I reply in the same fashion looking away. “Riiight. Let’s search then.” Sarah replies, not looking convinced. We both agree and in a matter of seconds everybody has a book in hand. Personally, I picked a book about the founder of the school. (This school is surprisingly old…) I notice as I skim through it quickly. “Nothing…” I mutter as I put it back and start searching for another one. Suddenly, a book with a black cover and golden writings on the side catches my eye and I pull it out. As I do, a folded piece of paper falls out onto my feet and I lean forward to grab it. As I unfold it I realize it’s a page from a really old newspaper. The big bold letters on the headlines above the article write: 

“HIGH SCHOOL GIRL, 15, PRESUMABLY VICTIM OF BULLYING, FOUND DEAD INSIDE SCHOOL CAMPUS!”

I’m instantly hooked as I recognize the school gate on the photograph (That’s definitely in Kirkwalle…) I think as I read on in the article: 

“15-year-old orphaned high school student, named Emily Thorne, was found dead inside Kirkwalle Private High School. Her body was initially found by member of the school staff and was later on confirmed by local authorities. Coroners claim the cause of death to be starvation over the course of 66 whole days (From the 2nd of June to the 6th of August). Criminologists conclude that the victim was one of school bullying gone to extreme as she was locked inside school grounds by a group of her peers, the day summer vacation started. School staff were not on campus during the incident and are being questioned for further information. The victim, was living on an orphanage that issued a report for the missing child two weeks after her disappearance. The school principal was questioned on her whereabouts but denied any affiliation of her disappearance, tied to the school. Along with the student’s body a second body was found outside the school building, presumed to be that of the school janitor Benjamin Collins, aged 57. Coroners concluded the cause of death to be heart failure, despite the excessive amount of bruises found on his body. Criminologists claim that the group of students did in fact beat up the school janitor, as he tried to stop them from locking the female student inside the school. It is worth noting that, the last of the school personnel that was supposed to lock up the buildings for summer vacation was the janitor himself. The culprits are presumably still on the run and have not been caught as of yet.

7th of August, 1989”

 Immediately after finishing the article I turn to the back-page holding my breath “It’s him!” I reflexively shout as I recognize the man on the victim photographs. Sarah and April immediately circle around me and I exclaim one more time. “That’s definitely him! Look!” I point with my index finger and turn the page towards April. “That looks like the monster that was chasing us yesterday…” She realizes with zero delay. “What? what’s going on?” Sarah inquires and I hand the article to the both of them to read. 

As soon as they’re done reading the article, everybody wears the same shocked expression as me. “That’s from 1989! That means it’s over 30 years old!” Sarah notes as we I pace back and forth the small space between the bookshelves. “How did you find that article Jack?” April suddenly asks me. “That book with the gold engravings caught my eye so I pulled it out, and that article just fell down.” I explain motioning with my hands. “Which book?” She asks once again, as I take the book in hand. As I hold it with both my hands, I can feel a small gap between the middle pages. Out of idle curiosity I open the book to the page I felt the gap from and come face to face with a couple more newspaper articles. “Okay now that IS creeping me out…” I mutter to myself as I notice that the pages of the book next to the articles are completely blank. I lay the book down on the table to my left and pick up the newspaper pages. April takes one and I start reading the other straight away. 

“MISSING STUDENTS” The headline writes as I feel the cogs in my brain start turning. 

“As of the morning of the 20th of January, Saturday, 7 students have been reportedly missing. Their guardians’ issued a report to the local authorities, following the fact that none of the students returned home after school in the 17th of January, Wednesday, meaning 3 days prior to their official “missing” status. Their vanishing still remains a complete mystery due to the fact that all the witnesses claim they never saw none of the 7 students leave the campus. Yet, as of today, the 20th of January, the whereabouts of the group of students is still unknown. After being granted their guardians’ approval, the lists of students is as follows: 

XXXX, XXXXX

XXXX, XXXXX

XXXX, XXXX

XXXXX, XXX

XXXXX, XXXXX

XXX, XXX

XXXXXX, XXXXXX

If you happen to find anything related to the people mentioned above, please contact the local Kirkwalle Police Station.

20th of January, 2000”

Unable to digest what I just read I scan the document once again. After ensuring it’s validity I lay it down and think for a moment. (20th of January. That’s going to be exactly 20 years ago in 2 days from now.) My thoughts are quickly interrupted as April taps my shoulder. “What was the article about?” She asks and something in my brain suddenly clicks. “Did you read about missing students too?” I come out and ask, gently taking the article from her hands and scanning it for the information I need. “2010! There!” I shout out as I point at the year the article was written. “How did you know?” She asks, a puzzled expression on her face. “Because I read about that too. It will be exactly 20 years in 2 days!” I energetically reply. “Why are you- No wait… you’re on to something aren’t you?” April says as she tilts her head and looks at me. “I think I got it!” I say scanning through the paper that April and Sarah were reading. I quickly read through the article as I notice the stark similarity of the last two I just read. Soon I realize that I’m reading about the disappearance of another group of students of Kirkwalle Private High School. This incident has taken place at the 17th of January 2010 and the article has been written at the 20th. (Meaning the two articles are exactly 10 years apart.) As I skim through the article my eyes fall on the name I’ve been searching for amongst the missing students. “Nora Dukes!!” I spell out as every cell in my brain is on overclock-mode. “That’s what I wanted to tell you but it seems you’ve already figured it out.” April states, arms crossed. “Guys hear me out on this one.” I announce as I grab a chair and sit on the table while also gathering all of the newspaper pages we’ve collected so far. “I think we’ve got a curse in our hands.” I blurt out and the two of them look at me like I’m some madman. After a sigh April sits down across from me and nods. “A curse?” Sarah quizzically asks, her expression troubled. “Go on.” April urges me on and I start analyzing. “First of all. The crime report we read on the first article talks about the unfortunate death of a girl and a middle-aged man that happened approximately 31 years ago at this school. The girl was TRAPPED inside the school by her peers, as she was a victim of bullying. Does the word trapped ring any bells to you?” I make a pause as both of them think and then continue. “Moving on, she was found exactly 66 days after being locked up. 66.” I emphasize the number and continue on. “Now moving on to the other articles. Both of them talk about the disappearance of students, that are magically and exactly 10 years apart. Having found Nora’s name inside the list of missing students we can conclude that these articles speak of the same incident that we happen to also be involved. Our own “incident” though, is exactly 10 years apart from the last article and 20 from the second one. Do you see the similarities now?” I fold my arms and lean back on the chair as April picks up an article and skims through it. “So you’re implying this whole trapped-inside-the-school scheme is a curse that happens once every 10 years, exactly at the 17th of January?” She asks, looking skeptical and I nod. “But if she died 30 years ago, why does the curse take effect only 10 years after it, and not immediately? What happened at 2000?” April asks and I’m left unable to respond. “Uhmm” Sarah hums and raises a hand. We both turn to look at her as she starts speaking “Could the old school building’s demolition have anything to do with it?” She mentions and I immediately lean forward from my chair. “Was the old building demolished?” I eagerly ask. “Yeah it was. At 2000 the old one was completely brought to the ground and the new one, the one we’re in now, was built.” She explains adding useful piece of information to the fray. “That could be it. Maybe the demolition of the building didn’t sit well with Emily’s spirit, having its resting place disturbed and all, and that’s how the curse began…” I speculate as April nods. “That’s quite possible but we should ask Anette just in case. Nice one, Sarah.” She flashes her a smile and then goes back to detective-mode. "I don't quite get something though…" I say as I realize something. "How was she unable to get out of the school? Weren't there windows?" I ask a simple yet rational question. "The design of older school buildings consisted of barred windows…" Sarah reflexively answers. "You sure know a lot about buildings." April points out and I nod. "My father is a civil engineer you see…" She replies with a smile scratching the back of her head.  “There are still gaps though. Why does the incident keep reoccurring at the 17th of January specifically? Was that when the new building was built?” April inquires, giving yet another reasonable argument. “No I don’t think so. As far as I know the new building was built during the summer vacation, so the students wouldn’t have to miss classes.” Sarah explains one more time, leaving the question of “Why then?” unanswered. We all fall silent as we poke our brains for yet another answer. As I’m thinking I instinctively grab the article with the crime report and turn to its back page. From there, I look into the photo of the deceased girl, which is probably responsible for the incident we’re mixed up in. (She certainly doesn’t look happy…) I think as I notice the grim expression she wears while her photo is taken. As I scan the back page I notice that some information is written about her and I swiftly look into them. My eyes suddenly fall on a certain date and everything suddenly clicks once again. “Here.” I point at the date and hand it over to April, whose eyes go wide as soon as she reads it. “17th of January… Birthday?!” She reads out loud in shock and I lean back on my chair with a smirk. “So that settles it then.” Sarah states and April nods. “Should we call for Anette and hear her opinion on the matter?” I suggest and the two girls nod. 

“Yes it’s entirely possible that this is a curse… The way she died certainly calls for a certain amount of resentment. And the fact that she lost her parents and had to stay in an orphanage further enhances the grief that might have built up throughout the school after her death. The demolition of the old building certainly could have stirred up further negative emotions, resulting in the curse.” Anette explains, after we fill her in on what we’ve learned. “And what about the janitor’s body walking around at night? Why is he only a pawn in this curse and not the one controlling it?” April inquires and Anette speaks once again. “We can assume that Emily’s life was one of sorrow, much more so than the janitor who happened to die at the age of 57. Meaning that Emily held much more regret in her final moments than the middle-aged man did. Her hatred and sorrow are driving the curse while the janitor is just an obstacle for us, as a spirit unable to pass on.” She explains, filling in the gaps for us. “Great. So Emily’s spirit wanted for students to die trapped in the school, just like she did, as a form of revenge. That much is clear. But why give us the option of escaping, by putting the 4 keys in the mix as well? She could have just trapped us here and then tortured us right?” I ask and the others turn to Anette, presuming she has the answer to all the paranormal stuff happening around here. And apparently she does. “Assuming she wants us to feel just like she did, she gave us hope to cling to. The hope being the keys. She died of starvation, meaning she didn’t give up until the bitter end, searching for a way to get out of here. That showcases that she had hope that someone would find her or she would find a way out.” Anette explains, and I’m left dumbfounded. “I still can’t believe how all those disappearings were just swept under the rug. The connection is evident. Not to mention we don’t even know if the culprits for Emily’s murder were caught.” April once again poses a valid statement. “It was evident for us because we happened to have only 3 newspaper articles magically fall in our lap inside a time of 1 minute or so. Imagine if we had to work through paperwork and reports of an entire decade.” I explain, trying to lighten the load of local authorities. “Hey Anette, do you think these articles were deliberately put inside this book?” I ask her, handing over the weird book. “Most certainly…” She replies grazing the cover with her fingers. It’s a plain black cover with golden letters that for some reason I can’t read. “This was put here most likely for us to find. Emily must have wanted her story to be known. This book holds no significance either. I can feel a weird aura emit from it though…” Anette explains, while flipping through the pages of the book that are for some reason blank. Heavy silence hangs in the area, as the 4 of us remain skeptical on the matter. (Could the keys be a false hope, just like Emily’s was? Can we really make it out of here?)