“Someone’s coming. What do we do?” David whispered.
“We can hide in the office,” LaNiya suggested.
“They have the code to the office,” Asante said, “And the basement.”
“We could at least ambush them from there,” she added.
“We’re not ambushing anyone,” David said.
“What if it’s just a teacher prepping for classes?” Zuriya asked, “Or the janitors.”
“And what if it’s not?” Michael taunted, “You really want to take that risk?”
Why did she have to be so difficult? Michael rolled his eyes. With them now
focused on the ceiling, he recalled how they first got into the tech lab: the vents.
“We can get out through there,” he said, pointing.
“The vents?” Zuriya asked.
The footsteps still echoed in the hallway. Michael wasn’t sure how much time they had. He hopped onto the desk beneath the open vent. Guess no one had replaced the grate cover. Good for them. But it was still too high to reach.
“Use a chair to reach it,” LaNiya suggested.
“It’ll make too much noise. Plus, what if he fell?” Asante said.
“Then we’ll have to fight,” Michael said. If they come in, we’ll take them down.”
Michael faced the door, fists balled, and ready for a confrontation. But David’s eyes widened at his suggestion. He smacked the back of Michael’s head, shaking his own in disapproval. Caught off guard by the sudden strike, Michael rubbed his head and glared back at David.
“Be serious. We need to hide,” David said, his voice more serious.
“Where? There’s nothing but desks and chairs here,” Michael argued.
David started spinning around in circles, scanning the classroom. The desk and chairs offered no hiding spots, and not even the teacher’s desk was covered. The only places that could work would be the line of cabinets that wrapped around the classroom. But when Michael tested a few of them, he found they had all been locked. With nowhere else to go, David hopped up next to Michael on the desk.
“I’ll help you up,” he said.
“Why don’t you send the girls first?” Michael asked.
“The first one up will have to pull the next person up,” David said.
“I’m telling you, I heard something from down here again.”
“This better not be another hoax.”
The kids turned their heads towards the door. Two voices could be heard some distance away. As the voices came closer, David knelt down and clasped his hands together. He motioned for Michael to climb up.
“Hurry up,” he said.
Michael hopped onto his hands. David boosted him high enough to where he could grab the entrance to the vent. He tried to pull himself up but had trouble. David lifted him even higher, allowing him to pull himself up into the vent. He quickly positioned himself, ready to help the next person up. Zuriya was next, though she seemed scared. But Michael waved his hands rapidly, trying to get their attention.
“LaNiya should go first,” he whispered.
He was glad David didn’t oppose him this time. Zuriya, however, shot him a frustrated look but remained silent. DavidHe nodded and liftedpulled LaNiya up to the desk, then lifted her up to the vent. Michael grabbed her hand and pulled her up into the vent. Once she was inside, he pointed down the duct.
“Start crawling back towards the classrooms. Do you remember?” he said.
“Yeah, but don’t you need help?” she asked.
“I don’t think the vents can hold all five of us in one place. We should start moving as soon as possible.”
She nodded. David had already begun lifting Zuriya up towards the vents. Michael reached for her hand. LaNiya reached for her as well, making it much easier to lift her quickly. Afterward, Michael pointed in the same direction as before.
“Start crawling towards the classrooms, okay? Follow LaNiya,” he said to Zuriya.
“But don’t you want—”
“Just go.”
The two girls started crawling down the vents. Michael turned back to the opening. Asante was next. He handed his tablet to Michael and, then reached up himself. AfterAnd after he was inside, the two boys reached down for David. But there wasn’t anyone there to lift him up, so there was some distance between them.
“Jump,” Asante whispered.
Michael braced himself as David jumped up to reach for their outstretched hands. He missed entirely on the first jump. The next few times, he managed to graze their fingertips. Michael worried about the voices. The footsteps were clear now. They couldn’t be more than a few doors down.
“Hurry up,” Michael said.
“It’s too high,” David said, “Maybe I’ll just hide somewhere.”
“Put everything you’ve got into it,” Asante said, “We’ll catch you.”
David bent his knees, then sprang up as high as he could. They caught him. But Michael’s grip started to fail. Being the athlete he was, David was incredibly heavy. Michael only had his upper body strength to rely on, which wasn’t enough. Plus, Asante seemed to be struggling as well. And soon, David fell back down to the desk. The force from the fall shifted the desk, releasing a loud screech as it scratched against the floor.
“Come on. They probably heard that. Get up here,” Michael called out.
“You’re the ones who dropped me,” David retorted, prepping for another jump.
Michael and Asante caught him again. Michael strained his muscles to pull David up. He felt like he was doing more of the heavy lifting but was glad that he wasn’t completely alone. His heart raced in his chest. He held his breath while trying to lift David. About halfway up, they heard the voices arrive just outside the door.
The two managed to haul David up into the vent, his feet clearing just as the door swung open. The two owners of the voices they heard walked inside the classroom, a flashlight sweeping the very spot where David just was. The two walked further into the room, in view of the boys from the vent. Michael felt his heart relax a bit, seeing that they just looked like janitors.
“I know they’re here. I swear, I saw them come in through the front doors.”
“The same ones?”
“Well, I’m not exactly sure they were the same kids. But what are the odds any other kids would be interested in anything down here?”
“We don’t have time for this, Carl. We’ve gotta be out of here before anyone shows up.”
Michael felt his heart skip a beat and his stomach bundle up in knots. Did he hear that right? Although every fiber of his being told him not to move, he dared a peak through the vent opening. They were dressed like their school’s janitors, with the same uniform and cap. But their voices sounded familiar.
“You remember what they look like, right Ryan?”
“Barely. But what kids sneak into school this early in the morning?”
“I don’t know, but I’m sure they’re the ones Boss caught snooping around in the basement.”
He and Asante looked at each other in agreement. These were the two guards who guarded the door the night Dr. Reed was taken. They were in disguise. If these two were undercover, who knew how many others at their school were part of this? Asante pointed in the direction that the girls had left. David followed. But as he turned around, he unknowingly kicked Asante’s tablet. The device knocked into the metal walls, resulting in a strong reverberation. Upon hearing the sudden noise, the two men below turned their flashlights up toward the ceiling. The light blinded Michael, who quickly covered his eyes.
“Up there, they’re in the vents!” one shouted.
“Let’s go! Move it!” Michael screamed, not caring about being quiet anymore.
He scrambled behind David and Asante. None of them seemed as concerned at remaining undetected as they were already noticed. Michael hopped over the opening to follow Asante and David further into the ducts. But once he passed the vent, he felt something take hold of his foot.
“Ahhh!” he shouted.
“Gotcha. You’re not getting away from us, kid.”
“Mi—”
“Let go!” Michael shouted
Michael felt the grip on his leg tighten. He was slowly being pulled back towards the opening. He clawed at the metal vent. But there was nothing he could grab onto. His fingers slipped over the smooth metal. He was dragged closer and closer to the vent cover. Soon, he felt his feet being pulled out of the vent, then his ankles, then his legs.
“Take my hand,” David cried, taking one of Michael’s hands.
“Mine too,” Asante said, reaching for the other hand.
Together, they pulled, trying to keep him in the vents. But they didn’t have anything to brace themselves against. And they were pulling against two grown men. If anything, it slightly slowed down the pace at which Michael was coming out of the vent opening.
“Urgh!” he grunted.
“Come on, dude,” David yelled, “Kick your legs. Do something.”
Squeezing his eyes shut, Michael tried to hold onto the vent with all his might. He started kicking his legs frantically, hoping he could knock the guys out. He felt one of his feet make contact with one of the men. The hand that was holding on to him let go.
“Ouch! He kicked my nose.”
“Just get him down, quick.”
But before they could reach back up, Asante and David pulled Michael back up into the vent. They immediately began moving through the ducts toward the classrooms. Michael turned around and saw one of the guards poking their head in through the opening. When he spotted Michael and the others, he pointed and screamed.
“There they go. They’re escaping through the vents. Come on, Carl.”
“You want me to crawl up into the vents? No way.”
“They’re going to get away. There are no ghosts.”
“There could be other spirits. I’ll just wait right—”
“I swear, I’m going to smack you if you don’t…”
Their voices trailed off as the group scurried away. It didn’t really matter how much noise they made anymore. Those two already knew they were there. Michael hoped that they didn’t actually try crawling in after them. It was already a pretty tight squeeze for him; he didn’t think it would be possible for a fully grown man to squeeze himself in there, let alone both of them. He took a few deep breaths, calming his racing heartbeat. Now that they were away, they just had to get back to the classroom with the girls. Then, they could get out and head back upstairs to the classrooms.
“The girls should be in the classroom by now,” Asante said, “Hopefully, they went to the same one as last time. Otherwise, we’ll have to meet up with them after we get out.”
“You okay, Michael?” David asked.
“Yeah. Thanks for…you know, back there,” Michael said, still calming his breathing.
“Hey guys?” Zuriya’s voice echoed through the duct.
“Quieter, Zuriya,” LaNiya said.
“We need help.”
The boys followed the girls’ voices. They soon reached the spot where the girls had stopped.
“Why’d you stop here?” Asante asked.
“LaNiya got us lost,” Zuriya said.
“Me? You’re the one who insisted you knew the right way back.”
“Anyway, the path is blocked. There’s a grate here,” Zuriya said, ignoring LaNiya.
Michael looked ahead of them. There was a metal grate cover blocking the way forward. This must not have been the correct way back. LaNiya must have gotten the path wrong. But he didn’t blame her too much; she had to deal with Zuriya anyway. Asante crawled past the girls, inspecting the cover. He pushed on it, but it didn’t move. He even shook it a bit, but it didn’t budge.
“Well?” Michael asked.
“It’s screwed in place. We can’t move it,” Asante said.
“It’s fine,” David said, “We just need to turn back.”
“But we already got lost. How are we supposed to find the correct way back?” Zuriya asked, her voice rising to a near shriek.
“Relax,” Asante said., “Wwe’ve got time. Those guys don’t know where we’re headed. We can just pick another classroom to get out.”
“I know you’re in here. And I know there’s more of you.”
Michael felt the hairs stand up on his neck as the guards’ voices echoed through the ducts. He snapped his head back in the direction of the tech lab. They couldn’t have climbed into the vents, could they? They needed to turn around quickly.