Sufian turned to follow Pimi and the others out of the classroom when Snagglix suddenly looked back at Matt.

  "Matt stay-stay here? No movey-move?" Snagglix asked, tilting his head.

  Matt scoffed. "Since when are we on a casual basis?"

  Sufian smiled faintly. "Now, now... let’s all get along, shall we? Play nice."

  "Kewww..." the Gnath trilled softly.

  "Pssh, yeah right..." Matt muttered under his breath.

  Sufian gave Matt a curious glance. "With all due respect, Matt... are you trembling?"

  Matt clenched his fists. "Shut up! It’s weird when you get all polite like that. Just say whatever you want, see if I care..."

  Sufian chuckled. "Oh yeah, weren’t you with Ali?"

  "Yeah, up until a second ago." Matt scowled. "Hmph, I bet he ditched me."

  "Kewww..." the Gnath chimed again, stepping closer.

  "Come on, don’t be like that." Sufian said gently. "We’ll all get back together safe and sound."

  "Stop spouting the obvious. I bet you're scared out of your mind too!" Matt shot back.

  Sufian sighed. "We’re gonna keep looking around. You gonna be okay here?"

  "You know it! Way safer to stay put than wander around like an idiot."

  "Kew, kew!" the Gnath chirped.

  "Gnath got his back-back! No worry-worry if trouble comes!" Snagglix beamed.

  "You can understand him?" Sufian asked, raising an eyebrow.

  "Errr... sorta-sorta, maybe?" Snagglix shrugged.

  "Kewkew!" the Gnath added cheerfully.

  Sufian nodded. "Alright, it’s all good then."

  He turned to Matt. "Give a shout if anything happens, okay?"

  Sufian’s gaze drifted to the blackboard. (There’s a faint trace of chalk left over... the date’s hard to tell.)

  As he looked down, he spotted the Gnath right next to him, chattering in its strange language.

  "Kew kew keeew kaaa kew ka kewkew," the Gnath said eagerly.

  Sufian smiled awkwardly. "Um... sorry, I don't have a clue what you're saying. I’m heading out."

  "Kewww..." the Gnath responded softly.

  Sufian glanced back at Snagglix as they left. "If Malak comes back, Matt will let us know."

  Sufian walked into the first floor hallway, pausing by a door. He squinted at the faded panel above it.

  "This is... a music room?"

  He grabbed the door handle and pulled, but it barely budged.

  "...Shoot. The door’s stuck. Must be more spiderwebs keeping it shut."

  "Should Boblin boom-boom it?" Snagglix asked, pulling out a bomb from somewhere.

  "Ah, well... let’s check other places first," Sufian said quickly, backing away. (I really don’t want him blowing up the whole building...)

  "We peek here again later-later?" Snagglix tilted his head.

  Sufian hesitated. "Nah. The door won’t budge, and I don’t think anyone’s around. Let’s come back later."

  "Hmmm... but Boblin think someone’s inside…"

  "Wait, really?"

  "Errr... maybe just brain-mist... no real-reals?"

  "...Oh."

  (I'm a little curious... but oh well. We'll come back later.)

  Sufian and Snagglix moved toward the ground floor.

  (There’s Ali... I should talk to him.)

  Snagglix twitched, glancing around nervously. "Eyes-eyes on Boblin... feel it... creepy-creep..."

  Sufian frowned. "What? Something? You’re scaring me, buddy..."

  "Stay closey-close! Boblin keep you safe-safe!"

  Thoren appeared, looking grim.

  "I am ashamed. Had I been more vigilant, Malak would still be with us..."

  Sufian shook his head. "It’s not your fault, Thoren. Don’t beat yourself up. We just have to hurry and find her."

  The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

  "You are correct," Thoren said firmly. "It will not absolve me, but I shall dedicate my all to the search!"

  Ali leaned closer to the door. "Hmm? ...Wait, what? This ain’t good, Sufian. The door to the outside won’t open."

  "What?!" Sufian exclaimed, pushing at the door with all his strength.

  "Hnnngh!" Thoren grunted, shoving against it. "Curses... even my strength is not enough to budge it."

  "This means someone—or something—has locked us in here?" Ali said, voice dropping low.

  "The monster that took Malak, you think...?" Sufian muttered.

  Ali clenched his fists. "Dammit! Don’t think it'll be that easy! We won't let you take us like you did Malak!"

  "Right you are," Thoren agreed. "Let us proceed with care."

  (They're fired up... they'll be fine.)

  Ali suddenly stiffened. "Yeeep!"

  "You okay, Ali?" Sufian asked. "Your face—"

  "B-Behind you..." Ali stammered.

  "Huh? Behind me...?"

  Sufian turned.

  By the staircase, he caught a fleeting glimpse of a little boy—black hair, white shirt, black suspenders—before the figure flickered and vanished.

  "What the--?!"

  (Was that... a kid? But now there’s nothing there.)

  Ali’s teeth chattered. "Oh jeez, oh man..."

  "Chill out," Thoren said calmly. "It’s gone now, whatever it was."

  "You don’t think it was the g-g-g...ost-ghay?" Ali whispered.

  "Not sure," Sufian replied, squinting at the empty stairs. "Should we check it out? It went up to the first floor."

  "Just leave it..." Ali muttered.

  Sufian glanced toward the gym door, noting the heavy spiderwebs tangled across it.

  ( Is Malak around here...? )

  "Quick-quick!" Snagglix urged, tugging Sufian's sleeve. "Malak need help now-now!! No slow-legs!"

  Sufian pointed at the blocked door. "No getting through there. Let’s check somewhere else."

  Snagglix frowned, but nodded quickly. "Other place to look-look? Maybe find clue-spark?"

  They pushed into the boys' restroom first.

  ( Guess she won’t be in here... )

  Sufian tested the faucet at one of the sinks.

  "Huh. Water’s still running. That’s good."

  ( After all, not being able to wash your hands after using the loo would be gross. )

  Sufian glanced around and wrinkled his nose at the old urinals.

  ( This building’s so old, I wasn’t sure what to expect... but I guess a toilet is a toilet. )

  "No peep, no foot-flap..." Snagglix murmured, scanning the empty room.

  "Yeah. You’re right..." Sufian agreed.

  Without hesitation, Snagglix darted out.

  "Next door! Maybe Malak hid-hid there, yes-YES!!"

  "Wait, that's—!" Sufian protested, realizing too late.

  ( ...the girls’ room?! )

  Sufian gulped. ( No. She could be in there. Now’s not the time to get flustered about stuff like this! Ulp... okay, I’m going in! )

  He pushed into the girls' restroom, finding Snagglix standing casually in the center.

  "No luck..." Snagglix reported. "Empty-quiet inside."

  Sufian flushed in embarrassment. "Y-Yeah, you’re right..."

  They made their way into the cafeteria next, where Pimi was already rifling through the kitchen cabinets.

  "No see Malak... nowhere ‘round here…" Snagglix muttered, looking around.

  "If you have time to complain, you should use it to look for her!" Pimi snapped without turning.

  "Eeep! Boblin sorry-sorry!!" Snagglix yelped, ducking his head.

  Sufian chuckled softly. "Pimi’s right. Now’s not the time to lose our nerve. Let’s focus on finding Malak!"

  "Yeah!!" Snagglix agreed fiercely.

  Sufian knelt beside one of the kitchen counters and pulled open a cabinet. Inside, he found a dusty glass bottle.

  "BLEGH!" Snagglix gagged, waving his arms. "Big stink-bomb! Hold your nose-nose!!"

  Sufian chuckled. "It’s just vinegar. We use it in cooking. Still, not much use to us now."

  He carefully set the bottle back and noticed a faded nutrition chart on the wall.

  ( There's a date here... but it’s too faded to read properly. )

  He glanced around at the surprisingly clean pots and silverware.

  ( They look old, almost like toys. Yet they’re spotless. Strange. )

  Over by a row of food carts, he noticed a few were missing wheels.

  ( Some of these look ready to fall apart. Better be careful. )

  Suddenly, Pimi’s anxious voice rang out.

  "Malak? Malak, where are you? Answer meee!"

  Sufian rushed over. "Pimi! Still no sign of her?"

  Pimi shook her head, eyes wide with panic. "No... nothing at all! Malak... where could you have gone?!"

  ( She’s really desperate... when did she get so close to Malak...? )

  "It’s gonna be okay," Sufian said firmly. "We’re all looking for her. We’ll find her in no time!"

  "Yeah... you’re right..." Pimi sniffled. "I'll turn it up a notch! We’ll definitely save her!"

  ( That’s the spirit, Pimi. We’ve got to track down Malak. )

  "I’ll go check somewhere else!" she declared.

  "Okay! Go for it, Pimi!"

  Ali and Thoren entered through the other side.

  Ali frowned, rubbing his arms. "Huh... something doesn’t feel right..."

  "You too?" Thoren rumbled. "So I am not the only one."

  Sufian nodded slowly. "Yeah. I feel it too... This place is dangerous. Let’s get out of here."

  "Hold on," Ali said quickly. "Let’s wait and see what happens first. I’ll be fine. Thoren’s with me—and if things get bad, we can always run."

  "Rightly so," Thoren agreed. "Leave this to Ali."

  Sufian sighed. "Fair enough. Just don’t do anything too risky, okay?"

  Thoren smiled grimly. "Ali is... boisterous. Not the most steady fellow."

  "Yep, that’s him." Sufian chuckled. "He has his good points though, I promise."

  "Hmph. Should danger strike, I shall protect him." Thoren said proudly. "Rest assured."

  Sufian nodded, feeling reassured.

  Leaving Ali and Thoren behind, Sufian and Snagglix entered the dusty faculty room.

  Sufian rifled through a filing cabinet.

  "Huh? An address book? This is crazy... It’s got addresses and phone numbers for all the teachers and students!"

  ( Important personal information... should this really be lying around like this...? )

  He moved toward a teacher’s desk.

  ( Man... just standing here makes me nervous. It’s like a reflex. I only ever came to the faculty room when I was in trouble... )

  Snagglix bounced onto a big, cushy chair at the back.

  "Sufian! Boblin found squish-seat! Soooo comfy—try it, yes-YES!!"

  Sufian laughed. "Yeah, looks as fancy as the desk. Someone important must’ve sat here. But who'd be more important than a teacher? Weird..."

  "No see Malak here..." Snagglix said, peering under desks.

  Just then, Pimi rushed in.

  "Oh, it’s you, Sufian! What about Malak? Did you find her?!"

  "Not yet, I’m afraid..." Sufian said softly.

  "Oh..." Pimi's shoulders sagged.

  "Cheer up, Pimi. We won’t give up now. There’s still plenty of places to look!"

  "Yeah, you’re right! Let’s keep searching!"

  ( Nothing so far... Maybe I’ll check with Matt if anything’s happened near the classroom. )

  Sufian and Snagglix stepped into the room just in time to hear Matt muttering.

  "What the hell... what the hell, man..."

  The Gnath was curled around itself, trembling.

  "Kewwww..." it whimpered.

  Sufian frowned. "Matt, what’s wrong? Did something happen?"

  "Shaky-shaky... poor squishy, scared bad-bad…" Snagglix murmured.

  Matt looked up, wild-eyed. "A ghost... I saw a freaking ghost..."

  "I saw something too," Sufian admitted. "Still... we don’t know if it was a ghost."

  "Of course it was!" Matt barked. "That girl wasn’t among the living..."

  "Huh? A girl? But... I saw a boy..."

  "You’re kidding me..." Matt clutched his head. "We gotta deal with spooks on top of that monster?!"

  Matt’s eyes rolled back as he shivered violently.

  "Yeeeeek! Aaahhh-hunnNNNgh..."

  With a thud, Matt collapsed unconscious.

  "Kew kewww..." the Gnath chirped sadly.

  "Hmm... sound good-good! Boblin like it!" Snagglix said cheerfully.

  From somewhere distant, a piano began playing.

  Sufian tensed. "A piano...?"

  "It’s coming from the music room," Snagglix said, ears twitching.

  "I wanna check it out... but Matt’s passed out." Sufian hesitated. "Is it okay to leave him here?"

  "He safe-safe!" Snagglix grinned. "Gnath got it!"

  "Kew!" the Gnath affirmed.

  "Cool. He’s all yours, then." Sufian turned toward the corridor. "Let’s go to the music room, Loudboots!"

  ?????