Through the woods, they approached the school building.

  Ali, who was leading the group, suddenly stopped and turned to everyone.

  "Oh! It's finally come into view!" Ali exclaimed, excitement flashing in his eyes.

  "Yes, quite. It seems our conjecture was correct," Thoren said with a satisfied nod.

  "WOOHOO! Not much longy now-now!" Snagglix cheered, hopping in place.

  Malak leaned down slightly, looking at Pimi.

  "How is your leg, Pimi?" she asked with a worried smile.

  "Thanks, I'm okay. By the Twelve!" Pimi beamed, closing her eyes in a happy grin.

  (Looks like we made it back.) Sufian thought, glancing toward the sunset.

  "We'd better hurry up there before the sun sets!" he urged.

  Malak frowned, fiddling with her phone.

  "You know, I just don't get it..." she muttered.

  "Get what, Malak?" Sufian asked, tilting his head.

  "I've tried my phone several times while we were on the move, but there's no service anywhere. No phone service, no data..." she said, a concerned look on her face.

  "Not even this close to the school building."

  "You're right!" Ali piped up.

  "GPS, maps, heck, even my compass app won't work!" he added, a hint of fear in his voice.

  "Same here," Sufian agreed, tapping the phone in his pocket.

  "This thing's basically a glorified camera now..."

  Ali’s face scrunched up.

  "And hey, did you realize? We didn’t pass through the tunnel to get back here."

  "You're right!" Malak gasped.

  "I didn’t even think about it with the GPS out, but... did we take a different path?"

  "But that makes it even weirder!" Ali said, eyes wide.

  "The path wasn’t that complicated, was it?"

  "Hrmm... I see you are confused," Thoren said thoughtfully,

  "but I assure you there are no other buildings in this area."

  "Come-come! Go-go!" Snagglix chirped, pulling on Sufian's hand like an impatient toddler.

  "Boblin legs itchin'—WANNA MOVE!!"

  (I admit it's weird... but at least we're here.) Sufian thought, giving in to Snagglix’s tugging.

  The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

  "Let's head into the school building."

  Everyone moved together toward the old, familiar building.

  Soon, they stepped into the school's front yard.

  "Great, we made it back before sunset!" Sufian said, relieved.

  "This you, uh... 'skewl,' Sufian?" Snagglix asked, looking around curiously.

  "Not exactly. I go to a different school," Sufian explained.

  "This is just the one we're staying at for camp. Still, I guess a school is a school..."

  "Skewl? What that even mean, Sufian?" Snagglix tilted his head.

  "Boblin no know!"

  (Oh, maybe he doesn't know what a SCHOOL is?) Sufian thought.

  (I've never really thought about it... I'm not even sure how to explain.)

  "We go there to study, go to class, take tests... the whole shebang," Sufian said vaguely.

  Snagglix’s eyes grew even more confused.

  "Klas’? Tess’? She-bang? Boblin lost! Stadium thing? Big Sharlayan-place?!"

  "Yes, yes, I'll give you a rundown on all of it later, okay?" Sufian said hurriedly.

  "Right now, we'd better take care of Pimi. Let’s head on inside."

  But as Sufian turned to the school gate, he froze.

  "... Wait, what? No one's here."

  His eyes widened in disbelief.

  Ali, who had been waiting for a chance to speak, pointed dramatically.

  "And that’s not even the weirdest part... would ya just look at this place!"

  Everyone paused and scanned the area.

  "Yeah... why is everything all so messed up?!" Sufian said, voice rising.

  "You think a huge earthquake tore through this place while we were all passed out?" Ali asked, his voice shaking.

  "Oh, you passed out too, Ali?" Sufian blinked.

  "Yeah, and Malak too, but..." Ali trailed off, face darkening.

  "What in the world... what could have happened here?!" Malak whispered.

  Ali’s body trembled. He scrunched his hands and shouted:

  "That's what I wanna know! What's the deal with this place?! And it's gonna get dark soon, right? A school building at night would be freaky by itself... but all beat up like this? Brrr..."

  He hugged himself, a tear threatening to spill.

  "Stop it... you're scaring me!" Malak shivered.

  "Calm yourself, Ali. Worry not, I'm right here with you," Thoren said reassuringly.

  "Yeah! And I'll protect Malak!" Pimi chimed in, puffing up her chest.

  Sufian rubbed his chin thoughtfully.

  "I wonder how long we were out? It couldn't have been more than an hour for me."

  "That sounds about the same as us, I think," Ali agreed.

  Malak quickly pulled out her phone, pressing her finger against the screen thoughtfully.

  "According to my phone’s clock, that seems about right. The date hasn’t changed either. Even if it can’t connect to the network, the time should still be right."

  "Then something must've happened in that short amount of time, right?" Sufian said, frowning.

  "A weapon of mass destruction? A natural disaster? Something like that?" Ali suggested, fearfully glancing around.

  "Then how come this place is so overgrown?"

  "... Good point." Sufian muttered.

  "This doesn’t look like it was destroyed... more like it fell apart over time."

  "I admit I'm curious," Malak said, glancing at Pimi,

  "but Pimi’s wound takes higher priority right now. Anyway, let’s go inside!"

  Without waiting for further discussion, Malak stepped through the school doors, and the others quickly followed after her.

  ?????