I Accidentally Summoned a Demon and Named Him Fred

Welcome to Paranorma

My expectations were too high. Obviously.

Or maybe Fred running his mouth about Harry Potter had me expecting floating candles and flying brooms

Because this?

This was just... An elementary school.

We teleported to an elementary school.

This has to be a joke.

I turned my head, constantly waiting.

Someone is eventually going to call the cops. A group of seniors walking into an elementary school during recess? That's literally the opening of a true-crime podcast.

A few kids were still playing four-square.

Yet we continued walking. Megan walked right in front of the students, nearly colliding with them. She didn't even flinch.

I stared in disbelief. "...you've got to be kidding me."

Teachers stood in patches of shade as if trying to survive the heat rather than supervising children. One lifted a water bottle, took a long drink, and looked straight past us like we were heat mirages.

"What's with that look?" Megan asked, not even bothering to hide the smugness in her voice. Her blonde hair stuck slightly to her temples, but she still managed to look as if the heat hadn't touched her.

Magic Girl Barbie probably doesn't sweat.

"Nothing," I said flatly. "I was expecting magic. Not trespassing into an elementary school."

Rei snorted beside me. The sound was low and warm. I would have laughed with him, which could've made this feel normal if I hadn't been actively being kidnapped.

Megan shot him a glare sharp enough to cut.

She pushed open the front doors, muttering something under her breath. Her hand moved in a small, practiced gesture, the air around her fingertips buzzing for half a second before going still again.

As we approached the front door, we faced a teacher head-on this time.

A stillness came over me as the realization hit.

No one stopped us. No one even looked at us.

We were practically ghosts to them.

Kids kept shouting. A whistle blew somewhere behind us.

"Megan's spells aren't exactly... flashy, but they come in handy when we don't want to be seen," Rei added.

"Yeah, but definitely creepy. What kind of weirdo walks into an elementary school and keeps themselves hidden"

Megan whipped around.

"Listen, stupid, if you knew anything about —"

Her voice cut off.

Because as soon as we entered the building, it was gone.

There was nothing there.

No classrooms. No hallways—

Just space, endless blank space.

"...okay," I whispered. "That's not normal."

My voice sounded tiny in the void. I rubbed my thumb over my mother's ring.

Megan muttered something.

The sound echoed. Too loud. Too hollow. Like the walls were a mile away.

Then the blank walls began to crumble, revealing five doors behind them.