Tales from the Dark

12.

At Hollow Creek High, the atmosphere was thick with anticipation as Halloween approached. The school buzzed with excitement over costumes, parties, and haunted houses. Yet, beneath the surface, an unsettling rumor lingered among the students—something dark hidden within the walls of the old gymnasium. It all began with the disappearance of a student two years prior. Sarah Collins, a star athlete, had vanished during a late-night practice. Despite extensive searches, she was never found, and the gym was quickly abandoned. Students spoke in hushed tones about how her spirit roamed the halls, searching for a way to escape the darkness. As the nights grew colder, three friends—Jake, Mia, and Alex—decided to investigate the abandoned gym after school one October afternoon. Jake, the thrill-seeker, was eager to confront the ghostly tales. Mia, a skeptic, was skeptical but curious, while Alex was a bit more reluctant, feeling an inexplicable sense of dread. "Come on! It'll be fun!" Jake urged as they approached the gym, its windows cracked and covered in grime. The paint peeled from the walls, and the air felt heavy with something unspoken. Mia pushed open the creaking door, and they stepped inside. Dust motes floated in the sunlight that streamed through the broken windows, but a chill still hung in the air. The gym was eerily silent, as if it had been frozen in time. "Let's find out what happened to Sarah," Jake said, his voice echoing off the empty bleachers. As they ventured deeper into the gym, they discovered old trophies collecting dust, forgotten banners hanging limply, and an old basketball that had rolled into a dark corner. They rummaged through the remnants, hoping to uncover a clue about Sarah's disappearance. Suddenly, a loud thud resonated from the far side of the gym, causing the friends to freeze. "What was that?" Alex whispered, his voice shaking. "I'll check it out," Jake said, trying to sound brave as he moved toward the noise. Mia and Alex exchanged nervous glances but followed him. They approached a set of double doors leading to the locker room. The door was ajar, and the atmosphere felt charged, as if something was waiting for them on the other side. Jake pushed the door open, revealing a dark corridor lined with lockers. "Sarah!" he called out, half-jokingly, but the response was silence. As they stepped into the corridor, the air grew colder. Mia felt a shiver run down her spine. "Guys, maybe we should go back..." But Jake was already moving ahead, drawn by an unseen force. He paused in front of a locker, its door slightly ajar. "This one looks different." He pulled it open, and a cloud of dust exploded into the air. Inside hung a tattered jersey with the name "Collins" stitched across the back. Beneath it lay a worn-out notebook, its pages yellowed and brittle. Mia leaned in closer, peering over Jake's shoulder. "What does it say?" Jake opened the notebook, flipping through the pages filled with Sarah's handwriting. The entries detailed her struggles with the pressures of being a star athlete, her fears of failure, and finally, a dark entry that sent chills down their spines: "I feel like something is watching me. I don't know how much longer I can keep this up." Suddenly, a loud crash echoed from the gym, and the lights flickered ominously. The friends jumped, hearts racing. "What was that?!" Alex exclaimed, panic evident in his voice. "Let's get out of here," Mia urged, but Jake hesitated. "Wait! There's something more," he insisted, flipping to the last page. It contained a hurried scrawl: "If I disappear, I'm in the gym. Don't let it take me." Before they could process the words, the lights went out completely, plunging them into darkness. In the silence that followed, a soft, mournful whisper floated through the air. "Help me..." The friends froze, terror coursing through them. "That's not funny, Jake," Mia said, her voice trembling. But Jake was pale, his bravado gone. "I swear, I didn't do that." The whisper grew louder, transforming into a desperate wail. "Help me! Help me!" "Run!" Alex shouted, and they bolted back toward the entrance. The air seemed to thicken, pulling at their legs as if trying to keep them trapped. They stumbled over each other, the darkness closing in. As they reached the doors, Jake turned back one last time. In the dim light filtering through the cracks, he saw a figure—a shadowy silhouette of a girl, her face distorted with anguish. "Sarah!" he screamed, but the figure dissolved into the darkness, the wail turning into a piercing scream. They burst out of the gym, slamming the door behind them. Outside, they gasped for breath, the chill of the evening air hitting them like a splash of cold water. "What the hell was that?" Mia panted, her face pale. Jake clutched the notebook tightly, heart racing. "I don't know, but we have to tell someone. We can't just leave her like that." As they walked away from the gym, the weight of their encounter hung heavy in the air. They could still hear the echoes of Sarah's voice, the promise of the unknown lingering in their minds. Hollow Creek High would never feel the same again. The shadows had awakened, and some doors were not meant to be opened.