The Haunted Orphanage

Chapter 88

Dan's POV

We were all laughing and talking as we walked back into the hallway. I froze once I heard the sound of a girl crying again.

Then panicked as I heard it turn to screams.

I turned toward Nate and Phil and felt my stomach drop when I only saw Phil standing there. From behind me, Jason yelled, "Nate, stop! It's probably a trap!"

I looked back in the direction of the sound and saw Nate run around a corner. Jason took off after him, leaving Percy to lean against a wall.

Phil glanced at Percy before he looked at me. "You go get Nate and Jason and bring them back here before they hurt themselves. I'll stay with Percy."

"How am I supposed to help them if they're already in trouble?!" I yelled, feeling a tinge of panic run through me.

Phil hesitated and before he could reply, Percy had slapped his hand against his forehead so hard it echoed down the hallway. Phil and I sent him worried looks.

"Percy, you're okay, right?!" Phil asked quickly. "You don't get side effects from turning into a monster or anything–"

Percy moved his hand away from his face, revealing a red handprint. "Dan, out of everyone here, you're the most qualified person to go help Nate and Jason."

I stared at him for a second before replying, "Okay, but how am I supposed to help them if they already got themselves captured by the voice or one of her followers?"

Percy leaned his head against the wall. "Don't you still have Kyle?"

My eyes widened slightly as I looked down, expecting to see Kyle neatly placed through one of my belt loops. Instead, it wasn't there. My guess was that it had fallen out somewhere along the way. I started walking in the direction Nate and Jason had run off in. Over my shoulder, I announced, "No, but I'll be right back."

I caught Phil mindlessly smiling at me so I turned around and jogged down the hallway backward. "What?"

His grin faltered for a second before returning with a slight red tint on his cheeks. "Good luck!"

I smiled in return and turned around before he could catch the blush quickly spreading onto my face. I turned the corner Nate and Jason had and started sprinting as the girl's screaming turned into a loud whimper.

"Nate?! Jason?!" I called as I ran.

Jason frantically peeked his head out from a corner down the hallway and put his index finger against his lips, indicating for me to be quiet. I jogged down the hallway as quietly as I could and embraced him in a hug once I got there. "I'll scream my lungs out at you later. Right now, I'm just glad you didn't get abducted by aliens or something."

He nodded into my chest before pulling away from me. He whispered, "I think Nate and I found the person who was screaming."

He grabbed my arm and led me around the corner. My eyes immediately fell on Nate, who was standing on the tips of his toes in front of a door trying to peer through the small window.

I quickly walked over and picked Nate up from behind. I set him on the ground next to Jason before whispering, "We're going back to Phil and Percy. You two cannot run away from the rest of us like that, understood?"

After they both nodded, I began leading the three of us back to Phil and Percy. Once we turned the first corner, I heard a door open and froze. Nate and Jason leaned against the wall and urged me to peek around the corner. I hesitated before obliging and slowly looking around it.