Chapter 5: The Empty Room
Leo didn't wait. He sprinted around the corner, his heavy footsteps echoing loudly, and lunged into Room 204 with the iron crowbar raised.
"Where are they?!" Leo screamed, slamming the crowbar against an empty student desk, splintering the wood into jagged pieces.
The room was bathed in a choking grey haze rising from the storage closet. The inner door had been blown wide open, its heavy deadbolt sheared clean off by an unknown force. Inside the small windowless space, shelves were overturned, and stacks of yellowed paper were swirling in the air like autumn leaves pulled into a wind tunnel.
Principal Higgins stood calmly in the center of the classroom, brushing a speck of dust off his expensive tweed jacket. He looked at Leo with mild, patronizing amusement.
"Language, young man," Higgins said softly, slipping his hands into his trouser pockets. "You're shouting in a place of learning. That's three detention slips and a call home."
"Where is Arthur? Where did you take Maya?!" Leo demanded, stepping forward until he was standing just inches from the principal, the iron bar still gripped in his hand.
Higgins didn't flinch. He simply looked down at the iron crowbar, then back into Leo's furious eyes. "Nobody took anyone, Leo. Mr. Sterling realized the futility of his crusade and decided to leave quietly. As for the girl, her parents were contacted. They felt her appearance was indeed in violation of the student code of conduct. The haircut was merely an expedited administrative correction."
"You're lying!" Leo shouted, his voice cracking with desperation. "I saw what she did! I heard what you said in the hallway!"
"You heard the wind in the ventilation shafts, son," Higgins replied smoothly, his tone dripping with false sincerity. "Middle school is a stressful environment. Puberty plays tricks on the mind. You should put that heavy piece of iron down before you hurt yourself or someone else."
Leo looked around the ruined classroom. The blue scissors were gone from the desk. The cut hair had been swept away into a neat little pile near the trash can, as if nothing had ever happened. It was as though the past ten minutes of sheer terror had been completely erased, swallowed up by the bureaucratic machine of Academy Street School.
"You can't hide what happened," Leo whispered, his voice trembling as he lowered the crowbar an inch. "I remember every single second."
Principal Higgins smiled, a cold, empty expression that didn't reach his eyes. He stepped closer, lowering his voice to a conspiratorial whisper. "Memory is a very fragile thing, Leo. By tomorrow morning, even you won't believe the story you're trying to tell."
Before Leo could swing the bar again, the principal reached out with terrifying speed and pressed a hidden button on the wall behind the teacher's podium.
The floor beneath Leo's feet suddenly gave way without warning, plunging him downward into absolute darkness.
Leo didn't wait. He sprinted around the corner, his heavy footsteps echoing loudly, and lunged into Room 204 with the iron crowbar raised.
"Where are they?!" Leo screamed, slamming the crowbar against an empty student desk, splintering the wood into jagged pieces.
The room was bathed in a choking grey haze rising from the storage closet. The inner door had been blown wide open, its heavy deadbolt sheared clean off by an unknown force. Inside the small windowless space, shelves were overturned, and stacks of yellowed paper were swirling in the air like autumn leaves pulled into a wind tunnel.
Principal Higgins stood calmly in the center of the classroom, brushing a speck of dust off his expensive tweed jacket. He looked at Leo with mild, patronizing amusement.
"Language, young man," Higgins said softly, slipping his hands into his trouser pockets. "You're shouting in a place of learning. That's three detention slips and a call home."
"Where is Arthur? Where did you take Maya?!" Leo demanded, stepping forward until he was standing just inches from the principal, the iron bar still gripped in his hand.
Higgins didn't flinch. He simply looked down at the iron crowbar, then back into Leo's furious eyes. "Nobody took anyone, Leo. Mr. Sterling realized the futility of his crusade and decided to leave quietly. As for the girl, her parents were contacted. They felt her appearance was indeed in violation of the student code of conduct. The haircut was merely an expedited administrative correction."
"You're lying!" Leo shouted, his voice cracking with desperation. "I saw what she did! I heard what you said in the hallway!"
"You heard the wind in the ventilation shafts, son," Higgins replied smoothly, his tone dripping with false sincerity. "Middle school is a stressful environment. Puberty plays tricks on the mind. You should put that heavy piece of iron down before you hurt yourself or someone else."
Leo looked around the ruined classroom. The blue scissors were gone from the desk. The cut hair had been swept away into a neat little pile near the trash can, as if nothing had ever happened. It was as though the past ten minutes of sheer terror had been completely erased, swallowed up by the bureaucratic machine of Academy Street School.
"You can't hide what happened," Leo whispered, his voice trembling as he lowered the crowbar an inch. "I remember every single second."
Principal Higgins smiled, a cold, empty expression that didn't reach his eyes. He stepped closer, lowering his voice to a conspiratorial whisper. "Memory is a very fragile thing, Leo. By tomorrow morning, even you won't believe the story you're trying to tell."
Before Leo could swing the bar again, the principal reached out with terrifying speed and pressed a hidden button on the wall behind the teacher's podium.
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The floor beneath Leo's feet suddenly gave way without warning, plunging him downward into absolute darkness.
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