"Let's go," Dana said, her eyes darting to the doors of the administration building.
Vanessa sighed before following, walking side by side with Dana. They were dressed in all black, becoming one with the darkness, their forms almost unnoticeable in the night.
The silence was almost deafening, as though there was noise within the silence, as though everyone was awake yet asleep.
"Where is the store room located?" Dana asked in a low tone as they stopped at the glass hallway leading either left or right.
"Right," Vanessa said, leading the way.
"How am I not shocked?" Dana muttered.
"What made you say so?" Vanessa questioned as she led them forward.
"You haven't noticed?" Dana asked back in disbelief. "How have you been in this school for three years and know nothing about the school you attend?"
"Are you going to explain or not?" Vanessa asked with a huff, not liking how Dana made her seem dumb.
"Anyways," Dana continued, "there are a lot of shadows on the right turn. Pretty disturbing. The shadows seem alive. I can't help but wonder what exactly they are… but as curious as I am, something tells me not to dig."
Dana continued, "I also noticed that all functioning departments and staff offices are situated on the left turn. So of course, something as forgotten as the ledger would be kept somewhere like the right corridor."
"I suppose that should make it easier to look for it without the risk of anyone bursting in," Vanessa said.
As they ventured further into the corridor, their breaths instinctively became shallow, as though afraid to make the slightest noise. It was dead calm. Not even the distant chirping of crickets could be heard. It was as though the world itself had been shut out from here, not to mention the lack of light, leaving the place pitch black.
Good thing they had good sight as non-humans.
Even in the darkness, the shadows still managed to be visible, dancing across the walls, crawling across their skin in phantom caresses.
"Shit, this is creepy," Vanessa said, suppressing a shudder.
"Creepy as hell," Dana added.
They halted at the sound of distant voices.
Were they doing the same thing? Was someone awake?
But on second thought… that wasn't it.
The voices continued. Their brows furrowed.
"Am I the only one, or can you not discern a single sentence?" Dana whispered. She listened attentively, but it sounded like a string of meaningless words, sentences that refused to form.
"Same," Vanessa agreed.
After convincing themselves the voices weren't a concern, they continued walking toward the store room.
They stopped in front of a wooden door with a faded sign that read Store Room.
"Quite obvious," Dana muttered.
Vanessa crouched down and began picking the lock.
After long minutes, she sighed in frustration and stood up.
"What?" Dana asked.
"It's not opening. It's too old, rusted and jammed," Vanessa said, staring at the stubborn lock.
"I could just break it," Vanessa added, "but then that would be proof someone actually broke in."
"Then let me," Dana said, pushing herself off the wall she had been leaning against.
Vanessa stepped back, giving her space, watching intently as Dana's hands wrapped around the old lock.
Seconds passed.
The lock seemed to age even further, visible cracks forming across its surface. It almost seemed to turn to dust before a click echoed in the silence, the lock hanging loose.
"Done," Dana said with more pride than necessary.
They slowly pushed the door open. It let out a loud creak, as though competing with the usual morning alarms of HERBERT WILBUR. Thankfully, the place was secluded.
As the door opened, they were greeted by dust thicker than mist, forcing them both to step back and cover their noses.
"What the—" Dana muttered, swiping cobwebs away from her face.
They stepped inside and surveyed the room.
It was small, not even as big as their rooms (not that their rooms were small). Wooden shelves lined the walls, filled with old diaries and books. Tables were scattered haphazardly, piled high with documents. Darkness shrouded everything. Cobwebs hung from shelves and ceilings alike. The weak wooden floor creaked beneath every step.
"When was the last time this place was cleaned?" Dana asked.
"Where do we even start?" Vanessa asked, staring at the overwhelming shelves.
"Don't know," Dana replied. "We just search."
Vanessa stared at her for a long moment, wondering exactly where she had gone wrong in life, probably the day she teamed up with Dana.
Her life had been stress-free before. But now? Picking locks, sneaking into offices, and standing deep inside the administration building in the middle of the night, searching through hundreds of books.
Releasing a long sigh, she joined Dana in the search for the ledger.
After long, excruciating hours of searching, Dana suddenly shrieked, making Vanessa race toward her.
"Found it!" she yelled, raising the book in front of Vanessa's face.
The book's dates went back only a few years.
Vanessa, already exhausted, blinked once. Twice. Then nodded.
"That should be it."
Dana placed the ledger on one of the old tables and eagerly flipped through the pages.
"Can't we do this later?" Vanessa asked, her voice slightly hoarse from the dust. "Let's just take it with us. Tomorrow morning we'll go through it."
"No," Dana rejected immediately. "Let's check it now."
She scanned through the hundreds of names.
It didn't take long before one of the names they were looking for appeared.
Gwendolyn Davids.
They skimmed through the information until they reached what they needed.
Roommate: Gabriella Jenkins.
They locked eyes, silent communication passing between them.
Vanessa straightened. "Never heard of a Gabriella Jenkins. We should probably look for her tomorrow," she said. "Now can we leave?"
"Wait," Dana said, already flipping pages again.
"What?" Vanessa asked, tired and irritated.
"I'm looking for June's name," Dana replied desperately.
Vanessa sighed loudly and retreated to sit on one of the dusty tables, completely done for the night.
After several long minutes, Dana finally raised her head.
"Found it?" Vanessa asked.
Dana's silence spoke volumes.
No.
She hadn't found it.
"Carry the ledger and let's leave. You'll check properly tomorrow morning. You'll find it," Vanessa said, her voice firm.
This time, Dana didn't argue.
After placing the padlock back in position, they exited the store room and walked through the creepy corridor.
Only when they stepped out could they finally breathe fresh air—
Until they sighted someone they would have least expected.
Mr. Hance.