The Detention Files
503 Words
Detention at Crescent High was usually a room full of bored delinquents and one half-asleep teacher.
Today, it was a crime scene waiting to happen.
Liora, Arin, Nova, and Jace sat in a row like the world’s most chaotic choir, while Mr. Harrow — who was 90% beard and 10% disappointment — glared at them.
“Why does this feel like a trap?” Liora whispered.
“Because it is,” Nova answered without looking up from her hacked tablet.
Jace raised a hand. “Sir, can I use the bathroom?”
“No,” Harrow grunted.
Five seconds later—
CRASH.
Jace fell out of his chair.
Harrow sighed. “Fine. Just go.”
The moment he left, Arin leaned toward Liora. “Nova. What did you find in the restricted server?”
Nova’s eyes gleamed. “Everything.”
She tapped her tablet, projecting a hologram onto the detention wall (something Harrow absolutely did not pay attention to because he was already asleep).
A swirling map of Crescent High appeared — glowing red dots marking secret access points.
Liora squinted. “Why does our school have more hidden entrances than normal entrances?”
“Because,” Nova said, “this school was built over something older. I think the Shadows are using these tunnels.”
Arin pointed at a blinking icon. “And what’s that?”
Nova zoomed in.
It was labeled:
SUB-BASEMENT 3 – ARCHIVE ROOM (LOCKED)
Access Level: Unknown
Last Entry: Emil Dane
Liora froze.
“Emil… the missing student?”
“Yes,” Nova whispered. “He was there hours before he vanished.”
Before they could react, Jace burst back into the room, panting.
“Guys—GUYS—someone is in the hallway wearing the Shadow mask!”
Liora stood instantly. “Where—?”
Jace pointed. “Right outside the door—”
SLAM.
The lights cut.
Darkness swallowed the detention room.
Arin cursed under his breath. “They found us.”
A faint metallic scraping started outside the door…
slow, deliberate, and too close.
Nova whispered, “Liora. Stay behind me.”
But Liora took a step forward instead, heart pounding.
Because the scraping wasn’t the sound of a weapon.
It was the sound of someone sliding a note under the door.
A single white paper, glowing faintly in the darkness.
Liora picked it up with shaking fingers.
Words were scrawled in the same sharp handwriting she had seen too many times:
“Stop digging, Crow.
The archives are not for you.”
Arin leaned beside her. “Crow…?”
Liora swallowed. “That’s… that’s my codename.”
Jace blinked. “SINCE WHEN DO YOU HAVE A CODENAME?!”
Before anyone could answer, another line appeared on the paper — like the ink was writing itself:
“Chapter Three begins tonight.”
The room fell silent.
Arin grabbed Liora’s arm. “We need to move.
They’re escalating.”
And Liora knew — this wasn’t just another message.
This was a warning.
And a threat.
- Writer
