THE Old Building
1714 Words
Chapter Four: The Old Building
By the time the sun began to disappear behind the clouds, Nora had already made up her mind.
She was going back to the old building.
She knew Ms. Agatha had warned her not to go.
She knew her mother had warned her to stay away from the necklace.
And she knew Damon thought the whole situation was becoming dangerous.
But Nora couldn't stop now.
Too many questions had appeared, and every answer seemed to lead to another mystery.
Most importantly, she needed to know what had happened to Evelyn.
At six o'clock, Nora sat at her bedroom window, watching the sky darken.
Her backpack was beside her.
Inside it was the necklace.
She had almost decided to leave it behind.
Almost.
But when she opened the drawer, the pendant had seemed to pull her attention toward it.
That was impossible, of course.
Objects couldn't call to people.
At least, they weren't supposed to.
Nora took a deep breath.
Then she heard a knock.
“Come in.”
Mrs. Brown opened the door.
“You're quiet tonight.”
“I'm tired.”
Her mother looked at her carefully.
“Did anything happen at school?”
Nora hesitated.
“No.”
Mrs. Brown nodded, but Nora could tell she didn't believe her.
Her mother walked toward the window.
For a moment, neither of them spoke.
Then Mrs. Brown said, “Nora, there are some things about my past that I haven't told you.”
Nora turned around.
“What things?”
Mrs. Brown looked down.
“Things I thought were better forgotten.”
“Is it about Evelyn?”
Her mother's face changed.
“Yes.”
Nora stood.
“What happened to her?”
Mrs. Brown sat down.
“She was my friend.”
“You already told me that.”
“She was more than just a friend. She was like a sister to me.”
“What happened?”
Mrs. Brown took a deep breath.
“One night, Evelyn disappeared.”
Nora stared at her.
“Disappeared?”
“She left school and never came home.”
“Was she kidn*pped?”
“We never found out.”
“Did the police look for her?”
“Yes.”
“Then what happened?”
Mrs. Brown looked toward the window.
“After several weeks, everyone assumed she had run away.”
“But you didn't believe that.”
“No.”
“Why?”
Mrs. Brown's eyes became sad.
“Because Evelyn would never have left without saying goodbye.”
Nora sat beside her.
“Did you know Bryan?”
Her mother became completely still.
“How do you know that name?”
“Ms. Agatha told me.”
Mrs. Brown looked frightened.
“What else did she tell you?”
“That he knew Evelyn.”
Her mother stood up.
“You need to stop asking questions.”
“Mom—”
“I'm serious, Nora.”
She walked toward the door.
“Please trust me.”
Nora watched her leave.
She wanted to follow her.
She wanted to demand answers.
But something told her that pushing harder would only make her mother shut down.
Nora picked up her backpack.
Tonight, she would find answers somewhere else.
---
Damon was waiting near the back entrance of the school.
“You're late.”
Nora looked at him.
“You're the one who told me to wait until it was dark.”
“I didn't think you'd actually listen.”
Nora smiled.
“Let's go.”
They walked quietly around the side of the school.
The old building stood at the far end of the grounds.
At night, it looked completely different.
The windows were dark.
The walls seemed taller.
A cold wind moved through the trees.
Damon stopped.
“Are you sure about this?”
“No.”
“Good. At least we're honest.”
Nora almost laughed.
They approached the old door.
The same door Ms. Agatha had entered earlier.
Nora reached for the handle.
Locked.
Damon pulled out a small flashlight.
“Plan B?”
“What's Plan B?”
“I was hoping you had one.”
Nora sighed.
Then she remembered something.
She reached into her backpack and pulled out the necklace.
The silver pendant felt cold against her fingers.
Immediately, she heard a whisper.
“Behind the picture.”
Nora looked at Damon.
“What?”
“The necklace said something.”
“What did it say?”
“Behind the picture.”
They looked around.
There were several old photographs hanging on the wall.
Nora walked toward the largest one.
It showed the school as it had looked years ago.
She touched the frame.
Nothing.
Then she moved her fingers behind it.
Her hand touched something.
A small metal key.
Damon stared.
“You've got to be kidding.”
Nora smiled.
“Looks like Plan B found us.”
---
The key opened the old door.
They stepped inside.
The air smelled dusty.
Their flashlight beams moved across the walls.
Old desks were stacked in corners.
Boxes were piled against the walls.
A broken clock hung above the doorway.
Nora walked slowly.
“Do you feel that?”
Damon nodded.
“The place feels strange.”
Nora stopped.
She could hear something.
A faint sound.
Like someone whispering.
She followed it down the hallway.
Damon stayed close behind.
They reached a staircase.
A sign was attached to the wall.
BASEMENT — NO ENTRY
Nora stared at it.
“That's where the word in the yearbook pointed.”
Damon swallowed.
“I don't like this.”
Nora began walking down the stairs.
“Neither do I.”
The basement was dark.
Their flashlight revealed shelves filled with old boxes.
There was a desk in the middle of the room.
On it were several folders.
Nora walked closer.
One folder had a name written across it.
EVELYN CARTER.
Nora's heart raced.
She reached for it.
The moment her fingers touched the folder, a memory rushed into her mind.
Evelyn was sitting at the same desk.
She was crying.
A man stood across from her.
Bryan.
“You can't tell anyone,” he said.
Evelyn shook her head.
“I have proof.”
“Give it to me.”
“No.”
“You don't understand.”
“I understand everything.”
Bryan stepped closer.
“You're making a mistake.”
Evelyn stood.
“If something happens to me, they'll know.”
“Who?”
“The truth will come out.”
The memory disappeared.
Nora stumbled backward.
Damon caught her arm.
“What did you see?”
“Bryan.”
“What about him?”
“He was here.”
Damon looked at the folder.
“What's inside?”
Nora opened it.
There were newspaper clippings.
Photographs.
Handwritten notes.
And a school map.
At the bottom of one photograph was a date.
October 14, 2012.
Nora picked up another photograph.
It showed Evelyn, Mrs. Brown, Ms. Agatha, and Bryan.
They were standing outside the school.
But something was different.
Evelyn was holding the necklace.
Nora looked at the pendant around her own neck.
Then she noticed something written on the back of the photograph.
THE TRUTH IS UNDER THE SCHOOL.
Damon read it.
“Under the school?”
Nora looked around.
“What could that mean?”
Before Damon could answer, they heard a noise upstairs.
Footsteps.
Someone was walking through the old building.
They froze.
Damon turned off the flashlight.
“Someone's here.”
Nora grabbed the folder.
They moved behind a row of shelves.
The footsteps came closer.
Slowly.
Then they stopped.
A shadow appeared at the bottom of the stairs.
Nora held her breath.
A man stepped into the basement.
She couldn't see his face clearly.
But she knew the voice.
It was the same voice from Evelyn's memory.
Bryan.
He walked toward the desk.
He looked around.
Then he noticed that the folder was missing.
His expression changed.
“Nora.”
Her heart stopped.
Damon looked at her.
“How does he know your name?”
Bryan walked slowly through the room.
“I know you're here.”
Nora's hands trembled.
Damon whispered,
“We need to leave.”
They moved quietly toward the stairs.
But before they could reach them, Bryan turned.
He saw them.
“You shouldn't have come here.”
Nora stepped backward.
“Where is Evelyn?”
Bryan stared at her.
For several seconds, he said nothing.
Then he smiled.
“You really don't know, do you?”
“Know what?”
Bryan took one step closer.
“The reason she disappeared.”
Nora's heart pounded.
“What happened to her?”
Bryan's expression became serious.
“Ask your mother.”
Nora froze.
“My mother?”
“Yes.”
He looked at the necklace around her neck.
“She has been hiding the truth from you for fourteen years.”
Damon stepped in front of Nora.
“Stay away from her.”
Bryan laughed quietly.
“You think I'm the one you should be afraid of?”
Before Nora could respond, the lights suddenly came on.
Someone was standing at the top of the stairs.
Ms. Agatha.
Her face was pale.
“Bryan,” she said.
He turned toward her.
“You're too late.”
Ms. Agatha looked at Nora.
“Give me the necklace.”
Nora stepped backward.
“No.”
Ms. Agatha's voice trembled.
“Nora, please. You don't understand what it can reveal.”
Nora tightened her grip around the pendant.
“What happened to Evelyn?”
Ms. Agatha closed her eyes.
Then she whispered,
“She didn't disappear.”
The room became silent.
Nora stared at her.
“What do you mean?”
Ms. Agatha looked toward Bryan.
Then back at Nora.
“Evelyn was taken.”
Nora felt a chill move through her.
“Taken by who?”
Neither Ms. Agatha nor Bryan answered.
Then the necklace became warm in Nora's hand.
A voice whispered inside her mind.
“They're both lying.”
Nora looked at them.
And for the first time, she understood something.
The truth wasn't hidden in one secret.
It was buried beneath years of lies.
And someone was willing to do anything to keep it buried.
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