The Blackridge Files
664 Words
INT. LIBRARY – CONTINUOUS
"Maya!"
Jordan pushed his chair back.
The hooded figure had vanished into the maze of bookshelves.
"Go!" Maya shouted.
The two of them sprinted after the figure.
Students jumped aside in surprise.
"Hey!"
"Watch where you're going!"
They reached the end of the aisle.
Empty.
No hooded figure.
No open doors.
No windows.
Jordan looked around.
"They disappeared again."
Maya frowned.
"No..."
She pointed toward a swinging door marked:
STAFF ONLY
"They went through there."
INT. LIBRARY ARCHIVE ROOM
The room was filled with dusty books and old filing cabinets.
A single desk lamp glowed in the corner.
The hooded figure was gone.
But something had been left behind.
A small brass key.
Attached to it was a tag that read:
CLOCKTOWER – SERVICE ACCESS
Jordan picked it up.
"They wanted us to find this."
Maya noticed a folded piece of paper underneath it.
She unfolded it carefully.
In familiar handwriting, it read:
When the bell rings a fifth time... it will be too late.
Jordan swallowed.
"So it's counting."
"One ring yesterday," Maya whispered.
"What happens after the fifth?"
Neither of them had an answer.
INT. PRINCIPAL HARRIS'S OFFICE
Across the school...
Vice Principal Grant stood in front of Principal Harris's desk.
The principal looked worried.
"The bell shouldn't have rung."
Grant nodded.
"I know."
"Have they found the chamber?"
"Not yet."
Principal Harris sighed.
"They're getting closer."
Grant looked toward the office window.
"I can slow them down."
"You'd better."
After a long silence, Principal Harris added quietly,
"And if they find The Bell before we do..."
Grant finished the sentence.
"...everything falls apart."
EXT. CLOCKTOWER – AFTER SCHOOL
Clouds gathered overhead as Maya, Jordan, and Mr. Ellis stood at the base of the old tower.
Mr. Ellis examined the brass key.
"This key hasn't been used in years."
He pointed toward a narrow metal door hidden behind climbing ivy.
"I've never seen it unlocked."
Jordan inserted the key.
CLICK.
The lock opened immediately.
Cold air drifted from inside.
Maya looked at the others.
"This is Noah's path."
Mr. Ellis nodded.
"I think it is."
INT. CLOCKTOWER – SERVICE STAIRCASE
Unlike the main staircase, this one was made of rusted metal.
It spiraled upward through the inside of the tower.
Every step echoed.
Halfway up...
Jordan noticed something carved into the wall.
He brushed away years of dust.
The words became visible.
KEEP CLIMBING.
— N.R.
Jordan smiled for the first time in days.
"That's Noah's handwriting."
"He was here," Maya said softly.
"He wanted someone to follow."
They continued climbing.
The staircase ended at a heavy wooden hatch.
Maya pushed.
It wouldn't move.
Mr. Ellis looked around.
"There has to be another latch."
Jordan searched the wall.
His hand brushed against a loose brick.
He pressed it.
THUNK.
The hatch slowly swung open.
INT. BELL CHAMBER
The room was enormous.
Sunlight poured through broken windows.
The ancient bronze bell hung silently from thick wooden beams.
Dust covered everything.
Except...
The floor.
Fresh footprints circled the bell.
Someone had been here recently.
Maya stepped closer.
She looked up at the massive bell.
Scratched into the bronze surface were dozens of names.
Students.
Teachers.
Dates stretching back decades.
Jordan traced one of the carvings with his finger.
Then he froze.
"Maya..."
"What?"
He pointed near the bottom.
Freshly carved into the metal were two names.
MAYA THOMPSON
JORDAN REED
Before either of them could speak...
The old bell began to move.
Slowly.
Back and forth.
No one was touching it.
Mr. Ellis stepped backward.
His face turned pale.
"No..."
The swinging grew faster.
The rope beneath the bell tightened.
Then...
BONG!
The bell rang a second time.
The sound shook the entire tower.
At that exact moment, the wooden floor beneath Maya cracked.
She screamed as the boards gave way beneath her feet.
Jordan lunged forward—
But he was a second too late.
Maya disappeared into the darkness below.
To be continued in Episode 4 – Part 3...
- Writer
