Shadow under the Old Lyceum
Leaning over a scratched bench, Julia, Kuba and Michael were looking through an old school plan found in the archives. It was Friday afternoon, the corridors of the high school were glowing empty, and the echo of their conversations echoed off the high walls. The clock in the tower had long since struck seven o'clock, and they still hadn't had enough - after all, today was the last day before the holidays, and inside each of them smouldered the need to experience something other than repeating for a biology test.
"See here," Julia whispered, pointing to a small space marked on the plan as the Document Store - a room they had never seen with their own eyes. "This place should be just behind Room 27, but I didn't see any doors there."
Michael corrected his glasses, bringing his gaze closer to the yellowed paper. "After all, that's impossible. All the entrances are from the main corridors. Maybe they've rebuilt something?"
Kuba, who was usually the first to spring into action, sprang from his bench. "Let's go check it out. The holidays are about to start, no one will be here for a long time. Perfect timing."
They crept up the empty staircase to the second floor. They stopped in front of the door of room 27. The darkness outside the windows built a tense silence, broken only by the distant hum of cars.
As they entered the classroom, Julia's attention was immediately drawn to an inconspicuous cupboard in the corner, offset slightly from the wall. Behind it she noticed a narrow, almost invisible gap. They looked at each other simultaneously - something hung in the air that they couldn't name.
Michal pushed the cabinet away. A small metal door with a key lock appeared to their eyes. It was all dust-dusted, and the lazy light of a torch slid across a plaque with a barely legible inscription: "Document Repository - 1953".
"Now what?" - whispered Kuba.
Julia leaned closer to the lock, when suddenly a soft, quiet clatter came from inside the door. Everyone froze, holding their breath. After a moment, the clatter repeated itself, this time a little louder. For a moment, there was absolute silence in the classroom, as if the building itself was waiting for their decision.
Michael slowly reached into his pocket for his pocketknife, and Julia looked into their eyes. They had decided - this would be no ordinary evening. The door trembled slightly, and a muffled whisper could be heard from behind it.
Author of this ending:
English
polski
What Happens Next?