CH.2 High School Adventure Squad

Years later, when Calvin—aka the Shadow King—sat at the head of the Death Council’s table, he’d still think back to that night. The night his dumb classmates dragged him to an abandoned hospital for some stupid livestream.

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The old hospital had been rotting for years, a crumbling “concrete relic” left behind by a busted economy and shady management. Rumors about it never stopped: a botched surgery supposedly spawned a vengeful ghost, causing so many accidents the place shut down. Most of the stories came from drunk guys at keg parties or jocks trying to spook their friends, but that didn’t stop thrill-seekers from smashing the locked doors’ glass to sneak inside.

“Hey, Tommy, you sure this is a good idea?” Calvin, a high school kid in a black hoodie, grumbled, his voice dripping with annoyance. He trailed behind Tommy, a white guy rocking a yellow T-shirt and a Marvel Iron Man cap. Two other guys followed: one holding a phone to record the livestream, the other waving a flashlight while half-asleep, scrolling through his phone.

“Calvin, don’t be a buzzkill!” Tommy shot back without turning around, his voice brimming with confidence. “Some people haven’t seen that viral video, and a livestream’s way different from some edited clip!”

“That video’s got, like, a million views. You really think our stream’s gonna pull numbers?” Calvin asked, skeptical.

“Come on, dude, we gotta switch things up!” Tommy thumped his chest. “I even set up some ‘surprises’—this stream’s gonna be fire.”

“You mean that creepy mannequin and the ratty rags you hung up? You sure people won’t just roast us for faking it?” Calvin said, rolling his eyes.

“It’s all about the vibes, man! What’s with you today? You’re extra grumpy,” Tommy said, finally stopping to glance back at him.

Calvin sighed. He was so done with this dumb livestream. Honestly, he was over the whole channel thing with these guys. All he wanted was to crash on his couch and play the early-access single-player game he’d pre-ordered.

Two years ago, when they started the “Kabbalah Brothers” YouTube channel, they were all hyped up like kids on a sugar rush. Dreams of cashing in, becoming influencers, and ruling the school hallways had them pumped. But reality? Total letdown. They racked their brains for original ideas but ended up copying other creators, churning out cringey “take it now or double it later” videos stuffed with stale memes, TikTok filters, and random nonsense. The result? A school warning for a reported video, a measly 50,000 subscribers, and one viral hit with 600,000 views—while most clips barely scraped a few thousand.

Calvin was over it. He only stuck around because he didn’t want to ghost his friends.

“Alright, let’s do this! Everyone, get in the shot!” Tommy called out.

Calvin, Noah, and Delgado—who was fiddling with the phone setup—crowded into the frame.

“Yo, what’s good? It’s the Kabbalah Brothers, and I’m Tommy,” he announced. “Tonight, we’re hitting up…”

Tommy spun the phone camera, probably making everyone watching dizzy under the pitch-black moonlight.

“…this place! A hospital with some seriously creepy legends. I’ll spill the details once we’re inside. Real talk, it’s kinda chilly out here, and this place is dark as heck.”

Calvin glanced at the livestream stats: 112 viewers. Not bad for a start, but he knew the drill. Once people realized this stream was long and boring, they’d bounce. This is gonna tank, he thought, wondering why Tommy was still so hyped. Honestly, Calvin just wished Tommy would ditch the channel and come over to play video games instead.

“Let’s move!” Tommy said, leading the way. “No clue what’s in this hospital, but check it out—the door’s all busted, and the ground’s covered in glass. Step wrong, and your feet are toast.”

“Yup, that door’s caked in dust. This place has been dead forever,” Calvin muttered, going along with it. He was stuck doing the creepy backstory narration later, thanks to his low, gloomy voice—perfect for setting the horror mood. Tommy, meanwhile, was the designated “scream queen,” hamming it up at every creak or shadow, leaning hard into his “scaredy-cat” persona.

They’d wanted a girl for the screaming role to mix things up, but worried it’d turn into pure chaos and couldn’t find anyone legit, so Tommy got the gig. Ethan handled filming and editing, while Noah waved the flashlight, lighting the way.

“Starting this late at night?”
“Door’s busted—any loot worth grabbing in there?”
“Rats: Yo, someone’s in my crib, call 911!”

The livestream’s chat popped off with a few random comments. The four of them had their roles down, pushing through the hospital’s rickety door. The floor was littered with debris—random junk, old cardboard boxes, and tattered files in some rooms, but most were just empty, creepy voids.

They cleared the first floor in no time.

“Look at this place, holy crap, it’s pitch-black and trashed!” Tommy said, playing it up for the camera as it panned across the dim hallway. “Glass shards everywhere!”

“Place has been abandoned for a decade,” Calvin said, bored. “Head upstairs? First floor’s a snooze.”

“Wait, check that room!” Tommy pointed at a dark doorway, eyes gleaming. “The main door’s locked, but the window’s smashed. Let’s climb in and see what’s up!”

“Ugh, fine,” Calvin grumbled, already dreading the dirt. He followed Tommy, crawling through the broken window. Noah and Ethan lagged behind, clearly not thrilled, but tagged along anyway.

“AAAH!” Tommy let out a piercing shriek, loud enough to wake the dead.

“Dude, Tommy, chill with the overacting!” Calvin snapped, startled. “You’re so extra, people in the chat are gonna think we’re faking it and ditch us!”

“No, for real!” Tommy spun toward Calvin, voice low, pointing at a wall. “Look over there!”

Calvin followed his gaze. It was just a blank, grimy wall. Nothing. “There’s literally nothing there, man. What’s your deal?” he said, frowning.

“No, dude…” Tommy leaned close to Calvin, his voice tight. “I set up a mannequin here to scare people, but… it’s gone.”

“What?” Calvin blinked, not following. “You mean the mannequin’s missing? Wait, you sure you didn’t put it in the wrong room?”

“No way! Locked door, busted window—this is the spot!” Tommy’s eyes were wide, his face getting more freaked by the second.

“Someone else came through? Or what?” Calvin said, uneasy. “Look, maybe we should bail. If something’s weird, let’s end the stream and go home.”

“No way!” Tommy shook his head, but his eyes lit up. “This… this could be killer for the stream!”

“Are you serious right now?” Calvin said, totally lost.

“Just keep filming!” Tommy waved it off.

Noah and Ethan climbed through the broken window, catching the tail end of Tommy and Calvin’s weird vibe. They exchanged a look but didn’t ask, just kept the phone rolling and the flashlight swinging.

“Hey, chat, I swear I saw a shadow just now—totally spooked me!” Tommy forced a grin, explaining his scream to the livestream. “Hope I was just seeing things.”

The viewer count ticked up slightly, and a few comments popped into the chat:

“Wasn’t even scary till he screamed, lol.”
“Boring.”
“Trash stream.”

Calvin glanced at the chat, thinking, At least it’s something. Then a $2 paid message jumped out: “Vibes are solid, was there really a shadow? Real or fake?”

Tommy pounced on the phone, flashing a big smile. “Big thanks to MikaDog for the donation! A shadow? Honestly, I’m not sure. This hospital’s giving off some weird energy!”

Shadow? Probably just in your head, Calvin thought, but he noticed sweat beading on Tommy’s forehead. Is he actually buying this?

“Let’s keep going!” Tommy said, clearing his throat and faking calm. They finished checking the room—same old story: dusty medical equipment and piles of grime, nothing new.

“This door should get us out,” Calvin said, pushing it open. The group stepped through, and as they did, Calvin caught a new comment in the chat:

“Have a fun adventure, welcome to my place, guests.”

“What the heck?” Calvin frowned, rubbing his eyes. He looked again, but the comment was gone.