Chapter 4

"And here we are!" Clinn exclaimed as he swung open the door to the basement in one of the classrooms.

Upon closer inspection, I found myself simply staring at it for a moment. The lights flickered on instantly, revealing a staircase that seemed to lead down to an endless lower level. The only sound I could hear was the deafening silence that enveloped the room. The cold air from the basement sent shivers down my spine, causing goosebumps to form on my skin. I couldn't help but inhale the chilling atmosphere through my nostrils.

It struck me as odd that a classroom would have a hidden basement. Why would a school even create such a thing? It suddenly seemed incredibly strange.

Clinn glanced up at me and said, "Let's go."

I gestured in response, expressing a delicate "Mnn!"

As soon as Clinn stepped into the room, I followed suit. He turned his head slightly and motioned for me to close the door, so I did as he requested. I then proceeded to examine my surroundings.

The entire hallway appeared ancient, dreary, and covered in grime. I noticed numerous old stains clinging to the walls, while dust and cobwebs seemed to be omnipresent. It was truly unbearable to witness.

Frowning, I couldn't help but wonder when this hallway was last cleaned. It seemed as though decades had passed without any maintenance. Did Clinn even bother to clean this place at all?

When I turned my attention back to the front, my eyes finally landed on a door that emitted a soft glow from within. Curiosity piqued as I questioned what lay behind that door. I was eager to discover the truth as soon as Clinn opened it.

Peering inside, I was greeted by a room filled to the brim with books and papers scattered across couches, bookshelves, and a table. The room was bathed in a soft white-blue light. There were countless volumes and documents, all haphazardly arranged.

I surveyed the room with a frown, wondering why Clinn had neglected to tidy up. When Clinn turned towards me, he noticed my expression and apologized, "I'm sorry for forgetting to clean this place. If we're going to plan our escape, we need to organize this room."

I nodded in agreement and simply replied, "Okay," before we began our work. Despite taking us an hour or two to clean, it was worth it to have a neater and more organized space.

Once we finished, we sat on the couch and closed our mouths to cool off the sweat on our bodies. We knew we needed a break before we could focus on our plans.

After our break, we were about to begin formulating our elude arrange when we listened to the entryway pummeled closed from over. "Huh? What's happening?" I asked.

"I have no idea," Clinn replied, "But we'll find out soon enough."

Clinn stood up from the couch and headed towards the exit, and I followed suit. As we left the basement, we cautiously peered through a small opening to ensure there were no witches nearby. Luckily, the room was empty, serving as nothing more than a vacant classroom.

"Alright, it seems safe," Clinn said, facing me. "Time to go."

I nodded in agreement and replied, "Right!"

As we made our way out of the basement, we spotted three witches walking down the hallway, their wicked laughter filling the air. We made sure to stay hidden behind the desks, avoiding detection. Thankfully, the witches didn't notice us. Breathing a sigh of relief, we knew we had narrowly escaped being caught.

Standing up from the floor, we slowly approached the door and opened it with utmost care, trying not to make a sound.

When we looked, we peered through the door opening and witnessed the witches opening the classroom door. However, that wasn't the only thing we observed. We also spotted the same boy from earlier hiding behind one of the pillars.

"Alright, we need to get him to safety," Clinn whispered.

"But why?" I whispered back, "The witches won't be able to see him when they walk past him."

Clinn glanced back. "Redress." Then he turned his consideration back to the front. "But one of them can sense him through fragrance."

Quietly gasping, I widened my eyes as I focused my gaze on him. "Huh?! Really?!"

"Yes, really."

"So what do you need me to do at that point?"

He slightly turned his head towards me. "Okay, you go search for a small object, any small object, and give it to me."

"Alright." So I moved away from the door and scanned the surroundings for something useful for Clinn to utilize. I needed to act quickly, as I didn't want the witches to head in the boy's direction.

Spotting the blackboard eraser, I approached it and brought it to Clinn. Tapping his shoulder with it, he turned back and saw the eraser in front of him. "Here," I whispered.

"Oh, okay. Thanks." Clinn grabbed the eraser from my palm hand.

"You're welcome."

When he opened the door a bit wider, he turned towards the back wall and threw it, causing it to hit one of the lockers. He swiftly closed the door just in time before the witches noticed us.

"Huh? What was that noise?" one of the witches inquired.

"I have no thoughts," another one replied, "Let's go check it out."

"Okay," one of them agreed as they approached the source.

Once that was done, Clinn slowly and quietly opened the door again and gestured to the boy. When the boy noticed us, Clinn signaled for him to come to us with his index finger.

The boy looked at the witches and us, and he stealthily made his way towards us. As soon as he reached us, we closed the door and led him into our basement.

"Who are you all?" inquired the boy.

"I am Clinn," Clinn introduced himself and gestured towards me, "And this is Eric."

"Hello," I greeted while giving a wave to the boy. "What is your name?"

"Brian," the boy replied.

"Brian... that's a decent title," I commented. I must recognize his name. He was part of my crew now.

"Yes," Clinn agreed.

"Well, thank you for protecting me," Brian communicated his appreciation.

"You're welcome," Clinn and I responded in unison.

"And now we must seek refuge in our secret basement. We are planning our escape from there," Clinn added.

"Alright," Brian consented as he glanced back and forth a few times.

Once we all entered the basement, I instructed Brian to close the door behind him, and he complied. As we made our way into the room, Brian's eyes widened in amazement as he took in the surroundings.

"Wow, usually mind blowing," Brian exclaimed, "I have never seen anything like this sometime recently."

"And now you have," Clinn remarked as he turned to face Brian. Then, he pivoted and pointed towards the books. "Presently we fair got to kill those witches. We have to find a way to get rid of them, and the information must be somewhere in these books."

After thoroughly scanning each and every book together, I finally stumbled upon one that contained instructions on how to defeat the witches. Once Brian and Clinn became aware of this, we tore out that specific page and commenced our search for the necessary items to vanquish each witch. My journey of coming home to my worried sick family was just the beginning.