Dark clusters of moon dusted leaves whistled restlessly in the night air. The young girl walked quickly, curling her toes in her slippers for warmth.

“That sound...” she whispered. “I have to know.” She approached the fence surrounding her home with apprehension, but willed herself to keep moving. Slowly, she unlocked the gate and slipped out of the safety of her family home. Dead leaves crunched beneath her feet, kicked aside in haste. The sound continued. Adrianna squinted her dark green eyes for the location of the sound, but it seemed impossible to pinpoint its location.

It was a loud, wailing sound, almost screaming. Adrianna heard the agony in the voice. She had tried to ignore it, sleeping in her parents bedroom, but she seemed to be the only person who could hear it. Something had to be done.

Adrianna clasped onto her baseball bat as firmly as she could with her small hands. She was ready for anything.

The sound seemed to draw closer as she headed across the street, toward the elementary school that she had been attending for the last year. Dimmed lights hummed dully at the entrance, the insides abandoned long before the sun had set below the horizon. Adrianna peaked through the office windows for movement. She could hear the sound coming from inside, getting louder and louder, making her break into a cold sweat. She shivered furiously as she swung the bat up high and slammed it across the glass with a tremendous force. The sound disappeared into the midnight atmosphere. By the time Adrianna unlocked the doors and stepped into the school, she had already forgotten about the awkward task.

“I can hear you...” she muttered, half to herself, “But—can you hear me...” She headed toward the office to switch on the lights. The sound seemed to remain unchanged in the midst of the school, as if it had completely enveloped the area.

Adrianna felt for the light switch and flicked them on. Nothing. She flipped them again. Still nothing. She turned around and began to run for the exit.

“Don’t run. Don’t run. Don’t run...” Adrianna stopped dead in her tracks. The wailing had turned into a fervent plea in a matter of milliseconds.

“Don’t run? Why...not?” Adrianna whispered out to the disembodied voice. “Who...are you?”

“Stay. Stay. Stay...”

“No!” she screamed out. “No! I can’t...You scare me.”

“Why? Why? Why?...” Adrianna edged toward the office exit. She clasped onto the handlebars on the door.

“Because...you’re evil!!!” Quickly, she turned around and pushed hard against the door, pressing down on the handlebars. She stepped back and breathed in sharply. “What...locked?!” She held on tightly to her bat and swivelled around. “Open the door.”

“Cannot. I cannot. Cannot...” Adrianna slammed the bat against the windows, hoping they would break. They didn’t. Instead, the doors where she had entered the room bolted shut, locking her in. She reached for the phone on the secretary’s desk. It levitated slowly, and then smashed into hundreds of bits of mechanical pieces as it struck the wall.

“Why did you...”

“Stay. Stay. Stay...” Adrianna closed her eyes.

Focus, Adrianna, focus! she thought to herself. She listened for where the sound was coming from. Outside, the wind blew restlessly, rapping against the windows. Suddenly, the moaning stopped and Adrianna could hear nothing but the outside.

“Are you still there?” she called out. “Why did you stop...stop talking?” Her hands were slick with sweat, almost dropping the bat, as she waited in anticipation for an answer.

“I’m coming. I’m coming. I’m coming...”

“Wh-what...?!” Adrianna looked around the room frantically. All the doors had been shut tight, even the closet doors. She could see a strange light glowing brighter and brighter in the hallway, a whooshing sound creeping out from under the door. Adrianna pushed aside the chair from the secretary’s desk and lodged herself underneath the small space below the desk. She could hear the door open, and the glowing light streak into the office space. Adrianna jammed herself harder against the back of the desk. She bit her tongue to keep from screaming.

“I’m here. I’m here. I’m here...” Adrianna held her breath as the light came closer and closer, brighter and brighter, until she had to squint to keep from going blind. In the unnatural light, two feet stepped into view. They were pale, bare feet that seemed to belong to a woman. A bright, red scar sliced across the calf of its left leg. Adrianna shivered uncontrollably as the entity kneeled down in front of the area where she had been hiding. “Scared? Scared? Scared?...”

“Yes,” she replied in a whisper, choking back tears. “I don’t want to die. Please don’t kill me...” The entity turned around and smiled at Adrianna, and for the first time, she was able to see the face of the thing that had haunted her for weeks. It had no hair, no eyebrows, no eyelashes. Small, pencil point dots marked the openings for her striking blue eyes and two small slits flapped in and out as the entity breathed. Its smile was broad and unattractive, all its teeth missing except for two long fangs at the corners of its mouth.

“Forever. Forever. Forever...”

“What do you mean? Please...just let me go...” The entity reached under the desk and held out her hand.

“Live. Live. Live...” The light seemed to become even brighter, blinding Adrianna. She clasped on tightly to the outstretched hand, from fear and desperation. She felt herself being drawn out from under the desk.

“Thank you,” she whispered to the entity, all the time with her eyes closed. Soon the light had completely enveloped the both of them.

“Thank you. Thank you. Thank you...”

Adrianna stuffed the remainder of her clothing into the small, pink suitcase her mother had bought her last week. They would be moving to Toronto today and getting out of their small town surroundings. Adrianna wandered over to her bedroom window and placed her hand on the glass pane.

“Adrian! Come on! We have to go now!” her mother called from downstairs.

“Coming, mother!” Adrianna called back. She leaned her head against the window and smiled secretly to herself as she stared at the school across the street. She would never step foot in there again, for as long as she lived. “Adrianna...” she whispered quietly, staring at the school with her piercing, blue eyes, “Thank you. Thank you. Thank you...”