Chapter 1

Karissa, Jeff, Rachel, Nell, and Jeremy walked down the hall towards the busses. Once out side, after goodbyes for the weekend, Nell scurried off to her mom's red SUV, Jeremy went to find his bus, and Jeff went to find Jake. Karissa and Rachel stood around talking casually. Out of the blue, Karissa jolted to attention. "My English book!" she cried. "Get it!" Rachel said to her. She darted back into the building, up the steps, and down the hall. When she reached the room, she quickly found her desk and grabbed the book. She ran like lightning down the hall, steps, and outside. The sidewalk was bare. She could see nothing, except for a blurry object on the road. Squinting, she could just make out the number 57 on the shrinking yellow figure. She let out a short moan, and then burst into tears. That bus was her one way out. In the middle of Alaska, she rode an hour and a half one way to school, as did all students and teachers. Frantically, she ran back to the building. The door was closing, but she caught it. She found a stick, propped open the door, and ran inside. The halls were bare. No teachers were left. She decided to call her parents. She sprinted toward the office. She opened the door, and jumped the desk. She searched for the phone, found it, and punched in her number. Suddenly, the ringing gave way to a hollow and complete silence, to perfectly accompany the now dark room.

Ryan laughed, then casually reached out and gave Luke a friendly shove. Luke shoved back, also in hysterics. They got outside and went to find their friends. " Dang, I forgot my Game boy!" he squealed. He couldn't survive the 2-hour bus ride home without it. Before anything else could register, he ran up the stairs, down the hall, and popped open his locker. He rummaged around the mess of books and papers until he found the small blue square. He stopped to admire it before racing down the hall, stairs, and onto the side walk. It was completely bare. He saw a bus with the number 36 on the back of it. It was not too far away, and he was, after all, the best runner in his gym class. He ran hard and fast, trying to catch up to the bus, and might have made it, too, if he remembered the first rule of out-door running in Alaska, always watch for ice. It was upon him before he could do anything about it. He slid as he desperately tried to regain footing. Oh…I wish I was a hockey player…then maybe I could actually stay upright. He hit the ground with a thud, and then checked to see if everything was okay. Well, nothing broken he thought thankfully as he stood up slowly. He then checked the horizon for the bus. It gave a final twinkle as the sun hit the window, then disappeared. He started to panic. He sprinted back toward the building, careful to watch for ice this time. When he reached it, he saw that the door had been propped open. That meant a teacher was still there! He ran upstairs, checking first 6th grade, then 7th, and finally 8th. He then went downstairs to check the gym, music rooms, and cafeteria. No luck. As a last resort, he tried the office. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a light switch. He had always wondered what it did. He reached for it and, just as he flicked it, all the lights went out. Shocked, he flipped it back up. Nothing happened. It was obvious that he hadn't done this, and he had no idea what did.

Karissa put the phone back in the cradle and looked around. Seeing nothing suspicious, she went over to the window. All she could see was white. She put her hand to her head and groaned. Alaskan storms were known to last for a while, so she would have to spend the night. She looked around for an emergency kit. There was one under the desk, and it thankfully contained a blanket. She wrapped her self up and started to pace. She would be here for a while, so she should think of something to do. Hhmm…what have I always wanted to do at school? She continued to pace, and finally an idea came to her. She had always loved Mr. Sandor's lemon spray. She searched for a piece of paper to make a list. This would be a great night.

Ryan decided to go back up to his homeroom. He knew he had a cell phone in his locker. On his way up the stairs, he looked out the window. It only took a minute for him to realize what had caused this power outage. He couldn't see for an inch outside. It was pure white. He pulled his face away from the window and continued up the stairs. He opened his locker and groaned. It would take forever to find his phone in here! But then again, he thought, I have plenty of time. After what seemed like an eternity, he came out with his phone in hand. He slid up the top and pressed talk. He punched his number in and sent. There was no ringing, only hollow silence that meant that the tower was down. Crap!! He thought. He wondered what he would do all night, since that's how long it would probably take to get the tower fixed. In the mean time, he would need to keep warm. He knew there was a blanket in the office, so he went down. Once he got there, he turned the knob and opened the door. He could make out a figure pacing behind the desk. He screamed. The figure screamed, too. It turned around, and he recognized the face. What is she doing here?!?!