A Haunted School, Hidden Deep in the Woods

     Halton was getting worried now. What was going to happen to his friend? He couldn’t seem to figure out a way for them to escape from this situation. Where was the key that he would need to unlock the chains? He knew he needed to do something, or else he would be trapped here too.

     It was then he noticed the Kyrii seemed to be talking to someone, it looked like a little Xweetok in a red dress. But he couldn’t quite make out any of the words. It was then that he noticed she turned her head and was looking right at his locker. He tried to hold his breath and not make any sounds, but she kept staring. The smile on her face seemed to get larger and larger. Even wider than it would normally. That was when she started to walk over to the locker. Jorlan watched on, confused as the Xweetok moved closer to the locker doors. Right as she opened it Halton screamed and tried to hop past her. Her paws were trying to grab him, but he managed to be too quick. He ducked under the table and rolled out of the grip of the Kyrii.

     “Jorlan, I’ll be back for you!” He shouted before barreling out of the door. He hopped out of the room and kept going, as fast as he could manage. He needed to find everyone else, but when he turned and looked, he saw the Kyrii holding the Xweetok on his shoulders and running after him. He decided now was not the time to look back and kept moving.

     Jorlan, on the other hand, was very confused as to what happened. He seemed stuck in this room, but was glad for the moment that no one was there. He tried to struggle with the chains, but they seemed like they were bolted down to the table, and he wouldn’t be able to move. As he looked around at his surroundings, he couldn’t see any sort of keys or anything else that might help him. He seemed well and truly stuck. The only thing that wasn’t stuck was his tail, but what good would that do for him? He whipped his chocolate tail around a bit, trying to see if there was anything he could grab, but no luck. The table was in the middle of the room, and nothing else was close.

     But he did notice that while he whipped his tail across the table, it had a slight wobble. Just maybe he could do something with that. So he shifted his weight from left to right, back and forth, trying to see if he could tip the table over. Finally, with enough momentum, he felt the table start to slide. He braced himself as he came crashing to the floor. Groaning, he looked around and noticed that the table had splintered. One of his chains had broken off from the wood.

     “Well, that is the first bit of luck I’ve had, let me see what else I can do.” He talked to himself, trying his best to keep his spirits up. But now that he had the chain free, he started to use it to try to break the rest of the table. Maybe he couldn’t get the chains off now, but if he could get himself away from the table, he might still be able to get out. Using the end of the chain as a hammer, he kept whacking at the table, finally causing it to break apart. He struggled for what felt like forever, rubbing his paws and arms raw as he hit the table again and again, but finally he was free. Or at least as free as he could be. He stood up and tested out moving. He felt stiff and sore all over, but now he could find the others, and then maybe get these chains off his arms and legs. He quickly left the room and headed down the corridor.

     ***

     The now almost complete group of friends was trying to figure out what to do. All that was missing was Halton and Jorlan, but hopefully it wouldn’t be too difficult to find them. Mayleen still had a few small sobs, realizing that she had lost her hobby. But she tried to stay positive, at least they were almost all back together, and she would find her brother soon, too!

     That’s when the group suddenly heard shouting from further down the hallway. They all quickly turned their heads and noticed Halton hopping as fast as he could as the Mutant Kyrii chased him. Ko suddenly froze as he noticed who was on the shoulders of the Kyrii. He quickly vanished from sight before the others noticed. They all talked amongst themselves and thought that they could all tackle the Kyrii; there was no way one pet could stand up to the six of them combined. So they charged and shouted to Halton, who joined in and spun around. Now the Kyrii had a moment of confusion. All of these pets were running towards him, he started to back away until Sachi tugged at his neck scruff, willing him forward. But as that happened, Ko reappeared and grabbed Sachi, pulling her away and through another door.

     The group charged at the Kyrii, who was now very unsure of himself without Sachi to motivate him. He kept taking steps backwards until finally turning and running. The group cheered as they heard his footfalls stomping off down the hallway. Now they just needed to find Jorlan.

     Mayleen looked around and realised that Ko was missing as well. What had happened to him during the whole affair? She didn’t have time to think about it for too long, as there were more footsteps coming down the hallway, but softer this time. The group looked up and was surprised to see Jorlan.

     “Jorlan!” Mayleen shouted and ran into his arms, pulling him into a big hug. “I missed you so much!”

     “Me too, sis, me too. I see we are all here, so how do we actually get out?”

     Mayleen explained to everyone what Ko had told her, that they need their charms and to do the chant correctly this time. Her face drooping as she explained how she said it wrong before and they got trapped her. Everyone told her that it wasn’t her fault, that they were just glad they were all safe now.

     But as this was happening, a door close to them suddenly opened, and Sachi stepped out. The group turned and looked, as she raised her paws and the darkness in the school seemed to creep closer. The walls felt like they were suddenly pressing in.

     “NO! No one can leave this school! I won’t let you!” Sachi shouted at them. At that moment, Mayleen noticed Ko behind Sachi. He seemed hurt, but slowly crawled towards Sachi and pulled her to the floor with a thud. Sachi scrabbled at Ko, but he held her tight. Looking at Mayleen, she saw him whisper, “Go.”

     “Quick, while she is distracted!” Mayleen hurriedly pulled out the charm from her pocket and grabbed onto Jorlan’s shoulder. The rest of the group is doing the same thing. This time, Mayleen started.

     “We wish to always stay friends.”

     “We wish to always stay friends,” said Jorlan.

     “We wish to always stay friends,” spoke Balthor.

     “We wish to always stay friends,” whispered Bylorn.

     “We wish to always stay friends.” Shouted Halton.

     “We wish to always stay friends.” Finished Mylith.

     Sachi kept shouting at them, telling them how they couldn’t leave, that she would keep them here. But as the pets could feel something happening, and the world started to go black again, Mayleen turned to Ko and managed to get out one final word, “Thanks”. Before they all disappeared.

     ***

     The group all woke up, but this time as they looked up, they saw the ceiling of the gazebo. Jorlan noticed that the chains had not come out of the school with him, and was relieved to be free of those. The rain had apparently finished, and the sun was just trying to peek out from behind the clouds. They all quickly decided to get rid of the book, worried that some other pets would follow the instructions and get trapped at the school, too. It was also a unanimous decision that this was enough adventure for one day, and all went home. Mayleen and Jorlan are holding hands, not wanting to get separated or fall again on what should be an easy walk back.

     Once home, Mayleen went up to her room and looked around. Her Usuki posters and dolls all seemed to be gone. A few tears rolled down her cheeks. She was glad that her friends were all safe, and it was worth it. As long as they kept having adventures, although maybe ones not as dangerous, she would be fine. Knowing what she had been through, this was ok. She and her brother were back together once more!

     The End.