Beyond Her Final Breath (Book 1- Shadowland Duology) | Wattys2015

.Chapter Twenty-Five.

"Excuse me, Ms. Saffle, but Nathan is needed in the office."

Nate looked up from his math and frowned. Why was he needed in the office? And then he found who was talking.

Sandra stood by the desk, giving a conspiratorial grin at him. She stood cocky and confident; triangle earrings that resembled arrowheads or the tip of a knife hung from her ears. 

He gathered his stuff and stood up. 

"Oh," she added, "he probably won't be back."

Whispers rose in the classroom. I bet the police are here to take him away. He killed Evelyn. Nah, he probably just forgot a book or something....

Ms. Saffle silenced them. "Okay. Just finish the rest of the problems tonight."

"What are you doing?" Nathan hissed after they both stood out in the hallway. 

"Saving you. Duh."

There was a glint in her eyes of mischief and happiness, not unfamiliar from how Evie had looked when they snuck around. He shook his head to clear his thoughts. 

"Look, I don't want to get in trouble-"

"Ugh. Calm down, worrywart. Volleyball coach needs us to search the attic for Halloween decorations." She tugged on his arm. 

He followed reluctantly. 

She pulled him to the third floor teacher's lounge, where a wooden door specifically labeled KEEP OUT waited. 

"You afraid of ghosts?" Her voice was dark, and she wiggled her fingers in his face. 

Nathan squirmed at her choice of words.

Noticing, she said, "Don't worry. It's mostly just dust and cobwebs. But if a ghost just so happens to be up there, I'll protect you."

The door opened with a groan, dust and cobwebs swept outwards on an invisible breeze. Wood planks meagerly hammered together created what Nathan guessed was supposed to be steps. 

"Umm... this doesn't exactly look safe."

Sandra rolled her eyes and pulled her hair back. "Time to get dirty." 

They dropped their string bags- the only kind of bags allowed at school- by the door. Sandra risked the steps first. They creaked like old man bones, but other than that, they held. 

Nathan followed, his hand finding the splintered handrail attached to the wall. 

The steps became steeper, and from above him, Sandra stopped. He heard the rough sound of something heavy being slid across the floor and a soft grunt. 

Her feet disappeared before his eyes, and her voice called down to him.

"It's all clear. No ghosts."

Sandra ran a hand over the damp concrete walls. 

"You know, I'm pretty sure it's bad news if you have water on the inside," she remarked. 

Large cardboard boxes littered the floor, some in dangerous states of near collapse. Layers of dust covered every visible surface; it rolled away from Nathan's sneakers with every step. Various letters in sharpie labeled each box, but Nate was unsure what they stood for. Nearby, there was a faint trickling of water. 

"It almost seems impossible that there's an attic above the school."

"Well I guess it's better than having one of those creepy basements that the janitor hides bodies in," Sandra joked.