C.R.E.W

Chapter 27 - What?

"What is she doing here?!" I exclaimed.

"I thought she was dead?!" Noelle yelled.

"You thought so?! I thought so!" I told her.

We went back and forth like that for a bit until we both realized it wasn't going to get us anywhere.

"Cameras." Noelle said, snapping her fingers and pointing at me.

"Cameras?" I repeated, confused.

"The security cameras, we can watch her on there." Noelle grabbed my arm, pulling me back out of the library.

She hurled her bag upon her shoulder and dashed out of the room.

"We don't even know where she is going?! What if she sees us?!" I whispered out of breath as I ran with Noelle through the halls, "and why are we running?!"

"The quicker we get there, it won't matter whether she has seen us or not." Noelle gripped me even tighter and seemed to make no sound when she was running.

I, on the other hand, felt like I was making so much noise that a pack of screaming goats couldn't cover up the stomping of my shoes. Maybe it was because I was taller that I made more noise, but people at school always say how I'm so thin I could break. As I contemplated, I saw her. We dashed passed the hall opening as she was looking to the left. I knew that she must have heard us, at least saw us for the most part. Noelle whipped me towards a black, steel ladder.

"Go! Up!" She rushed.

She kept looking back and forth, always glancing behind her. I got up the ladder and climbed as fast as I could. The minute I set foot on it I could smell the steel and metal, not a pleasant scent. Noelle ran up right behind me, she went up as soon as I set my foot up higher. She closed the utility room door as fast as she could before she even started climbing. That was when all the light source gave out. It was dark, pitch black.

"Go up!" She commanded, "as much as you can! I'll grab my flat flashlight right now!"

I was somewhat confused at the 'flat flashlight' remark, but did as she said.

I heard her click a button and a light source began to flash.

I went up and grabbed onto a ledge, it seemed crummy and steep with little rocks upon the top.

She met me at the area and pulled the flashlight out of her mouth to instantly start up the computers. Noelle wasted no time.

I went and sat in the corner, all tired from running. I was panting and felt like I needed something to relieve me. My arms were too tired to grab anything and my legs completely gave out.

She entered some password into the computer after stepping on a cord and it let her in. She typed up some things and opened the cameras. I peeked past her shoulder and saw some low quality screening pop up. She clicked on certain settings and skipped across the different tapes and live footage to find the one she needed. After a few swipes, we got there, and we were staring at a woman in a trench coat walking around and through the halls.

She clicked some stuff and watched, almost like a stalker.

"Wait...come look at this." Noelle called me over to her with a head nod.

I brought myself up, still sore from the running and athletics. I came to her side and peered over her shoulder. The woman pushed a key into the locked room and pushed down on the slim black handle. She then stepped into the room, one boot after the other.

"Dang it!" Noelle exclaimed, slapping her hand down on the dusty table. She grunted and pushed her hands against her face.

"What?" I questioned, completely clueless.

"We lost her, don't you see?" She lengthened her arm towards the screen.

"Isn't she going to come back out? I mean, can't you watch the cameras in that room?" She stared at me blankly as I spoke.

She turned back around in the chair and licked her lips. She clicked some more tabs and things before looking back at me again, swiveling in her chair, "it's a locked room," she finally said.

"But why would a teacher need to be in a locked room?" We both questioned as we looked at each other after our eyes practically had a date with the ground and dirty floor.

"Especially after hours," Noelle added.

She pulled out her phone and started taking pictures through the recording she had just made of the clips we had seen moments ago.

"Why are you taking them on your phone?" I asked.

"That way we can print them without having to worry about anyone going through the history of this computer's." She smartly indulged me. Noelle continued to snap pictures of the teacher in dubious places, including the act of opening the door.

She was closing out the tabs as she said, "we're done here."

"Wait-" I stopped her before she turned back around to the exit, "there's one thing I want to check."

I looked up the date from a few weeks and opened numerous windows until I found the one I was looking for.

Noelle seemed confused, "why are we..." she didn't finish her sentence.

I stared at myself on the screen, my green shirt with a golden eighty-six barely visible to the camera. I watched as I opened my locker, awaiting the spewing of glass.

I waited until it opened, the moment of suspense to be tampered with.

Nothing.

I was shocked, my eyebrows came together and I knew the look on my face wasn't normal.

I clicked on the rewind buttons over, and over again, but still...nothing.

I had just backed up from my locker and looked like total fraud, a freak, someone who would have been confusing everyone as to why she backed away from her locker and stared it down in disgust and surprise.

I was shocked and my face obviously said so.

"What? B-but I don't understand?"

"Understand what?" Noelle looked at me.

"The glass..." I breathed.

I played the footage one last time.

"It isn't there..."