 The story is old, almost 15 years old at this point. To this day, it remains probably the single most unexplained event in my entire life. Those who witnessed it seldom, if ever speak about it. All these years later, and I'm still not sure what to make of it. So I figured posting it here may lead to some answers. I was in sixth grade at the time, but my memory of the day is as vivid now as it was then. Much to my dismay. I've suffered from nightmares on and off ever since, and the true extent on my mental well-being may never truly be known. It started like any other day, with me grumpily walking to catch the school bus and nearly missing it as per norm. It was mid-September at the time, with temperate winds and comforting warmth, renowned of early autumn. The place I grew up in was a small Midwestern town in the central United States. The whole school had only maybe 200 kids in its grades, one through eight, and my bus only brought around 20 or 30 of us. My friends Scotty and Lamar hopped on at the second stop, and the three of us discussed Yu-Gi-Oh cards most of the way to school. Maybe most of this is irrelevant, but I think it's important to emphasize how boring and routinely this whole day began. It made what happened later that much stranger. It wasn't until lunch that something finally happened. I'd met up with Scotty, Lamar, and a few of our other friends. After eating, we formed a group and went out onto the grass field to play our variation of football. For those that don't know, it was basically American football but with more youthful angst. Somebody would just punt the ball, and whoever got it would run aimlessly while praying to the good Lord above as everyone else tried to obliterate them. As you can imagine, it spawned a lot of fights and got many of us suspended over the years, and yet we kept playing because we were just dumb school children. So one of the kids punts it, and this kid named Robert catches it. He made it like three steps before getting clobbered by like five kids to the laughter and winces of everyone else. Things went on that way for a bit, and at some point Kyle got the ball. Kyle was like the best punter in terms of distance, but knowing which direction it would go was anyone's guess. So Kyle boots it, and we watch as it soars far to the left and off into the woods. Our school was in the middle of this big field, and the improvised football field was right next to the woods that surrounded it all about 200 yards out. Good job, Kyle, you dumbass. Another kid pressed and jeered. Kyle just laughed and flipped him off as he jogged towards the tree line to retrieve it. He reached it a moment later and slowly began searching the woods while the rest of us waited. I watched as he looked around him there, and suddenly he just froze up. His whole body just went stiff as a board, and he just stood there staring for like 10 seconds before someone finally yelled at him to hurry up. Kyle didn't budge, nor react to the insult in any way. Another few seconds passed before he slowly turned back to face us. That's when I noticed the slack-mouthed, wide-eyed expression on his face. Damn, Kyle, you shit your pants or something? Another kid, Carlos, said with a laugh, but Kyle's expression didn't falter. He then quickly glanced back at the woods. A split second later, and he fell onto his back, scrambling backwards and muttering frantically. He was met with a chorus of laughter from the others. Without pausing at all, Kyle just walked quickly back towards the school without another word. The others made jokes and laughed, but his reaction really unsettled me. The horror on his face appeared genuine, and I'd never seen him look like that. Kyle was the type to never seem afraid of anything, and seeing him react like that was downright worrying. Scotty and I then silently approached the spot that Kyle had gone to, both of us now a bit hesitant. The rest of the group had now gone mostly silent, with only muttered conversation and hushed tones behind us. Once we reached the grove, we slowly peered within. I spotted the football almost right away. Only about 30 feet within. But no sign of anything out of the ordinary. I'd been in that patch of woods a hundred times before, and nothing looked any different. Nothing obvious that would have spooked Kyle like that. But still I felt the hairs on the back of my neck stand straight up. It was a really odd feeling, but I just shrugged it off. Ignoring them, I sauntered inside to grab the ball. As soon as my hand touched it, something changed. I've still not found the best way to describe this, but the closest thing is like when a plane depressurizes. My ears popped, and my equilibrium seemed knocked off kilter for a split second. It was the weirdest feeling, and it struck me completely out of nowhere. After pausing for a moment to confirm I wasn't about to pass out or something, I grabbed the ball and stood back up. As soon as I did, I felt something on the back of my neck. Hot air coming in rhythmic and rancid waves like someone was literally breathing down my neck. I spun back around, heart suddenly raging in my chest. There was nothing behind me, aside from Scotty standing and staring unsettled back at me. You good, dude? He asked. If be told, I didn't know whether I was or not, or how to account for what had just happened, but I nodded back anyways. Part of me wondered whether it was just anxiety or something, but I didn't really know what to think. As a young boy in middle school, though, admitting to fear was social suicide and not something I was about to do. He didn't see anything behind me, did ya? Scotty gave me a curious glance. No. Why? I responded. With an uncertain shiver, I shrugged it off as best I could, and the two of us returned to the others with the ball. I didn't play much after that, as my mind was suddenly convinced that something was very wrong, but I couldn't pinpoint it. It felt like someone was watching us, hidden well within the trees. Eventually, I decided to go try and find Kyle, but the bell rang before I could. Death was my next class, and I spent most of it trying to forget that unnerved feeling and just calm myself down. Things went as normal, but after about 20 minutes, I felt I had to use the restroom. The teacher excused me and I grabbed the hall pass from her desk as I exited the classroom. As I made my way down the hall, I noticed that outside it had gotten suddenly dark. Not dark enough for night, but dark like a thick overcast of clouds. Since the sun had been shining brightly during lunch, I found that kind of odd too, but didn't think much more of it. As mentioned earlier, our school was small in terms of students and faculty, so of course the building itself was no exception. It was only about 75,000 square feet, or about 20,000 smaller than the average Walmart. It was just outside our hometown, and about half a mile away from the local police station. The lights flickered when I was in the bathroom washing my hands. Again, not something super unusual as the school was old and prone to the occasional electrical mishap. They stabilized a moment later and I made my way back out into the hallway. As soon as I exited the bathroom, I froze. The outside window had gotten much darker than before, like it was suddenly the middle of the night. My initial thought was, cool, a solar eclipse? But as someone emerged from the office, that thought evaporated. A familiar middle-aged man hustled into the hallway, scrambling to the front doors and quickly locking them. It was our school principal, and as he turned to face me standing in the hall behind him, I saw terror etched upon his face. Get back to your class now, tell your teacher code silver. My heart sunk as I heard the words, and I realized the deadly seriousness in his voice. Without a word, I sprinted back to the classroom, flinging the door open and scrambling inside as I got one last look behind me. The entire environment seemed to have flipped in an instant, and something was very wrong. My teacher, Mrs. Smith, scolded me in an annoyed tone as I re-entered. I turned back from the door and just stared at her. Her expression seemed to slowly turn from cross to visibly concerned. Code silver, I muttered out. Mrs. Smith's eyes went wide, lock the door, everyone into the corner now. She commanded. The students did as requested, quickly filing into the corner and out of sight from the door. I locked the door, and Mrs. Smith rushed towards me to ensure it was secure. After which, she rushed back to her desk, dialed a few numbers in her desk phone, and spoke. Her voice blared over the intercom, reiterating the lockdown orders for all others in the school. Everyone packed together tightly into the corners, out of sight of the door. The entire class then hunkered down as we'd practiced many times before. Mrs. Smith turned off the lights, and everything felt eerily silent. The next few moments, we heard the faint sounds of the next door classrooms likely doing the same as all of us held our breath. Most American kids probably know that Code Silver is a national alert given for an active shooter. Anyone who attended a school in the States probably remembers practicing the lockdown drills at one point or another. Basically, the whole class just locks the doors and hides together in the corner. The only defense is the locked door, in hopes that whatever danger is outside will not be able to get in. What did you see out there, Eric? One of the girls in the class whispered to me. Mrs. Smith shushed the two of us before I could reply. I pondered the same question in silence as we all waited. The sounds of the other classrooms soon hushed as well. The entire vicinity felt eerily quiet as all of us waited like fish trapped in a barrel. The more I thought about the way the principal reacted, the less sense it made. I hadn't seen anything to indicate an active shooter and just assumed that he had. And yet still, I had no explanation for how things had suddenly gone so dark. It wasn't like a school shooter could affect the weather and the windows were far too large for someone to have covered them so quickly. Something very different was happening. The hallway lights extinguished a few minutes later, leaving us alone in silence and complete darkness. Even the windows in the classroom didn't show any light from beyond and the darkness became so thick I could barely see my own hand in front of my face. We stayed like that for several minutes before a sudden calamity struck. It sounded like the shattering of glass and creaking of metal. My heart was throbbing in my chest then and the muffled sounds of crying and whimpering from the other students surrounded me. Mrs. Smith shushed all of us, trying her best to maintain order. By that point, my eyes had adjusted a bit to the darkness and I could see Mrs. Smith looking through the door side windows. She then gasped and backed away from the window. I saw her hold her index finger up to her lips and could see tears sparkle in her eyes. Suddenly the room began to grow brighter. I thought the power was coming back on when I realized the light was actually coming from something out in the hallway. It was a bright light with a very slight reddish tint that softly shimmered. The light seemed to flicker ever so slightly like that of a flashlight losing power but different somehow. In the years since I've tried to replicate that light using various other light sources but I've never quite gotten it right. It wasn't a flashlight or open flame producing the light that much I'm certain of and I can't say for certain what it was. A sound emerged along with it, sounding like wet, squishy footsteps as though someone were trudging through a swamp. They came closer and the light grew brighter. In a few seconds it seemed to be directly outside the classroom door and I could literally feel the other students hold their breaths. A slight thud hit the door and none of us dared make a sound. The door handle jiggled slightly but from our vantage point, none of us could see who or what was on the other side. The light seemed to flicker and change intensity outside, beaming through the windows and altered variations. We were hunkered down perpendicular to the door, meaning the light couldn't reach us so long as it stayed outside. We could only hide there and offer silent prayers that whatever was making the light wouldn't get in. By some miracle it didn't and several seconds later the jiggling handle stopped. The footsteps then grew distant and the light faded. The relief was palpable but it didn't last. Perhaps a minute later and a sudden shrill ear piercing scream rang out down the hall, one that seemed cut short at its apex. The sounds of slight skirmish ensued with crashing and thumping. It was over in just a few seconds and the uncomfortable silence returned. It went on that way for hours, with me and the other students hiding in the darkness. We heard more screams and other noises at certain points but whatever was out there never returned to our door. At some point, the darkness outside finally relented and it seemed as though the sun was beginning to rise. I know that wasn't the case because my wristwatch told me it was just before 5pm. Seeming to affirm that discovery was the fact that the sun was still high in the sky and not anywhere near the horizon. A few minutes later and the sounds of police sirens emerged. Dozens of police and even a SWAT team swarmed the building soon after, helping us all get out. The sense of relief was indescribable as they let us out but not without a modicum of confusion. Several windows and doors were shattered and parts of the hallways had been damaged as well with parts of the hall even appearing melted. Some of the lockers were slumped and malformed like an intense heat had been focused on them. I don't know how that would be possible without causing a fire but that's apparently what had happened. Once I finally stepped outside I found my parents waiting for me along with my older sister. They hugged me tighter than ever before as dozens of other families around us did the same. Behind us I noticed the police sectioning off the school with barriers and tape as though it were an active crime scene. I questioned my parents on what had happened but they didn't say much. We returned home and allowed the cops to conduct their investigation and that's when everything got a lot stranger. Later that day I started feeling nauseous and proceeded to puke my guts out for the remainder of the evening. The headache I got then was by far the worst I've ever experienced. My parents at first thought it was an aftermath of the trauma until some of the other parents said the same thing happened to their kids. Before I even knew what was happening a bunch of guys in biohazard equipment showed up. They run a bunch of tests on me and tell me to remain calm. My parents and sister were separated from me and I didn't see them for several days afterwards. The obvious concern was that myself and the other kids that felt sick had contracted some sort of virus and with the previous events at the school people were worried it was some sort of bio weapon terrorist attack. Thankfully I woke up the following day feeling loads better. The medical personnel continued running tests but everything looked relatively normal. Eventually they made the discovery that our sickness was not due to a viral agent, bacteria or mold but instead due to radiation exposure. Thankfully it wasn't enough to do serious long term damage but obviously explaining it was another matter entirely one which we have yet to resolve. Our school was closed for almost a month after this event which at the time was fantastic news for me. Once we were finally allowed to return to school we were given zero explanation and just basically expected to forget anything ever happened. There were never any news reports nor articles or interviews of any kind. It's like the whole thing never happened and were it not for the memories of those who lived through it there wouldn't be any record at all. Kyle the same kid from earlier ended up not showing up for his English class directly following lunch period. For a while people thought he had something to do with the lockdown and hell maybe he did but I doubt we'll ever know now. He hasn't been seen since that day almost 15 years ago now and he's not the only one. Our school's principal the same guy had seen in the hall along with one of the school's janitors also vanished never to be seen again. Police found no bodies nor evidence of abduction or physical conflict at least not that they're willing to admit publicly. There are no death certificates for any of them and all three are simply listed as missing and I doubt that's going to change anytime soon. I've questioned my parents about this and they claim all the police told them was that a dangerous fugitive had broken into the school that day. A dangerous fugitive who apparently was capable of summoning eclipses, melting lockers and tearing metal doors from their hinges not to mention the whole radiation thing as well. That's another thing too. There's no record of a solar eclipse on that day and I've looked everywhere I can think to. We weren't allowed anywhere near the school for weeks afterwards cops sectioned off the streets that led to it while others patrolled the surrounding woods. On several occasions we saw guys in blacked out suburban and cargo vans driving down there but they never formally identified themselves. I overheard my parents talking and I remember my dad telling my mom that he didn't think the school would ever reopen. He didn't think the police were conducting a routine investigation and told her the entire thing seemed more like a cover up than a crime scene. I've asked them more recently as well but they seem to have learned very little. I've shared this experience with them too and although they agree it was weird and disturbing they don't seem to have any further theories. I've spoken to others who were there that day too and gotten all manner of mixed responses. Lamar seems to think we were attacked by aliens while Scotty seems to think our entire school fell into a separate dimension for a period of time. Maybe there's a logical and boring explanation to all of this but I've yet to find one. Considering the secrecy, the lack of coverage and the way the authorities behaved I'd say it's safe to conclude that something out of the ordinary happened that day but we may never know what. Whatever it was I think Kyle saw it and I think that's why he's gone. When the school finally reopened it never quite felt the same. We ended up finishing out that year but it wasn't without incident. Multiple students I know claimed to have seen things they couldn't explain in that building everything from ghosts and demons to wild animals. A few students even suffered full on mental breakdowns and panic attacks while in the old school. I even know of at least one girl who spent some time in a psych ward afterwards. Perhaps most of it could be attributed to PTSD related to the lockdown or maybe there was something far more sinister at play. Nightmares and bouts of sleep paralysis followed me for years after this event and I still get them every once in a while, even now. I never know how to describe them but I wouldn't wish them on anyone. I've always hoped that one day I'd be able to look back on this event with hindsight and understand that it was only scary because I was a kid, like I imagined it wrong or just didn't understand. But I can't help but feel more worried now than I was then. As a kid, life goes on and you forget, but as an adult you end up just ruminating on it over and over until coming to a worrying realization. We as humans set up these systems, ways of life and comfort zones, but there are things out there that can and sometimes will bypass all of them. Things that are far beyond our understanding that we have little power against and sometimes we get shown first hand what those things are truly capable of.