 I always like to visit my high school after it closed, usually for their courtyards. I played basketball there with a couple friends in the afternoons once the afterschool programs were closed since there were no parks within a couple miles of me like the school was. It was also just a nice way to get outside without feeling unsafe since there were gates around it. Usually I would go pretty late in the afternoon, but would always come back before 11, which is when my mom normally came home from work. Even if she came home late, I usually kept my time anyways just in case, since her schedule was unpredictable sometimes. My best friend, Lana, would always accompany me there, and we would always walk home together since we only lived a couple houses down from each other. We usually spent our time just talking and getting into trouble. Recently though, it's been a little different. A couple nights ago, Lana and some of our other friends went out really late to the school just to mess around and smoke a little, getting in trouble like we always usually like to do. I couldn't go since I had just been grounded for the last outing, but she texted me the whole time and even phased him to me a couple times with all of our friends there. That is, however, until about 12pm, when the messages and calls turned into radio silence. This was really not normal of her, so I tried calling a couple times, but there was no answer. At this point, I started getting worried. Our town wasn't the best, and a kid going missing here and there was no unusual thing. My mom was still awake, so I couldn't sneak out to check on her, and I knew if I called her dad to check on her, it would only cause trouble for her. So I left it alone and decided to check on her in the morning before school and stopped by her house myself, telling myself the whole time that her phone just died. I should have known better. I woke up at 8am, got ready, and ran straight to her house, violently knocking on her door. Her dad opened the door, the smell of whiskey piercing my nose. I held my breath. Have you seen Lana today? Uh, I don't know, I haven't seen her. Probably ditching school with those other jackasses. Calling him was useless. Lana never even ditched school, but he wouldn't know that with how little attention he paid to her. Great! Well, thanks, I said, haphazardly, and ran the other direction. Maybe she had already gone to school, and I was just being paranoid. But she wasn't there either. All of the classes we had together resulted in a missing roll call for her, the teachers crossing off her name at the silence of a hear from her. To them, it was just another student missing school, nothing big. For me, I could feel nothing but anxiety. Like I said, Lana rarely ever missed school, the only time she ever did being when she was sick with the flu, and even then, she always shot me a text letting me know she was staying home and how she was. I didn't get any of those this time. The entire day was filled with panic and there was no one to turn to since her dad wouldn't be of any help and I was too terrified to call the police. I went straight home after school, waiting for my mom to get home and I could tell her. Maybe Mad Lana was out late like she'd been warning us about, but she would help, right? I laid in my bed, staring at the ceiling with my thoughts in chaos. I waited for hours, she was going to come home late this time, I could tell. Then I heard the front door open. It was 30 minutes late, but it was better than nothing. Mom! I shouted. I swung the door open and ran to the kitchen, where my mom would usually go when she came home looking for a snack. A slight wave of relief washed over me as I ran, thinking my mom could help me figure something out. Instead, I was met face to face with Lana. Her leg was bloodied, her face covered in dirt and her clothes torn around her legs. My heart dropped. I ran to her, expecting her for any more injuries. Lana! Oh my God! What happened to you? I was so worried! Are you okay? She didn't reply, just blankly stared into the distance. Lana! Are you okay? She slowly turned her head to look at me. Lana? Abby? Yes? Can you come with me? I looked at the time, knowing my mom would be home soon, but I had to know what was going on. I decided to risk it. Uh, okay, sure. We began the walk in silence. I could tell immediately that we were going to the school since she took us through our usual shortcut. Why school? I asked. She only continued the silence. It began to feel eerie walking through such quiet streets. During the day, this walk was as normal as any. We chatted up the whole way there and with little breaks and took in the daytime sun. Right now, however, the streets were shrouded in darkness, the silence almost deafening. Not a single sound, even the usual passing of cars from a distance could be heard. I kept walking, thinking I was just paranoid. Oh, I wish I knew better. Finally we approached the school and we climbed the gate. We began walking through the hallways outside when she finally spoke again. This way. I followed her as she grew faster and faster paced, practically running, until we reached a classroom. The class was brightly lit on the outside, but only shadows could be seen since the window was shaded with blinds. To the left of my vision stood a tall figure, likely the teacher, and in the middle what looked like a couple students. But it was the middle of the night. No class should be running right now. After school programs only ran until about five. Look inside. Lana said, pointing to the window. I became more nervous than before and hesitated. Look! She shouted. I jumped a little, not liking the sound of her yell in these circumstances. I was just about to yell at her back, angry that she was being so vague when I caught a glimpse of the window again. There was another student's shadow in there. I was baffled. When I first looked, there were only four shadows, but now there were five. I was so lost and thought and began to stare, when in an instant, all the shadows whipped their heads around at inhuman speed and looked at me with small, glowing, beady eyes. I let out a small scream, startled by the immediate movement. Lana spoke again. Don't be afraid, Abby. I want you to join us. Join who? Why don't you start by telling me what the hell is going on? Who are these people? Where have you been for the last two days? Lana began stepping closer to me with every word. Her face grew longer and longer. Her mouth stretching open wide to length no human jaw should ever be able to go. Her eyes blackening until they were nothing but dark voids. Stay with us. Her voice sounded deep, inhuman. I screamed with horror. I turned around, putting one foot in front of the other as fast as I could until I was running. I ran, ran faster than I ever thought I could. I crossed the big grass field, not daring to look behind me. I tried not to think about what I just saw, but the image of Lana's contorted face wouldn't leave my head. She wasn't Lana anymore. That thing wasn't human. I went as fast as my feet could take me until finally, finally, I came home. I slammed the door open, seeing all the lights on and my mom frantically speed walking around the house. Abby! She shouted. I assumed for being angry I was home late. Instead of arguing with her, I fell hard to my knees and just began to sob. But she wasn't angry. She was worried. She ran towards me, grabbing my shoulders to inspect me for injuries the same way I had done for Lana just then half an hour before. Abby, what happened? Honey, are you okay? I sobbed into her chest, relieved that she was there but still petrified. Lana. She. Lana? Oh my god. Sweetheart. She hugged me closer, wrapping her arms around my body. So you, you know then, right? I turned my teary face towards hers, sadness in her eyes. Know what? She paused. They found her body this afternoon. I froze. That, that can't be, I, I just saw her an hour ago. We walked to the school together. My mom's face turned from sad to puzzled. They found her underneath the stage in your guys' cafeteria. That couldn't be. We had just been at the school, there, there wasn't a soul there. I, Abby. What happened? I, I, I couldn't speak. I couldn't hear what she was saying anymore. What was the thing I had just seen? Abby was dead? What's going on? My mind was in shambles. Did I? Did I almost die? I never found out what happened to Lana that day. The police ruled it a homicide, but they could never find the killer. I learned that a couple days later, they also found the bodies of all of our friends that had been with her that day, hidden within various parts of the school, discovered by their rotting smell. Our high school was shut down soon after. No one wanted to be in or send their kids to school where four teenagers had been murdered. What lays there now is a desolate, slowly decaying building that not even squatters their enter. By now and then, when all other routes are closed, I drive by the school, wondering forever what happened to Lana and just who exactly that fifth shadow was.