I popped my feet onto the dash, my boots making a loud clunking sound as they moved. I snagged a cigarette from the worn altoids tin that sat in the cup holder between us. The lighter sat next to it and I used to to ignite the cigarette. I inhaled deep and rolled the window down.

"The science building? now?" I asked.

Harrison had the right side of his face pressed against the headrest, staring at me.

"please? I just want to go have a look." He replied.

"It's past 11:00 pm. The building has been closed for hours." I remarked.

He chuckled.
"You underestimate me darlin'" He spoke lowly and looked at me with a lazy grin.

I sighed.
"we're still eating?" I asked annoyed.

"Yes Harper, 15 minutes, come on" he nudged me.

I kept eye contact with him as I took a long drag and filled the car with smoke.

"Let's go" I said with a shrug.

Harrison ran his fingers through his hair and sat up excitedly. He turned up the music as we pulled out of the library lot and drove down a few roads to get to the science building.

Street lamps were the only source of light in the area. A few windows on the building showed a soft glow behind curtains but not the fluorescent shine like daytime. I put my cigarette out and zipped up my jacket.

"Do you even have a plan?" I asked honestly.

"Well no." He said plainly.

I rolled my eyes and got out of the car after he parked in the staff lot.

"Come on then" I said with a hand on my hip.

Harrison shrugged and got out of the car too. We stood there motionless for a moment before he put his hand on the small of my back and urged me forward.

"No lagging, keep walking" He whispered in my ear from beside me.

"Harrison seriously how do you plan to get in there?" I asked as we walked swiftly with our heads low.

We made it to the side door that didn't face the road and I felt a little better. A dirty yellow light above the door lightly flowed upon us. I watched as Harrison reached into the pocket of his jeans and fished out a pair of gold keys. He held them up in front of my face with a smile and a wink.

"no. seriously?" I asked hushed.

"what were you expecting?" He replied as he slipped one of the little worn keys into the lock and turned it slowly. I knew I shouldn't be but I was still surprised when the lock instantly unlocked. Harrison raised an eyebrow at me.

Although pretty harmless so far, my gut told me to protest. There was no time though so I followed Harrison as he opened the door a bit and crept in. The heavy door shut behind us and we were left in the dark. The only guidance was the tiny shine of the red exit sign. We exchanged a glance. We slowly made our way forward, following the far hallway until it opened up to the hub of the big building.

I stood in the center and spun around. There were a few lights on down some hallways that illuminated enough to understand the layout. I've been in this building before but it felt like an entirely different place in the middle of the night, in the blackness.

Harrison was laughing as he scurried around, peeking into corners and through windows.

"I have an idea" He remarked.

I slowly shuffled his way and sat myself on a bench against the wall.

"what is it?" I asked.

"Let's split up. You check out the bottom floor and i'll check out the top." He started.

"Harrison I-". He heard me but didn't let me finish.
He sat beside me and rested his elbows on his knees.

"If we find an open door or something interesting we wait until we meet back up to investigate" He continued.

"This is dumb Harry" I said playfully.

He stood up and started walking backwards.

"I don't care, I'm going" He sneered with a shrug and then he was turned away from me and skipping to the stairs.

I stood up too and began walking at a leisurely pace. Following Harrison reluctantly.

"Use your phone flashlight" He whispered to me as he veered left to take the up stairs and I branched off the other way to take the down stairs. He flashed a reassuring smile as we parted ways.

A soft light at the bottom of the stairwell lit up the area slightly. I hopped down each stair until I was standing in a hallway. Doors lined it but through the small square windows on them I only saw darkness. In both directions these doors lined the walls. On the left at the very end I noticed a corner, the hallway didn't end.

I raised the flashlight on my phone to the brightest setting and held it out in front of me. I watched my boots step on the maroon carpet rhythmically as I made my way down.

I thought about Harrison upstairs, probably causing destruction. Then I thought about a sandwich. With extra crispy bacon. and tater tots.

"I just wanted to eat" I grumble to myself.

I finally make it to the corner. I turn and peer down. It's dark like the rest of the building. It is not lined by the same doors. the hallway is completely empty besides double doors taking up the wall at the very end. It looked like the swinging doors you see in a hospital.

I inch closer, my steps smaller and quieter now.

My heart beat a little faster when I noticed there was a bright light on behind the doors. It was flickering.

At this point my phone was lowered to my side and the flashlight had timed out, leaving me in pitch black. I noticed this and thought about turning the light back on but decided against it and slipped my phone into my back pocket.

I crept forward some more. Seeing the odd doors more clear now.

I thought about turning back but knew Harrison would just drag me back down here when I told him about it.

I kept taking small and slow steps toward the end of the hallway. The darkness kept me shrouded and I used my right hand to trace down the wall and keep myself oriented.

I was about halfway down the hall when I heard something. My heart dropped instantly and my pulse started hammering as I crouched down, trying to make myself unseen.

The noise was coming from behind the doors and I focused with sniper-like precision to try and distinguish the sound.

Suddenly one of the doors begin to open slowly. I crept back a few inches instinctively. I watched as a little girl in a pink dress emerged. The light from behind the doors flooded a piece of the hallway with a rectangle of yellow glow. The girl was illuminated too. Her skin was very pale and her dark brown hair fell limply around her. The pink dress was lined with white ruffles and looked so many years out dated.

She took another step out and let the door fall shut behind her, encasing the hallway in darkness once again. My breathing started to steady.

"What the fuck do I do?" I thought frantically.
I had to avoid getting caught here so I waited a few moments to see if anyone followed her out. The girl just stood there. When nothing happened I pushed myself up off my wobbly legs and made my way towards her. I was within range for her to hear my footsteps but she didn't react at all. Just kept standing there.

I was within a few feet of the girl when I leaned down and smiled.

"Hey, hey do you need some help?" I asked at a firm whisper.

The girl craned her head my way slowly and revealed a pair of completely black eyes. I gasped and jumped back.
She blinked at me and tilted her head to the side slowly like a dog does.

My eyes were wide as tires and I backed up against the wall. The girl lifted her arm up and reached it out to me with wiggling fingers.

Suddenly there is a crash behind the doors and a loud voice yells. Before I could think the door opened a bit and a man in a long white lab coat grabbed the little girl by the back of the dress.

"Hey what are you doing out here?" He yelled as he yanked her roughly.

Just like that the door closed after them and I was in a dead sprint in the other direction.