Terrible Hauntings

In the dead of winter, the old elementary school became even more eerie than usual. The swings on the playground still swung, creaking, while running footsteps were heard across the blacktop. Laughs filled the air, and cries of, "Gotcha!" echoed alarmingly.

Marie-Claire had her hands shoved in her thick jacket. Her hair was down, covering her shoulders, sparkling with the light snowfall. She sat on a bench near the slide, looking around, watching the sky grow darker as it became later in the evening. Her breath billowed in clouds in front of her face, and the girl shivered in the cold.

Shadow activity had been little of late, and that concerned Marie. She had come to the school with her hammer, prepared for anything that might happen. The girl figured the shadows liked seeing a ready fight, and had chosen to take that route.

Leaning on the wall just outside the school was Nick with the hood of his jacket over his head and face. This tended to be his hang out spot since these kids never bothered him and the living ones seemed to hate him. His trident sat next to him as he glanced up at Marie. "What are you here for?" He asked her.

Marie nearly jumped when Nick spoke; she hadn't seen him in her distant state. When he asked that question, she shrugged.
"I'm tired of sitting around doing nothing," she told him, playing with the handle of her hammer. "All of the shadows just seem really quiet to me."

Nick stood there quietly for a moment as he reflected on the past few days. "You're right. It has been rather odd." He then grabbed his scythe. "Last time I saw a shadow was a few days ago. Which is very strange for this school. They are usually all over the place."

"I hope they're not planning something big," Marie murmured, more to herself than Nick. She got to her feet, shivering at the cold. Her hammer was gripped tightly in her right hand. "Perhaps we should go looking for some? I've been getting antsy, waiting for something to happen."

He pushed himself off the wall and walked towards her. "Sounds good enough if you're up for it.," he replied as he twirled his trident in his hand. "But you cant just up and leave me if things get bad. If we are going to do this, we are going to do it together."

Marie hesitated a moment, though she wasn't sure why. Finally, she nodded, holding out her hand to shake.
"Together," she agreed. "No matter what shadows we find."

Nick stopped twirling his weapon as soon as Marie extended her hand. He stared at her for a moment before grabbing her open hand with his. "Good. I'm Nick by the way. You are?"

"Marie-Claire," she answered. "But you can just call me Marie. Now, where should we start?"

Nick looked around. "Probably inside the school. I mean, deep inside the school. If shadows aren't already crawling out of windows then they must be hiding somewhere inside." He then walked up to the door cautiously before opening it up and glancing in. "Nothing," He grumbled. "Yeah. Farther inside."

Marie approached, peeking around him at the interior of the school.
"Then further inside we go," she said, gesturing for Nick to go first.

He nodded at her before carefully entering the school. He may know how to fight pretty well but an ambush can't be stopped easily. The hallway was a complete mess. Papers, binders, and other school supplies were scattered all across the floor along with blood stains and horrific scenes. It was blatantly obvious the shadows had been there but at that moment there was no sign of any of them.

As Marie entered, she shuddered at the site. She felt a pang in her heart for the kids who had suffered; they were so young, with so much left of life. The girl attempted to keep her breathing at a normal pace as she followed Nick.

As they continued down the first hallway, Nick seemed unfazed by any of the sights or smells for he had already come to be so used to them. Soon, he turned into one of the classroom that was only destroyed. A few bloody footprints led in through the door but otherwise the room was clear of any gore. "This is interesting..."

Marie stood on tip-toe to see, and felt a chill run down her spine. The room seemed perfectly fine, something unnatural for the school.
"What's up with this room..?" she asked quietly, gripping her weapon tightly.

He studied the room carefully making sure there weren't any shadows behind over-turned desks or something. He took a small step inside the room to get a better look at the floor. Still, everything was quiet. "I don't know. Maybe the kids that were in here were at recess or something?"

She stepped into the doorway behind him, craning her neck to view everything. Marie shrugged, not entirely sure.
"It's possible," she said, "but what are these footprints from?"

He shrugged and followed the footprints until they turned behind a group of desks that had been turned onto their side to look like some kind of wall. Sitting behind them in a puddle of dried blood was an older man that was covered in deep gashes. He looked like he might have been a teacher from they way he dressed but what surprised Nick the most was how good of shape he was in compared to everyone else that was lying dead in the building. "Something definitely isn't right here."

Peering over Nick's shoulder, Marie-Claire gulped, regripping her hammer.
"Just stay alert," she murmured.