Surrounded by the darkness of the past

Sara doesn't know how much time has passed since they entered the tunnels, but she gets the impression that the moment they are in the main corridor, time stops. Alan covers his nose and stares with dazed eyes at the corpse lying behind the bars. She doesn't have the courage to go there again. Not only does she see paranormal phenomena, but every time before falling asleep she recalls this horrible sight. She doesn't understand why it just happened to her, especially since she's not one of the brave ones.

She gets scared when she hears a noise. Alan turns to Sarah and is as confused as she is. He walks over to her and grabs her hand. She doesn't understand what's going on, but lets him make decisions. She feels safer around him.

They hide behind the wall. The light bulb starts blinking again. It is the same as when Sara woke up in this place. She has goosebumps and clings to Alan's hand out of fear. If it weren't for the danger, then she wouldn't have dared to make this move, but now she thinks of nothing but finding the door to the building and getting out of this horrible underworld.

- I'm sure those people over there died quite recently," Alan whispers, and an anxious shudder runs through Sarah's body. She opens her eyes wider, and she tilts her head when they hear someone's footsteps.

She grasps harder at the boy's hand, feeling the fear overwhelming her.

Someone enters the hallway whistling a cheerful tune, and Alan looks at the girl with concern in his eyes. He discreetly leans out, so she does the same to see the person. The light from the hanging bulb is flickering, so it's difficult to see anything, although she easily recognizes from the silhouette that it's a man. He walks over to the grate where Alan was standing a moment earlier, then opens it. He steps inside, and the blond man turns to Sarah. Furthermore, he puts his finger to his lips, telling her to stay calm. The light goes out, and the stranger curses visibly.

- Damn it! I know you missed me, but you can see for yourself what conditions are like here," he turns to the corpse, pulling it outside. - This damn light bulb keeps burning out, and I can't spend any more time with you.

Sara looks at Alan's face with frightened eyes. Although he is trying to be brave, a part of him is also afraid.

He takes her hand, as if in this way trying to give her encouragement. This makes the girl feel safer.

- We'll get out of here," he says in a whisper, to which she nods in agreement. She trusts him and believes that they will make it safely back to the building. Only now she understands that spending a cold night in the open air was a better option than returning to this place.

Who is the person who handles the corpse? It must be a person who lives in the center, especially since it's after 2 pm, and at this hour the building is closed.

- The psychologist is a bad person, and he couldn't do right by you. How can you not deal with meddlesome brats who stick their noses into things that are not their own? If you guys hadn't snooped too much, the three of you would still be alive. People from Poland don't think at all. You've always been annoying, worthless trash," he announces, and the girl feels panic rising within her.

Were they murdered?

She is afraid when she feels an icy breath on her neck. She tentatively looks over her shoulder and then a young girl with a pale face appears to her, looking into her eyes.

- Now you are in danger," she speaks quietly, so Sara swallows her saliva harder out of fear. With frightened eyes, she stares at her, as her voice gets stuck in her throat. The phantom wants to touch the teenager, and then an unpleasant shudder runs through her body. She feels pain in that place, so a shrill scream comes out of her mouth.

Alan is alarmed when she slides down the wall. He leans out and sees a man walking toward them. He helps Sarah up and drags her behind him, leading her directly into the tunnel.

As they run down the dark corridor, the girl looks over her shoulder and notices that the man is right behind them.

- I'm scared," she panted tearfully, but Alan continues to hold her hand, even though she is growing weaker through fear.

- You can do it, Sara. We'll be out of here in no time.

- Stop! - She hears a sharp tone in the man's voice. - I'll get you anyway, you little bastards! You will not escape from here! You are trapped!

Sara feels all her insides twisting from nerves.

Alan suddenly turns, and they enter a narrow corridor where there is a lot of water. The man stops in place and carefully looks around.

Sara stares at him as his gaze stops just inside the entrance where they are hiding.

Despite the darkness, she can perfectly see the frantic gleam in his eyes, as if he is sure that this is where they are hiding.

The girl looks at Alan as he puts his finger to his lips, telling her to stay calm. She listens to him and takes a deep breath, trying to calm the panic rising in her.

Alan knows what he's doing, and she trusts him.

From the other end of the corridor, a noise echoes, as if someone threw a heavy object. The man stops and looks in that direction.

Running.

Sara breathes a sigh of relief, and Alan sticks his head out and looks around to see if it's safe. With a motion of his hand, he orders her to join him, so the teenager comes out of hiding.

She looks in the direction where the man ran and freezes when she spots three figures. The girl who earlier touched her shoulder now nods as if confirming that they are safe.

Alan embraces Sarah's hand. They run to the main corridor, but this time the boy turns to another tunnel. They hide behind a thick pipe that is placed along the corridor. Furthermore, they need to rest.

- It was a bad idea. I'm sorry I brought you here," she says quietly, but the blond immediately denies it, shaking his head.

- If we hadn't come here, we wouldn't have known what was happening at the center. There were dead kids lying there, Sara," he answers and looks at her closely when he feels her trembling.

- I'm just cold," she whispers, seeing his caring gaze. The blond man takes off his sweatshirt and hands it to the girl, telling her to put it on, but she denies it.

Alan forcefully pulls her clothes over her head.

She thanks him, feeling the joy spreading from inside her. For a moment, she even forgets about the danger.

On the one hand, she is happy that she has somehow gotten closer to him, and no longer feels so intimidated in his presence. On the other hand, she is panicky about the danger. The man there is still after them and is not going to let go. Not after what they saw.

- I think we know the man who is chasing us," Alan speaks up, and she cools in stillness. She watches him while the boy leans his head against the wall. - This is our teacher. The one who hit me," he adds, making the teenager feel as if someone has twisted all her insides again. - I could be wrong, but for a split second, I managed to look at his face.

A shudder runs through the girl's body again. She feels pain in her shoulder. Exactly in the place where the ghost touched her. She feels as if her skin is burning from the inside. She tentatively slides her hand under her clothes to touch her body. Furthermore, she massages her arm and panics when she feels a small scar. She guesses that it is some kind of shape.

- We should move on. We have to get out of here before this psychopath gets us," Alan speaks up after a long silence. They pick themselves up from the wet floor and move on. They reach another passage, but the corridor doesn't look the same as the previous one. There are bars on both sides, and behind them are small rooms with chains and thick ropes.

With horror in her eyes, she looks at Alan, who also looks shocked by the sight. Sara approaches one of the bars when her attention is caught by something bright in the corner. She jerks open the door, which opens easily. In the corner of the room is a faded photograph. She looks over her shoulder, but Alan is not around. Sara hesitantly bends down to pick it up, glancing at the man in the photo. In the first moment, she gets a real shock. The blood drains from her face. With wide-open eyes, she looks at the uniform-clad General.

- Sara, there is a door! I found the exit. - She hears Alan's voice and quickly hides the photograph in her sweatshirt pocket. She hurriedly leaves and runs up to the boy, who points to the metal door. A slight smile appears on the blond boy's face. They go up the stairs and Alan opens the brass door, through which they get to the basement.

*

Laura is unable to fall asleep. She rolls from one side to the other, still thinking about her roommate. For the first time in her life she feels so wicked. She can't stop thinking about where she went.

The girl rises from the bed and puts on her slippers on her feet. Scrubbing them against the floor surface, she walks to the door and goes out into the hallway. She looks around, but Sarah is nowhere to be found.

She heads down the stairs, hoping to run into a roommate somewhere to lead her to her room. Furthermore, she guesses that otherwise she won't fall asleep. This is the first roommate she feels sorry for, all because she's shy.

Laura stops when she hears a noise. She pokes her head out from behind the wall, spotting Matthew and Oliver carrying food out of the cafeteria. They do it so loudly and clumsily that it's a matter of time until someone catches them.

Matthew hands his roommate the sodas, and he packs them in his backpack. Laura cackles, which momentarily perturbs them. They look at the girl with frightened eyes, and she crosses her arms over her chest, smiling cocky.

- Where has your bravery gone? - she asks in an amused voice, at which Oliver squints. He measures her with an angry glance, stopping his gaze at her uncovered legs and short shirt.

Laura shifts her gaze to him, lifting the corners of her mouth upward.

- Mr. Popular and his mischievous roommate. What an interesting duo sneaking drinks from the cafeteria," she says, raising an eyebrow.

Matthew throws her a Pepsi, which she catches on the fly. She immediately opens it, which results in an explosion of the drink. Laura, however, doesn't care and takes a sip.

Matthew blinks his eyelids, looking at the shirt, which at times shines through.

Oliver looks at it with distaste.

- She splashed around like a pig and thinks she's sexy. Those tricks don't work on us," he burbles under his breath, immediately screening her intentions. He knows that Laura has long had a hankering for his friend. You can see it with the naked eye.

Out of the corner of his eye, he glances at Matthew, who is scowling at the girl's body with hungry eyes. Just a moment ago he couldn't look at her, and now he looks as if he wants to swallow her whole.

Oliver pokes his roommate, who returns to his sanity within a short while.

- After all, I will not turn you in, come on. I am not an informer. Colleagues need to be protected," she says, lifting the can up. - By the way, have you seen Sara somewhere? She has not returned for the night, and I'm worried about her.

- After the way you treated her, for sure," growls Matthew. Oliver closes the backpack containing the drinks, glancing sometimes at Laura, whom he does not trust. He senses that she won't let them off so easily after what she saw. From the beginning, he thinks she's a witch, especially since all the girls at the center are afraid of her.

- Only the broom is missing from her kit," mutters Oliver. Suddenly, he lifts his gaze and stiffens when he spots Sarah. She and Alan run out of the basement, wet and terrified by what has happened to them.

Laura approaches her roommate, asking her what happened.

- We are not safe here," Alan speaks up, surreptitiously glancing at Sarah. - We just miraculously avoided death," he claims, but seeing the puzzled looks of all three, he adds seriously. - And we are not joking. We are not laughing at all, so keep it to yourselves. We can't trust anyone.

A silly smile appears on Laura's face. She looks over her shoulder and glances at Matthew and Oliver, who also don't seem to believe it.

- Someone wanted to kill you? - Alan pierces them with his eyes.

- Not someone, but our teacher," he replies without hesitation, and the brown-haired woman looks at him with astonishment in her eyes, because she confessed the truth to them too easily. - You are friends with Sarah, so you may know about this. There is something bad going on here, and we found the corpses of the kids in the basement," he adds more quietly.

Sara gets the impression that all of Laura's courage has evaporated in just a brief moment, so she turned pale on her face.

She looks at her roommate as if to confirm Alan's words.

- You have to believe us. No one can find out about this, because we will be in danger," whispers Sara. - After all, something bad happened to Julia too, right?

Matthew blinks his eyelids and opens his mouth as if he wants to say something, but just then the director's loud voice rings out:

- May I know what is going on here?