Chapter 1 - The Blackout
The absolute darkness swallowed the classroom in a fraction of a second.
A chorus of terrified screams erupted from the children as the heavy metal door clicked loudly, locking them inside.
David immediately dropped to his knees and pulled his five-year-old daughter, Lily, tightly against his chest.
He used his broad shoulders to shield her from the unseen chaos unfolding around them.
The sudden power outage felt far too deliberate to be a simple grid failure.
Faint red emergency lights flickered to life along the ceiling, casting a bloody glow over the terrified students.
David’s military instincts kicked into high gear as his eyes quickly adjusted to the dim crimson light.
He scanned the room and instantly noticed something completely wrong.
The teacher who had been holding Lily just moments ago was entirely gone.
There was no sound of a struggle, no opened windows, and no trace of her existence.
David slowly stood up, keeping Lily safely tucked behind his leg.
His piercing gaze cut through the shadows and landed on the back row of desks.
Julian, the boy who had been sitting calmly before the blackout, was still in the exact same chair.
The boy did not look scared, and his breathing was perfectly steady.
In his hands, Julian was casually flipping a heavy set of keys.
They were the master keys to the school, the same ones the missing teacher always kept on her lanyard.
David took a slow, heavy step toward the boy, his fists clenching at his sides.
He demanded to know exactly what the boy knew about the teacher's disappearance.
Julian stopped flipping the keys and looked directly into David's eyes with a chilling calmness.
He pointed a small finger down at Lily's tiny pink backpack resting on the floor.
Julian whispered that the real problem was whatever Lily had brought into the school.
David knelt down and unzipped his daughter's bag with trembling hands.
May you like
Inside the front pocket, nestled between crayons and a juice box, was a heavy black digital timer.
The glowing red numbers were rapidly counting down from exactly three minutes.
