🖤 The Professor and the Student - Part 3

Where did she go?

Read Part 1 of this story first (if you haven’t)…

Photo by Chad Stembridge on Unsplash

He woke the next morning to bright sunlight streaming through the dusty bedroom window. Getting up and peering outside, he saw the storm clouds had cleared, leaving behind a brilliant blue sky. The sparkling snow all around the building almost blinded him with its reflected intensity.

After dressing and draping his coat over one arm, he walked down the hall to the staircase. No one appeared to be around.

He descended to the first floor and explored the classrooms, which were filled with warm sunlight beaming through windows. But they were all empty. What the hell was going on?

He shouted, "Hey! Is anyone there?" His voice echoed down the dark hallway as he waited for a response that never came. It was so strangely quiet.

He continued searching until he reached the library again. But it was empty, too. The fireplace was cold, with a bed of gray ashes. The stack of books on the table looked untouched.

Walking back to the main entrance, he pulled on his coat to step outside. He waded through the deep snow, peering into the dark windows of the other buildings. Pulling on various door handles, he found everything locked. Where were they? Where did everyone go?

As he stood there and slowly turned to face each building, a four-wheel-drive police vehicle churned through the thick drifts in the main driveway and crawled to a stop nearby. A sheriff got out and started walking toward him.

“Well! I'm glad to see you’re okay! I found a car off the road a mile back, but no one was in it. So, I thought maybe the driver had found his way to some shelter. Looks like you did!”

The professor blinked and stared at him for a second before stammering a response. “Y-yes. Thank you. I’ve been safe here. But, it’s so strange! When I woke up today, everyone was missing. I’ve looked everywhere, but I can’t find the dean or any of the students!”

The sheriff frowned at him. “What are you talking about? There shouldn’t be anyone else here.”

The professor's brow wrinkled with confusion. “Huh? What do you mean? Of course there are other people here! They’ve been here the entire time! I met them when I found my way here yesterday. I even taught a class to some students! I’m telling you, this building was full, but now I can’t find them. Any of them!”

The sheriff narrowed his eyes and scanned him from head to toe. “I think we need to get you to a hospital. I’m pretty sure you got a concussion when your car slid off the road. This college has been abandoned for years. There have been no faculty or students here in a very long time. Not since…” He stopped and looked away at the buildings.

“Since what?”

The sheriff took a deep breath and looked back at him. “Since the killings. You never heard about that? Dozens of people died. It happened during a blizzard just like this one. We never figured out who did it. But that was it for the school. They closed down, and it’s been empty ever since.”

William stared at him, breathing quietly for a few minutes with his breath pluming into the freezing air. He turned back toward the building behind him, staring and hoping for some sign that he wasn’t losing his mind. Then, his shoulders slumped with resignation. He turned back to the sheriff with a confused expression on his face.

“Well, I’m telling you they were here! I talked with them. We spent time together. She… she was real! We… we…” His words fumbled to a halt, and he stopped speaking.

“You what? Who in the hell are you talking about?”

William closed his eyes and let a slow, steaming breath out. “You have to believe me. Come with me. Help me find them!”

The sheriff’s face hardened. “You’re being ridiculous. There’s no one here. Trust me. Let’s go.” He turned back to the vehicle.

“Wait, please! Won’t you at least take a look inside? What if I’m right? Maybe they aren’t supposed to be here, but they are. Please, just look inside with me!”

The sheriff hesitated, then twisted back toward him. “Fine, Mr.… whoever you are. If we take a look for a few minutes, will you leave with me after that? I’m getting tired of this game.”

“It’s no game, I swear.” William walked toward the building, then turned back to the man. “Umm… quick question. You wouldn’t happen to have anything to eat, would you? I’m starving. I can’t remember the last time I had something to eat.”

Rolling his eyes, the sheriff returned to his vehicle, rummaged around in the front seat, and came back. He handed William a granola bar. “Here. You can have this. It’s all I have.”

Grateful, the professor tore open the wrapper and devoured the bar as they walked back to the entrance. Stuffing the wrapper into his pocket, he reached for the door handle.

The sheriff blocked him with his hand. “Wait. Let me go first, just in case. This door should be locked, anyway.”

He turned the handle and pushed. The large door swung back into the building. “Well, shit. At least you weren’t lying about this. I don’t understand. This place should be locked up. Looks like someone has been tampering with things. Get behind me.”

They entered the dim hallway and started exploring the rooms. It was the same as before. Completely silent. No one around. The only sounds in the building were their echoing footsteps and breathing.

They continued down the long hallway until they reached the library. The sheriff slid a flashlight from his belt and bounced the beam off the wooden bookshelves and into the dim corners of the large room. Nothing. Making their way over to the fireplace, he glanced inside.

“Did you make a fire in here last night?”

“I didn’t, but someone did. It was already burning when I came into the room.”

The sheriff glanced at him. “Uh-huh. One of the mystery people must have gotten it going, right?”

William’s face clouded. “I’m not crazy. People were here yesterday. Maybe they slipped away this morning and hid when they saw you pulling up. I don’t know, and I don’t know why. But they aren’t a figment of my imagination.”

Sighing, the sheriff turned away and walked back toward the hall. “Fine, let’s look around upstairs and see if there are any signs of squatters. That does happen sometimes back in these woods if people leave their cabins unattended for too long.”

The professor shook his head. “They sure as hell didn’t look like squatters to me. But I agree. Let’s check upstairs. I only looked in a few of the rooms up on the second floor.”

The men made their way to the second floor and checked every room. Then, finding the stairs to the third floor, they explored those rooms as well. This floor was even dustier than the other one. The rooms looked as if they had been undisturbed for a very long time.

“Happy now?”

William clenched his jaw, but nodded. “Yeah. Thank you. I don’t get it. I really don’t. There were students here yesterday. They must have taken off.”

“Fine, let’s go with that story. But now it’s time to go. Agreed?” The sheriff didn’t wait for his answer as he walked down the stairs to make his way back outside.

“I’ll come back later to chain these doors up. This place shouldn’t be open. I don’t know why they don’t just tear it all down. No one will ever come back here again.”

They walked toward the vehicle, and William moved to the passenger side to get in. He slid into the seat, buckled up, and gave the building one last hopeful look. However, only the dark, empty windows met his gaze.

Silently, the abandoned buildings watched as they drove away into the distance and disappeared behind the thick, snow-laden trees. A lone figure in a high window raised a hand to the cold glass, then slowly faded back into the darkness behind her.

THE END

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