Dark Inside by Jeyn Roberts

metal object, turning it over in his hands before testing the light on the ground between them. “Thanks, but we’d still better stick to the shadows.”
    Easy enough directions.
    The school was dark. She’d never seen it without any lights before. The building rose before them, three stories of eerie silence. She could smell the freshly cut grass; earlier that day she’d seen the gardener riding the mower.
    It remained miraculously intact—a bit surprising considering the store beside it was a pile of rubble and the road looked like a construction crew had taken several jackhammers to it. There were five cars in the parking lot, all of them with shattered windows. Whoever owned them wouldn’t be driving away anytime soon.
    “Why didn’t it get destroyed?” she wondered out loud.
    “Is it new?” Daniel’s voice was calmer than before. Even the tenseness in his shoulders had eased up a bit.
    “The school? Yeah, about ten years, I think.”
    “Earthquake regulations. It’s probably reinforced.”
    “Still. It’s creepy.”
    “But it’ll keep you safe. Come on.”
    They crossed the lawn and headed over to the side where Aries knew the entrance would be unlocked. Just around the corner were the doors that led to the theater. They were supposed to be having rehearsals. There was a good chance that some of her friends would be there. Right about now she could use a familiar face.
    As they moved closer she could see that some of the windows were shattered. Bits of grass lay in the flower beds below. Still, there was very little damage considering the quake was so massive.
    “Maybe we’ll find Colin,” she said. “I wouldn’t be surprised if the coward came here. I hope he did. I really want to have a word with him.”
    “You’d be better off if it’s empty,” Daniel said. “Groups are bad. People do stupid things when they’re together.”
    “But you’re here,” she said.
    “Not for long.”
    She paused, her hand on the door. “What do you mean? Are you taking off?”
    “You’ll be safer without me.”
    Her stomach lurched and ice shot up along her spine. The thought of being alone in the school was enough to bring tears to her eyes. She didn’t want to be on her own. She’d freak out. She grabbed hold of his arm, holding on tightly.
    “You can’t leave me. I need you.”
    She peered into his eyes, but it was impossible to read his expression in the darkness. Did he really think his being there was going to be dangerous? She couldn’t imagine why hebelieved this. People worked better in pairs, didn’t they? Two sets of eyes were better than one. She thought of being alone in the school, in the darkness where anyone would be able to effortlessly sneak up on her. The same panic she’d felt outside the grocery store coated her body, forcing her to shudder involuntarily.
    “Please don’t leave me,” she finally said.
    “Fine,” he said.
    “Promise?”
    “Sure.”
    The school was dark and the silence was heavy in the air. Up ahead she could see that the emergency lights were on in the hallways, so at least there would be a small amount of light. It would help; at least they wouldn’t be groping at the walls blindly to try and find the theater.
    “It’s so quiet,” she said.
    “That’s a good sign,” Daniel said.
    “We should check the theater first,” she said. “There might be people there.”
    “Where is it?”
    “Just down the hall on the right. Follow me.”
    As they walked, Aries continued to talk. She’d never experienced the school so quiet before, and it creeped her out. At least by talking she could almost block out the eerie silence that was louder than any of the words that escaped her lips.
    “Maybe Ms. Darcy will be there,” she said. “She’s really cool for a teacher. I get good marks in her class. She’s the one who’s directing
Alice in Wonderland
. Colin was against it, but that’s only because there’s no male lead. He always wants to be the center