ThingsThat Wait InThe Dark

The night was pitch black and only the stars gleamed in the velvet sky. We six kids had hung out together all through the long lazy summer days of our 14th year. We were all best friends who were spending the summer staying in various tents and trailers in a park-like setting on Lake Erie. We crept slowly up the hill not talking much and only occasionally one of us would let out a tinny, nervous giggle. There were four girls and two boys in our group and of course it was a contest to see who was the bravest among us.

A harsh echoing shriek cut through the heavy night. We lept towards each other, hanging on to any available appendages of our fellow travelers that we could reach. We covered our ears and waited to see if more screams would follow. The eyes of us girls were wide with surprise and mixed with just a tad of horror. What could possibly make so much noise? Was someone in mortal danger? Were we going to be witnesses to some horrible crime? One of the boys who stood behind us started laughing. The boys looked at each other grinned and winked. "Awwww it's only an old Screech Owl," chortled Hank, the taller of the two. They slapped each other on the back and tugged at our pony-tails. "Let's go, we don't have all night," encouraged Bill. Boy, did I ever have a crush on Bill. We girls looked at each other and tried to act cool.

"We're not afraid we just worried that someone was in trouble", Joyce said trying to cover for all of us. Tammy popped her Juicy Fruit gum noisily. We held hands and headed slowly forward. Another scream echoed through the darkness and we tried to shut it out and to remember that it was only a poor animal that made lots of noise, but it was a little freaky. We were on our way to the old abandoned school house which stood silently alone in the midst of a grove of trees on a lonely, dusty road near our beach-side trailer park. I shivered a bit, though it wasn't really cold out. It was July and actually quite warm.

What would we find there? There had been rumors circulating through-out the park and the general area about the 'Haunted School'. It had been an exclusive boy's school in the late 1930's, but had sat abandoned and neglected for years and years. The windows gaped open with only shards of glass clinging to the many empty windows that loomed like sad eyes. The red brick which made up the exterior of the school had grown faded and cracked. There were even places where the blocks had given way and tumbled to the ground, amidst all the dried up and overgrown weeds. The school sat back from the dirt road in the shadows, surrounded by various piles of trash and discards from a long ago time.

We kicked up clouds of dust as we neared our destination. None of us said anything, maybe we were all wondering what we would find in the darkness. Hank took the large shiny flashlight that he had carried in the pocket of his baggy shorts. He turned it on and pointed the bright light at the building, sitting sentinel-like in the blackness. It had started out as a dare between all of us. None of us were cowards at least I wasn't. We were big and brave and 14 that summer. Tammy spit out her now flavorless gum in the dirt. Pat the quiet one of us girls, but the prettiest, grabbed onto Bill's arm. I glared at her. She knew that I had a huge crush on Bill. She glanced in my direction and sheepishly dropped her hand and hung back, to walk with the rest of us. Hank led the way with the glow of his light.

I tripped over a tree root and steadied myself in the drive way that was now overgrown and pocked with holes. I squared my shoulders and readied myself for whatever it was we would find inside. All the movies I had ever seen of zombies and monsters filled my thoughts. I trudged on with my friends by my side. All of a sudden a dark, gigantic shadow flew from the tree that loomed over the wide maw of a side door where we stood. Wings rustled and we jumped. Bill smiled and I know he looked just at me when he said, "There is the owl that made that terrible noise." Hank pushed on through the gaping door and into whatever lay beyond. Bill followed and we girls slid into the darkness behind them. I held my breath.

Mounds of rubble covered the cement floor inside. Paper lay all over, along with faded and torn books and an occasional torn, crumpled, sepia colored photograph of a wide-eyed boy. The corner of the huge room held a three-legged desk with two drawers missing. The old, cracked, oak monstrosity, looked as ancient as the outer brick building that we just entered. Hank shown his light around slowly. Our shadows crept up the chipped walls, casting grotesque images around us. Something rustled around the perimeter of the room. A small dark mouse ran by Tammy, and Joyce screamed. Of course the boys laughed. Joyce looked at me and shook her head in embarrasment. I looked at my friends. We walked slowly around, kicking at the rubble with our sneakers. There were two rooms that were connected downstairs and an old room off to the side that must have been some kind of a bathroom. There were mirrors on the wall and some sembulance of a sink against the wall and what appeared to be plumbing for some kind of toilets. An occassional spider scurried up the wall.

I stood off to the side and looked at the crumbling stair-case in the corner, to the far left. What was up there? Joyce, Tammy and Pat stood silently together and watched the boys as they explored. I wondered when we would work up our courage and head up those steps? Bill sat down in front of the desk and opened one of the drawers. It held papers of some kind. Hank handed the flashlight to Bill. Bill pointed the light downward toward the folded, wrinkled papers that now sat on his lap. "These are only old receipts and letters about the school", Bill murmered. No signs of any ghosts or monsters lurked anywhere. He looked disappointed. Joyce and Tammy studied the paperwork. Names and ages of long grown boys were listed in neat rows on the papers. Prices for school supplies, groceries and various other necessities from years gone by were listed, with prices totaled, written in neat old fashined script. Hank grabbed my hand suddenly and motioned for me to follow him.

I followed Hank slowly. He walked to the stairs, looked at me and grinned. I shrugged and nodded, giving my consent. Finally I would know of th mysteries that lie up there. We crept up the stairs hanging tight to the bent and peeling railing, which hung faithfully onto the faded wall. I being the bravest of the girls, was not afraid. I pushed back my shoulders and moved closer to Hank. Hank held onto my hand. He seemed reluctant to let go. Did he know about something that lay in the darkness beyond? Would the others have to rescue us? I mulled over these questions as I noticed for the first time that it wasn't as dark up there as I had originally thought. Moonlight seemed to cast a light of it's own over the old wooden floors. I noticed that Hank's hand seemed to be sweaty, holding mine. The room stood silent and empty. Through another connected doorway there appeared to be some skeleton-like frames of what had once been small, iron beds. The iron was black with age. There were no demons or ghosts here. Just an old shell of a place where some young boys had lived and studied, been lonely and grew up. Those boys were all grown now and probably older than my Grandfather. It was silvery bright up here in the moonlight and actually quite peaceful. Hank suddenly pulled me close and clumsily pressed his lips to mine. Surprised, my lips tingled and I started to pull away. Hank kissed me once more and whispered in my ear.

"You know I really have always liked you.You are not like those other silly girls. You have guts."Hank whispered. He smiled at me and kept hold of my hand. Somewhere in the distance a Nightingale began to sing. I realized that I liked Hank too. Hank was a leader and so was I. I held onto his hand and we moved toward the stairs leading down to the lower floor where our friends waited. The dare that had driven us all to this adventure had been won. We had explored and conquered. I had received something far more valuable than that though. I had received my first kiss. The summer loomed ahead with brilliant promise. That summer there were no ghosts, just the memory of that silver moonlight and my first kiss.