Closed for Repair

When Daniel and I first noticed the bathrooms at our school were “closed for repair”, we thought nothing of it. Students usually like to mess everything up in there and leave a giant shit hole for the custodians to clean up after them. Maybe this time it got really bad, I don't know. After about a week or so, we began to get a bit annoyed. Did it really take that long to clean something up? I never would have expected something like clean up a few stains here and there would take longer than a few days, let alone more than a week. It was strange, certainly, that a repair job would last longer than a week. Little did I know what was actually going on. Still, there had to be something up. Why would something take so long to repair?

An entire month goes by and that damn restroom is still under repair. What happened in there? What could have possibly gone wrong to the point where it's been abandoned for over a month? The custodians have completely lost faith in fixing that restroom. I don't think a plumbing problem could have possibly been that bad. Daniel and I started to get curious. We started asking around. Everyone told us the same thing, that “the plumbing went down and it's been taking a while to fix”, or “The pipes broke off and we still have to get into the sinks to fix it”. There's no way a broken pipe would close the restroom for an upwards of a month. We accepted it for the moment, though, and waited for the bathrooms to open up again, this was certainly starting to get interesting. Why would the administrations close down a restroom for such a long time and proceed to say it's a plumbing problem? Is there something that the school is hiding?

Month number two. Men in black suits have been rolling around and collecting information about our school, progressively getting more and more frequent as time progresses. Numerous times have they come to us about classified information that we are as curious about as they are. There is definitely something going on that we don't know about. We've been told to sign something, I've been reluctant and Daniel took a quick glance at the contract, and tried to slowly slip away. This must mean there is something wrong... Really wrong. I looked at the contract and something seems quite off about it. The contract takes two to three lines to explain to me why I should close my face and move on with my life, not investigating the closed restroom. I have no other choice but to sign the contract and I continue my day. I'm determined to find out what is in that restroom now.

Black Lincoln Navigators are up and down my neighborhood, where there once were regular every day town cars. The entire school has been closed down and our school has been temporarily moved to another “school” on the other side of town. Inconvenient, yes, but the government has to do what they have to do to hide the truth. Apparently too many people, Daniel and me included, have been asking about the closed restroom. Only, it's not just closed for repair, there is something going on inside of it that is truly worrying me. One day, at my “new” school, I went into the makeshift front office and was about to ask about my new schedule, but before I had the chance to utter a word, I saw a police report on the administrator's desk.

“Uhh, excuse me, if I may ask, what is that you have there?”

“There was a fight earlier and there have been some complications.” A fight? How severe was the fight? What, did somebody pull a knife or something? I don't ever recall a fight requiring a police report. The administrator at the front desk quickly put the report into a drawer and clumsily shuffled around with some other useless papers. I wanted to start a conversation, but the administrator recognized me and angrily pointed me out of the front office. I obliged but as I left the “office”, I was pushed around by some people larger than me. Before the harassment got anywhere, the bullies were stopped by a tall, bald, slender man with a suit on and Daniel next to him. I immediately knew this was bad. He gestures towards me and Daniel and I follow him into the black SUV parked outside. The smoked out windows roll up and we can't see a thing.

“You two have caused a lot of trouble recently,” are the only words out of his mouth. Daniel and I look at each other with fear of the worst, and prepared ourselves for what we were getting into. We soon arrived in the middle of nowhere and we were interrogated about the bathroom and what we know about it. We told them our honest to God thoughts and that we knew nothing about that bathroom, and that it's been closed for two and a half months and we know nothing about it. Eventually, after a good four hours of nothing but disagreement, the men in black let us go and drive us back to the makeshift school. Daniel and I promptly headed home, as it was after school hours. That night though, we got to a private messaging service and were messaging each other about that bathroom.

“Do we have a way of getting into the old bathroom?” I ask.

“I don't know, man. I mean, I might have something that will pick a lock but I don't think it'll do the trick. Not only that, but what if the entire school is boarded up, how will we get inside?”

“Good question. I'm not sure how we're going to do this. Here, I'm going to scope out the school to make sure it hasn't been completely quarantined. We'll see what we can do from there.” I put my clothes on, and I make sure that I stay in bushes, and move when I'm not seen. I've gotten past the initial wave of black SUV's and sedans, now I just need to stay in the darkness until I get to the school. After about an hour of slow moving, I finally get to the  dimly lit school. I turn on my flashlight to a low setting and point my way around. There is an opening in the back of the school that we can get into. I note this by writing this down on a small piece of scratch paper, and make my way back. I finally get back to my house without much trouble and I get back on the messaging service.

“Daniel, are you still on?”

“Yeah, I'm here. Why? Did you find a way in?”

“There is a way in through the back, behind all the boards where doors should be. We would have to be extra careful, though, we don't know what's behind those doors.”

“Okay, I'll tell you right now that I don't have anything to pick a lock, but a good friend of mine is a lock smith, and he says he'll be free in a few days. Think we can get him with us?”

“Sounds good, just make sure he doesn't try to go telling anyone what we're planning. If he tells even one person, we're screwed. And there's nothing we would be able to do about it.”

“Alright. I'll make sure to keep my eye on him.” I lay in bed shortly thereafter and try to sleep. I'm seeing things in the corner of my eyes. I feel like something is watching me through the window. I quickly move up and close the blinds, but I can't shake the feeling I'm being watched. I'm getting chills, I feel like something is whispering in my ear. Maybe I'm just going insane, maybe I'm just sleepy. I can't get the old location off of my head. What is in the bathroom that has caused all of this to go down? I can only think to go to sleep, and maybe I'll feel a bit better in the morning.

Something is definitely watching me. I don't know if I'm sleeping or not, but I'm trying to get out of my old school, and I just want to be somewhere safe. I want, no, need to be in a place where I can just recollect and get my shit together. No matter where I run, no matter where I hide, something is after me. I don't know but I feel like I've really messed up now knowing what I've done to deserve everything that has happened to me. My hair is standing up, my eyes are tearing up and I can't do anything about it. I'm so terrified. I don't know where to go, I'm being watched not just by the suspicious people wearing sunglasses all the time, but by something else. I can't describe it, but I just know it's there. Whatever it is, I can't erase it from my memory. I really want to, but no matter how hard I try, it's just there. I try to think about hobbies that I had before all this shit went down, like motor sports, or marching band, but no matter what whatever is watching me is lingering over me and everything that I do. I don't know what to do anymore. I don't even want to know the truth anymore, I just want to retreat back to where it's safe, where I won't know any immediate danger. But I know I can't do that, I'm in way too far now. I have to keep moving on with what I'm doing.

The next morning comes. Thank God that whatever happened to me was just a dream. Whatever I felt last night still lingers on though, I constantly feel something watching over me, and not in the good way. I feel like something is still watching me and everything I do, and I have no privacy. Another day passes and nothing changes. All day was Hell for me, nothing but stuff in the corner of my eyes and this overpowering feeling of being watched. I just want to revert back to my normal self. Another night passes and I have another nightmare to deal with. Fortunately, the next day is a Saturday, and I don't have to worry about “school”. I meet up with Daniel and we head over to meet this new guy, Mike, and we start heading to the old location. As we move to the actual school, I can catch a glimpse of something in my eyes.

“Do you guys see that?” I ask.

“See what? I don't see anything.”

“Yeah, dude, I think you're just freaking out,” Daniel nervously laughs, “I think you're gonna need a few days to get your head back on straight after all this is over.”

“That didn't help much, Daniel. I'm being serious here. All throughout last night and this morning have been nothing but hallucinations and shit. I seriously just want this to be over.” We arrive to the old location and we sneak in through the back of the school. It's certainly strange to see cobwebs on an area that was just populated about a week ago. We locate the old “closed for repair” sign and take a good look at the door. Daniel and I are incredibly hesitant as to what's behind the door.

“Are you sure we should do this? I mean, we had the government intervene, I don't think it's good to be going into this door. If men in black have to start appearing out of the blue, something bad really has to have happened here.”

“I'm sure whatever happened, we'll be fine.” Daniel's now trying to comfort me. Mike gets his tools and starts working at the door. Daniel and I collectively gulp in unison and watch from a distance. This is it. What has been terrifying me for the longest time is now about to be revealed to me. The single thing that has been giving me nightmares is about to come face to face with me. Surely it can't be as terrifying as that... thing that has been standing over me for God knows how long. Mike finally busts the door open after a good three months and steps inside. He shortly comes out pale as a ghost. He only has a few words to say before he leaves and is never to be seen again.

“Leave. Run. I don't care what you do, just get out of here, because what's in there is just...” Daniel and I carefully open the door and creep past it. I slowly peek around the corner, into the bathroom. Daniel is a man of few words, but when he uttered those what he did, something was truly terrible.

“Oh my God... Oh my God!” That thing has been watching me. Every. Day. With it's small, beady eyes, and I have never known. It just doesn't look... Human. Before everything goes black, I note “THE END IS NE” sprawled in red on the ceiling. It will be the last thing I ever note in a long time.

When I finally come to, I'm laying in my bed, with Daniel beside me. I look up and he's sitting over me, assuring that everything is okay. Every word out of Daniel's mouth makes my head hurt even more. I constantly see the words “The end is ne” everywhere, that thing is in the corner of my eyes, everywhere I turn, Everywhere I look. It's just... Everywhere... I could try to sleep it off. I wake up again, and everything is slightly less terrible. I've learned that the new location will become permanent, and that the old location will be permanently quarantined with top-notch equipment. I can slowly begin to live normally again, but I doubt that I'll stop having nightmares.