"I'm sorry, I thought I told you." Will chuckled as he held his hand out as if presenting a gift to a new winner. "This was once used as the Elementary School for the town. Well that was until they build the newer one nearer to town, that is. From what I read about it, a old man built it on his property to help cut down his taxes." The three looked at Will with an odd look, expecting more, Josh started to say something, but was cut off by Will. "But others say that the real reason he did it was so that he could hide the bodies of his his wife, 2 daughters and son that he accidentally killed when he was drinking one night. Before anyone was able to find out if that theory was true, he'd disappeared without a trace, leaving his land and the surrounding buildings to the city."
Seeing that Emily seemed to be shook up about the story, Josh spoke up. "There's no way that could be true." Thinking about it for a moment, he looked at where they'd come from. "I mean, for the town to go to the school, they would have to travel several miles."
"It's not like they have to do that now." Jenn sarcastically retorted back as she rolled her eyes and causing the others to chuckle. "How about we head inside to check it out and see if its true." Pulling out her phone, she got the camera function ready to go.
Looking back at the building, Emily soon found her smile fading as she saw a figure darting away from one of the windows. "Did you guys see that?" She asked while pointing at the window on the 2nd floor. "Somebody is up there and walked past the window." Quickly making her way over to Will she grabbed his arm in an attempt to feel safe.
"I doubt there's somebody up there." Josh sighed as he motioned to the front door. "The doors look to be locked and if it was something, I think it was an animal or something." He tried to brush it off as nothing.
Feeling a little mad at being brushed off like she was, Emily scowled at him. "I doubt an animal would be able to be seen from the window like that."
Knowing that the light wasn't going to last for too much longer, Will started to hand out the headlamps that he'd picked up for the trip. "Enough arguing." He told them. "Lets get this done so that we can go get something to eat."
Hearing this causing Josh's stomach to rumble. "Oh, we can try out that new shawarma place on East 3rd St." Everyone seemed to agree to this and made their way up to the door to check to see if there was a way inside. Pulling on the door, they noticed that it wasn't moving too much. "Looks like its locked." Josh declared as he stood back to get a better idea of how to get inside. Turning to the group, he shrugged his shoulders. "Lets try some of the windows." He suggested as he pointed over at Jenn. Jenn and I will try the right side, while Will and Em try the left side." Pointing to the carious sides as he spoke, the group thought this seemed to be a decent idea and nodded their heads in agreement.
As Emily and Will started their search for a way inside, she turned to her boyfriend. "Do you think that story is true?" She asked, hoping for a happy ending for everyone.
Rattling some of the windows to check to see if they're unlocked, Will shrugged his shoulders. "I don't really know. I mean, I read that Mr. Whitmore did get himself admitted to the Mental hospital in the last years of his life. In the end, he had no heirs and the state ended up taking over everything since they couldn't anyone to give it to." He explained while checking another window.
Standing back and watching Will work, Emily couldn't help but ask. "And what about the family that you were talking about." Will stopped what he was doing and thought about what to say.
"Well, from what I read about it, the family did end up disappearing without a trace back in the 40s. I don't know about it too much, but from what I read from old newspapers. Mr. Whitmore woke up one Saturday morning to find them missing without a trace. The kids and his wife's side of the bed looked as if they were slept in, but not a sign from anyone. And to top it off, the doors were locked from the inside." He checked another window only to fin that it was locked too. "It was almost as if they disappeared without a trace." Seeing that he was starting to freak her out a little, Will decided to change the subject. "Umm... How about we go see how the others are doing, hmm?"
Emily nodded her head and they headed back to the front door. "Any luck?" Jenn asked while wiping her hands on her jeans. Together, Will and Emily shook their heads in defeat. "Us either. Unless somebody has an idea of how to get inside, we might need to call it a day."
Taking another look at the door, Emily thought for a moment. 'The hinges are on the inside, I wonder...' She thought to herself as she grabbed the door handle and while turning it in her hand, she pushed the door open. Looking back over at her friends, who were still looking down at the windows, Emily couldn't help but feel proud of herself. "Umm... Guys. I got it open." She proclaimed while placing her hands on her hips. The three others turned to look at the front door that was now cracked open. "I noticed that the hinges were on the inside of the door and thought we should try pushing it open."
The faces of the three others soon had smiles on their faces as they made their way up the steps. "Great job Em." Jenn told her as she started to push the door open. As the door swung open, the light shown into the dark space. The floors were caked with dust and showed that nothing had disturbed the floor in several years, if not decades.
As they walked inside the decrepit building, Jenn quickly turned her head down the hallway towards the left. "What is it?" Josh asked following her gaze down the empty hallway.
"I thought I heard something but its probably nothing." She replied, but waved her hand to bush is off. "Did you want to split up in groups and explore?" Jenn asked, trying to change the subject.
"Yeah, lets split up as couples and meet back here in 30 minute?" Will suggested as he wrapped his arm around Emily.
"Sounds good to me." Josh replied as he turned to Jenn. "So where did you want to explore first?"
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