Still Water

"Come on, man," said Kevin, "I don't think you should be doing that..."

Daniel levered the crowbar between the bar of the pad-lock holding the rusted door closed. With a resounding snap, the lock gave way and thudded onto the dusty concrete floor.

"Have a little backbone, guys!" He chided. "It's not like we're supposed to be down here anyway."

George scratched his arm as he held the flashlight in place for Daniel. "Nah, man, he's right. The lock had nowhere near as much rust on it as the door. Think of how long it took you to pry the damn thing off!"

Kevin looked to George with an added bit of dismay. George could hear his heart pounding in the silence of the otherwise abandoned complex. Neither of the two were entirely convinced that they had the run of the place to themselves. Neither of them, however, had a chance to object before Daniel leaned back and jammed the sole of his boot into the rusted door, sending its last remaining chips of paint spiraling into the damp dark around them.

As soon as Kevin realized what happened, he shot the beam of his flashlight just past Daniel and screamed, "Fucking Christ!"

George adjusted his own flashlight to better illuminate the section of wall opposite the now open door and immediately regretted his decision. There in the corner of the wall, someone had spray painted a rather ghastly image of a shadowy figure with the text 'Beware the Boogeyman'.

Kevin's face grew ashen white. "We got to get out of here."

Daniel, nonetheless perturbed, began walking through the doorway. "Hold yourself together, guys. We got this far!"

George scratched his arm even harder through his sleeve as he grit his teeth. "I don't know, man. This ain't right. Are you sure no one is down here?"

Daniel dropped his shoulders with a grunting sigh as he spun back around on his heels. "Look, guys, I know we've all run ourselves ragged over the scholarship announcement, but we still got a couple weeks before they decide anything. We're all in the top running! I think three smart guys can handle ourselves down here. Besides, I know how much we've been talking about blowing off steam doing some of our own ghost-hunting and urbex and shit, right?"

George shook his head and gestured to the grafitti with his chin. "If this place is haunted, then some guy has got a wicked sense of humor."

Kevin traded his gaze between the two, positively shaking in his boots. "We're going to get in trouble or something, I just know it."

Daniel rolled his eyes with a grunt. "It's damn-near midnight on a Monday. Who do you think is going to be roaming around some random creepy ass basement of an abandoned office complex at this hour, huh? Besides..."

Daniel reached for a nearby light switch and flicked it multiple times. Nothing happened. "See? Not even any power! Nobody cares about this place."

Kevin stammered, "I- I don't like it. I think we should leave."

Daniel grew visibly impatient underneath his suave demeanor. "Georgie! Come on, dude! I know you're the sensible one, George. Ain't no security guards, boogeymen, or nothing; we got the place to ourselves!"

George took his hand away from his arm and flexed his fingers into and out of a fist. "I don't know, man..."

"Look," Daniel offered, "if it will make you guys feel better, you guys can take the lead and I'll follow up behind to keep an eye out. I promise you that no one will ever know we were down here."

Kevin looked to George and he to Daniel.

"Alright," George said, "but at the first sign of trouble we're all leaving."

Daniel smiled toothily. "Deal."

Daniel stepped aside for the other two to walk ahead of him. George took the lead despite sweating profusely at the thought, and Kevin took up the middle. Daniel, as promised, kept up the rear.

The group wound itself through a series of pitch black corridors and down a flight of concrete stairs. George tried to make a show of bravery as Daniel loudly gawked at every piece of grafitti, noting how the taggings got more infrequent as they walked on, but each new turn unsettled him. Every time someone in the group stopped speaking -or in Kevin's case, breathing-, the deathly silence swallowed all. The silence was so deep that any time a noise was made, it seemed clearer and sharper. Every drip, every creak, and every scrape sounded like something lingering just out of sight. It came to a point when Kevin nearly jumped out of his boots as he accidentally stepped on some broken glass, sending Daniel into a fit of laughter. George, on the other hand, was growing weary of it all.

"Come on, man, take this seriously!" George said. "These places can be dangerous if you ain't paying attention."

Daniel scoffed. "Oh, don't worry. I'm paying attention, Mr. Top-of-the-Class."

"Dude," George said coldly, "the hell is your problem, huh?"

"No problem here," he said, lifting his hands in a mocking sign of truce, "apparently you guys can't take a joke, humor is lost on you guys. That's why I'm going to get that scholarship and you guys aren't."

Before George could respond, Kevin took a deep breath and put his hand on his chest. "It's ok, George, I'm fine. This place has just got me a little out-of-sorts is all."

George could tell it was a blatant lie, but he did not wish to press the subject. Instead, he sighed deeply as he looked back to Daniel, who responded him with a cocky grin. George then shook his head and said to the other two, "Fine, let's just keep moving."

Onwards they walked, their footsteps softly crunching on the debris strewn about the concrete floor. It was not long before they encountered a cavernous stairwell deep within the complex. The metal grating on the steps was nearly rusted through in places while the landing appeared to be stable enough to allow them through to the rest of the hallway beyond. The three boys stopped on the landing, careful not to get too close as they each saw that the railing had long since fallen away. Daniel was the only one to step forward and point his flashlight downwards to the apparent void below the platform.

"Huh," he said as he grabbed a nearby piece of debris, a piece of a broken cinder block, and dropped it over the edge. It made a splash as it hit the hidden surface of the water, disturbing both murk and scum as it rapidly sank below. The noise it made lasted hardly a second, but it settled deep into the boys' ears for minutes afterwards.

"Still water," Daniel continued, a coy gleam in his voice, "dangerous stuff if you fall in. Lots of diseases and whatnot, many of them fatal... assuming you don't hit something on the way down first. Come here and have a look!"

"Actually, how about we move on?" Said Kevin with a shiver.

"Yeah," added George, "I'm good."

"Cowards," Daniel huffed, "fine. You two go first. I'll follow along."

The three continued down the hall in their established order, with George and Kevin refusing to acknowledge Daniel's continued japes as they navigated further. The labyrinthine web of halls and rooms made their journey slow as they could not see far in one direction without obstruction. The three boys delved ever deeper into the structure, passing many rooms smelling foul with mildew, rot, and dust. The only aid their flashlights offered in navigation was to ensure they didn't step on anything overly harmful. Daniel grew oddly quiet throughout the latter half the ordeal, much to the relief of George and Kevin, who now devoted their full attention to finding their way in the unfamiliar dark. The pair did not notice anything amiss until George deigned to speak to Daniel again.

"Daniel, what did you say this place used to be?"

Only silence answered him.

"Daniel?" George called, this time a little louder.

Silence.

"Daniel?" Both George and Kevin turned around. No one was there.

"Daniel!" They both called.

A long silence answered them.

George's brows furrowed. "Great! Spectacular! Wonderful time for games, Daniel!"

Kevin waited a few moments before speaking again, "I don't think he's playing, George."

"Nonsense," George answered, "DANIEL!"

Silence.

"I don't like this, George," Kevin murmured, casting cautious glances around them, "I think we need to go, like now..."

George's voice suddenly became eerily calm. "And Daniel? I know he's ticking me off right now, but we can't just leave him here. All three of us need to get out of here."

"Then let's get help," offered Kevin.

"Help?" George said in a hushed voice. "And who would help us? Adults? Police? They'll nab us for trespassing and ruin what we've been working for for a year. I don't know about you, I want a chance of college and getting out of this hellhole of a city."

"Yeah..." Kevin said, "so what do you suppose?"

"We back-track," he replied, "that idiot's got to be somewhere around here."

Kevin nodded and the two worked their way back, doing their best to remember how to return the way they came. Kevin cleaved close to George's side as they forged their way back. Every few paces, they each called Daniel's name in some vague hope they would run across him, though with no such luck. Once, Kevin thought he heard some scuffling in the darkness, but when they checked they found nothing but a room full of rotting wooden desks.

After an hour of searching, they found themselves on the flooded stairwell once more. In the silence, the pair heard a steady drip from somewhere they could not see.

"There's no sign of him," said George, giving a disquieted glance towards his wristwatch, "and it's getting late."

"I'm telling you," Kevin spoke, this time more urgently, "we should leave."

George stood in silence for a moment before saying, "Ok, I've got one more idea: let's split up."

Kevin's eyes bulged, looking sheepishly towards they way they came. "No fucking way, man. I'm staying with you!"

George grimaced with a sigh and looked into his friend's eyes. "Look, it's the only way we've got a chance of finding him before morning."

Kevin refused to meet George's gaze. "If you say so..."

George paused. "Alright, you go back the way we just came from, I'll search back near the door we came in. You got a watch on you?"

"Yeah..." Kevin said softly.

George nodded. "Good. If you don't see or hear anything within half an hour, meet me back here."

Kevin did not respond. Instead, he turned in the other direction, took a deep breath, and scuffled into the darkness. George, too turned in the opposite direction, immediately regretting his plan but choosing to follow through. Before long, George lost the noise of Kevin's footsteps, but the single repetitive drop of water echoed somewhere in the dark. George wondered if it was raining outside. He then put the thought from his mind as he realized the sub-floor below him was likely entirely flooded and moved on.

George moved through the structure slowly and methodically, shining his flashlight down branching halls and adjoining rooms, often needing to shield his mouth and nose from the dust and mold with his sleeve. He didn't shout as often as he had as he felt a pit gathering in his stomach. Often, he would hear a shuffling somewhere he couldn't see, or the sound of something skittering far away. Perhaps it's just the dark, he thought, I'm just nervous. He did his best to push it from his mind, but he still kept an iron grip on his flashlight.

After some time, the graffiti grew more frequent again. George quickened his pace somewhat since he was beginning to recognize these passages. Before long, he climbed up a flight of stairs and came to the busted door once more. Dismay shot through him like a shiver in winter, that is before he turned around again. There in the corner of the wall opposite the door was that same dark graffiti, a strange humanoid figure with the same warning 'Beware the Boogeyman'.

George was in the middle of rolling his eyes when he was startled by a sudden clanging. He turned his flashlight just in time to see a soda can skittering in one direction and a rat fleeing in the other. George's heart quickened and he brought his hand to his chest.

"Just nerves," he said to himself with very little assurance, "God damn rats."

With a sudden realization, he checked his wristwatch and found it was nearly three in the morning, well beyond the agreed-upon thirty minutes.

"Damn it," he whispered to himself, as he walked quickly back down the stairs and towards the stairwell.

His heart beat loudly in his ears as he retraced his path, making a concerted effort to avoid rushing, but the guilt of leaving Kevin alone in the dark weighed on him and pushed him to go faster.

Then, without warning, a noise gave him pause. He heard what sounded like the distinct scuff of the rubber sole of a shoe on concrete. He looked around him, trying to discern where it came from.

"Kevin? Daniel?" He called once more.

Silence.

Then, a darker thought entered his mind. He shouted, "Is anyone there?"

One second of silence followed, then another.

Then he suddenly heard a loud splash down the hall, back from the direction of the stairwell, and then the clang of metal on metal.

"Daniel? Kevin?" He shouted.

Throwing caution to the wind, he hurried back. In his haste, however, he clipped the entryway to the stairwell with his shoulder and nearly dropped his flashlight. He collected himself on the landing of the stairs, took a moment to readjust his grip on the flashlight, and passed his beam over the surface of the water as his eyes readjusted to the changing light.

"Is anyone in here?" He yelled. "Everything ok?"

In the penetrating moment of silence that followed, he thought he saw a dark shape floating in the water just below him. His eyes almost passed over it, but something about the way it bobbed unsettled him. He had barely a moment to recognize it as the dark fabric of a jacket, Kevin's jacket. It did not look empty.

Before he could even scream, he heard a whistle behind him and he turned around.

Daniel met his eyes with a devious grin as he swung his crowbar directly at George's head. George's vision went white with pain as he felt himself falling backwards over the edge of the landing. He felt the cold sting of the water below before the light faded.

His last thoughts were the words Daniel spoke earlier in the night: I promise you that no one will ever know we were down here.

Then the water embraced him.