Once upon a time, in a far far place away from home, Basis was hosting a Halloween party for the 8th graders. Riya, Anjali, who was sipping her pumpkin flavored coffee, Rishik and Mohan were enjoying themselves.

“Hahaha… Have you guys heard back from Arjun? He hasn’t texted me at all since he went to Portugal?” Mohan asks.

“Nope, he has literally disappeared.” concurs Riya.

“L, imagine.” says Rishik.

“I really miss Mr. Calhoun and Mr. Predebon. It has been so different since they are teaching at different schools now.” expresses Riya.

“I know right.” agrees Anjali.

They happen to walk past the door to the other side of Basis, which is locked at all times. Suddenly, the door creakily and slowly blows open with smoke leading to their presence. They decide to step in. However, as soon as all 8 feet are in, the door slams shut. The wind blew from behind them and sent chills down their backs.

“Guys, it’s okay. Let’s keep going! It’s an adventure!” exclaims Anjali with no sight of fear.

Mohan, on the other hand, quivers with fear, “Guys, can we go back home?”
“W-wait, I have my phone. Let me see if it works. Nope, no signal.”

The four continue walking down the pitch black hallway. Every corner and crevice were covered in cobwebs and scurrying spiders. As they continue through the darkness, Riya sees the Great Hall replica below them, but there is something different about it. The mass was filled with zombies and vampires, and to their surprise, Mr. Predebon and Mr. Calhoun are trapped in cages.

“Is that Mr. Calhoun and Mr. Predebon? I swear I am hallucinating.” whispers Riya in disbelief.

“Wait, it really is them! You are not seeing things.” Anjali agrees while squinting to confirm.

Mohan meanwhile is now shaking in fear and bursts out in tears. His giant drops fill his eyes, leading him to be unable to see. While walking with shivers, he runs into a pedestal etched with bloody writing that upholds a skull. The skull hits the ground making a loud noise that reaches the deformed ears of the zombies.

“MOHAN! Seriously?!” yelled Anjali.

Rishik snatches Anjali’s mug, and collects Mohan’s droplets of tears that dilute the remains. Riya gulped as she knew what was about to come their way. They try to run away, but the fear in everyone lets the friction of the carpet overcome them. She can see the zombies walking with their grubby arms out, staggering in between each step. The zombies took long to reach them, but it felt like the quickest minutes of their lives.

“Ve vill take you to ze leadér,” chimed the ugly zombies.

The zombies started staggering again, except dragging the four with them. As they approached the rest of the crowd, a cold wind blew from behind them.

They spinned to look behind them. Once they turned back, a tall powerful figure, awfully familiar, stood in front of them. He was a silhouette in the dark corridor. A vampire scuttled through and lit up a torch at the height of his neck. There was a grayish glow on his face that revealed the man who was named leader.

“MR. SHORBE?” screamed Riya and Anjali.

“We are saved!” exclaims Mohan, while sobbing tears of joy. The whole group sighs collectively and approaches their savior.

“Ew, get back you pesky children,” screeches Mr. Shorbe, disgusted by his sight. The students pull to a stop out of surprise. However, it was not the words that came out of Mr. Shorbe that led them to stop, but the British accent and the sinister look in his eyes that were so unfamiliar from their typical friendly principal.

“Is this another Mr. Shorbe?” asks Anjali.

The man before them yawns and looks up at them, “You children sure are tube-lights. Clearly, I’m Mr. Shorbe’s evil twin, MASON SHORBE!”

“E-e-evil?” questions Mohan as his knees shake with fear.

“Lock them in with the rest!” Yells Mr.Shorbe, signaling to the zombie teachers. Soon, all 4 kids are in a small cage, squished in with Mr. Calhoun and Mr.Predebon, while the zombies along with Mr.Shorbe have left the great hall.

“Mr. Calhoun, Mr.Predebon, you have been here the whole time!” exclaims Anjali. “Do you guys know how we can get out?” Anjali and the rest of the group wait for an answer, yet not one word is spoken by the teachers. “Ummm, Mr.Calhoun, Mr.Predebon?” questions Anjali.

“I think they’ve hypnotized them!” says Riya thoughtfully. “Maybe we can use something they love or hate to trigger their inner feelings.”

“You’re right! I know exactly what we should use,” responds Anjali.

Together both girls yell, “Mr.Predebon loves coffee and Mr.Calhoun hates Rishik!”

Shortly, the two girls set Anjali’s pumpkin spice coffee and Rishik in front of the two teachers.

“AGHHHHHHHHH!” yells Mr.Calhoun as he sees the sight of Rishik.

“Great! It worked,” sighs Riya as she helps Mr.Predebon to his feet.

In a matter of minutes, the group gathered in an awkward circle on the floor of the cage.

“We know how to get out of here, that’s why we were hypnotized,” explains Mr.Predebon as he sips the coffee, looking at it as if it would be taken from his hands at any moment.

Soon, the group broke out of the cage and escaped through the back entrance of the great hall. As the two teachers and 4 kids walked through the eerie halls, they suddenly see a looming shadow at the far end of the hallway.

“W-w-what i-i-is t-t-that?” stutters Mohan as he jumps behind Mr.Predebon and Mr.Calhoun in fear. “I-i am too young to die!”

“Mohan, suck it up and give me your phone,” says Anjali, grabbing Mohan’s phone and turning on the flashlight. The group gasps, surprised by the identity of the unknown shadow.

“Oh, it’s just Arjun…… WAIT, Arjun?” says Rishik, confused by the sight of his friend who is supposed to be on another continent.

“Guys! U are here! But there is no time to explain, Master Shorbe will notice you are not in your cage – I saw you guys escape – and come looking for us with his army of teacher zombies! Follow me, I know a secret outlet, but we are going to need a phone.” says Arjun as he scrambles to his feet, facing the group.

“Mohan has a phone!” exclaims Riya as she gives the phone to Arjun.

Soon the group gets to the door they entered through. Arjun takes the phone and breaks it open on the floor.

“Hey! That was expensive!” yells Mohan, but no one listens, as they watch in both confusion and worry at the sight of Arjun digging through a pile of broken pieces.

“It has to be somewhere,” mutters Arjun. “Yes! Here it is.” Arjun takes a small microchip and jabs it in the keyhole. In a split second, the door opens wide. “Hurry!” yells Arjun, as they hear the sluggish footsteps of the zombies and the booming voice of Master Shorbe.

The group scrambles out the closing door and hurries to safety just as the zombies reach where the group was only a moment ago.

“Phew, we made it!” sighs Anjali as she helps Riya to her feet.

“Guys, I think we may have a problem,” says Rishik, in a quiet tone.

“Rishik, now is not the time for one of your dumb jokes…” mumbles Mr.Calhoun.

“No actually. Look around you, who are we missing?”

“Well, we have you, Riya, Anjali, Mr.Predebon, and I, who el-” Mr.Calhoun comes to a hard stop as the whole group looks back to the dark and shady door behind them.

“We left Mohan!” they all scream in unison.

THE END…….