"You're not gonna help me, are you?"

  Carly twirled a piece of her golden hair anxiously, leaning against the locker beside Malachi's. She thought it was completely unfair how everyone else knew how to sound firm and demanding, yet no one fell for it with her. Malachi finally looked up from his phone, only to put the biology books in his bag back on the shelf and replace them with the physics books he'd need for the next class.

  "You actually expect me to believe that Zachary Manchester of all people wrote a comic book power chart handbook about himself?"

  "He admitted it!" Carly groaned. "He said it was right at the start - like, 15 year old Zach. Said he abandoned it."

  "I... literally can't see him ever doing that."

  "Kai, I'm serious!"

  "Fine!" he sighed as he took a bite from the sandwich he'd stashed in his locker. "Let's say he actually wrote something like that. You said it's in the old art room; y'know that place got knocked down, right?"

  "Yes." Carly muttered. "That's why I'm asking you to come find it with me. I don't wanna get my foot stuck in the rubble and die alone."

  Malachi rolled his eyes.

  "What if I find something important? There's definitely things Zach never told us." Carly grumbled.

  "And what if you find nothing, and get suspended for trespassing on a construction site?"

  "It could help Tori!"

  "Someone probably found it by now." Malachi rubbed his temples. "They don't just knock down buildings without cleaning them out first. Someone would've found the book, gone 'what psycho kid wrote this shit?' and tossed it. Or maybe reported it."

  "He wouldn't have left it lying around and easily accessible, he's too smart for that. He said he put it in the storage locker."

  "Look, I can't stop you, but I'm not coming with you. I'm sorry." Kai shrugged, shutting his locker. "I can't afford to skip class anymore. The principal's only letting me off easy cos he thinks I'm acting out from mourning Zach and Tori."

  "Fine. I'll go alone." Carly huffed as she headed down the corridor. "If I die, you don't get to cry at my funeral!"

  The old art block was nothing but concrete ghosts and broken glass.

  The site was long forgotten, guarding the back area of the school, behind the wall of classrooms now only used for storage. The area was vast and lush, the grass vibrant and the flowers blossoming. Old oak trees provided shade between the rays of golden light shining down. It used to be the main hangout spot for everyone. Year 7's would climb the trees and reenact dramatic fight scenes, Year 10's would sit under the shade and gossip to each other about how they believed they were superior to the other year levels, and the seniors would lay in the sun, just happy to not be in class.

  Carly tried not to linger on the memories the place brought her. They were too raw, too suppressed. Memories of a life before the supernatural, before murder and before loss. With the area having been abandoned around the same time she'd discovered that her friend had lost his humanity, the two ideas were locked together, and she couldn't think of one without the other. Instead, she focused her gaze back to the rubble ahead of her.

  She slipped between two of the high fences that had been separated by the wind and held her breath.

  The air inside the fence was colder, somehow. Still. As if even the wind didn't dare trespass here. Shards of glass cracked under her white sneakers. Bent, rusted rebar poked out between cracks in concrete slabs. Splinters stuck out alongside old nails in the fallen ceiling beams. Half of a sink had been unveiled by the soil, with dried blots of acrylic paint still staining the metal. The once proud mural wall that she and her friends had helped create as kids now lay scattered, each brick far from the next, still painted with pebbles.

  She nearly tripped over a slab of a desk, her heart melting as she noticed 'Zach was here' had been scribbled on it with red sharpie. Carly cautiously knelt down before it and traced her fingers along the graffiti. The ink wiped away upon contact, and she pulled her hand away with a wince of guilt.

  Her eyes fell on one of the corners of the desk. It was littered with soot. Her brow furrowed. She got back up to her feet and looked over the site once again, now noticing several pieces of the old interior had soot staining them, or were burned.

  "They never said there was a fire."

  Carly frowned, carefully stepping over another broken slab, her curiosity now battling a growing sense of dread.

  Further into the wreckage, a few wooden panels from what had once been the back cabinet lay in pieces, half turned to ash. A few of the student sketchbooks inside had survived the damage, while others had vanished without a trace.

  "If the cabinet's here, then the locker should be over..."

  Carly spun on her heel and cautiously manoeuvred to her right. With a grunt of effort, she lifted a fallen beam out of the way. Her eyes lit up as its absence revealed the graffitied metal of the storage locker, now crushed and flattened.

  "Here."

  She dropped to her knees and pried the walls of the locker apart just enough to glimpse at its contents. Inside she found a few pencils, a cat keychain, and a notebook. She snatched the book, jumped up to her feet, and winced as the locker walls bent inwards once again. A careful exhale fell from her lips at the close call. Carly dusted off her knees and turned to get out of there, when she suddenly heard her name.

  If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

  "Carly Whitmore, you have ten seconds to get out of there and make your way to the principal's office!"

  Carly yelped at the sight of Mrs G standing on the other side of the fence, arms crossed.

  "Coming! I'm sorry!"

  She held the notebook to her chest like a newborn baby as she hurriedly hopped over the rubble. She knew she'd be in huge trouble, but it didn't matter to her. All she cared about was that she found the book.

  -

  "This book?"

  "Uh, please don't-"

  Carly bit her lip as the book was taken from her hands. The man towering before her narrowed his eyes at the blank cover and began flipping through the pages, walking back to his desk. Carly fiddled anxiously with her nails, her mind flashing between every possible thing that could've been written on those pages. She couldn't even begin to imagine the lie she'd have to come up with.

  "You trespassed onto a dangerous construction site... for this?" The man raised a condescending eyebrow.

  The girl sank further in her chair.

  "It was a friend's-"

  "Zachary Manchester," he cut her off and flipped through the pages again. "I'm aware."

  Carly stilled at that. She didn't think this new principal would've known her friend long enough to know about the book when she herself hadn't. Now she was interested.

  "How do you-"

  "I only met with him once, at the start of the year, to discuss his mental health history." He cut her off once more. "His disappearance, alongside the disappearance of Victoria Evans, is a tragedy. I'm truly sorry for your loss."

  Carly frowned but nodded, used to the show and dance.

  "I understand that grief can tempt one to act out, to take risks and engage in uncharacteristic behaviours," the man continued, closing the book and sitting on the edge of his desk, "but you put yourself in danger for this notebook. I can't ignore that."

  "It's not me acting out, I need the book." Carly scoffed in disbelief.

  "I don't blame you for feeling possessive of the things your friends owned."

  "So can I have it back?"

  "I assured Zach's mother that all of his property would go to her."

  "He told me to get it!"

  The principal tensed at that. Carly blinked wide as she realised what she'd said.

  "Like... I hear his voice in my head, y'know?" she tried to defend, unconvincingly. "I don't have anything of his. I just want the one thing. Please, Mr Vance."

  The principal sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose as he thought it over. A strand of his chestnut hair fell over his face, and he brushed it back absentmindedly. He could almost feel a new wrinkle forming from this conversation alone.

  "I have to keep my word to his mother."

  Carly groaned into her hands.

  "His mother sucks!"

  Mr Vance shot her a slight look.

  "She does!" she raised her hands. "She's horrible! She'd sold half of Zach's room on marketplace within a week of him being gone. Come on, it's just a notebook, please let me keep it."

  A hint of a disbelieving smirk fell on the man's lips before he shook his head.

  "Carly, it's not my business what she does with his belongings. It's not as if Zach went on a holiday, he's a missing person. This is all a serious situation that I can't take lightly. I can only hope that he'll return-"

  "The detectives don't give a shit!" Carly huffed.

  "I'm gonna ignore that you just said that to me because I know you're distressed."

  "It's just a book! Give it!"

  "Okay, that's enough."

  Mr Vance stood once more, his onyx eyes sharpening in quiet threat. He locked the notebook in a cabinet beside his desk, then crossed his arms.

  "Straight A student. Clean history; no trouble other than a few unfair detentions for leaving class. Access to the greatest mental health support in the state. Wealthy family that makes generous donations to the school annually." He started. "I've read your file. What I don't understand is why you're acting so different now. Don't say it's because of the book, because there's clearly more to it than attachment."

  "It means a lot to me." Carly hung her head in shame, frustration bubbling. "If you lost someone and found their diary, wouldn't you wanna keep it?"

  "Diary?" he frowned. "You think it's a diary?"

  "Uh, well, I think its more like a notebook he scribbled statistics for fictional creatures in-"

  "You didn't open it on your way here?"

  "... no."

  Mr Vance deadpanned.

  "Look, lunch starts in three minutes. I'll call Zach's mother and see if she's interested in the book. If not, you can collect it at the end of the day. Alright?"

  "Please." Carly nodded gratefully. "Thank you, Mr Vance."

  -

  "My mum?!"

  "I tried to tell him she'll destroy it."

  Carly sighed, holding her phone tighter against her ear as she manoeuvred through the crowded hallways and out to the yard.

  "If she reads it, I'm dead. I'm fucking dead, Carly! I-I've told her so many lies about how my vampirism works!"

  "She doesn't even know you're alive, it's not like she'll come find you." The girl sighed.

  She gave a short wave to her friends as she approached their usual table.

  "What if she tells my dad? What if he tells her everything? He knows everything!"

  "Zach, calm down, she probably won't even read the damn thing."

  "She might!"

  London took the phone from Carly and placed it on the table, setting it on speaker mode for the others to hear.

  "He's freaking out because Mr Vance said he'll offer Michelle the guidebook before I can claim it." Carly explained with a tired huff. "Apparently the bitch thinks Zach's got Twilight-style vampirism."

  "Oh, ew, why would you tell her it's like that?" London cringed at the phone. "Does she think you sparkle?"

  "She's seen me burn, I promise." I grumbled. "I just never told her about how violent it is. Or any of the thoughts. Or any of the things I've done."

  "Lives you've taken." Hunter corrected in a sarcastic cough, looking around innocently.

  "... that." I muttered.

  "But wouldn't the journal be the problem, then?" Malachi asked between bites of his chicken burger. "And you already have that book, so it's safe from her. Why can't she read the guide?"

  "Because there's a page about my strength where I listed things I tested out, including crushing bones of different animals?" I whined in shame. "And a page where I rated the flavours and effects of blood from different species, including whether human blood tastes better from the veins, arteries, or blood vessels?"

  "... I kinda wanna read that, actually." Malachi murmured.

  "Wait, did Mr Vance read it?" London spoke over him in alert.

  Carly hesitated to respond. She slowly brought her arms up to hug her knees.

  "Yes?"

  The group groaned in unison.

  "A-Are you serious? Did he flick through it or actually read it?" I panicked.

  "No, no, he... definitely read through at least a few paragraphs."

  "CARLY!"

  "He wasn't phased!" She yelped sheepishly. "He didn't seem to care for it!"

  "Maybe he's already heard horror stories about Zach from staff members." Hunter shrugged.

  "I've spoken to the guy once!" I groaned.

  "Look, if Michelle doesn't want it, I'll grab it before I come home and it'll be all yours." Carly spoke firmly. "I promise. I won't even read it until it's in your hands."

  "I wanna read it..." Malachi repeated in a quiet pout.

  "Thanks, Carly." I sighed.

  "I thought you didn't want the book." Carly frowned, confused at the gratitude. "You tried to convince me it didn't exist."

  "I don't want it, and I don't want any of you reading it, either." I muttered. "But I'd rather have it in my possession than out somewhere anyone can pick it up. So thanks, I guess."

  Carly shrugged.

  "I wanna read the damn book!" Malachi whined.