A missing girl, rumors of a haunting, and an unexpected surprise!
The trees sway around her as a harsh wind blasts, blocking Sunny’s view as her hair is violently thrown from side to side. She has spent longer than she should outside in the unforgiving weather and darkness, but she is struggling to move forward. Sunny has devoted an agonizing time deciding whether or not to listen to those suggestive whispers and explore the basement. Weeks have passed since her first day at FPU, and the rumors about the place only get louder as time goes on.
At first, Sunny ignored them and chalked them up to the students trying to scare each other. However, as the rumors have increased in truth, and become worryingly specific, she has realized that she must go down there. As with the rumors, she dismissed her friend’s radio silence and figured that a reasonable explanation existed. She could have been too busy to speak to her; after all, she started a new job in the summer and took some extra classes. So Sunny waited, and waited, and waited until she realized something had to be wrong. She was right, the newspapers soon discussed her disappearance and the fact that she was last seen entering the basement. Soon after, the rumors about a spirit haunting the basement felt increasingly real.
Now, it was not just a random spirit that could be heard screaming at night, it was also her dear friend. According to those that lived near that basement, her pleas for help could be heard all night as she tried to escape whatever was terrorizing her. Those rumors are what brings her to the building where the infamous basement resides. Tonight, she will either find out what happened to her friend, or she will realize that all those rumors are exactly that – just rumors. Sunny shivers as a strong gust of wind is thrown her way and decides that whether or not she feels afraid, she must move forward.
Slowly, she descends the littered stairs that lead to the basement and stops at the door. Quietly, she picks at the worn lock and slowly opens it. Even with her careful movements, the door creaks open and she holds her harsh and panicked breath. Not hearing anything, she walks into the dark hallway and closes the door behind her. No lights turn on with her movement, so she turns on her flashlight and begins her trek down the hallway. As the light floods the basement, she looks around, squinting her eyes and trying to make shape of her surroundings.
“Hey are you down here?” Sunny calls out into the room, hoping that her friend would jump out of the shadows and reveals this was all an elaborate prank, but all she hears is an eerie silence.
She steps further into the basement and out of the corner of her eye, she sees a dark figure scurry into one of the rooms. Quickly, she turns towards the room and terror fills her body. She tries stepping forward, but cannot. “Is that you?” Sunny yells out, “This isn’t funny! Come out.”
She forces herself to step forward and into the room where she saw the figure disappear into. Suddenly, the hairs on the back of her neck stand up and her entire body fills with goosebumps. The room was cold and she could see the warmth of her breath evaporate into the air. With her flashlight, she scopes the area but sees nothing but dusty tables and unused furniture. As she turns around to step out of the room, she hears whispering. She quickly turns back around and points her light around the room trying to find the source. “Is anyone here?” she says out loud. Nothing. The whispers get louder, and louder. They are coming from an old chest in the corner of the room. Hesitantly, she walks towards the chest and opens it, fearing the worst.
Inside she finds old news articles from the Syrinx, “TWO FPU STUDENTS DIE IN TRAGIC ACCIDENT IN FPU BASEMENT,” and right under it was a picture of Sunny and her friend. She looks up and sees her missing friend standing over the chest. Her eyes are gone, with dark holes replacing them. “Hey! Where have you been?” her friend says, “I heard a couple of students were going to come in here later. We should scare them!” She giggles and takes off running into the hall and disappears through the wall. Sunny becomes pale and rushes towards a dusty mirror hanging on a wall. As she looks into the mirror, she sees her reflection. Her eyes are gone and are replaced with gaping black holes. That’s when Sunny realizes the rumors were true.
By: Saraleim Mozqueda|A&E Editor
By: Valerie Claustro|Staff Writer
