The buddy system was important during paranormal investigations. You did not want to go into a potentially dangerous situation without someone looking out for you. It was especially important if the investigation was taking place in a large building in pitch black darkness.

Riley startled at the sound of a girl whispering in her ear. Goose pimples rose on her flesh. Her buddy was Parker, a man with a deep voice. It had to have been a lost child whose soul was trapped at the school.

“Did you hear that?” Riley gasped.

Other than the scrapes of boots on a dirty, gritty floor, there was only silence.

“Parker?” she called out, but no one answered her back.

With her heart now racing in her chest, Riley fumbled for her walkie-talkie, and she repeated the name. Only white noise filled the room. She dashed to the window. She had spotted her friends’ van just a few minutes ago, but it was gone. There was no vehicle outside at all.

Her chest clenched.

“Those bastards left me,” she said.

An icy finger rolled up her spine, and she screamed as she swung her night-vision camera around, looking for the culprit. There was nothing on display. A girlish giggle made her spin around again.

Then, there was another giggle. And another. And another, even as she felt icy hands claw at her neck.

No one found Riley until a week later, and she was dead.