The Neopian Watcher: Part Three

Sage tried to keep herself calm. There was a logical reason Ms. Snowflake was not in her office. However, Sage couldn't think of one at the moment.

      Maybe there was a staff meeting today, Sage reasoned while trying to calm her nerves.

      Heading toward Mr. Number six's office, she guessed that Ms. Snowflake may be in there. She realized how wrong she was. When she arrived at his office, the door was left wide open. She already knew what she would find in the office. Taking a peek inside, she saw that no one was there. Although, there were papers on the desk and a half eaten sandwich. It looked as if someone was there, but now they're not.

      Fighting her fear, she headed to the other staff offices. Ms. Pop Tart - gone. Mr. Maverick - gone. Ms. Beader - gone! All the staff offices were empty! Some office doors were left ajar and some were closed. She listened very carefully for any sound that would indicate where the staff might be. All she could hear was the howling of the wind. The pound staff were no where to be found.

      Am I alone in the pound? Sage thought as she fought the tears threatening to flow.

      Leaving the staff office area, she decided to go back to her room. Abigail would be in there, probably getting ready for supper. She felt some relief wash over her. She knew that Abigail would be in their room. She had to be. Where else would she be?

      But what if she isn't? came the small inner voice of Sage.

      "No! Abigail has got to be there!" she yelled with more emphasis than she meant to.

      Wanting to prove she was right, she sprinted upstairs. Reaching her destination, she flung open the door and entered. Sage looked around the room. Abigail wasn't there. She looked inside the closet and under the beds. She looked for clothes thrown on the bed and floor. She looked for any sign that Abigail had been there. There was none.

      "Flameboy's room!" she yelled. He's got to be in his room! She ran out of her room and to the boys' corridor. She already knew what she would find, but she had to try!

      Reaching his room, she called out, "Flameboy! Flameboy!"

      Just as she thought, no one was in the room. As she left, she noticed the bed was made. Flameboy made his bed? Now this was a new thing. She went back to her own empty room.

      "Abigail! This isn't funny!" Sage called out in frustration. "Where are you!"

      She listened for a response, but it was silent. She took a last look around the room and noticed it seemed cleaner than when she and Abigail left it earlier that day. Ignoring the now tidy area, she went to sit on the window bench to try and figure this out. Gazing out her window, she could see someone or something moving outside. At that moment, she realized that everyone was outside! What reason they would be outside in this storm escaped her. However, she didn't care because she found the other pets!

      In the blink of an eye, Sage rushed out of her room, down the staircase to the entry way and exited out the doors. It was a flooding downpour and it was colder than anything she could ever remember in her young life. Standing on the porch, she looked as hard as she could through the rain. There! She saw someone again! She left the porch and ran into the storm, heading where she thought she saw 'someone'. She was soaked and chilled to her very bones, but she didn't care. All she cared about was trying to find somebody, anyone, so she wouldn't be alone anymore.

      Sage couldn't see anything. She called out to anyone who may hear, but her voice was lost in the howling of the wind. She tried again and again, screaming as loudly as she could, hoping for a response. Her voice became weak and hoarse from attempting to be heard above the howling wind. Sage discovered it was a futile effort. No one could hear anything in this storm.

      For the first time in her life, Sage understood the true meaning of fear. She turned to go back into the pound. As she did so, something moving out by the woods in back caught her attention. She felt it in her gut that whatever it was, it was not part of the storm. Something was out there and that something knew she was there. Her focus was switched over to the fact that she was standing outside, in a storm with something lurking out there.

      Now would be a good time for me to go inside the pound.

      Taking long strides, rushing toward the pound, she couldn't make herself move fast enough. The wind was fighting her all the way and the rain was coming down in sheets, blinding her. She had to keep her head down and try as hard as she could to get back inside the pound. A terrorizing thought struck her as she realized she wasn't sure where the pound was in this storm. She had lost all sense of direction. Before she knew it, Sage had passed the pound and went directly into the woods. She gained some of her direction back, as she took cover by the tree line. A straight line would lead her to the back entrance of the pound. That would be the way she'd go. However, she wanted to rest for a moment before she went out into the raging storm again.

      'SNAP!'

      Sage heard the crackling behind her. Slowly she looked around her and noticed a shadow not very far from her. She couldn't make out what it was, but then again, she wasn't really trying either. The mere sight of this shadow was all the encouragement she needed to brave the storm in another attempt to make it back to the pound. She only hoped whatever was out there, didn't follow her home.

      With the wind behind her, Sage found it easier to walk to the pound. It still took her a fair amount of time, but once inside, she closed the doors and locked them. Sage leaned back against the door, listening and hoping to hear any sign of life in the pound. There was nothing but silence that filled the room. Pulling herself away from the door, she wondered what to do now.

      "Lock the back doors and the windows," she stated.

      She made it around the first floor, making sure all doors and windows were locked. Whatever was outside, was going to stay outside, she decided. Next she had to check the upstairs windows. Moving up the stairs in record time, she came to the first window in the girls' corridor. As she reached up to lock the window, she saw something outside. This time, there was no mistaking what she saw. It wasn't the wind or the storm. Down below, Sage could see the figure of someone illuminated by the lightning and that someone was looking up at her.

      Allowing herself a moment of panic, she tried to remember what she was doing. She walked around in a daze, passing windows in the hallway and other bedrooms. She purposely did not look out of the windows. Clearing her mind, she resumed her quest to lock all the windows, managing to reach the last one within minutes. Sage couldn't help herself. She looked down below to find him staring up at her again!

      Taking a deep breath, she decided to go to the library. Although she knew that no one would be there, it was the only place she could think of to go. Hopefully, she would find a book that would tell her what's going on and what to do! Books ALWAYS had answers. Didn't they?

      The library was dark and deserted, just as the rest of the pound. Turning on the lights, she noticed the books and school work were stacked on the tables, but no one occupied the chairs. Over on the far end, she saw the table where Hugo sat earlier that day. His books were placed neatly around the surrounding the area, along with his pencil and notebook. It looked almost the same as it did when Hugo was here. It was as if he just left for a moment. Sage hoped that was the case because she did not want to be alone anymore. However, she knew that Hugo would not be coming back. Sage began to search the shelves for any books that may enlighten her as to what was happening. She couldn't find any book that even covered anything relating to her situation. The only thing she could think of was looking through Halloween type books. Those kinds of books would have scary things happening in them. She removed these books from the shelves and brought them to an empty table in the front of the library. She looked through every Halloween related book she could find. As she closed the last book, she let out a sigh.

      Nothing, she thought.

      Sage looked around the library again, hoping some idea would come to her. Then she noticed the window at the back of the library. She was sure of what would be waiting for her outside. She stood up and moved to the window. It was as if a magical line was drawing her there. As much as she didn't want to look outside the first floor window, she did it anyway. Sage's heart pounded as she felt the blood rushing to her head. For there in the distance, stood the shadow of someone staring directly back at her!

      She quickly turned away from the window, gasping for air. She was shaking, every muscle in her body tensing up and she felt very sick. She tried to remain calm, but it wasn't working very well.

      "Ohhh, where is everyone!" cried Sage into the silence.

     Thinking of her options, she knew the only one left was to figure out what happened to the others. Maybe if she did, they would all come back to the pound. She took a seat at the table where Hugo had sat before. She went through all the possibilities, which there weren't many to begin with. Taking Hugo's notebook and pencil, she made notes of every place she had searched in the pound. Thinking back, she mentally went through each room again before she realized they all had something in common. Every room looked as if someone had been there, but the rooms were different, organized, and cleaner. It looked as if everyone had intentions of coming back to what they were originally doing. Only they never came back. What confused her most was having no clue as to where everyone could have gone.

To be continued…