*** 2 – Quiet Hallways ***

Liz stumbled along as quickly as she could. The rain was pelting down on her hard, showing no signs of letting up. This had not been her smartest move, but she didn't think that staying with those three strangers was all that brilliant either. Some of the things they had said confused her to no end. Who makes up a sport called quidditch that involves 'broad hills', and what on earth was a muggle? It was definitely her cue to leave when that comment was made.

Knowing that the rain wasn't going to be letting up, she headed in the direction of her old elementary school. There were a few overhangs that she could hide under, and she was pretty sure that she could still get in the door if the rain got worse. The school had closed down a few years back, but she had always been able to get in when it had been locked before.

The intense wind almost knocked her off her feet as she struggled towards the front doors. They would provide the most shelter, and they were her best bet for getting in (at least, they always had been). Liz finally slipped around the corner and under the front overhang, breathing a sigh of relief. She laid her head back against the cool brick, and let herself catch her breath. Her reprieve was brief, however, as the wind changed directions, and sent torrents of rain hurtling into her small shelter.

Liz cried out at the sudden change, and tried to shield herself from the rain using her thoroughly soaked blanket. Knowing that she wasn't going to last against this rain by running again, she made a split-second decision, and headed for the old building's doors. It had been a few years since she had managed to gain entrance to the building, but she quickly remembered the right way to jiggle the handle. She grinned with success as she managed to pull the door open, but that happiness was short-lived as the rain almost seemed to intensify. It was almost as if she was being pushed inside the building by the rain. Taking the hint, even though she didn't know she was doing so, Liz pulled the door open enough to just squeeze her slim body through. The less rain that got in, the better. The door slammed shut behind her with the ferociousness of the rain, and she jumped a few feet in the air as the darkness enveloped her.

Struggling to calm her breath, Liz let the silence of the building ease her heart even though the darkness of her surroundings still frightened her. She rummaged around in her purse for a few moments before producing a small cell phone. Opening it up, she noticed that she didn't have any reception in the school ('stupid thick cement walls!' she thought), and therefore couldn't call anyone to let them know she was ok. But the battery on her phone was fully charged, and she knew that the brightness of it could at least light her way inside the school. Gathering herself, she looked around at the old building for the first time in years.

It was nothing like it had been back when she was a student there, but then again that had been almost thirteen years ago. No longer did pictures of happy students and their accomplishments adorn the walls. There were no desks in the hallway outside the old principal's office, and it looked as though several doors had been removed from the old classrooms. The school that had once been warm and inviting to Liz was now cold and unfriendly, and she was more uncomfortable here than she had been back with those Brits.

Liz made her way into one of the classrooms, and saw that there was a small crack in the boards that covered the windows. Leaning as close as she could, she caught a glimpse of the outside world, and was happy to see that the rain had stopped. It almost looked like the sun was coming out again. It was all very strange, considering how quickly the storm had come up and now passed, but Liz was just happy that she could get out of this place and head home. She climbed over a desk, and began to make her way towards the door of the room when she heard it.

The soft scratching sound.

It was barely audible, but Liz had always had a keen sense of hearing. She could hear the smallest sounds in the loudest atmospheres. Looking around, she tried to find the source, but was met with silence. Knowing that she had heard the sound, she exited the room, determined to prove to herself that it hadn't been in her head. She glanced up and down the old hallways, looking as far as her phone's light would allow but still seeing nothing.

Then she heard it again, and became even more determined than before. It had been a little louder now that she was in the hall, and it seemed to be coming from her right. So screwing up her courage, she plunged into the darkness of the hallway, her cell phone lighting the way.

It was a few moments before she heard the scratching a third time, this time coming from a door to her left. Her memory of the school she had known so intimately (being made fun of a lot way back when, she had quickly found a number of great hiding places where she could be alone with herself) told her that these were the doors that headed down to the old boiler room. She remembered having to go down there once with the janitor to get some supplies for a clean-up day the school had had. Her curiosity now got the better of her, and she reached for the doorknob, only to find it locked. Not willing to admit defeat, she reached up to her hair, and pulled out one of the bobby pins holding it in place. For some reason, this had always been the only door lock that actually needed to be picked when it was locked. All the others in the school could be opened with a simple jiggle, but never this one.

Liz crouched down and set to work on the door. She closed her phone after inserting the pin into the keyhole; she wouldn't need light for this job, only her ears. Closing her eyes to completely block everything out, she maneuvered the pin around in the lock until she heard a faint click. Smiling, she opened her eyes, and quietly turned the doorknob. Stuffing her phone back into her purse, she reached into the darkness and grasped the wooden railing that lined the wall next to the stairs that she knew were there. Liz could see a very dim light at the bottom of the stairs, and wondered if it was maybe the last of the emergency generator. Wanting to see her little adventure through, she quietly descended the stairs, gripping the railing so tightly she was sure that her knuckles would be white.

When she reached the bottom, she turned the corner, and received the shock of her life.

What had once been a boiler room was now set up like a dungeon, with torches on the walls, actual cells with bars on them, and even what seemed to be an old-fashioned torture device. She could see a man lying on the ground, attached to the wall by a chain around his ankle. He was barely moving, but when he did, the chain was pulled across the ground in a scratching sound.

Liz covered her mouth with fear and disgust. She had to get out of there and get some help for this poor man. Who knows how many people had been put down here, and what had happened to them. As soon as she got out of the school she would call the police about this atrocity.

But she never got that chance. As she turned to run out the way she came, she slammed into something soft yet hard, and felt something else strike the back of her head. Dizziness and darkness overtook her as she fell to the ground, yet she struggled to stay awake. In the soft torchlight of the room, she could make out the shadows of two men standing over her. As she slipped into unconsciousness, she heard one of them say something that she would later forget.

"Go call the boss. Tell him that we got her."