The strong smell of ginger entered Harry's nostrils as he dipped the biscuit into his Earl Grey tea. The hot drink was not having the desired relaxing effect.

Since Cybil had received the call from detective Briggs, he had been uneasy. The fact that Andy, his neighbor's kid, had stowed away in the boot of the jeep was a little disturbing. He was always a strange boy, but Harry found his story ridiculous and suspicious...the fact that he had appeared and Cheryl was still missing was filling him with a sense of dread.

Andy nervously sat in silence.

Originally in the car, a general air of optimism characterized the journey from the police station to the school. The idea that his daughter might be found at any minute had rekindled hopes that had all but disappeared. The teachers he had talked to had been friendly and helpful. Cybil had gone to help with the search and Harry had been told to wait in reception due to his injuries. He'd grown impatient – he had expected Cheryl to be found pretty quickly. Fear crept back into his thinking. Five minutes passed, ten, twenty. They began to feel like hours. What if she'd been hurt? What if Andy had done something to her? What if they found a body?

The sodden biscuit, which he had been holding over the cup, suddenly dropped into his tea.

"Let me get you a spoon" fussed Lydia, one of the teachers assigned to baby-sit Harry and Andy.

She was smartly dressed in a dark gray pant suit paired with a pressed white blouse. The dark curls of her hair were held up with an elegant clip. She smiled and passed a teaspoon to Harry. He placed it by the saucer and put the whole thing on the table. He stood up. The neck brace restricted his head movements as he surveyed the room. It was small and gloomy. Kay, another teacher, sat and stared out of the window at the dense mist. She was older, with lighter hair and a sober dress sense. Andy slept quietly in the corner.

A gruesome wall hanging adorned one end. It was jaundiced with age. It depicted a door daubed with blood, featuring a design of three dark squares. What appeared to be two men dressed in boiler suits and hoods were suspended on chains by their necks on either side.

"Well that's certainly in bad taste." He mumbled to himself.

"It was donated by Mr. White, our caretaker. As you can understand we were a little reluctant to take it, but he insisted. He has a few artifacts like that one." said Kay from the corner.

"It is a little gruesome." Agreed Lydia.

"You should see some of the other stuff he's got." added the older teacher, knowingly.

There was a pause as Harry wondered what could be more gruesome than what they were looking at right now.

"I'm not sure how much longer I can wait. This is driving me crazy – I should be doing something." he blurted out before he realized what he was saying. Both women looked at him sympathetically.

"You mustn't risk your health. I'm sure they'll find her soon." cooed Lydia placidly.

"I keep seeing her sleeping next to me in the car before we crashed. If anything has happed to her I..."

He trailed off. He didn't want to lose control again. Lydia placed her hand on his arm.

"Do you have a picture?" asked Kay as she stood and approached him.

He did. He would prop his wallet on the table beside his bed in the hospital so he could see her face as he fell asleep. He pulled it out and passed it to her. She studied it intently.

"This is your daughter?"

"Cheryl."

"She's the spit of a girl I used to teach here. If I didn't know any better I'd swear it was her. They are exactly the same, down to the last hair. What a shame...she was about the same age as your daughter when she died in that fire."

"I need some fresh air." mumbled Harry, taking the picture back.

"Me too." said Lydia as he made for the door, "I'll come with you."

She ran after him, leaving Kay alone with the boy, as he headed to the courtyard. As he stepped out she was by his side. The mist had descended again and was now impenetrable. Vision was limited to a few feet. He strode into the mist hoping to find a bench. He stopped. Something had been chipped out of the flagstones in the middle of the courtyard. It was circular with an inner and outer ring. Between the two rings there were some indecipherable marks. In the centre, an isosceles triangle and a strange symbol.

He gingerly knelt beside it to inspect it more closely. Lydia hovered behind him.

"I don't remember this being here before. Certainly not this morning when we found Andy. Why would someone vandalize school property like that?"

"What does it mean? Does it look familiar?"

"No."

"Does the caretaker have anything like this in his collection?"

"I don't know, I'm new here. I only joined six months ago as a replacement for a teacher that left without giving notice."

Something darker was mingling with the mist. It had an aroma like smoke, but more foul. Harry tried to follow the acrid concoction to its source. It was billowing from the entrance to the clock tower. He stepped up to it.

"Help me!"

"Who's that? Who's behind there?" Lydia shouted to the door.

Harry already knew. He was frantically pulling and pushing the doors that wouldn't budge.

"Cheryl! I'm coming!"

"Daddy where are you?"

Lydia joined the struggle. Cheryl's voice ceased. The smoke stopped pouring from around the edges of the doorway. It opened. They stepped inside. A ladder led down to a dingy wooden corridor with a rusted metal grating on the floor. No sign of his daughter.

"Where does this lead?" he asked, indicating the ladder.

"I don't know. I just thought you could go up to maintain the clock. I've never been in here."

Harry climbed down the ladder. Lydia came after and they walked across the grating, which separated them from a seemingly endless chasm. This lead to another ladder that took them up into a chamber not unlike the one they had vacated. It was extremely dark here. They hesitated at the exit.

"Harry, I don't understand." whispered Lydia, her voice trembling, "It's exactly the same. This is where we just came from."

"We can't be sure what's on the other side of this door. It could be dangerous out there."

"If your daughter is out there I want to help."

"The others won't know where we've gone."

"Kay knows we went for some air. They can figure it out. I'm coming with you."

"Okay."

Harry pulled the door open.