The Challenge
Location: Front Gate of Madre de las Lágrimas School
(abandoned for 30 years)
Date: June 13, 2015
Time: 11:45 PM
The wind howled through the dead trees surrounding the school. The rusted gate groaned as Lucas, the group's leader, pushed it open.
— So, this is it? — Rafael asked, adjusting the strap of his backpack.
— Yeah. They say anyone who spends a night here… is never the same again. — Lucas smiled, but his eyes didn't follow.
— Oh, stop it! — Hope took a step back. — It's just an urban legend.
— Don't scare her. We just need to be careful. The place has been abandoned for years, so watch the floors and the walls. — Carmesim tried to sound rational, her voice low and rough.
Among them, she was the most sensitive to what couldn't be seen. Maybe that was exactly why they were there. They trusted her instincts, trusted what they couldn't perceive but she somehow could.
— Relax, guys. There's nothing here except old junk… and maybe rats and bats chewing on something rotten. — Lucas raised his hands, laughing.
— Then prove it. — Marcos, the most skeptical of the group, crossed his arms. — We spend the night and leave before sunrise. Easy. No ritual crap, no Ouija boards, no stupid games. Just a few hours. What could possibly happen?
— What could happen? Seriously? We're acting like a bunch of idiots walking straight into a supernatural challenge, spending the whole night in an abandoned school! — He paused, gesturing lazily toward the building. — Logically speaking? Five teenagers, one challenge, and a haunted place. That's basically a perfect recipe for something to go horribly wrong.
The others exchanged tense glances. Rafael was right. None of this made sense. What they were doing was wrong on several levels. The place had been abandoned for decades. There could be squatters… criminals… or something worse.
And what were they doing?
Walking straight into a place without laws, without rules.
Ignoring logic. Ignoring reason.
And still… they wanted to risk it, just to feel part of something reckless and alive.
— But it's all for the challenge, right?
Hope let out a quiet, nervous laugh at the brutal accuracy of his words.
Rafael was saying what none of them wanted to admit. Was it stupid? Yes. Completely.
But everyone was doing it.
So why would it go wrong for them?
Carmesim knew better. When it came to the laws that governed things beyond the natural, everything could shift. Shadows weren't fair. Balance was a delicate diamond, meant to be admired… not touched.
She knew that.
She had read about it in the library just seven days ago.
And still, she was here.
— I… I don't know. — Carmesim, the quietest of them, stared at the broken windows. — Something about this place feels… wrong. I don't know… maybe we should go back…
Rafael glanced sideways. For a split second, he thought he saw a shadow slipping behind one of the remaining columns.
He said nothing.
It was probably just tension.
People said that when you walk into places with a dark past, your mind plays tricks on you. Expectations, fear… a brain already wired to see the supernatural will create it.
He gave a subtle shake of his head and looked back at Carmesim, but stayed silent.
Lucas, however, didn't miss the moment.
With a wide grin, showing off perfectly aligned teeth, he stepped closer. Confidence bloated by a careless kind of stupidity, he placed his hands on her shoulders.
— Scared? — Lucas teased. — I thought you were our sweet little witch.
— Of course not! — she lied, forcing a brave tone. Hope laughed at her boldness. — But Fael has a point. We're doing exactly what we make fun of in those cliché teenage horror movies.
— Relax, Flower. We'll all walk out of those gates in one piece at 7:00 AM… and laugh about this whole haunting nonsense.
He said it with such certainty that no one argued.
No one protested.
They just believed him.
With one last look at the gate…
The five of them stepped inside.