Working On the Weekend

Chapter 7 - God Always Forgives

The duo soon splits up. Keith bolts down the corridor, about to slide into a random classroom– cause as everyone knows, murderers and serial killers don't usually hide in dark places – when he realizes his stupidity.

He pauses for a moment, both trying to listen to the silence and catch his breath. The eerie whistling stopped, but that might be due to the cowardly running taking him far away from whatever was producing the noise.
Without Mr. Tripper to fill the atmosphere with his retrospective anecdotes, he finally feels the eeriness of being in an empty building at night.

He continues through the building known as The Science Block – famous for all the sciencey things that goes on in and around it.

Keith's eyes glance at a door marked 'Anatomy 1005' then another one followed, 'Developmental Biology 1008'. The further he walked, the more difficult the language on each door became.
"The hell is cytology?" Keith asks himself out loud, wandering a bit farther until he comes across a slight reflection of himself in the mostly transparent window.

I could have been a doctor or an engineer.
I could have been an engineer.

Only the sound of his sneakers squeaking against the tiled floor echoes through the corridor. He rubs a hand on his elbow trying to dust the cold night's air off. He mentally regrets not grabbing his jacket but he's usually not a person who gets chilly – in fact, since he's inside the building, he shouldn't be feeling cold at all.

Maybe because it's December.

Keith stuffs his hands in his pockets, soon passing by a classroom whose door is left ajar. It's at the end of the corridor. Seeing this, it makes him wonder all the reasons why someone would leave a door open like that, especially in that position. The door is in ample position to continue staring at him even after he's turned the corner. Once he passes the door, he'll still feel the menacing darkness watching him.
He slows his pace in which his squeaking footsteps subside, allowing him to listen if there is someone in the room or if it's just an empty room. He hangs closer to the wall as though he is trying to avoid an annoying friend or a strict teacher.

He successfully passes the room, trying not to look back as he speeds up a little, watching his steps and glad that the exit is a few turns away.

Suddenly, the bone-chilling sound – that he really didn't want to hear – pierces his ears. The unmistakable screech of a moving door. This sound seemed to have an effect on his nerves, slowing him down to an unsteady trot.

Which calls the question – why is it a natural reaction to be frozen in place when scared? If you don't move, are you technically invisible?
Keith ignores the narrator's words and continues to be scared.

The urge to make sure that nothing is behind him heightens but he keeps moving steadily. Soon he feels the threatening presence of someone behind him. Definitely his imagination –must be his imagination at this point, he thinks to himself, when he feels something sticking in his back. Although poking through his clothes, he can tell it is a cold piece of metal. A hand rests on his shoulder, urging him to come to a complete stop.

A gruff voice asks, "Who are you?"

"Professor Keith Williams." He squeaks out.

"Really Keith? Again?" The stranger asks as though he's recognizing the back of the teacher's head.

"Y-you?" The sudden stuttering prevents him from asking the man behind him, You know me? Keith asks himself but couldn't seem to get any words out.

"It's Parker."
As Keith feels the object lift off his spine, he lets out a deep breath. His relief soon melds into an embarrassed anger.

"What are you doing here?" Parker asks, chewing on a wad of gum. Keith turns around to see him dressed head to foot in the blue security guard uniform, spinning a piece of metal pipe between his fingers. A trick he picked up when he used to play drums.