Ghost Hunting Kids And A Dog

Ghost Hunting Kids And A Dog

By Stephen A Abell – Monday, 23rd October 2023.

Number of Words – 300



         Sheriff Maggie McDonald flicked wet hair from her eyes and glared at the dilapidated school. "They should've torn this place down ages ago," she admitted to her companion. Max, a rescue Alsatian, sat alert, ears perked, sensing tension in the air.
         With a shove, the school doors creaked open. Maggie’s flashlight pierced the darkness, revealing wet footprints, confirming the report of teens entering. Max snuffed the air and confidently padded down the hall. His keen senses outshining hers amidst the overpowering stench of mildew and decay.
         Max sat by a classroom door, inside frightened voices whispered. Keeping her sidearm holstered, Maggie announced, "This is Sheriff McDonald. I'm coming in." Anxious and relieved faces glared at her in the torchlight.
         "What're you guys doing here?" Maggie inquired.
         "It was Johnny's idea," a girl confessed.
         Johnny stuttered, "I only wanted to see the ghost, and you lot thought it was a great idea too."
         "Well, did you spy the spirit?"
         "Hell, yeah! We ran in here to escape, but it followed us. Walked right through that door, knelt at the chalkboard, and vanished. Then you came in."
         Maggie smirked. "No harm's been done. Let's get you ho…"
         Max barked, commanding her attention to the skirting under the board. Kneeling beside him, she uncovered a hidden compartment enclosing a box. In the upcoming days, Jane devoured the janitor's heartfelt journals. The classroom had been for English, and Miss Green was the teacher. On the day he planned to confess his sentiments, she suffered a catastrophic car crash and lay comatose for months, eventually dying. Grief-stricken and overwhelmed with the school's melancholy, the janitor claimed his own life. Three decades later, the police finally possess his suicide note and know the reasoning behind his morose decision, thanks to a dog and some ghost-hunting teens.

For the "Daily Flash Fiction Challenge"   by Arakun the Twisted Raccoon