Cinder Hall: Chasing Candlelight

“A sky as black as charcoal, it burned with silver lights.
A wind as sharp as needles, its fangs are tipped with ice.
The hills a sea of shadows, hiding its warm delight
its single flame a guide to those out wandering through the night
Their silhouettes together, forgetting time and weather,
their worries disappear, their hearts are full of cheer
and…”
“And I’m writing stupid poems up here while everyone else is out having a party.” Mason grumbled, shoving his notebook aside.
It wasn’t a very good line for the poem, but it summed his mood much better.
He slumped back against the window box, looking at the school grounds for what was likely the thousandth time. It was almost the same as how his poem had described it. A cold starry night shining over a dark field whose shadows fled in the light a massive bonfire. He could see shapes of students running around, talking with friends and drinking from plastic cups. He could even make out the pinprick flashes of cell phones as they snapped pictures.
They really looked like they were having a good time.
“What is wrong with me?” He moaned, plopping his face into his hands. “Come on Mason? Why don’t you just go!?”
“Because you don’t want to”. His mind was quick to reply.
“Yeah…I guess…but everyone else is having a good time. Why not just go and maybe you’ll have a good time too? You never know…”
“It’s already past curfew. By the time you get there, they’ll be telling people to leave. Then you’ll have wasted all that effort walking back and forth.”
“Yeeaahh…but wouldn’t it be nice to hang out with someone for once?”
“Like who?”
Mason sighed. He didn’t have an answer for this one. Already he’d been here a week and barely knew anyone. Sure there were nice people. He knew that for a fact, but…a party? Not even a formal party, just a get-togetherish hang-out-type party? It just felt so…so…
“Different.” Mason mumbled with a smirk. “But that’s why I came here, wasn’t it?”
It was strange how much that sounded like a lie. He’d come here because he’d been forced to. Everything had been set in place and arranged before he’d even had time to blink by some unknown benefactor. He had no choice but to come to this school.
But he could never lie, not even to himself. It was his greatest frustration.
He could have struggled, after all. He knew enough about legal terminology and loopholes to have worked his way out of coming. But he hadn’t. And why hadn’t he?
Mason’s hand moved to his chest. He could still feel it in there when he thought about it; an awkward little lump of metal that was too close to his heart to be removed. It had happened so quickly, it felt so surreal that if that that bullet had gone straight through him, he might be able to question whether it had happened at all.
He was here because he’d chosen to be.
“That’s it.” With a sudden resolve, Mason reached for his notebook and slipped it into his backpack. “I’m going to go out there. If it sucks, it sucks but I’ll at least have tried.”
He got to his feet and swung the bag over his shoulder. His hands instantly returned to their rightful place inside his hoodie pocket. He’d wear his uniform whenever he was required of course, but it just never felt quite as comfortable as his hoodie did.
His footsteps echoed as he raced through the empty rooms of Cinder Hall.  Already he’d managed to memorize their locations but none held his interest. He barely gave the classroom numbers and bulletin boards a passing glance, instead making a beeline for the main entrance. He shoved the doors open and paused only long enough to make sure they didn’t bang behind him. The air was even colder then he’d guessed. He could see his breath give off the faintest puff of clouds and the back of his neck tingled with goosebumps.
“No wonder there’s a bonfire.” He shivered. Maybe he should go back inside. The last thing he wanted was to catch a cold…
He shook the idea from his head, grit his teeth and raced on as quickly as his legs would carry him before he could lose his nerve. The ground felt hard beneath his sneakers, stiff as a corpse with sprigs of frosted grass sprouting up everywhere. Even knowing the school was just behind him; Mason couldn’t help feeling as if he were miles away swimming in the same icy sea he’d written about earlier. He really should have brought his trench coat, but there was no helping it now. Besides, Mason thrived in harsh weather no matter what the doctors might say. His eyes fixed upon the pillar of flames, its smoke billowing in the breeze, and made it his lighthouse. The cheerful murmurs and laughs of the party floated up to meet him and he tried not to worry about what his arrival might do to them. Maybe he’d make a scene, maybe he’d be ignored but as long as he got there, it would be worth it. At least he could say he’d tried.
Then it happened.
“Oh….I didn’t realize it was my birthday yet.”
The voice was an echo, as soft and light as a feather floating carelessly on the sharp breeze yet it struck harder than a knife.
“What?” Mason yelp and tried to stop, but his shoe found its way into a branch and he crashed into the ground. Gravel scraped his face, the dry grass stung like needles against newly torn skin and his backpack flopped onto the ground beside him.
“….Ow…” He grunted, pushing himself up slowly. He rubbed his battered face. The faint white scrapes stung at his touch but he seemed to be okay.
However, his trip was the last thing on his mind.
The merriment of the partygoers had switched into shrieks and squeals of fear. A few were tinged with delight, the screams of brave or ignorant people who only played fear for fun, but others were struck with pure terror and panic. His gaze returned to the bonfire only to see it extinguished with not even a puff of smoke to prove it had ever been there. Had his eyes not already been accustomed to the dark Mason might have been shocked by the sudden darkness. Instead, he could make out the shapes of students running around or huddling together with their friends. Taller figures whom he guessed to be the staff were scattered like mice, shouting at the top of their lungs for everyone to calm down which only enhanced the chaos.
Did that mean….
Oh thank goodness! They’d heard that voice too!
Or at least someone had.
Mason felt a jolt as he dug through his pockets and withdrew his magatama; a small stone shaped like half a yin-yang symbol and cold to the touch.
More importantly, it was blue.
His face pulled into a frown as a growl of frustration escaped his throat. There was no way that voice could have come from the party. It had sounded too close, but there didn’t seem to be anyone else around. That meant it could have been a ghost, but his stone’s color hadn’t changed to green and it certainly wasn’t glowing.
“That leaves two options.” He considered, shoving the stone away. “Either it’s already gone or it’s not a ghost at all….but then, what could it be?”
He looked up again as the staff slowly began to regain control. A few kids were laughing, a few more were crying, either way it was clear that the party was over. Mason felt a wave of relief mixed with annoyance. Still, he couldn’t be too upset, even if he had missed the party. Ever since he’d gotten here, there had been so many odd things. From the school’s murderous history to his own unexplained presence here, it seemed impossible that something wasn’t going on below the surface and it had been driving him buggy. Now he finally had something to investigate and he couldn’t help smirking.
“Guess it wasn’t a waste coming out here either way.” He mused as he hurried towards panicking party. He didn’t have much time before the staff realized it was curfew or worse, someone started stepping on potential clues.
“I guess I better get started.”