Stay Inside

Savannah McCormick sat on her twin sized bed her soft purple blanket wrapped around her legs. In her hands, was a book she had been trying to finish for months.
Mrs. McCormick, Savannah’s mother, peeked her head into the lavender room.
“Come on darling, it’s almost past six. You know what to do.” Sadly, Savannah did know what to do.
In the town of Shoreside, things were quite different. What made it different? The Lockdown Period.
The Lockdown Period, The LP for short, was a time where children move themselves to designated windowless rooms. Only for sleeping. They are allowed to move about inside the room, but they may not leave.
Adults however, sleep with blindfolds on. None of the residents of Shoreside know exactly what is so terrifying, no one knows how the myth started, but now everyone thinks it’s true.
When a child starts their school career, they learn about the Lockdown Period, the purpose, the legend, the history.
Shoreside was founded my Michael Shore in 1856. Him and his friends built the town. Eventually, Michael Shore began to realize that people were beginning to disappear.
So, the original residents held a lookout. Michael along with thirty-two others stayed up for five consecutive nights.
The number soon decreased to twenty-seven. Then soon there were only fifteen people left.
Not one of them was Michael Shore.
No one particularly knows how the Lockdown Period began, or why looking outside would result in your soul being taken.
Yes, Shoreside was quite a gruesome town.
Now some of you may be asking why Savannah and her family didn’t just leave Shoreside. Savannah asked countless times, but the house she lived in had been in the McCormick family since 1856.
Savannah sprung off her bed, carrying her blanket and book with her. She navigated her way down the dimly lit hallway.
Her parents didn’t believe in turning lights on when nearing the LP. Some people kept them on, but the McCormick’s only used lamps and evergreen scented candles.
Savannah opened the creaky door to her windowless room. The door was used every night, it just insisted on creaking open. It was designed like that.
Maybe so that, if you decided you were brave enough to leave your room, whatever was out there would hear you and kill you.
Savannah checked the wall clock. It was 5:58. Two minutes.
Both of her parents came in, per usual, to say goodnight. They were in and out in 30 seconds.
Combined.
Savannah was an only child. She was supposed to have a younger brother, but he was born with a disability and it tragically caused him to pass away at three months old.
His name was Drew.
Mrs. McCormick worked at Thy Blindfold Shoppe. The store was built a few years ago but was given the feel of being built when Shoreside was founded.
Old posters were plastered to the walls, and artifacts sat on wooden shelves.
Before the shop opened, families had to travel three hours to the nearest convenience store.
Not very convenient if Savannah said so herself.
She wasn’t much in the mood for reading, looks like it would take a little longer to finish her book.
Savannah pulled the thin sheet over her, then her blanket. In no time, Savannah was asleep.
The next morning, Savannah woke up, checked the clock, and left the room.
Lockdown Period was from 6:00 PM to 6:00 AM. 7:00 on weekends.
Today was Tuesday, Savannah had school again. The only good thing about Shoreside Middle School was she got to see her best friend, Logann Peters.
The two were an unlikely pair. When they were young, their mothers had been best friends. After Savannah’s mother suffered young Drew McCormick’s death, Mrs. Peters gave her some space.
Savannah always asked Logann when Mrs. Peters would bring her lasagna over for dinner again. Logann always replied with the same thing.
“She’s giving your mom some space,” she would say while inspecting her fingernails.
Savannah stopped asking after that.
Yes, Logann was a girl. During attendance, the teachers always got confused. Especially on the first few days.
They expected a boy.
Some subs just didn’t care, and neither did Logann. If it were Savannah, it would bother her that people assumed who she was.
Logann was loud and spunky. She had bleach blonde hair that always had a different colored streak through it each week.
Savannah however, was quieter and kept to herself. At times she could be mischievous and make people laugh. She had auburn hair, and tan skin. Her eyes were hazel and she had a freckle under her left eye.
Mrs. McCormick nearly dropped her coffee as Savannah went skipping down the stairs.
“Careful there, Sav.” The woman laughed, steadying herself.
Savannah skid into the kitchen and grabbed a muffin.
“Hi dear.” Mr. McCormick greeted, while chopping up vegetables for his morning salad.
Savannah smiled through a mouthful of chocolate chips.
“Your little girl is in quite a rush this morning,” Mrs. McCormick noted, joining her family in the kitchen.
“I’m sorry!” Savannah apologized. “I just really want to get to school this morning. Logann promised to bring me- “
Savannah paused, she couldn’t reveal that her best friend had snuck an old book from the library about the history of Shoreside.
Logann and Savannah had been secretly studying the history of their hometown. The two were quite confused about the Lockdown Period’s history.
“Well, well. What’s new. Our Savannah’s excited to learn.” Mr. McCormick chuckled, tossing the carrots into the salad.
Savannah smiled and threw her muffin wrapper away, before sprinting back upstairs.
She dug through her closet, finding a black off-the-shoulder top, and a white scarf. She threw on some paint-splattered blue jeans and pulled her hair up into a messy bun.
Savannah slid on her white Converse and slipped the scarf over her head. She slung her teal backpack over her shoulder, said her goodbyes, and was out the door.
The dull yellow school bus had just rounded the corner when Savannah stepped outside.
The early autumn air was cool and had a brisk wind hidden inside.
The bus driver motioned for Savannah to get on, and she did. Walking down the aisle, she spotted Logann staring out the window.
Savannah took the spot next to her, and Logann turned.
“Hi, Savvy!” Logann smiled. Her hair had a green streak in it this week, which brought out her green eyes.
Savannah smiled back. “Do you have the book,” she asked, getting straight to the point.
Logann smirked and unzipped her rainbow backpack. She lugged out a heavy, brown book. With its leather cover and yellowed pages, it looked like something out of a horror movie.
Savannah bit her lip to hold back a squeal. This held answers to what they had been looking for.
The two best friends had been searching through old records of Shoreside, since teachers and parents were hardly any help.
The bus lurched as the driver nearly missed a stop. Logann dropped the book and it slid forwards to the front of the bus.
Logann and Savannah looked at each other as they spotted the book in the aisle. Then two feet were standing right next to it.
The feet that belonged to the biggest bully in Shoreside Middle School.
His name was Liam Terry. His father was the mayor, and his mom was the owner of the blindfold shop Savannah’s mom worked at.
Liam Terry bent down and picked up the book. Savannah and Logann stopped breathing. Everything was dead silent. Even the bus driver didn’t object.
Liam Terry opened to the first page, before speaking.
“This book,” he started. “Is stolen property.”
He looked right at Logann and Savannah.
“You’re lucky I’m not in the mood for busting brats like you.” Then, he sat down and took the book with him.
Savannah wanted to cry. They had been so close, just one more minute and they would have had answers.
When the bus pulled up to school, both Savannah and Logann were in sour moods. It wasn’t much better during 7th period.
Their Social Studies teacher was starting to assign a project when Logann interrupted.
“Tell us the real story of the Lockdown Period.” She ordered.
Mrs. Y froze. “There is nothing more you need to know. What you have heard is all there is.”
“No, there has to be more,” Logann continued. “None of it makes any sense. Why do we have Lockdown Periods if people started to disappear. How do we even know that it’s still unsafe to look outside?”
“That will be enough, Ms. Peters.” Mrs. Y said loudly.
Logann glared at the young teacher.
“Answer my question.”
“That’s it, see me after class. All of you, start on the assignment. It is no longer a group project, it will now be independent. You can thank Ms. Peters.”
A few students grumbled something about how Logann needed to stay quiet at times.
Savannah’s day just kept getting better when she missed the bus home waiting for Logann. They ended up walking home.
As Logann pulled the door to her house open, she whispered.
“Sneak outside, before the Lockdown Period starts. Meet me at my room. I have a plan.” She said. And then she retired into her house.
The rest of the day dragged by, and by the time 5:50 rolled around, Savannah was already saying her goodnights.
“Going to bed so soon?” her father said.
“I’ll see you tomorrow, Sav.” Said her mother.
So, they both went to bed as well. When she knew they were both asleep, Savannah climbed out the window in her other room and ran to Logann’s house.
The time on her watch said 5:59:08. She had 52 seconds.
Savannah climbed up the ladder that Logann had hung from her window and tumbled into the room.
“About time you got here.” Logann joked.
Savannah rolled her eyes. “Okay, O’ Mysterious One. What’s so important that I must sneak out of my own house.
Logann’s expression became dead serious.
“We’re going to get answers.”
Savannah nodded. “I know, but how?”
“We’re going to get answers, even if it means looking outside.”