The four of them spent their free period much like they had the day before, wandering the halls, searching for anything that could explain why Shady High had been abandoned so suddenly. At first, it was aimless. They checked classrooms and flipped through old lesson plans left behind on desks. Nothing stood out.

Luke was growing impatient. “We need to be more methodical about this,” he said. “We should focus on places we haven’t checked yet.”

Sen, who had been poking at a forgotten chemistry textbook, rolled his eyes. “Yeah, because methodical searching is what’s gonna crack the case.”

Hakari stretched her arms behind her head. “Got a better idea?”

“Yeah, actually.” Sen motioned toward the stairwell. “We haven’t spent much time upstairs.”

Luke considered it, then nodded. “Fine. Let’s go.”

Yen, who had been following quietly, glanced at Luke before hesitantly adding, “It might be good to check places people wouldn’t normally go, too.” His voice was soft, as if unsure whether to speak up.

“Like a janitor’s closet or a weird secret lab?” Sen wiggled his fingers in mock mystery.

Yen shifted uncomfortably. “Not… exactly, but—”

“Actually, he’s not wrong,” Luke said, adjusting his glasses. “We should be looking for places that aren’t just classrooms.”

The second floor was just as abandoned as the first—quiet, still, untouched. Classrooms had been left mid-lesson, with chairs slightly pulled out, and assignments scattered on desks. Like students and teachers had walked away without warning. They walked down an unfamiliar hallway, their footsteps echoing through the silence. Then Luke stopped.

“What is it?” Hakari asked.

Luke pointed toward a door at the end of the hall. “I don’t remember that being there.”

Sen tilted his head. “It’s just a door, dude.”

“No.” Luke narrowed his eyes. “I mean, I don’t remember ever seeing it before. Even when this place was open.”

Hakari’s interest immediately piqued. “Then let’s open it.” She strode forward and grabbed the handle. It didn’t budge.

“Locked,” she muttered, trying again.

“That’s probably a good thing,” Luke pointed out. “Maybe we should think about why it was locked before we go breaking into random places.”

Hakari ignored him. She planted her foot against the wall for leverage and pulled the handle again with all her strength.

Still locked.

Hakari huffed and tried kicking it instead.

Sen crossed his arms, smirking. “Real subtle.”

Luke pinched the bridge of his nose. “We are going to get caught.”

“By who?” Sen asked.

Yen shifted uncomfortably, glancing down the hallway as if expecting someone to appear. “I don’t know if this is a good idea.”

“We’re already doing it,” Sen said with a grin. “Might as well see it through.”

After several more failed attempts, Hakari stepped back, shaking out her arms. “Okay, new plan.”

Luke sighed in relief, assuming she was giving up.

“I need something to pick the lock.”

Luke groaned. “I should’ve seen that coming.”

“I don’t think that’s how locks work,” Yen said softly.

“Worth a shot,” Sen said, pulling something from his pocket. He held up a slightly bent paperclip. “Will this work?”

Hakari grabbed it without hesitation. “Only one way to find out.”

Luke looked like he wanted to protest, but at this point, even he was curious. He watched as Hakari crouched in front of the door and jammed the paperclip into the lock, twisting and jiggling it with reckless determination.

Sen crouched beside her. “You sure you know what you’re doing?”

“Nope.”

A few agonizing moments passed. Hakari’s tongue stuck out slightly in concentration. The paperclip wiggled, twisted, then—

Click.

She blinked.

Sen’s eyes widened. “Wait, that actually worked?”

Hakari grinned, standing up and throwing the door open triumphantly. “Hell yeah, it did.”

Luke’s skepticism melted into reluctant admiration. “I can’t believe that actually worked.”

“I’m just that good,” Hakari said, stepping inside.

Yen lingered by the door, hesitant, but followed the others in.

The air inside was stale, untouched. Unlike the rest of the school, this place was kept clean and organized. Dim light filtered through a single, dust-covered window, illuminating the storage room. Shelves lined the walls, stacked with identical devices—rough, scrap-like headsets with thin wires coiled beside them.

Sen whistled. “What are these?”

Luke’s expression darkened. “Dreamland Devices. The reason why none of us remembered the door is because they’d always have us close our eyes on the way here…”

Hakari picked one up, examining it. “Wait, the weird VR things?”

Sen snapped his fingers. “Oh yeah! We used these in class sometimes.”

“I never trusted them.” Luke folded his arms.

“They were kinda fun, though,” Hakari said, toying with the device. “I remember some kids getting way too into them.”

“Yeah,” Sen said. “It was like a dream, but real. But also kinda not real. Y’know?”

Hakari gave him a blank stare. “What?”

Sen waved his hands. “Like, I remember using it, but I don’t remember what I did in there. It’s all… fuzzy.”

Luke’s expression didn’t change. “That’s exactly why I never used them.”

Yen hovered near one of the shelves, running a hand over the dusty surface. “Why would they lock these away?”

Luke adjusted his glasses. “That’s what we need to figure out.”

They stood in the middle of the room, surrounded by the forgotten devices.

“If these things were supposed to be for education, why keep them locked up like this?” Hakari asked.

Luke exhaled sharply. “I don’t think they were just for education.”

Sen tilted his head. “What do you mean?”

“These weren’t normal VR headsets,” Luke said. “They were experimental. And now they’re sealed away, hidden like they never existed.”

“That just makes me wanna try one even more.” Sen was getting excited.

Luke’s head snapped toward him. “Absolutely not.”

“Why not?” Sen’s excitement was shut down.

“Because,” Luke said, “we don’t know how they work. We don’t know why they were locked away. And if we’re going to mess with something that could be dangerous, we need to understand what we’re dealing with first.”

Sen groaned. “Man, you suck the fun out of everything.”

Luke rolled his eyes.

Hakari set the device back on the shelf. “So what do we do?”

Yen shifted slightly, eyeing the devices uneasily. “Maybe we should take one with us. Just to study it.”

Luke hesitated. “Maybe, but for now we shouldn’t risk it.” Still, he carefully picked one up, inspecting the wires.

They exchanged glances, knowing this was bigger than anything they expected to find.

None of them were turning back now.