As the group was passing through the school, a flyer on the school's bulletin board caught Maya's eye: 'The Forgotten Legends of Crestwood: A Special Lecture'. Intrigued, she quickly tore it down to show the others.
"Maya, what's wr- Wait, what's that?" said Ava.
"It's a flyer. There's going to be a lecture held at the lecture hall down the street from our neighborhood. The lecture's going to be about the past and forgotten legends of our town Crestwood. And the lecture is going to be held by Professor Samuel Hawthorne," said Maya.
"Isn't Professor Hawthorne the old historian who discovered the manuscripts? The manuscripts which are estimated to be from 200 BC." asked Ethan.
"Yes," said Ava.
"Guys, we're not focusing on the main point here. This could be our chance to learn more. This could help us get towards the right path," said Maya.
"Right," said Liam.
That evening, the Midnight Society found themselves in a dimly-lit lecture hall, where the professor began his lecture with a cryptic question: 'Have any of you ever ever wondered why the old tales of Crestwood were never written down?' The lecture went on for 45 minutes. As everyone started leaving, Ava approached the professor.
"Hello, professor," said Ava.
"Hello, young lady," said the professor.
"I see you've quite a few friends interested to learn about the past," said the professor.
"Yes, we've got quite a bit of an interest in the topic over the past few months," said Ava.
"Well, that's lovely! It's nice to hear that the young ones are also taking a liking to the topic. Usually, everyone in my lectures is over 45 and 50 and mostly just historians like me," said the professor.
Ethan stepped forward and asked the professor, "Professor, have you come across some letters or messages with strange symbols?"
"In the recent days, yes," said the professor.
"So do we, professor," said Liam.
"It's best if you young lads don't get involved with this anymore then," said the professor.
"But why?" asked Maya.
"There was this group of teenagers your age who also loved exploring and digging deep into the past. One day, they came over the weird symbols too but they took it as a joke, not a warning, and alas for the past year they've gone missing," said the professor.
The group had chills over their body.
"Then, why do you still get involved then, Professor," said Maya.
"I'm already 60. I'm retiring soon and I'm getting pretty old. Even if I go missing or die, it was already supposed to happen. I'll just accept whatever God has in store for me," said the professor.
"Then, why can't we also get involved then? We'll also accept everything that comes our way," said Ethan.
"You're all too young for this. You need to live your lives, make memories that will stay with you forever," the professor said, his voice heavy with the weight of experience. "I've already lived mine, made memories that will last me a lifetime. Now, I just exist. But you... you all haven't done anything yet that will echo through time. So go, live your lives while you still can."
Suddenly, the lights started flickering. Footsteps approaching the lecture hall could be heard.
"Shh. Hide while you can. We don't have time. They're coming," professor whispered.
"Who's coming?" asked Ethan.
"No time for questions. Just go," said professor.
"Professor, don't you also have to hide?" asked Ava.
"Yes, maybe, but I don't care. You all hide while we have time. Go to that door. It's a tiny storage room. Now, go hide," said professor.
The footsteps were getting louder and louder. Much more louder.
"Professor, we can't leave you," said Maya.
"You can and you will," said professor.
"Do you all have want to go missing? Do you all have a death wish?" said professor.
"No, we want to uncover the past," said Liam.
"Well then, for that, you must hide," said professor.
"But-" said Maya.
"Ah ah. No buts," said the professor. "Just tell my family that I love them and I always will," professor continued.
The footsteps were getting even louder now! They sounded like they were coming from the hallway outside the lecture room. Whoever was approaching, was coming up fast.
"Guys, we have to go," said Ethan.
The group rushed over to the tiny storage room. As they were entering, they saw three figures emerge from the shadows. They sounded familiar. They looked like someone they had seen before. Wait, could it be that the ones who were out to get the professor and the Midnight Society had been none other than the Shadow Seekers?
This thought blew the group's minds. But as they could look any closer or creak the door a bit more open to get a better look, a sound could be heard. The group went silent and tried listening closer to the sound. 'Flick, flick' went the lights. As the flicks kept on going, the lights started getting dimmer and flickering more and more until the lights went out.
Soon, about 7 minutes later, the lights came back. But, professor was nowhere to be seen. The group started going around the whole room when..
"Guys, guys," said Liam. Liam was holding up a letter.
"What's that?" said Ethan.
"It's a letter. I found it under professor's desk," said Liam.
"Open it. Let's see what's inside," said Ava.
Liam opened the letter to find a paper full of the same strange symbols they had received before.
"We need to find professor," said Maya.
"Yeah," said Ava.
The group started searching the whole building but to no avail. Professor was already gone. Somewhere outside the building. Somewhere far away. But, as the group accepted defeat and were about to leave the building, they found a note on the ground.
"Wait up, guys," Maya said taking a closer look at the note.
"It's a note signed by Professor!" said Maya.
"Let me see," said Ethan.
"Wait, I'll read it," said Maya.
Maya read out: "Don't search for me. It's already too late. They might leave 'clues' on where I'm at but don't believe it. It's a trap. I've been caught and you're the next target up on the list."
The group got goosebumps. What did this mean? What would they do to professor? Where was he? What happened?
The group stood frozen, the weight of the professor's note sinking in.
"What does he mean we're the next target?" whispered Ava, her voice trembling.
"Whatever it is, it's bad," Ethan muttered, scanning the darkened hall.
"We need to act fast," Liam urged. "If they have the professor, who knows what's next."
Maya frowned. "Where could they have taken him? We searched everywhere."
"We can't just stand here," Ethan said. "We need to go back to the archives. The answers are there—we missed something."
"He's right," Liam agreed. "We need to understand why we're next. The town's past has more secrets than we realized."
"But we have to be careful," Maya warned. "If the professor's telling us not to follow the clues, there's a reason."
Ava nodded. "We need a plan. We'll gather everything we've learned—maps, research, everything. If they want us to fall into a trap, we have to be smart."
Determined, they exchanged glances. They wouldn't back down.
"We finish what the professor started," Ethan said firmly. "We'll uncover the truth, no matter what."
As they left the hall, the flickering lights dimmed once more. The Shadow Seekers were watching, and the Midnight Society was heading straight into the unknown.