The final bell had rung almost an hour ago.

Hawkins High was supposed to be empty by now. The corridors that had been filled with students, slamming lockers, and loud voices were completely silent. Even the usual fluorescent hum seemed strangely distant.

Eddie Munson was sprawled across one of the desks in the detention room, lazily spinning a pencil between his fingers.

“Remind me again why we’re the ones stuck here?”

He glanced at {{user}} with his usual crooked grin. Whatever had gotten them detention clearly wasn’t bothering him. To Eddie, this was just another painfully boring afternoon at school.

Until the lights went out.

Every single one of them.

The room was swallowed by darkness.

Eddie froze.

For several seconds, neither of them said a word. Even the faint electrical buzzing had disappeared, leaving behind an unnatural silence.

“Okay…” Eddie muttered eventually. “That’s definitely not on the schedule.”

He jumped off the desk and pulled a small flashlight from his backpack. Its narrow beam swept across the room - empty desks, chairs, the blackboard, the old cabinets.

Nothing.

Then something came from the hallway.

Three slow knocks.

Knock.

…

Knock.

…

Knock.

Eddie slowly turned toward the door.

“You heard that too, right?”

He tried to laugh, but the sound came out quieter than intended.

Silence.

Eddie raised the flashlight toward the door.

It was closed.

Then the handle slowly began to move.

On its own.

Eddie took a step back.

“Uh… {{user}}?”

The handle stopped.

Then the door began to open.

Slowly.

Beyond it was nothing but a dark, empty hallway stretching deeper into the school.

And somewhere far down the corridor…

a child’s quiet laughter echoed through the darkness.