The detention room had never felt so quiet.
Not because the students inside had settled down.
Because they hadn't.
Nobody was talking.
Not really.
The earlier arguments had burned themselves out, leaving behind a tense silence that felt heavier than any shouting match.
Frankie stared at their phone.
No new messages.
No missed calls from Heath.
Just a string of unanswered calls they'd made over the last hour.
"...Still nothing."
Clawd looked over from the opposite side of the room.
"He answer?"
Frankie slowly shook their head.
"No."
Draculaura hugged her knees tighter.
"He wouldn't just ignore us."
"He is if he thinks we're gonna stop him," Clawd muttered.
Nobody disagreed.
After everything that had happened...
It sounded exactly like something Heath would do.
The classroom door opened.
Mr. Rotter stepped inside with Manny a pace behind him.
Manny held an ice pack against the side of his face.
The swelling had already started.
Mr. Rotter pinched the bridge of his nose.
"I'll be escorting Manny to the nurse and then speaking with Headmistress Bloodgood."
His tired gaze swept across the room.
"I expect every one of you to remain exactly where you are."
Nobody answered.
"I mean it."
Another silence.
Finally he sighed.
"I'll be back shortly."
The door closed behind them.
The click of the lock echoed through the room.
Nobody moved.
For almost ten seconds.
Then Frankie stood.
"We're leaving."
Every head turned.
Cleo blinked.
"...Excuse me?"
"We have to find Heath."
Deuce looked uncertain.
"Frankie..."
"They've been calling him for almost an hour."
Frankie held up the phone.
"He isn't answering."
"They're right," Draculaura said quietly.
"If Heath's alone..."
She couldn't finish the sentence.
She didn't need to.
Everyone knew.
Clawd stood.
"I'm going."
"I figured you would."
"I'm serious."
"So am I."
Abbey rose next.
"Waiting accomplishing nothing."
Ghoulia nodded once.
She had already opened a map application on her phone.
She pointed toward several locations she'd marked.
Lagoona leaned over.
"The police station..."
"The bus terminal..."
"The human side..."
Frankie nodded.
"He could've gone anywhere."
"He only thinks with his heart," Clawd said.
"Unfortunately," Deuce muttered, "his heart usually outruns his brain."
A few weak laughs escaped.
Only for a moment.
Then the silence returned.
From the back of the room came another voice.
"...I'm coming too."
Everyone looked.
Toralei pushed herself away from the wall she'd been leaning against.
Her usual smug grin wasn't there.
Instead she looked...
Annoyed.
Mostly with herself.
Cleo folded her arms.
"I wasn't aware anyone invited you."
"They didn't."
Toralei shrugged.
"I'm still coming."
Clawd frowned.
"Why?"
She looked away.
"...Because this got out of hand."
Nobody spoke.
She rolled her eyes.
"Oh, don't look so surprised."
Frankie studied her.
"...You mean that."
"I do."
Toralei sighed through her nose.
"I like causing trouble."
"You noticed," Deuce muttered.
"I don't like..." She searched for the words.
"...Whatever this is."
She gestured vaguely toward the window.
"Police."
"Missing people."
"Everyone freaking out."
She kicked lightly at the leg of a desk.
"I wanted to make somebody look stupid."
Her ears flattened slightly.
"Not..."
She trailed off.
Frankie finished quietly.
"...Not ruin lives."
Toralei gave the smallest nod.
"And somebody framed all of us."
That got everyone's attention.
She looked around the room.
"You seriously think any of us painted graffiti all over New Salem High?"
"No," Clawd admitted.
"I don't."
"I sure didn't."
Toralei folded her arms.
"So somebody wanted monsters blamed."
Abbey's expression hardened.
"Creating conflict."
"Exactly."
Frankie slowly nodded.
"So whoever did it..."
"...Is still out there," Toralei finished.
"And if Heath, Holt, and Jackie are all running around separately..."
She frowned.
"They're probably in danger too."
Lagoona looked surprised.
"I never thought I'd hear you say that."
"Don't get used to it."
A tiny smile tugged at Draculaura's face.
"There she is."
Toralei smirked.
"Yeah, yeah."
Frankie looked around the room.
"So..."
"We split up?"
Ghoulia raised a finger.
She shook her head.
"No?"
Ghoulia mimed people separating before pretending to be picked off one by one.
"...Fair."
"We stay together," Clawd agreed.
"If something's going wrong..."
"...Nobody should be alone."
Another quiet agreement spread through the room.
Frankie moved toward the classroom door.
"Okay."
"Rule one."
"If anyone hears from Heath..."
"They tell everyone."
"Immediately."
Everyone nodded.
"Rule two."
"We don't start fights."
Toralei raised one eyebrow.
Frankie looked directly at her.
"...Unless somebody deserves it."
"That's not a rule," Cleo sighed.
"It can be."
"No."
Frankie couldn't help smiling.
"No."
Deuce carefully opened the detention room door.
The hallway outside was empty.
He looked left.
Then right.
"Coast is clear."
One by one the students slipped into the corridor.
Nobody spoke above a whisper.
Nobody wanted to get caught before they even started.
Frankie was the last to step through the doorway.
They glanced back once at the empty detention room.
Then quietly pulled the door closed.
The click sounded much louder than it should have.
For the first time since the day had begun...
They weren't waiting anymore.
Somewhere in New Salem, Heath was alone.
Somewhere else, Holt was running from the police.
And somewhere, Jackie was still missing.
If the adults couldn't bring them home...
Then maybe their friends could.
The search had begun...
---
The detention room door clicked shut behind them.
For a few seconds, nobody moved.
The hallway stretched out in both directions, empty except for the distant echo of lockers slamming as the rest of the school carried on with its day.
It felt wrong.
The world shouldn't have been this... normal.
Not after everything that had happened.
Frankie looked both ways before whispering, "Okay. We've made it this far."
"So what's the plan?" Deuce asked quietly.
"We're not just wandering around New Salem hoping we trip over Heath."
"No," Clawd agreed. "That'd take forever."
Lagoona frowned.
"And if the police are already looking for Holt..."
"They'll probably be everywhere on the human side," Draculaura finished.
Abbey crossed her arms.
"We need faster way."
Everyone fell silent.
Then Ghoulia cleared her throat.
All eyes turned toward her.
She quickly began signing.
Her hands moved with practiced confidence.
She pointed toward the floor.
Made a walking motion with two fingers.
Then spread her hands apart as though tracing a long underground path.
Frankie watched carefully.
"...The tunnels?"
Ghoulia nodded enthusiastically.
She pointed toward herself.
Then toward everyone else.
Then made another walking motion before pointing upward.
"...She says we should use the tunnels again," Frankie translated.
"They'll let us get underneath the city."
Ghoulia nodded again.
She mimed someone looking around above ground.
Then shook her head.
"...Less chance of humans spotting us."
Another nod.
"And we can come up wherever we need."
Clawd's ears perked up.
"...That's actually a really good idea."
Toralei smirked.
"Imagine that."
Ghoulia stuck her tongue out at her.
Toralei snorted.
"Okay, okay. Credit where it's due."
Abbey nodded once.
"Tunnels safer."
"Especially if everyone's focused on whatever's happening topside," Frankie agreed.
Cleo glanced around the hallway.
"Then we should leave before someone notices detention has emptied."
No one argued.
They hurried through Monster High's halls, keeping close together.
The castle seemed strangely quiet.
A few students glanced their way, but nobody stopped them.
Most assumed they had permission to be out.
Or simply had somewhere important to be.
For once...
Nobody questioned it.
They slipped through a side corridor.
Down a narrow stone staircase.
Past a forgotten storage room.
Then farther down.
The air cooled immediately.
Old stone replaced polished tile.
The familiar scent of damp earth filled the passage.
Lagoona smiled faintly.
"I'd almost forgotten these were down here."
Clawd ran a hand along the rough wall.
"I haven't."
Deuce looked around.
"This place is still creepy."
Toralei grinned.
"You're scared of everything underground."
"I am not."
"You screamed when a rat ran over your foot."
"It surprised me."
"It was asleep."
"...That is not the point."
A few quiet laughs spread through the group.
Not loud.
Not carefree.
But enough to ease the tension for a moment.
Frankie smiled.
"Keep moving."
Their footsteps echoed through the ancient passageways.
The deeper they went, the older the tunnels seemed to become.
Some sections were carved neatly from stone.
Others looked almost natural.
Water dripped somewhere in the darkness.
Their voices became softer.
Almost instinctively.
Like the tunnels demanded respect.
Ghoulia walked confidently at the front.
She had clearly memorized the route long ago.
Every few intersections she paused only long enough to point one direction before continuing.
Nobody questioned her.
After nearly twenty minutes of walking, the air began to change.
Cool stone gave way to warmer air.
The faint smell of asphalt drifted inside.
Frankie looked ahead.
"We're close."
Sunlight spilled through an opening ahead.
Not much.
Just enough to paint a pale rectangle across the tunnel floor.
Clawd climbed the last few steps first.
He carefully pushed open the concealed metal hatch.
It creaked softly.
He peeked outside.
After several long seconds, he looked back.
"Clear."
One by one they climbed out.
The hatch closed quietly behind the last of them.
They found themselves standing in a narrow alley between two brick buildings.
The sounds hit them immediately.
Car engines.
Pedestrians talking.
A bus stopping somewhere nearby.
The distant wail of another police siren.
Human New Salem.
Again.
Frankie slowly pulled out their phone.
Still no message from Heath.
Still nothing from Jackie.
Nothing from Holt.
They slipped the phone back into their pocket.
Clawd looked down the street.
"...We're back."
Nobody answered.
Because they all knew what that meant.
Whatever happened next...
They'd be facing it on the human side of New Salem together.