Nora felt like she might faint, but fear held her upright. Instead, she let out a scream, and after about a minute, she managed to regain her composure.
"Help us," she whispered hesitantly, afraid the girl might harm her, yet hoping she could help. The girl pointed toward the library, repeating the same cryptic message as before. Nora dashed inside. She was about to grab the original diary when she remembered what had happened to Jessica. Instead, she rummaged through Ryan's bag and found the transcription. As she read, her panic eased, though her mind raced through the spells. Spell after spell filled the pages, but none seemed useful in their current dire situation.
Nora had always been the quiet one—not because she had nothing to say, but because she preferred to stay unnoticed. She had a unique gift: she could tell when someone was lying. It wasn't exactly a superpower, just something innate, but it often landed her in trouble. For a time, she enjoyed this ability, but you can imagine how difficult her childhood was.
"Mommy, is Santa real?"
"Yes, and if you're good, he'll bring you gifts."
"Mommy, you're lying."
"Mommy, where do babies come from?"
"God gives them to us."
Her mother's answers sometimes left her uncertain if they were true or just comforting lies.
It was hardest when people lied without realizing it or when she was dealing with things that weren't black and white. She had always dreamed of becoming a detective, solving crimes and mysteries. Yet she knew her lie-detecting talent wasn't special since no one saw it that way. If you can spot a lie but not discern the truth, what good is it? So, she retreated into the shadows, the quiet girl who blended into the background. It wasn't that difficult for her since she wasn't stunningly beautiful—just "okay."
Nora had a habit of sleepwalking, too. Once, she wandered into one of the school ghosts in her sleep and was terrified, scared from dreamworld to reality. Even the aura of those monsters was frightening. She overheard the group chatting about ghosts, but when she asked them about it, they all lied—something she could tell immediately. In summary she was the quiet girl in the background. But today, she was the one the entire group would be counting on.
Then a thought struck her: what if someone else had escaped? She'd have to find them. But if they had escaped, they would come here.
She pushed the thought aside and focused on the book before her. Then she found it—a spell meant for when the team is kidnapped after walking into a trap and only one member remains. That was oddly specific. She chanted the words:
"HANE MA LE NENE ESANE MA LE KE JE I HUE ME."
Suddenly, a vision overwhelmed her. Long ago, when the school was known as a den of horrors and no one dared attend, the government had planned to shut it down. The headmaster had inherited the school—it was all he had. If it closed, his life would be ruined. Desperate, he confronted Mr. Smiley, demanding he leave. But Mr. Smiley declared the school his domain and refused to go. Just as he was about to kill the headmaster, a deal was proposed:
"If you kill me and they close this school," the headmaster said, "you'll have no one left to haunt or feed on. So let's make a deal: I'll create a group that chooses who must be killed, and each year, you get one student. You also get the son of every headmaster as your servant."
That was the deal in its simplest form.The group the headmaster had created were the "Red Hoods" lead by the unfortunate child of each head of the school. Then came the this headmistress, unwilling to let a demon claim her son. She formed an elite group of bright students to research ways to stop the monsters, naming them 'The Librarians,' who later became the 'Golden Circle.' She appointed Clera, a deeply prayerful Christian girl, as the first leader. But along the way, Clera lost her faith and was taken by the enemy. She had been their best, recording everything she could, as did every leader after her—until betrayal struck and the book was lost.
That loss stripped them of all their power, reducing them to nothing. The headmistress gave up and retired. Her replacement was complacent, distant from her son, spending most of her time away from the school. Apart from her, no one on the school board knew what was happening. She hadn't taken it seriously and ignored all the warning signs.
Nora snapped out of the vision, breathless.
"Oh my God, oh my God, that was a lot," she gasped, panicking as she tried to process everything. But she didn't have the luxury of time. The vision pulled her back in, continuing the story.
The group kept getting killed. They were lured into the bush, terrified, sometimes murdered; if not, they lost their sanity. Years ago, they turned on each other, committing unspeakable acts of violence.
Nora emerged from the vision again.
"Wait—they're all going to die? How can that be? Does that mean we never win? Was this all for nothing?" The questions flooded her mind, unanswered. She took a deep breath.
"I can't give up. We can't give up. They never had what we have. They never had Kelvin," she told herself.
She sat back down to read. The text said: if the team survived, the only way to save them was to wipe their memories of the forest. There was a spell, followed by a warning: the spell could only be cast once every 40 years, so unless you were certain of success, you shouldn't use it. And most importantly, the spell came at a price. That was where Ryan's translation had stopped.
"Ryan, you fool," she muttered angrily. There was nothing left to do but wait for them. If they survived, she would know what to do. She leaned back in her chair, trying to calm her fears. Then she heard a scuffle behind her. She turned, and Hakeem was holding the original diary. Before she could react, he was gone.