The three of them sat in silence, frozen in place.
Annie, Rose, and Kayla stared at the note still clenched in Annie's hand. The words scribbled on it felt like a ghostly echo—Help me… the Garden is after me… I don't want to die yet!
None of them spoke. Not out of fear, but because none of them knew what to say.
Was it a trap? A plea? A remnant of someone already gone?
The television still played the breaking news report in the background, detailing the disappearance of a young woman believed to be the next target of the Garden. The timing was too perfect… too calculated.
Kayla finally broke the silence.
"We have to do something."
Rose spoke next, her voice low and uncertain.
"Yeah… we have to do something. But how? We don't even know where this supposed victim is."
Annie remained silent, her eyes locked on the note as if trying to read between its desperate lines.
Kayla stood up, determination flaring in her voice.
"Rather than just sitting here, let's at least try to find a clue. Anything. Waiting won't help anyone."
But Rose shook her head, a trace of frustration in her tone.
"No. This could be a trap—a really well-set-up one, too. You both know that only we have seen the face behind it all. If anyone has a reason to lure us out, it's them."
The air in the room turned heavy.
A cry for help—real or fake—now stood between survival and a setup that could cost them everything.
As Rose and Kayla continued to argue, Annie's eyes stayed fixed on the crumpled piece of paper in her hand. Something about the way the words were written—it didn't feel right. It was too desperate… too perfect.
She slowly smoothed out the note, reading it again, this time with more scrutiny:
Help me… the Garden is after me… I don't want to die yet!
Her eyes narrowed.
Why were certain letters darker than the others?
She held it up to the light and traced her finger under the ink.
Then it hit her—some of the letters had a faint underline. She started picking them out, one by one
Help me… the Garden is after me… I don't want to die yet!
She whispered them aloud, slowly.
"H… M… T… G… A… M… W… D… Y…"
It didn't mean anything at first glance. But what if it wasn't the first letter of every word?
She shifted focus again—this time counting every third word. That's when it began to make sense.
"Help me… the Garden is after me… I don't want to die yet!"
1st word: Help
4th word: Garden
7th word: don't
10th word: yet
Then she saw it—each of those had a single bold letter slightly darker.
Help
Garden
Don't
Yet
"H-G-D-Y…" Annie muttered under her breath.
She flipped the paper and checked the back—there, in faint pencil scribble, was something she hadn't noticed before.
Look deeper in GYDH: 47th and Elm. Basement.
Her heart skipped a beat.
"Guys," Annie said, standing abruptly. "It's not just a plea. It's a location. 'GYDH'—that's the old industrial building on 47th and Elm. I think the victim's being held there."
Rose and Kayla fell silent.
This wasn't a prank. It was real.
And someone… was still alive.