Chapter 9 – Beneath the Silence
The silence pressed heavily on Ava's chest, like a weight she couldn't shake off. She sat on the edge of her bed, the old map spread out before her, its torn edges whispering secrets of long-lost truths. Her fingers traced the strange marks, the circles, the names that no longer sounded fictional—"Silencer," "East Wing," and most haunting of all, "Cave."
She barely noticed Lana pacing beside her, whispering theories under her breath. Nothing made sense. The deeper they dug, the more twisted the puzzle became.
"We have to find someone who knows more," Lana muttered. "There's no way this place is just a school."
Ava nodded slowly. "But who?"
Lana stopped pacing. "Mr. Kalu."
Ava looked up sharply. "No. Lana, he disappeared. They didn't arrest him. He just... vanished."
"Exactly," Lana said. "And nobody talks about it. Like they were told not to."
That sent a chill down Ava's spine.
"But what if he's gone?" she whispered.
"Then we find someone else who knew him. Someone who might be able to tell us what he knew."
The idea hung in the air like a ghost. Mr. Kalu's disappearance had been sudden, and the school wasted no time replacing him. But there had always been something different about him—his late-night classroom sessions, the way he'd speak in riddles when the lights flickered, how he'd once warned Ava to never enter the East Wing alone.
"I don't even know where to start," Ava admitted.
Lana glanced back at the map. "We start there. The East Wing."
It was a place no one talked about. Students said it was under renovation, but no workmen had ever been seen. Its hallway remained locked. Ava had passed it only once and remembered the chill in the air, the flickering lights, and the feeling that something—or someone—had been watching.
But they had no other leads.
Later that night, with the campus blanketed in silence and their dorm lights off, Ava and Lana snuck out. They stayed in the shadows, careful and deliberate, until they reached the East Wing doors.
They were locked, of course.
Ava knelt and took out the old key they had found tucked into the back of Mr. Kalu's desk drawer before his disappearance. Her hand trembled as she slid it into the lock.
Click.
The door creaked open.
Cold air spilled out like a sigh, brushing their skin like fingertips.
The hallway stretched ahead—long, dark, and still. Ava's heart pounded as they stepped inside, their footsteps echoing across the dust-covered floor. Old classroom doors lined the walls, most of them sealed shut. Faint whispers teased the edges of her hearing, but when she turned to Lana, she saw only fear mirrored back at her.
At the far end of the hallway, a door stood slightly ajar. Ava pushed it open.
The room inside looked like a forgotten archive. Stacks of papers, student files, old blueprints, and photographs covered in dust.
And on the wall—an old photo of Mr. Kalu, younger, smiling, standing beside a group of students.
Lana stepped closer. "He was more involved than we thought."
Ava nodded slowly. "He knew everything."
They began searching the files, digging for any clue. A name appeared multiple times—Elijah. No last name, no title. Just a scribble in the margins of reports and maps.
"Elijah might've worked with Mr. Kalu," Lana said. "Maybe he's still around."
As they copied notes and photos, Ava suddenly froze.
A whisper.
Clear this time.
"Ava."
Her name.
She spun around. No one.
Lana looked up. "What?"
"I heard... someone said my name."
Lana's expression tightened. "We need to go. Now."
They gathered what they could and fled the East Wing, locking the door behind them.
Back in their dorm, Ava tucked the map and files under her bed and sat on the mattress, her knees pulled to her chest. Her mind raced. Chloe's name had been mentioned in one of the documents—a report marked "Confidential." It said she'd reported hallucinations. Repeated sightings of "shadowy figures."
The school had called it mental distress.
Ava knew better.
She wasn't losing her mind.
She was seeing the truth.
"Chloe wasn't crazy," she whispered.
Lana sat beside her. "Neither are you."
A knock startled them both.
It was Jessy.
He smiled, holding out two cups. "I brought cocoa. Thought you might need it."
Ava smiled, genuinely this time. Jessy was like her anchor—always there, always calm. He'd been the one person she never had to question. His laughter, his loyalty, his steady presence—it kept her grounded.
She took the cup and gave his hand a light squeeze. "Thanks, Jessy."
"Always."
As he left, Lana turned to Ava. "He really cares about you."
"I know," Ava said. "He's like a brother."
They didn't know it yet, but Jessy's role in everything was far more complicated. His betrayal, when it came, would be the final crack in Ava's already breaking heart.
That night, as Ava drifted into sleep, the dreams returned.
Chloe, standing in the corridor.
Whispers.
"They're watching. Don't trust anyone."
And in the distance, the shadows moved again.
The game had never ended.
It had only just begun.