I felt a sudden hand on my shoulder and jumped.
"Come on, Zee, what is it?" Cris asked.
I swallowed. "Remember when I told you I fell in that hole? I saw a portrait of the same man… but he only had a mustache. And the name said Xavier Paragon. The year wasn't 2002–it was 1001."
Cris blinked, caught off guard. But before she could respond, Shawn let out a laugh. "That's impossible, you know?"
I shot him a glare sharp enough to cut steel, but then Cris added, "I mean, don't get me wrong, but this building doesn't look ancient. They even have pictures from when it was being built." She gave a small shrug.
"I'm not lying," I snapped, gritting my teeth.
Cris wrapped an arm around me and leaned in. "I'm not saying you're lying. I'm just saying… maybe when you fell, you hit your head and imagined it all?"
She meant well, but she sounded completely absurd.
"So, you're saying I dreamed the future?" I said, flashing a sarcastic grin.
Cris recoiled, eyes wide. "No! That's not what I–"
"You're crazy," Shawn muttered, shaking his head.
"Listen, I *know* what I saw," I snapped. "If you don't believe me, come see for yourself."
"She must've seen something," Dorian said, stepping to my side. The second he did, a wave of relief washed over me.
Shawn scoffed. "Wow. Two crazies in our shiny new power group."
I ignored him and turned to Cris. "You coming?" Then, eyes back on Shawn, I added with a smirk, "It's okay if anyone's too scared. I'm not trained for heart attacks."
Shawn narrowed his eyes, then slowly walked back toward us. "Challenge accepted."
The second those words left his mouth, I regretted everything. After what happened last night, the last thing I wanted was to go *back* there. Especially at night.
But when the time came, I forced myself out the door.
My mind spiraled–*What if they don't show? What if this is another prank like before?* The fear gnawed at me until I saw them–Cris, Dorian, and even Shawn–all standing there, waiting.
"See? Told you she'd show," Dorian said, smiling at me.
God, the way he looked at me… it made my words tangle before they reached my tongue.
"Where are your flashlights?" I asked, managing to pull my focus back.
We stepped inside, and what I saw stopped me cold.
The floor was spotless. The boards are perfectly fitted. Everything exactly how it looked *before* I stepped on that plank.
"I swear it was right here!" I rushed to the exact spot where I'd fallen before.
"Hah! You almost had us," Shawn scoffed, planting his hands on his hips with a mock frown.
"Wait–there was a switch. A plank or something…" I dropped to my knees, scanning the floor with frantic eyes.
Shawn smirked. "Now you're just making things up because your trick didn't work."
"Here it is!" I shouted. "Everyone, back up!"
They stepped away, and I pushed that plank-hidden lever. Just like last time, it flipped–and the floor split open beneath it.
"Told ya," I said, arching a brow at Shawn.
"Holy… Now I'm curious," he muttered, clearly stunned.
We climbed down into the hidden room–a perfect copy of the principal's office.
"Woah… you weren't lying," Cris whispered, staring at the familiar portrait.
"What kind of door doesn't have a lock?" Dorian muttered, tapping around the edges.
I pulled the key from my purse, slid it into the first aid box's keyhole, and the door opened, just like before.
Everything was exactly the same. Same leaves, same cracked path, same eerie stillness.
"It's freezing down here," Shawn muttered, rubbing his arms.
We followed the road until it led us to what should've been our school–but instead stood a towering castle, statues perched at each corner like stone gargoyles.
It had more floors, more windows, and in the center of the courtyard, a grand fountain shaped like a bird mid-flight.
"So… our school has an evil twin?" Shawn raised a brow, half amused, half terrified.
We approached the main gates. The closer we got, the more the air thickened with dread. Without a word, Cris reached over and clutched Shawn's hand.
He was trying to play it cool, but the way Shawn held Cris's hand made it obvious–he was enjoying every second of it.
Shawn had a massive crush on her. Always had. She, of course, remained blissfully unaware. To her, he was just a friend.
Anyway. We stepped through the gate, into what looked like our school's reception–but the deeper we went, the more twisted things became.
The reception area opened into a vast hall. Behind the desk stretched a wide stairway, splitting in two–left and right, both routes flanked by towering wooden doors with pointed tops, no locks, no labels.
I couldn't resist. The explorer in me took over, and I started down the right hallway.
"Are you sure this is wise?" Cris whispered behind me.
"What could possibly go wrong?" I grinned.
They followed, hesitantly. Then we all froze.
A nameplate above one of the doors read: *Dorian Rodriguez.*
We turned to him in unison, like we'd caught him red-handed.
He hesitated, then reached out. The door creaked open at his touch.
"What the hell…" he muttered.
Inside was a bedroom–warm, familiar. A soft bed. Elegant curtains. And on the desk, framed family photos.
One showed Dorian smiling with a little girl.
"She's adorable," I murmured without thinking.
"Was…" he whispered. He picked up the photo, running his fingers over the glass. "She was my sister. She died in a car crash."
I saw the shimmer of a tear in his eye and instantly regretted everything.
"I'm sorry… I didn't know."
"It's fine," he said softly, nodding.
But something shifted. The room's warmth faded as we realized–we were alone.
"Where are Shawn and Cris?" I glanced out the door. Empty.
We rushed down the hall, calling their names, until a voice echoed from around the corner.
"Guys?" Shawn.
We darted toward the sound and turned into another corridor–there they were.
Shawn stood still, his eyes locked on Cris, who held an axe in both hands, frozen like a statue.
I moved closer. She was staring at a door with a name above it: *Frederick Jones.*
"Hey…" I whispered. "You okay?"
Her grip tightened. Her voice was cold steel.
"He's the reason for all our pain."
"Cris?" I tilted my head enough to see her face, but I jerked back as soon as I realized that her eyes were completely glazed white.
Something was not right!