Adrian's POV
Morning sunlight spilled through the blinds, slicing across Adrian's face. His head throbbed faintly from the mix of smoke, alcohol, and laughter from the night before. He groaned and rolled over, finding Ethan already awake, scrolling lazily on his phone, grinning like an idiot.
Ethan➡️ "Well, well… look who finally decided to join the land of the living."
Adrian➡️ "Shut up."
He rubbed his eyes, trying to shake the fog from his head.
Ethan➡️ "Don't tell me you forgot everything? You and Ella were pretty… cozy last night."
His grin widened. "Actually, I'm surprised you even came back home at all."
Adrian sat up slowly, running a hand through his hair. Images of the bonfire flickered through his mind — the music, the laughter, the way Ella's smile glowed beneath the firelight. Then, the faint memory of her hand brushing his. The kiss. The darkness. He blinked it away, clearing his throat.
Adrian➡️ "We were just talking… mostly."
Ethan➡️ "Yeah, sure. 'Talking.'"
He snorted and tossed a pillow at Adrian, laughing. "Man, you should've seen Lucian's face when you disappeared with her. Dude looked like he'd just lost a bet."
Adrian smirked despite himself. "Lucian always looks like that."
Ethan chuckled and stood, stretching. "Anyway, there's some weird news this morning. Did you hear about the guy from last night?"
Adrian➡️ "What guy?"
Ethan's tone shifted slightly. "Someone's missing. They think he wandered off during the party. The cops are already looking for him."
Adrian➡️ frowned. "Missing? Since when?"
Ethan➡️ "Since early morning, I think. Jake's freaking out — he said the guy was seen heading toward the woods before midnight. No one saw him after that."
Adrian's stomach twisted, but he brushed it off. "Probably just passed out somewhere."
Ethan nodded absently. "Yeah, maybe."
---
General POV
By midmorning, the whispers were everywhere. Students huddled in corners, trading theories like gossip and secrets. The police had arrived on campus, speaking quietly with teachers and students who had attended Jake's party.
Ethan lingered by the lockers, talking to a friend.
Friend➡️ "They said they found footprints going into the forest, but none coming out. It's like he just vanished."
Ethan's brow furrowed. "That's… messed up. You think he's still alive?"
The friend shrugged, voice low. "Who knows? But one of the girls said she saw him with someone before he disappeared. A girl she didn't recognize."
The words stuck in Ethan's head long after the conversation ended.
He found Adrian sitting by the window in class, tapping his pen absently against his notebook.
Ethan➡️ "Hey, they think that missing guy was with a girl before he vanished."
Adrian➡️ "A girl?"
Ethan➡️ "Yeah. No one knows who she was. Creepy, right?"
Adrian's jaw tightened slightly. He didn't know why, but something about that detail made his pulse quicken.
Adrian➡️ "Probably some drunk hookup gone wrong."
Ethan➡️ "Yeah… probably."
But the unease between them lingered. The day dragged, heavy with rumor and tension.
---
General POV – Inside The Forest
Late that afternoon, deep in the woods beyond the edge of town, two police officers moved through the undergrowth, their boots sinking into soft soil. A faint buzz of flies hung in the damp air.
Officer 1: "Jesus… you smell that?"
Officer 2: "Yeah. Over here."
They followed the stench until they saw him — the missing boy, lying motionless among the ferns. His skin was pale as chalk, his lips a bluish gray, eyes half-open and glazed. No signs of a struggle, no blood, just a strange emptiness — like life itself had been drained from him.
The first officer knelt, grimacing. "What the hell happened to him?"
The second crouched beside him, shining a flashlight on the corpse. "No bite marks… but look at his neck. You see those faint punctures?"
The other leaned closer, whispering, "That's not animal work. That's—"
He stopped, looking uneasy.
Officer 2: "You ever seen something like this before?"
Officer 1: "Not in Blackville."
He stood slowly, scanning the dark trees that loomed around them.
Officer 1: "Call it in. And tell them to get the coroner out here. I've got a bad feeling about this."