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Chapter 9 - ch6- part 2a {THE CIRCLE OF WHISPER}

_____________/⁠╲⁠/⁠\⁠╭⁠(⁠•⁠‿⁠•⁠)⁠╮⁠/⁠\⁠╱⁠\______________________________. . . . . . . . . ________________

Ugh… I wake up in the morning, ⛅shoulder still aching. Was it really a dream… or something else? I groan and mutter to myself, "Ughh, this is too much.

*I feel in pain shoulder but not notice it too much that time in reality it the scar was there.....the deep dry blood....

Weeks… have passed… and the nightmares haven't stopped.

Cars… screeching… tires screaming… almost hitting me /SCREEEAAACH/

Bathroom… slippery… thud… splash…

— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — Ughhh… my life… a never-ending horror show

Other people suffer too… yes… but they stay silent… never talk… unlike me…

— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —The shadows move… whisper… breathe… always behind me…

Every heartbeat… ticks like a countdown — tik… tik… tik…

At school today, I drag myself through the hallway, dark circles under my eyes, barely staying awake in class.(⁠´⁠(⁠ェ⁠)⁠`⁠)

Lyra leans over, whispering tiredly, "Hey, Amara didn't come?"

"Yeah, she's not feeling great," I whisper back.

The teacher glares. "Amara! Lyra! Focus on class, don't chit-chat!"

We nod obediently, of course planning to pass secret notes anyway. I scribble:

> "Hey, have you felt… weird things recently? Paranormal stuff?"

Lyra rolls her eyes. "Why would I? You look like a ghost—that's why they're attracted to you."

I blink. Ughh, I'm serious here! Why would my face look like a ghost? 99% sure… it doesn't!hmph!

Lyra smirks. "You're not that innocent, Elina. You're chubby, talk too much, and hang close to people."

I roll my eyes and write back. Lyra throws the note at Draven—he's sleeping, but of course, he catches it.

Lyrics whispers in a hollow voice, "Wow… cool, dude…"

Draven glares at Lyra, not in the mood for jokes. His eyes shift to me. Why is he looking at me like that? I quickly turn away, mumbling in my mind, I'm not that beautiful… he didn't notice… probably just imagining things hehe squeeze my chicks.

Everyone suddenly seems to be staring in my direction. I mouth, Why is everyone looking at me? They turn away. Great. Mental too.

I scribble to Lyra: Let's bunk class.

She hesitates. "Ugh, Tooper said we shouldn't…"

I shrug. "We don't know what's happening anyway. Better than sitting here."

We make excuses and sneak off to the infirmary. Five minutes later, Lucas walks in. "Oh, so you two bunk here?"

Lyra teases, "Why else?

Lyra said to lucas"You should be careful. One day, this fun will turn you from class topper to class loser."

Lucas said ..do jokes with elina and draven not me!

Lyrics waves it off. "Stop this drama. Let's talk about that incident…"

I glance around. Everyone's eyes are serious. They've all felt it. Draven leans forward in his chair, hands behind his neck, eyes on the ceiling.

"Playing ghost romance again?" he teases.

Does he have anything else in his head besides jokes? I think.

I start to explain about Anny, but he cuts me off. "Anny's scared of you, Topper. You look like a ghost."

I glare. Hmph, not gonna let your charm distract me.

Lucas suggests going to tell someone elder. Lyra shrugs. "What if they don't believe us?"

I nod. "Then we have no choice but to figure it out ourselves."

---

Suddenly—gasp.

A glow on the floor—lines curling, twisting, crawling like invisible claws.

> "E…li…na…" the same deep creepy chukle voice....

Whispers. Hundreds. Scraping my brain. Low… broken… itching inside my skull.

I can't breathe. Can't move. Can't think.

My hands lift. My legs step forward. Not mine… moving on their own.

Chest tight. Heart thudding—tik… tik… tik… faster… faster…

Something scratches at my skin. Shadows lick my arms, my legs, my neck…

I hear Amara's scream—deep, raw, from my nightmares—inside me.

I feel to scratch myself deep down with my each nails that scratch over my skin deeply nails covered with blood...

The others—frozen. Draven. Lyra. Lyrics. Eyes wide… glassy…

My head feels heavy. It's like something pulls me inward.

My body moves on its own.

I reach toward the center of the glowing mark — like it's calling me.

No. No. No.

I shut my eyes hard, whispering the god's name again and again, trembling.

Please stop… please stop…!!

The whispers twist around me, crawling into my thoughts.

I can hear Amara's scream again — from that nightmare — echoing inside my mind.

And then—

a sharp sound—Draven gasping—

I open my eyes, and they're all moving strangely, trance-like, reaching toward the same circle.

No… not again!

I look around desperately. A bucket of mop water sits near the wall. Without thinking, I grab it and throw the water across the glowing light.

I lunge. Throw. Water hits the glowing circle.

It screams—like metal scraping bones.

"Huff… huff… GUYS!" My voice cracks.

The glow shatters. Faces blink. Shiver. Tremble.

Everyone blinks, shivering like they just woke up from a dream.

Lyrics leans on a chair, breathless. "Seriously… mop water, Elina?"

I pant, heart pounding. "I didn't have time to think of something holy, okay?!"

Lyra whispers, "D-Draven…"

I turn — he's still standing in the middle, shaking, his eyes blank. A sharp object in his hand.

"Draven! Stop!" I rush to him and grab his wrist. The 🔪, needle pain flashing bright it cut my finger top skin later blood drop to down..., but I pull it away from him anyway.

We fall to the floor together — breathless.

— — — — — — — — — —

Silence. Five long, heavy seconds. The air feels frozen.

And then… the weight of him beneath me. Just a touch. Slight. But enough. My chest tightens. Heart hammers in my ears.

Thump… thump… thump…

Neither of us moves. Not really. Not yet.

I can feel the warmth of his body, the subtle brush of his arm, the faint press of our shoulders. My mind blanks. Then it floods with panic, confusion… something else. Something that shouldn't be here.💓

Lyra helps me up. "You okay?"

I nod slowly. "Yeah… just… stupid, I guess. Reckless."*i think in my mind who fall on someone like an idiot ughh why fall on him*

Draven shrugs. "Let's go there again."

Lyrics groans. "Are you out of your mind?! We nearly… nearly died!"

I mutter, "You did almost stab yourself, genius."

His half-smile. Eyes dark, unreadable. "Guess you saved me, Topper."

I glare. Fists clench. "You're welcome. Next time—don't drag me into your chaos."

The whispers linger… crawling at my mind's edges… pulling… hungry… patient…

The circle waits. Closer. Always closer....

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