Chapter 13- Part 6
Autumn Berry – Pov
The café felt too bright for how exhausted we were. Empty cups cluttered the table, proof that caffeine was our life support after the night at the old staircase.
Everyone looked half-alive — but our focus was razor-sharp.
Rhea tapped her phone screen. "First task today: confirm Celeste's last movements. Second: connect it to the stalker Carina mentioned."
Quinn yawned dramatically. "And find whoever thinks playing ghost is a personality."
Theo stretched, wincing. "I still say it was a human. No ghost moonwalks around a staircase at 3AM."
Dorielle shrugged. "Ghost or not, someone tried scaring us off."
Liam sipped his iced latte with a deadpan face. "Jokes on them. We don't sleep anyway."
I rubbed my eyes. "Good thing Halloween break means no classes. Two weeks to solve this."
Just then, my phone buzzed.
*Carina:*
> He's back. Outside my house. Just staring…
> I'm scared.
My breath caught.
Carina wasn't supposed to be alone — and the stalker was real, not a rumor.
Rhea shot up from her seat. "Everyone to the car. Now."
No hesitation. No time to think. We moved.
This wasn't just a haunted-staircase mystery anymore.
Someone was repeating history.
And we were not letting Carina become another Celeste.
The car smelled like coffee, cold air, and tired determination.
Rhea drove like the universe gave her a personal mission to defeat traffic with sheer willpower. Theo sat shotgun with a notebook open, jotting down details like we were in a crime show recap. Quinn and I were squeezed in the middle row, and Liam and Dorielle claimed the back like quiet sentinels — one analyzing data on his tablet, the other staring out the window like she was preparing to interrogate God if needed.
And me? Half awake, fully wired. Fear and curiosity are terrible caffeine replacements.
Quinn nudged my shoulder. "Autumn, rate your panic level. One is 'meh,' ten is 'I'm writing goodbye letters.'"
"I'm at a five," I murmured. "Calm panic."
"So like… normal you," she said, patting my arm.
I elbowed her gently. "Thanks for the vote of emotional stability."
She grinned.
But beneath the humor, there was that low humming tension. Carina's message replayed in my head like a quiet alarm.
He's back. Outside my house. Just staring.
Someone stalking her — someone who might have stalked Celeste before she vanished — was enough to turn laughter into cautious breaths.
Rhea's voice cut through. "Carina is safe right now. I called her neighbor to go over and check she's with them now. But this escalates priority."
"Which means," Dorielle said, voice cool, "this isn't ghost games. Someone is using the staircase legend to stalk people."
"And possibly to make them disappear," Quinn whispered, suddenly small.
Silence. A heavy drop of truth.
The mall was too normal for how abnormal our day was. People strolling. Kids laughing. Halloween decorations everywhere — fake cobwebs mocking our very real ones.
Marina sat alone by the window, stirring her drink. Long brunette hair, tired eyes, fingers tapping the table like she'd been waiting for something she hoped never arrived.
When she saw us approaching — all six — her eyes widened.
"Detectives?" she whispered, like the word tasted forbidden.
Rhea nodded. "We want to talk about Celeste Star."
Marina froze. Then she glanced around, voice low. "I don't talk about her anymore. People either mock me… or get creeped out."
"We're neither," I said softly. "We just want the truth."
Marina looked at me, studying my face. Something wordless passed — recognition of quiet sadness maybe.
"You guys can sit," she said. "But I only talk once."
We took seats. For a second, it felt like the world slowed: distant mall chatter, soft cafe music, the weight of unsolved stories floating in the air.
Theo leaned forward. "You were the last one seen with Celeste."
Marina nodded. "Three years ago. She asked me to walk with her to the science wing. She said someone was watching her."
My stomach knotted.
"She pointed at the old staircase," Marina continued, voice trembling. "Said she felt pulled toward it. Like someone kept leading her there."
"Leading?" Quinn echoed.
Marina hesitated. "Notes. Messages. Small hints left in her locker. Someone wanted her there."
Dorielle's face hardened. "Classic predator pattern."
Liam asked quietly, "Did she mention a name?"
Marina swallowed. "She only called him 'the boy in shadows.' Said he followed from a distance. Watched her walk home. Never spoke."
Theo took a breath. "And after that day?"
"She disappeared." Marina stared into her cup. "And everyone said it was a ghost. A curse."
"Convenient cover," Rhea muttered.
I leaned in. "Do you know anyone named Carina?"
Marina's eyes snapped up. That name meant something — I saw it.
"You mean the girl who keeps posting about being watched?" she whispered. "Yes. She messaged me once. Said she thought she was becoming the next Celeste."
Chills skated down my spine.
"And do you believe her?" I asked.
Marina's voice shook. "I do. Because the messages she showed me… looked like the ones Celeste got."
Quinn gripped my sleeve. Tight.
Rhea's tone sharpened. "Celeste had a stalker."
"Yes," Marina said. "A boy. Or someone pretending to be one. The notes… the pattern… someone obsessed."
"And the staircase?" Liam asked.
"His stage," she whispered. "His hunting ground."
No one spoke. My pulse felt like thunder trapped in my throat.
Marina looked at me directly, deeply.
"You've felt it too, haven't you?" she said softly.
I blinked — her eyes searching mine like she could see through memory.
Flash — hallway back in high school, whispers, footsteps behind me, my heartbeat filling my head. That feeling of being watched. Followed. The moment I ran without thinking, breath shaking.
Only once. One night. But enough to brand itself.
I inhaled slowly. "Yes. Once."
Quinn's hand found mine, quiet comfort.
Rhea stood. "Thank you. We'll protect Carina. And we'll find out what happened to Celeste."
Marina leaned back, fear and hope tangled in her stare. "Please do. Because whoever he is…"
Her voice dropped to a frightened whisper.
"He isn't done."
---
Outside, the air felt colder. Even sunlight couldn't warm the sudden chill crawling up my spine.
Liam checked his tablet. "Carina's neighbor just sent a photo. Someone was outside her gate."
Theo exhaled shakily. "This isn't supernatural."
"No," Dorielle said, eyes sharp and dangerous. "This is worse."
Rhea's jaw set. "We hunt him."
Quinn looked at me, trying to smile but shaking. "Happy Halloween, I guess?"