The afternoon sun dipped low over Haul Academy, casting long shadows across the school grounds as students trickled back into the buildings, still rattled from the morning's chaos.
The air buzzed with hushed whispers about Sophie's death and the injuries of the twelve students and three teachers nursing cuts and bruises from yesterday's land trembling ground.
An uneasy calm had settled as if the storm were just catching its breath.
In the half-empty history classroom, Becky lingered after the bell, her notebook clutched tightly against her chest as she scribbled a few last-minute notes.
The chalk dust still hung in the air, a faint reminder of the earlier upheaval but something else prickled at her senses-a strange and electric-like tension.
She glanced up from her desk, her eyes landing on Mr. Harl, the stern history teacher with his graying hair and perpetually furrowed brow.
He stood hunched over a stack of papers at his desk, muttering to himself in a low, guttural tone that didn't quite match his usual clipped voice.
Becky frowned, tilting her head.
"Weird," she muttered under her breath, "he's been off all day." His fingers twitched oddly as he scribbled the pen scratching louder than it should.
Curiosity piqued, she leaned forward, peering at the window behind him where his reflection caught the fading light.....Her breath caught in her throat.
His eyes...those weren't his eyes.
They glowed a faint, silvery hue, mirroring the moonflowers from the garden. Before she could blink, his face seemed to warp skin stretching taut, mouth curling into a grin that was too wide and too wrong like something else was peering out.
"Oh my God," she whispered, her heart slamming against her ribs.
The image snapped back to normal in an instant and Mr. Harl's head jerked toward her, too fast, too sharp.
"Becky, what's the matter?" he barked, his voice rough but steady, though his gaze narrowed with a flicker of irritation.
or was it suspicion?"N-nothing," Becky stammered, her chair scraping as she stumbled back, knocking it over with a clatter.
She grabbed her bag, her mind racing. Possessed. He had to be.
That wasn't human.
And if he was, could he be the one behind all this shaking ground, the flying books, Sophie's death?
The thought sent a chill down her spine as she bolted for the door, Mr harl's eyes boring into her back until she was out of sight.
The school's silence amplified her pounding heartbeat as she darted down the hall, the flickering fluorescent lights casting jagged shadows.
••••••••••••••• The Whispered Revelation
It was almost 12 noon when Becky burst into Rossie's dorm room, the door banging against the wall with a force that made Rossie jump.
The room was dimly lit by a single lamp, the moonflower's faint glow seeping through Rossie's satchel on the bed.
Rossie had been lost in thought, replaying her conversations with Michael and how they have been getting so along in their new relationship, when Becky's pale face and wild eyes snapped her back to the present.
"Rossie!" Becky hissed, slamming the door shut and pressing her back against it as if to barricade some unseen threat.
Her chest heaved, and her hands trembled as she clutched her bag.
"We've got a problem! Yes..a big one.
"Rossie sat up, her stomach twisting into knots.
"Becky, what's wrong? You look like you've seen a ghost or something worse.
"Becky swallowed hard, her eyes darting to the window as if expecting something to peer in from the dark.
"I think I did. Or something worse.
I was in Mr Harl's class after school, just after finishing some notes, you know?
And… I saw him. Mr. Harl. He's not himself, Rossie.
His eyes-they glowed silver, like those creepy moonflowers from the garden.
And his face….it twisted like something was inside him, controlling him. Then it was gone, like it didn't want me to catch it.
"Rossie's breath hitched, the moonflower pulsing against her side as she processed the words.
"Wait, wait….possessed? Are you sure? Like, sure sure?""I'm sure," Becky said, her voice shaking but firm as she stepped closer, lowering her tone.
"It wasn't just a trick of the light or my imagination. His reflection in the window…..those silver eyes stared right at me. And he was muttering something weird too. I caught bits of it…
'the garden's will' and 'feeding the truth.' It gave me chills, Rossie.
After everything yesterday -Sophie, the twelve kids and three teachers hurt-it can't be a coincidence.
What if he's the one causing all this chaos?"Rossie's mind spun, connecting the dots.
Rossie knew in her heart that something weird was about to happen again in the school , perhaps through the possessed teacher.. felt like a trap closing in.
"If he's behind it, we need to tell someone. The headmaster, maybe?
But… who's gonna believe us?
'Oh, yeah, our teacher's got demon eyes and might've killed Sophie.'
They'll think we're crazy."Becky shook her head while her hands clenched into fists.
"I know, right? But we can't just sit here and do nothing.
If he's possessed, maybe he's the one who hurt those people or worse, killed Sophie. We've got to figure out how to stop him.
Maybe the Gardener can help. You summoned him before, right?
During the chaos?""Yeah, but…" Rossie trailed off, glancing at the satchel.
The moonflower's glow seemed to flicker, as if responding.
"What if Harl knows we're onto him? If he catches us watching,
I don't think he'll just let us walk away.
And if he's tied to the garden, maybe he's stronger than we think."Becky bit her lip, her gaze shifting to the window again as a gust of wind rattled the pane.
Rossie, we're in deep trouble here.
What do we do? Should we try to get proof first, like a photo or something? Or go straight to the Gardener?"Rossie hesitated as her heart was pounding.
The scent of jasmine lingered in the air, faint but unmistakable, and the memory of Sophie's lifeless body flashed in her mind.
"Proof might be smart, but it's risky. If Harl's possessed, he'll sense us. Maybe… maybe we talk to Michael first.
Everyone close to us must be safe.
Then we decide about the Gardener."Becky nodded, though her expression was tight with fear.
"Okay, but we move fast. I don't trust Harl alone with the school like this, we might not have much time."
The room fell into a tense silence, the weight of their discovery pressing down. Outside, the wind howled, and for a moment.
Rossie swore she heard a low, guttural laugh carried on the breeze…... .Harl's voice, warped and sinister….The suspense coiled tighter, the possessed teacher a shadowy threat lurking just beyond their reach, waiting to strike