The late afternoon sun slanted across the schoolyard, turning the basketball court into a patchwork of gold and shadow. The P.E. teacher's whistle echoed, sharp against the chatter of students warming up. For a fleeting moment, everything felt… normal.
Then came the scream.
It ripped through the air like glass shattering. Every head snapped toward the far corner of the field where Daniel Briggs—a tall boy known for his cocky grin—had crumpled to the ground. His body convulsed, his nails tearing at the grass as if trying to claw through the earth itself.
"Get back! Everyone step back!" the teacher barked, panic lacing his voice.
But the students didn't move fast enough. They watched, horrified, as Daniel's eyes rolled back, his mouth foaming words that weren't words at all—guttural, frantic sounds. Finally, he spat out something clear enough to make the air turn colder:
"They're coming from the shadows! They're everywhere! Don't let her open the door!"
Gasps spread like wildfire. A few students cried. Some backed away, whispering, "The curse again… it's happening again."
And then, amidst the chaos, someone noticed her.
Miss Aveline.
She stood just beyond the fence, her pale face framed by the faint curl of her dark hair. She didn't move. She didn't help. She only watched—her eyes unblinking, lips curved in something that wasn't quite a smile, wasn't quite concern.
One girl shouted, "She's not even doing anything!" but her voice was drowned out by the growing chaos.
The P.E. teacher knelt beside Daniel, yelling for help. Another instructor sprinted toward the infirmary. Students crowded around, their fear feeding on itself until the yard felt like a storm about to break.
It was then the sharp bark of authority cut through everything.
"Clear the area! Now!"
Two uniformed police officers ran in, their radios crackling. The crowd scattered, whispers buzzing. One officer restrained Daniel as the boy flailed, his voice now hoarse, repeating over and over—
"Shadows, shadows, shadows…"
The other officer's eyes lifted briefly—toward Aveline. She hadn't moved. Her hands were folded neatly in front of her. She seemed almost… expectant.
"Miss," the officer called, "we'll need you to—"
But by the time he turned fully, she was gone.
The students murmured in panic. No one had seen her walk away. One second she was there. The next—empty space where she had been standing.
The fear thickened in the school after that.
By evening, two police cruisers were stationed openly at the front gates, their lights pulsing faintly in the dusk. The presence was no longer subtle. Something dangerous was here, and the authorities knew it.
And in the midst of it all, Gabriel's eyes kept drifting to his sister. Gemma stood silent on the edge of the field during the chaos, unmoving, her face pale but unreadable—as though she had already expected this to happen.