The school grounds were unnervingly quiet at night. The kind of silence that carried its own weight, pressing down on every brick, every window. The police had set up floodlights along the entrance, but beyond that glow, the rest of the school drowned in shadow.
Gabriel crouched near the side wall, heart hammering in his chest. He shouldn't be here. He knew it. But the image of parents screaming at Gemma, the way Aveline's cold eyes followed her in class—none of it let him sleep.
So here he was, sneaking back into the lion's den.
He crept past the gymnasium, the chain on the door rattling faintly in the wind. The air smelled like damp cement and something faintly metallic. He gripped his flashlight tighter, though he didn't dare switch it on.
As he reached the second hallway, he froze.
A faint sound carried through the air. A voice. Low, melodic, like a chant.
He edged closer, pressing himself against the cold wall. The sound grew clearer, and his stomach twisted.
It was Aveline.
Through the cracked door of Classroom 2C, Gabriel saw her. She stood in the center of the room, pale under the dim emergency light. Her hands moved slowly, tracing shapes into the air—shapes that seemed to ripple like smoke.
Her lips moved steadily, whispering words Gabriel didn't understand. But one word—one name—cut through the dark like a blade.
"Gemma…"
Gabriel's breath caught.
He leaned closer, heart thundering so loud he thought she might hear it. His palm was slick with sweat against the wood of the doorframe.
Aveline's head tilted sharply, as though she sensed him. She smiled. Not at the shadows—not at the empty desks—but directly at the doorway.
Gabriel stumbled back, his body slamming against the lockers behind him with a metallic clang.
The whispering stopped.
The silence was unbearable.
Then her voice, clear and sharp as broken glass:
"Curiosity will get you hurt, Gabriel Moore."
His blood turned to ice.
He bolted down the hall, feet slapping against the floor, breath ragged. He didn't stop until the floodlights of the police posts came back into view.
But even then, as he doubled over, gasping for air, one thought gnawed at him:
She hadn't been surprised to find him there.
She had been waiting.