The fog had returned that night. Thick, heavy, suffocating. It pressed against the school walls and bled into the empty courtyard like smoke.
Gabriel hadn't meant to stay so late. But after the cryptic note from Gemma, he couldn't shake the unease. He told himself he was just walking home from study prep… but the truth was, he lingered because he needed answers. Answers that never came.
The clock struck ten. The school grounds should've been dead silent.
Instead—
A scream shattered the night.
High, piercing, raw. Not the kind of scream you hear in a prank or fight. It was terror — absolute terror.
Gabriel froze, his breath caught in his throat. The scream came again, echoing from the far side of the yard.
He ran. His shoes pounded the pavement, the fog swallowing him whole. His chest tightened, but he didn't stop.
"Hello?!" he shouted. "Who's there?"
Another scream—closer this time. But when he turned the corner, he saw nothing. Only dark shapes shifting in the mist, writhing like shadows detached from their owners.
Gabriel's stomach lurched. No… no, that's not possible.
The fog moved unnaturally, forming brief shapes—faces, hands, mouths wide open in silent wails. He stumbled back, heart hammering.
Then he saw him.
Ryan.
The boy was crouched against the wall, clutching his head, his whole body shaking. His lips moved in a panicked chant.
Gabriel rushed forward. "Ryan! Hey—look at me! What the hell are you doing here?"
Ryan's eyes snapped up — wild, bloodshot.
"She was there," he whispered. His voice cracked. "She was… talking to them."
Gabriel's skin crawled. "Who? Who was talking?"
Ryan's gaze darted through the fog, terrified, then back to Gabriel. His lips trembled as he forced the word out:
"Gemma."
Gabriel froze. His throat went dry. "…What?"
Ryan's breath came in sharp gasps, his nails clawing at the concrete wall. "I saw her, I swear! She was standing there, whispering—her mouth was moving, but it wasn't for us. It was for them."
"Them?" Gabriel grabbed his shoulders. "Ryan, stop—what are you talking about?"
But Ryan only shook harder, his voice a low, feverish ramble:
"They answered her. The shadows—God, they answered her."
Gabriel felt his chest tighten like a vice. He turned, staring into the fog, half-expecting to see Gemma's pale face staring back at him. But there was nothing. Only the unnatural stillness pressing in.
For the first time in his life, Gabriel wondered if his sister's silence… wasn't silence at all.