CHAPTER THREE
1392 Words
10:58 p.m.
Amelia stood outside the girls’ boarding house, her heart pounding against her ribs.
The campus looked nothing like it had that morning.
The once lively courtyards were silent, swallowed by darkness. The old street lamps cast long shadows across the stone pathways, and the rain had finally stopped, leaving the air cold and damp.
She looked at the folded note one last time.
Meet me at the old clock tower.
11:00 p.m.
Come alone… if you want the truth.
“This is a terrible idea,” she whispered.
She should go back.
She should tear the note into pieces and pretend she’d never seen it.
Instead…
She kept walking.
The old clock tower sat behind the academy chapel, hidden by towering oak trees.
Most students avoided it.
Rumor had it the tower had been closed for years after a student mysteriously disappeared.
Amelia wasn’t superstitious.
But as she approached the rusted iron gate, she couldn’t shake the feeling that someone was watching her.
The clock struck eleven.
Dong…
Dong…
Dong…
The sound echoed across the empty grounds.
“You’re late.”
Amelia spun around.
No one.
“Who’s there?” she called.
Only silence answered.
Then…
A folded envelope slid out from beneath the tower door.
She hesitated before picking it up.
Inside was a single photograph.
Her breath caught.
It was a picture from her old school.
Someone had circled her face with red ink.
On the back, written in black marker, were six chilling words:
You can’t outrun the past, Amelia.
Her hands trembled.
“No…”
A sudden crunch of footsteps behind her made her whirl around.
“Amelia?”
She froze.
Oliver.
“What are you doing here?” they asked at the same time.
“I asked first,” Amelia said.
Oliver glanced at the photograph in her hand.
His expression changed instantly.
“Where did you get that?”
“That’s none of your business.”
“It is if someone brought you here.”
“What do you mean?”
Oliver looked around the deserted courtyard.
“They’ve started again.”
Amelia frowned.
“They?”
Before he could answer….
A loud crash echoed from the top of the clock tower.
Both of them looked up.
A dark figure stood at the edge of the tower roof.
For one terrifying second…
The figure stared directly at them.
Then it disappeared.
“What was that?” Amelia whispered.
Oliver grabbed her wrist.
“We need to leave. Now.”
They ran across the courtyard without saying a word.
The cold night air burned Amelia’s lungs.
Just before they reached the main building…
Oliver stopped.
“You have to listen to me.”
She pulled her wrist free.
“I’m done listening to people who speak in riddles.”
“I’m serious.”
“So am I.”
Oliver looked more frightened than she’d seen him all day.
“If you received that note…”
He swallowed hard.
“…then someone wants you involved.”
“Involved in what?”
Before he could answer…
A security guard’s flashlight swept across the courtyard.
“There!” the guard shouted.
“Students aren’t allowed outside after curfew!”
Oliver cursed under his breath.
“This way!”
He grabbed Amelia’s hand, pulling her through a narrow doorway leading into the abandoned east wing of the academy.
The heavy door slammed shut behind them.
Everything went dark.
The only sound was their breathing.
Then…
A voice echoed from somewhere inside the abandoned hallway.
Soft.
Calm.
Almost amused.
“Welcome back, Oliver.”
Amelia’s blood ran cold.
Oliver closed his eyes.
“No…”
The voice laughed.
“I’ve been waiting for both of you.”
Amelia’s breath caught in her throat.
The corridor was pitch-black except for the beam of a security guard’s flashlight leaking through the cracks beneath the old wooden door.
Oliver stood frozen.
His face had lost all color.
“Who’s there?” Amelia called, trying to sound braver than she felt.
Silence.
Then…
A slow clap.
One.
Two.
Three.
The sound bounced off the cracked walls before disappearing.
Oliver stepped in front of Amelia instinctively.
“Stay behind me.”
She frowned.
“I don’t need protection.”
“Maybe not.”
His voice was low.
“But trust me… you don’t want to see what’s at the end of this hallway.”
Another laugh echoed through the darkness.
Then….
Nothing.
The voice was gone.
“Over there!”
The security guard’s shout grew louder.
Oliver looked around frantically before spotting an old storage room.
“This way.”
Before Amelia could protest, he grabbed her wrist and pulled her inside.
The room smelled of dust and old books.
Oliver quietly shut the door.
The only light came from a tiny window near the ceiling.
They stood inches apart.
Neither of them spoke.
Outside, footsteps approached.
The flashlight paused directly outside the door.
Amelia held her breath.
If they were caught sneaking around after curfew on her first night, she’d never hear the end of it.
The footsteps lingered.
Then…
They moved away.
Only when the silence returned did Amelia let out the breath she’d been holding.
“You can let go now,” she whispered.
Oliver blinked.
He looked down.
His hand was still wrapped around hers.
He immediately stepped back.
“Sorry.”
“It’s fine.”
Neither of them believed how calm they sounded.
“What was that?”
Amelia folded her arms.
“And don’t tell me you don’t know.”
Oliver stared at the dusty floor.
“I used to come here.”
“When?”
“A long time ago.”
“You mean before the East Wing was closed?”
He nodded once.
“What happened?”
Oliver looked up.
His blue eyes were filled with something Amelia hadn’t seen before.
Fear.
Real fear.
“I can’t tell you.”
“Won’t tell me.”
“No…”
He swallowed.
“I can’t.”
Before Amelia could question him further, the old building’s bell rang.
Midnight.
The sound echoed through every corridor.
Oliver’s expression changed instantly.
“We have to leave.”
“Why?”
“Because after midnight…”
He glanced toward the hallway.
“…you’re not supposed to be here.”
Amelia rolled her eyes.
“What is this? Some ghost story?”
“I wish it were.”
The next morning…
The academy buzzed with excitement.
Students crowded around the notice board.
Someone had pinned dozens of photographs to it.
Amelia pushed through the crowd.
“What happened?”
Chloe gasped.
“You haven’t seen?”
Amelia looked at the board.
Her stomach dropped.
At the center was a photograph of her and Oliver running across the courtyard the previous night.
Another showed Oliver holding her hand.
Another showed them entering the East Wing together.
Across the photos, someone had written in red marker:
THE GOLDEN BOY HAS FOUND HIS NEXT VICTIM.
The hallway erupted with whispers.
“She just got here!”
“Didn’t he just break up with Claire?”
“I knew something was going on.”
Amelia’s face burned with embarrassment.
She turned to Oliver.
“This is your fault.”
“My fault?”
“If people weren’t obsessed with you, this wouldn’t be happening!”
Oliver’s jaw tightened.
“You think I wanted this?”
“Well, congratulations.”
She ripped one of the photos from the board.
“Now the whole school thinks we’re together.”
Before Oliver could answer…
A teacher’s voice thundered down the hallway.
“Amelia Bennett.”
“Oliver Hayes.”
Both of them turned.
“You were caught outside after curfew.”
The teacher held up a disciplinary slip.
“You’ll both be serving detention.”
The classroom exploded with laughter.
Chloe whispered, “Your first detention… on your second day.”
Amelia closed her eyes.
“This school is unbelievable.”
Oliver sighed.
“Looks like we’re stuck together.”
She shot him a glare.
“Don’t get used to it.”
He almost smiled.
“I wasn’t planning to.”
As the crowd slowly dispersed, Amelia noticed something tucked behind one of the torn photographs.
It was another note.
This one contained only four words.
Detention changes everything.
She looked around the hallway.
Whoever had left it…
Was still watching.
- Writer
