Chapter 6: Flicker
1331 Words
About a week before my college classes started, I decided to visit the campus.
Aunt Neela let me borrow an old car from the garage. The engine coughed and shook but finally started, grumbling as though it hated being woken up.
The college wasn't far. The drive there was lined with tall trees and empty roads. When I arrived, the campus was almost silent.
Only a guard leaned lazily on his post, and a janitor mopped the far corner of the quadrangle.
The two-story building looked worn but neat, its windows propped open. Sunlight spilled inside, mixing with the smell of trees and fresh air.
At the guidance office, a woman with glasses handed me my class schedule. But when she looked at the address I had written down, something strange happened.
Her eyes flickered.
Just for a moment, they seemed to change, catching a strange glow before returning to normal.
I blinked, startled.
Had I imagined it?
Stop it, Cosette. You're imagining things. Stop seeing ghosts where there are none.
I shook the thought off and walked around the campus, trying to memorize the classrooms.
The quadrangle outside stretched wide and empty, lined by trees. On one side, the forest loomed close, its shadows tangled and dark.
That was when I noticed movement.
A group of young men emerged from the forest's edge, laughing among themselves. Their shirts clung with sweat as if they had been running.
Something about them caught my attention.
They didn't look tired enough for the distance they had covered. Their steps were too relaxed, their smiles too sharp.
I tried to look away, but one of them noticed me.
He whispered something to another. Soon, all of them were staring.
My steps quickened.
Suddenly, a hand clamped down on my shoulder.
I gasped and spun around.
Two of them stood behind me, far closer than they should have been.
How had they crossed the distance so fast?
"You're new here, aren't you?" one of them asked. His smile stretched too wide. His teeth were too white, too sharp-looking.
"Y-yes," I stammered. My voice shook. "I just moved here. I live—"
Before I could finish, one of them stepped closer. He boxed me against the wall with his arm, his body invading my space.
His face lowered near my neck.
"No wonder your scent's unfamiliar," he whispered, his voice low and playful. "Fresh blood."
My entire body froze.
Fresh blood?
His nose hovered close to my skin, as if he was smelling me. His breath was warm, slow, deliberate.
Goosebumps broke across my arms. My stomach churned with fear and disgust.
The others chuckled.
"Fresh blood," another repeated, mocking. "Guess she hasn't learned the rules yet."
"Rules?" I managed to choke out. "What rules?"
Their smiles deepened. One tapped the side of his nose, his eyes glittering. "Oh, she doesn't know. That's cute."
"Almost too cute," said another, his voice curling with menace. He tilted his head as he studied me. "Bet she doesn't even know what house she belongs to."
"House?" My chest tightened. "What are you talking about?"
They exchanged glances, smirking, as if sharing a private joke I wasn't meant to hear.
"You smell different," one murmured. "Not from here. Not from any of the houses."
"An outsider," another hissed softly. "How interesting."
The boy pinning me leaned closer still. His pupils widened, swallowing the color of his eyes until they looked like deep, endless pits. "Do you know what happens to outsiders who don't choose a side?"
I pressed back against the wall, shaking my head. My throat was too dry to speak.
His lips quirked. "They get eaten alive."
The laughter that followed was too loud, too cruel. It filled the empty quadrangle, echoing off the walls until it didn't even sound human anymore.
I wanted to run. But my body wouldn't move.
And then I saw it.
His eyes.
For a split second, they flickered. The color shifted like molten metal catching the light.
I froze in terror.
He jerked back, his jaw tightening as if fighting something inside himself. The laughter around me faltered, a ripple of unease passing through the group.
Before I could move, a new voice cut through the air.
"Cut it out."
We all turned.
A boy strolled toward us from the path. His hands were stuffed deep in his pockets. His stride was lazy, almost careless, like he had just woken from a nap.
At once, the others stepped back. Their cocky smiles faltered.
The boy yawned, scratching his head. He looked our age, maybe a little older. But the others wouldn't meet his eyes.
"What's this?" he asked in a flat, bored tone.
One of the boys forced a laugh. "Nothing, Kieran. We were just welcoming the newcomer."
"Yeah," another added quickly. "Just being friendly."
Kieran's gaze flicked to me. He raised one brow, studying me for a long, thoughtful moment. Then he turned his gaze back to the group.
"You know the rules," he said. His voice was calm but heavy, with a warning hidden inside. "How many strikes is this for your group now?"
No one answered.
Finally, one of them muttered, "It won't happen again."
Kieran's tone sharpened. "See that it doesn't. Unless you'd prefer he find out."
The words hung in the air, heavy and tense.
The boys muttered quick apologies, some to him, some mumbled to me, before hurrying away like shadows scattering under the sun.
Kieran stayed behind.
He turned back to me, his expression shifting into a small frown, like he was trying to place me.
"You're the new girl at Elwood?" he asked.
I nodded, still wary. "Yes."
"You live in the mansion on the hill, don't you?"
His question startled me. "How did you—?"
"This town is small. News spreads." His mouth quirked, though it wasn't really a smile.
He studied me longer than was comfortable. His eyes flickered once, but unlike the others, his control snapped back instantly.
Then, to my surprise, his expression softened. He looked thoughtful, almost concerned.
"How is he?" he asked quietly.
I blinked. "Who?"
Kieran's gaze darkened. He shook his head quickly, brushing it off. "Forget it."
"No," I pressed, my voice steadier than I felt. "Tell me who."
He tilted his head at me, his lips twisting into something between amusement and pity. "You really don't know, do you?"
I swallowed hard. "Know what?"
For a heartbeat, he looked like he might answer. But then he gave a short laugh and shook his head again. "Forget it," he repeated.
He stretched, his bones cracking as though he'd been sitting still for hours. "See you when classes start."
But as he turned, something in me burst out.
"Wait."
He paused, glancing back.
I swallowed. "Those boys… what did they mean by rules? And by… houses?"
For a moment, he studied me in silence. His eyes held mine, steady, unreadable. Then he sighed.
"Don't ask questions you don't want answered," he said simply.
"That's not fair," I whispered. "You can't just—"
"I can," he cut me off, his voice cool. "And I just did."
I clenched my fists. "You protected me. Why? If you're just going to tell me nothing?"
That earned me the faintest flicker of a smile, sharp and humorless. "Let's just say… I don't like cleaning up other people's messes."
His tone suggested there was more to it than that, but he wasn't going to give me any more pieces of the puzzle.
And with that, he turned and walked away, hands still tucked in his pockets.
He looked ordinary. Casual. Careless.
But just before he disappeared from view, his eyes flickered.
The same strange shimmer I had seen in the others.
The same flicker I saw in the portrait.
The same flicker in the woman at the office.
I wrapped my arms around myself, chilled even under the bright afternoon sun.
Why was I the only one seeing it?
- Writer
