Echo Hall

THE ONE WHO REMEMBERS

Aria's footsteps echoed through the narrow tunnel as she ran blindly, the beam of her flashlight bouncing off wet stone. Each step splashed into the shallow water pooling beneath her shoes. The walls seemed to lean in, pressing closer. The whispers started faintly, like a wind - but there was no wind.

"You saw her, didn't you?" "She always chooses someone."

"What did she tell you."

Aria stumbled and fell, scraping her palms on the jagged stone floor. Her flashlight skidded ahead, landing against a warped wooden door at the tunnel's end.

She scrawled forward, reaching for the light. Her fingers brushed something else first

Fabric. Damp.Still warm. A uniform jacket. The tag on the collar was half - torn but read: "Property of Lina Harrow."

Heart thudding, Aria stood and pushed open the door. She found herself in a vast underground chamber lit by hundreds of wax candles. Their flames swaying in unison despite the lack of breeze. Stone benches formed a circle in the center, around a cracked fountain filled with inky black water.

Students were sitting there.

Dozens of them. All dressed in Echo Hall uniforms - except that to they looked faded, older ..... covered in dust. Eyes glassy. Not one of them blinked. They stared straight ahead unmoving. " Don't disturb them," Said a voice behind her. Aria turned, flashlight raised.

A girl stood at the edge of the candlelight - barefoot, hair tangled, uniform ripped at the sleeve. No way! Lina.

But her eyes.... they were different. Hollow. Watching and not watching at the same time.

" Where have you been?" Aria whispered. Lina's lips curled into a faint smile. "Here. Where everyone ends up. This place Echo Hall doesn't write about. The place for the ones who remember."

" Remember what?" " That the school moves. That the walls change. That time loops and resets." Lina stepped forward, "You're not supposed know that yet. But it's too late now isn't it?" Aria backed away, stumbling into one of the seated students. The girl's head slowly turned to her, and in brittle whisper, she said: "She picked you. Just like she picked us." Her nose began to bleed. Thick, black, and slow. Lina reached out to her pocket and pulled out a cracked phone. It buzzed to life. It was Aria's phone.

New notification: You're now part of the cycle . Echo Hall remembers you.

A low rumbling began to shake the chamber. Dust fell from the ceiling. The candles flickered violently. Aria clutched her phone as the notification repeated again and again, screen glitching.

The fountains began to bubble.

And from the depths......A hand reached but...

Aria screamed.

"You should've stayed in your room."