Episode 5: Tension, Trouble & a Cryptic Note
999 Words
Ana woke up feeling like she hadn't slept at all.
Her nightmare still clung to her—a shadowy presence, a warning she couldn't quite remember, a feeling of suffocating dread.
And Jaxon’s words from yesterday? They only made it worse.
"Did you sleep well?"
Why would he ask her that?
Did he know something?
Shaking off the unsettling thoughts, Ana got ready for school, determined to push everything aside. She had enough problems without adding cryptic warnings and lingering dreams to the list.
But as she left her house, a strange feeling settled over her.
Like she was being watched.
She turned sharply—but there was nothing.
Just the quiet street and the morning chill.
With a sigh, Ana forced herself to move.
She was probably just paranoid.
Right?
Chemistry Class: Ryder’s Tension Grows
By the time Ana got to Chemistry, she was exhausted.
Unfortunately, she barely had time to breathe before she realized who she was paired with again.
Ryder Hale.
Great. Just great.
She sat down stiffly as Ryder wordlessly started setting up the experiment.
They didn’t talk.
He didn’t even look at her.
But his entire body was tense.
He moved stiffly, measuring the chemicals too quickly, like he wanted to get out of there as soon as possible.
Ana tried to ignore it—until she noticed something.
Ryder’s hand was shaking.
Not much, but enough that he accidentally poured too much of the solution.
The mixture in their beaker started to bubble rapidly.
Too rapidly.
Ana’s eyes widened.
“Ryder—”
The solution frothed up—almost overflowing.
Ryder cursed under his breath, grabbing another beaker to fix it.
Their teacher shot them a sharp glare.
"Having trouble, Hale?"
Ryder’s jaw clenched. "No, sir."
Ana should’ve let it go.
She really should have.
But something in her snapped.
She turned to Ryder, voice low. “Can you at least pretend to be focused?”
Ryder finally looked at her.
And for the first time, she saw frustration in his eyes—not at her, but at himself.
Like he was angry that she even had to say that.
Before he could respond, the teacher spoke again.
"Miss Ana, Mister Hale—perhaps you should repeat the experiment."
Ana sighed, biting back her irritation.
Perfect.
As they started over, Ryder finally muttered, “I said sorry, you know.”
Ana didn’t look at him. “Yeah. You did.”
Ryder hesitated. "And?"
Ana pretended she didn’t hear him.
She wasn’t ready to answer that.
Not yet.
Math Class: Chaos with Rena and Max
If Chemistry had been awkward, Math was just pure chaos.
Ana sat between Rena and Max, which was already dangerous.
Especially because Max had zero interest in learning math.
“Psst,” Max whispered as the teacher wrote an equation on the board. “What’s the answer?”
Ana frowned at her notebook. “Why are you asking me? I suck at math.”
Max turned to Rena. “Rena—save me.”
Rena sighed dramatically. “It’s literally the easiest problem ever, Max.”
“I wasn’t blessed with a math brain, okay?” Max groaned. “Numbers are evil.”
Ana bit back a laugh. “You say that about every subject.”
Before Max could argue, the teacher suddenly called his name.
"Maxwell, since you’re so talkative, why don’t you solve this one?"
The whole class turned to stare.
Max froze.
Ana tried not to laugh.
Rena grinned.
Max slowly stood, looking at the board like it held the secrets of the universe.
Then—he just…guessed.
Horribly.
The teacher sighed so hard it was almost funny.
Ana and Rena died laughing.
Max glared at them both as he sat down. "Traitors."
"Sorry," Ana wheezed, wiping tears from her eyes. "That was the worst answer I’ve ever heard."
Max grumbled, crossing his arms. “At least I tried.”
Ana smiled, feeling normal for the first time that day.
Even if everything else was a mess, at least she had these moments.
She needed them.
Desperately.
Lunch Break: The Presence of Two More Mates
Lunch was another battle altogether.
Ana had just sat down when she noticed them.
Killian Voss and Damon Blackwood.
And for some reason, today…they were watching her.
Killian, with his sharp golden eyes and unreadable expression.
Damon, quieter but no less intense.
Ana shifted uncomfortably.
She barely knew them. Why were they staring at her now?
Before she could overthink it, Jaxon showed up.
“Ana,” he said smoothly.
Max groaned. “Oh, great. What do you want, Reed?”
Jaxon ignored him. His dark eyes locked onto Ana’s.
And then, he slid a note onto the table.
Just for her.
"Read it later," he murmured before walking away.
Ana’s stomach twisted.
She hesitated, then picked up the note.
Inside, only a few words were scrawled in messy handwriting:
"Meet me after school. We need to talk."
Her fingers tightened around the paper.
Jaxon was never this serious.
What was going on?
After School: The Meeting with Jaxon
Ana almost didn’t go.
Almost.
But the nagging feeling in her chest wouldn’t let her ignore it.
So she waited behind the school, as the note instructed.
Jaxon was already there, leaning against the wall, arms crossed.
When he saw her, the smirk he always wore was gone.
For the first time, he looked…serious.
Ana swallowed hard. "What do you want, Jaxon?"
He watched her for a moment.
Then, he said something that made her blood run cold.
"Did you see anything last night?"
Ana’s heart pounded. "What do you mean?"
Jaxon’s jaw tightened. "I think you already know."
A chill ran down her spine.
She did know.
The nightmare. The shadows.
The way she felt like something had been watching her.
Jaxon knew.
Ana took a shaky step back.
But Jaxon’s next words stopped her cold.
"This isn’t just a dream, Ana."
"Something is coming for you"
"Something is coming."
- Writer
