Episode 19: Three Days
1972 Words
## Episode 19: Three Days
Three days.
Heaven kept staring at the phone after Sierra ended the call.
Three days until the door opened.
She looked at Conrad.
“We need to go to the school.”
Conrad shook his head.
“Sierra told us not to.”
“She also said the countdown changed.”
Heaven stood.
“That means something happened.”
Conrad watched her for a moment.
Then he stood too.
“I'm coming with you.”
“You don't have to.”
“Yes, I do.”
He smiled faintly.
“You're not going alone.”
Heaven smiled back.
“Okay.”
They left together.
Neither of them noticed the shadow watching from across the street.
---
When they reached the school, Maya, Dylan, and Sierra were already waiting.
Maya immediately walked toward Heaven.
“Please tell me you didn't come here alone.”
“I didn't.”
She pointed at Conrad.
Maya sighed.
“Of course.”
Dylan looked at Conrad.
“Do you two ever listen to instructions?”
“No,” Conrad said.
“Great.”
Sierra looked serious.
“We don't have much time.”
She held up the black book.
“The countdown changed because the door reacted to the memory.”
Heaven frowned.
“What memory?”
“The one where you chose Conrad.”
Heaven's stomach tightened.
“So remembering made it stronger?”
Sierra nodded.
“And if you remember more, it could become even stronger.”
Conrad looked at Heaven.
“Then maybe she shouldn't remember.”
Heaven shook her head.
“No.”
Everyone looked at her.
“If forgetting is what caused this in the first place, then we need the truth.”
Sierra nodded slowly.
“She may be right.”
Maya looked at the black book.
“Then let's find the truth.”
---
They returned to the old hallway.
The door was closed.
But the golden symbol beneath it was still visible.
Heaven approached it carefully.
The moment she stepped closer, her wrist began to glow.
Conrad's did too.
The door made a low sound.
Like something breathing behind it.
Dylan stepped backward.
“Yeah. I don't like that.”
Maya grabbed his arm.
“Stay close.”
Sierra opened the black book.
A new message appeared.
THE KEY MUST REMEMBER.
Conrad frowned.
“That's me.”
He touched the page.
Nothing happened.
He tried again.
Still nothing.
Then Heaven placed her hand over his.
The book immediately began glowing.
Words appeared.
THE KEY REMEMBERS THROUGH THE POWER.
Conrad looked at Heaven.
“What does that mean?”
Heaven didn't know.
Then she heard something.
A whisper.
Conrad.
She turned.
Nobody had spoken.
“Did you hear that?”
“Hear what?” Maya asked.
Heaven looked toward the door.
“I heard my name.”
The whisper came again.
Heaven.
This time, everyone heard it.
Maya's eyes widened.
“Okay.”
Dylan took a step back.
“Definitely heard that.”
The door shook.
Once.
Twice.
Then stopped.
Sierra closed the book.
“We're leaving.”
“But—”
“Now.”
They left the hallway.
---
They spent the next few hours in the library.
They searched old records, newspapers, school photographs, anything connected to the door.
Eventually, Maya found a box hidden beneath a shelf.
“What is this?”
Sierra opened it.
Inside were several old photographs.
Conrad picked one up.
His face changed.
“What?”
He handed it to Heaven.
The photograph showed the old hallway.
Several people stood in front of the door.
Conrad's father.
Sierra's sister.
The mysterious boy.
And two children.
Heaven.
And Conrad.
Heaven stared at the photograph.
“We were really there.”
“Yes,” Sierra said.
“But look.”
She pointed to the corner.
There was writing on the back.
Sierra turned it over.
A sentence had been written in faded ink.
THE FIRST CHOICE WAS MADE BY THE GIRL.
Heaven swallowed.
“That was me.”
Sierra nodded.
“Keep reading.”
Sierra turned the photograph over again.
Below the first sentence was another.
THE SECOND CHOICE WILL BE MADE BY THE BOY.
Everyone looked at Conrad.
His expression hardened.
“What does that mean?”
Nobody knew.
Then the library lights flickered.
The photograph slipped from Heaven's hand.
A voice whispered:
“Three days.”
The mysterious boy appeared between the shelves.
Maya gasped.
“How does he keep doing that?”
Dylan whispered,
“I don't know, but I don't like it.”
Conrad stood.
“You need to stop hiding things.”
The boy looked at him.
“I'm not hiding anything.”
“You know what happened.”
“Yes.”
“Then tell us.”
The boy looked at Heaven.
“She isn't ready.”
Heaven stepped forward.
“I'm ready.”
The boy smiled.
“You think you are.”
“I remember choosing Conrad.”
“Yes.”
“What happened after?”
He became silent.
Heaven's voice shook.
“Tell me.”
The boy finally answered.
“You opened the door.”
Conrad stared at him.
“And?”
The boy looked at him.
“You made your choice.”
“What choice?”
But the boy disappeared.
---
That night, Heaven couldn't stop thinking about his words.
You made your choice.
What choice had Conrad made?
She opened her notebook.
The symbol was there again.
She touched it.
Nothing.
Then she whispered,
“Show me.”
The page began glowing.
Her room disappeared.
She was back in the hallway.
She was young again.
Conrad stood beside her.
The door was open.
Golden light poured through it.
Something dark moved behind the light.
Conrad's father was shouting.
“Get them out!”
Sierra's sister grabbed young Heaven's hand.
“Come with me!”
But Heaven refused.
“What about Conrad?”
Sierra's sister looked at him.
“He has to choose.”
Young Conrad looked frightened.
“Choose what?”
His father stepped toward him.
“Whether you close it or open it.”
Conrad looked at Heaven.
She could hear her younger voice.
“Don't open it.”
Conrad nodded.
“I won't.”
Then the mysterious boy stepped forward.
“You already chose.”
Young Conrad looked confused.
“When?”
“When you took her hand.”
The door began shaking.
The vision disappeared.
Heaven gasped.
She was back in her room.
She immediately called Conrad.
He answered quickly.
“Heaven?”
“I remembered something.”
---
They met outside.
Conrad listened carefully as she explained.
“So my choice was to close the door?”
“I think so.”
He looked troubled.
“But if I chose to close it, why is it opening again?”
“I don't know.”
Conrad looked toward the school.
“Maybe I failed.”
“You were a child.”
“That doesn't matter.”
“It does.”
He looked at her.
“You didn't fail.”
Heaven reached for his hand.
“You were trying to protect me.”
He held her hand tightly.
“I would do it again.”
Her heart softened.
Then a strange sound came from the school.
A bell.
It was almost midnight.
Neither of them moved.
The school lights switched on one by one.
Conrad's mark began glowing.
Heaven's mark glowed brighter.
“The school is calling us,” Conrad said.
“We shouldn't go.”
“I know.”
Neither moved.
Then Heaven noticed something.
The golden light wasn't coming from the old hallway.
It was coming from the basketball court.
They looked at each other.
“Let's go,” Heaven said.
---
They reached the court.
The doors opened by themselves.
Inside, the entire floor was covered in golden symbols.
Heaven's breath caught.
“This wasn't here before.”
Conrad walked forward.
The symbols formed a path.
Straight toward the center of the court.
A dark circle appeared.
Then the mysterious boy appeared on the opposite side.
He looked at Heaven.
“Three days.”
“You keep saying that.”
“Because you're running out of time.”
“What happens in three days?”
“The door opens completely.”
Heaven looked at Conrad.
“And what happens to us?”
The boy's expression became serious.
“That depends on him.”
Conrad stepped forward.
“On me?”
“Yes.”
“What am I supposed to choose?”
The boy looked at Heaven.
“Her.”
Conrad frowned.
“What does that mean?”
The boy didn't answer.
Instead, the symbols beneath Conrad's feet began glowing.
A vision appeared above the court.
Young Conrad stood before the door.
His father stood behind him.
The mysterious boy stood beside him.
Young Heaven was on the other side.
Conrad heard his younger self say:
“I choose her.”
Heaven stared.
The vision disappeared.
Conrad looked shaken.
“I don't remember saying that.”
“But you did,” the boy said.
“What does it mean?”
“You'll remember.”
Heaven stepped forward.
“You keep saying that.”
“Because memories are returning exactly as they should.”
“Then why can't I remember everything?”
“Because the last memory is the one that matters most.”
“What is it?”
The boy looked at her.
“The reason you chose Conrad.”
He disappeared.
The golden symbols faded.
---
The next morning, Heaven, Conrad, Maya, Dylan, and Sierra met again.
Nobody had slept properly.
Sierra placed the black book on the table.
“We know three things.”
She held up one finger.
“The first time, Heaven chose Conrad.”
A second finger.
“Conrad chose something afterward.”
A third.
“And the door was closed.”
Maya frowned.
“Then why is it opening now?”
Sierra looked at Heaven.
“Because whatever happened the first time wasn't finished.”
Dylan leaned forward.
“What does that mean?”
Sierra shook her head.
“We don't know.”
Heaven looked at Conrad.
“I think we need to remember the final part.”
Conrad nodded.
“But if remembering is making the door stronger…”
“Then we have no choice.”
Sierra looked worried.
“Be careful.”
Heaven opened the black book.
The pages turned rapidly.
Then stopped.
A new message appeared.
THREE DAYS.
Underneath it:
THE GIRL CHOSE THE KEY.
Another line appeared.
THE KEY CHOSE THE SACRIFICE.
Heaven's face went pale.
“The sacrifice?”
Conrad stared at the words.
“What did I sacrifice?”
The final line appeared.
REMEMBER THE NIGHT SHE DISAPPEARED.
Sierra froze.
“My sister.”
The room went silent.
Heaven looked at her.
“You think Conrad remembers what happened to your sister?”
Sierra nodded slowly.
“If he does…”
She looked at Conrad.
“…then he may be the only person who knows why she never came back.”
Conrad stared at the book.
Then suddenly, pain shot through his wrist.
He grabbed it.
A golden light spread across his skin.
His eyes widened.
“I remember.”
Everyone moved closer.
“What?” Heaven asked.
Conrad looked at her.
His face was filled with shock.
“I remember what happened to Sierra's sister.”
Heaven held her breath.
“What happened?”
Conrad swallowed.
“She didn't disappear.”
Sierra stood frozen.
“Then where is she?”
Conrad looked toward the window.
His voice dropped to a whisper.
“She went through the door.”
The black book slammed shut.
And somewhere inside the school, something knocked three times.
Knock.
Knock.
Knock.
The countdown had three days left.
But now they knew the truth was much closer than they had imagined.
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