The rules of death
1143 Words
The first thing Evelyn did was lock herself in her room.
She pulled the curtains shut, ignored Lily’s confused questions, and sank onto the floor beside her bed. Her hands still trembled from seeing the gray-eyed stranger in the library.
He was real.
Not a nightmare.
Not a hallucination.
He had been standing only a few feet away, looking at her as though they had never met.
Yet she couldn’t forget his face.
Those cold gray eyes had been the last thing she saw before she died.
She hugged her knees to her chest, forcing herself to think logically.
“If I really traveled back in time…”
She grabbed the orientation booklet from her desk and flipped to the calendar.
September 3.
Exactly one month before the night she was murdered.
She wasn’t imagining it.
She was living it.
But why?
Why her?
What had happened after she died?
Her thoughts were interrupted by a soft knock.
“Evelyn?” Lily called. “Are you still hiding in there?”
Evelyn quickly wiped her eyes and unlocked the door.
Lily walked in carrying two sandwiches.
“I figured you skipped lunch.”
She placed one on the desk before studying Evelyn’s pale face.
“You’ve been acting strange all day.”
“I’ve just been tired.”
Lily folded her arms.
“No.”
“You’ve been… scared.”
Evelyn looked away.
“I had a bad dream.”
Lily smiled sympathetically.
“My grandma used to say dreams lose their power if you tell someone.”
Evelyn almost laughed.
If only this were a dream.
Instead, she asked carefully, “Lily… have you ever heard of a student named Adrian Wolfe?”
Lily’s smile disappeared.
“Everyone has.”
“He’s kind of a legend around here.”
“What do you mean?”
“Top of every class. Captain of the fencing club. His family practically owns half the city.”
Lily lowered her voice.
“They say if Adrian wants something, he gets it.”
“And if he doesn’t?”
She shrugged.
“No one sticks around long enough to find out.”
Evelyn’s stomach tightened.
So his name was Adrian.
⸻
That evening, Evelyn couldn’t bring herself to return to the library.
Instead, she wandered through the quieter parts of campus, hoping the fresh air would calm her thoughts.
As she crossed the old stone bridge behind the science building, she noticed someone sitting alone on the edge of the fountain.
It was Adrian.
He was reading a thick leather-bound book, completely ignoring the students walking past.
For a moment, Evelyn considered turning around.
Then curiosity won.
She needed answers.
Taking a deep breath, she approached him.
“You were looking for me earlier.”
He looked up.
Recognition flickered across his face.
“I wanted to make sure you were okay.”
“I’m fine.”
“You didn’t look fine.”
Silence stretched between them.
Finally, Adrian closed his book.
“Do we know each other?”
“No.”
“Then why did you run?”
Because you watched me die.
Because you whispered you’d see me again.
Because your face haunts every nightmare I’ll ever have.
Instead, she forced a smile.
“I thought you were someone else.”
His gray eyes studied her for several long seconds.
“You were terrified.”
“I said I’m fine.”
He nodded slowly.
“If you say so.”
He stood and walked away.
But just before disappearing around the corner, he spoke without turning around.
“Be careful after dark.”
Evelyn’s breath caught.
“What?”
“This campus isn’t as safe as it looks.”
Then he was gone.
⸻
That night, Evelyn couldn’t sleep.
Around midnight she climbed out of bed and opened her laptop.
If the murders had really happened before…
There had to be records.
She searched:
Blackwood University murder.
Nothing.
She tried different keywords.
Student missing.
Campus death.
Unsolved crime.
Again.
Nothing.
It was as though the murders had never existed.
Then a single result appeared from an old online forum.
The title read:
“The Blackwood Curse.”
Her pulse quickened.
She clicked.
The page loaded slowly before revealing one chilling sentence.
Every twenty years, seven students disappear. No bodies are ever found.
Below it, dozens of comments argued over whether the story was true.
Most dismissed it as an urban legend.
One comment, posted anonymously only three months earlier, stood out.
Don’t look for The Seven. They will find you first.
Before Evelyn could read more…
The page refreshed.
Error 404.
Content Not Found.
Someone had deleted it.
⸻
The following morning, she made a decision.
If nobody else remembered the future…
She would keep a record herself.
She bought a black notebook from the campus bookstore.
On the first page she wrote:
Rules
1. I died on October 3.
2. Adrian Wolfe was there.
3. The murder happened after midnight.
4. I have one month to change everything.
5. Trust no one.
She stared at the list.
Then slowly added one more line.
6. Stay alive.
Closing the notebook, she slipped it into her backpack.
For the first time since waking up, she felt a tiny spark of hope.
If she remembered the future…
Maybe she could stop it.
Maybe she could save everyone.
⸻
Later that afternoon, orientation groups gathered in the main courtyard.
Students laughed while taking photographs beneath the famous Blackwood clock tower.
Evelyn forced herself to join them.
She couldn’t spend every day hiding.
As the photographer counted down—
“Three…”
“Two…”
“One…”
A loud crack echoed overhead.
Everyone looked up.
A massive stone gargoyle broke free from the tower.
It plummeted toward the crowd.
“Evelyn!”
Someone shouted.
Without thinking, she shoved Lily out of the way.
The gargoyle smashed into the ground where Lily had been standing seconds earlier.
Dust exploded into the air.
Students screamed.
The courtyard descended into chaos.
Campus security rushed over.
“It’s just an accident,” one guard insisted.
“The statue must have loosened.”
But Evelyn wasn’t looking at the broken stone.
She was looking at the clock tower.
A shadow stood at the very top.
Watching.
The figure wore black gloves.
In one hand was a small silver coin engraved with seven ravens.
As Evelyn met the stranger’s gaze…
The figure smiled.
Then stepped backward into the darkness.
Gone.
Evelyn’s heart pounded.
This wasn’t an accident.
Someone had tried to kill Lily.
Or…
Had they been trying to kill her?
She reached into her backpack to grab her notebook.
Her blood ran cold.
The notebook was gone.
In its place lay a single folded piece of paper.
With shaking hands, she opened it.
Only four words were written inside.
I remember you too.
- Writer
