Chased By Shadows

Chapter Nine: The Boy Who Shouldn’t Know

The storm began just after sunset. The windows trembled. The power flickered.

And the house, already full of too many voices, grew darker. Kaia stood at the kitchen sink, staring into the reflection of the window. Elise was behind her. But when she turned, no one was there.

Lana disappeared after dinner. She didn’t take a coat. Didn’t say a word. Elise was the first to notice. “She’s gone.” Maren sat up from the couch. “What do you mean?”

“Her bag’s still here,” Elise said. “But she isn’t.” Silas glanced toward the woods. “We shouldn’t follow her.” “Why not?” Kaia asked. “Because maybe she wants us to.”

Maren stared at her hand all night. The scratches were healing too fast. She swore they hadn’t been there yesterday. And worse— she felt like she was forgetting things again. Little things.

Where she left her journal. What day it was. Her own voice. She opened the window, desperate for cold air. And saw someone standing at the edge of the woods. Still.

Watching.

He arrived just before midnight. Dripping wet. Shivering. Carrying a folder and a name. “I’m Simon. I used to live next to Sera.” Kaia froze.

They hadn’t heard that name spoken out loud in days. Simon stood awkwardly in the hallway. Blond, glasses cracked, shoes muddy. “I need to talk to Elise.”

Elise didn’t recognize him. At least, that’s what she said. Simon didn’t push. But when he spoke, it was clear he remembered her. “You were the last one seen with Sera.” Elise blinked. “No… I wasn’t.” Simon opened the folder.

A photocopy of an old attendance sheet. Three names. Elise Faye. Sera Whitman.

Lana Crowe. But scribbled in the margin, someone had written: “Four entered the woods. Three returned.”

Kaia stared at Simon from across the room. “Where have you been all this time?” He looked at her evenly. “In recovery.” “From what?” Kaia asked. Simon hesitated.

“A fire.” Kaia’s breath caught. “Which one?”

He didn’t answer. Instead, he said, “I remember you too.”

Mallory watched the rain blur the windows. Simon unsettled her. He knew things only a local would. And yet, there were no records of him in the town archives. No birth certificate. No school ID.

Just the name—scrawled at the bottom of an old report: “Simon R. witnessed the disappearance. Claimed to see a second girl dragging the body.” But that part had been crossed out.

Maren crept into Lana’s room. Searching. She found the bag half unzipped. The ribbon was gone. But in the side pocket, a list: Names. Crossed out. Sera, Wendy, Callie, Maren, Kaia, Elise. And beside the last one, scribbled faintly in red: “She knows too much.” Maren stared at her own name. There was a question mark next to it.

Lana returned before dawn. Drenched. Silent. Kaia met her at the door. “Where were you?” Lana smiled. “Just remembering.” “Who is Simon?” Lana tilted her head. “You’ll wish you didn’t ask.”

Simon stayed for breakfast. He told a story no one wanted to hear. “There was another girl. No one talks about her.” Kaia crossed her arms. “Because she didn’t exist.” Simon nodded slowly. “That’s what they want you to think.” He pulled a crumpled photo from his coat. The same clearing. Four shadows. Not three.

Elise stepped outside and screamed. They found her behind the house. Hands over her mouth. Pointing to the shed. On the door, scratched deep into the wood: “SHE ISN’T WHO YOU THINK.”

And below it, a drawing. A girl, half her face normal. The other side—nothing but static lines. Like something was trying to erase her.

Mallory checked her files that afternoon. Simon’s handwriting matched one of the anonymous letters she’d received a month ago. The one that said: “She’ll bleed again before she remembers.” She never knew what it meant. Now, she wasn’t sure she wanted to.

Kaia went to town alone. She needed answers. At the library, the clerk hesitated when she asked for student records. “Those files are sealed,” he said. She leaned in. “Even the missing students?” He hesitated. “Especially them.” She slid him a twenty.

An hour later, she sat alone in the archives, flicking through reports. And found a name she didn’t expect. Kaia Whitlock. Not listed as a student. But as a witness. Date: October 12th, 2017. “Claimed the girl who disappeared had a twin.”

Kaia dropped the paper. She didn’t remember saying that. She didn’t remember that day at all.

That night, Maren found her journal torn. Pages missing. Only one remained. On it, written in childlike scrawl: “The third girl doesn’t sleep. She hides in dreams.” And under it: “Wake up before she does.”

Simon walked into the woods again. Mallory followed. “What are you looking for?” He didn’t answer. Just reached into the ground. Pulled something out.

A charm bracelet. With three broken letters: E, K, S. He handed it to her. “Tell me this doesn’t prove it.” Mallory stared. She couldn’t.

That night, Elise dreamt again. But this time, she was the one holding the knife. And Kaia was screaming. Then—flash. Lana in the corner, smiling. Then—another flash. Elise standing over her own body. And a voice behind her whispered: “She’s already woken up."