CHAPTER 5: THE HANGING BOY
1102 Words
Screams filled the assembly hall.
Pure panic exploded through the room as students shoved past one another trying to get away from the shattered window. Some cried. Others stared in horror at Julian’s lifeless body hanging outside in the storm.
The rope creaked softly in the wind.
Blood dripped slowly onto the broken glass below.
Lyra couldn’t breathe.
SHE REMEMBERS NOW.
Those words were written across Julian’s white uniform shirt in dark red paint—or maybe blood.
Her stomach twisted violently.
“What the hell…” Nova whispered behind her.
Teachers rushed forward immediately while Headmistress Aldridge shouted for everyone to remain calm.
Nobody listened.
Several students bolted toward the exits only to stop suddenly.
The doors would not open.
“They locked us in!” someone screamed.
Fear spread instantly.
The detective moved toward the center of the chaos, his voice sharp and commanding.
“EVERYONE SIT DOWN!”
Surprisingly, many students obeyed.
Maybe because he sounded like someone used to controlling dangerous situations.
Or maybe because everyone was terrified.
Caius stood near the shattered window staring up at Julian’s body. His face had gone completely unreadable again, but Lyra noticed his fists clenched tightly at his sides.
He knew something.
Definitely.
Elowen Graves remained strangely calm near the front row, watching the chaos with cold eyes.
That bothered Lyra deeply.
How could anyone stay calm during this?
Then suddenly—
Julian’s body moved.
The entire hall gasped.
Sera grabbed Lyra’s arm so tightly it hurt.
“Oh my God—”
But it wasn’t movement.
The rope had twisted slightly in the wind.
Still dead.
Still horrifying.
Detective Arclight spoke quietly to two security guards before they hurried outside into the storm.
The headmistress stepped back onto the stage, visibly shaken now.
“All students will return to their dormitories immediately.”
Nobody argued this time.
Students rushed out quickly, desperate to escape the hall.
Lyra stood frozen for another second staring at the bloody message on Julian’s chest.
SHE REMEMBERS NOW.
What was she supposed to remember?
And why did it feel like the message was meant for her?
“Lyra.”
She turned sharply.
Caius stood behind her.
Close enough that she could see rainwater on his dark uniform from standing near the broken window.
“You need to stay away from everyone tonight.”
Lyra stared at him incredulously.
“A boy just got murdered and that’s your advice?”
His jaw tightened.
“I’m serious.”
“So am I.”
Anger rose inside her now, mixing dangerously with fear.
“You clearly know what’s happening here!”
Caius looked around quickly.
Too many students nearby.
“Not here.”
“There you go again.”
“Lyra—”
“No. Either tell me the truth or stop talking to me like I’m stupid.”
Something flickered briefly across his expression.
Pain.
Real pain.
But it vanished quickly.
“You’re already part of this,” he said quietly. “Whether you remember it or not.”
Before she could stop him, he walked away into the crowd.
Lyra stood there shaking with frustration.
What did that even mean?
“She should probably start charging money for all the dramatic speeches she gets,” Nova muttered beside her.
Lyra exhaled shakily.
“I’m officially losing my mind.”
Nova looked toward the broken window where teachers still worked frantically outside.
“No,” she said quietly.
“I think someone else already lost theirs.”
The walk back to the dorms felt completely different now.
The academy no longer seemed mysterious or glamorous.
Now it felt dangerous.
Every hallway looked darker.
Every shadow felt alive.
Students whispered nervously while teachers patrolled every corridor.
Some girls were crying openly.
Others already spread rumors online.
MURDER AT BLACKTHORNE.
HEAD BOY FOUND HANGING.
THE CIRCLE RETURNS.
Lyra read the posts while walking silently beside Sera and Nova.
Then one post made her stop.
@BlackthorneTruths:
Ask Lyra Vale what she remembers.
Her blood ran cold.
“How do they know my name already?” she whispered.
Nova looked grim.
“Because someone wants the whole school watching you.”
Sera hugged herself nervously.
“I hate this place.”
A loud thunderclap shook the windows outside.
The storm had returned stronger than before.
When they reached the dorm hallway, Lyra immediately noticed something wrong.
Students crowded around the lockers whispering loudly.
A teacher stood nearby looking furious.
“What happened?” Sera asked another girl.
The girl pointed silently toward the wall.
Lyra’s stomach dropped.
Written across the lockers in huge black letters:
SHE CAME BACK FOR REVENGE.
Directly beneath it—
LYRA VALE.
The hallway fell silent when she stepped closer.
Everyone stared at her openly now.
Fear.
Curiosity.
Suspicion.
Like she had suddenly become dangerous.
“That wasn’t there five minutes ago,” one student whispered.
Sera looked horrified.
“This is insane.”
Nova pulled out her camera immediately and snapped photos.
Lyra barely noticed.
Her eyes stayed locked on the message.
Then she saw it.
Locker 316.
Small numbers painted beneath her name.
A cold shiver moved through her body.
“That locker doesn’t exist,” Sera whispered again.
But someone clearly wanted her to find it.
The teacher began forcing students back toward their dorms while cleaners rushed forward to remove the writing.
Too late.
Everyone already saw it.
As Lyra reached Room 217, she noticed something slipped beneath the door.
A black envelope.
Her heartbeat quickened instantly.
“Don’t touch it,” Sera warned.
Lyra ignored her.
Slowly, she picked it up.
No name.
No markings.
Only a silver symbol pressed into the center.
A circle with an eye inside it.
Nova’s expression darkened immediately.
“The Circle.”
Lyra opened the envelope carefully.
Inside was a single photograph.
Old and slightly faded.
Her breath caught instantly.
The picture showed a group of students standing beneath Blackthorne Academy’s clock tower years ago.
One of them was her mother.
Younger.
Smiling.
Standing beside—
Caius.
Or at least someone who looked exactly like him.
Lyra stared at the image in disbelief.
Impossible.
The photo looked at least eighteen years old.
Caius couldn’t have been older than eighteen now.
Unless—
No.
That made no sense.
Then she noticed the writing on the back of the photograph.
In shaky black ink:
HE LIED ABOUT EVERYTHING.
A second piece of paper slipped from the envelope onto the floor.
Lyra picked it up slowly.
It was a map.
A route marked through the academy.
Leading underground.
At the bottom were five chilling words.
COME ALONE BEFORE MIDNIGHT.
- Writer
