CHAPTER 8: THE VOICE INSIDE LOCKER 316
1024 Words
Lyra’s blood turned cold.
“You finally came back.”
The voice was soft.
Female.
Familiar.
Her entire body froze in the middle of the underground hallway while cold air drifted from the slightly open locker door.
No.
Impossible.
Her breathing became shallow.
That voice…
It sounded exactly like her mother.
The dim tunnel lights flickered above her.
For one terrifying second, Lyra truly believed her missing mother was somehow inside Locker 316.
Waiting.
Watching.
Alive.
“Mom?” she whispered before she could stop herself.
Silence answered.
Then—
A quiet laugh came from inside the locker.
Not warm.
Not comforting.
Wrong.
Every instinct inside Lyra screamed danger now.
Slowly, carefully, she stepped closer.
The old floor creaked beneath her shoes.
The locker door moved slightly wider on its own.
Creeeeeeak.
The sound echoed through the underground hall like a scream.
Lyra reached the locker cautiously.
Her hands trembled.
Inside was darkness.
Too dark to see clearly.
But she could hear breathing.
Slow.
Uneven.
Definitely human.
“Who are you?” Lyra asked quietly.
No answer.
Then the breathing suddenly stopped.
The silence that followed felt worse.
Lyra swallowed hard.
Against every intelligent decision possible, she slowly pulled the locker door fully open.
Empty.
Her breath caught sharply.
Nobody inside.
Only darkness.
“What the—”
A loud metallic slam exploded behind her.
Lyra spun around instantly.
Every locker door in the hallway had suddenly shut at once.
BANG.
BANG.
BANG.
The sound echoed violently through the tunnels.
Her heart nearly stopped.
Then the lights flickered out.
Darkness swallowed everything.
Lyra gasped softly.
“Oh my God…”
A whisper floated through the blackness.
“Run.”
She moved instantly.
Pure fear took over.
Lyra sprinted blindly through the hallway while metal locker doors rattled violently around her.
BANG.
BANG.
BANG.
Something moved in the darkness beside her.
Fast.
Not human fast.
She heard footsteps behind her now.
Running.
Closer.
Her breathing became panicked.
The tunnel lights suddenly flashed back on for half a second—
And Lyra saw a figure standing at the end of the hallway.
Tall.
Wearing a black hood.
Watching her.
Then darkness again.
Lyra ran harder.
Her shoulder slammed painfully into the tunnel wall as she turned a corner too quickly.
Behind her, the footsteps kept coming.
Closer.
Closer.
Then suddenly—
A hand grabbed her wrist and yanked her violently sideways.
Lyra screamed.
A second hand covered her mouth instantly.
“Quiet.”
Caius.
Lyra’s heart pounded wildly as he pulled her into a dark side room hidden inside the tunnel wall.
He shut the door immediately.
The footsteps outside rushed past them.
Then silence returned.
Caius slowly removed his hand from her mouth.
“What are you doing here?” he whispered sharply.
Lyra glared at him despite shaking violently.
“I could ask you the same thing!”
His gray eyes moved over her face carefully.
“You came alone?”
“Yes.”
“Good.”
“That’s your response?”
“You weren’t followed.”
Lyra stared at him incredulously.
“I was literally chased through murder tunnels!”
Caius looked toward the door again.
“You shouldn’t have opened the locker.”
“How did you know about it?”
He ignored the question.
“What did you see?”
“Nothing.”
That finally got a reaction from him.
Real confusion flashed across his face.
“Nothing?”
“There was a voice.”
Caius went completely still.
“What did it say?”
Lyra hesitated.
“You finally came back.”
His expression darkened instantly.
Almost fearful.
That terrified her more than the tunnel itself.
“You heard a female voice?” he asked quietly.
Lyra nodded slowly.
Caius looked genuinely disturbed now.
“That’s not possible.”
“There’s that phrase again.”
“Lyra, nobody’s been inside Locker 316 for years.”
Before she could answer, a loud scraping sound echoed outside the hidden room.
Both of them froze.
Something dragged slowly across the tunnel floor.
Scratch.
Scrape.
Scratch.
Lyra moved closer to Caius without realizing it.
The sound stopped directly outside the door.
Silence.
Then—
Three soft knocks.
Knock.
Knock.
Knock.
Lyra’s chest tightened painfully.
The same pattern.
Every time.
A whisper came from outside.
“Caius…”
His face lost color instantly.
Lyra noticed it immediately.
Whoever was outside terrified him.
The whisper came again.
“You promised.”
Caius shut his eyes briefly.
Just for a second.
But Lyra saw pain flash across his face again.
Real pain.
Not fear this time.
Guilt.
Then the voice outside laughed softly.
A girl’s laugh.
“You let her come back.”
Footsteps slowly moved away down the tunnel.
Silence returned.
Neither of them spoke for several seconds.
Finally Lyra whispered:
“Who was that?”
Caius looked exhausted suddenly.
Like someone carrying years of secrets alone.
“You need to leave Blackthorne.”
Lyra almost laughed from frustration.
“You seriously still think that’s enough explanation?”
“You don’t understand what this place does to people.”
“Then make me understand!”
Caius looked directly into her eyes.
And quietly said:
“Kael died because of The Circle.”
Lyra stopped breathing.
“What?”
“He found something he wasn’t supposed to.”
“The dead twin?”
Caius nodded once.
The dim light above them flickered softly.
Lyra stared at him carefully now.
For the first time, he no longer looked untouchable.
He looked broken.
“What did he find?” she asked quietly.
Caius hesitated too long.
Then suddenly—
A loud alarm exploded through the tunnels.
Red emergency lights flooded the underground hall.
Caius cursed immediately.
“We need to move now.”
“What’s happening?”
“They know we’re down here.”
The hidden room door suddenly rattled violently.
Someone—or something—hit it from outside.
BANG.
Lyra jumped backward.
Another hit followed instantly.
BANG.
Dust fell from the ceiling.
Then a distorted voice echoed through hidden speakers somewhere in the tunnels:
“RETURN HER TO THE CIRCLE.”
The door handle slowly began turning.
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