CHAPTER 3: LOCKER 316
1444 Words
The scratching stopped.
Silence filled the hallway again, thick and heavy like smoke after a fire.
Lyra stood frozen near the dorm door, her breathing uneven.
“He knows you’re here now.”
The voice echoed inside her head.
Not loud.
Not angry.
Worse.
Calm.
Sera grabbed Lyra’s wrist tightly and pulled her away from the door.
“Don’t stand there!”
“What is happening?” Lyra whispered sharply.
Sera shook her head quickly.
“I don’t know, okay? Code Black only happens when something really bad happens.”
“That doesn’t explain the psycho outside our door.”
Another announcement echoed through the academy speakers.
“ALL STUDENTS MUST REMAIN INSIDE THEIR DORMS UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE.”
Footsteps thundered through the hallway again. Teachers shouted instructions while doors slammed one after another.
Lyra moved toward the window carefully.
Outside, security lights flooded the courtyard below. Several academy guards dressed in black uniforms hurried across the grounds carrying flashlights.
The entire school looked terrified.
This was not a prank.
This was real.
Sera sat down slowly on her bed, hugging her knees.
“I knew this year would be bad,” she muttered.
Lyra turned toward her.
“What happened last year?”
Sera hesitated.
For a moment, it looked like she would refuse again.
Then she finally spoke.
“A student disappeared.”
“Julian?”
“No. Before him.”
Lyra stayed quiet.
Sera’s voice lowered.
“Her name was Evelyn Cross.”
Something about the name felt strangely familiar.
“She vanished one night after a school event. Security cameras stopped working for exactly seven minutes.”
Lyra frowned immediately.
“Seven minutes?”
Sera nodded.
“When the cameras came back online, she was gone.”
“No one found her?”
“No.”
The room suddenly felt colder.
“What did that have to do with Caius?” Lyra asked carefully.
Sera looked uncomfortable again.
“People said they argued the night she disappeared.”
“And everyone blamed him?”
“Not officially.”
“But unofficially?”
Sera looked away.
“Yes.”
Lyra walked back toward her bed slowly.
Something about the story bothered her.
Not because Caius sounded innocent.
He definitely gave dangerous vibes.
But because the entire academy seemed too eager to fear him.
Like they needed someone to blame.
A soft vibration interrupted her thoughts.
Her phone.
Lyra picked it up quickly.
Unknown Number.
Her stomach tightened.
Slowly, she opened the message.
WELCOME BACK, LYRA.
Her blood turned cold.
Another message appeared immediately.
LOCKER 316.
Then the screen went black.
Completely black.
“What happened?” Sera asked nervously.
Lyra showed her the phone.
Sera’s face paled instantly.
“That’s impossible.”
“What?”
“There’s no Locker 316.”
Lyra frowned.
“What do you mean there’s no Locker 316?”
“The third floor lockers stop at 315.”
A chill crawled down Lyra’s spine.
Somewhere in the hallway outside, a door slammed violently.
Both girls jumped.
“This school seriously needs therapy,” Lyra muttered.
Sera almost laughed despite her fear.
Almost.
Hours passed slowly after that.
Nobody slept.
Students whispered through walls and hallways while teachers continued walking the corridors all night. Around two in the morning, the Code Black alarm finally ended.
But the fear remained.
By morning, Blackthorne Academy looked completely different.
Quiet.
Tense.
The usual laughter in the hallways was gone.
Students huddled together whispering nervously while others stared at their phones.
Julian was still missing.
And nobody believed he simply “left.”
Lyra walked beside Sera toward their first class while students openly stared at them.
Especially at Lyra.
“Why is everyone looking at me?” she asked.
Sera looked nervous again.
“That message last night…”
“What about it?”
“People know about it.”
Lyra stopped walking.
“How?”
Sera slowly held up her phone.
Someone had posted anonymously on a student gossip page.
NEW GIRL RECEIVES MESSAGE FROM THE CIRCLE.
Attached beneath it was a blurry photo of Lyra standing in the hallway last night.
Her chest tightened instantly.
Someone was watching her.
Again.
“This place is insane,” she whispered.
“You’re only realizing that now?” Nova’s voice appeared beside them suddenly.
Lyra nearly jumped.
“How do you walk so quietly?”
Nova smirked while adjusting the camera hanging around her neck.
“Years of avoiding security.”
Sera rolled her eyes.
“She means years of stalking trouble.”
Nova ignored her.
Instead, she handed Lyra a folded piece of paper.
“What’s this?”
“A map.”
Lyra unfolded it carefully.
The academy layout appeared drawn across the paper in black ink.
One area was circled heavily in red.
Basement Level East.
“What is this?” Lyra asked.
Nova lowered her voice.
“That’s where Locker 316 used to be.”
Lyra stared at her.
“Used to?”
Nova nodded slowly.
“Years ago, before the academy renovated the lower level.”
Sera looked confused now.
“There was a basement locker hall?”
“Hidden one,” Nova corrected.
Lyra folded the paper slowly.
“How do you know all this?”
Nova’s expression darkened slightly.
“Because I’ve been looking for answers longer than you have.”
Before Lyra could respond, a loud voice echoed down the hallway.
“Vale.”
Everyone nearby immediately became quieter.
Lyra turned.
Caius Mercer leaned against the lockers a few feet away, hands inside his pockets.
His gray eyes looked tired today.
Like he had not slept at all.
Several students instantly moved away from the area.
Nobody wanted to be near him.
Nova muttered softly,
“And there’s Satan himself.”
Caius ignored her completely.
His attention stayed locked on Lyra.
“We need to talk.”
Lyra crossed her arms automatically.
“Do we?”
“Yes.”
Sera looked horrified.
Nova looked interested.
Lyra looked annoyed.
Perfect combination.
“I’m not really in the mood for mysterious threats before breakfast,” Lyra said.
Caius stepped closer.
“It’s not a threat.”
“That’s exactly what threatening people say.”
To Lyra’s surprise, Caius almost smiled.
Almost.
Then his expression became serious again.
“Did you get any messages last night?”
Her stomach tightened slightly.
How did he know?
Lyra studied him carefully.
“You first.”
Something unreadable flickered across his face.
Then quietly, he said:
“Because whoever sent them is connected to your mother.”
The hallway suddenly felt silent again.
Lyra’s heartbeat stopped for one terrifying second.
“What did you just say?”
Caius glanced around the crowded corridor.
Too many students listening.
“Not here.”
Before Lyra could stop him, he grabbed her wrist gently and led her down the hallway.
Students stared openly as they passed.
Whispers exploded instantly.
“Oh my God.”
“He touched her.”
“What is happening?”
Sera looked completely shocked.
Nova looked even more interested now.
Caius pulled Lyra into an empty classroom and closed the door behind them.
The silence between them felt dangerous.
Lyra immediately pulled her wrist free.
“You have exactly ten seconds to explain what you meant.”
Caius looked directly into her eyes.
“Your mother attended Blackthorne Academy.”
Lyra’s chest tightened.
“I already figured that out.”
His expression changed slightly.
“How?”
“I saw an old photo online before it disappeared.”
“That photo wasn’t supposed to exist anymore.”
Every answer he gave only created more questions.
“Who are you really?” Lyra asked quietly.
Caius stared at her for a long moment.
Then he said something that made her blood run cold.
“I’m the reason your mother disappeared.”
Silence.
Complete silence.
Lyra stepped backward slowly.
“What?”
Caius’s jaw tightened.
“She trusted me.”
“That’s impossible.”
“You don’t understand.”
“No, I definitely don’t.”
Anger rose sharply inside her chest now.
“What kind of sick joke is this?”
“It’s not a joke.”
“Then explain it!”
Before Caius could answer—
The classroom lights suddenly flickered.
Once.
Twice.
Then every computer screen inside the room turned on by themselves.
Lyra froze.
Static filled the monitors.
Then slowly…
One sentence appeared across every screen.
SHE’S FINALLY HERE.
A loud banging sound suddenly echoed from somewhere deep beneath the classroom floor.
Lyra and Caius both looked down instantly.
Another bang.
Closer this time.
Then came a sound that made Lyra’s entire body go cold.
A girl screaming underground.
- Writer
