Grave lessons

The night was colder than before, the air thick with something unseen—something watching. The group huddled in Kayla's basement, their latest artifact resting on the floor between them. Its glow pulsed erratically, like a dying heartbeat, casting shifting shadows on the stone walls.

Kayla sat cross-legged, flipping through the ancient book, her brow furrowed. "We need to find the last artifact," she murmured, mostly to herself.

Caston, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed, scoffed. "Oh, great plan. Just find it. No big deal."

Kayla clenched her jaw. "You know, I'm getting really sick of your attitude."

"Well, I'm getting sick of almost dying every time you come up with one of your 'brilliant' plans," Caston shot back.

"Enough." Rose's sharp voice cut through the rising tension. "We don't have time for this."

Kayla and Caston glared at each other before reluctantly looking away. The silence between them was thick—heavy with something neither of them wanted to name.

Marina shifted uncomfortably. "So… how do we find the last artifact?"

Kayla hesitated, her fingers tracing over a section of text. "It says the final artifact was hidden in a place of suffering."

Laura pushed her glasses up the bridge of her nose. "That could mean a lot of things. The entire school is basically cursed."

Kayla's lips pressed into a thin line. "No… I think I know where."

The others waited, the air tense.

Kayla swallowed hard. "The abandoned wing."

Silence.

Then Marina whispered, "No way."

The abandoned wing of Ridgewood High had been shut down for decades. No one knew why. Teachers never spoke of it, and students only dared to tell ghost stories about what lay beyond the rusted doors.

Caston let out a dry laugh. "Of course it's there."

Kayla shot him a glare. "You don't have to come."

"Yeah, because letting you die alone sounds like a better idea?" Caston said, his voice low.

Kayla blinked, caught off guard. Was that concern? No—impossible.

"Then it's settled," Rose said. "We go at midnight."

None of them said it aloud, but they all felt it—this was the most dangerous thing they'd done yet.

And there was no turning back.

The Abandoned Wing

The hallway leading to the abandoned wing was deathly silent. The overhead lights flickered as the group approached the rusted double doors, sealed shut with chains that looked too new to have been placed decades ago.

Kayla ran a hand over the metal. Cold. Unnaturally so.

"This isn't just locked," she whispered. "It's sealed."

Laura hesitated. "With what?"

Before anyone could answer, Caston stepped forward, gripping the chains. "Then we unseal it."

"Caston, wait—"

With a sharp pull, the chains snapped like they were made of paper.

And the doors swung open on their own.

A gust of freezing air blew past them, carrying the scent of decay. Their flashlights flickered violently.

The group exchanged nervous glances, but Kayla forced herself to move forward.

Inside, the air was thick, suffocating. Desks lay overturned, papers yellowed with age scattered across the floor. The walls were covered in deep scratches—as if something had tried to claw its way out.

And then came the whispers.

Faint at first. Then growing.

Help us.

Turn back.

You don't belong here.

Marina let out a sharp breath. "Tell me you all heard that."

"We heard it," Rose said, her grip tightening on her flashlight.

Kayla pressed forward, the artifact in her hand growing warmer. "It's close."

A sudden, ear-splitting slam echoed through the wing. The doors had shut behind them.

"No," Laura whispered. She ran back, yanking at the handles. They wouldn't budge.

"We're locked in," Caston muttered.

Kayla ignored the panic settling in. "We find the artifact. Now."

The whispers grew louder, turning into agonized screams. Shadows twisted along the walls, forming vague, humanoid shapes.

And then—

A voice.

Not whispering. Not distant.

Right behind Kayla.

"You should have stayed away."

She spun around, heart hammering. Nothing.

But when she turned back, the others were staring at her, wide-eyed.

"Kayla," Marina whispered. "Your shoulder."

Kayla looked down. A single, bloody handprint had appeared on her shirt.

Something had touched her.

Panic clawed at her throat, but she forced it down. "We keep moving."

Caston stepped closer to her, his usual smirk gone. "You okay?"

Kayla met his eyes, something unspoken passing between them. "I'm fine."

He didn't believe her, but he didn't push.

Instead, they pressed deeper into the abandoned wing.

The Final Artifact

The artifact was in the center of the room—a small, ornate box resting on a rusted teacher's desk.

It looked so harmless.

But the air around it hummed with power.

"We grab it, we get out," Rose said.

Kayla took a deep breath, stepping forward. As soon as her fingers touched the box, the entire room shifted.

The walls bled. The ceiling cracked. Shadows erupted from every corner.

And standing in the doorway—was it.

The entity had fully formed now. No longer just a shadow, but something worse. Its hollow, black eyes burned into them, and its jagged mouth twisted into something almost like a smile.

"You shouldn't have come," it hissed.

The floor beneath them cracked, splitting open into a dark abyss.

Kayla barely had time to react before she felt herself falling—

And then—

A hand grabbed her wrist.

"Not happening," Caston growled, yanking her back up.

Kayla gasped, clutching onto him as the ground solidified again. Her chest heaved, heart pounding.

Caston held her just a moment too long before stepping back, running a hand through his hair. "You owe me for that."

Kayla swallowed hard. "Shut up."

They didn't have time to process what had almost happened.

The entity lunged.

"RUN!" Rose screamed.

They sprinted down the halls, the walls distorting around them, the whispers turning to screeches. The air pulled at them like unseen hands trying to drag them into the abyss.

Kayla clutched the artifact to her chest, its warmth burning against her skin.

The doors.

They burst through them just as the entity let out a deafening scream.

And then—

Silence.

The air was still. The night was quiet.

The abandoned wing was behind them.

And they were alive.

A Fragile Peace

Back in Kayla's room, the group sat in exhausted silence. The three artifacts now rested together, their glow synchronized.

"We have everything," Laura whispered. "Now what?"

Kayla's hands trembled. "Now… we seal it. For good."

She felt Caston's eyes on her.

And when she looked at him, for once—he didn't have anything sarcastic to say.

Because they both knew.

The real fight was just beginning.