━━━ ꧁ད ✶ ཌ꧂ ━━━

CHAPTER 05

━━━ ꧁ད ✶ ཌ꧂ ━━━

Eerie sounds echoed throughout the place, but I couldn't figure out where they were coming from. Blindly, all I could do was assume that objects were falling from random areas around me.

Shadows in the darkness. How was that possible?

Hastily, I rushed to remove the desks that had buried Natale, but I was stopped by the chaotic stack, fearing I might crush her further. But in the midst of my despair, they levitated and crashed against the far wall, shattering mostly.

I didn't know what could have moved them, but I managed to catch a glimpse of the unconscious Natale, and that was enough for me to run towards her. However, just before reaching her, my eyes shifted from the dark droplet trickling down her forehead to the shadow sliding across the ceiling above me. It dropped like a piece of gum, and, in the same instant, the door behind me swung open, allowing the faint light of dusk to seep in and bathe the room.

The shadow let out a piercing shriek—or perhaps it was my own scream—before dissipating, leaving behind a black vapor that quickly vanished.

"Oh, my God," I murmured. My trembling hands moved unconsciously to my face, not serving any particular purpose. The medallion still gleamed like a malfunctioning low-voltage bulb.

I couldn't think clearly. I didn't even know how much time had passed until I heard Ashton's voice calling my name. How did he find out?

I turned towards a corner, where darkness still held its powerful presence. My lips trembled as I recognized his silhouette with a hat, and for the first time, it seemed terrifying.

"I'm sorry," he apologized. I wished I could examine his expression to determine if he was sincere. "We must leave."

"But... Natale..." I managed to emphasize. I couldn't just leave her. Besides, why did the ghost appear after a week, only to indicate that I should go with him? To where?

"She'll be safe if you leave her," he assured me. "But I'm afraid the shadow will return as soon as the sun sets."

Was that thing really a shadow?

For the first time, I felt a pain behind my eyes, a sign of a possible migraine.

"What will bring it back?" I asked, my voice barely a whisper. I was beginning to believe that it was all his doing, but if Ashton was responsible for what just happened, why would he be warning me that the thing would come back for me?

"During the past few days, I shouldn't have been absent in the first place," he muttered, but he seemed to be talking to himself. Either way, I didn't consider the possibility that the results would be affected by his departure.

For the second time, the blinds opened without anyone touching them, and as if propelled by invisible wheels, a couple of bags slid across the floor to prevent the door from closing again.

I had goosebumps. If he was moving objects, I didn't know how he was doing it. Perhaps it was supernatural power. But that was the problem; he still didn't look or feel like a ghost.

"Hurry, gather your things." Ashton stepped back, pressing against the wall. "We need to go. Now."

I leaped over the bags. Just before I distanced myself, I glanced back at Natale. She remained motionless, and if she were to wake up, I wished she would remain oblivious to everything that just happened. It felt like a nightmare.

As I jogged towards the locker room, feeling slower than usual, reality threatened my sanity when I noticed the sky had turned a reddish opal hue. Nightfall was approaching.

In the locker room, I opened my locker door. I tossed in the clothes I wore earlier during class, along with other items that mistakenly ended up there. Like my phone, for example.

I had to dig it out, and when I touched the screen, it darkened, refusing to turn on. I hoped it had run out of battery and that it wasn't the result of Ashton's overpowering presence.

Under different circumstances, I would have changed into my sports attire, but I was more concerned with examining my dark surroundings.

I headed towards the gymnasium court and stopped when the heavy curtains on either side of the windows fluttered like flags in the wind. One by one, in order, the fabrics fell and covered the windows completely, blocking out the outside light.

"Damn it."

Fear consumed me as I spotted the shadow near one of the metal basketball hoops hanging from the walls.

I tried to run, but after two strides, a cramp shot up my right leg, forcing me to halt and release a cry of pain. I hadn't taken the discomfort seriously after exercising.

I looked up at the shadow, which swiftly moved along the walls, leaped onto an iron basket containing basketballs, and bounced on the floor, releasing the balls.

I imagined that they would come after me as a group, but instead, the balls pursued the shadow, hitting the walls with each failed attempt.

The entity received an impact and fell to the ground but rose again, just like any human would. It climbed the wall and, with the agility of a monkey, swung from the columns that formed the ceiling.

"Run!" Ashton's voice echoed in my ears.

I tried to move as quickly as possible towards the exit, but it seemed impossible. The pain was almost unbearable. My legs threatened to give out at any moment.

Just as I was about to reach the exit, a cold sensation enveloped my back, paralyzing me. It grabbed me by the shoulders and, somehow, forcefully turned me around, struggling with the chain tangled around my neck.

The dark entity held the medallion in its blackened hands. Its intention was evident. It wanted to tear it from me, or perhaps my head along with it.

I pulled at the chain, not only to stop it from strangling me, but also to prevent further harm. My neck ached, and I began to struggle for breath.

"Zara, don't move."

The balls charged towards us, and I closed my eyes. Amidst a whimper that escaped my lips, it threw me against the mat that had been absent for several minutes. I coughed and choked, gasping for the air that rushed into my lungs in gulps. Meanwhile, the balls bounced around in every direction.

"The lights. Turn them on!"

With the medallion and my heart pounding in my chest, I hurried to the fuse box. I didn't care if my legs hurt. I flipped every switch up and down until the spotlights finally illuminated the room.

I turned around, and I found myself head-on with that large black blotch that disappeared once again in front of my eyes.

I collapsed to the floor as I tried to clear my mind, but the only thought that surfaced in my muddled head was how close I had come to dying.

"That will hold it off for a while," Ashton said, seemingly present, but despite scanning the surroundings, all I saw were the scattered balls on the floor.

"Where...?" I swallowed, and my throat stung. "Where are you?"

Between one curtain and another, I identified the outline of someone standing, entangled in the heavy fabrics. However, fear prevented me from approaching the spot. I wasn't going to verify if it was Ashton or something else.

"Go back home before the sun sets completely."

I started to understand what he meant, and the idea made me anxious. I refused to believe that the shadow had the ability to return again and again, as many times as it pleased.

The streetlights became my closest companions on my way home. It felt surreal to think that every time I leaped from one light to the next, something moved in the shadows on the other side of the street.

Before bothering to close my front door, I turned on the lights.

I made my way to my room as best as I could, intending to repeat the same process as always, but something had changed. It wasn't just because of the events replaying in my head or because I had almost turned on the light in my bedroom but refrained from doing so. It was because someone was waiting for me in the darkness. It was precisely their hand that stopped mine just before I pressed the switch.

In the darkness, Ashton stood, looking at me with eyes filled with a dark mystery that sent shivers down my spine just by thinking about it.

I swallowed, and my throat rasped. At that moment, there was no part of my body that didn't ache.

"Don't be afraid," he whispered. "I don't intend to harm you. In fact, this time, I've come to stay."

A ghost.

Was he talking about my house?

"To stay?" I finally asked.

He nodded, and his smile only increased the erratic pace of my heartbeat.

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