Phoenix
My legs are burning, lungs screaming for air, but I can't stop running. I don't know why, but I just keep going, crashing through the undergrowth of a dense forest. The sky is a dull gray, and the air is heavy—like it's pressing down on me.
Someone's running beside me—a girl. She's young, maybe my age or a bit older. Fear is etched into her face, and her breaths come out in ragged gasps. She looks terrified, like stopping would mean the end of everything. But why am I running? What am I running from?
I glance over my shoulder, and that's when I see him—a man in his early 40s, his eyes blazing with something vicious. He's holding a gun, and he's gaining on us. My heart hammers, and I want to shout at the girl to run faster, but no sound comes out of my mouth. It's like I'm trapped in silence.
The forest feels familiar somehow, like I've been here before. I don't know why, but my feet just keep moving on their own. The girl suddenly veers off the path and heads straight for a massive old mansion—one that makes my stomach twist just looking at it. She climbs through a window, desperation making her moves frantic and unsteady.
I stop just outside the window, frozen, watching as the man follows her inside.
He catches up to her almost immediately, grabbing her by the wrist and yanking her back. I wince when his hand collides with her face—a brutal slap that knocks her out cold. She crumples to the floor like a broken doll.
My hands shake as I watch him—watch that monster—tear at her clothes, violating her while she's unconscious. My mind screams at me to do something, anything, but I can't move. I'm stuck, paralyzed by fear and horror. My stomach churns, bile rising up my throat.
Then, just as abruptly as it started, it ends. The man finishes and pulls back, wiping his face like nothing happened. He looks down at her with disgust before raising the gun. There's a deafening bang, and blood pools beneath her.
My eyes fly open, and I sit up in bed, my chest heaving. I'm drenched in sweat, my hands trembling uncontrollably. My heart pounds so loudly I can barely hear anything else. I touch my face—cold, clammy, and soaked with sweat.
It was just a dream... right? Or was it something else? A memory? An awful, twisted memory that doesn't belong to me but feels like it's clawing its way into my mind.
My stomach flips, and I almost feel like throwing up. That girl... her terrified face, the way she screamed without making a sound, it's burned into my mind. I can still hear the gunshot echoing in my ears.
Why did I see that? Why did it feel so real?
I run my hands through my hair, trying to calm my breathing. It's not just a dream—something about it feels too vivid, too raw. I glance at my phone on the bedside table. It's still early morning. Should I tell Ace?
No... I don't want to bother him with something that might just be a nightmare. I swallow the lump in my throat and lie back down, staring at the ceiling.
But sleep doesn't come back. The girl's face stays with me, haunting me, and I can't shake the feeling that there's something important—something terrible—that I'm missing.
I pushed the blankets aside and got off my bed, still shaken from that nightmare. The room felt suffocating, and I needed to get out. The sky outside my window was still dark—the sun hadn't risen yet. I rubbed my arms, trying to shake off the cold sweat that clung to my skin.
Quietly, I walked out of my room and into the living room. To my surprise, Ace was already awake, sitting on the couch with his arms crossed and a pensive look on his face. His phone lay abandoned on the coffee table, and he seemed deep in thought.
"Ace?" I called softly, not wanting to startle him.
He looked up, and his expression softened. "Phoenix? You're up early."
"Yeah..." I hesitated, not sure how to start. He patted the spot next to him, and I sat down, curling my legs up onto the couch. He didn't say anything, just waited patiently for me to speak.
"I... had a nightmare," I admitted. "Or maybe... it wasn't just a nightmare."
Ace raised an eyebrow. "What did you see?"
I swallowed hard, the memory still making my stomach churn. "There was a girl... running. She looked terrified, like she was running for her life. A man was chasing her through the forest with a gun. She ran to that mansion—the one from yesterday. She climbed through a window, but the guy caught up. He... he hurt her, Ace. It was horrible. And then... he shot her."
Ace's jaw tightened, his eyes darkening with an intensity that made me nervous. "You saw that in your dream?"
I nodded slowly. "It felt real. Like I wasn't just dreaming... like I was reliving it. But... why would I see that?"
Ace took a deep breath, rubbing his hands over his face. "That's weird... I had a dream too. But it was different. I was in some kind of void—a pitch-black abyss. There was a boy, sitting and crying. His eyes were bleeding... and then, out of nowhere, he tried to strangle me. That's when I woke up."
We sat in silence for a moment, both trying to process what this meant. Ace was the first to break it.
"This can't be a coincidence. That mansion... it has more than just vengeful spirits. Those dreams... they're not just nightmares. They're memories."
My eyes widened. "You mean... I saw that girl's memory? And you saw that boy's?"
Ace nodded slowly. "It makes sense. You're more sensitive to emotions and memories, while I can sense and communicate with the spirits themselves. The dreams are probably the spirits reaching out to us, showing us their stories."
I bit my lip, trying to steady my breathing. "If that's true... then that girl... she must've been killed there. And the boy... he probably suffered too."
Ace's hand came to rest on my shoulder, grounding me. "We're going to figure this out. But... this also means that whatever happened in that mansion was more horrific than we thought. Those spirits are trapped, reliving their worst moments. And... they want us to know."
I looked down, fighting the unease settling in my gut. "What should we do?"
Ace exhaled slowly, like he was trying to piece it all together. "We need more information—about the mansion, its past, and the people who lived there. If we're going to help those spirits find peace, we have to know what really happened."
I nodded, trying to push away the lingering fear. "We'll get to the bottom of this. Together."
Ace gave me a small, reassuring smile. "Damn right we will."
Even though the nightmare still haunted me, knowing that Ace was by my side made it a little easier to breathe. Whatever we were getting ourselves into... at least I wasn't facing it alone.
Ace leaned back on the couch, his eyes focused on some invisible point on the wall. I could tell his mind was racing—he always got that look when he was trying to piece something together. I didn't want to disturb his thoughts, but curiosity got the better of me.
"So... what do we do now?" I asked quietly.
He didn't answer immediately, just ran a hand through his messy hair. Finally, he sighed. "We need to dig deeper. That mansion isn't just haunted—it's cursed. Those spirits aren't at rest because their stories are unresolved. They're stuck in a loop, reliving their trauma. If we're going to help them, we need to know everything—who they were, what happened, and why they're trapped."
I swallowed the lump in my throat. "Where do we even start? There's no way that mansion's history is just lying around on the internet."
Ace shot me a small, almost mischievous smirk. "You're underestimating your brother's skills. I'll dig up public records, check property history, and see if there were any news reports or police records about murders or disappearances linked to that place. There's always a paper trail when it comes to tragedy."
I felt a bit more reassured. Ace was good at this kind of stuff—his resourcefulness never failed to impress me.
"What about me?" I asked. "Anything I can do?"
He glanced at me, his expression softening. "You'll come with me to the library later. There might be old archives, records that aren't digitized. Plus, I need your input—you might recognize something from your dream that I wouldn't catch."
I nodded. "Okay. Sounds good."
For a moment, we just sat there, the eerie silence of the early morning hanging between us. Kuro wandered over, hopping onto my lap and purring softly, like he sensed the tension. I absentmindedly stroked his fur, grateful for the small comfort.
"Ace?" I spoke up again, breaking the quiet.
"Yeah?"
"Do you... ever get scared?" I asked, my voice quieter than I intended.
Ace looked at me, his expression unreadable for a moment. Then he shrugged lightly, giving me a lopsided grin. "I'd be lying if I said no. I just don't show it. Someone's gotta stay strong, right?"
I smiled back, though it didn't quite reach my eyes. "You're always like that... holding everything together."
He ruffled my hair, making me swat his hand away with a weak laugh. "Hey, don't get all mushy on me now. I'm fine, Phoenix. It's just... this case is different. It feels more personal, and I don't like that. Feels like the spirits are trying to tell us something important, but we're missing the bigger picture."
I could tell he was frustrated, and it made me feel guilty. If only I could understand my dreams better—decode them or something. Maybe then I wouldn't feel so useless.
Before I could say anything else, Ace's phone buzzed on the coffee table. He picked it up, and I saw his eyebrows furrow in mild surprise.
"It's Xavier," he muttered.
I raised a brow. "At this hour?"
Ace just shrugged and opened the message. His lips quirked into an amused smirk as he read it, and I didn't miss the way his face softened a little.
"What's he saying?" I asked, curiosity piqued.
"He's just checking up on me," Ace replied, not meeting my eyes.
I tried to hide my grin. "Wow, since when did you have someone worrying about you?"
Ace shot me a playful glare. "Shut it, brat."
But even as he tried to sound annoyed, I could see the faint blush dusting his cheeks. I wasn't sure what to make of Xavier and his sudden interest in Ace, but if it made my brother feel a little less alone... I couldn't really complain.
As Ace typed a reply, I leaned back against the couch, my thoughts wandering. I couldn't help but think about that girl from my dream—the sheer terror in her eyes, the helplessness. Whoever she was, whatever had happened to her... it wasn't fair. No one deserved to die like that.
I clenched my fists, determination welling up inside me. We were going to get to the bottom of this. For the girl, for the boy, and for everyone else trapped in that cursed mansion.
And maybe... just maybe... for Ace too.
I couldn't let him shoulder everything on his own. Not anymore.