The air was thick with damp earth and the scent of decaying leaves as Analie stepped
deeper into the woods behind the old university library. This part of campus had been
abandoned for years, left to nature's creeping fingers, with rusted fences and shattered
benches swallowed by ivy. She'd never had a reason to come here before—but Selene's
whisper in her dream the night before had been clear.
"Follow the places where memory lingers. He left pieces of himself behind."
The words had haunted her since sunrise.
Analie gripped the flashlight in her hand as the trees closed in above her, forming a dim
green canopy. Her heart pounded not just from fear, but anticipation. Something was here.
She could feel it humming in her bones. A memory trying to surface.
She reached a clearing where the ruins of an old stone building stood, crumbling and
moss-covered. The foundation had all but caved in, but the doorway remained, a gaping
mouth that seemed to whisper come closer. Analie hesitated, her fingers tightening around
the pendant on her neck. It pulsed faintly guiding her again.
She ducked inside.
The air shifted the moment she stepped into the ruin. It was colder, heavier. Dust particles
floated through the beam of her flashlight like spirits frozen mid-dance. She moved slowly,
scanning the walls. Her foot hit something metallic, and she looked down to find a rusted
plaque half-buried in the dirt.
Chemistry Society Archive Room – Est. 1983.
Analie blinked. Ethan had been a chemistry major. He and Chris had studied here.
So this was one of their old haunts.
Her breath hitched as she stepped farther in, the beam of her light catching a glint of
something in the corner. She crouched and reached out her fingers brushed cold metal. A
lighter.
She picked it up and turned it over. It was engraved. Her heart stopped.
To E. From C.
Chris had given this to Ethan.
She swallowed hard, trembling. Why was it here, half-buried and forgotten?
Suddenly, the air shifted again more forceful this time. A wind that came from nowhere
swept through the room, and her flashlight flickered violently. The shadows stretched and
twisted, and then.
A vision crashed into her.
She was no longer in the ruin. She was watching.
Two young men Ethan and Chris stood in the very same room. It was night. They were
arguing, voices low but tense.
"I trusted you!" Ethan's voice cracked with anger. "How could you lie to me about her?"
Chris' face was unreadable, jaw clenched. "You were always the golden boy, Ethan.
Everyone loved you. Even she did."
Ethan stepped back, hurt flashing in his eyes. "This isn't about Analie. This is about you.
About how you let your jealousy eat you alive."
Chris advanced, slow and cold. "You never saw what it was like for me. Always your
shadow. Always second best."
Ethan didn't speak.
Chris's hand went to something in his pocket. The vision blurred static, chaos and then it ended.
Analie gasped, stumbling backward. The room spun. Her flashlight clattered to the ground.
The warmth in her chest had turned to ice.
Chris was there.
The night Ethan died… he was there.
She dropped to her knees, hand clutching the pendant. Her breath came in short bursts as
the truth crashed down on her like a wave. Selene hadn't shown her the whole moment, but
she had seen enough.
This wasn't just a tragic accident.
This wasn't just a mystery.
It was murder.
And Chris charming, comforting, always conveniently close had buried it all beneath
smiles and concern.
A crack echoed through the woods, jolting her to her feet. A branch breaking? A footstep?
She wasn't alone.
Snatching the lighter and her flashlight, Analie fled the ruins, heart slamming against her
ribs. She didn't stop running until she reached the edge of the clearing, breath ragged and
legs burning.
Only then did she allow herself to cry.
Not just for Ethan, but for the illusion she had nearly fallen into. The hands that had
comforted her the words that had soothed her they had come from the same person who
had stolen the love of her life.
She wiped her tears and stood tall.
No more hesitation. No more doubt.
She had seen the truth. And she would follow it no matter what it cost her.