June 10, 2039.
The city hadn't sleep eversince the news break in— headlines and news station all broadcast the same thing, same line, and same face had appeared. The Greaves name had appeared in public again and this time again, it wasn't a pleasant news to hear.
Breaking News: Leonard Greaves, son of late Principal Amon Greaves, found dead in his apartment. Police suspect foul play.
It was such a surprised to anyone especially to Mia herself, she stared at her phone for a while— shock and horror filled her heart as she read the news. Her heart tighted and her breathing become uncontrolled as she felt like her whole vision started to shake and the phone trembled slightly in her grip.
"No… no, this can't be right." Her voice came out weak, almost pleading. The news brought back the trauma she had received from the past and she can't help her tears from falling down her face as the memories of the past began to flood her mind.
She stared at the newsfeed, the photographs flashing across the screen: police tape, flashing lights, a grainy photo of Leonard taken years ago. The same smile he'd given them last night, the same calm expression that always seemed too old for his age.
And suddenly—
She went back to that memory ten years ago, a memory she tried to forget.
---
Linwood Academy.
June 13, 2029.
The alarms had been ringing for the past few minutes, maybe it has been a few hours now, but, she doesn't know anymore. The loud scream of those innocent children are hunting her and loud gunshot can be heard throughout every direction of the hallway.
Everyshot and every noise made her flinch— making her tears fall down more on her face but she couldn't cry, if she cry, then the killer will find them. Every moment, the halls are filled with those same scream of horror and fear and echoes of running feat of those students trying to escape the killer.
Mia crouched behind a row of overturned lockers, holding Lia's trembling hand as way to comfort her ownself that she wasn't alone and they should survive this mess. The smell of burnt wood and metal filled the air. Mia's only reason to survive in this massacre is Lia, in her mind— She had to survive, She had to protect her.
Lia's voice was barely a whisper. "He's still out there… he's still—"
A sharp and loud sound cut her off — a slow, deliberate click of a gun reloading somewhere nearby. Footstep slowly began getting louder and louder— indicating that someone is getting closer and closer towards their location.
Mia covered her mouth, biting back a sob— afraid of being detected by the killer but by doing so her lungs burned painfully. Her entire body wanted to move, but her legs wouldn't obey as fear began to crawl down on her whole body.
She doesn't know what was Lia's thinking until she felt Lia's fingers tightened around hers so she looked up and saw Lia's expression. Those expression— She always saw them in Lia's face if she was thinking of doing something reckless so She quickly tightened her grip on Lia's hand.
"You— I know that look.... Please don't do anything reckless." Mia whispered as she looked at Lia— it was a mix of fear and worry, begging her to not continue what she was thinking from her mind.
Lia knows that Mia saw through her but she doesn't have a choice so she just looked away and tried her best to look calm infront of Mia. "Mia, listen to me," she whispered. "I saw Richard earlier when I was trying to ran away from the Killer. He is hiding in the gym storage and it's safe there. You can make it if you go through the back corridor. You and Richard should escape this place."
"What— No!" Mia shook her head violently. "I won't go if you won't go either, we'll go together."
Lia's lips trembled and she turned to meet Mia's eyes, but her eyes were steady — filled with a kind of fearless kindness that Mia would never forget. She would never forget those eyes, her face. "If we both run, he'll hear us. Someone has to keep him busy."
"Lia, don't— please, don't." She said as her voice was trembling and she hold on to her as if letting go of her meant the end of everything for Mia. "We can find another way, just don't go... Please."
But Lia only smiled — soft, tearful, brave. "I'm sorry, Mia. I'll see you again. Just not in this life anymore— Please, live a wonderful life for me."
Before Mia could stop her, Lia tore her hand free and stood, sprinting out from behind the lockers. Lia gathered her courage and shouted as loud as she can to get the attention of the Killer. "HEY!"
"HEEEYYY!" she screamed down the hallway again, her voice echoing through the chaos. "Over here!"
The sound of boots pounding against the floor followed instantly and the sound of footsteps become quieter than before. Mia's vision blurred through tears as Lia disappeared into the far end of the hall — and then her worse fear to hear, the gunshot came. One gunshot then another one came until there was nothing but silence.
Her whole body trembled as she tried not to scream or cry loudly. Her throat ached from holding in the scream that wanted to escape. She needed to survive for her, even if she doesn't want it anymore— She needed to keep the memory of Lia, if she dies then Lia's sacrifice would be put in vain and she doesn't want that to happen.
When silence finally fell, she forced herself to move — half-crawling, half-running down the narrow side corridor until she found the door to the gym storage. The moment she tried to open it, it cracked open and he saw Richard in the corner with an unreadable expression on his face— his expression changed immediately when he saw her.
"Mia!" Richard's voice whispered sharply, pulling her inside and locking the door. He was there — her best friend — pale, gripping a metal bat in shaking hands and his clothes are bloody. "You're alive—"
"Lia— she—" She said with a trembling voice as she forgotten tocask what happened to him and his clothes but she only thought that he could be injured.
"I know," he said quickly, grabbing her shoulders. "We can't stay. He's close."
But it was already too late for them to escape as the doorknob began to turn crazily. Moment later, they saw a shadow passed over the frosted glass window, moving slow… deliberate.
Richard reacted fast and he quickly motioned for her to stay still. He stepped forward, tightening his grip on the bat and he quickly motioned her to run as fast as she can if the door opened.
There was a soft creak as the door opened — then a flash, a deafening bang can be heard as Mia looked up and saw Richard's getting shot. He quickly reacted fast and he smack the killer with his bat then he looked at Mia. "Run Mia, keep running until you escape!" He shouted.
Mia's scream was swallowed by the ringing in her ears. The smell of gunpowder, the faint warmth that sprayed across her face — she couldn't look, she had to follow his word so she just ran and never looked back. Through the gym. Through the shattered exit doors. Through the rain and flashing police lights outside— she never stopped running until she made sure that she was safe.
Mia jolted back to the present, gasping.
Her chest burned as if the air itself were fighting her lungs. Her phone slipped from her trembling hands and landed on the floor. She pressed her palm to her mouth, trying to steady her breathing. "Stop… please stop…"
But the images wouldn't fade. Lia's smile. Richard's voice. Leonard's hand reaching for her before it all went black. Her phone rang again, but this time it was a call notification from her messages. She checked the caller and it was Sean. "He must have seen the news."
"Mira," his voice was low, but there was hint of despair and worry in his voice. "You saw the news right? Are you safe??"
Her eyes darted toward the dark corners of her apartment. The shadows felt thicker somehow. "…Yeah." She said with a defeated voice, the only source of evidence and truth had been taken away from them.
Sean knew that this news might have brought out the memories from that incident all over again. "Listen to me," Sean said gently. "It's over. You're home. Breathe for me, okay?"
She forced a breath in — shaky, shallow — and let it out again.
"I couldn't believe He's gone. Leonard's gone." He said. "He doesn't deserve this."
Sean continued, quieter now. "We can't let this go. We'll meet tonight. Same place. Theo and Luna will be there too. We need to know what happened."
Mia didn't answer. She just stared at the faint reflection of her face in the window — pale, hollow, and terrified.
Outside, thunder rolled across the city, followed by a flash of lightning.
For an instant, in that pale white light, she swore she saw two faint figures standing behind her in the glass — Lia's soft smile and Richard's steady eyes.
And then they were gone.
He soon ended the call after he had make sure that she was safe then Theo's message arrived seconds later: We're meeting tommorow. Same place. We need to get to the bottom of this mess.
Mira sat frozen, the world spinning around her and she couldn't help but feel more defeated as she stared across the screen, Leonard's smiling photo appeared beside a headline: 'Tragedy Returns: Another Death Tied to Linwood Massacre.'
Mia wiped her tears with trembling fingers. Her lips moved, barely audible.
"Not again…"
Because deep down, she knew — The nightmare that had begun ten years ago… was starting all over again.
---
The familiar sign of Alder & Rose flickered against the rain. They all met up to the same restaurant they last seen Leonard alive. They still couldn't believe that they would meet up again two days later and this time, they were missing one.
Sean, Theo, Luna, and Mia sat in the same booth, but the warmth from before was gone — replaced with the cold weight of fear. None of them spoke for a while. The rain outside filled the silence.
Sean finally broke the thick air of silence. "It doesn't make sense. Leonard said he had proof someone framed his father. Now he's dead. The police are calling it suicide."
Theo frowned and narrowed his eyebrow slightly. "He wouldn't kill himself. Not when he just found something to prove his father's innocent. That's too convenient, there must be something fishy going around here."
Mia nodded faintly, voice shaking. "Beside, he… he promised to send me the files last night."
"And he didn't?" Luna asked.
Mia shook her head. "No. Nothing came through."
Theo exhaled, frustrated. "Then maybe the files are still in his apartment. If we could just— "
"Don't even think about it," Sean interrupted him before he could even finish his sentence as he looked at him seriously. "Police are crawling all over that place."
Luna leaned forward. "If the cops think it's suicide, they won't look for what really matters. Leonard was on to something. We owe it to him."
Sean didn't reply right away, but his silence said enough then finally, he muttered, "Fine. Midnight. We go after they clear the scene."
That was when another voice joined them — calm and polite.
"Sorry to interrupt." They turned to see Eryos, the same waiter from last time, standing by their table with his tray. His soft expression flickered between curiosity and concern.
Before anyone could reply, a familiar voice broke through the quiet.
He looked hesitant, holding his order pad loosely. "Sorry, I know this is strange, but… I couldn't help overhearing earlier. You mentioned the Linwood incident?"
The group froze and Sean's gaze narrowed. "Yeah. Why?"
"I was… one of the survivors too." He said, smiling awkwardly.
The air around the table shifted.
"I lost people that day," he continued. "When I heard the name Greaves again, I couldn't stop thinking about it. I thought… maybe we could help each other find out what really happened."
His tone was gentle, unassuming — sincere in a way that disarmed them.
Mia blinked, stunned. "You were a survivor?"
Eryos nodded. "Class 2-B. I transferred just before the incident." His tone was gentle, almost hesitant. "But I was there long enough to remember the faces, the fear… and the silence afterward."
The group exchanged looks. Sean studied him cautiously, but something about Eryos — his steady eyes, his calm sincerity — made it hard to distrust him. Sean studied him for a long moment, then nodded once and told him their plan. "We're heading to Leonard's place tonight. We think he left something behind."
Eryos hesitated, then smiled faintly. "Then I'll come with you. If there's a chance to find out the truth, I want to help."
Theo frowned and looked at him seriously. "We don't even know you."
"That's fair," Eryos said softly. "But sometimes, strangers see things friends can't."
Something in his voice — calm, rational, trustworthy — made them pause and Mia broke the silent that had happened for a moment, "It's okay. We could use another pair of eyes."
Sean nodded. "Then we move in thirty minutes."
And just like that — another member was in.
---
By the time they reached the apartment, it was already closed as not a single person can be found outside of the building— it was expected since the incident brought fear to everyone renting every room especially with the possibility that there could be killer on the lose.
They arrived at room 304 and saw that the police had already cleared the scene. Sean went infront of the door then he began to use his knowledge of lock picking. It was taught to him during his time in the military and it become quite helpful to them in this situation. He picked the lock and the door crack opened.
The air inside was stale and everything was organized and clean as if there was no crime that had happened in this place yesterday. The room was still, heavy with the faint scent of dried blood. The opened blinds rattled softly against the wind.
Luna covered her mouth and looked at the place. "Oh my god..."
Eryos moved first — careful, quiet, scanning the room. His gaze lingered on the window, then the table. "Whoever did this knew what they were doing. There's no sign of struggle or even breaking in. This crime scene is too clean. Too quiet, just like before. The killer must have been too smart and sneaky to hide such evidence."
Sean gestured. "Check everything, but don't make such a mess."
They moved carefully as the floor creaked slightly from every move they make and they began to check every part of the room— papers were shuffled and drawers were opened one by one.
Mia, trembling, scanned the table — her eyes caught a small sealed envelope under the lamp. The name on it was written neatly, in Leonard's handwriting.
To: Mia Lorne
Mia froze. "Wait—here." Her heart hammered. "It's from Leonard…"
Her hands shook as she picked it up. "He… he wrote this for me."
Theo turned on his flashlight. "Open it."
She tore the seal slowly and she saw inside was a folded sheet of paper then when she unfolded the paper, their was writing inside and the writing was rushed, uneven — desperate.
[ Mia, if you're reading this, I don't have much time. Something's wrong. My thoughts — they're not mine anymore. I can't stop hearing his voice. If you see me again, don't believe what I say. The truth isn't buried with my father. It's inside the ones who survived. The ones who shouldn't have. But if I die then, I will tell you here that he is real and that I was right. My father wasn't the killer. The killer— He sees through people — makes them his hands, his eyes. I thought I could fight it, but he's already inside me. Please… don't trust anyone easily. Just remember that if he smiles, run. Don't trust him. ]
The last line trembled as if written in fear.
Sean clenched his jaw. "He knew something."
Mia's breath hitched. "He knew… he knew he was going to die."
Theo clenched his fist tightly as he looked at the letter. "If I'm correct then it would mean someone made him do it. It wasn't just a suicide."
Before they could speak again, Luna gasped. "Someone's outside."
The hallway creaked — faint, slow footsteps moving closer and closer towards the front door of the room. Sean signaled them to stay quiet and drew a pocketknife from his belt, eyes narrowing at the door. The group's fear spiked, but the footsteps stopped when it was infront of the door then a shadow can be seen front the door
A moment later, the footstep echoed again and walked away from the room as if nothing had just happened. They all sighed in relief and Sean put the knife back in his belt. It become quiet as the sound are only the wind through the cracked window.
Eryos glanced out through the blinds. "Probably a stray cat," he said quietly, and smiled faintly. "They're clever like that."
Sean nodded reluctantly as he doesn't want to scare Luna and Mia since they might have a panic attack here if he didn't agree. "We're done here. Let's move before someone sees us."
They left the apartment quietly, the rain swallowing their footsteps. But as the door shut behind them, a faint black cat slipped through the shadows, tail flicking, and in the reflection of the window — just for a second — a figure stood watching them from across the street.
It was motionless— Waiting for the opportunity to strike.