Ara didn't remember leaving the classroom.
She only remembered running.
Her feet pounded against the pavement as she fled across campus, her thoughts spiraling out of control. The words echoed endlessly in her head.
Forty‑three times.
She ducked into the abandoned science building, chest heaving. The hallway smelled of dust and rust.
"Ara."
She spun around.
Kael stood a few steps away.
"Stay back," she warned.
He didn't move.
"I'm not here to hurt you," he said quietly. "Not yet."
Her blood ran cold.
"Not yet?"
Kael exhaled slowly.
"At the end," he said, "I'm the one who kills you."
.......