Keira never liked parties. But when Maya insisted the squad needed "team bonding with pizza and embarrassing decisions," she reluctantly agreed.
"I swear if this turns into a trust fall exercise, I'm out," Keira warned.
Maya just grinned. "Relax. It's Truth or Dare. With snacks."
"Famous last words," Julian muttered, hauling bags of chips and soda into Noah's family-owned guesthouse—temporarily their hideout.
Lucien arrived last, quiet and observant, slipping into the edge of the circle like he'd always belonged.
Cyan didn't show.
Keira didn't ask why.
She told herself she didn't care.
The night started light.
Julian had to do 30 jumping jacks while singing the Barbie theme.
Maya had to prank call her math teacher and ask if he believed in aliens.
Noah was dared to confess his biggest childhood crush. (It was Hermione Granger.)
Laughter echoed through the dimly lit room, soft fairy lights twinkling above them.
But the jokes slowly gave way to sharper edges.
"Keira," Maya said, spinning the bottle. "Truth or dare?"
"Truth."
"Do you still have feelings for someone in this room?"
Silence.
Julian leaned in. Noah choked on his soda. Lucien didn't move.
Keira smirked. "No. But I think someone in this room has feelings for me."
Eyes widened.
Julian whooped.
Lucien raised an eyebrow.
Keira didn't clarify.
She didn't need to.
Outside, the air grew colder.
Inside, the questions turned darker.
"Lucien," Julian asked, "Why did you really transfer here?"
Lucien paused. "Because I knew this school was hiding something. And I've spent too long hiding, too."
Simple. Honest.
Or at least, it sounded like it.
Then Maya spun the bottle again.
It landed on Keira.
"Dare."
Maya smirked. "Go outside. Stay there alone for ten minutes. No phone."
"Seriously?"
"It's not haunted, chill."
Keira sighed and stood. "Fine."
The moment she stepped outside, silence wrapped around her like a second skin.
Stars blinked overhead. Crickets murmured.
She sat on the wooden swing by the fence.
Then—Footsteps.
She turned sharply.
It was Cyan.
"You weren't invited," she said flatly.
"I know."
They stood in tense silence for a moment.
"I didn't come to crash your night," Cyan said. "I came to say goodbye."
Keira blinked. "What?"
"I'm leaving school. Transfer request got accepted."
She stared. "You're just… running away?"
"I'm stepping out," he said. "Before I ruin anything more."
"Coward move."
He flinched. "Maybe. But before I go—"
He stepped closer.
Their eyes met.
"And before I lose this last chance—"
And then he kissed her.
Soft. Intense. Apologetic. Like a question.
She didn't move.
For a heartbeat, she let herself feel it.
The warmth.
The risk.
The almost.
Then she pulled away.
"You don't get to kiss me and vanish, Cyan."
He smiled sadly. "I'd rather leave with one real moment than none."
When she returned inside, everyone stared.
Lucien's eyes held a question she didn't want to answer.
Before anyone could speak—
The door slammed open.
A figure stood in the doorway.
Wet. Disheveled.
Eyes hollow like they'd seen ghosts.
"Trisha?" Maya whispered.
Keira's heart froze.
Trisha Kingsley—the girl who'd gone missing months ago.
The girl whose name had disappeared from class registers.
The girl everyone thought transferred schools quietly after a mental breakdown.
She was back.
And she looked like hell.
Trisha's voice was gravel.
"Don't trust anyone."
She looked at Keira.
"Especially not the ones who look like they're trying to save you."
Then she collapsed.
Everything exploded into chaos.
Noah carried Trisha to the couch.
Noah carried Trisha to the couch.
Julian called the school nurse.
Keira knelt beside her, clutching her icy hand.
"What happened to you?" she whispered.
Trisha's eyes fluttered open.
She said one word.
"Locker… 18B."
Then she passed out.
The nurse arrived and rushed her away.
The moment the door shut behind them, Keira turned to the squad.
"Meet me at school. 6AM. Locker 18B."
Lucien spoke quietly. "We're being watched."
"I know," she said. "But we're done playing defense."
6:03 AM
The corridors were silent.
Fogged windows. Cold metal lockers. The scent of old floor wax.
Keira stood in front of locker 18B. Her fingers trembled as she typed in the code Maya hacked from admin records.
Click.
Inside: a black notebook, an SD card, and a photo.
The photo showed Trisha.
Tied to a chair.
Crying.
A hand holding a phone camera visible in the mirror's edge.
Not Vera.
Not Cyan.
Not Lucien.
Someone they hadn't seen before.
And in the reflection—on the wall behind Trisha—spray painted in red:
"They never left. You're next."
Keira handed the photo to Lucien.
He stared at it for a long moment.
Then said, "I know where that wall is."
Everyone looked at him.
"Old detention building," he said. "It was shut down after the fire three years ago."
"Let's go," Keira said.
Cliffhanger Ending:
As the group makes their way toward the abandoned building, a camera hidden in the hallway ceiling turns.
The lens follows them.
In a dark room filled with monitors, a hand moves a chess piece forward.
Knight to D4.
A voice mutters:
"They're finally heading into the maze."
Cut to: A pair of eyes watching through the screen.
Vera.
But she isn't alone.
Behind her—someone in shadow.
Laughing softly.
"Let the real game begin."