Before max and starr were about to figure out what all this stuff was all about, the professor voice rang out
"Everyone gather around"
Starr and max exchanged glances and went out of the mysterious environment.
It was around 8pm in the night when the students decided to have a little fun before they retire for the night.
The fire crackled, casting long, dancing shadows across the clearing. Music played softly from someone's speaker. Laughter echoed into the night as students roasted marshmallows, told ghost stories, and drank from red cups.
Max sat with Starr near the edge of the firelight, their shoulders brushing. Liam was showing off card tricks to Becky and Vivian, who rolled their eyes but secretly admired the performance.
*Mr. Festus* had long retired to his tent, warning them not to stay up too late. *Mrs. Grace* was nowhere to be found—some said she'd gone exploring alone before sunset.
Then came the idea: hide and seek.
Vivian dared Max to start the count. "Let's make it interesting," she said. "Winners get to raid the snack stash. Losers take the morning cleanup."
Just like that
They scattered into the shadows, who wants to lose?
As the 57 students scattered into the shadows of the woods, laughter echoed, flashlights flickered, and excitement buzzed. Max, Starr, Liam, Becky, and the others dashed between trees, tents, and abandoned stone ruins from the ancient site.
But as the game unfolded, *something strange began to happen*.
Those hiding began feeling… watched. The deeper they went, the more distorted time and space felt. Some swore they hid for five minutes—others claimed it was an hour. But it felt like an eternity.
Becky tripped and landed on a *stone with an eerie marking*, glowing faintly. She thought it was just a trick of her flashlight. She didn't tell anyone.
Starr, while hiding, heard her own voice whisper her name from behind a tree.
The seeker (Vivian) found fewer people than expected. When the game ended, *no one noticed that one student hadn't returned*. No one even remembered who.
The game ended with laughter, though some students emerged slower than others. Vivian, still holding the flashlight, looked puzzled.
*Vivian:*
"Wait… didn't I find nine people? But only eight came back with me…"
Max brushed it off.
"maybe someone circled back to the tents. We're 57, not a small number."
Liam (half-joking)
"Or someone got too scared and is hiding with a snake right now."
The group chuckled. No one realized *Bisi*, one of the quiet students, hadn't returned. No one even remembered she came.
Back at the bonfire, someone turned up music from a speaker. They danced, roasted marshmallows, and laughed into the night.
But Starr sat back, her eyes on the woods.
The flames cast strange shapes in the trees. She swore she saw someone still standing behind a tree. A tall, still figure.
She blinked. It was gone.
*Later that night – in the tent*
Max rolled over and noticed a faint burning on his wrist. When he turned on his phone light, he saw a *thin, reddish mark*—like a branded symbol.
*Max said to himself
"Must've scratched it during the game…"
He didn't remember hitting anything.
*Elsewhere – Becky's Tent*
Becky was talking in her sleep. Whispering a chant in a language she didn't know. Vivian heard it through the thin tent walls and sat up in fear.
"Becky…? Are you okay?"
No response. Just the murmuring... then silence.
A sudden gust of wind rattled the tents. The bonfire had long died out.
A shadow moved past the tents — silent, tall, watching.
A whisper barely audible in the wind:
"let the game begin"
The morning sun rose with a strange heaviness in the air. Birds weren't singing, and the breeze felt… stiff.
Max, Starr, Liam, and a few others were gathered at the central tent, waiting for roll call. *Mr. Festus* always insisted on daily headcounts.
*Mrs. Grace (checking the list):*
"Bisi… not present. And now Chad and Mirabel. That makes three students missing."
Max (frowning)
"Wait. Chad was with me last night. He helped set up the firewood."
*Vivian whispering
"Mirabel slept in the tent next to mine. I heard her zipping up her bag this morning."
Liam
"So where the hell did they go between then and now?"
Tension crept into the group. A few students chuckled nervously, suggesting maybe they wandered off to explore the site early.
Mr. Festus (clearly worried)
"This is a restricted area. No one should leave the base camp without permission!"
Later, during a search party, Starr and Becky wandered into the collapsed portion of the old building ruins. There, half-buried in the red sand, they found *a student's locket*. It belonged to *Mirabel*.
But here's where it turned chilling.
On the inner side of the locket, where there used to be her baby photo, the picture had faded — *replaced with a swirling black smudge* that moved slightly, like ink suspended in water.
Becky (voice shaking)
"This wasn't here yesterday… was it?"
Suddenly, a low whisper echoed from inside the ruins.
Not a voice. A breath.
*Whisper:*
"She's still playing..."