6. Find it

I just wanted to sleep.

I felt like I had not slept properly in days, which was not wrong.

The mark was not burning anymore....I ran my fingers softly over the mark, remembering his touch.

I looked outside at the sky, the clouds were moving slowly....just like the time in the classroom. I glanced at the professor but his words worked as a lullaby. My eyes started getting heavy with every passing moment, the sound of the insects coming from outside was not helping either.

"Find it."

My eyes opened instantly and I looked around myself. Everything was the same, the students were either listening to the professor or making notes of what he was saying.

My breath started getting heavy as I realised the whispers were back...but they were no longer the whispers. They were words, but it felt like a few people were chanting the words over and over again.

But find what? I wanted to ask.

I started focusing on the voices, hoping they would say something helpful, but the voices were stuck on those two words only.

"Find it."

"Find it."

Frustrated, I opened my eyes, this time the classroom was almost empty. I soon realised I spent the time listening to the sounds.

Quickly, I grabbed my sidebag and ran outside, but not to the library. There was one item on my to-do list that was still unfinished.

"KAI."

He paused the song but didn't remove the airpods from his ears.

"I know you are mad at me. I shouldn't have snapped at you."

I kept looking at him, waiting for him to say something but he folded his arms and gave me his 'I need an explanation' look.

But what was I supposed to tell him? “I was… not okay yesterday.”

He let out a sigh, "You scared me yesterday."

I felt a hint of guilt inside my heart. I knew he was just looking out for me, but how could I explain what I didn't understand?

"I just needed a break from everyone, you know how these lunches can be."

"You could have told me, I would have helped you."

I shook my head and was about to respond but my mark started burning again and for some reason, my eyes immediately went towards the direction of the forest.

"Find it." The words once again played inside my head.

"Celeste?" Kai was looking at me with worry in his eyes.

"Yeah? Sorry. I was thinking about something."

"No, you are hiding something."

I pressed my lips in a thin line. The air changed around me, which only meant one thing...he was around.

I didn't have to scan the area to know where he was. My eyes made direct contact with his. He was leaning against a tree with his arms folded around his chest. The minute my eyes made contact with his, everything else faded. It was just the two of us.

He shook his head in a no as though he could read my mind...as though he knew about the voices, the sensation on my mark, something that was impossible but still a tiny voice in my head was screaming...he knew something.

"Who's he?"

As Kai's words fell into my ears, I broke eye contact with him. "What were you talking about?"

"That guy," Kai was staring, "you know him."

I let out a sigh, "I am just tired."

"And now you're changing the subject. I am talking about that strange-looking guy."

"Oh...him."

Kai didn't look away, he was waiting for an answer and he was not leaving until his curiosity was satisfied.

"I...we...had a class together." I made up a lie.

"You had a class with him?" Kai repeated.

"Yeah?" I replied, but Kai kept staring. I didn't break eye contact. I felt like I was still being questioned, even though no words were being exchanged between us.

"I don't have any more classes. I am heading home. Are you coming?" I made another futile try to change the topic.

Thankfully, this time Kai didn't ask anything else about him.

"I have some stuff to do."

Kai didn't wait for my reply and left in a hurry.

I looked at the tree where he was standing a while ago but this time no one was there.

Letting out another sigh, I decided to call it a day and head home, but curiosity got the better of me.

This time, my feet were not moving on their own. I knew very well where I was going. Any sane person would have stayed away from the forests, especially with the killer roaming freely but my brain had stopped giving me good ideas a long time ago.

“I shouldn’t go near that place again," a small voice said in my brain, “…but what if that’s where the answers are?”

Even at this time of the day, the forest was not much different than the night. But I could see the trees slightly more clearly, it appeared as though they were standing closely to stop anyone from entering.

The trees were dense, and the large leaves were absorbing all the sunlight before it could reach the ground.

As I kept walking deeper, the forest kept growing quieter. The faint crunch of leaves under my feet sounded louder than it should have. A strange uneasiness settled in my chest.

Something was not right about the place.

There was a different vibe in that area. I knew I was at the right place.

Something dark was around me.

My feet stopped at one particular spot and my gaze dropped to the ground.

Dark patches scattered unevenly across the forest floor. At first, I thought it was dirt, but I couldn't be more wrong.

But as I took a step closer, my stomach twisted.

It wasn’t dirt.

It was dried blood.

A sharp breath left my lips as I stumbled back slightly, my eyes tracing the uneven stains. They weren’t random, they dragged across the ground, like something had been pulled.

Or someone.

"No." I whispered to myself in horror. I forced myself to look around, but the situation was not any better. There were broken twigs scattered around the area.

In another place, there were no leaves present on the ground, the empty spot on the ground made a trail that led to the place where the blood was present. My heart started racing.

A sudden wave of nausea hit me like a truck but I tried to keep the contents of my stomach down.

"Listening is not your strongest suit, is it?"

A strange sense of relief washed away the fear as I looked at the stranger, who didn't look happy.

Suddenly, a warning ring went off in my head. What was he doing here?

Was he following me?

Or worse...did he kill someone?

What if he were the murderer?

The questions kept coming. I took a step back to study him. It wouldn't be possible for me to win a fight against him.

"You should stay away from the forest."

I didn't respond and started thinking of ways to protect myself if he tried to murder me as well. It would take me at least 30 minutes to get out of the forest, but he could easily catch me if he knew the way.

"There is a murderer in this town," he continued in his dark warning tone.

"How should I know it's not you?" I quickly argued.

The stranger raised his eyebrow slightly in amusement, "If I were the killer, you wouldn't have asked this question, little moon."

I frowned, hearing the name, but decided to ignore it.

"Go home, you're not supposed to be here."

I folded my arms, “No, you don’t get to keep showing up and tell me nothing.”

“And you don’t get to walk into danger you don’t understand.”

I sighed, "Then help me understand."

His eyes softened slightly. He came forward to stand in front of me, “The ones dying… were never the real target.”

Something dropped inside my stomach.

"What do you mean?" My voice didn't feel mine.

But before he could answer, something changed around us.

His body went still.

His jaw tightened.

He pulled me behind his back without hesitation.

“They are here,” he growled.

A sharp crack echoed through the forest.

And this time…I knew he was right, we weren’t alone.