All Chapters of Where the Curse Falls: Chapter 1 - Chapter 9

9 Chapters

Chapter 1

"Wren, your face is like something out of a horror show! Come on, you've got to care about cleanliness, tidy yourself up, or it's just going to get worse!" It was only when I heard those familiar words that I realized I had been given a second chance at life. As I snapped back to reality, I caught Joanna Larson with her phone out, snapping pictures of me from every angle. She even snatched a bottle of face cream off the desk, ready to dab some on me, and grabbed a mirror to shove in my face. The reflection staring back at me was a mess of acne, my skin so lumpy and twisted it could turn stomachs. I could not stand it, I swatted the mirror away, and it shattered, sending shards flying. Joanna's face flickered with shock, but she bounced back fast. "It's just a few zits, no biggie. We can't freak out over how we look; we've got to roll with the punches life throws at us. Take me, for example. I burn the midnight oil, live life on my terms, and don't let anything hold me bac

Chapter 2

I tuned him out, climbed into bed, then yanked the curtains closed to shut out the noise.He kept on with his apologies, begging me to stop being so stubborn.I closed my eyes, trying to silence the world.The pounding headache was like an alarm clock, waking me up to my second chance at life: back to the first day of school.In my previous life, today was the day Joanna, with her camera always rolling, would fuss over me, promising to clear up my acne.I was thrust into the spotlight, but instead of support, I was drowned in a sea of cruel comments.My photos spread among students and I became the biggest joke in the school.Joanna, with her flawless beauty, was always held up next to me, making me feel even more insecure and miserable.One day, she whispered a promise, "Work with me on a skincare routine, and I'll make you beautiful."Trusting her, since she claimed to be a blogger fighting against beauty pressures, I naively gave her several vials of my blood.However, my

Chapter 3

My anger was like a wildfire, growing out of control.I chucked the amulet to the floor with all my might, but it was as good as new. Not even a scratch could be seen.I grabbed a craft knife and tried stabbing it. I even took a hammer to it, but nothing worked. It would not budge.My head throbbed like crazy. The more I tried, the worse I felt, like I was suffocating.Desperate, I tried to torch the amulet, but instead of it burning, I felt like I was the one on fire.Was I somehow tied to this thing? Was death the only escape from its grip?I looked closer at the amulet and its weird patterns. They seemed… familiar.A memory clicked, my previous life. The Mystic had given me stuff with the same patterns before!I snatched the amulet and bolted outside.I ran all the way to the underpass, and there he was, the Mystic, acting like he had been expecting me, not even bothering to look up.He murmured, "Darkness clings to you. You can't shake off that gloomy vibe. Looks like you

Chapter 4

Her live stream was still rolling, the chat blowing up with messages.[Joanna, what's up with the zit?][Joanna, you look a bit tanner.]She clutched the protection sigil, addressing her audience."So, I've been a Mystic apprentice all along, roaming the world. Today, I sensed some bad vibes in the dorm, and guess what? I found these protection sigils on my roommate's bed."The evil creatures were the stuff of nightmares, with vengeful spirits leeching the life force from everyone around to craft the perfect host. And it was all because of this so-called sigil of protection that I was in this mess. "The comments streamed in faster and faster, each one a jab at me.[Ew, she's so ugly, and she's using these low tricks to steal your good looks.][I can't believe Joanna tried to help her clear up her skin before. Talk about biting the hand that feeds you.][Turns out Joanna's a Mystic, how cool is that! Her gross roommate really messed with the wrong person, trying to pull a fast

Chapter 5

The doctor had barely stepped out when someone familiar walked in."Ahem… So they found out about my protection sigil, huh?" That was the Mystic speaking. I nodded, feeling a twinge of guilt, and played back Joanna's live stream for him. After she had rushed me to the hospital, she went live again to set the record straight. "That was some nasty spirit causing chaos, but it's gone now. We're safe," she declared. "I've taken care of the evil inside her. She'll be waking up any minute now." Her clueless fans were eating it up, showering her with compliments. [How did you get a roommate like her? We were nearly scared to death, it was just horrifying.][Joanna even drove out the evil. Man, it was so freaky, I thought I'd seen a ghost.]With her newfound fame as a Mystic, Joanna was basking in the spotlight. Watching her gloat, I felt a wave of anger crash over me. Without my protection sigil, was I just going to be her puppet again? The Mystic stroked his beard and said i

Chapter 6

My so-called friends bombarded me with a barrage of hate on Messenger.Rumors were swirling that I had AIDS, and they accused me of keeping it a secret. They even told me to just die already.Whenever I stepped outside for a breath of fresh air, I would end up dodging a barrage of rotten eggs and wilted lettuce leaves.The taunts followed, hissed from sneering lips, "HIV girl, just drop dead."My good name was dragged through the mud, while Joanna's soared to new heights of infamy.However, I was on the mend, my health nearly restored, and the sinister grip of that amulet inside me was loosening its hold.Joanna cranked her live stream's beauty filter to the max, but no amount of digital magic could conceal the breakout marring her face.The tide was turning, and the consequences of her actions were starting to show.…Zack, who had not bothered with me for ages, suddenly showed up out of the blue.The memory of his fake act on the live stream made my stomach turn.Yet, he s

Chapter 7

He was broadcasting the whole scene live.He brushed my hand aside and helped Joanna to her feet."You're nothing but trouble! You didn't just play dirty to mess Joanna up, but you also went behind her back. Now, she's stuck with a kid." I let out an icy, mocking laugh. "That's not the tune you were singing when you came crawling back to me yesterday, begging to make up." I had recorded his desperate pleas from yesterday, and then I hit play for the whole world to hear. The live stream viewers were totally lost. [Isn't Zack supposed to be Wren's guy? Why's he all up in Joanna's business?][Zack's calling Joanna out for playing the field, but he was just ripping into Wren last stream. Which story's the real deal?][What's up with Joanna's face? It was all smooth on her stream yesterday.][We haven't seen Wren in ages, and look, her face is all cleared up. She must've dumped all her bad juju on Joanna. Didn't you hear Joanna's got a bun in the oven now?][Is it just me, or

Chapter 8

Chaos erupted in the live stream chat as a ghost hunter dropped a bombshell. [This is like some ancient curse, right out of the past. How is it popping up today?]He laid out the lore for us. [This curse, right? It's old news, like three thousand years old. Razcland was this tiny place, tucked away in the mountains. They were chilling until these invaders rocked up, trying to smoke them out with a big ol' fire.][However, here's the twist: the attackers started bursting into flames themselves, totally out of the blue, leaving nothing behind. That's the dark magic the old books talk about!]Reading that, the puzzle that had haunted me for ages clicked into place.Joanna was messing with dark magic!Out of nowhere, glass shattered, and a guy's angry shout filled the room. "You said Wren would get the backlash, so why am I getting burned? You snake! You're the one who had me hand off that amulet to Wren, and now you turn on me? You're dead!"He lunged at Joanna with a bottle, bu

Chapter 9

I could only try to comfort him. "She made her choice, and now she's got to deal with the fallout."I figured things would finally quiet down, but out of nowhere, Zack, who had been off the radar for ages, fired up a live stream.…On screen, Joanna was tied to a chair, a gag in her mouth muffling her cries.Zack looked a mess, his face a minefield of zits, and his body bulked up like he had packed on a decade in days.He glared at Joanna with abject hatred. "You turned me into public enemy number one, and now it's time for you to face the music!"The chat went wild.[What the heck is happening? Are they going to off each other?][Dude, Zack's gone full psycho mode. Freaky!][What's their deal? Holy smokes, is this a kidnapping?]Zack, looking totally unhinged, started hammering punches at Joanna, but he was the one who ended up howling in pain, blood dripping from his lip.Once he had let it all out, he pulled out that weird sigil.Joanna looked petrified, like she knew th

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