The Sunhide University of Wizardry

Chapter 2 - A Night of Secrets

Jessica, Ann, and Soly stared at the scene, their eyes wide with a mixture of shock and disbelief. Before they could even begin to process what had just happened, they heard a loud creaking sound behind them. The wall that had trapped them in the corner was now sliding open, revealing a hidden passage that led out of the haunted house. With a shared glance, they knew there was no time to waste. They hurried through the passage, eager to leave the terrifying events behind them. As they finally emerged from the escape room, they were met with the puzzled expressions of the staff. The stark contrast between the horror they had just experienced and the mundane surroundings left them feeling disoriented.

Breathing heavily, Jessica and her friends rushed to the front desk attendant, begging for help. "Please, you have to check on the phantom actor! Something went wrong in there, and we don't know if he's okay!"

The attendant, clearly confused, asked, "What happened?" as she rewound the security camera footage to the time of their game. The small group huddled around the screen, watching the black and white, grainy recording of their harrowing experience.

To their disbelief, the video showed the moment when the light burst forth from Jessica's hand, sending the phantom actor flying into the wall. However, what struck Jessica the most was the complete absence of the creepy old woman in the footage. She was nowhere to be seen.

Jessica's heart raced as she tried to make sense of what she was seeing. Was the old woman just a figment of her imagination? Or was there something more sinister at play? The reality of her newfound powers and the implications of that terrifying encounter weighed heavily on her mind as she and her friends tried to process the chilling events that had just unfolded.

As the escape room personnel frantically attended to the unconscious phantom actor, they realized the severity of his injuries. Panicked, they quickly called both an ambulance and the police. Turning to Jessica and her friends, they firmly instructed them not to leave the premises until the authorities arrived.

Jessica's heart raced in her chest, a mixture of fear and anxiety coursing through her veins. Her mind raced with thoughts of what would happen next, and she instinctively reached for her phone to call her father.

"Dad," she choked out, her voice trembling as she tried to explain the bizarre situation they found themselves in. "Something really strange happened at the escape room, and the police are on their way. I don't know what to do."

Her father, sensing the urgency in his daughter's voice, tried his best to reassure her. "Jessy, stay calm and hang in there. I'm on my way."

As Jessica ended the call, she glanced at her friends, who looked at her with a mixture of fear and uncertainty. It was as if they were seeing her as a stranger, their trust shaken by the inexplicable events that had unfolded in the room. They huddled together, but kept a cautious distance from Jessica, waiting for the sirens that would signal the arrival of the police and ambulance. In her mind, Jessica couldn't help but wonder how her seemingly innocent celebration had spiraled into such chaos and how her friends had suddenly become afraid of her.

As Jessica cradled her throbbing forehead in her hands, her gaze fell upon the small, colorful question marks she had doodled on her wrist with a pen. The sight of them was a stark reminder of how drastically her concerns had shifted in just a few hours.Freshly graduated from high school, Jessica had been juggling acceptance letters from several universities, seeking exploratory majors. The question marks on her wrist symbolized her indecision, her uncertainty about what path to choose. She had never been able to pinpoint her true passion, her interests scattered across a wide spectrum, and this lack of focus reflected in her academic performance. She was always average, never excelling in mathematics, science, arts, or any other subject for that matter. Her performance was always just enough to get by, but never enough to stand out. She was ordinary, and she knew it. Now, as she sat in the eerie silence, partially rejected by her friends, waiting for the arrival of the police, she couldn't help but marvel at the irony. This average girl was now caught in an extraordinary whirlwind of events, her life thrown into chaos from what should have been a harmless celebration.