SLIDE 16

CHAPTER 6

Whispers In The Hall

The air in the dormitory was heavy with an unsettling stillness, a sharp contrast to the usual hustle and bustle of university life.

Viego, Ellie, Czisco, Calle, and France sat huddled in their shared room, the flickering candlelight casting long, eerie shadows on the walls. The spectral whispers they had encountered were growing stronger, their presence now a constant, chilling reminder of the darkness lurking within Laurel Haven.

"Did you hear that last night?" France's voice was barely above a whisper, his eyes wide with fear. "It sounded like someone was calling my name."

Ellie nodded, her expression grave. "I heard it too. It felt like... like they were right next to me, but when I turned around, there was no one there."

Czisco leaned back in his chair, running a hand through his hair. "This place is seriously messed up. We need to figure out what's going on before it drives us all insane."

Viego, his eyes reflecting the flickering candlelight, spoke with a calm determination. "We can't ignore these whispers. They’re trying to tell us something. We need to find out what happened here and why these spirits are still lingering."

Calle, who had been silently sketching in his notebook, looked up. His usually carefree demeanor was replaced with a serious expression. "Maybe they're trapped here because of the sacrifices. Maybe they're trying to warn us or ask for help."

The group fell silent, the weight of Calle's words settling over them. The spectral shadows that had been haunting them seemed to grow darker, as if in response to their conversation.

Suddenly, a cold breeze swept through the room, extinguishing the candle. The room plunged into darkness, and the whispers grew louder, more urgent. Viego quickly lit another candle, the small flame flickering weakly against the oppressive darkness.

"We have to do something," Ellie said, her voice trembling slightly. "We can't just sit here and wait for the next sacrifice. We need to find a way to stop this."

"But how?" France asked, his voice tinged with desperation. "We don't even know what we're dealing with. This... entity, whatever it is, it's powerful. And it's tied to the very fabric of this university."

Viego stood up, his resolve hardening. "We start by gathering information. We need to learn everything we can about Laurel Haven's history, especially the origins of Slide 16 and the sacrifices. There has to be something, some clue that can help us."

Czisco nodded in agreement. "We should check the archives, talk to former students, maybe even the professors. Someone has to know more than they're letting on."

As the friends discussed their plan, the whispers in the room began to change.

What had once been unintelligible murmurs now started to form coherent words, pleading voices that seemed to echo from another realm.

"Help us... find peace... break the curse..."

The friends exchanged uneasy glances. The whispers were no longer just a background noise; they were a direct plea for help.

Calle's face paled as he listened intently. "They're asking us to help them. They want us to break the curse that's keeping them here."

"But how do we do that?" France asked, his voice barely audible. "How do we break a curse we barely understand?"

Viego's eyes narrowed in determination. "We start by surviving our next encounter with the professor. We need to be prepared for anything. Let's focus on gathering as much information as we can. We'll regroup here tonight and share what we've found."

The friends nodded in agreement, a renewed sense of purpose driving them forward. They spent the rest of the day combing through the university's archives, interviewing former students, and piecing together the dark history of Laurel Haven.

As night fell, they reconvened in their dormitory, each with a handful of new information and a growing sense of dread.

Viego laid out a series of old newspaper clippings on the table. "I found these in the archives. There have been disappearances and unexplained deaths at Laurel Haven for decades, all linked to a specific lecture series. And it's always the same—Slide 16."

Ellie added, "I talked to a former student who barely escaped with her life. She said the sacrifices are part of a pact made with an ancient entity that grants knowledge and success in exchange for lives."

Czisco, his face grim, spoke up. "I found out that the entity thrives on fear and despair. It's not just about the sacrifice; it's about the terror leading up to it. The more scared we are, the stronger it gets."

France, his hands trembling, placed a dusty old book on the table. "This is a journal from one of the first professors at Laurel Haven. He wrote about an experiment to harness supernatural powers for academic success.
It all went horribly wrong, and the entity was unleashed."

Calle, his voice steady, concluded, "The whispers... they're from the victims. They want us to stop the cycle, to free them from this torment. We need to find a way to weaken the entity, to disrupt its power."

The friends sat in silence, absorbing the gravity of their discoveries. The whispers had grown quieter, as if waiting for them to act.

"We need a plan," Viego said, breaking the silence. "We know the entity feeds on fear and despair. If we can stay strong, not give in to the terror, maybe we can weaken it."

"But that's easier said than done," Ellie replied. "The fear is real, and it's everywhere."

"We stick together," Czisco said firmly. "We support each other and don't let the fear consume us. We'll find a way to break this curse, for the spirits and for ourselves."

As they made their plans, the atmosphere in the dormitory shifted. The whispers seemed to recede, replaced by a sense of tentative hope.

But as the night deepened, the shadows grew longer, and the friends knew that the real test was yet to come. The entity was still out there, watching, waiting for the next opportunity to strike.

Their resolve was strong, but so was the malevolent force that gripped Laurel Haven.

The whispers in the hall were both a warning and a call to action. The friends were determined to face the darkness head-on, to uncover the secrets that had plagued their university for generations.

And as they prepared for the trials ahead, they couldn't shake the feeling that they were being guided by unseen forces, the spirits of those who had come before them, urging them to succeed where so many had failed.