|| {𝑺𝒄𝒉𝒐𝒐𝒍 𝑩𝒖𝒔 𝑮𝒓𝒂𝒗𝒆𝒚𝒂𝒓𝒅} || • {𝑺𝒉𝒂𝒓𝒆𝒅 𝑻𝒓𝒂𝒖𝒎𝒂} •

𝐒𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐨𝐧 𝟐 | 𝐄𝐩𝐢𝐬𝐨𝐝𝐞 𝟮𝟱 (𝟳𝟯)

"She- she killed it" I muttered. I froze in place. I didn't wanted even to look at Ashlyn anymore. It was- it seems so easy- but it's so horrific...

***

I sat in the corner of the dimly lit cafeteria, cradling the chipped mug in my hands as if it were a lifeline. The warmth seeped into my fingers, but it did little to chase away the cold knot of anxiety in my chest. 

The room was quiet, with only the soft clatter of dishes and the distant hum of conversation breaking the silence. But I wasn't really there—I was a thousand miles away, lost in a memory that refused to let go.

It was Ashlyn's face that haunted me the most. I could still see the fierce determination in her eyes, the way her jaw clenched as she faced down the phantom. The way the creature's form twisted and writhed, its eyes burning with an unnatural light, sent a shiver down my spine. But it was the sound that stuck with me—the sickening squelch of the blade as Ashlyn drove it deep into the phantom's chest, the shrill, inhuman scream that followed, echoing in my ears even now.

The memory played on an endless loop in my mind, a nightmare I couldn't escape. I had seen Ashlyn do what needed to be done, but the violence of it, the raw, primal terror in that moment, had changed something in me. 

The phantom's death should have brought relief, a sense of victory. But all I felt was horror, a deep, unsettling fear that clung to me long after the creature had dissolved into nothingness. 

I took a long sip of my drink, the warmth doing little to chase away the lingering chill that had settled in my bones. 

With a heavy sigh, I reached into my pocket and pulled out my earbuds, hoping the music would drown out the images that wouldn't leave me alone. 

Ben had made this playlist for me, a collection of songs that had always brought our group together. I closed my eyes and hit play, letting the familiar melodies wash over me, trying to lose myself in the rhythm, to find some small comfort in the sounds that had once been a part of our everyday lives.

Each song was like a thread, tying me back to them—my friends, my family in this twisted world. As the music filled my ears, I could almost hear Taylor's easy laughter, see Tyler's mischievous grin, feel the reassuring weight of Logan's arm around my shoulders, and catch Aiden's sarcastic quips that always made me roll my eyes but secretly smile. 

And Ashlyn... despite everything, despite what I had seen her do, I couldn't forget the way she had always been there for me, for all of us. She fought for us, protected us, even when the odds were stacked against her. 

Even when she had to do the unthinkable.

They all thought I was dead, just another casualty in this endless nightmare. The thought gnawed at me, a sharp pain in the pit of my stomach. 

I wanted to reach out to them, to let them know I was still here, still fighting in my own way. But I couldn't. Not yet. Not until I was sure it was safe, not until I could find a way back to them that wouldn't put them in more danger.

The music kept playing, one song bleeding into the next, each one a bittersweet reminder of the life I'd left behind and the friends who were still out there somewhere, thinking I was gone. 

I wondered what they were doing now, how they were coping, if they had found a way to keep going without me. The thought of them grieving for me, thinking I was lost to them forever, was almost too much to bear.

I took another sip from the mug, the liquid now lukewarm, and let the music drown out the horrors that lurked in the corners of my mind. 

I clung to the memories of better days, when we were all together, when the world still made sense, and when I could laugh and fight alongside them without this constant, gnawing fear. I needed to hold on to that, to remind myself why I was still here, why I couldn't give up.

Even if they thought I was dead, I wasn't ready to let go. Not yet.

***