Jill Brooks and The Three Runes

The Figure

Jill sat at her desk, unable to focus on the lesson Mr. Thorne was giving. She tapped her pencil absentmindedly against her notebook, glancing at the strange man who had, somehow, slipped into their lives so seamlessly after Miss Nettleberry's disappearance. He was too smooth, too collected. It was as if he'd been planning for this—waiting for this moment.

Mr. Thorne stood at the front of the room, his voice calm as he discussed something about the Victorian era. His back was straight, his posture immaculate, and yet there was something unsettling about the way he moved. His hands, pale and bony, never stayed still for long. They danced lightly over the pages of his book, never truly resting.

Jill shot a glance at Maria. Maria was scribbling notes in her book, but she wasn't really writing. Her hand was moving, but her gaze was locked on Mr. Thorne, her face tight with concern. They both knew something wasn't right.

Jill had expected Mr. Thorne to give himself away by now. Some magical slip-up. A weird quirk. But he was too careful. Even though the rumors swirled about his strange ways—appearing in places where no one had seen him walk in, vanishing from the school grounds without explanation—none of it felt tangible. Everything about him was subtle. Too subtle. Jill couldn't shake the feeling that they were missing something right in front of their eyes.

At recess, Maria and Jill slipped out to their usual hiding spot, behind the thick hedge near the back of the playground.

Maria bit her lip. "He's hiding something. I know he is. But we need proof."

Jill sighed, tugging at the sleeves of her jumper. "I know. But what if we're wrong? What if... what if it's just in our heads? Maybe he's just weird. Not... magical."

Maria shook her head fiercely. "No way. All that stuff with the book, with Miss Nettleberry disappearing—there's more going on here, and I bet Mr. Thorne knows exactly what's happening."

Jill leaned against the hedge, staring up at the cloudy sky. Something about Mr. Thorne didn't sit right with her either, but every time she tried to think it through, it felt slippery, like she was chasing a dream she couldn't quite remember.

Just then, they heard voices coming from around the corner of the hedge. Jill motioned for Maria to stay quiet, and they both crept closer to the edge, careful not to be seen.

Two teachers were speaking in hushed tones—Mrs. Featherstone and Mrs. Willoughby. They didn't seem to notice the two girls hiding nearby.

"I just don't think it's right, leaving the children in the dark like this," Mrs. Willoughby was saying. She looked worried, her usual cheerful demeanor dampened by unease.

Mrs. Featherstone's voice was sharper, colder. "It's not our place to question these things. The arrangements have been made."

"But Miss Nettleberry—she just vanished without a trace. And now Mr. Thorne is acting so... strange."

"Mr. Thorne is perfectly capable of handling the class," Mrs. Featherstone snapped. "There's no need to stir up unnecessary rumors."

"But the children—"

"The children will be fine. As long as they stay out of trouble."

Jill and Maria exchanged nervous glances. Mrs. Featherstone's tone left no room for doubt—she didn't want anyone digging any deeper into Miss Nettleberry's disappearance.

After the teachers walked away, Maria turned to Jill, her face pale. "She knows something. Mrs. Featherstone knows something about Miss Nettleberry."

"I think you're right," Jill replied, her voice barely above a whisper. "What's really going on?"

Before they could speculate further, the bell rang, signaling the end of recess. They rushed back to the classroom, their heads spinning with questions.

The rest of the afternoon dragged on. The more Jill thought about it, the more everything seemed to connect—Mrs. Featherstone's strange conversation, Mr. Thorne's odd behavior, the missing book. It was as if an invisible thread was tying all these mysteries together, but Jill couldn't see the full picture yet.

Finally, the bell for the end of the day rang, and Mr. Thorne dismissed them with his usual calm demeanor. Jill and Maria were the last to leave, hanging back to see if Mr. Thorne would slip up after the students were gone.

But as they lingered in the hallway, something unexpected happened.

As soon as the last student had left the room, Mr. Thorne stood completely still. He didn't pack his things or prepare to leave. Instead, he moved toward the window, gazing out over the playground, his back to the door. His hands twitched again, and this time, Jill could swear she saw something—a shimmer, almost like a faint outline of a different figure, as if Mr. Thorne's real form was hidden beneath a thin layer of reality.

She grabbed Maria's arm. "Did you see that?"

Maria nodded, her eyes wide. "We have to follow him."

They hurried to the door, peeking through the small crack just as Mr. Thorne slipped out of the room. He moved swiftly, heading down the hall toward the back of the school where few students ever went. The two girls followed at a distance, their hearts pounding.

Mr. Thorne led them outside, toward a small, abandoned shed near the edge of the school grounds. Jill's breath caught in her throat as they crouched behind a tree, watching.

Mr. Thorne stopped in front of the shed and glanced around, as if checking to make sure no one was watching. Then, with a simple flick of his hand, the shed door creaked open. He disappeared inside.

Jill turned to Maria, her heart racing. "We have to see what he's doing."

Maria nodded, but there was hesitation in her eyes. "What if it's dangerous?"

Jill swallowed hard. "We'll never know if we don't try."

With that, they crept closer to the shed. The door was slightly ajar, and they peered inside. What they saw made their blood run cold.

Inside the shed, the walls were lined with strange, glowing symbols, pulsing softly in the dim light. Mr. Thorne stood in the center, his back to them, muttering something under his breath. On a small pedestal in front of him lay the book—Miss Nettleberry's book. The same one Jill and Maria had found. Only now, the pages were glowing, too.

Suddenly, Mr. Thorne turned, his eyes locking onto the crack in the door where Jill and Maria were hiding.

For a moment, time seemed to freeze.

"Who's there?" His voice was sharp, filled with suspicion.

Jill's heart pounded in her chest. She and Maria exchanged terrified glances. Should they run? Confront him? But before they could decide, something even more unexpected happened.

A cold wind blew through the shed, and a low, eerie voice echoed from the walls.

"Thorne... you've been found out."

Jill and Maria froze. The voice wasn't Mr. Thorne's. And it didn't sound human.

Mr. Thorne's face twisted with anger, but before he could react, the light from the book intensified, casting an eerie glow across the shed.

Jill couldn't take it anymore. She grabbed Maria's arm and pulled her back from the door.

"We need to get out of here," she whispered.

But just as they turned to leave, a dark shadow loomed over them. Jill looked up, her breath catching in her throat.

Could it be?