Hidden Flames

Chapter 2

[Night - Thompson House]

Juliette laid in her bed, staring up at the dark ceiling. She pulled the covers tighter around herself, squeezing her eyes shut, willing herself to fall asleep. But no matter how hard she tried, the memories of that horrible night kept coming back, haunting her.

The night he shot her. The night she almost didn't make it.

Her heart rate quickened as the flashes of that terrifying scene played out in her head. Principal Clanton standing in front of her, that cold look in his eyes, the gun trained on her chest. She could still hear the deafening click as he armed the gun, the sound echoing through her mind as if it were happening all over again.

Juliette squeezed her eyes shut tighter, trying to block it out, but the memory fought its way through, relentless. She saw Noa's face—those wide brown eyes filled with terror as she screamed for her. The desperation in Noa's voice had been the last thing Juliette heard before everything went black.

"I'll always love you, Noa Olivar."

The words she'd mouthed right before the shot rang out. Words she hadn't meant to say, at least not like that. Not in what she thought were her final moments.

Juliette's chest tightened. She threw the covers off, her breath shaky as she sat up, her head spinning. She felt the anger bubbling up, hot and fierce. Why couldn't she let it go? Why did it feel like she was still there, stuck in that gym, waiting for death? She pressed the heels of her palms into her eyes, frustrated with the memories, with herself, with everything.

She grabbed the pillow next to her and hurled it across the room. It hit the wall with a dull thud before slumping lifelessly to the floor, but it didn't satisfy the rage simmering inside her. Her hands were shaking, and her pulse was racing, the adrenaline refusing to leave her system.

"Damn it!" She cursed under her breath

Juliette fell back onto the bed, staring at the ceiling once more, chest heaving as tears pricked her eyes. How could she have let him get inside her head like this? She was stronger than this. She survived, didn't she?

[Tuesday - Millwood High]

Mouse sent a text to assemble the troops to meet in the computer lab. When the girls got there, she had a nervous look on her face, "Okay. You know how people have been steadily posting about A on SpookySpaghetti for the last six months?" Mouse reminded the girls

"Yeah, since Archie Waters is apparently Millwood's version of the Slenderman" Tabby said
"Most of it is fictionalized and random, almost stream of consciousness. But someone just posted this" Mouse clicked the computer which revealed a post with all of their pictures, "Pictures of us, our names, our identities, which have never been released, officially, because we're underage. Now it's like we've got targets on our backs" Mouse explained
"The six ultimate loose ends. The six final girls" Imogen said
"Who posted this? Can't we get it taken down? Like, right the fuck now?" Noa asked

"All posting are anonymous, but I already emailed SpookySpaghetti. No response form the website's admin yet. And there's more" Mouse said

"There's more?" Imogen asked

Mouse popped up a new tab, "That's A's, and Angela's bad to the bone mother. Bloody Rose Waters. Lurking in places we each have a connection to" Mouse said showing them pictures of the track, music room, orpheum, dance studio, and Imogen's mother's grave

"Oh come on" Juliette grumbled

"Okay, these are definitely unnerving, but also, they're most likely photoshopped. Rose Waters is going viral, just as the Slenderman and so many horror icons have done before her" Tabby rationalized