The Day Death Died

The Day Death Died - Chapter 33

The portal back to the mortal world spat us out onto the cracked pavement outside the high school. For a moment, all I could do was blink against the sudden glare of the sun. After the suffocating darkness of the Underworld, the daylight seemed too sharp, too bright. My legs buckled slightly under the weight of Pandora's Box, but I caught myself, adjusting my grip on its cold, gleaming surface.

Edwin was already scanning our surroundings, his scythe resting on his shoulder, though his posture was tense. His eyes flicked toward the distant horizon, then back to the high school. His silence said everything. Something was wrong.

"Is it just me, or does this place feel... off?" I asked, breaking the silence that seemed to hang around us like a thick fog.

Edwin glanced at me briefly before returning his attention to the school. "It's not just you."

We stood in front of the high school, but it was different now—emptier, colder. The once-familiar building, with its mundane brick facade and windows where students had once leaned out laughing, seemed desolate. There were no cars in the lot, no students milling about. The only movement came from the wind, which stirred the dead leaves across the ground in sharp, erratic bursts. A strange stillness had settled over everything, like the world was holding its breath.

I shuddered, though it wasn't from the chill in the air. "It's like the whole place is... waiting."

"For us," Edwin finished, his voice low and grim. He gripped the handle of his scythe a little tighter, his sharp eyes sweeping across the empty parking lot and the rows of windows. "The Keres have been here."

I felt a sinking sensation in my stomach. "How can you tell?"

"The air's wrong," he said quietly. "There's something heavy in it. Death, but not just death. They've been feeding."

A lump formed in my throat, but I swallowed it down. "So we're too late?"

Edwin shook his head, his expression hard. "No. If we were too late, there'd be nothing left. They're still toying with this place."

I stared at the school, its familiar shape suddenly foreign and menacing. It wasn't the first time something terrible had happened here, but it felt like a different world now. I adjusted my grip on the box, feeling its faint pulse against my skin—a reminder of the raw, ancient power we held.

"Do you think they're still inside?" I asked, my voice barely above a whisper.

"They'll be close. Watching." Edwin's gaze flicked to me. "But we won't run into them right away. They'll wait for the right moment to make their move."

I nodded, trying to steady my breathing. The Keres were patient predators, but they weren't the only threat. The box in my hands pulsed again, a slow, rhythmic beat like a distant drum. I could feel the chaos inside it, waiting to be unleashed, but we couldn't afford to use it unless we absolutely had to. Not yet.

"We need to find out what's going on in there," Edwin said, his voice breaking through my thoughts.

I nodded, and together, we moved toward the entrance of the high school. The closer we got, the more unnatural the building felt. The glass doors that once buzzed with the energy of students now hung slightly ajar, a strange darkness pooling inside the hallways beyond.

Edwin reached for the door, his scythe still at the ready. "Stay close."

I didn't need to be told twice.

The door groaned as it swung open, and the air inside hit me like a wall—cold, stale, and thick with something I couldn't name. I hesitated on the threshold, feeling the weight of the school's atmosphere pressing down on me. The halls were darker than they should have been, even in the middle of the day, and the faint light that streamed through the dirty windows did nothing to lift the oppressive gloom.