Whispered Shadows

Chapter Two

The First Warning

Noa

The dorm room feels even smaller at night. I've unpacked most of my things, but the space doesn't feel like mine. Gia's presence lingers, invisible but heavy, like the scent of her perfume that I swear I can still smell. The scrap of paper I found earlier is now folded tightly and shoved into the back pocket of my jeans.

I don't know what to do with it. Ryder said he'd call me back after looking into something, but the silence since our last conversation is unbearable.

The rain hasn't stopped. It drums against the window, steady and relentless, a constant background to my fraying nerves. I tell myself the weather is making me jumpy, but deep down, I know better.

Piper is sound asleep next to my head on the pillow. It's her spot, over the last three years she has been sleeping next to me. I don't know if she knows that Gia is missing. Sometimes I wish I knew what was going on inside her head. Would it be simpler?

I grab my phone and scroll mindlessly, trying to distract myself. Social media is useless. Everyone's posts look so normal—smiling selfies, latte art, first-week-of-school excitement. It feels like a different world, a world where sisters don't vanish and rooms don't come with ominous notes left behind.

The lights flicker.

I freeze, staring at the bulb above my desk as it dims for a moment before flaring back to life. A power surge, I tell myself. Perfectly normal. Old building, bad wiring. Nothing to panic about.

Except I can't shake the feeling that something isn't right.

I check the time. 11:47 PM. Too late to call Ryder again, even though I want to. Instead, I force myself to focus on unpacking the last of my things. I kneel next to my suitcase and pull out a few more books, stacking them on the desk. When I stand up, my heart skips a beat.

I swear I closed it after I found the note. I did close it? I always close the doors behind me. No matter how tough the rest of the world thinks I am things still scare me.

I stare at it, my pulse pounding in my ears. It's only open a crack, but I know for a fact I closed it after hanging up my jacket. Slowly, I walk toward it, my hand tightening around my phone like it's a weapon.

The closet is empty. Of course, it's empty. But my chest is tight, and I can't shake the feeling that someone was here. Or still is.

The lights flicker again, plunging the room into semi-darkness for a split second before the bulb flares back on. My reflection in the window catches my eye, and for one terrifying moment, I swear there's a shadow behind me. I spin around, but the room is empty.

I'm losing it.

I force myself to breathe, closing the closet door firmly before crawling into bed. I wrap the blankets around me, clutching my phone to my chest. Sleep won't come, but I keep my eyes shut anyway, willing the night to pass.

Somewhere outside, I hear footsteps.

They're faint, but distinct, crunching on the gravel pathway just below my window. I sit up, my breath catching in my throat. The curtains are drawn, but the faint glow of the streetlamp outside casts strange shadows on the fabric.

The footsteps stop.

I stay frozen, straining to hear anything else. For a long moment, there's only silence. Then, a soft tap tap tap against the glass.

Piper stirs on the pillow eyes locked on the window when a sound comes out of her that I have never heard before. Her fluffy back and orange ears go back in what I call airplane mode. Something she rarely does.

Piper is the most calm and friendly cat I have ever met. She only wants love and to be pet. I didn't think her ever doing something like this would be possible.

Tap. Tap. Tap.

I don't scream, but I want to. My hands are shaking as I reach for my phone and open the flashlight app. Slowly, I pull the curtain aside, shining the beam into the night.

Nothing.

The pathway below is empty, the rain still falling in steady streaks. I scan the area again, but there's no one there. Just my reflection staring back at me in the glass.

I start to pull the curtain closed, but something catches my eye.

A smear of red on the outside of the window.

I stare at it, my mind scrambling to make sense of it. Paint? Mud? Blood? The rain is already washing it away, but it doesn't matter. The message is clear.

"You shouldn't have come."

The air in the room feels heavier, suffocating. I grab my phone and hit Ryder's number again.

He picks up on the second ring, his voice short but alert. "Noa? What's wrong?"

"There's someone here," I whisper, my voice shaking. "They left another note. And... there was something on my window."

"What kind of something?" Ryder's voice sharpens, the sother voices in the background fading out.

"Red. I don't know—paint? Blood? I don't know." I force myself to calm down.

I hate that my weakness is showing. To the world i'm not weak. To the world I have my head on my shoulders, but right now it feels lost.

"Stay where you are," he says. "Don't open the door for anyone. I'm on my way."

The call ends, and I'm left clutching my phone like it's the only thing tethering me to reality. I sit on the edge of the bed, staring at the locked door, my ears straining for any sound.

The footsteps don't return, but the silence is worse. I scratch behind Piper's ears trying to calm her down or maybe calm myself down. I had no idea this is how my first day was going to go, but if this means getting answers for Gia I can do it.

Right?