✓ | PRIMAL, jacob black ²

chapter twenty nine

CHAPTER TWENTY NINE

"Hold up." Jared raised his hand, signalling for everyone to pause. His brows furrowed as he processed what he'd just heard. "Are you saying five-year-old Aniya wrote a message in the backgrounds of her drawings?"

"Exactly," Juliet confirmed with a determined nod. She held up the papers again, their edges lined up to show the patterns in the background. "All of Aniya's drawings, at least the ones she showed Maya and me, had these intricate backgrounds. I never thought much about them before, but now—seeing these—it's clear there's something deliberate. There's a hidden message."

Maya leaned closer, squinting at the shapes formed by the trees and mountains. "S-T-I-L-L," she spelt out slowly, tracing the letters with her finger. "Still? Is that it?"

"It's just part of it," Juliet explained, lowering the papers slightly but keeping them visible. "If we had the rest of her drawings, I think we could piece together the full message. Look here." She pointed to the edge of one drawing. "See how the trees curve at the end? It looks like they're forming another letter—maybe an A? I can't say for sure, but it's definitely not random."

Paul crossed his arms, frowning as he spoke sceptically. "This could just be a coincidence. Kids doodle all sorts of weird stuff."

"It's not a coincidence," Emily interjected as she stepped into the room. All eyes turned toward her, curiosity mixed with concern. "Aniya told me once—when I first met her at Sully's Diner—that when she draws, it's like her hand is moving on its own. She never knows what she's about to draw until it's done. She said it's like something else takes over."

Juliet's voice lowered as she mulled over the revelation, almost speaking to herself. "I knew there was a deeper meaning to her drawings. I just didn't think it would be this... direct." Her face hardened with resolve as she handed the drawings back to Jacob. "I'll be back. I need to make a call."

Juliet stepped out of the house, her phone already in her hand as she scrolled to Aniya's number. She pressed the call button, the phone ringing only once before it went straight to voicemail. "Crap," she muttered under her breath, quickly dialling the number for Aniya's home.

After a few rings, a familiar voice answered. "Hello?"

"Hey, Nicholas? This is Juliet," she said hurriedly. "Is Aniya there?"

"No, sweetheart," Nicholas replied, his tone tinged with worry. "She hasn't come home yet. Anthea and I have been trying to call her all day, but her phone's off—or maybe it's dead. Actually, we were about to call you. She left this morning without telling us where she was going. Anthea tried to stop her, but... it was strange. It's like she wasn't really listening."

Juliet's grip on her phone tightened. "What do you mean, she wasn't listening?" Her voice cracked slightly, betraying her rising anxiety.

"It was like she was in some kind of daze," Nicholas explained. "She just said she was going out and left. We went into her room not long after and found a note on her bed. It just said 'I am' on the front, and the number one was written on the back."

Juliet swallowed hard, forcing herself to stay calm. "Oh, uh, Nick," she lied through her teeth, cringing as the words left her mouth, "Aniya's probably at Emily's. I'll check in with her and make sure she's okay."

"Thanks, Juliet," Nicholas said with a sigh of relief. "Please call us if you hear from her."

"I will," she promised before hanging up. Juliet glanced at the setting sun, her pulse racing as unease clawed at her chest. Without wasting another second, she sprinted back into the house.

As she burst through the door, everyone turned to her, their expressions filled with questions. "Aniya hasn't come home," Juliet blurted, her words tumbling over each other. "Her brother-in-law said she left earlier today, but she was acting... strange. He said it was like she wasn't listening like she was in some sort of trance."

Jacob shot up from his seat, alarm flashing in his eyes. "A trance? But she seemed fine when she was here earlier!"

Juliet nodded grimly. "She did, but something must've changed after she left. Nicholas said she left a note on her bed. It just said, 'I am.' And on the back was the number one." She paused, her voice tightening. "I think it's connected to the message in her drawings. Whatever's going on, we need to figure it out—and fast."