Chapter 6 The Second Recording

Blackwood Academy no longer felt like a school.

By sunrise, satellite news vans lined the road outside the front gates. Parents crowded against the security barriers, demanding answers. Police officers moved through the campus with quiet urgency, sealing corridors and collecting statements from students who had seen Ethan Holloway during his final hours.

The academy’s proud stone buildings suddenly looked less like a place of learning… and more like the scene of an unsolved crime.

Inside Dormitory C, nobody slept. Girls whispered long after midnight. Some cried into their pillows. Others called home, begging their parents to take them away.

Aria sat on the edge of her bed, staring at the cassette tape resting inside her desk drawer. She had listened to a murder before it happened. The thought refused to leave her.

A soft knock interrupted the silence. Nora opened the door without waiting for permission. “You’ve seen the news?”

Aria nodded. “They’re saying Ethan was found behind the science building.” Nora lowered her voice. “My roommate knows someone from the student council.”

“So?”

“They’re saying Ethan wasn’t killed there.”

Aria looked up sharply. “What?”

“The police think his body was moved.”

A cold shiver crept down her spine. If that was true…

Then whoever murdered Ethan had enough time and confidence to move his body across campus without being seen.

That wasn’t luck. That was planning.

The academy cancelled afternoon classes. Instead, students were instructed to remain inside designated buildings while detectives continued their investigation.

Every hallway buzzed with fear. “I heard Ethan was running from someone.”

“No… someone saw him arguing with a teacher.”

“My cousin says the murderer is still on campus.” Each rumour spread faster than the last.

Aria barely heard any of them. She couldn’t stop thinking about one thing. The recorder had predicted Ethan’s death. Not hinted, not suggested. A death was predicted. There had to be an explanation. And the only place that explanation might exist… was Locker 313.

She waited until dusk. Campus security became busier after dinner, escorting investigators between buildings.

Students were distracted. It was the perfect moment.

Keeping her head down, Aria slipped through the nearly empty corridor toward the third floor. The lights overhead flickered softly.

For the first time since arriving at Blackwood… The hallway leading to Locker 313 had been completely deserted. She stopped before the faded black door. “You’d better have answers.”

The locker opened the moment she touched the handle.

Click.

Waiting inside… Was another cassette recorder. Not the one she’d found before. A different one, beneath it rested a fresh sheet of paper. Her heartbeat quickened.

The note contained only one sentence. You came back sooner than I expected.

Aria spun around. “Who’s there?” Only silence hit her as response. She searched both ends of the corridor, it was empty. Slowly… She picked up the recorder. The red light blinked once. Without pressing a button… The tape began playing. “If you’re hearing this…” Maya’s calm voice returned... “then Ethan Holloway is dead.”

Aria froze. The recorder continued.

“You wanted to save him.” A lump formed in her throat.

“You couldn’t.”

Her breathing became shallow. “Do not blame yourself.”

How… How could Maya possibly know what she was thinking? The recording carried on. “Ethan wasn’t chosen because of what he did.”

“He was chosen because of what he knew.” Aria frowned. “He discovered something he was never meant to see.”

Static crackled briefly. “Find the girl with the broken watch.”

Then— “Trust no one who was at Blackwood twenty years ago.” The tape stopped, the red light faded. Aria remained perfectly still. The girl with the broken watch?

Who was that? And why specifically twenty years ago?

A floorboard creaked behind her. She turned instantly.

Someone was standing at the far end of the corridor watching her. Their face disappeared into the shadows beneath a hood.

“Hey!” The figure ran.

Aria instinctively gave chase. Her footsteps echoed through the corridor as the stranger sprinted toward the emergency staircase.

“Stop!”

The hooded figure shoved open the heavy fire door. It slammed violently against the wall. Aria burst through seconds later. The stairwell was empty, Impossible! She said to herself. There was nowhere to go. One staircase led up, one led down. She hadn’t heard another door open. Hadn’t heard footsteps. The stranger had simply... Vanished.

Breathing hard, Aria leaned against the railing. Something caught her eye. One step below her feet lay a small object. She bent down, an old silver wristwatch.

Its glass was cracked.

The hands had stopped moving years ago. Exactly at 7:13. Aria’s pulse hammered. “The girl with the broken watch…” The words had barely left her mouth when another voice answered from the darkness below.

“Now you’re asking the right question.” She looked down. Lucien Cross stood at the bottom of the staircase, one hand resting on the rail. His expression was unreadable. “I told you,” he said quietly.

“The longer you stay involved…” He slowly lifted his eyes to meet hers... “the harder it becomes to stay alive.”