The Mystery Of Eastbrooks High

Chapter Twenty-Three: Chasm Of Despair

[TRIGGER WARNING: MENTIONS OF SELF HARM]

NORAH WALKED DOWN THE HALL AND SOMETHING followed her– her constant companion, fear. Another close companion of hers, sadness, trailed behind her too, slowly catching up with her and creeping all over. She sighed, rubbing her restless eyes. Norah looked at the windows, checking if they were bolted properly, then proceeded to eye the main door. It was locked, but she still walked over and pulled the handle to make sure it held.

Eyeing all the windows another time to make sure the bolts were fastened, she looked over her shoulder and sat on the couch. She couldn't shake the feeling that someone was watching her, so she threw another furtive glance over her back before releasing a breath. She'd been feeling that way constantly since the deaths started, which had doubled ever since somebody broke into their house and her room.

She was constantly fearing for her life, constantly on high alert, always sad.

Norah fiddled with her phone, not understand what to do. She opened random apps, apps she usually spent so much time on, but her heart wasn't in it, so closed the applications. She opened a books app and mindlessly clicked on a book with a nice cover. It seemed to be a high-fantasy book judging by the gorgeous map at the initial pages, but she didn't stop to appreciate it. She started reading the first chapter, but nothing went into her head. All the complex worldbuilding that would normally intrigue her wasn't appealing to her.

She sighed, turned the phone off and threw it on the black leather couch in front of her, closing her eyes. Tired. She felt so tired, she could feel it emanating from within her, not extinguishing no matter what she did, ate, or how much she slept. Her phone vibrated against the wooden table and Norah picked it up. It was a call from home.

"Hello?"

"Norah." A very familiar voice spoke from the other side of the phone. "Noah, hey," Norah murmured, her eyes fluttering shut as she leaned her head against the plush cushion of the couch.

She was in Tamaya's house. It had been a few days since Cole's, Aiden's and Callisto's death and since Noah came back.

The book club members had been shuffled and allotted into different 2 groups, made two live in two different houses. She was allotted into Tamaya's house, living with Jace, Emma, Austin, Sabrina, Tamaya, Aurelia and Divya. She knew that the police allotted them into groups based on their friend groups, so that the members would feel comfortable with their friends, with the people they trust, instead of fearing for their lives.

But ever since she got to know the details of Cole and Aiden's deaths, she hadn't been able to live without fear. It was embedded into her now, shadowing and following her everywhere. And she knew it would be a long time before Norah would live without it., before the lasting imprint of fear removed itself from Norah.

They were found on the outer part of the forest inside a huge hole in the forest ground– the locals were sure that the hole hadn't been there the previous morning, since they cross that part of the forest to go to their jobs– which meant that it had been dug with purpose, and someone forced them to follow the path. Both Cole and Aiden were shot multiple times– it had been a gruesome scene, based on what an officer had told them grimly: their clothes had been soaked and the mud surrounding them had been soaked in their mixed blood. Their skin had been slick with the fluid, and it was slippery and hard to get them out of the hole.

There was a small slip– a paper that had been torn from a single-lined notebook without any neat precision– and something had been scrawled across that note. 'Broken rules have severe consequences; keep this in mind the next time you dare to cross the games' rules.'