the truth(32)

Location: Michael's Bedroom

Michael lay on his bed, staring at the ceiling, his mind running in circles. The room was quiet except for the occasional rustling of leaves outside. The city never truly slept, but it wasn't the distant sounds that kept him awake. It was her.

Lisa.

Her voice. Her parents. The way they looked at him.

Something was wrong. It always had been. But now, it felt like the walls were closing in, and he was the only one who saw it.

He groaned, rolling over and grabbing his phone from the nightstand. The dim glow of the screen showed the time.

2:37 AM.

Too late to call anyone. Too early to pretend it didn't matter.

But he needed to talk.

Michael: You up?

Seconds passed. Then minutes.

Just as he was about to give up, his phone vibrated.

Ethan: Yeah. What's up?

Michael hesitated. He could just drop it. Act normal. Pretend he wasn't losing sleep over this.

But he typed anyway.

Michael: It's about Lisa.

There was a pause. Then—

Ethan: Dude, go to sleep.

Michael scowled.

Michael: I can't. I need to talk about this.

Ethan: We've talked about this a hundred times. What else is there to say?

Michael clenched his jaw.

Michael: I just… I don't know if she's evil or not. I feel like I missed something.

Another pause.

Ethan: Then stop thinking about it.

Michael: How?

Ethan: Because thinking about it doesn't change anything. If she's evil, she's evil. If she's not, then she's not. But stressing over it isn't gonna give you the answer.

Michael stared at the screen.

That was the problem.

The answer did matter. It mattered more than anything.

But before he could type another message, his phone vibrated again.

Ethan: Get some sleep, man. Seriously.

Michael exhaled and tossed his phone onto the bed.

Sleep?

Yeah. Right.

The next morning, Michael arrived at school looking like hell—dark circles under his eyes, dragging his feet, mind still tangled in the same thoughts.

Everything felt too loud. Students laughing, lockers slamming, teachers calling out names. It was all background noise.

Until he saw her.

Lisa.

Standing at her locker, flipping through a book like nothing was wrong.

Michael stopped walking. For a moment, he just watched her.

No aggression. No hostility.

Just… normal.

But was it real?

Lisa turned, catching his gaze.

Lisa:

"You again?"

Michael blinked.

Michael:

"Uh… yeah."

Lisa narrowed her eyes.

Lisa:

"Why do you keep staring at me lately? It's getting weird."

Michael hesitated.

What was he supposed to say?

That he was trying to figure out if she was dangerous? That something about her felt wrong? That he wasn't sure if she was an enemy or a victim?

Michael:

"I… I guess I just have a lot on my mind."

Lisa didn't look convinced.

Lisa:

"Well, maybe you should focus on something else. You're acting paranoid."

She slammed her locker shut and walked past him.

Michael turned, watching her go.

Paranoid.

Maybe he was.

But that didn't mean he was wrong.

And deep down, he had a feeling—

Something was coming.

And he wasn't ready for it.

Location: Deep inside the memory

The flickering fire cast long shadows against the cavern walls, illuminating the weary faces of Dakota's group.

They had fought hard to make it this far, pushing through endless waves of memories.

Lucas stretched, letting out a tired groan.

Lucas:

"Man, I can't believe we've been in this damn memories for so long."

Ava smirked, poking at the fire with a stick.

Ava:

"What, you miss the outside world already? We're just getting started."

Liam leaned back against the cave wall, arms crossed.

Liam:

"I get what Lucas is saying. Feels like we've been in survival mode for days. It's weird just… sitting here."

Jack glanced at Dakota, who was staring into the flames, lost in thought.

Jack:

"What about you, Dakota? You've been quiet."

Dakota didn't respond at first. Then, finally—

Dakota:

"I was thinking about high school."

The group exchanged glances.

Henry raised an eyebrow.

Henry:

"Why the hell are you thinking about high school in the middle of a goddamn campfire?"

Dakota let out a small chuckle, shaking his head.

Dakota:

"I guess… I was remembering something. A feeling."

Lucas:

"What feeling?"

Dakota's expression darkened.

Dakota:

"That feeling when you know something is wrong, but no one else sees it."

Silence.

Ava leaned forward, intrigued.

Ava:

"Sounds personal."

Dakota exhaled.

Dakota:

"It is."

Liam:

"You talking about Lisa?"

Dakota's gaze flickered up, meeting Liam's.

Dakota:

"So you remember."

Liam nodded.

Liam:

"Hard to forget. You kept talking about her back then. You knew something was off."

Dakota's grip tightened around his sword hilt.

Dakota:

"Yeah. And I was right."

Jack frowned.

Jack:

"What happened?"

Dakota:

"You'll see soon enough."

The fire crackled, the only sound in the silence that followed.

Whatever had happened in Dakota's past—

It wasn't over.

Not yet.

And as the shadows of the memory flickered around them—

They all felt it.

Something was coming.

And this time, there would be no escaping it.

Dakota thinking: soon enough middle school is about to be done, and we're getting closer to high school, we're like I said the terrible stuff happens. Truly terrible.

Lucas: "ugh my head hurts again."

Ava: "me too mine hurts as well."

Mia: "it feels like some memories are trying to come back to me, but I can't remember them."

Liam: "yes it feels just like that, which is strange, why is it that when we're watching Dakota's memories that we are experiencing something memory related?"

Henry: "yeah that is pretty strange, do you know something about this Dakota?"

Dakota: "hm? Well I think I do... But I'm not going to tell you yet."

Lucas: "haa of course you aren't going to tell us, even when you said you're going to show us the truth you're not telling us anything."

Dakota: "that's because my memories will tell you everything, so watch it and you'll find out the truth."