The list

Kayla's pulse thundered in her ears as she stared at her name scrawled on the brittle, yellowed pages.

This wasn't just a warning.

It was a promise.

She yanked her wrist free from Caston's grip, stepping back. "This has to be a joke."

"No one's laughing," Marina muttered, arms crossed over her chest.

Rose flipped through the book, her fingers trembling. "These names… they don't just disappear. There are dates next to them. And look—" She traced her finger down the list. "All of them vanished exactly a week after their names appeared here."

A week.

Kayla's stomach twisted.

"That's impossible," Laura whispered. "It's—"

The library lights flickered again.

Then the door slammed shut.

A freezing gust rushed through the room, snuffing out the warmth like a candle in a storm.

Then—

A whisper.

Right behind Kayla.

"It's almost time."

She spun. Nothing. No one. But the air felt wrong, thick, like it was pressing against her skin.

Caston stepped closer, his body tense. "Did you hear that?"

Kayla swallowed hard, nodding.

Laura clutched her notebook. "This… this is the same pattern. The whispers. The cold spots. The flickering lights. They always happen before the next disappearance."

"And Kayla's name is on the damn list," Caston snapped, his voice sharp with something that sounded a lot like panic.

For once, she had nothing to say.

---

That Night – Kayla's House

She barely got through the door before her mother's voice called out from the kitchen.

"Kayla, you're home late."

Kayla hesitated, her mind still reeling. "Yeah. Sorry, I—" She couldn't even come up with a lie.

Her mom stepped into view, frowning. "You okay?"

No. Not even a little.

But she nodded anyway. "Just tired."

Her mom sighed, wiping her hands on a dish towel. "You've been acting strange lately. You're not… getting into trouble, are you?"

Kayla almost laughed. Trouble?

If only that was all this was.

"I'm fine, Mom. Really."

Her mother studied her for a moment before nodding. "Okay. Just… get some rest, alright?"

Kayla forced a smile. "Yeah."

She wanted to sleep. She really did.

But she knew the second she closed her eyes…

The whispers would come back.

---

Meanwhile – Caston's House

Caston couldn't shake the unease crawling up his spine.

Kayla could pretend all she wanted, but he'd seen her face in the library.

She was scared.

And that pissed him off more than anything.

Because he hated that she wouldn't let him help.

And even more than that—

He hated the thought of losing her.

His phone buzzed.

Rose: We need a plan. If the disappearances happen every year… we need to break the cycle.

Marina: Agreed. But how?

Caston hesitated before typing.

Caston: We keep Kayla alive.

Because as long as she was breathing—

The ghosts didn't win.

And there was no way in hell he was letting her end up on that list.