Chapter 40
Chapter 40
Aili’s POV
The second student hit the floor with a loud thud.
A collective gasp rippled across the cafeteria, sharp and panicked, like the entire room had inhaled at once and forgotten how to breathe.
My heart slammed against my ribs.
“No,” I whispered under my breath.
This wasn’t random.
This wasn’t coincidence.
This was happening again.
The boy who collapsed — Marcus, I think — lay on his side, completely still. His tray clattered across the floor, food spilling everywhere, but no one cared about the mess. Students backed away quickly, fear spreading like wildfire.
A teacher rushed forward.
“What is going on today?” she shouted, her voice shaking.
Nick stepped closer to me, his shoulder brushing mine. I could feel the tension radiating from him — alert, protective, ready.
“Stay calm,” he murmured quietly.
Easy for him to say.
My pulse felt like it was trying to escape my body.
The nurse burst through the cafeteria doors moments later, moving fast, followed by another teacher carrying a medical kit. They knelt beside Marcus, checking his pulse, speaking in urgent whispers.
Then it happened again.
Marcus’s body stiffened suddenly.
His fingers curled.
His chest rose sharply.
And just like Lian—
His eyes snapped open.
White.
Completely white.
A scream tore through the cafeteria.
Someone dropped a tray.
Another student started crying.
The air felt colder, heavier, charged with something invisible and wrong.
“They’re coming…” Marcus whispered.
Same words.
Same tone.
Same eerie echo.
Then his body went limp.
Unconscious.
Silence fell.
A thick, suffocating silence.
My stomach twisted into knots.
Nick exhaled slowly beside me.
“Okay,” he said under his breath. “That’s definitely not normal.”
I shot him a look.
“You think?”
Before he could respond, Principal Harris stormed into the cafeteria, his face pale but trying to stay authoritative.
“Everyone back to your seats!” he ordered. “Remain calm!”
Nobody looked calm.
Students whispered nervously, eyes darting everywhere, fear crawling through the room.
I felt Samantha step up beside me.
“That’s the second one,” she said quietly.
Maya nodded grimly.
“Same symptoms.”
Lisa crossed her arms, her expression tense.
“Same message.”
A cold realization settled in my chest.
Pattern.
This was a pattern.
And patterns meant clues.
Which meant…
Mystery.
Nick leaned closer to me.
“We need to talk,” he said softly.
I nodded immediately.
“After school,” I replied.
But before we could move, another voice spoke behind us.
“Actually… you might want to talk now.”
We turned at the same time.
And that’s when I saw him.
Tall.
Dark hair slightly messy, like he had run his hands through it too many times. Sharp jawline. Warm brown eyes. Confident posture without looking arrogant.
New guy.
Definitely new.
And definitely cute.
My brain registered that information before I could stop it.
He looked directly at me.
“I saw what happened,” he said calmly.
Nick’s body stiffened beside me.
Not dramatically.
Just enough.
Subtle tension.
Protective tension.
I cleared my throat.
“Who are you?” I asked.
The boy offered a small, polite smile.
“Ethan,” he said. “I transferred here last week.”
His voice was steady — not panicked like everyone else.
Observant.
Focused.
Like he was analyzing the situation instead of reacting to it.
Interesting.
Nick folded his arms slowly.
“And what makes you think we need to talk?” he asked.
There was a slight edge in his voice.
Barely noticeable.
But definitely there.
Ethan didn’t react to it.
Instead, he glanced toward the unconscious students being wheeled out on stretchers.
“Because,” he said calmly, “this isn’t the first time I’ve seen something like this.”
My breath caught.
“What?” Samantha asked immediately.
Ethan met my gaze again.
“Not here,” he said. “At my old school.”
The air between us shifted instantly.
Curiosity.
Suspicion.
Possibility.
Nick’s jaw tightened slightly.
“You’re saying students there fainted with white eyes and started predicting things?” he asked.
Ethan shrugged lightly.
“Pretty much.”
A chill ran down my spine.
Lisa leaned forward.
“What happened to them?” she asked.
Ethan hesitated.
Just for a second.
Then he answered.
“They disappeared.”
Silence.
Heavy.
Uncomfortable.
My heart skipped.
Disappeared?
Nick spoke first.
“And you’re just mentioning this now?”
There it was again.
That protective tone.
That subtle challenge.
Ethan met his gaze calmly.
“I didn’t think it mattered,” he said. “Until today.”
The tension between them thickened.
Not hostile.
Not aggressive.
Just… competitive.
And for some reason, my stomach fluttered nervously.
Samantha clapped her hands once.
“Okay,” she said. “We officially have a mystery.”
Maya nodded firmly.
“And a lead.”
Lisa looked at me.
“So what’s the plan, detective?”
All eyes turned to me.
Pressure settled on my shoulders — familiar now.
Not scary.
Just responsibility.
I took a slow breath.
“First,” I said, thinking carefully, “we gather information.”
Nick nodded slightly.
“Agreed.”
Ethan tilted his head, impressed.
“Smart.”
My cheeks warmed slightly.
Focus, Aili.
Focus.
“Second,” I continued, “we look for connections.”
“Between the students?” Maya asked.
“Yes,” I said. “Classes, activities, locations — anything they share.”
Nick added quietly, “And timing.”
Ethan nodded.
“Exactly.”
Our eyes met briefly.
A strange spark of understanding passed between us.
Nick noticed.
I could feel it.
The subtle shift in his posture.
The way he stepped just a little closer to me.
Not possessive.
Just present.
Protective.
Grounding.
My heart did that annoying flutter again.
Lisa suddenly snapped her fingers.
“Wait,” she said. “What if this started before today?”
Samantha’s eyes widened.
“Oh.”
Maya turned toward her.
“What?”
Samantha leaned forward urgently.
“I heard something yesterday,” she said. “In the hallway.”
We all froze.
“What kind of something?” I asked.
Her voice dropped to a whisper.
“A girl in my chemistry class fainted last week.”
My pulse spiked.
“What?”
She nodded.
“Everyone thought it was dehydration or stress,” she said. “But now…”
Her words trailed off.
Now it looked different.
Now it looked suspicious.
Now it looked supernatural.
Nick exhaled slowly.
“So this isn’t new,” he said.
Ethan crossed his arms thoughtfully.
“It’s spreading.”
The word hit me like a punch.
Spreading.
That meant escalation.
Danger.
Urgency.
I swallowed hard.
“After school,” I said firmly. “We start investigating.”
Samantha nodded immediately.
“Yes.”
Maya added, “Library.”
Lisa grinned slightly.
“Our headquarters.”
Nick looked at me.
“You sure you’re okay to do this?” he asked softly.
Concern filled his voice.
Real concern.
Warmth spread through my chest.
“I’m sure,” I said.
Ethan watched us quietly, something thoughtful in his expression.
Then he spoke again.
“There’s one more thing,” he said.
We all turned toward him.
His face grew serious.
“At my old school,” he continued slowly, “the students who fainted weren’t random.”
My stomach tightened.
“What do you mean?” I asked.
He held my gaze.
“They all had one thing in common.”
Silence stretched between us.
Waiting.
Heavy.
Then he said the words that made my blood run cold.
“They had recently visited the same place.”
A chill crawled up my spine.
Nick’s expression darkened instantly.
“Which place?” he asked.
Ethan didn’t answer right away.
Instead, he reached into his backpack and pulled out a folded piece of paper.
He handed it to me.
Slowly.
Carefully.
I unfolded it.
And my breath stopped.
Because printed across the top was a name I recognized instantly.
Sherfield Wellness Center
And beneath it—
A list of student names.
Including Lian.
Including Marcus.
And including one name that made my heart drop straight into my stomach.
Samantha.
I looked up slowly.
My voice barely came out.
“You went there,” I whispered.
Samantha’s face turned pale.
“Yes,” she said.
Silence swallowed us.
Then Nick spoke quietly beside me.
“Okay,” he said.
His voice was calm.
But I could hear the steel underneath.
“We just found our starting point.”