Chapter 44 LOCKED IN.
Clara's POV:
I had just finished doing exactly what Miss Elsie told me to do - gathering all the class projects and turning them in. Now I was on my way to the warehouse to submit them to Professor Asher like she’d instructed.
But the closer I got, the heavier the folder felt in my arms… and the heavier my chest felt too.
Why would Professor Asher want to meet here?
Why not his office? Or even the staff block?
Those were normal places. Safe places.
But the warehouse?
Everyone knew the stories about this building - the strange noises, missing items, the creepy atmosphere.
Most students didn’t even walk past this area unless they absolutely had to. It made no sense.
And the more I thought about it, the more uneasy I felt.
Especially because… well… I had already told him to keep his distance.
Not like we were close before. Not like he owed me anything. But still… meeting alone, and here of all places… I didn’t want anyone getting the wrong idea.
Not after what Miss Elsie hinted.
And she was right about one thing - things between professors and students could easily be misunderstood. I didn’t trust her completely yet, but she hadn’t sounded like she was lying.
I was still thinking all this when my steps suddenly slowed… then stopped completely.
I’d reached the warehouse.
The tall metal building stood in front of me, dull and silent, like it had been waiting for me. The air around it felt colder, heavier. My fingers tightened around the stack of projects as a nervous flutter rose in my stomach.
I took a slow step toward the warehouse… then another.
Each footfall felt heavier than the last.
The silence pressed around me, thick and unnatural. Even my wolf - always alert, always whispering at the back of my mind - was strangely quiet today.
Too quiet.
It made my skin crawl.
Dry branches cracked lightly under my shoes as I moved. My eyes darted left, right, behind me - anywhere searching for someone, something, even the smallest sign of movement.
But there was nothing.
Just the wind. Just the dark doorway of the warehouse staring back at me.
I hesitated, my breath catching. For a second, I actually thought about turning around. About running. About calling Professor Asher - even though I didn’t even have his number.
None of this made sense.
Why here?
Why alone?
And then, finally, my wolf spoke.
A single whisper slicing through the silence inside my head.
What if she’s lying… and all of this is a trap?
I froze.
The words hit me so hard I felt my heart drop straight into my stomach.
A trap.
Why hadn’t I thought of that earlier?
Miss Elsie had always felt… off. Too perfect. Too polite. Too possessive of Professor Asher in a way that didn’t sit right with me.
But she also hadn’t lied today… had she?
I tried to reason with myself, even though my hands were growing clammy around the stack of projects.
Maybe she wasn’t lying. Maybe Professor Asher just didn’t come to me because I told him I didn’t want him around me anymore.
Maybe that’s why he told her instead. Maybe he actually needed to talk about something important.
Because I had noticed - his behavior had been strange lately.
The way he kept looking like he wanted to say something but swallowed it back every time.
The way he seemed… tired. Hurt. Holding himself together with a kind of restraint that didn’t match his usual calm.
And that bandage on his hand today…
He brushed it off with “just a small accident,” but I wasn’t stupid. Something happened. Something he wasn’t telling me.
Even earlier today - when I walked into his office and found him with Miss Elsie - his expression had been tight. Forced.
Like he was trying to tolerate something he didn’t want to deal with.
It didn’t feel like he wanted her there at all.
These thoughts spun in my head so fast I didn’t notice where I was walking until—
Thud.
I collided with a tall cardboard box.
The box toppled over, crashing loudly onto the dusty floor. The sound echoed through the huge warehouse, bouncing off the metal walls and sending a sharp shiver down my spine.
I quickly bent down, picked it up, and placed it back where it had been - hands trembling a little.
Then I looked around… really looked this time.
And that’s when I realized:
I was inside.
Really inside.
And there was no one.
Not a single person in sight.
The warehouse was massive, dim, hollow… and absolutely silent.
So silent it made my ears ring.
The air smelled like rust and dust, thick and unmoving.
I forced myself to breathe, gathered the stack of projects tighter against my chest, and shifted them so they wouldn’t slip. My hands were shaking now.
I reached into my bag, pulled out my phone, and checked the time.
Thirty minutes had passed.
Already.
And the sky outside the high windows was starting to dim - approaching dusk.
My stomach twisted.
How had time moved that fast?
Before I could think too deeply about it, a sudden click - sharp, metallic - came from behind me.
I spun around so fast my breath caught in my throat.
The door.
It was closed.
I rushed to it instantly, shoving the projects under one arm and grabbing the handle with both hands. I twisted it hard.
Nothing.
I tried again.
Still nothing.
Locked.
“Who… who locked it?” I whispered, a cold wave of panic washing up my spine.
I banged harder, slamming my palms against the thick metal.
“Hello? Please— I’m inside! Please open the door!”
My voice echoed into the empty hallway outside, bouncing back at me like the warehouse was mocking my panic.
I hit the door again, harder this time.
“Please!” I yelled, my voice cracking.
“I’m locked in here!”
No footsteps.
No voices.
No reply.
I swallowed hard, breath shaking. Maybe… maybe the security staff thought the place was empty.
Maybe they were doing their routine lockup. Maybe - anything.
Anything except the thought that someone knew I was in here.
I forced myself to breathe, backing away from the door, trying to think—
And that was when I heard it.
A deep, rolling rumble.
Like a machine powering up.
The sound vibrated through the floorboards and walls, steady and growing louder.
My heart lurched into my throat.
I turned slowly - very slowly - toward the sound.
At first, I couldn’t place what I was seeing. A tall metal pipe hung from the ceiling, angled down toward the center of the room, attached to a huge industrial machine at the far back.
The machine shook once.
Then again.
Then a low grinding noise filled the air.
A thick, heavy stream of grey cement surged out of the pipe, slamming into the floor with a wet, solid thump.
My entire body went cold.
“I…”
My voice died in my throat.
I stared, frozen.
This wasn’t the warehouse storage building.
This was the construction supply unit.
The wrong building.
I’d walked into the wrong building.
And someone had turned the cement mixer on.
My heart hammered painfully against my ribs as the realization hit me all at once, sharp and merciless:
Oh no… this can't be happening!