Chapter 60 Missing Girl
The first thing Lila noticed that morning was the silence.
No shuffling of blankets. No sleepy murmurs from the other bunks. No sound of running water. Just the soft creak of wood and the whisper of wind through the old cabin window.
She blinked at the faint sunlight spilling through the curtains. Ava’s bed was empty and perfectly made, like no one had slept there at all.
Lila rubbed her eyes. “Did she wake up early?”
Carmen yawned from the top bunk. “Probably went to bathe. She’s always up first.”
Lydia, half-asleep, groaned. “It’s too early to care. Let her be.”
Lila smiled faintly, pushing off her blanket. “You know, that girl’s more responsible than all of us combined.”
Carmen giggled. “She’s the type who irons her camera straps.”
The laughter filled the small room for a moment. But it didn’t last.
Minutes passed. Then an hour.
The light outside shifted, turning brighter. The breakfast bell rang, echoing across the lodge. Students rushed out in pairs, but Ava never returned.
By 10 a.m., the bathroom was quiet. Steam no longer drifted from beneath the door.
Lila walked over and knocked. “Ava? Are you done in there?”
No answer.
She tried the handle. It turned easily. The bathroom was empty. Damp floor, hanging towel, and the faint smell of soap but no Ava.
A chill climbed up her spine.
“She’s not here,” Lila whispered.
Lydia looked up from tying her boots. “Maybe she went out to take pictures?”
“Without her phone?” Lila pointed to the small device lying plugged in beside Ava’s bed. The charging light blinked red.
The girls exchanged glances, the kind that needed no words to say something’s wrong.
Carmen swallowed. “Should we tell someone?”
Lila nodded. “Yeah. Let’s go.”
By the time they stepped into the main lodge, the air was buzzing with whispers. Professor Mercer stood by the dining hall doors, his phone pressed to his ear.
Roy was already there, talking to a few students. His face turned serious the moment he saw them.
“She’s gone,” Lydia blurted before Lila could speak. “Ava’s gone and she’s not in the bathroom.”
Roy frowned. “When was the last time you saw her?”
“Last night,” Lila said. “After dinner. She said she was tired.”
Carmen’s voice trembled. “I woke up once, maybe around midnight. I thought I heard the door open.”
Roy turned sharply toward Mercer. “Professor.”
Mercer was already ending his call. “The local police are on their way. Nobody leaves the area until we know what’s going on.”
Lila stood frozen. Her pulse raced.
Images flashed through her mind, Ava’s red hair glowing in the sun, her soft laugh on the bus, her nervous glance toward the window when her phone buzzed.
Some people don’t like when you look like someone else, she had said.
Lila’s stomach tightened.
She turned toward the woods visible through the window. The trees were tall, dark, tense, and far too quiet.
By noon, Ava had not come back. That's when the search began.
Police cars parked near the lodge, lights spinning faintly through the fog. A few local villagers came with flashlights, boots caked with mud.
Mercer and Roy divided everyone into small groups. “Stay close,” Mercer said firmly. “If you see anything, call out. Don’t wander.”
Lila joined a group without thinking, she was with Damian, Asher, and one of the officers.
Asher tried to protest. “You shouldn’t.”
“I’m going,” she said. Her voice came out harder than she expected.
Damian’s expression softened. “If that makes you feel better, you can tag along..”
Asher sighed but said nothing.
They started at the eastern trail, weaving between the trees. The forest floor was damp, littered with pine needles and broken branches.
The sound of footsteps and distant voices faded in and out as other groups moved nearby.
Lila’s breath fogged in the cold air. Every rustle made her flinch.
“Ava!” she called. “It’s Lila! Please, answer if you can hear us!”
The woods only answered with the whisper of leaves.
Damian walked a few steps ahead, scanning the ground. “We’ll find her. Don’t panic yet.”
But she could hear the tension buried in his tone.
They searched for hours. Nothing. No footprints, no scarf, no camera bag.
At one point, Lila found herself staring at a small piece of paper stuck under a root, heart pounding only for it to be an old candy wrapper. She almost laughed at how much her hands shook.
“Hey,” Damian said softly. “Take a breath.”
She nodded, though her lungs felt tight.
Asher joined them, wiping sweat from his forehead despite the cold. “We should head back soon. They’re regrouping.”
Damian frowned. “Not yet. She could be..”
“Gone deeper?” Asher snapped. “You want us to lose another person?”
Lila stepped between them before it turned into another argument. “Stop, please.”
Both fell silent, the tension sharp enough to cut through the air.
She stared past them, toward the deeper shadows of the forest. “She was scared of something,” she murmured. “I could see it.”
Neither man replied.
By late afternoon, exhaustion hung over everyone. The groups slowly gathered near the lodge again, eyes red from the cold and worry.
Mercer spoke with the police chief quietly while Roy handed out water bottles. Some students were crying softly.
Lila sat on the steps, dirt smudging her jeans, her head spinning.
Damian crouched beside her. “You should rest.”
She shook her head. “Not until we find her.”
“You’ve been out here for hours, Lila. You can’t help her if you collapse.”
His voice was gentle, but she couldn’t make herself listen. “It’s my fault,” she whispered. “I should’ve told someone about the light I saw last night.”
“What light?”
“In the woods. I thought maybe it was someone’s phone or a reflection. I didn’t think it was important.”
Damian’s expression darkened. “You don't have to blame yourself, Lila. You didn’t know.”
Lila’s hands trembled. “I keep thinking about Ruby. About Serena. About all of them.”
He reached out, covering her hand with his. “You’re not alone this time.”
She wanted to believe that, but fear sat too deep in her bones.
The sun had just begun to fade when a shout tore through the still air.
“Over here!”
Heads turned instantly. Lila stood up before she even processed it, her pulse jumping.
Damian caught her wrist. “Wait..”
But she was already moving and running toward the voice. Branches scratched her arms as she pushed through the trees.
The second shout was louder. “By the stream! Someone help!”
Lila broke through the last row of trees and stumbled to a stop.
The world tilted.
Ava lay beside the shallow stream, her red hair spread like fire against the stones. Her eyes were closed, her skin pale and still.
A bunch of roses rested in her hands. It looked fresh, bright, and perfect. A box of chocolates sat beside her, its lid open, a few pieces missing. Around her neck was a sign of strangulation.
The air was thick and cold.
Lila couldn’t breathe. She moved one step forward, then another, until Damian’s hand caught her shoulder.
“Don’t,” he whispered. “You shouldn’t see this.”
But she already had.
A typed note lay near Ava’s body, half-soaked by the water. An officer picked it up carefully, holding it under the light.
The chief read aloud, his voice grim.
“Pretty red should never fade.”
Lila felt her knees weaken.
The forest spun around her. The memory of another red-haired girl like Ruby flashed before her eyes.
Her throat burned. “It’s happening again,” she whispered.
Damian turned to her, eyes wide. “What do you mean?”
“The roses, the notes, the same words.”
He stared at her for a moment, and then the sirens cut through the woods.
Detective Mara’s car pulled up the narrow road, tires grinding against the dirt.
Lila’s breath caught in her chest.
Mara stepped out, her dark coat brushing against the cold wind. Her expression was unreadable, but her eyes sharp and tired softened when they landed on Lila.
She walked over, her tone calm but firm. “You need to come with me.”
Lila hesitated. “She..”
“I know,” Mara said quietly. “You don’t have to see more.”
Damian stood a few steps away, fists clenched. “She shouldn’t go alone.”
Mara looked at him. “She’ll be safe. You have my word.”
Something in her tone left no room for argument.
Lila followed her to the car, her legs heavy, her heart numb. She glanced once more toward the woods, where red petals drifted in the stream like blood in water.
As Mara pulled Lila away, Damian blamed himself for everything. If only he hadn't talked Lila into coming for the field trip, she was already going through a lot and he just added another worry to her plate.
On the other hand, Asher blamed himself for not trying to talk her out of coming to the field. He knew better, he knew what she was going through.
What if she were the victim here? Asher swore he wouldn't have forgiven himself and Damian.
Meanwhile, when the car door closed, the sound of it echoed inside Lila's skull.
The drive back toward the village was silent. Lila stared out the window, her reflection pale in the glass.
The same thought looped over and over in her head, It’s happening again.
She could almost feel the eyes watching her from the forest as the road curved away.
Mara’s hands tightened around the steering wheel. “You’ve seen this before,” she said softly.
Lila didn’t answer. Her voice wouldn’t come.
But she nodded once, barely, and that was enough.
Mara sighed. “Then we both know whoever’s doing this isn’t finished.”
Outside, the forest blurred by.
And just before the trees thinned into the open road, Lila caught a glimpse of something between the trunks like a female figure, still and dark. Waving and smiling at her.
She looked like Ava she looked happy too. Lila blinked her eyes and the figure was gone.
Lila turned, her voice trembling. “I think I'm hallucinating.”
Mara’s eyes met hers in the rearview mirror and the look on her face said she was worried and stressed.