Vanessa froze to the spot.
For a moment, she forgot how to breathe.
Thousands of questions ran through her mind at once, colliding, tangling, threatening to spill out of her mouth. But she forced her face to remain neutral.
Too much reaction, and Mrs. Matthews might withdraw.
"She's dead?" Vanessa repeated quietly, as though testing the weight of the words.
"Yes," Mrs. Matthews confirmed.
"When?" Vanessa asked.
"Two years ago," the woman replied. "It's been a while."
She sighed softly, as though the memory itself was exhausting.
Vanessa swallowed.
"How did it happen?" she asked carefully.
Mrs. Matthews walked around her desk and sat down slowly. Her posture was rigid now, no longer as warm as before.
"She was found, head smashed, more like busted open" she said after a pause, "all bloodied."
Vanessa's nails dug into her palms.
"How did it happen? Who did it?"
"That's the issue," Mrs. Matthews said, her voice lowering. "No one knows how it happened. More importantly, no one knows who did it. She was just found… already dead."
A chill crept up Vanessa's spine.
"Where?" she asked. "Where was she found?"
There was a long pause.
"In HERBERT WILBUR Senior," Mrs. Matthews said finally. "Her body was found at the back of the dorm building. Near the shrubs"
Silence settled between them.
It felt as though the air itself had thickened.
Vanessa forced herself to inhale normally.
After a moment, she nodded.
"Thank you, ma'am. That makes things much easier. I'll be leaving now."
She wrapped her hand around the doorknob.
"Gwen."
Vanessa stilled.
She turned slowly.
"Don't tell anyone about it," Mrs. Matthews said. There was no softness in her voice this time. Only seriousness.
"I don't plan to," Vanessa replied politely before stepping out of the office.
She walked a few steps down the hallway.
Then clutched her chest and released a loud breath.
"Aghhh."
She glanced back at the office door.
"I can't believe I really pulled that off."
A small, proud smile crossed her lips before she straightened herself and headed back.
Dana was still seated on the bench in the junior courtyard, her head buried in the same book she had taken from Mr. Hance.
Vanessa rolled her eyes and plopped down beside her.
"Any luck?" Dana asked without looking up.
"Yup," Vanessa replied, emphasizing the p.
That made Dana look up.
She closed the book slowly.
"What?"
"Well… not exactly what I was expecting," Vanessa said. "But Gabriella Jenkins is dead."
Dana's brows furrowed.
"Dead?" she repeated.
"Yes. Two years ago, to be precise. She was found bloodied, head smashed. Her body was found behind our school's dorm building."
Dana's expression hardened.
"And the person who did it?"
"Never found," Vanessa answered.
She leaned back slightly.
"But here's the strange part. At that time, Gabriella was still in junior school. So I don't know why her body was found in the senior dorm area."
"Her killer probably brought her there," Vanessa added, thinking aloud.
Before she could continue, Dana abruptly stood up.
"We're going."
"Going where?" Vanessa frowned.
"To check for ourselves."
"Give me a break," Vanessa groaned. "I'm still reeling from all that forced politeness."
"Well, I'm leaving now," Dana said.
Vanessa sighed dramatically but stood up anyway.
"Fine."
The walk back to the senior wing didn't take long.
Unlike the longer path that connected both areas, there was a side route, narrow and less used cutting through a thin stretch of trees.
The air felt different as they crossed back into senior territory.
Heavier.
Colder.
The sounds of birds seemed to fade.
The trees grew denser here, their branches intertwining overhead, blocking out most of the light. The gravel beneath their feet gave way to cracked pavement.
Neither of them spoke.
The closer they got, the quieter it became.
The senior dorm building soon came into view tall, grey, and looming. Its windows reflected nothing but the pale sky.
Dana didn't hesitate.
She walked along the side of the building.
Around to the back.
The grass there was uneven.
Thinner.
As though something had once disturbed it deeply.
There were no benches.
No decorative shrubs.
Just a wide patch of open ground bordered by a brick wall and a broken lamppost that leaned slightly to one side.
"Can you tell which is it?" Vanessa murmured.
Dana paused, in full concentration
The area felt… wrong.
Not haunted.
Not dramatic.
Just wrong.
The air felt stale.
Dana stepped forward slowly.
" is this where they found her," Vanessa said quietly. "Head smashed."
Dana crouched slightly, her fingers brushing over the ground.
The soil was dry now.
No visible stains.
No markings.
But—
She closed her eyes.
Focused.
Tried to reach.
To pull.
To see.
Nothing.
Vanessa shifted uncomfortably.
"Well?"
Dana opened her eyes slowly.
"There's something," she said.
"But it's faint."
Very faint.
Like a memory that didn't want to be remembered.