Chapter 13 — Part 7
Autumn Berry – POV
The café felt quieter than before, like the tension from yesterday hadn't left entirely. Quinn sipped her latte slowly, eyes half-lidded. Theo leaned back, tapping his pen against his notebook. Liam was staring at his tablet, scrolling through something with sharp focus. Dorielle and Rhea were already huddled over maps and printouts of the campus. And me? I was somewhere between alert and haunted.
"Alright," Rhea said, voice cutting through the quiet. "We know the stalker is real. He's targeting Carina. And he's repeating patterns from the Celeste case. Our first step: gather every clue we can."
Theo handed over a stack of notes. "These are all the messages Carina sent us. Forum posts, scribbled notes, weird symbols… everything she noticed before she started hiding."
I skimmed through the notes. Hints everywhere—some small, almost meaningless, like a pencil mark in a textbook. Others heavier, like someone was carefully making sure Carina knew she was being watched.
Quinn leaned over my shoulder. "He's clever. He doesn't just show up. He leaves breadcrumbs."
I nodded. My chest tightened. "Just like… someone else I knew. Long ago."
The words hovered in my throat. I had to shake the memory away. High school. Hallway lights flickering. A hand on my shoulder when the bathroom lights went out. The same panicked heartbeat. It wanted to take over, but I focused on the notes in front of me. **Not now. Not here.**
Liam pulled up campus security footage on his tablet. "I cross-referenced Carina's sightings with the cameras around the dorm and the science wing staircase." He swiped through clips. "Nothing direct, but I found a few suspicious shadows—someone lingering, hood up, mostly backlit. They vanish when the cameras get closer."
Rhea frowned. "So he's careful. He knows the system. And he's testing boundaries."
Dorielle pointed at the map. "Look. The stairs, the back exit near the maintenance area, the path to the fountain. He's choosing spots with multiple escape routes. He wants people to see him… but not close enough to be caught."
I rubbed my forehead. My fingers shook slightly. Every new location made my chest tighten. *Staircases. Hallways. Shadows.*Memories clawed at me like old chains. I had to swallow hard. "We should… focus on areas he leaves hints. Places Carina said he's appeared, notes left in lockers, anything that repeats."
Theo nodded. "We can split tasks. Quinn and I check the surveillance archives. Liam and Dorielle handle campus logs and past sightings. Autumn… you take notes and trace the patterns. See if anything matches Celeste's last known movements."
I blinked, heart thudding. It felt… personal. *Tracing patterns like I used to fear being traced.* But I swallowed the fear. This was different. I wasn't alone. We had a team. And Carina was counting on us.
We spent the next hour in quiet coordination. Notes were pinned to corkboards. Maps were scribbled with paths and times. Cameras were scrolled frame by frame. Slowly, a pattern began to emerge: small, calculated, almost like the stalker wanted to be noticed—but only on his own terms.
"Here," Quinn whispered, pointing at a locker near the staircase. "Another note. Matches the symbols Carina sent."
I leaned closer. It wasn't just coincidence. He was here. Close. Carefully choosing his locations. And the thought made my stomach twist.
Liam looked up from his tablet, voice low. "There's a cluster near the old fountain. Several students reported footsteps, crying… all around the times Carina said he appeared. Looks like a hunting ground."
Rhea tapped her pen sharply on the map. "We should check that tonight. Quiet, safe approach. Make sure Carina stays out of it. But we can't wait. He's escalating."
Just as we were about to organize roles, movement caught my eye through the café window. A figure. Hood pulled low. Standing just beyond the railing, still as a statue. I froze. My hand gripped Quinn's without thinking.
Quinn followed my gaze, eyes wide. "Do you… see that?"
He didn't move. Didn't glance around. Just… watched.
I felt the old panic coil in my chest, sharp and alive. Memories, shadows, footsteps behind me—everything from that night in high school flashed. My breath hitched. I swallowed. * Not now. Not here. Not like this.*
Theo and Liam noticed too. Liam's hand hovered over the tablet, ready to trace movements. Theo's jaw tightened. Dorielle's pen froze mid-scribble. And Rhea? She just nodded once, sharp and decisive.
"That's him," Rhea whispered. "Or someone testing us. Either way… he knows we're looking."
My stomach knotted. And for the first time that day, fear wasn't just about Carina. It was about the shadows that followed *all of us*, the past creeping into the present, and knowing the real confrontation was coming.
I straightened. Shook my shoulders. "Then we find him first."
No running. No hesitation. Not this time.
And even if my hands shook and my heart raced, I felt the quiet shift inside me: fear was still there, but now, it was *controlled*, It was a tool. And we were ready to use it.