The morning sun did nothing to warm the school.
Even with students running around in costumes, laughter floating through the hallways, and Halloween decorations hanging from every door, Instituto San Rafael felt wrong.
Too cold.
Too quiet.
Too watched.
Emiliano and Daniela walked through the courtyard together, their eyes darting to every shadow.
"Everyone looks normal," Daniela whispered. "Do they seriously not feel anything?"
Emi looked around.
Students were smiling.
Teachers were decorating.
Some kids were taking selfies in front of the big altar the school built for Día de los Muertos tomorrow morning.
But behind all the normalcy, something lurked… twisting… waiting.
"Maybe it's only us," Emiliano muttered. "Maybe it chose only us."
Daniela shivered. "Don't say that."
Emi stopped walking.
He could feel eyes on him again.
Cold, invisible.
Like something was standing just behind him.
Slowly, he turned.
Nothing.
But the shadows under the school archway seemed darker than they should be. And for a second… he swore he saw a hand slide back into the darkness.
"Let's go," he whispered. "Before it follows us again."
1. The Hermit Teacher
Señor Herrera's classroom was at the very edge of the school, next to the old storage hallway. Nobody liked going there. Some students believed the room was cursed.
Others believed he was.
Daniela spoke first, her voice trembling.
"Okay, but Emi… what exactly are we going to ask him? 'Hey, señor, do you know the shadow demon that tried to eat us yesterday?'"
Emiliano didn't smile.
"I just want answers."
They reached the door.
It was slightly open.
Inside, the room was dark except for a single dim lamp on the desk.
Señor Herrera sat behind it, shoulders hunched, scribbling something on yellow paper. His hands were trembling.
He didn't look up.
Emiliano knocked softly.
"Señor… can we talk to you?"
The teacher froze.
His pencil slipped from his hand and hit the desk with a soft tap.
Slowly… very slowly… he raised his head.
His eyes looked sunken, sleepless, filled with old fear.
"Close the door."
The hairs on Emi's arms rose instantly.
Daniela swallowed hard and shut it.
Herrera stared at them for a long moment.
"You two shouldn't be here," he finally whispered. "Not today. Not with what's coming."
Emiliano stepped forward.
"Señor… we saw something yesterday. In the Old Wing."
At the mention of the Old Wing, Herrera flinched violently.
"Don't say that," he hissed. "Don't ever speak of that place."
"But we went inside," Daniela said softly. "The door was open."
"No door opens on its own in this school," Herrera muttered. "Not anymore."
He rubbed his temples, breathing quickly. "Tell me… what did you see?"
Emiliano took a deep breath.
"A shadow."
Herrera's eyes widened.
"How many?"
"One," Emi said. "But… Daniela saw three in her nightmares."
Daniela nodded, shaking.
"The nightmares," Herrera whispered. "The nightmares always come first."
He stood abruptly, knocking over his chair.
"This school… it has awakened."
Daniela stepped back. "Señor… what is happening?"
Herrera leaned in close, lowering his voice.
"What you saw… is only the beginning."
2. The Story No One Was Supposed to Hear
Herrera walked to the cabinet and pulled out a thick, dust-covered folder tied with an old red string.
"This… must never leave this room."
He placed it on the desk with shaking hands.
"Twenty years ago, five students disappeared during the Halloween night festival. Not lost. Not kidnapped. They simply—"
He snapped his fingers.
"—vanished."
Daniela's face went pale.
"No bodies?" she asked.
"No traces," Herrera whispered. "Except for one thing."
He opened the folder.
Inside were old photographs of the school—black and white, grainy, eerie.
But one photo made Daniela gasp.
It showed the same shadowy figure they had seen in the Old Wing.
Emiliano felt his blood freeze.
"That thing…" he whispered. "What is it?"
Herrera didn't answer at first.
Instead, he flipped through a few pages until he found a newspaper clipping titled:
**LA HORA MALDITA:
The Cursed Hour Returns**
Herrera pointed at the headline with a trembling finger.
"This… is the name of the ritual. The night when the veil between the living and the dead becomes so thin… the spirits can walk freely. Some are peaceful."
He looked them both dead in the eyes.
"Others are hungry."
Daniela grabbed Emiliano's arm.
"What do they want?"
Herrera closed the folder slowly.
"They want a sacrifice."
The room grew colder.
"Our school," he said, voice breaking, "was built on old ceremonial grounds. Ancient rituals were performed here. Rituals that required… offerings."
Emiliano felt sick.
"So the shadows…"
"They come to collect what was promised to them," Herrera whispered. "Every twenty years."
Daniela shook her head violently.
"But why us? Why Emiliano? Why me?"
Herrera stared at them with sadness.
"You two… were born during the last Haunting."
Emiliano's heart dropped.
"No…"
"Sí," Herrera whispered. "The moment the last ritual failed, two children in town were born under the cursed hour. You are… marked."
Daniela stumbled backward, tears in her eyes.
"This can't be real…"
Herrera handed them another old piece of paper.
"This is the list of the five students who vanished twenty years ago."
Emi looked at the names—
Four girls. One boy.
The last name made his stomach twist violently:
Valeria Reyes.
Daniela's eyes widened.
"That's my tía…" she whispered.
Herrera nodded.
"She was chosen. Like you."
Daniela covered her mouth, her voice breaking.
"No… no, no, no…"
Emi didn't know what to say.
But Herrera wasn't finished.
He leaned closer.
"The shadows are merely servants. They are sent before the real entity arrives."
Emiliano's breath caught.
"There's… something worse?"
Herrera's face darkened.
"Yes," he whispered.
"A leader. A collector. The one who chooses the sacrifices."
He closed the folder.
And whispered the name they were never meant to hear:
"El Oscuro."
The Dark One.
3. The Warning
Herrera suddenly grabbed Emiliano's wrist.
A painful, iron grip.
"Listen to me carefully," he whispered. "Tonight—whatever you do—do not return to this school."
"But the festival—" Daniela started.
"NO!" Herrera snapped, slamming his fist on the desk. "The festival is only bait. It always has been. People come. Spirits gather. And when the clock strikes twelve—"
He made a slicing motion with his hand.
"La Hora Maldita begins."
Daniela was shaking so hard tears rolled down her cheeks.
"Señor… how do we stop it?"
"You can't," he whispered. "The only thing you can do is…"
He swallowed hard.
"…survive."
Suddenly—
A shadow moved in the corner of the room.
Herrera jerked around.
"What was that?!"
Daniela gasped.
Emi froze.
The shadow in the corner grew darker… thicker… rising up the wall like ink.
Then—
It formed a face.
Two glowing eyes.
Emiliano grabbed Daniela's hand.
"RUN!"
Herrera screamed, "¡SALGAN DE AQUÍ! ¡AHORA!"
The shadow lunged.
The shadow hit the floor like a blast of icy wind, spreading across the tiles like living darkness. Books flew from shelves. The lamp shattered. The room plunged into chaos.
Señor Herrera shoved Emiliano and Daniela toward the door.
"¡CORRAN! ¡NO LO MIREN!" he yelled.
Run! Don't look at it!
But it was too late.
The shadow rose into a tall, twisted shape, its head scraping the ceiling, its eyes burning white-hot. Its mouth split open like torn fabric.
"Emiii…" it whispered.
Emiliano froze.
It knew his name.
Again.
Daniela grabbed his wrist and yanked him toward the hallway.
"MOVE!"
They burst out the door—just as the shadow slammed into the wall behind them, cracking it like glass.
Herrera ran after them, panting.
"This is wrong—this is too early—it's not even midnight—"
The floor trembled.
Lights exploded overhead.
Lockers burst open with thunderous bangs.
Students screamed from other hallways—
—but their screams sounded distant, muffled, like the world had suddenly stretched thin.
"Señor!" Daniela cried. "What is that thing?!"
"That is one of the Tres Vigías," Herrera gasped. "The Three Watchers."
"Watchers of what?!" Emiliano yelled.
Herrera's voice cracked.
"Of YOU!
1. The Hallway of Screams
They ran down the hall, the creature slithering behind them, scraping its long claws across the walls. Lights flickered violently, creating flashes of strobe-like horror.
In each flicker, the shadow looked different—
elongated…
broken…
crawling on the ceiling…
crawling upside-down…
smiling.
Students who were still in the hallway screamed and scattered, but every time the shadow passed over them…
The lights went out.
Their screams stopped.
Their bodies vanished.
Not even their backpacks remained.
Daniela stumbled.
"Emi… it's—it's taking people!"
"DON'T STOP!" Emi shouted.
The shadow suddenly leapt forward, crossing the hall in one monstrous movement.
It landed right in front of them.
Blocking their escape.
It straightened its crooked spine, its neck tilting sideways like it was studying them.
Then it whispered:
"La Hora… comienza temprano…"
The Hour… begins early…
Herrera shoved the kids behind him.
"NO!" he roared. "Not them! Not yet!"
The shadow hissed, and its arm split into three long blades of darkness.
It struck.
2. The Teacher's Sacrifice
Herrera threw himself at the creature.
He didn't scream.
He didn't hesitate.
He simply dove into the monster's path, arms wide, slamming it into the lockers.
"¡CORRAN!" he shouted. "¡SALVEN SUS VIDAS!"
The shadow's blades pierced straight through him.
Daniela screamed.
Emiliano's voice cracked. "SEÑOR NO—!"
Herrera coughed, blood dripping down his shirt—but he was smiling.
"Go… niños… go…"
With his last strength, he grabbed the shadow's head and whispered something in a language neither of them recognized.
A burst of white light exploded from his hands.
The shadow shrieked—
an inhuman, bone-shattering scream.
Then it collapsed into smoke.
Herrera fell with it, hitting the ground hard.
"Señor!" Emi cried, kneeling beside him.
Herrera's breathing was shallow. His skin had gone pale, almost grey.
"Listen… carefully…" he rasped.
Emiliano's eyes filled with tears. "Don't talk, please—"
"Escúchame…" Herrera insisted.
The hallway around them was dark, silent. The other students were gone. Reality felt warped—thin, like a dream.
Herrera grabbed Emiliano's hand weakly.
"You must find the Libro del Silencio…"
Emi's heart raced. "The what?"
"A book… hidden… in the Forbidden Archive… under the library…"
Daniela's voice shook. "Why? What does it do?"
"It contains the rituals… the counter-rituals… everything about La Hora Maldita…"
He coughed violently, blood staining his sleeve.
"Only the book… can reveal how to break the curse…"
Emi leaned close. "Señor—what about the other Watchers? The other shadows?"
Herrera's pupils dilated.
"They are coming…"
He reached for Emiliano's face, touching his cheek gently like a father.
"Forgive us… for what we built this school upon…"
His eyes slowly closed.
His hand slipped from Emi's.
The hallway went silent.
Daniela broke down in tears.
Emiliano stared at Herrera's body, shaking, numb, unable to breathe.
They had come for answers.
Instead, someone had died protecting them.
The shadows had taken students.
Now they had taken a teacher.
"Dani…" he whispered. "We have to move."
3. The Second Watcher Arrives
As they stood, a sound echoed far down the hallway.
Tap… tap… tap…
A slow, heavy step.
Emiliano felt ice crawl down his spine.
Daniela wiped her tears. "Emi… what is that?"
Another step.
Closer.
Emi took her hand.
"We need to hide."
"No," Daniela whispered. "We need to run."
But when they turned—
The hallway behind them stretched unnaturally long.
Hundreds of meters.
Too long.
Impossible.
The school was changing.
Morphing.
Trapping them.
The lights flickered.
A tall silhouette stood at the far end.
Then a second silhouette appeared beside it.
Two Watchers.
Daniela's breath hitched. "Emi… there are TWO now."
A voice echoed from the dark.
"Faltan veinticuatro horas…"
Twenty-four hours remain…
The hallway lights burst—
one by one—
like a countdown.
POP.
POP.
POP.
Closer and closer.
Daniela screamed. "EMI RUN—!"
They sprinted down the hall, dodging flying debris as the ceiling cracked, beams fell, and walls warped inward.
The Watchers were not walking.
They were gliding.
Fast.
Too fast.
Emi grabbed a fallen fire extinguisher and hurled it at the creature.
It passed straight through its head.
The Watcher's smile widened.
"Emi—LEFT!" Daniela shouted.
They turned a corner—and crashed into someone.
A third student.
A small boy with braces and terror in his eyes.
"Please—help me!" he cried. "Please don't leave me—"
Daniela grabbed him.
"Come with us!"
But the boy's eyes widened suddenly.
His lips trembled.
"Behind you…"
Emiliano turned.
A third Watcher stood directly behind them.
Three Watchers.
The Tres Vigías.
All here.
All at once.
Their eyes burned like dying moons.
Shadows dripped off their bodies.
Long fingers extended toward the three teenagers.
Daniela grabbed Emi's arm.
"Emi… this is it…"
The small boy screamed, covering his face.
The Watchers raised their blades.
And then—
BRRRAAAAAMMMMMMM
A loud alarm blasted through every hallway.
The Watchers recoiled like they'd been electrocuted.
The fire alarm.
Daniela gasped. "Who triggered it?!"
A voice echoed from nearby.
"¡POR AQUÍ!"
Someone was calling to them.
A girl's voice.
"¡RÁPIDO! COME ON!"
Emiliano turned and saw her—
A girl their age, wearing a dark hoodie and holding a silver amulet glowing faintly blue.
Her eyes fierce.
Her stance ready.
Like she wasn't afraid of the shadows at all.
"RUN IF YOU WANT TO LIVE!" she shouted.
Emiliano didn't hesitate.
He grabbed Daniela's hand.
"Dani—GO!"
They sprinted toward the girl as all three Watchers screeched behind them.
Her amulet glowed brighter—
And the Watchers stopped.
Frozen.
Just for a second.
But long enough.
The girl grabbed them both and pulled them into an emergency stairwell.
She slammed the metal door shut.
Then she turned to them, breathing hard.
"Listen carefully," she said.
Her eyes were full of fire and fury.
"My name is Ixchel," she whispered. "And I know how to kill them."