Chapter 18: "Welcome to the Circus of Sorrows,"───── ❝ R U B Y F R I D A Y ' S P O V ❞ ────║ Gregorian Calendar ║ 01 - 08 - 2027 ║║ Friday║ 2nd Midnight ║"Still not getting used to this, Fridays?" As I walked through the assembly halls once again, Serene asked me those queries like a normal kick starter yet I'm deadly sure inside her, she already knew the answer to those. She asked as if this were all perfectly normal. As if we were not dancing on the strings of puppeteers who cared nothing for our well-being.As she walk together by me, side by side she playfully nudged me with her elbows while wearing a grin on her face — which probably pertains to the harsh truth that I am still not getting used to the wicked games that their institution has been forcing me to play with. That's not entirely a lie though. She's right, she's always been right about this — I would never get used to the wicked games their school forced me to play, the lies they wove around me, binding me ever tigh
Chapter 19: "Jaws of Hell,"───── ❝ R U B Y F R I D A Y ' S P O V ❞ ────║ Gregorian Calendar ║ 01 - 08 - 2027 ║║ Friday║ 2nd Midnight ║The old circus tent loomed before me, its faded crimson and violet fabric fluttering eerily in the chill night air. It seemed to close in around me, suffocating and claustrophobic. An icy grip of dread and doom seized my heart as I thought of what horrors this place might contain. The shadows seemed to dance and whisper at the edges of my vision, mocking and jeering. "Fuck, Ruby. You better knew where this one will end," I was infinitely cursing myself under my breath as I take in the dread with my eyes closed. I knew I shouldn't go in, that this was a terrible idea. But my curiosity was piqued, and I had come this far. Grazing my eyes even more trying to shake the anxiety creeping up on me, I saw under the dim nights that the surroundings of the tent was a perfect chaos — where broken chairs and debris were strewn about, like it was remnants of s
Chapter 20: "Deceptive Truth," ───── ❝ R U B Y F R I D A Y ' S P O V ❞ ──── ║ Gregorian Calendar ║ 01 - 08 - 2027 ║ ║ Friday║ 2nd Midnight ║ The sinister atmosphere in the room seems to grow longer and darker with each passing minute. Hushed whispers and muffled giggles fill the air, as my nervous glances and the flickering glances of lights I am perceiving gave me an exchanged of fear around the table. Yet, no matter what I do, I knew deep inside me a raised awareness of the fact that I had willingly walked into this situation where my deepest secrets could be pried from me, my darkest desires manipulated. So, this was all on me. Again. A wrong turn for me, again. These just means that I had walk through a scene where there would be no escape for me once the game began, and no way to refuse a truth or dare handed down from on high land. With these thoughts wildly creeping up on my veins, the room feels like a trap now, one I am unsure I will be able to escape from with my so
Chapter 21: "Graywood's Gone,"───── ❝ R U B Y F R I D A Y ' S P O V ❞ ────║ Gregorian Calendar ║ 01 - 08 - 2027 ║║ Friday║ 2nd Midnight ║Staring at the card laying in front of my perception — where a question yearning for my truthful words is, I can't help but to feel that the words it inject on me seemed to glow in the darkness, as if mocking me and leaving me with fear and tense, and as if taunting me with its demand for the hidden truth.I sat in silence, knowing any words I chose would be twisted and used against me. The cold shadows in the corners of the room grew, crawling slowly towards me, making my whole body tremble with mixed emotions. In my peripheral view, I could sense the card dealer's dark presence watching, waiting eagerly to see what I would say. For some damn minutes, I just sat there immobilized, staring at the question, and the scarlet ink on the parchment shimmering in an unearthly light. The words on it seemed to squirm before my eyes, the letters twisting i
Chapter 22: "Dirty Suspicions,"───── ❝ R U B Y F R I D A Y ' S P O V ❞ ────║ Gregorian Calendar ║ 01 - 11 - 2027 ║║ Monday║ Class Day ║The whispers began as soon as I walked through the school grounds. Eyes followed me down the corridors, people stopping mid-conversation to stare. I tried to ignore them, focus on the mundane tasks of getting to class on time, but the sinister glances and hushed voices filled the air like a miasma. In between their murmurs I could clearly hear their own versions of the twisted situation on the carousel scene last night. After the last night's sinister truth or dare game, when I found Lilian's body on the carousel, everything had changed.That certain midnight events were shrouded in a darkness I could still feel gripping at my soul. I saw the looks the others exchanged, heard the edge in their false innocence. We had all crossed a line together into a place where nothing would ever be the same again. The carousel sat silent and still, its painte
Chapter 23: "A Gift Beyond Enigma,"───── ❝ R U B Y F R I D A Y ' S P O V ❞ ────║ Gregorian Calendar ║ 01 - 13 - 2027 ║║ Wednesday║ Class Day ║The dusty chalkboard in the dimly lit classroom seemed to glow eerily in the moonlight. As the moon rose higher, casting its pale glow upon the scene before me, the faces of the words I was perceiving began to take on a strange, sinister glow of their own.The clock struck midnight, but the classroom was still abuzz in dead silence with activity. The dim candlelight cast eerie shadows on the walls as I feverishly scratched out symbols and jotted down notes. Our weird professor paced between the rows, peering over students' shoulders and muttering under his breath. He watched over us like a malevolent crow, urging us to go further down this dark path of forbidden knowledge.While strangely enough, as if without minding anything in their surroundings — the rest of my classmates sat silently, poring over their own coded puzzles. The flickering
Chapter 24: "Abscond,"───── ❝ R U B Y F R I D A Y ' S P O V ❞ ────║ Gregorian Calendar ║ 01 - 13 - 2027 ║║ Wednesday║ Class Day ║"Finally that fucking class ended. I can get into the warmth of my bed now..." Cursing like it's something to calm me off, I sauntered as the eerie glow of the fluorescent lights cast shadows across the empty hallway. I stepped out of the classroom, my mind swirling with ciphers and codes, riddles and puzzles. A feeling of unease crept over me as I walked through the deserted corridors, the silence broken only by my footsteps echoing off the walls.The night air felt cold against my skin as I stepped outside the school building, trying to calm my nerves. All was quiet except for the distant hoot of an owl somewhere in the trees that lined the courtyard. The halls I walked every day now seemed sinister and foreboding in the dim moonlight filtering through the windows.As my feet echoed against the tiled floor, I wondered what secrets these hallways held a
Chapter 25: "Taste,"Warning: R+18───── ❝ K I L L I A N W I L D E' S P O V ❞ ────║ Gregorian Calendar ║ 01 - 13 - 2027 ║║ Wednesday║ Class Day ║"Mind if you light me up, too?"I asked as I approached Ruby on the rooftop. The sun had set hours ago, leaving only the pale glow of the half moon and a few scattered streetlights below. It's past midnight already and the dark forest lay beneath us, a sea of blackness under the pale moonlight. Ruby turned to face me, in surprise as her newly-lit cigarette was still sitting between her fingers. And although her features were barely visible in the darkness, I see her lips curling into a sly smile as she took in my figure."I didn't know you smoke," She replied, her voice smooth as velvet in the darkness. I approached her, as she eyed me curiously, the night air felt heavy with anticipation. She sat at the edge of the rooftop, silhouetted against the inky sky as she exhaled a plume of smoke. I shrugged and walked closer holding out my hand