bChapter /bb198 /b

Aurora’s P.O.V

I wake up with a sharp gasp, my body jolting upright as the sting in my arm hits me like a freight train. My eyes snap open, but the world around me is spinning, and I can barely make sense of it. My heart races in my chest, and the first thing I notice is the restraint on my arm–my own doing. The ropes are tight around my wrist, tying me to the bed. It worked. I wasn’t sleepwalking. But how the hell did I end up on the floor?

I groan, shifting my weight, feeling the intense ache in my arms from sleeping at such a strange angle. Every muscle screams in protest as I push myself up, the roughness of the floor against bmy /bskin grounding me back into reality. I nce around the room, the faint light from the early morning creeping in through the window. Nothing looks out of ceb, /bbut something feels… boff/bb. /b

I shake my head, trying to clear the fog of the dream that still lingers in the back of my mind. I close my eyes for a second, and then it floods back to me. My mother’s screams. “Run, Aurora! Run!” Her voice echoes, frantic and desperate, like she was right next to me, calling me to safety. I bite my lip, the memory making my chest tighten.

What the hell does it mean? My mother… I haven’t thought about her in years. And yet, here she is, screaming at me, warning me. Was it just a dream? Or was there something more to it? My hands tremble as I pull myself up fully, my fingers brushing the ropes on my arm. No, I can’t shake the feeling that there’s something important about this. I look around the room again, trying to piece things together, but nothing makes sense.

I wish I could just forget it, dismiss it as some random nightmare. But deep down, I know that isn’t it. There’s something more, something that keeps nagging at the edges of my thoughts. I just don’t

know what it is yet.

I stand still for a moment, unable to shake the feeling of suffocation that clung to me like a thick fog. The walls of my room felt too close, and the quiet of the night was unsettling. It was as though the darkness itself was pressing down on me, making every breath harder to take.

I couldn’t take it anymore. I had to get out of there, away from the oppressive silence. I quietly slipped out of my room; out into the silent hallways decorated for the uing party, and made my way to the cafeteria.

The cafeteria was always a safe ce for me, filled with the familiar murmur of voices, the clinking of dishes, and the hum of the refrigerator. It felt like a haven in the middle of the night, where the patrol guards came and wentb, /bsome ending their shifts while others were just beginning theirs.

I grabbed a ss of milk, hoping the simple drink would settle my nerves. The cold liquid slid down my throat, but the unease didn’t go away. I wasn’t sure what I was hoping for, but it wasn’t peace.

b1/3 /b

Chapter b198 /b

As I turned to leave, I bumped into someone.

I looked up and saw Harmon

standing in front of me, her eyes wide, as though she bhadn’t /bbexpected /b

anyone else to be there either.

“Sorry,” I muttered, trying to sidestep her and avoid conversation. Thest thing I wanted was to exin to a stranger why I couldn’t sleep.

But Harmona wasn’t backing down. She stepped into my path, her voice low but steady. “Waitb, /bbare /byou okay? You look… shaken.”

I hesitated, the words caught in my throat. She was right–I felt like a mess, but I didn’t bwant /bto exin myself to someone I barely knew. I just wanted to get away, get back to my own bhead /bwhere I didn’t have to face anyone.

“It’s nothing,” I said, forcing a smile that probably looked more like a grimace. “I had a nightmareb./bb” /b

She frowned, her eyes narrowing as if she saw right through me. “Nightmares can mean more than what we think,” she said softly.

“Sometimes they’re signs, or there’s something deeper going on. I know you might not want to talk about it, but if you do… I could help. It might ease your mind a bit.”

I wasn’t sure why, but her words struck something in me. Maybe it was the way she didn’t seem to judge, or the sincerity in her voice. Still, I wasn’t ready to open up, especially not to her.

“I don’t think it’s that deep,” I said, shrugging, but I could feel her gaze on me, persistent, waiting for me to say something more.

Her voice softened again, as if she knew exactly what I needed to hear. “You don’t have to tell me everything, Aurora but sometimes sharing a little can make a huge difference. It’s your call, though. I’m not going to push.”

I stared at her, caught between wanting to pull away and the strange urge to just tell her everything, to let go of the knot in my chest. But I couldn’t–there was too much I wasn’t ready to face.

I could still hear her voice, sharp, frantic, calling for me to run. It echoes in my mind, even now, but I can’t remember what exactly I was supposed to be running from. The fear in her voice, the urgency -it makes me shiver every time I think about it. She was goneb, /bdead for six years, but that screamb, /bit felt so real. And I’m left with nothing but a nk space where the memory should be.

The stranger in front of me was watching me closely, her eyes filled with something–curiosity, maybeb, /bor concern. I didn’t know her, didn’t even understand why I was still standing here in front bof /bher, but something about her made me want to trust her, even if just for a moment. It bwas /bbimpulsive/bb, /bbut the words came spilling out before bI /bcould stop them.

b2/3 /b

“bI /bdreamed of my mother just now,” I said, my voice barely above a whisper, like I was bafraid /bit would disappear if I said it too loud. “She… she screamed at me to run. But I don’t know bwhy/b, bor /bbwho /bbI /bwas bsupposed /bto be running from. She’s been dead for six years, and it…it just doesn’t bmake /bbsense/b…

Her expression didn’t change, but there was a flicker in her eyes, like she was bprocessing /bbeverything /bi said, weighing it against something. It was then, just as I thought I might say moreb, /bthat bthe /bsudden sound of ss shattering cut through the air. The sharp crack was so bunexpected /bbthat /bbI /bjumped, heart racing, and spun around.

Caleb.

He was standing there, frozen in the doorway, a look ofplete shock stered on his bface/bb. /bbThe /bss had fallen from his hand, shattered at his feet. His eyes darted between me and bHarmona/b.

bChapter /bbComments /b

5