The air was thick with humidity as Rossie gently slipped out of her dormitory.
The dampness of the night enveloped her like a heavy cloak, making the world outside feel both familiar and strangely haunting.
The campus of Haul Academy stretched out before her, shrouded in darkness and an unsettling calm.
An eerie quiet hung in the air, punctuated only by the distant and rhythmic crash of waves against the shoreline, a soothing yet unsettling reminder of nature's presence in this the moment...
She paced the cobblestone path toward the west wing, her heart racing. "I need answers," she thought, replaying the day's events in her mind.
Earlier in class, the Midnight Moonlight Gardener had jotted something on the board that sent a chill down her spine: "The gardener is watching." Those cryptic words echoed in her thoughts twisting like vines around her anxiety.
Who was this gardener?
Why did his presence feel inexplicably tied to her growing unease?
The more she thought about it, the more questions bubbled to the surface.
As she reached the entrance to the tangled hedge that bordered the garden, a place known for its strange beauty and whispered legends, she felt a sudden shiver run through her.
The moonlight hung high above, casting a silvery glow over the intricate patterns of shadow and light that danced upon the ground.
Flowers bloomed in hues too vivid for even the brightest day, their scents mingling in the cool night air, creating an enchanting, almost otherworldly atmosphere.
But then she saw it, and the chill coursing through her turned to ice. There lay Sophie, a junior well known for her love of plants and earth sciences, sprawled near the rusted iron gate, her once vibrant spirit now eerily still.
The soft rustling of leaves that usually comforted her transformed into an unsettling whisper, echoing her disbelief.
Sophie had always been the one to uncover the secrets of the garden, to share tales of blossoms that defied logic and roots that wove through legends.
Now, her notebooks lay scattered around her, pages fluttering like trapped birds in the breeze, revealing sketches of plants and notes about their mythical properties.
The glowing moonlight illuminated Sophie's pale face, the serenity of sleep twisted into something far more sinister. Panic surged within her as she crouched down while her heart pounded.
The air thickened with an unexplainable tensio as the garden's beauty overshadowed by a growing sense of foreboding.
As she leaned closer, trying to grasp the reality of the situation, she couldn't shake the feeling that the garden, with all its enchanting allure had turned against its very own , she assumed , Can it be true?
The branches of the hedge seemed to reach out like shadows morphing into ominous shapes, as if the whispers of the past beckoned her to uncover what lay hidden in the depths of the tangled foliage...a truth that could forever change her understanding of this mysterious place.
There lay Sophie, a junior well-known for her love of plants and earth sciences, sprawled near the rusted iron gate.
A moonflower clutched in her lifeless hand, her eyes fixed on the twinkling stars. A thin trail of blood marked where she had fallen, and her neck was twisted at an unnatural angle.
"Oh no, no, no!" Panic surged through Rossie's veins as she knelt beside her friend.
"Is the garden responsible for this?" Her hands trembled as she brushed Sophie's hair away from her face desperately hoping she might be alive, but it was clear she wasn't. "What happened?"
Frantic thoughts raced through her mind. The Midnight Gardener couldn't be just a myth. This had to mean something, maybe something darker , she thought.
The air around her thickened with the sweet scent of jasmine, but no figure emerged from the shadows, just silence and the sense of forbidding presence that pressed down on her like a weight.
As the garden's glow dimmed as if mourning for Sophie, Rossie's heart pounded in her chest.
She fled back to her dorm, each step feeling heavier as the image of Sophie's broken form burned in her mind.
The world outside felt distorted by the shock of what she had just witnessed.
Rossie stumbled through the halls, her heart racing. How could this happen?
It seemed impossible in a place that promised safety and knowledge.
•••••••• The next morning, a cacophony of chaos erupted at Haul Academy.
Rossie woke to shouting and the frantic clamor of footsteps outside her window, the usual hum of morning routines replaced by an alarming urgency.
Peering out, she saw students sprinting, teachers barking orders, and a peculiar, unnatural fog rolling across the campus.
"What's going on?" she whispered to herself, feeling a mix of dread and curiosity. The air crackled with an ominous energy, and the sweet scent of jasmine hung thick in the air.
It felt as if the garden was breathing, alive yet malevolent.
As she rushed outside, the scene was chaotic. Students clustered in groups, eyes wide in fear; some were crying while others seemed frozen in disbelief.
Books flew off shelves as if tossed by invisible hands, windows shattered violently, and the ground trembled beneath their feet.
Suddenly, a shadowy figure flickered in the mist, elusive yet distinctly threatening.
"Rossie!" a familiar voice called. It was Becky, clutching a notebook, her expression a mix of panic and confusion. "What's happening?"
"I don't know!" Rossie admitted, her heart racing. "I just saw Sophie… and now this? It all feels connected!"
Becky's eyes widened. "They're saying it's cursed! After they found Sophie, everything just… exploded!"
The words hung in the air like a pendulum, swaying back and forth between disbelief and terror. Rossie felt a mix of fear and determination. The message from the Midnight Moonlight Gardener played in her mind, "the Gardner is watching"
Ignoring the chaos around her, Rossie pushed through the crowd, her mind set.
"I need to find the gardener!" she declared, raising her voice above the din.
"He has to know something. He must be behind all of this!"
Becky grabbed her arm. "Wait! We need to find safety first. It's too dangerous out here!"
But Rossie's gaze was unwavering. The frantic energy in the air felt charged as if the very school itself was alive, and she could sense something deep within her, compelling her forward.
"I have to do this. If Sophie's death means something, I can't just stand by!"
As she stepped into the chaotic courtyard, the fog swirled thicker around her, and a heavy fog settled like a blanket. Students stumbled around, some crying, others frozen in fear. The ground shook beneath her feet, and Rossie felt an urgent pull toward the garden.
"Please! I need you!" she shouted into the mist, her voice breaking against the wind.
"Sophie's dead, people are hurt, and the school's falling apart! Help me!"
There was a tense silence as she awaited a response, but the air remained still, heavy with dread.
For a moment, she thought she saw a flicker of movement at the edge of the garden.
Was it a shadow? "I'm not afraid!" Rossie called out though her heart raced.
"Show yourself!"
Rossie shouted and screamed but she had no response from the Gardener.
Is He angry , she said to herself.