THE LAST BELL

The Headmistress's secrets

The night outside Ravenswood was dark and heavy. The moon hid behind thick clouds, but its red glow still managed to pierce through. 

The silence aboveground felt uneasy, broken only by the cries of distant creatures and the echo of chaos spreading inside the school.

Rowan stood at the broken window of her office, staring at the blood moon. Her face was pale, and her hands shook as she clutched the edge of her desk. Evelyn entered the room, her steps firm but filled with fear.

“Rowan,” Evelyn said. “Tell me the truth. This is not just a sickness. I can feel it. What is really happening here?”

Rowan’s lips trembled. “You don’t understand, Evelyn. Ravenswood was never just a school. It was built on ancient ground… a burial ground. Long ago, a cult worshiped the blood moon right here. This sickness… It is not a sickness at all. It is a curse.”

Evelyn’s eyes widened. “A curse? You mean… everything we’ve seen, the dead rising, the whispers, the bites—this is not science? Is it something darker?”

“Yes,” Rowan whispered. Her voice cracked as if carrying a heavy weight. “The curse is tied to this place. The blood moon feeds it. But if the truth comes out, Ravenswood’s name, my legacy, everything will be destroyed.”

Evelyn slammed her hand on the desk. “Forget the legacy, Rowan! People are dying! If we don’t destroy the source, this will spread far beyond these walls.”

Rowan shook her head, tears falling down her cheeks. “You don’t understand. If we break it, we may all die with it.”

While they argued, Sophia was hiding in the library with her phone raised high. Her face glowed in the dim light of the livestream.

“Guys, this is insane!” Sophia whispered to her thousands of viewers. Behind her, shadows moved, and faint growls echoed. “The world has to see this. The school is full of infected people. They’re like zombies, but worse. They’re faster, smarter, and—oh my God—”

She turned the camera around as a figure limped across the hall, eyes glowing faintly in the dark.

“They look human, but they’re not! Share this! Tell everyone!”

Her comments section exploded with messages. But what Sophia didn’t know was that many of her followers were already coughing, their eyes burning with fever. The curse had reached them through the screen.

In another part of the school, Ethan pushed open the locked door of the principal’s office. Dust filled the air. He coughed and shone his flashlight around. On the desk sat a heavy book sealed with an iron clasp. He pulled it free and laid it down.

“This looks old,” he muttered.

He forced the book open, the iron breaking under his strength. Inside were drawings—pages filled with creatures with glowing eyes, fangs, and clawed hands. His hands trembled as he turned each page. Notes in old ink lined the margins, describing rituals and curses.

Then Ethan froze. One sentence caught his eye.

“The infection awakens only during the blood moon. Its power is passed through blood.”

Ethan gasped. “It’s not random. The curse wakes only now, under this moon. The bites, the scratches—they carry the power. That’s how it spreads.”

He looked toward the window. The blood moon was rising higher, burning brighter.

“We’re running out of time,” he whispered.

Down in the tunnels below Ravenswood, the air was damp and filled with the sound of dripping water. Axel stumbled forward, clutching his arm where Damian had bitten him earlier. The skin burned as if fire spread through his veins. His vision blurred, and the tunnel walls seemed to twist and move.

Chloe held onto him tightly. Her eyes were wet with tears. “Axel, stay with me. Please. Don’t give up now. We’ll find a way to save you.”

He groaned, falling to his knees. Whispers filled his head—low voices calling his name, echoing through the darkness.

“Axel… Axel…”

“ I-I can hear them,” Axel muttered, clutching his head. “Voices. They’re calling me.”

Chloe knelt beside him, wrapping her arms around his shaking body. “Ignore them! Fight it. You’re not one of them. You’re mine. Do you hear me? You’re mine!”

Her voice cracked, but she held him tighter, pressing her forehead to his.

For a moment, Axel’s eyes softened as he looked at her. “Chloe… don’t cry. If I lose myself… promise me you’ll run.”

“No!” Chloe shouted. “Don’t you dare say that. I’m not leaving you. I love you, Axel. I always have.”

Her words struck him like lightning. His chest ached, but not from the bite. “You… love me?”

“Yes,” she whispered. “And I’m not letting you go.”

But before he could answer, something stirred in the darkness. Bones rattled. The walls seemed to shake. Out of the shadows, skeletons began to crawl from the dirt, their hollow eyes glowing faintly.

Chloe screamed, pulling Axel back. “We have to run!”

But Axel didn’t move. His vision cleared, and he stared at the skeletons. They were not attacking. Instead, they bent their knees, lowering their heads before him.

Chloe froze. “What… what is happening?”

Axel’s hand shook as he reached out. The whispers in his head grew louder, almost deafening now. But they no longer felt painful. They felt welcomed.

“They’re… kneeling,” Axel said in shock. “Not to attack… but to obey.”

The skeletons bowed deeper, their bones clattering against the floor.

“Chloe,” Axel whispered, his eyes wide. “What if… I’m becoming one of them?”

Her heart raced, fear and love battling inside her. She grabbed his hand tighter. “No. You’re not like them. You’re Axel. You’re mine.”

But as she said the words, Axel’s eyes flickered with the same faint glow she had seen in the creatures. His breathing grew heavy, and the ground shook harder.

Aboveground, Rowan and Evelyn argued louder.

“You lied to everyone!” Evelyn shouted. “You used the school as a cover, and now the world is paying the price.”

Rowan’s voice was sharp. “I did what I had to do! If people knew the truth, this curse would never have stayed buried. Do you think I wanted this? Do you think I wanted to carry this secret?”

Evelyn glared at her. “Secrets don’t stay buried forever, Rowan. Not with blood on the ground.”

Rowan turned away, hiding her tears.

At the same time, Sophia screamed as creatures stormed the library. She dropped her phone, the livestream still running as claws reached for her.

Ethan slammed the book shut, his heart pounding. “The blood moon… It’s only the beginning. What happens when it’s at its peak?”

And deep below, Axel rose to his feet, surrounded by skeletons kneeling in silence. Chloe trembled, still clinging to him, but something in his eyes had changed.

He looked at her, his voice low and strange. “Chloe… What if this curse didn’t just infect me? What if it chose me?”

Her breath caught. She shook her head in disbelief. “No… that can’t be true. You’re not one of them. You can’t be…”

But his glowing eyes said otherwise.

The whispers in the dark grew louder, echoing off the walls, until only one question filled Chloe’s mind.

Was Axel still hers—or had he already become the leader of the dead?