Jayden was sitting in his usual place. No one had bothered him after his classmate tried to make fun of him and saw that this Jayden was really different from the one they teased. Jayden gave him a stern glance.
"If I am a lunatic, you should be careful. I might bite that soft flesh of yours." He said coldly. He had enough of this nonsense. He wouldn't tolerate it anymore. This was so unlike Jayden that Jacob gaped him like he was some sort of alien. This just made his suspicion about him being possessed, increase. He couldn't say anything in front of William.
"That was cool!" he exclaimed. He was half impressed and half-frightened by this new attitude. Jayden smiled and started piling his stationery for their class test. He was sure that no one would dare to annoy him anymore. But his happiness didn't last longer. He felt someone's presence on his right side. There was wall on his right side and no one was standing there. But it was his sixth sense that alerted him. He wanted to ask 'who are you?' but if he did, the kids will start annoying him once again. He did the only thing he thought was appropriate. He started ignoring the presence.
After sometime, he turned around and caught a glimpse of something, so he turned to his right and saw a man with black, curly hair, black eyes, brown skin, pointed nose, square face and heavy jaws standing there. He was wearing a yellow t-shirt and black pant. He was a serious man, and he had a permanent scowl on his face. There were several scars on his face and arms(that were visible).
For a fraction of second, he thought that this man was a human. But on careful observation, he concluded that he was the only one who could see him as none of his classmates acknowledged its existence. He started ignoring its existence once again. He started completing his work and soon be was submerged in it.
"Jayden!" He heard a whisper. He naturally looked towards Jacob who was sitting right next to him.But he was not the one who called him. The voice called him once again. This time he turned towards the right side and saw the same woman, who had hurted him yesterday, standing beside the man with permanent scowl.
Jayden was frightened. He couldn't hide his fear. He was frozen on the spot.
"Jayden!" Someone placed a hand on his shoulder and he jumped.
"Woah! Calm down! I just wanted to say that it is lunch time." Jacob said and Jayden stood up.
"Ok! Let's go." He said and glanced at the spot where two strangers were standing. There was no one now. Was his brain playing tricks with him? Was he so scared that he started seeing things that scared him most?
**********
Jacob was observing his friend closely. He did notice that his body was present but his mind was not. He had to ask everything twice or thrice before he would answer the question. William wanted to meet his brother so he went and Jacob didn't miss this golden opportunity.
"Now tell me! What is wrong with you?" He asked in a commanding voice.
"What's wrong with me?" He asked.
"Don't do this! Don't you remember your dream? You said that I was not replying to your questions. That it was like I was unable to hear you! What if that was a warning? Maybe if you confide in me, things will start going uphill! Don't do this, Jay! Please don't!" He pleaded. Jayden didn't reply. He started playing with his fork instead of answering. He was trying to make a decision. Jacob was sitting quietly. He was eager to know the answer, but he gave his friend enough time to think and make a decision. He was not willing to force him.
After a long silence, Jayden shrugged.
"I am not hiding anything!" He whispered. He was not sure why he wanted to hide this information, but he was not going to tell a word.
'No! It was actually silly of me to share everything with these two. I know they love me and care for me. But this is different. I. am the one who is suffering. I will not tell them anything.' He thought. ' I am strong enough to fight these things.'
Jacob looked miserable. He knew that Jayden was hiding many things. But he didn't want to force him.
Jayden was acting pretty normal. His eyes were focused and he wanted to make sure that he has as many happy memories as he could make. He would still wonder about the spirit boy's warning and he had a feeling that he would soon leave them.
He felt the presence of something evil at all times. He was scared. But he was not going to tell anyone. Part of him wanted to show these spirits that he is not scared of them and he doesn't freaking care about them. This part of him stopped him from telling others. The presence of something evil would get stronger when he was alone or was a couple of feet away from his family or friends. But he did what he thought was best. He ignored their presence.
At home, he did receive a note of someone who wanted him to visit the graveyard. But two things kept him away from doing so. First- the memory of previous visit was fresh and second- Braylan had made some magnetic connection with him. He won't leave him alone even for 5 seconds.
Braylan's presence made him think something too. When he and Braylan were alone, he could feel evil and wicked vibes a lot more. This feeling unnerved him as the only conclusion he could draw was not a good one. It meant that even Braylan is in danger. He cursed himself inwardly. He also noticed that Braylan was very pale and jumpy He was not cheerful like usual.
"Braylan! Are you alright?" He finally asked him, being unable to see him like this. He loved his brother since the day he came into this world. He was always his best friend.
"Yeah, mild headache." he replied.
Well, Jayden wasn't the only one who had secrets.
******
Braylan had to leave Jayden's side at night. But he did that reluctantly. Finally, he got some and he forwarded the image of the necklace asking Jacob if this was what they saw.
"Where did you get it from?" Jacob asked and Braylan narrated what all he witnessed, the necklace and the note, the destruction of his room and the warning.
"Oh boy! You both are in greater trouble! What the hell should we do now?" Jacob replied.
"Let's stick with the plan we made for now.
Good night!" Braylan typed, ending the conversation. He was not sleepy and didn't plan to sleep. He opened the image and started staring it. He was searching for something but he didn't know what to search. It was a waste of time for many. His brain said him that he was wasting time but he didn't give up.He zoomed the picture. It was actually a beautiful necklace and he would have appreciated its beauty of he didn't know that it was the cause of all the distress.
His efforts didn't go in vein. After who knows how long, he noticed that the amulet had two small hinges meaning it could open in two different ways. Whoever made this amulet was definitely a genius because at first glance no one could ever imagine that it had a secret compartment. Even Braylan would have never discovered it if he was not searching for something unusual.
That was not it! He also noticed that a triangle with 'S' was engraved in the front. But it was so light that anyone could have missed it in the picture. When Braylan found the necklace, he was too busy freaking out so he didn't notice it.
'Maybe we were researching in the wrong way. We should start our research with runes and symbols that are cursed or something like that.' He thought. With this, he started texting. He mentioned his discovery and then told them about his opinion and asked them if they have any other thoughts. Well they were all asleep and no one replied.
Braylan was really proud of himself for his discovery. He smiled to himself in the darkness and closed his eyes. Now that he had done something useful, he could sleep.
While he was proud, some one wasn't. He was too bright and nosy for them. It annoyed them that he was so quick in sharing everything and how he didn't leave their target for a second. Their warning had no effect on this boy and all it did was give a boost to the boy's determination.
They had two options.
1: Remove this boy from their path.
2: Change their target.
They had to take some action and it had to be quick.