Chapter 10- The Three statues

  The morning alarm shrilled through the dorm, jolting everyone awake. Taya stirred, blinking against the light as she sat up.

  For once she felt refreshed, waking up to a new day. But the feeling didn't last, as familiar doubts crept in fast.

  What if Dorton finds me?

  What if his men were already looking for me?

  Does Polo even know where i am?

  She put her thoughts and fear aside and tried to be optimistic, for now she just had to fit in this new place. She didn't have to think about anything else and fill her mind with unnecessary worries.

  As the day moved on the girls were already ready, so Taya followed their lead.

  After the breakfast the boys and girls gathered in the courtyard, laughter filing the air as they shouted, ran and started a game.

  Taya sat on the sidelines, watching them having fun.

  She had tried to talk to a few boys earlier, but her clipped, hesitant replies had acted like a wall. They had drifted away, and she didn't blame them.

  "Hey, Taya!"

  Lucy's voice cut through her thoughts, she was doubled over, hands on her knees, gasping for air after a sprint. "Wanna play freeze tag?" she called out. "Come on, don't just sit there. It’ll be fun... I promise!"

  Before Taya could protest, Lucy rushed over, grabbing her wrist and hauling her to her feet. "You know how to play, right?"

  "I... I don't..."

  "HEY, GUYS", Lucy yelled ignoring Taya’s hesitation.

  "Taya’s playing too!" She turned back, pointing a finger. "See that boy? That’s Matt. He’s the 'Freezer' right now. Just run… don’t let him touch you!"

  And with that Lucy took off.

  Matt came charging after them, He was fast, weaving through the group and tagging his friends one by one, leaving them locked in place like garden gnomes. Taya just ran, her eyes wide, piecing together the rules as she moved.

  Stolen novel; please report.

  She had never played games like these before. When kids her age used to run, play and laugh like this, she just used to watch them in distance. She would often get upset since her grandmother had been a wall of strictness—or so Taya had thought then

  Now, she understood the truth: her grandmother hadn't been cruel; she was just terrified. She had feared the bindings on Taya’s head coming undone; she had feared losing her daughter’s only child to the darkness.

  Taya had spent her life blaming her. But today, standing in the sun, she decided not to waste this second chance.

  She moved with a newfound grace, staying just out of reach, darting in to "free" the others with a quick tap. When exhaustion finally claimed Matt, the group looked for a replacement. Suddenly, every finger in the courtyard pointed at Taya.

  Taya froze…. But then happily nodded.

  She started chasing them across the courtyard, but the boys and girls scattered quickly, darting away and forcing her to run in circles.

  However, she didn't stop, and strangely…she didn't feel tired either.

  Her breathing stayed steady and her legs didn't burn the way they should have.

  One of the boys glanced back, eyes wide.

  "What the hell…? She should be dead tired by now."

  But Taya was just getting started.

  By the time the round ended, ten "statues" stood frozen across the playground, locked in awkward, mid-stride poses.

  An unfamiliar exhilaration surged through her. This was the joy of interaction—the simple, human things she had been denied. The realization of how much it hurt to be alone only hit her now that she was finally part of something. She laughed softly, a sound that felt alien in her own throat.

  Then as she glanced at the frozen teens, for a fraction of second, her vision blurred and the world flickered.

  The warmth of the atmosphere vanished, The laughter was swallowed by a vacuum of silence. Taya suddenly found herself standing within four narrow, rotting walls. The room was dark, eerie, and suffocating. The walls were weathered and rotten, eaten away by time.

  A single, thin beam of moonlight pierced through a keyhole in the center of the wall, barely cutting the gloom.

  Yet despite the darkness, Taya was able to see everything just as fine. She turned around anxious and afraid. The place was unfamiliar to her.

  She nearly jolted when a strange sound echoed beyond the walls.

  Voices of men, distorted, and indistinct, layered over one another echoed and she wasn't able to make out the words.

  She felt frightened by the whole situation and cried out for help, yet her voices only echoed back to her.

  Hoping to find answers her curiosity tugged at her to look through the narrow keyhole.

  But when she peered through, her breath caught.

  The sight in front was chilling.

  Beyond the wall, three humanoid spirits writhed in the air, unmistakably alive and screaming in a silent agony. They moved violently, desperately, held in place by an invisible, crushing force. Directly beneath them stood three lifeless statues made of cold, ashen clay. The spirits clawed at the air, trying to escape their stone anchors.

  The spirits clawed and strained, trying to escape their respective statues.

  Horror slammed into her chest like a physical blow. Taya stumbled back and collapsed.

  She blinked again, but the next thing she saw was the sunlight and its warmth, the air filled with laughter and the feeling of green grass caressing her feet.

  She was back on the playground.

  The boys and girls were still standing in their frozen poses, exactly as they had been a second before. Taya was on the ground, her heart hammering against her ribs like a trapped bird.

  Then the voices around slowly returned.

  "Five…four…three...two...one!"

  The "statues" broke their poses and rushed toward her, faces glowing with excitement.

  "Taya, that was amazing!"

  "You’re a beast! You froze us all without giving us a chance to untag!"

  Even the boys who had ignored her earlier now looked at her with genuine awe. But Taya barely heard them. Her hands were shaking. She grabbed Lucy’s sleeve, pulling her close.

  "Lucy," she whispered urgently. "Where was I just now? How long was I gone?"

  Lucy blinked, her brow furrowing. "What are you talking about? You were right here the whole time."

  Her tone was casual, unconcerned.

  Taya’s voice sharpened.

  “Lucy, Look at me. Was I really here for the past few minutes?”

  Lucy met her gaze, this time with a bit conviction.

  "Yes. Every second."

  To Taya, it had felt like an eternity in that dark room. But to the world, she hadn't moved.

  The laughter continued.

  But Taya swallowed hard and forced herself to breathe.

  Maybe… it was only me.

  “Come on!” Lucy said brightly. “We’re going to be late for the afternoon shift!”

  The group began to disperse, returning to their daily routine.

  And Taya followed, however the image of the statues, the spirits trapped within, refused to leave her mind.