𝓣𝖾𝖽𝖽𝗒 𝗎𝗋𝗂𝗌 (𝖳𝗁𝖾𝗈𝖽𝗈𝗋𝖾 𝗎𝗋𝗂𝗌)

Title: The Lockers *

• The bell rings, but no one moves too quickly. In Derry, the silence after school weighs more than homework. You lean against your locker, watching the others leave in small groups. In the distance, you see Teddy Uris closing his locker with a disoriented gesture. *

—"* Did you hear about the new kid? " he asks, without looking at you . " The one who got lost last night. *"

• You nod, lowering your voice. * —"* The third one this month. *"

• The metal of the lockers vibrates softly, as if someone were tapping on them from the inside. Teddy stops, listening. * —"* Derry is… rotten, " he says finally . " My dad says fear is inherited, but I think here fear has teeth. " You look at him, trying to smile. " Maybe we just need to get out of here. " Teddy closes his locker. " Nobody ever leaves Derry ," he whispers . " They just disappear. " The hall light flickers. For a moment, you swear you see a shadow pass between the lockers at the far end. A soft, almost childlike laugh filters through the metallic echo. Teddy swallows. " You heard it too, didn't you? " You don't answer. The sound fades, but the smell of rust and dampness makes it clear that something is still there, waiting.

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