Some time went by, and Y/N was quietly waiting for the others to return and inform her of the situation with the phantom. After more time passed, she felt a sudden lightness on her shoulder. Turning to her side, she saw the brunette boy resting on her, slowly awakening from his slumber and looking drowsy. In a daze-like state, he raised his head and noticed a faint scent and the soft, warm feeling of body heat nearby. Turning his head to the side, he finally noticed Y/N looking at him.

"Awake so soon?" Y/N honestly hadn't expected him to wake up so soon, with his injury and all, she had guessed he would have more time to recover. But he seemed to be quick with his stamina.

It took him a few seconds to realize his position. His cheeks became a tinge of red. Quickly sitting up, he redirected his gaze to ease his embarrassed state.

"A-ah, sorry," he apologized.

"You don't have to apologize, it's completely understandable."

Nervously, he returned his gaze. Seeing him confused made her wonder if he was all right.

"Umm, do you know what happened?"

"Well... When Ben was treating your wounds, you fell asleep on my shoulder."

Logan understood and gave a small nod, yet he still couldn't control the rising blush on his cheeks. As he looked around, he realized the others weren't with them.

"Um... Where are the others?" he asked curiously while reaching out for his glasses.

"Disgusting is more like it."

Her gaze turned to the side slightly at the sound of the voice. Returning her gaze, she replied, "They're checking out the phantom. I'm not sure exactly what they are doing, but my best guess is that they're seeing if they can find anything useful about it." Noticing that he wanted to stand up, she got up. "Let me help." Lifting him slowly, they both went to check with the group.

The two individuals started to get up towards the group. Without even realizing it, she was holding Logan's hand. It was an instinctive move because he looked weak and had just woken from a nap, so she thought having a bit more support would be helpful. Despite his shock and embarrassment at this newfound physical contact, he blushed yet stayed silent so as not to make it awkward. He also felt a lack of courage to pull away since she didn't seem to realize her own actions. However, despite this, he found her grasp to be safe as her hand felt warm and comforting.

Even so, he couldn't help but feel his waist still in pain. Sensing something, the girl turned her gaze and saw she was holding his hand. Seeing his expression, she could tell he must be embarrassed. Feeling his grip tighten slightly, she knew something was bothering him. She then suddenly released her grip on his hand. Logan was surprised, turning his head they both made eye contact as she could see his confusion evident. Unexpectedly, instead of holding his hand, she got a good grip on his arm.

Logan then realized that she must have sensed the gravity of the situation, and showing his appreciation he gave a small, weak smile as he held his waist with the hand she was previously holding onto. As they stood up, they saw the group from a distance. They were all gathered around the seat where the deceased phantom lay, lifeless. She questioned their purpose for standing there, noticing their expressions. She decided to investigate further by inching closer to the group along with Logan.

"What..?" Logan mumbled while putting on his glasses.

"Oh, you're up," Taylor says. "Are you feeling any better?"

"Not really-"

"What's-"

Y/N and Logan looked at the seat where the phantom was and were stunned, yet disgusted. It dripped a kind of substance from its body which melted away as multiple weird eyes appeared on its body.

"Oh... My God. That's... Disturbing," Y/N stared at it only to look away while covering her mouth as she got the chills.

"What happened to it?!" Logan exclaimed.

"Turns out if these things are exposed to light for too long, they start to wig out and turn to goop," Aiden says with a smile on his face. "Like their body starts to twist, and bubble, and spaz-"

Logan and Y/N looked pale as they were clearly disturbed, not wanting to hear anymore.

"Okay, stop," Tyler said as he finally decided to speak up. "I think he gets the picture. Now quit before you make them sick. Since he's awake now-let's talk about Savannah."



They all got to the topic and a few minutes went by before things started to go down as Ashlyn and Tyler were currently arguing.

"I'm so tired... I want my bed right now," Y/N muttered, sighing as she looked up at the two arguing with one another while the rest of the group stood there witnessing the scene.

"We can't keep hoping that things will go back to normal on their own," Tyler exclaimed.

"And we can't risk getting stuck here permanently," Ashlyn retorted.

'At some point, they'll need to put their differences aside and help each other out,' Y/N thought, looking at the two with boredom. "Honestly speaking, you both are right on each part," Y/N said, hoping this would make them come to their senses, but it only made them glare at each other."

"Um... Going back doesn't mean we have to go back to the house again, or interact with the phantom, right?" Taylor asked, not wanting to encounter more of them.

It was then clear of the group's sitting positions as they all gathered around, forming a circle to discuss their plan, ideas, and theories. Y/N was sitting between Logan and Taylor. It did, however, make the brunette boy a bit embarrassed knowing someone like her was so caring for him. He grew curious about her purpose in helping him this much. However, decided not to ask for now.

"Maybe we can search around for someone who might know something? The locals are bound to know something. We've been reading myths, lore, and watched who-knows-how-many investigations about Savannah for the past few weeks, and still haven't found anything useful."

"I'll agree to avoiding that place and only searching for local information. That way we don't have to risk anything." Tyler said firmly.

"If we don't go back to the Sorrel House, then I'm not against... going to Savannah," Logan said softly.

Ashlyn stayed quiet momentarily before looking at the tallest male in the group. "Ben, what about you?"

Ben looked at Ashlyn while holding his phone. He started typing for a few moments before showing them the message: "I'll go with whatever Aiden decides. And I guess, for Y/N too." Y/N was surprised that he wanted to know her pick in this decision.

"Hm? I don't care either way. Both options seem fun," Aiden's comment made the group look at him.

That's not helping...

"And you, Y/N?"

"Oh well, I'm down," she shrugged. 'Not like I have much of a choice...'

'There's still...' Ashlyn thought of something briefly before looking at the group once more. "I don't think this was an accident. There's the possibility that Lady did this on purpose and we could run into her again. There might even be others like her."

"So you're still against going?!" the tan boy exclaimed.

"No," She corrected, "I'll go. But only if we wait a year."

"A year?! You want to be stuck here for a year?!" He exclaimed.

"What are we to achieve by staying here for a year?" the H/C-haired girl asked, looking at the redhead with confusion about her motive.

"Calm down. There's no guarantee that even if we go back, we'll find a way out of here. Plus, none of us have a car or a license," Ashlyn's point was valid.

'Even if we did have a vehicle, how would we get to Savannah?' Y/N repeated, her hand on her chin and not long after realizing her point.

Oh yeah...

"And aside from finding a way down there, I think a year would give us time to prepare for the worst outcome."

"Worst outcome?" the brunette boy questioned.

"Even with all our precautions, we could still somehow get stuck here permanently or have another encounter with that woman. So for a year, we should train ourselves, research, and turn this place into a reliable stronghold to survive in," the redhead's expression grew serious. "It's about time we start taking this seriously."

★

The group was finally seen standing, looking at a stable, yet slightly dirty whiteboard.

"Did we really need this?" asked Tyler as the group surrounded and observed the board, which was found in a junk pile.

Ashlyn moved closer to the board. She picked up a black marker and started writing while the others watched.

"Alright, so this should be our first goal," she said.

Once she was finished, she showed the group, and the first one to speak up was Tyler.

"How are we going to do that?"

★

Ah, I just love it when the original author loves to leave things on a cliffhanger.



Bonus: That's literally at home and at school, seriously.