“Hey, Chaiyn?” The Sight-Seer turned around at my entrance. “Oh. Hi, Acwulf. What’s up?” “Have you observed a person named Axar Fantasma yet?” I’d asked Professor Brooks what her last name was the day they’d freaked out the first years. He thought for a moment, autopiloting his way over to the shelf of named books. He scanned through the /A/ section and eventually pulled out a maroon covered book on the far left, second shelf. He tossed the book to me and I caught it, stepping further inside the Seer’s lair. “See if that has what you’re looking for.” I opened the book and read through the first page. Name: Axar Fantasma Commonly known as: Ax Powers: Spirivati Age: 16 Pronouns: She/they interchangeably I flipped to the next page, which held a drawing of Ax, exactly like I’d seen her in the hallways. I genuinely thought it was a photograph, then remembered that Chaiyn didn’t own a camera. “Did you draw this?” I asked in wonder. Chaiyn looked up and nodded. “Yeah,” he said in a small voice, almost sounding scared. “It’s really good. I didn’t know that you draw.” He smiled a little, pushing some hair out of his face and looking back down at his notebook. “Thanks.” I flipped through the pages a little more, but I’d gotten what I wanted from the first page. I closed the book and tossed it back to Chaiyn, who caught it without looking up. “Found what you were looking for?” he asked. I nodded. “Yep. Thanks.” He waved as I left and ran back to school. /Spirivati… what’s that?/ ~~~ We were hanging out in Naomi’s room a day or two after the scene outside the dining hall. Naomi was reading, Brazen was drawing, Harlow and Calli were talking quietly with Shadow, and I was writing something. “Do you guys know anything about Spirivatis?” I asked, jarring the quiet atmosphere. Brazen shook his head without looking up from his drawing. Calli thought for a moment, then shrugged. “Sounds… vaguely familiar? But I don’t know exactly what they are.” Shadow nodded in agreement. Naomi and Harlow exchanged glances. “I’ve read about them,” Naomi said cautiously. “I’ve met one,” Harlow mumbled. Brazen shot her a look that clearly said /When and why haven’t I known about this?/ “Their whole thing is that they can see ghosts and spirits that hang around areas,” Naomi explained. “If someone’s died in an area, they can see that. And if spirits, like, haunt places - like the spirit servants here - they can see them when no one else can.” “There was a Spirivati outside our house a few years ago,” Harlow began quietly. “They seemed really out of it. At the time I thought they were just talking to themself, but when I asked our mom she said they were talking to the spirits in the woods. I tried talking to them the next day, but all they said was ‘Someone’s coming to take you. Hide.’ I ran, naturally, and when I went back the day after they were gone.” Brazen looked up at that point. “When was this?” “Around our second year. Summer after first. You weren’t home; I think you were at some activity.” I nodded slowly, taking in this information. We returned to our former activities, but I couldn’t focus or get words onto the paper. If Spirivatis were as creepy as they seemed, what had seeing all the ghosts and spirits around done to Ax’s sanity?
Notes/Credits: Hi! Welcome to The Dark Prison - the third book in The Wolf Stories. If you haven't read The Wolf Boy or The Monster's Curse, I highly suggest you do so! This is Chapter 4, enjoy! Previous Chapter(s): Chpt 1 Pt 1: https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/750051827/ Chpt 1 Pt 2: https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/753809497/ Chpt 2: https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/758384060/ Chpt 3: https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/765725763/ Credits: Me, for being the author Shannon Messenger, JK Rowling, Eoin Colfer, Rick Riordan, and many other authors for inspo @aqua_di_angelo, @AL600AWESOME, @Lanze_cupcake_face11, and @Yayabinks for inspo and supporting the story! QOTW: What power would you most want to have in Welsburry?
