@Surtr IncGrand Ridge Academy
"I wonder if they ever caught the guy who pulled the fire alarm yesterday..."
The day seemed normal enough, more than yesterday had been at least. Jasmine and Grant were walking through the courtyard, having met up due to their classes having just ended, when the older of the duo was reminded of the event that had gone down not even twenty-four hours ago. Perhaps it was because they were walking through the area they'd been told to evacuate to during the alarm, but all the same it was still fresh in her mind. Several people had been missing during it: her friend Aliana didn't show up, and neither had her brother Grant. However, she assumed Aliana had simply just left the campus grounds, seeing as it wasn't really that big of a deal anyway, and texting her later that day proved that she was fine. She'd worriedly texted Grant during it however, wanting to be sure that he was safe, but he'd assured her that he was fine as well, though he wouldn't be showing up outside since he'd apparently already left before the alarm had gone off yesterday. Jasmine hadn't pushed it, but now she was thinking about it once again.
Grant on the other hand gave her a side look when she began to talk about it. He thought for a moment before making motions with his hands.
"Was it a prank?""I thought it was, maybe...I'm not sure, actually," Jasmine admitted. The moment she'd seen him begin to move his hands, she paid attention so she could understand what he was saying. She was understanding ASL more and more with each passing day, yet she still felt the need to pay close attention to what he would sign as she didn't want to accidentally miss anything.
"Well, there wasn't a fire, right?""Nope, not as far as I know. Literally why I assumed somebody just pulled the alarm in the first place. But we didn't get any lectures about it, so I don't know."
A questioning expression came over Grant's face.
"You think something happened?""A lot of stuff's been happening, Grant," Jasmine answered as she folded her arms, "Bad stuff. What happened at that camp a month ago sounded like it came straight out of a horror movie, and they're still finding bodies around town. And if it really was that Scott kid that killed everyone, he still hasn't been caught." She sighed as she shook her head. "Damn it, we never should've come here. I know the town's weird, but I don't remember it being this bad last time I was here."
Grant shook his head as well.
"So that's what you're worried about. Not the fire alarm.""Well, yeah. This is exactly what I was trying to avoid with you but now you're living in a town with a serial killer in it." She paused before looking at him, continuing, "I know you don't want to leave-"
"If I left I know you'd leave with me. You can't drop college for me again, it isn't fair and you might not get another chance at another school.""I know," Jasmine sighed once more. They'd already had this conversation before, and it had gone about the same as this one. She knew she wasn't going to be changing his mind anytime soon, and she didn't want him to feel like it was his fault if she dropped out again anyway. She'd even offered to stay and keep working her way through school if he left, so that she wouldn't sacrifice her education again, but he'd countered that idea with the fact that he wasn't going to let her stay behind in a town with a serial killer either. So for now, it seemed they were both stuck there.
Though of course, Grant had multiple reasons for wanting to stay in Farmer Hill.
"Anyway..." Jasmine decided to change the subject, "That was my last class. Are we still up to go to the cafe downtown? You told me a friend recommended it the other day."
Grant paused for a moment, wracking his brain as he tried to remember what she was talking about. Jasmine stopped walking as well to give him time to think and respond, though she didn't think what she was asking was all that complex.
"Oh, right," Grant signed once realization struck him,
"Yeah, sounds good. I just have a couple things I need to do first. School stuff. I'll meet you there in maybe an hour.""Works for me," Jasmine shrugged, "Guess I'll see you then." She waved goodbye to her brother before then splitting away from him, deciding to head to her dorm for now to relax for a minute. Grant waved back, then looked around the courtyard. His gaze settled on a nearby bench, so he made his way over and sat down as he pulled out his phone.
Right, school stuff...
Grant's breathing was shallow, but he couldn't hear it, and the only reason he could tell was because he could feel it. The world around him looked darker, almost tinted, but only within a short range of where he stood. Where he stood exactly was in front of a sink and mirror in one of the public bathrooms, the men's one on the first floor to be precise. He was splashing water on his face in some sort of blind hope that it could stop whatever was happening to him, but of course it did nothing.
Ever since the fire alarm had gone off, this had begun to happen to him. He had heard it only for a few seconds, the abrupt shrill noise scaring him as it caught him off guard. But then, there was silence. Complete and total silence. Not only could he not hear the alarm anymore, he couldn't hear anything anymore. And for whatever reason, everything near him looked...weird, for lack of a better term. He didn't understand it and he had no idea what to do. So, he panicked and threw himself into the bathrooms while everyone else made their way out of the building. People he passed by looked confused, and some would flinch once there a bit of distance between him and them, as if they were suddenly caught off guard by something.
Nearly half an hour had passed now, and this situation he found himself in didn't seem to be ending. If anything, he was beginning to actually feel fatigued. Was this..."affliction" making him feel this way? Or was it perhaps the stress of it, something more natural? He didn't know which train of thought was true, and it only made him panic further. What if he was stuck like this? But why was it even happening? Was it connected to his muteness? He just wanted this to stop!
But as his thoughts began to spiral further, it suddenly ended. His vision returned to normal, and he could hear everything clearly once again. He stood there for a minute or so, unsure of what the hell just happened, but eventually realized he needed to get out of there and recollect himself.
What he'd gone through yesterday baffled him. Strangely enough, he remembered having a rather vivid dream the night before as well, or maybe it had been a nightmare. All he knew was that it was like the other dreams he had, the ones of Farmer Hill, though again, this one had been extremely vivid and felt important.
Either way, something was happening to him and he had no idea on how to deal with it. But, he knew someone who possibly could help. And if not, she'd likely be interested in his situation regardless. So, he began to text his contact.
To: Lynette
Hey, something's come up. I went deaf yesterday for maybe half an hour, but my hearing came back perfectly fine afterward. And this might sound crazy, but I think it happened to a few other students too. My vision went weird too, but it went back to normal at the exact same time my hearing came back.
He hit send, and after thinking it over for a few moments he decided to add to it.
To: Lynette
I realize that I could just be going crazy, or that my health could be deteriating. But I get the feeling that this is Farmer Hill related, in the freaky kind of way. A lot of weird things like this have been happening more often recently, I've noticed.
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Punished GN
