Fractured – Chapter 2: The Cracks

...----------------...

The next morning, Victoria woke to the soundof her alarm.

7:00 A.M.

She stared at the ceiling.

Another sleepless night.

Dark circles framed her eyes as she forced herself out of bed. She looked in the mirror and barely recognized the girl staring back.

"I look... horrible."

No answer.

For once, the voices were silent.

She sighed in relief.

At college, the campus buzzed with excitement.

"Did you hear? We have a new psychology professor."

"They say he's famous."

"I heard he specializes in trauma."

Victoria lowered her head and walked past them.

Trauma.

She hated that word.

It reminded her of things she wanted to forget.

During class...

Professor Adrian entered with a stack of books.

"I'm not here to judge anyone," he said. "Sometimes the strongest people are those carrying the deepest wounds."

Victoria froze.

A sharp pain shot through her head.

The classroom blurred.

A child's cry echoed in her ears.

"Mom... please help me..."

"Don't lie. Stop making up stories," a cold voice replied.

Victoria grabbed her head.

"No..."

The professor noticed.

"Victoria?"

She suddenly stood.

"I... I need some air."

She rushed out before anyone could stop her.

She locked herself inside an empty restroom.

Her breathing became fast.

Her hands shook.

"I can't..."

The mirror rippled.

A grin appeared.

"Oh, look."

"They're hurting us again."

Oni.

Victoria's expression hardened instantly.

Her tears vanished.

The restroom door opened.

Two girls entered.

"Ew... she's crying."

"She's such a freak."

One of them shoved her shoulder.

"You should just quit college."

Silence.

Then—

Oni smiled.

Slowly.

Dangerously.

She grabbed the girl's wrist.

"So..."

"You enjoy bullying people?"

The girl's face turned pale.

"O-ow! Let go!"

Oni tightened her grip.

"I could break every bone in your hand before anyone gets here."

The girl's knees trembled.

"You'd better pray Victoria never disappears completely."

Before anything worse happened—

A calm voice echoed inside.

"Enough."

Catherine.

Oni clicked her tongue and released the girl.

The two students ran away without looking back.

Victoria blinked.

She was standing alone.

"What..."

"Why are my hands shaking?"

She looked around in confusion.

"I don't remember..."

Her memories stopped the moment she entered the restroom.

Again.

That evening...

Victoria returned home.

She opened an old wooden box hidden beneath her bed.

Inside were dozens of notebooks.

Every page was filled with different handwriting.

Some words were neat.

Some messy.

Some written in red ink.

One page read:

If you're reading this, you switched again.

Another said:

You skipped lunch. Jennifer made you eat yesterday. Please don't starve yourself.

Victoria's hands trembled.

"I didn't write this..."

She turned another page.

Large letters covered the paper.

DON'T TRUST YOUR PARENTS.

Another.

WE PROTECT YOU.

Another.

SHE IS WAKING UP.

Victoria whispered,

"Who... is she?"

The room suddenly turned freezing cold.

A faint laugh echoed inside her mind.

Not Oni.

Not Jennifer.

Not Cherry.

Not Catherine.

Someone else.

Someone whose voice carried unbearable sadness.

"...Do you still remember the basement?"

Victoria's eyes widened.

"What... basement?"

A violent headache struck.

A memory flashed—

A locked wooden door.

Chains.

A little girl crying in the dark.

Then everything went black.

When Victoria opened her eyes again, she was lying on the floor.

The notebook beside her had a new sentence written in elegant handwriting.

"My name is Wellcy... and I remember everything."

***Download NovelToon to enjoy a better reading experience!***