HOSTILE OATH

Vivian Austin hated silence, not because it frightened her but because silence always came before something bad happens. She stood barefoot beside her bedroom window, staring at the rain dripping slowly down the glass. The room was dim except for the glow from her laptop screen. The city was quiet cos it was night and somewhere downstairs, her mother was still awake watching television.

Vivian should have been asleep but instead, she kept refreshing her email again and again but she saw nothing. “No admission yet?” The voice startled her. Vivian turned sharply to find her younger sister Megan leaning lazily against the doorway with a bowl of cereal in her hand.

“You walk too quietly” Vivian muttered. Megan smirked “And you panic too much”. “I’m not panicking” she disagreed. “You’ve refreshed that page like fifty times already” Megan said.

Vivian sighed dramatically and dropped onto her chair “Okay, maybe I’m slightly panicking”. “LTC is hard to get into” Megan reminded. “Thanks for the encouragement” Vivian said, sarcastic. “I’m just being realistic” Megan said. Vivian rolled her eyes. LANDA Talents College was the dream school every student wanted to enter. The school her mother had prayed over for almost a year and now all she could do was wait.

Her phone suddenly buzzed beside her. It was Kayla, her best friend. Vivian smiled instantly before answering “Tell me you got in” Kayla shouted the second the call connected. Vivian blinked “Wait… you got a mail already?” “I got in!” Kayla screamed in excitement. Vivian jerked upright “You’re lying”. “I swear on my dead goldfish. Vivian, I got in!” Kayla assured. Vivian laughed loudly “That’s not even a serious swear”. “I don’t care! We’re going to LTC!” Kayla screamed in excitement. “Hold on, hold on” Vivian quickly refreshed her email again. One new message. Her heart skipped a beat. For a second, she only stared. Then slowly, she clicked it open.

Congratulations.

Vivian screamed, she didn’t even bother to read the rest of the messages. Megan almost dropped her cereal. Kayla kept screaming through the phone. “Oh my God!” Vivian shouted “We got in!” “We actually got in!” she said again. The two girls screamed like children for almost a full minute.

Their excitement echoed through the house until Vivian’s mother stormed upstairs looking both confused and alarmed. “What is going on?” Vivian ran straight into her arms “Mom, I got in”.

Her mother froze. Then smiled, the kind Vivian hadn’t seen much lately “Oh, Vivian…” She hugged her tightly. Megan groaned dramatically “Great. Now everyone’s crying”. “I am not crying” Vivian’s mother argued immediately. “You literally are” Megan said. “Go away, Megan” Mom disagreed.They burst into laughter. For a moment, everything felt normal.

Vivian wished she had known moments like that never lasted long around her. Three weeks later. LANDA Talents College looked nothing like the pictures online.

It looked older, bigger and almost ancient. The enormous black gates stretched high and beyond them stood massive stone buildings covered in ugly silver lanterns. Students moved everywhere carrying boxes, laughing, taking pictures but something about the place unsettled Vivian instantly. She couldn’t explain why.

A strange heaviness settled quietly in her chest the moment she stepped out of the car. “Are you okay?” Kayla asked. Vivian forced a smile “Yeah”. “You sure?” Kayla asked. “Just tired from the trip” Vivian responded. Kayla narrowed her eyes suspiciously. She knew Vivian too well. The two girls had been inseparable since childhood.

Where one existed, the other followed. People used to joke that they shared one brain. Vivian wasn’t entirely sure that was a joke anymore. Kayla stretched her arms dramatically “Finally, we’ve got freedom”. “Your mom can still call you every ten minutes” Vivian reminded. “That woman would track my soul if she could” Kayla said. Vivian laughed.

Nearby, parents hugged their children goodbye while workers carried luggage into the dormitories. Vivian’s mother walked over and fixed the collar of her jacket like she always did “Call me every night” “Mom…” Vivian groaned. “Every night” her mom repeated. Vivian smiled softly “Okay”. Her mother touched her cheek gently but something dark flickered briefly across her face, more like fear but Vivian noticed. “You’ll be careful, right?” her mother asked quietly.

Vivian frowned slightly “Of course”. Her mother nodded, but she still looked uneasy. Kayla’s mom suddenly pulled both girls into a crushing hug. “I’m already emotional” she complained dramatically. “Mom, people are staring” Kayla groaned. “Let them stare” Kayla’s mom said. Vivian laughed again but the strange feeling in her chest remained. Their dormitory sat near the east wing of campus.

The hallway smelled faintly of old books and fresh paint. Students moved in and out of rooms while music blasted somewhere upstairs. Kayla dropped her bags dramatically the second they entered “I officially live here now”.

Vivian looked around slowly. The room was surprisingly nice. Two beds, tall windows, cream-colored walls, a shared desk. It was simple and comfortable but the moment Vivian stepped fully inside, cold shivers crawled suddenly down her spine. Her smile faded. For one brief second: She heard whispers that sounded very faint.

Vivian turned sharply but she saw nothing. “Vivian?” Kayla stared at her “You’re doing that thing again”. “What thing?” Vivian asked.

“The creepy zoning-out thing” Kayla said. Vivian looked away quickly “I’m fine”. Kayla walked closer “No, seriously. You’ve been weird since we got here” Vivian wanted to answer but suddenly her attention shifted toward the window. Outside, far across campus, stood a girl dressed completely in black, like she was watching her.

Vivian’s stomach tightened. The girl stood unnaturally still. Then, students passed by and she vanished. “What are you staring at?” Kayla asked. Vivian blinked “Nothing”. “You’re such a terrible liar” Kayla said, with a straight face. Vivian forced another smile. She didn’t know why, but something inside her whispered: Leave, but she ignored it because this was LTC.

Their dream college and nothing was ruining this moment. Absolutely nothing. Night arrived faster than expected. Music shook the dormitory walls. Apparently, some seniors had organized a welcome party at Jackal Hall. Kayla was already changing outfits for the third time.

“You’re overthinking this” Vivian said from her bed. “I refuse to look ugly on my first day” Kayla said. “You never look ugly” Vivian replied. “I know. But tonight I want to be legendary” Kayla said, smiling. Vivian burst out laughing. Kayla threw a pillow at her “Help me choose”. Twenty minutes later, both girls were finally ready.

Kayla wore black jeans and a silver top. Vivian wore a dark red dress that hugged her figure perfectly. “You know” Kayla said slowly “if we survive college, we’ll actually have stories to tell our children”. Vivian smirked “Bold of you to assume we survive”.

Kayla pointed dramatically “Don’t start your horror movie nonsense”. Before Vivian could respond, someone knocked. Three slow knocks. Kayla frowned “Were we expecting someone?” Vivian shook her head and walked toward the door.

The strange heaviness returned instantly. Her fingers tightened around the handle, then she opened it. She almost forgot how to breathe the moment she saw the guy standing outside looked older than most students.

He was tall, dark hair, sharp jawline and he wore an expensive watch. The kind of confidence rich boys carried naturally but it wasn’t his appearance that unsettled Vivian.

“Hey” he said smoothly “New students?” Vivian stared for a second too long. Kayla immediately noticed. “Yes” Kayla answered instead. The stranger chuckled softly. “I’m Dave Hurst, a senior student”. Vivian finally spoke “You’re here to welcome us?” “Something like that” he said.

Kayla folded her arms “How nice of LTC to send attractive people as customer service”. Dave laughed. Vivian noticed his smile didn’t fully reach his eyes. “Can I come in?” he asked. Vivian shrugged carelessly “Sure”. Dave stepped inside and the room suddenly felt colder. Vivian swallowed hard. She felt something was wrong but she couldn’t explain it.

Dave glanced around casually “Settling in, okay?” he asked. “Trying to” Vivian answered. “You’ll survive” he said. “That doesn’t sound comforting” Kayla responded. “It’s LTC” Dave replied “Nobody survives comfortably” Vivian laughed but Kayla didn’t cos it sounded more like a threat than a warning. For a moment, silence settled strangely between them, then Dave extended his hand toward Kayla. “Welcome to LANDA Talents College”.

Kayla looked at his hand briefly but didn’t take it “I’m not really a handshake person”. Dave awkwardly pulled back slightly but to save the moment, Vivian reached forward instead. “I’ll shake your hand”. The instant their skin touched— a vision hit her, darkness exploded violently behind Vivian’s eyes, she heard whispers, screams, blood and a woman crying, chains dragging across stone floors, a shadow standing inside fire. Then, a dead girl, her neck twisted unnaturally, cold eyes staring upward and Dave was standing beside the body.

Vivian gasped.

The vision changed again, she saw a castle burning beneath a black sky. “She has awakened”. Vivian screamed. The sound tore through the room, then she collapsed.

The last thing she saw before darkness consumed her completely…was fear. Not hers but Dave’s.

“Vivian!” Kayla dropped to her knees instantly. Dave stepped back so fast he nearly hit the wall. For one horrifying second, nobody moved.

Vivian laid motionless on the floor. Her dark hair spilled across the tiles while her breathing came out shallow and uneven. “Vivian, hey…hey, look at me” Kayla gently shook her shoulders. Dave swallowed hard “What the hell just happened?” Kayla ignored him.

Her pulse hammered violently in her ears as she reached for the bottle of water on the desk. She sprinkled some across Vivian’s face before lifting her head carefully. “Come on, Vivian” Kayla said. A few painful seconds passed then Vivian gasped sharply.

Her body jerked. Her eyes flew open. Kayla exhaled immediately “Jesus Christ”. Vivian looked completely disoriented., like someone waking from a nightmare she couldn’t escape.

Dave crouched carefully nearby “Are...are you okay?” he stuttered quietly. Vivian stared at him. The moment their eyes met again, cold shive