Outside the Darkside, Jet slowly opened her eyes.
For a few seconds, she couldn't understand where she was.
The ceiling above her looked familiar.
The walls looked familiar.
The bed beneath her felt real.
Too real.
Jet blinked several times, trying to focus her vision. Her body felt extremely weak. Her throat was dry, and her stomach felt completely empty. She could barely remember the last time she had eaten anything.
Then she heard a familiar voice.
"Jet?"
Her mother was sitting beside her, watching her with worried eyes. Her father stood on the other side of the bed, looking equally exhausted.
The moment they realized Jet was awake, both of them moved closer.
"She's awake," her mother whispered.
Jet slowly tried to sit up.
Her mother immediately supported her.
"Easy, sweetheart."
Jet swallowed.
Her throat hurt.
"Water…"
Her mother immediately reached for a bottle.
"Here."
Jet grabbed it with both hands and began drinking.
She finished it almost instantly.
Her mother stared at her.
"You were really thirsty."
Jet lowered the empty bottle.
"Can I get more water, Mum?"
Her voice cracked.
"Of course."
Her mother hurried downstairs to get another bottle.
Her father remained beside Jet.
For a few moments, neither of them spoke.
Then, as soon as Jet's mother disappeared from the room, her father finally broke the silence.
"Where were you, Jet?"
Jet looked at him.
Her father was trying to stay calm, but his eyes showed how worried he had been.
"Where did you go for this long and…"
He paused.
His expression changed as he looked at her exhausted face.
"And came back like this?"
Jet looked down.
"Do you know how worried we were?"
His voice became softer.
"Your mother thought something terrible had happened to you. We even called your friends—"
Jet immediately looked up.
"My friends?"
Her father stopped.
Jet stared at him.
"You called them?"
"Yes."
Her father frowned.
"Of course I did. I called them, but nobody answered."
Jet's heart suddenly began beating faster.
"None of them?"
"No."
Her father sighed.
"Your mother was about to report you missing to the police, but I thought maybe you'd gone somewhere with your friends."
Jet remained silent.
Her father's expression became more serious.
"Look, kid…"
He sat down beside her.
"Please tell us what happened."
Jet looked at him.
"Did one of your friends do this to you?"
Her eyes widened slightly.
"What?"
"Did someone hurt you?"
"No."
Jet immediately shook her head.
"No. No one did anything to me."
Her father studied her face.
"Then what happened?"
Jet didn't answer.
How could she?
How could she tell him that she had spent what felt like years inside a place that had only taken a week in the real world?
How could she explain the Darkside?
The Voice?
The Owner?
The missing students?
The memories?
The shadows?
It sounded impossible.
Even inside her own mind, she wasn't completely sure whether everything had actually happened.
Her father waited.
Jet finally took a breath.
"Um…"
She looked toward the door.
"We… went camping."
Her father raised an eyebrow.
"Camping?"
Jet nodded.
"Yeah."
"With all your friends?"
"Yes."
Her lie came out more naturally than she expected.
"We all wanted to disconnect from our phones for a while. So we switched them off."
Her father stared at her.
Jet continued.
"And when we were thinking about coming back, we…"
She paused, trying to think of something believable.
"We decided to do a walking marathon."
Her father blinked.
"A walking marathon?"
Jet nodded quickly.
"Yeah."
She gave an awkward smile.
"We thought it would be fun."
Her father stared at her for several seconds.
"And that's why you came home looking like you've been lost for weeks?"
Jet's smile disappeared.
"I'm sorry."
Her father sighed.
"You should have told us."
"I know."
"We were worried sick."
"I know."
"Your mother barely slept."
Jet lowered her head.
"I'm really sorry."
Her father remained silent for a moment.
Then he sighed again.
"Just don't disappear like that again."
Jet nodded.
"I won't."
Her mother returned with another bottle of water.
"Here."
Jet took it.
Her mother sat beside her.
"Drink slowly this time."
Jet nodded.
She took smaller sips.
Her parents continued asking questions, and Jet repeated the same story.
Camping.
Phones switched off.
Walking.
Nothing unusual.
Eventually, somehow, she managed to convince them.
But inside her mind, nothing had been settled.
If anything, she had even more questions now.
Why did only I come back?
Where are Tony, Samy, Tin, Kim and Roger?
Did they escape too?
Or are they still inside?
Jet looked toward the window.
Outside, everything looked completely normal.
People were walking.
Cars were passing.
The world had continued moving as if nothing had happened.
But Jet knew something was wrong.
She had seen too much to pretend everything was normal.
She needed to find her friends.
At least one of them had to be outside.
Tony.
Samy.
Tin.
Roger.
Kim.
She needed to know.
But there was another problem.
How was she supposed to leave the house?
She had just returned after disappearing for a week.
Her parents weren't going to let her walk out casually.
Jet looked toward the bedroom door.
She needed an excuse.
Something believable.
Something that wouldn't make her parents suspicious.
She thought for several seconds.
Nothing came to her.
Then she remembered something.
Her school.
The music room.
The Darkside.
Her expression became serious.
Maybe the answer wasn't inside the Darkside anymore.
Maybe it was waiting at the place where everything began.
The school.
Inside the Darkside, Tin continued following the Voice.
He didn't like it.
Not even slightly.
The place around them was almost completely dark.
There was barely enough light to see where they were walking.
The Voice moved ahead without hesitation.
Samy followed her.
Tin stayed beside Samy.
He kept looking around.
"Where are we going?"
The Voice didn't answer.
Tin frowned.
"Seriously."
Still nothing.
"Where are you taking us?"
The Voice finally stopped.
Samy almost walked into her.
Tin immediately became alert.
The Voice turned around.
"Somewhere you need to go."
"That doesn't answer my question."
"It wasn't supposed to."
Tin stared at her.
Samy stepped forward.
"Can you at least tell us what we're going to find?"
The Voice looked at her.
"You will find something that has been waiting for you."
Tin's expression became suspicious.
"Waiting for us?"
The Voice nodded.
"Especially you."
Samy looked confused.
"Me?"
The Voice didn't answer.
She turned and continued walking.
Tin looked at Samy.
"You trust her?"
Samy hesitated.
"No."
Tin raised an eyebrow.
"Then why are you following her?"
"Because she's the only one who knows what's happening."
Tin sighed.
"Fair enough."
They continued.
The darkness around them seemed different from the other parts of the Darkside.
There were no doors.
No classrooms.
No windows.
No strange objects.
Just darkness.
The deeper they went, the quieter it became.
Even their footsteps seemed to disappear.
Tin suddenly stopped.
"Wait."
Samy stopped too.
"What?"
Tin looked behind them.
"Did you hear that?"
Samy listened.
Nothing.
"There's nothing."
Tin frowned.
"I thought I heard footsteps."
The Voice continued walking.
"You should stop listening behind you."
Tin looked at her.
"Why?"
"Because whatever is behind you isn't necessarily something you want to meet."
Tin's expression hardened.
Samy looked at him.
"Let's keep moving."
Tin nodded.
They followed the Voice again.
After several minutes, something appeared ahead.
A faint light.
Samy noticed it first.
"What's that?"
The Voice smiled.
"You're almost there."
They approached slowly.
The light grew brighter.
Tin shielded his eyes.
Then he noticed something strange.
The light wasn't coming from a lamp.
It was coming from a doorway.
A doorway standing alone in the darkness.
No walls.
No building.
Just a door.
Samy stared at it.
"What is that?"
The Voice stepped aside.
"A way forward."
Tin looked at Samy.
Samy looked back.
Neither of them moved.
Tin finally spoke.
"Is this another memory?"
The Voice smiled.
"Maybe."
"Another trap?"
"Maybe."
Tin sighed.
"You really enjoy saying that word."
The Voice chuckled.
Samy stepped toward the door.
Tin immediately followed.
"Samy, wait."
She stopped.
He looked at her.
"Whatever is behind that door, don't go alone."
Samy smiled faintly.
"I wasn't planning to."
Tin nodded.
They stood together.
The Voice watched them silently.
Samy placed her hand on the doorknob.
She looked at Tin.
"Ready?"
Tin took a breath.
"No."
Samy smiled.
"Me neither."
Together, they opened the door.
A bright light poured through the darkness.
And somewhere far away, inside the Darkside—
something woke up.