Blood, tears,
and freshman year.

Move-in brought Onyx, Seb, Milo, Julian, and Sascha into one another’s lives. Julian set up his camera among the arrivals. Onyx wanted independence. Seb wanted to belong, although a joke was easier than admitting it. Milo offered friendship with enough enthusiasm to sometimes make things worse. Sascha moved between new connections and responsibilities beyond campus.

Morrow became their center: awkward introductions, attractions, misunderstandings, and attempts to repair them. Food left for a friend, messages sent after an argument, a quieter meeting over coffee. It was freshman year.

At the Old Woods, the freshmen were told to introduce themselves using false names they would recognize if called back. As they left, they heard horses beyond the visible trail. They saw no riders.

Later, Laurel heard her borrowed name, then her own. She answered the first, ignored the second, and stayed out of the trees. Her warning was plain: do not answer if the Woods call; do not go looking for someone whose name you hear.

Julian printed photographs for Laurel and Dorian. Only Laurel’s developed branching black stains. Investigation offered glimpses of a black dog, an ash tree, and an opening that should not have been there. The students were collecting evidence before they knew what it meant.

Julian’s questions led him home, toward Kyle Everett Bennett and a broken camera that belonged to his grief. A black dog watched his empty passenger seat. The camera flashed. A familiar voice called him Jules. Returning to campus, Julian found that his phone said Saturday when he expected Thursday.

Later, with Onyx helping him prepare a magical working, Kyle appeared. He recognized Julian. His hands were cold. He had no heartbeat.

Kyle’s 2022 obituary and school memorial still existed outside Ashewood. Inside the university, he had a complete freshman record: admission, housing, meal plan, paid deposit, and a place in Julian’s room dating back to move-in. Dorian denied checking him in. Kyle disputed his recorded graduation year. Neither the coherent paperwork nor Kyle himself could explain his return.

The first excursion involving all five began with a missing corgi, Josie. Following her trail brought them to a river that appeared between them and campus. River Dave distinguished the corgi from the black dog—and both from a door pretending to be a forest.

He remarked on six shadows for five people. Onyx’s reflection moved independently. Visions suggested copies, crossings, and altered details, without proving anyone had been replaced.

Julian asked how to close the connection. Dave said the forest had not asked for their names: something else had heard. His directions pointed toward a house that still thought it had horses, a book with more guests than pages, and a first name that owned the hinge. Sascha recognized the Carriage House.

The group followed instructions about looking, answering, and counting. Everyone returned to Morrow with Josie. The little dog was safely delivered home. Among the uncertainties, they had done one uncomplicated good thing.

Back in Morrow’s parlor, supernatural questions became personal. Seb spoke about his family. Visions and speculation offered possibilities, including Julian’s changeling hypothesis. They did not provide proof.

Attempts to help crossed boundaries. Investigating a friend could mean entering memories they had never offered. Onyx left upset. Seb wanted space. Julian and Milo found new reasons for distrust. Apologies followed, but friendship now carried harder questions: what does concern entitle you to do, and how do you protect someone who has asked you to stop?

Sascha’s visions have added their own pressure. Seeing something does not make its meaning certain, or make another person’s secrets yours to share.

At the Historical Society, Seb and Joonie found conflicting Carriage House inventories: four guest registers in an old record, three in later accounts. Renovation materials included an iron hinge and references to a door and frame retained on site. Nick Ward and Raleigh Hale appeared as people who might know more. The evidence gave them questions, not a solution.

Onyx found a photograph centered on her pillow: herself on move-in day, an impossible frost-mark, and the message “You’re not the only one.” Her investigation showed a young man studying more photographs of her at Second Story. His reflection seemed to look back. Julian agreed to watch through her eyes while she followed the lead.

Meanwhile, ordinary life continues. There is a duckling to care for, work to do, and affection to navigate. Homecoming candidates are campaigning. The five freshmen owe Professor Abernathy a float proposal. Onyx and Seb have unfinished feelings and disagreements; Sascha and Phoenix are finding room for something gentler. Nobody has stopped needing friends just because the town has become frightening.

Now you’re arriving. Set down your bags. There is room for another story at Morrow.