? |DREAMS TO REALITY| ? [SCHOOLBUSGRAVEYARD X READER]

CHAPTER 15 - Phantom Whisperer

"Ah, I get it. So you're used to being told what to do in situations like this."

"Well, not a situation like this—"

"Then do you also know self-defense?"

"I’ve taken a few kickboxing classes."

Ben finished bandaging Ashlyn’s arm and closed the medical kit.

"Thanks, Ben. You're pretty good at this." Ashlyn smiled as she tested her arm’s mobility.

"Lol, yeah, he’s used to patching me up."

"...From?"

"Mm, various things? Skateboard tricks, rock climbing, hiking, jumping off tall places, stuff like that?" Aiden explained, and Ben couldn’t help but beam at the compliment.

As the two chatted, Y/N drifted back into her thoughts, struggling to shake the lingering remnants of her dream. Just then, Aiden's voice broke through her reverie again.

"What about you?" he asked, his gaze shifting back to her, that same weirdly happy smile on his face.

Noticing his attention, Y/N tilted her head slightly. "What about me?"

"Aren't you going to explain about earlier?"

Confusion washed over her. "Hmm?"

"That thing you did earlier. I've been meaning to talk about it ever since we came."

Y/N felt a flicker of realization. "The move I did on the creature?"

Aiden nodded enthusiastically.

"Okay, what about it?"

"It's pretty crazy how you dealt with that monster head without a second thought. Though it was also cool that I got to see some action."

"What—"

"How did you do it? Did you study the art of Kung Fu or something?"

"No, I learned from my dad. We used to train together. For my safety, he taught me self-defense in case I ever needed it, and it just so happened to come in handy at that crucial moment." She explained, her voice steady.

"If you don’t mind me asking, what exactly did your dad do back then?" Ashlyn interjected, curiosity evident in her tone.

Y/N paused for a moment, lost in thought, before continuing. "My dad did military training, and then he wanted to teach me. I found it fun back then, but like I said, I only use it when necessary."

"Wow! Just like Ashlyn. Cool! You mind teaching me?"

"No," Y/N said, her expression neutral.

Ashlyn scanned the room and stood up, walking over to where several metal bars were stacked haphazardly.

"How many of these do we have?" she asked, crouching down to get a better look.

"Uh, eight including the ones we're taking off right now," Tyler responded.

Ashlyn was deep in thought, contemplating how to use them when Tyler broke the silence. "It's been quiet for a while..." He sounded uncertain. "D-Do you think the monsters are gone?"

But Ashlyn's instincts told her otherwise. She strained to listen, noting the faint rustling outside. "They're... still outside the door," she announced. "I can hear them, but... not in a normal way."

"What do you mean?" Logan asked, his voice tight with nerves.

"...Remember how I said I had sensitive ears?"

"Ooh, that's right! So you can hear them moving outside or something?" Aiden's curiosity piqued.

"Sort of. They make a certain... sound I don’t think you guys can hear."

"So, you're like a cat whisperer, but can just hear those creatures?" Y/N asked, trying to grasp her abilities.

"No... Not—Well, yes, but—"

"Can you get to the point?" Tyler interrupted, annoyance creeping into his tone.

'I'm trying, you jerk. This isn’t easy to explain.' Ashlyn thought, frustration bubbling under the surface. "The thing is, because of how loud everything is for me, I hear... phantom noises as a side effect. Sounds that aren’t really there. In the Sorrel Weed House, I thought I was hearing phantom noise, and when I saw the monster... I believed it was just a type of hallucination." She paused, her gaze distant. "But then it grabbed me."

Normally, Y/N would have found that hard to believe if she hadn’t seen the phantom grab Ashlyn and witnessed the terrifying shadow that loomed in the Sorrel Weed House. Yet, seeing Ashlyn's injury and knowing what they all experienced, she realized that what they were encountering was indeed real.

Tyler scoffed, "A hallucination that grabbed you, injured you, and that all of us saw? And you thought it wasn’t real?"

"Well, you thought it was a prank and—" Ashlyn started to defend herself but then stopped. "No, never mind. It doesn’t matter right now." She clenched the object in her hand tightly, ready to smack him, but restrained herself.

"What I'm getting at is that I can hear and locate them when you guys can’t." Ashlyn finished, her voice steady but carrying the weight of their dire situation.

The tension in the room thickened as everyone absorbed her words, a newfound sense of urgency hanging in the air.