Lia stirs in her sleep. There was a buzzing sound stabbing into her ears, pulling her back into the waking world rather than the sleep she craves. She shifts a few more times under her covers, finding ways to keep the noise out, lessen it or better yet, pretend it doesn't exist, before finally giving up. That deep slumber has already left her long ago. She sat up blinking blearily into the darkened room, trying to find the source of that annoying buzz.

Naturally, her eyes landed on the only source of light and puzzlingly, it seems, the source of the buzzing sound itself- from her laptop.

'Weird... did it break while I slept?'

As someone that had trouble going to sleep, Lia had a particular sleep routine involving noise. She would place her laptop by her desk, choose a specific ambient playlist and let it loop as she tries to lull herself. It usually worked- she'd saved the ones she loved and try new ones when it didn't. This night however, it was her usual playlist on loop and her laptop screen that was supposed to be showing a background of a cozy cabin had vanished- replaced by a wall of static, flickering like a broken transmission.

She got up from her bed and made her way towards her desk. As she got closer, the buzzing got louder.

'No... it wasn't just buzzing sound. Was that... a voice?'

She froze in the middle of the room, every sense suddenly on high alert. Her eyes lock onto the laptop, still flickering with static, and her ears twitched at every subtle shift in the buzzing. After a few seconds, she shook her head, 'Damn. It must be cause of this lack of sleep...', and continued trudging towards her desk. There, she sat down and began tapping on the keyboards and swiveling the mousepad. However, none of it worked.

And then, there it was again- that change in the soundwave and Lia's ears perked up again. She held her breath, closing her eyes this time, trying to focus on nothing but the sound.

"H-h-lp."

Lia's fear and surprise caught in her throat. She reined them in, fearing that any sudden move on her part would make this phenomenon go away like a dream. Terror clashed with curiosity inside her, one screaming for her to run, the other urging her closer as she continued making out the next word. She squeezed her eyes, angling her body closer towards the buzz. She could almost make out the word... it was so familiar...

"P-lea-se..Nam-e..Gillaa..Murd-ER"

"HELP!"

Suddenly, the laptop screen flared, shining bright white light that seared her eyes even through closed lids, and the buzzing sound--no, the voice--screamed, raw and full of pain, until her eardrums felt like they might burst. Then- nothing. Silence. Darkness.

Lia had hurled herself to the ground when it all became too much. She got up to her feet and sat on the chair once more to gain her bearings. Her whole body was shaking like loose leaves. She was never one to fear the dark before, which was why she slept with no lights on. Darkness was a blanket of comfort for her, a shadow of a friend. But now as she blinked, adjusting to the dark room again, a creeping unease slid beneath her skin. All because of what she just heard.

Gillaa.

A frustrated sigh came out of her. She forms a fist and bangs her desk. The pen stand on her desk gained air for a bit before falling and spilling the utensils inside.

'That stupid woman... did she really come back from the dead just to haunt me?!"

Lia's eyes glared at her laptop screen. Her hands, still quite shaky, quickly swiveled the mousepad and this time, the laptop came alive. She made quick work and then, a folder titled 'Reapings' opened up. There, a digital paper with a list of crossed out names came up.

She stared at the list.

There it was--Gillaa Andrew. Crossed out. Dated yesterday.

Signed by, Lia Andrew.