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Ava Perez is determined to move past the fear of Friday night and focus on something she can understand: saving the WillowBend Wetlands.

With Maddie and Olivia beside her, Ava begins organizing an ambitious restoration project involving cleanup crews, invasive species removal, native plants, water testing, and possibly even local news coverage. For a few hours, she almost feels like herself again.

Almost.

Because the image of that closet door still haunts her.

At school, Ava’s growing momentum collides headfirst with Hannah Whitman. One slammed laptop, one hard shove, and one trip to the principal’s office later, Ava discovers Hannah is not finished with her.

Outside the school, Hannah and her crew corner Ava with no teachers and no clear way out.

Then something impossible happens.

A dark, unnatural blur tears across the pavement and sends both girls crashing to the ground. Hannah sees it too, leaving WillowBend’s untouchable queen shaken, humiliated, and suddenly losing control of her own loyal followers.

But the strangest reaction belongs to Maddie.

While Olivia wants to know more about the mysterious figure, Maddie refuses even to call it a ghost. She looks frightened, guarded, and haunted by something she is not ready to reveal.

Whatever was awakened has followed Ava into the daylight.

And this time, it protected her.

In This Chapter

• Ava launches her plan to restore the WillowBend Wetlands
• Maddie gets drafted into the Eco Warriors
• Hannah pushes Ava too far
• Ava lands in the principal’s office for the first time
• Hannah’s crew traps Ava outside the school
• A living shadow intervenes
• Hannah’s grip on her followers begins to crack
• Maddie’s reaction raises a disturbing new question

The Question

Did the shadow save Ava because it is protecting her?

Or because it has already claimed her?

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Something is outside Ava’s window.

Watching.

Waiting.

Fortunately, the first figure crashing into her bedroom is only Noah, making his usual unnecessarily dramatic entrance through the sycamore tree. His arrival adds another complication to Ava’s increasingly chaotic night: Madison has feelings for Noah, Olivia thinks Noah has feelings for her, and Noah appears completely unaware that he has wandered into a teenage telenovela.

Then Olivia tells them about the WillowBend Glitch.

Long before new homes covered the wetlands and abandoned farms, residents reported unexplained disruptions in reality. Mirrors lagged. Reflections moved independently. People claimed they saw exact copies of themselves walking through town.

Then the stories disappeared.

The forums went silent. The newspaper reports vanished. Even the people who had witnessed the phenomena seemed to forget they had ever happened.

Later, Ava, Madison, and Olivia awaken without remembering when—or why—they fell asleep.

A closet door opens on its own.

Something passes the window.

A shape glides across the lawn without walking, moving too smoothly and silently to be human or animal.

The girls rush downstairs to investigate, but the same unnatural screech follows them into the darkness.

This time, it’s closer.

And when something cracks behind them, Ava realizes the warning signs are no longer stories from a forgotten message board.

The WillowBend Glitch is awake.

Episode Credits

• Written by Rudy Stankowitz
• Read by Tessa
• Narrated from the perspective of Ava Perez
• From the novel The WillowBend Glitch

Content Advisory

This episode contains strong language, supernatural activity, frightening sounds, memory loss, unsettling reflections, stalking imagery, and scenes of intense fear.

Introduced in This Chapter

• Noah — Ava’s confident, tree-climbing friend who considers windows an acceptable form of entry
• The WillowBend Glitch — a collection of forgotten reports involving distorted reality, independent reflections, doubles, and unexplained memory loss
• The figure outside — something that moves without walking and may have entered when Ava opened her window

Featured Themes

Reality distortion, doppelgängers, haunted mirrors, unreliable memory, forgotten history, paranormal folklore, wetlands, shadow figures, teenage relationships, missing records, and the danger of noticing something that does not want to be seen.

Episode Quote

“I think some things aren’t meant to be noticed. And when they are...”

Keywords

The WillowBend Glitch, Rudy Stankowitz, Tessa, Ava Perez, It’s Awake, YA horror, supernatural thriller, speculative fiction, paranormal fiction, reality glitch, doppelgänger, haunted mirror, moving reflection, shadow figure, memory loss, creepypasta, serialized audiobook, fiction podcast

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WillowBend High feels wrong.

The hallways are packed with band kids, human clouds of Axe body spray, reheated tater tots, vandalized motivational posters, and teenagers pretending they have everything under control.

But beneath the ordinary high-school chaos, Ava Perez senses something else.

Something heavy.

Something electric.

Something waiting.

After a painful collision with her locker, Ava finds herself cornered by Hannah Whitman—the designer-clad Alpha Brat who has turned tormenting “Eco Bitch” Perez into a recreational activity. Fortunately, Ava isn’t alone. Madison arrives with combat boots, leopard print, and absolutely no patience for Hannah’s bullshit.

Later that night, Ava, Madison, and Olivia experiment with a smudge stick in Ava’s bedroom. When the unmistakable clack of Lacey Perez’s cane approaches, their spiritual cleansing becomes a frantic attempt to hide the smoke and convince Ava’s mother that nothing suspicious—or remotely sniffable—is happening.

Lacey is more amused than angry, but she leaves the girls with one strangely specific instruction:

Crack a window.

Spirits need a way out.

The girls follow her advice.

Unfortunately, opening a way out also creates a way in.

Episode Credits

• Written by Rudy Stankowitz
• Read by Tessa
• Narrated from the perspective of Ava Perez
• From the novel The WillowBend Glitch

Content Advisory

This episode contains bullying, strong language, implied teenage drug use, supernatural themes, and references to spirits and ritual cleansing.

Introduced in This Chapter

• Ava Perez — environmentally conscious, sarcastic, and increasingly aware that something is wrong
• Madison — Ava’s fearless and fiercely loyal friend
• Olivia — anxious, observant, and always within reach of emergency Febreze
• Hannah Whitman — WillowBend High’s designer-dressed Alpha Brat
• Lacey Perez — Ava’s mother, who may understand far more about spirits than she admits

Featured Themes

High-school bullying, teenage friendship, social pressure, smudging, spiritual cleansing, haunted spaces, protective rituals, parental secrets, shadow phenomena, and the danger of opening doors without knowing what is waiting outside.

Episode Quote

“We cracked it open, giving whatever imaginary spirits weren’t haunting us a way out. But in doing so... we let something in.”

Keywords

The WillowBend Glitch, Rudy Stankowitz, Tessa, Ava Perez, Hall Passes and Smudge Sticks, supernatural thriller, YA horror, speculative fiction, paranormal fiction, smudge stick, spiritual cleansing, haunted window, shadow figures, high school horror, serialized audiobook, fiction podcast