By evening, the academy looked different.
Not darker. Just quieter.
The change was subtle, the kind you only noticed if you were paying attention.
Windows still showed light along the upper floors,
Students moved across the courtyard in smaller groups now, voices lower, laughter was cut short as if people were conserving their energy without realizing it.
The lamps came on one by one, each of the casted a pale circle down the paths below. Where those circles overlapped, the light looked stronger.
While were they didn't, shadows stretched longer than they should have.
Kade stood beside the railing outside the dormitory block, resting his hands on the cold metal.
The chill moved through his palms, grounding him. Below, the grounds was wide and empty, trimmed bushes and stone walkways laid out with perfect symmetry
Beyond that, trees marked the edge of campus, tall and stagnant their branches barely moving
They didn't feel like part of the school.
They felt like borders.
He breathe in slowly
The air carried too many details. Wet leaves stuck in the soil.
Old stones that was hot during the day was cooling now
A faint trace of iron was heard from somewhere he couldn't place.
It was too much.
He took a deep breath in and out and focused on the railing instead. On the roughness where paint had chipped.
On the vibration beneath his hands as someone walked inside the building behind him.
Footsteps approached.
He didn't turn.
"You skipped dinner."
Mira's voice came from his left. Calm. Close enough that he didn't hear her coming until she spoke.
"I wasn't hungry," he said.
She leaned against the railing beside him. Their shoulders didn't touch, but the space between them was close like it was a deliberate act or like a line neither of them wanted to cross too quickly
"You should still eat," she said. "Skipping meals doesn't help especially now that things are off".
He almost laughed.
Instead, he kept his eyes on the courtyard. "I won't die of one night without food".
She didn't argue. That told him she was more concerned than she sounded.
They stood in silence for a moment. The academy seemed quiet lie they cooperated in instilling the silence.
Somewhere distant from them a bell rang once. Low. Hollow. Not a class bell. Something older, meant to signal time rather than control it
Mira looked at him. "Does it feel different now?"
He thought about it.
Earlier, everything had felt sharp. Too bright. Too loud. Like the world was closing in on him from all sides. Now it felt… steadier. Not safer. Just calm.
"Yeah," he said slowly. "Like it's not gone. Just… waiting."
She didn't ask what it was.
Instead, she shifted her body, resting her forearms on the railing.
"You notice things faster than you used to."
He turned his head in disbelief. "You noticed that?"
She shrugged. "You caught a falling book in class before it hit the floor. You didn't even look at it first."
He frowned. He didn't think much of it at the time.
"I hear things," he said. "Too clearly."
Mira nodded. "Me too."
That made him look at her properly.
"You're not like the others," he said.
The words came out before he could stop them. Honest. Unfiltered.
She looked at him without blinking. "Neither are you."
The wind blew strongly, tugging at her hair. A loose strand fell on her cheek, and she pushed it back without thinking.
The movement was casual. Familiar. It made something in his chest tighten.
He looked away first.
They walked back inside together.
The dorm hallway smelled like soap and old wood. The lighting ahead of them buzzed faintly A few doors remained open, voices coming out—complaints about assignments, laughter that felt forced, conversations that didn't seem normal.
Mira stopped outside her room.
"You good?" she asked.
"For now."
She hesitated, fingers curling around the strap of her bag. "If it gets worse—"
"I'll find you."
She nodded once, satisfied.
As she turned to open her door, Kade noticed something on the wall beside it.
A mark.
Faint. Scratched into the paint. Not letters. Not symbols.
Three lines.
Too straight to be random. Too deep to be accidental.
T'was like claws
He started breathing fast
"You see it too," Mira said quietly.
He nodded.
"Those weren't there yesterday," she added.
They stared at the marks for a long moment.
The hallway seemed quieter around them, as if that environment was being avoided by sound
Mira opened her door and stepped inside. Before closing it, she paused.
"Try to sleep," she said. "Even if you don't rest."
She closed the door softly.
Kade walked down the hall to his own room.
He locked the door behind him.
The room was small but clean. Bed neatly made. Desk empty Closet closed. One of his window facing the eastern edge of campus, where the trees grew closer together.
He sat on the bed and leaned forward, elbows on his knees, hands on his chin
The silence grew
Not empty. Just waiting.
Then—
A sound.
Not outside.
Inside.
His heart pounded Twice.
The room felt tighter, like the walls had shifted closer without moving.
The air became colder
He stood up slowly.
The floor creaked under his weight. He raised his hands,
holding them out in front of him.
Nothing happened at first.
Then a faint sensation like a pressure under his skin.
He moved his fingers
His nails extended slightly. Not sharp enough to cut.
Not long enough to be monstrous.
Just wrong.
He clenched his fists.
They stayed that way.
His breath quickened.
"No," he whispered.
The word didn't echo.
Something inside him stirred.
Not a voice like a pull.
He crossed the room and opened the window. Cold air rushed in, sharp and clean,
The pull strengthened.
His muscles became dense as if responding to a signal he couldn't hear. His grip tightened on the window pane
Outside, something moved near the treeline.
Not fast.
Not hiding.
Waiting.
Kade slammed the window shut and staggered back.
His hands returned to normal almost immediately, as if nothing had happened.
He lay on the bed, chest rising and falling hard.
A knock sounded at the door.
Once.
Then again.
"Kade."
Mira.
He stood and opened it.
She looked pale. Not scared—focused. Like she'd already accepted what she was seeing.
"You felt it too," she said.
He nodded.
She stepped inside without asking.
They stood a few feet apart. The room felt smaller with both of them in it, the air changed.
"I couldn't sleep," she said. "It felt like the ground shifted."
He swallowed. "There's something outside."
Her eyes flicked to the window. "I know."
Silence grew between them. Not awkward. Heavy.
Then she did something unexpected.
She reached out and took his hand.
Her fingers were warm. Palms soft as ever
The pull inside him eased slightly, like pressure released from his body
He looked down at their hands, then back at her.
She didn't let go.
"Whatever this is," she said softly, "you don't have to do it alone."
His throat tightened.
He squeezed her hand once.
They stayed like that longer than expected.
When she finally pulled away, neither of them moved right away.
"Get some rest," she said again. "I'll be right across the hall."
After she left, Kade sat on the bed, staring at his hand.
It felt normal.
Too normal.
He lay on his back and stared at the ceiling.
Sleep came slowly.
When it did, it wasn't peaceful.
He dreamed of running.
Not away.
Toward.