Noah
The problem with ancient threats wasn't their strength.
It was their patience.
I felt it the moment I woke , before my eyes opened, before my mind caught up. The air in Blackwood had changed. Thicker. Heavier. Like something had settled into the town overnight and decided to stay.
I sat up slowly, listening.
No cars passing.
No birds.
No wind.
Silence like that didn't belong in the morning.
I moved to the window and peeled the curtain back just enough to see the street. Fog lay low across the pavement, dense and unmoving, swallowing the houses opposite ours until they looked like sketches half-erased.
Wrong.
Elias stood behind me before I heard him.
"They crossed the outer boundary last night," he said.
"How many?" I asked quietly.
"At least one."
My jaw tightened. "That's enough."
"Yes," he agreed. "It always is."
I turned. "You said this wouldn't happen so soon."
"I said it might not," Elias corrected calmly. "Hope is not a strategy."
"What do they want?" I asked, though I already knew.
Elias's eyes hardened. "What they've always wanted."
I exhaled slowly. "Then we're running out of time."
"Yes," he said. "And you're running out of restraint."
By the time I reached school, the tension had followed me.
Blackwood High buzzed louder than usual, students clustered in anxious knots, voices sharp and overlapping. I caught fragments as I passed.
" found near the old road , "
" another animal , "
" sheriff says it's probably coyotes , "
Coyotes didn't leave marks like that.
I kept my head down, every sense stretched thin. The thing lurking beyond the town's edges hadn't come hunting openly , not yet. It was testing. Watching reactions. Measuring fear.
Waiting.
I felt her before I saw her.
Iris sat on the steps outside the main building, knees drawn up, notebook balanced against her thigh. She was chewing on the end of her pen, eyes unfocused.
Distracted.
Vulnerable.
I didn't hesitate.
"You shouldn't sit there," I said as I approached.
She looked up, startled. "Good morning to you too."
"I'm serious."
She glanced around. "It's a staircase, not a crime scene."
"Move," I said sharply.
Her brows knit together. "What is your problem today?"
I caught myself.
Too much.
I forced my tone back into something human. "There's been… incidents. Around town."
Her interest sharpened instantly. "I heard. Animals, right?"
"Yes," I said. "And you shouldn't be alone."
She studied my face. "You're worried."
I didn't answer.
She stood anyway. "Fine. But if this is your attempt at playing bodyguard, you're doing a terrible job."
"I'm not , " I stopped. Changed course. "Just… be careful."
She smiled faintly. "You say that a lot."
Because no one ever listens, I thought.
Iris
Something was definitely wrong.
Not just Noah wrong.
Town wrong.
People whispered in hallways. Teachers locked doors between periods. The principal made an announcement about safety precautions and remaining indoors after dark.
Blackwood didn't do fear openly. It simmered quietly instead.
I caught Noah watching windows. Doorways. Reflections in glass. His attention snapped toward sounds that didn't even register to anyone else.
If he was acting, he was terrifyingly good at it.
"What are you looking for?" I asked during lunch.
He didn't look at me. "Patterns."
"In what?"
"Movement."
I frowned. "You talk like you're in a documentary."
He almost smiled.
Almost.
That afternoon, the sky darkened too quickly. Clouds rolled in thick and fast, swallowing sunlight until the world took on a bruised, gray tone.
Gym class ended early.
I headed for the locker room alone.
That was mistake number one.
The hallway outside the gym was empty, lights flickering faintly. My footsteps echoed too loudly. I slowed instinctively.
Something scraped behind me.
I turned.
Nothing.
I told myself to keep moving.
The scraping came again , closer this time.
My heart kicked hard.
"Hello?" I called.
Stupid.
The lights flickered.
Then went out.
I froze.
Footsteps sounded behind me , slow, deliberate, dragging slightly, like something unfamiliar with moving on two legs.
I backed away, pulse roaring in my ears.
"Noah?" I called, hating how small my voice sounded.
The air shifted.
Pressure closed around me, thick and suffocating, like the hallway itself was breathing.
Then ,
"Get away from her."
Noah's voice cut through the dark like a blade.
The pressure snapped.
Lights flared back on.
Whatever had been there was gone.
I spun toward him.
He stood at the end of the hall, chest rising and falling too fast, eyes dark with something I'd never seen before , something fierce.
"Did you see it?" I asked, breathless.
"No," he said immediately.
Lie.
I didn't push.
My legs shook. "Something was following me."
"I know," he said softly.
That scared me more than anything else.
Noah
It had been closer than I'd expected.
Too close.
I walked Iris home without argument this time, my awareness flaring painfully with every shadow, every shift in air. The thing retreated again , but not far.
It was learning.
At her door, she hesitated.
"You saved me," she said.
"I was nearby."
"You always are," she said quietly.
I stiffened.
Her gaze softened , not accusing. Not suspicious.
Concerned.
"You're scared," she said.
I shook my head. "I don't get scared."
She smiled sadly. "That's the scariest part."
I waited until she was safely inside before I turned back toward the street.
Fog rolled in thick and fast, swallowing the road.
A presence stirred within it.
Not hiding anymore.
Watching.
"You're getting careless," a voice whispered from the dark.
My blood ran cold.
I didn't answer.
I didn't need to.
The game had begun.
🩸 END OF CHAPTER FOUR 🩸