Se connecterSeconds after the shadow movedDouro Valley villa, just before sunrise i didn’t blinkI actually couldn’t.Because I knew like I really knew that if I did…it would be closer when I opened my eyes again.The shadow didn’t look like anything that was the worst part.If it had shape if it looked like a person or even something solid i think I could’ve handled it better.But this?? It just… existed it felt Wrong.Like a piece of the room that didn’t belong but somehow refused to leave.Do you see that? I whispered.My voice felt thin it didn't sound like mine.Tomás didn’t answer.He didn’t have to.Sofia was crying softly in my arms, those small, uneven breaths that shouldn’t sound so loud but they did. They cut through everything i held her tighter without even thinking.“I’ve got you,” I murmured, even though my voice shook. “I’ve got you…”The shadow shifted not walking not moving like anything real. It was just adjusting.Like it knew we were there,like it was aware.My stomach twis
Seconds after now we beginDouro Valley villaThe silence didn’t last.It never does.Not real silence. Not the kind that settles and stays. This ..this was something else a pause a held breath. Like the house itself was waiting to see what we would do next.And then it exhaled alow, almost imperceptible hum crept through the walls.Not mechanical not quite.It sounded… alive.My fingers tightened instinctively around Sofia, my heart still hammering too fast, too hard. She shifted against me, unsettled, her small body reacting to something she couldn’t understand but could feel.“Tomás…” I whispered.“I heard it ,hisvoice was steady too steady.The kind of steady that meant he was forcing it,The screen still glowed in front of us, that last message burned into it:Now we begin.I couldn’t look away from it.Because if I did if I looked anywhere else I. was terrified I’d see something that wasn’t there a second ago or something much worse,something that had been there all along.A sof
Hey my loves 🤍I owe you an apology for going quiet for a while. I know the chapter updates haven’t been as consistent as they should be, and I truly appreciate your patience with me.I’ve been deep in preparation for my professional exams, and it took more time and focus than I expected. But I’m happy to say I’m back now fully present, fully energized, and ready to dive right back into the story with you.Thank you for sticking with me, for your messages, your support, and for caring about this story as much as I do. It honestly means everything.We’re not slowing down anymore. More chapters are coming, and things are about to get even more intense 👀🔥Stay with me you’re going to love what’s next.With love,Mary 🤍
Seconds after the first stepDouro Valley villa, total blackoutThe darkness wasn’t just the absence of light.It felt heavy.Like it was pressing in from every directio thick, suffocating erasing the shape of the room, swallowing distance, swallowing anything that felt certain. The kind of darkness that makes your mind start filling in things that aren’t there…Or worsehide the things that are.I couldn’t see Tomás.That was the first thing that broke me.He’d been right there a second ago solid, steady, between me and the hallway.Nownothing.“Tomás,” I whispered.Too quiet.Like the dark might swallow his name before it reached him,A breathClose.Not mine,Not Sofia’s.I froze.Every muscle locking so tight it hurt.“No…” I breathed.“Lila.”His voice.Right in front of me.Low. Close,Real.Relief hit so fast it almost made my knees give out.“I’m here,” he said, softer now.“I can’t see you,” I whispered.“I know.”Something brushed my arm.His handFirm.,Grounding.,Real.Sofia shift
Moments after the third commandDouro Valley villa, before sunriseNo one breathed not me not even Tomás Even Sofia went still in my arms, like the entire house had been pulled into the same frozen second.The next sound won’t be breathing,itwill be footsteps.The words didn’t fadeThey just… stayed there waiting ‘No one is going anywhere,Tomás said quietlyNot to the screen but to neHis voice had changed now lowwer, controlledbut there was something under it now,Not fear.Calculation.Tjey want us separated, he continued. That’s the move.”The screen flickered.A new message appeared“You’re already separating”",#My throat tightened because it wasn’t completely wrong.He was still right in front of me, still closebut something between us had shifted.Not distanceSomething thinner.Like whatever held us steady had just been… touched.Turn it off, I whispered.The system. Just shut it down.Tomás didn’t move. I need to see what they’re doing.He said You can’t see them,” I snapped
Seconds after the second ruleDouro Valley villa, before sunriseNo one moved not after thatnot after…..we’re already inside with youThe words didn’t feel like something on a screen anymore.They felt like something in the room.Like if I turned around too fast, I’d see someone standing there.I didn’t.But that didn’t help.It made it worse.Because it meant I couldn’t see them.Tomás…i whispered.My voice felt too loud.Like it didn’t belong in the quiet.He didn’t answer.He wasn’t looking at the screen anymore,he was listening ,actually listeningHead tilted slightlyEyes unfocused.Like he was trying to catch something under everything else.‘What?I asked, my voice dropping even lower. “What do you hear?A pause.Then“Nothing.”That should’ve been a relief.It wasn’t.Because the silence felt wrong.Too clean.Too empty.Like something had been there a second ago and just… stopped.Sofia shifted in my arms, letting out a soft, sleepy sound. I held her closer instantly, pressi
Two years after the dumpDouro Valley, late AugustThe villa smelled of sun-baked stone, ripening figs from the garden, and the faint smoke of the outdoor oven where Tomás had slow-roasted lamb earlier. The terrace lights were off tonight only candles in tall gl
The Greyhound from Portland to Chicago took twenty-nine hours and change.Time on a long-distance bus stretches in strange ways. Hours blur into one another until the road itself feels endless just a ribbon of dark highway under dim headlights, rest-stop signs glowing in the distance, and the stead
The cabin smelled of wet cedar and pine smoke. The wood stove crackled low, throwing orange flickers across the rough-hewn walls. Outside, the Gorge wind howled through the trees, rattling the single-pane windows, but inside the air felt thick, charged, like the moment before lightn
The city swallowed us at 7:14 a.m., gray light bleeding across the skyline like a bruise that hadn’t decided what color it wanted to be. Everything looked tender. Raw. Buildings hunched against the cold dawn, windows reflecting a sky that couldn’t quite commit to morning.Julian didn’t take us to t







