Se connecterLucas POVI could not sleep at all that night, even after Emily finally drifted off beside me. While her breathing grew steady, I stayed wide awake, my mind refusing to quiet down. Every time I tried to close my eyes, the same terrifying images returned — that creature rising from the ground, the way it moved with hunger, and especially the way it reached out for her. Most disturbing of all was how it reacted when she pushed it back; I saw a flash of recognition, as if it already knew her or at least understood exactly what she had become.I turned my head slightly and looked at Emily lying next to me. She appeared peaceful in her sleep, her face calm as though nothing unusual had happened earlier. Yet I knew better than to believe that surface calm. I could still sense the faint energy around her body, it was not as wild or dangerous as before, but still present now, like a current that never fully switched off. She was changing and I realized I had to change with her if I wanted to
Emily POVMy hands would not stop shaking. Even after we got back inside the house, even after Lucas closed the door behind us, even after everything became quiet again… my body still felt like something was wrong.Like something had brushed against me and left a mark I could not see.I sat on the edge of the bed and stared at my palms.They looked normal.Just hands.But I knew they were not the same anymore.Nothing about me was the same anymore.“Emily,” Lucas said softly.I didn’t look at him.“I didn’t imagine it,” I whispered.“You didn’t.”“It was real.”“Yes.”I finally looked up at him.His face was serious.Calm, but serious.That scared me.Because Lucas only looked like that when something was truly bad.“It felt empty,” I said.He stepped closer.“What do you mean?”I struggled to find the right words.“It wasn’t like the ground… or the building before. When I touched those, I could feel something. Weight. Pressure. Life. Even if it was not alive like us… it still felt li
Lucas POVFor a moment, no one moved.The crack in the ground stretched wide across the field, like the earth itself had been torn open. Dust floated in the air, and the night suddenly felt colder.I stood in front of Emily without thinking.My body reacted before my mind could catch up.I had to protect her. That was all that mattered.“What is that?” one of the guards whispered.No one answered him because no one knew.The ground trembled again.Not like before.This was not Emily.I knew the difference now.What I felt earlier in the facility… that had been her power. Wild, but still connected to her.This—This felt foreign.Wrong.“Everyone, step back,” I ordered.The guards obeyed quickly, spreading out but keeping their eyes fixed on the crack.Emily’s hand gripped my arm tightly.“It’s still there,” she whispered.“What do you feel?” I asked quietly.She swallowed.“It’s moving… slowly… like it’s searching.”My jaw tightened.Searching.“For what?” I asked.She didn’t answer i
Emily POVI did not sleep that night. Even when I closed my eyes, my mind did not rest.Every time I tried, I saw the building again.I saw the walls breaking. I heard the loud cracking sound.I felt the force leave my body like something alive.It did not feel like me.That was what scared me the most.I lay on the bed, staring at the ceiling. Lucas was beside me, but I could tell he was not asleep either. His breathing was too steady, too careful. He was pretending, just like I was.I turned my head slowly and looked at him.His eyes were closed, but his hand was still holding mine.Tight.Like if he let go, I would disappear again.My chest hurt.“Lucas,” I whispered.His eyes opened immediately.“I’m here,” he said.Of course he was.He had always been there.Even when I didn’t deserve it.“I don’t think I can sleep,” I said.He shifted slightly and turned to face me.“You don’t have to,” he replied softly.There was a small silence between us.“I felt everything,” I said quietly.
Lucas POVThe ride back was silent.Emily sat beside me in the back seat, wrapped in my jacket. Her head rested against the window, but I knew she wasn’t sleeping. Her eyes were open, staring at the passing darkness.The forest blurred by.The world looked the same.But nothing was the same.Chris drove. The others followed behind us in the second vehicle.No one spoke for the first hour.I kept my hand over hers.She didn’t pull away.But she didn’t squeeze back either.Her fingers were cold.Not physically cold.Just distant.Finally, she spoke.“Did anyone die?”Her voice was small. Careful.I answered honestly.“Not that we saw.”She swallowed.“That building…”“It was going to collapse anyway,” I said gently. “Joe designed it that way.”She turned slightly toward me.“I felt it fighting me.”I didn’t interrupt.“It was like… like the walls were alive. Like they were holding something down. And when I pushed back…” She trailed off.“You survived,” I said.She closed her eyes.“Tha
Lucas POVThe steel doors slammed shut with a sound that echoed through the corridor.For half a second, no one moved.The alarms screamed overhead. Red lights flashed across the concrete walls. Dust rained down from the ceiling as the building trembled again, deeper this time.Emily’s hand tightened around mine.I felt it.The energy inside her was still there.Quieter than before, but not gone.Joe stood several feet behind us, calm as ever, like he was watching a carefully planned experiment reach its final stage.“You were never meant to leave so easily,” he repeated.I stepped in front of Emily instinctively.“You’re insane,” I said.“No,” he replied. “I’m prepared.”The corridor ahead of us was blocked by heavy steel doors. The way we came in was closing too — another set sliding down slowly from the ceiling.Chris swore under his breath.“We’ve got less than a minute before both sides seal completely.”The team further down the hall shouted as more doors began locking in sequen
Emily's POV I had not expected guilt to be the loudest thing in my head. I sat by the window in Lucas’s room, my knees pulled to my chest. Clarisse’s face wouldn’t leave my mind.I wrapped my arms tighter around myself.If I was honest, painfully honest, I knew why she hated me so much. I had walk
LucasLater that evening, the house felt too quiet. The party mess had been cleared, and the guests chased out.I left Emily asleep under heavy guard. She had cried herself into exhaustion, clinging to my arm like she was afraid I would disappear if she let go. I had sworn to her that I would bring
Lucas POV For a moment, all I could do was stand there and watch. The room was frozen. Music still played faintly from the speakers, absurdly cheerful against the tension that was now evident. Heads turned from Emily to me, then to Clarisse but no one spoke.Clarisse was the first to move.She ga
Emily's POVI don’t know how long I sat there after Joe left. My body ached in places I didn’t know could hurt. My head throbbed where dried blood clung to my hairline, and my throat burned from screaming until my voice gave up on me.Joe’s words replayed over and over in my mind."You’re not going







