Weeks passed, and Halloween weekend finally came around. The homecoming dance that got pushed back after all that chaos was now rescheduled for tonight—fittingly on Halloween—and you guessed it, it's a costume party.
Booker and Aaliah were going as superheroes, of course. Typical. They're a little old for trick-or-treating, but that wasn't going to stop them.
I've actually been feeling a little better these past few weeks. Whatever that heaviness was sitting in my chest, it's been lifting—slowly. For the first time in a while, things almost feel normal.
Malique told me he was going as a Roman emperor. I told him that was corny, but he didn't care. He just wanted an excuse to wear that ridiculous toga skirt.
Ski went as Dracula—because of course he did.Darrell showed up as Astrion, this old-school hero from the comics. Simple, timeless, kind of respectable.Delilah and Leon dressed as zombies. I could actually see the vision.
And Sariya? She showed up as an angel with a little devil plush pinned to her shoulder. Not at all what I was expecting, but it somehow fit her perfectly.
As for me, I went in the opposite direction. I dressed up as Joe Wann, Sentinel badge, cheap blazer, and all. The finishing touch? A piece of paper taped to my back with one word written in black marker: LIAR.
Yeah, I know. A little petty. But it felt right.
The gym was packed, lights dimmed, music bouncing off the walls. The place smelled like sugar, fog machine smoke, and cheap cologne. It honestly felt like the last homecoming—just without the disaster.
People danced. Laughed. Acted like the world wasn't hanging by a thread outside those walls. For a few hours, it was easy to believe that.
Malique leaned over the snack table, grinning through a mouthful of chips. "Yo, after-party at the beach. You in?"
I checked the time on my phone. "I don't know, Malique. It's already getting kind of late."
He waved it off. "Bro, it's Halloween. We'll only stay an hour. Come on—it's tradition."
Sariya tugged gently on my sleeve, her eyes catching the red and blue strobe lights. "It'll be fun," she said. "Just an hour."
I sighed, smiled a little, and said, "Fine. One hour."
The beach was alive by the time we got there. Someone had set up two bonfires near the shoreline, the flames reflecting on the waves like orange veins. Music blasted from a wireless speaker half-buried in the sand, crackling every few beats.
The air was cold but alive. The salt wind tangled hair, blew through costumes, and carried laughter into the night.
Malique—"Emperor of Rome"—was dancing barefoot in the sand, his golden headband crooked.
Darrell tried to teach Ski how to do some internet dance.
Delilah and Leon, still in zombie makeup, were scaring kids who wandered too close to the fire.And Sariya? She was standing near the water, wings glowing faintly in the moonlight, the devil plush still hanging off her shoulder.
It all felt like a dream—loud, bright, fleeting.
I stood a little ways back, watching them all, the sound of the ocean filling the space around me. For a second, I forgot everything. No Sentinel, no Nexus, no Harbingers. Just people. Friends. Music.
Then I felt it—so faint I almost thought it was the bass from the speaker.
A hum.
Low, steady, pulsing through the sand beneath my shoes.
My chest tightened. I hadn't felt that kind of vibration since… since the Nexus.
It was subtle at first, like an old memory brushing past me. Then the sound deepened, resonating in my bones. I turned toward the ocean, and for just a moment—one heartbeat too long—I saw something beneath the waves shimmer violet, faint and pulsing like it was breathing.
I blinked, and it was gone.
"Hey," Sariya said, coming up beside me. "You okay?"
I forced a smile. "Yeah. Just… thought I saw something."
"Like what?"
"Probably just the reflection from the fire."
She studied me for a second, then smiled softly. "You've been spacing out a lot lately."
"Guess it's a habit now."
She laughed lightly, leaning her head on my shoulder. "Then maybe tonight's your cure."
For a while, it was. I let the sound of the ocean and the warmth of the fire drown out the noise in my head.
By the time the party started to wind down, people were passing out on blankets, half-asleep under the stars. I walked closer to the water again, shoes off, cold waves curling over my toes.
Somewhere beneath all that noise and salt, the hum came again—softer, deeper, familiar.
I knew that frequency.I knew it like my own heartbeat.
The Nexus.
Or maybe not. Maybe it was just wishful thinking. But standing there, staring out into that dark water, I couldn't shake the feeling that it wasn't gone—it was waiting.
"Kaleb!" Malique's voice broke through the wind. "You good, man?"
"Yeah!" I called back. "Just needed air."
"Air?" He laughed. "You're standing in the ocean!"
He wasn't wrong.
Later, as we all headed home, Sariya walked beside me barefoot, carrying her shoes. The streets were quiet except for the rustle of candy wrappers and distant fireworks.
"You've been quieter tonight," she said softly.
"Just tired," I said, the lie automatic.
"That's not it," she pressed. "You keep staring at the ocean like it owes you an answer."
I hesitated. "Maybe it does."
She gave me that look—half worried, half knowing. "You ever think you're carrying too much for one person?"
"All the time."
She nodded and didn't say anything else. Just walked beside me, the sound of her wings brushing faintly against the wind.
That night, as I lay in bed, I swore I could still hear it—the hum.Not loud, not insistent. Just there, somewhere deep beneath the city's noise.
It wasn't calling me.
Not yet.
But it hadn't forgotten me either.
And as sleep pulled me under, one thought kept looping in my head—
Maybe the world and I aren't done with each other just yet.