Shadow
Kai stared at the photo in Aria's hand, the edges trembling slightly from how hard he was gripping it.
Same boy.
Different outfit.
Different night.
But the expression was the same — calm, watchful… and purposeful.
Aria stepped back, giving him space to process.
"Kai," she said, "this picture wasn't from school cameras. Someone sent it anonymously to the prefects' inbox this morning."
Kai's head snapped up.
"Anonymous?"
"Yes. No message. No explanation. Just the image." She crossed her arms. "Whoever sent it wanted us to see him — but not them."
Kai felt the room shrink around him. Whoever was behind this wasn't careless. They were methodical.
He placed the photo on the table. "Where exactly was this taken?"
Aria nodded at the map pinned on the wall. A red circle marked a point near the school's back gate.
"That alley," she said. "The one between the old storage shed and the generator house."
Kai stiffened.
He knew that place.
Too well.
Aria noticed his reaction. "You've been there?"
Kai didn't answer immediately. He studied the map, remembering footsteps echoing, a faint metallic scent in the air, and something even worse — a presence he had never been able to fully identify.
Finally he said, "Yes. A few nights ago."
Aria didn't look surprised. "I thought so."
She walked to her desk drawer and pulled out a tiny metallic shard sealed in a transparent evidence slip.
"We found this in the alley," she said. "Right where that boy was standing."
Kai picked it up carefully.
It wasn't just metal.
It was a fragment of something… crafted. Designed. Almost like a piece of specialized equipment.
Aria continued, "We tested it. It's not from any school machine or security device."
Kai turned the shard over between his fingers.
A faint hum vibrated against his skin — subtle, but intentional.
His pulse quickened.
This wasn't ordinary tech.
It belonged to someone trained.
Someone like the boy.
Someone like… them.
Aria watched him closely. "Kai, if you recognize it, tell me."
He hesitated.
"I've seen something similar before," he said slowly, "but never in a school."
Aria frowned. "So he brought it here."
Kai nodded. "And he wasn't supposed to."
The room fell silent for a moment, heavy with unspoken implications.
Then Aria said quietly, "There's more."
She opened a folder and placed it on the table. Inside were timestamps — long sequences of numbers and dates.
"These are power fluctuation logs from the generator house," she explained. "Tiny dips in power that happened at exactly the same time the boy was seen near that alley."
Kai's blood ran cold.
Sync-timed activity.
That meant planning.
Coordination.
An operation.
Aria lowered her voice. "Someone has been using the school's blind spots. Whoever they are, they know our routines better than we do."
Kai clenched his fists. "He wasn't working alone."
Aria nodded. "I know."
She walked to the door and locked it.
Then she turned back, her face completely serious.
"Kai… I didn't call you here just to show you files."
She took a breath.
"I called you here because last night… something else happened."
Kai tensed. "What?"
Aria pulled out her phone, tapped a video, and handed it to him.
Grainy footage appeared — a security camera outside the school's west wall.
Motionless. Quiet.
Then, at 2:03 AM, a blur landed on the ground from above.
Not the boy.
Another figure. Taller. Broader. Moving with the same unnatural speed.
Kai's chest tightened.
A second shadow.
The figure paused, looked directly at the camera — as if it knew it was being watched — then walked out of frame calmly.
Aria spoke softly, almost a whisper:
"Kai… whoever is after you… there's more than one."
Kai's breathing slowed. Controlled. Forced.
This wasn't a lone pursuer.
This was coordinated.
And they had already infiltrated the school.
Aria held his gaze.
"Kai… this isn't a coincidence anymore. This is a hunt."
Kai said nothing.
But inside, the truth settled like ice:
The shadows following him weren't just returning.
They were multiplying.
And someone had already stepped ahead of him.