I usually heard people chatting, doors opening, elevator chimes. Tonight it was empty. Hollow. Like the building was holding its breath.
I wrapped my arms tighter around myself. "Where is everyone?"
"Not here," Kade murmured, eyes narrowed. "Which is good."
"For who?" I whispered. "You or me?"
"Both."
He pressed the elevator button.
Nothing happened.
He pressed it again.
Still nothing.
The lights above flickered.
Kade cursed under his breath. "Figures."
"What?"
"We're not taking the elevator."
He grabbed my wrist, not rough, but with certainty, and pulled me toward the stairwell.
"Kade"
"Don't argue."
We pushed through the stairwell door.
It slammed behind us with an echo that felt too loud in the empty concrete space.
We started climbing.
I noticed Kade was tense in a way I hadn't seen before. Not angry. Not annoyed.
Alert.
Every step we took, he scanned the shadows. Every turn up the stairs, his shoulders stiffened a little more.
My chest tightened. "Kade… talk to me. Please."
He didn't slow down.
"Elara, something crossed the boundary tonight."
"Boundary of what?"
He hesitated.
Then...
"Of this world."
My foot faltered on the next step. "What are you saying?"
"That creature on the roof?" His voice was low, controlled. "It shouldn't have been able to follow you this far in."
"In where?"
"In this plane."
I nearly tripped.
"Kade, I don't understand."
"I know," he said softly. "But you will. Soon."
We reached the third floor landing when everything stopped.
Literally.
The lights hummed, then went out.
Pitch black swallowed us instantly.
"Kade?" My voice cracked.
"Stay behind me." His hand immediately found mine, gripping tight.
My heartbeat thrummed in my ears. "What's happening?"
The air shifted.
He went still.
"Elara…" he whispered. "Don't move."
I froze.
I didn't even breathe.
Then...
A whisper.
Not words.
Not human.
A raspy, layered sound, like multiple voices speaking through one throat.
It came from the bottom of the stairwell.
I clamped my hand over my mouth, terrified the sound of my breath might attract it.
Kade squeezed my hand once. A silent command.
Keep silent.
Keep still.
Don't draw attention.
But the whispering grew louder.
Closer.
My skin prickled, cold racing across my arms. Whatever was coming… it wasn't climbing the stairs like a person.
It slid.
It scraped.
It moved in a way no living thing should.
I couldn't see anything in the darkness, but my body instinctively felt it, like my instincts screamed that something was wrong with the shape of the shadow below us.
"Kade," I mouthed, barely moving my lips. "What is that?"
He didn't answer.
He was listening.
I could feel his breath slow, controlled.
His shoulders squared.
He reached for something under his jacket.
Metal?
A weapon?
I didn't get to see it.
Because a new sound filled the stairwell.
A wet, guttural intake of air.
Like something sniffing.
Sniffing us.
"Kade," I whispered, voice trembling, "it knows we're here."
"I know."
"Then what do we do?"
"Move."
He pulled me up the next flight of stairs, fast, urgent, silent. I stumbled at first, but his grip kept me from falling.
Behind us, the scraping sound quickened.
It was following.
"Kade"
"Don't look back," he commanded.
My legs burned, lungs pulling sharp breaths as we climbed. But the thing behind us was faster. It didn't tire. Didn't pant.
Just scraped.
Dragged.
Slithered.
And it was gaining.
We reached the fifth-floor landing when—
A thump.
Then another.
Like something hitting the metal railing behind us.
"Kade"
He shoved me through the stairwell door. "Go!"
I stumbled into the hallway.
He followed, slamming the door shut and bracing his body against it.
Something slammed from the other side.
The metal vibrated violently.
"Kade!" I cried. "It's trying to..."
"I know," he snapped, straining to keep the door closed. "Unlock your apartment. Now."
My hands shook as I fumbled for my keys. "What if it gets out?"
"It won't."
"How do you know?!"
He pushed harder against the door. "Because it's not allowed."
Allowed?
Allowed by who?
Allowed by what?
"Kade I..."
"Elara," he barked, "unlock your damn door!"
I jammed the key into the lock with trembling fingers, flung it open, and he shoved me inside.
He slammed the door behind us, locking it instantly.
My breaths came too fast. Too shallow.
"Kade," I gasped, "what was that thing."
He didn't answer.
He was staring at something behind me.
Slowly, I turned.
And froze.
Every light in my apartment was flickering.
Every window was trembling.
Shadows crawled along the walls like living ink.
And in the center of the room,
hovering, faint, flickering like a glitch was the silhouette of a man.
Not the one from the hospital.
A different one.
This one was… wrong.
Too tall.
Too thin.
Limbs bending where limbs shouldn't bend.
It tilted its head at me.
Like it recognized me.
My breath seized.
"Kade," I whispered, "what is that?"
His hand slid to his jacket again.
"Elara," he said quietly, "get behind me."
"Why? What is it?"
"It's a tracker."
"A tracker for what?"
His voice was barely a whisper.
"For you."
My knees nearly buckled at the word.
Tracker.
It sounded too simple. Too clinical. And yet… somehow, it made my blood run cold.
Kade stepped in front of me, body rigid, eyes never leaving the dark silhouette that flickered in my apartment. The shadows around it rippled unnaturally, like water disturbed by an unseen hand.
"Tracker… for what?" I whispered.
"For you," he repeated. His voice was low, dangerous, controlled. "It's not human. It's a construct. A sentinel. It follows you wherever you go, observes you, reports back."
My hands flew to my mouth. "Observes me? Reports back? To who?"
Kade's jaw tightened. He exhaled slowly, as if measuring every word.
"Someone… something… wants you. Elara. Not to talk. Not to bargain. To take."
My pulse hit a rapid rhythm. My legs trembled under me. "Take me? Why? What did I do?"
"You didn't do anything wrong." His gaze softened, briefly, but only for a fraction of a second. "You are something. Something they've been waiting for a long time."
The silhouette shifted closer, tilting in impossible angles. I could feel its presence now, not visually, not physically, but deep in my chest, like a cold finger tracing my spine.
"I… don't understand," I stammered. "I'm… normal. I'm human."
"You are," Kade said firmly. "Or at least, you think you are. But your blood… your aura… it's different. Special. Desired. Dangerous."
The shadow flickered again, then shot forward, fast, impossibly fast. I screamed and stumbled backward, hitting the edge of the couch.
Kade reacted instantly. His hand shot out, grabbing my arm and yanking me behind him. The shadow collided with where we had been standing a heartbeat ago… and disappeared.
Silence fell, piercing.
I gasped for air, trembling. "What… what was that?"
Kade didn't answer immediately. He was studying me, eyes narrowed, calculating, as though assessing how much of the truth I could handle.
Finally, he spoke. "It's not the only one."
I froze. My heart skipped. "Not… the only one?"