Rob''s body twisted in his sheets, his limbs tangled in the cotton as he slept. His bedspread was slick from sweat as he tossed and turned. Soft mutterings poured from his lips as his nightmare unfolded. "Where am I?" he asked his empty room, "Who''s there?"
In his dream, the average apartment bedroom had dissolved into the university chemistry lab. The air smelled like sulphur, and Bunson burners lined the benches. He stood alone amongst the stainless-steel countertops and glassware, no matter how hard he tried he couldn''t remember how he got there. Whirling around, Rob''s gaze landed on the Sacred Stones, their surfaces pulsating with a blue glow as they called out to him.
As he reached out, the luminescent stones appeared to breathe, expanding and contracting with otherworldly life. Vines erupted from the once-still stones, coiling around his wrist and dragging him forward. Panic surged through Rob''s veins as the vines bound him to the stones, he could feel their jagged edges digging into his back.
"No!" he screamed as the vines began to pull tighter and tighter, forcing the air from his lungs. His eyes snapped open, and he was back in his bedroom, gasping for breath as he fumbled to turn on his bedside lamp.
Ahmed, who was laying in bed beside him, rolled over to look at Rob. "Is everything alright?"
"Sorry, I had a nightmare," Rob panted, his hand instinctively reaching to rub his wrist.
"That explains it, you were thrashing like crazy," Ahmed murmured, propping himself up on one elbow. Rob could see the worry written on his face but then a thought struck him, how did Ahmed get in his bed in the first place?
Before Rob could ask, a slow, insistent creak echoed through the room. The door began inching open on its own, revealing the darkness behind it. A shiver ran down Rob''s spine, and he heard Ahmed''s breath hitch.
"Zack? Is that you?" Rob whispered, tossing the sheets back.
"Rob, don''t," Ahmed implored, reaching out and grabbing Rob''s wrist. "Something''s not right. Please."
Shaking off Ahmed''s hold, Rob rose, almost compelled to close the door. As he approached it, Ahmed''s protests turned into frantic pleas. "seriously, you need to stop right now!" But Rob couldn''t stop if he wanted to, something was screaming at him, telling him he had to see what was behind the door.
He reached out and opened it farther to look down the hall, only the apartment hallway wasn''t there, instead, he was outside, the grass damp beneath his feet. The Sacred Stone loomed before him, their surface crawling with shifting symbols that pulsed with an unnatural energy. Then, from the darkness, two glowing eyes met him, and Rob''s scream tore from his throat.
"Rob, dude, wake up!"
Sunlight assaulted his senses as he jolted awake once more, Zack''s head poking through the doorway, looking anxious and unimpressed.
"Get your butt out of bed, or we''re gonna be late," Zack chided, as he made his way down the hall to the kitchen.
"Right, second semester starts today..." Rob reminded himself, his mind still foggy as he pulled himself out of bed. After breakfast they trudged to the city bus stop, the slush soaking into Rob''s boots.
"Zack, you wouldn''t believe the weird dream slash nightmare I had last night," Rob started as they waited for the bus.
Zack raised an eyebrow. "How weird are we talking? Movie theatre dream weird or underground locker dream weird?"
"Wierd then both," Rob said, staring at nothing in particular. "I woke up twice and it felt so real, like in one Ahmed was literally in my bed."
"I don''t see how that would be a nightmare," Zack remarked, shoving his hands into his pockets and shooting a grin at Rob.
"Ahmed was not the scary part," Rob replied, his eyes distant as he recalled the paralyzing fear of those binding vines. "It was the sacred stones, they kept showing up... like they were trying to tell me something."
The city bus groaned to a halt, its doors squeaking open to admit them. Rob found a seat by the window, his gaze fixed on the passing scenery. Zack settled next to him, casting concerned glances at his friend.
"Zack, this might sound out there," Rob started, his voice barely above a whisper as he leaned towards Zack, "but what if our stint in the spirit world screwed me up? What if we brought something back with us, something evil?"
Zack frowned, considering the possibility. "Is something you''re not telling me?"
"These dreams I''m having are becoming more life-like... I don''t know what''s real anymore," Rob confessed, a tremble in his voice. "Sometimes, I feel like I''m still dreaming."
Before Zack could reply, a jolt ran through Rob; his eyes shot open, and he was back in his bed, the sheets twisted around him. His alarm blared in his ear, telling him it was time to get moving.
"Rob, good to see you''re finally up," Zack said, walking into his room. "I was beginning to think I would have to leave without you, everything''s alright?"
Rob nodded shakily, "Well then, I''ll let you get dressed," Zack said as he turned and disappeared down the hall. But as Zack went to open the door to his room, he froze. His shadow on the ground stretched unnaturally, feathered wings sprouting from it. Zack''s hand flew to his back, finding nothing but the fabric of his hoodie. Blinking hard, he looked again, his shadow returned to normal.
"I must be tired too," Zack muttered to himself, shaking it off.
He entered his room, only to find John standing there with both their bags packed, he handed Zack his with an uneasy look on his face.
"You''re good to go, all your textbooks are in there," John shoved the bag into Zack''s hands.
Zack looked confused. He couldn''t deny the fact John had been acting weird since Christmas. "Uh, thanks," he said, then hesitated. "Are you good? You''ve been kind of weird lately."
"Ok, you caught me, I know I should have told you sooner. Just hit me and get it over with," John offered, opening his arms to give Zack a free shot.
"Hit you? Why would I hit you? What are you talking about?" Zack''s confusion was clear as day.
"Because I broke the bro code, I kissed Deb. I mean it was a mistletoe thing at a party, I didn''t want to..." John started, his eyes searching Zack''s for forgiveness.
"Kissed Deb?" Zack echoed a spark of anger or was it jealousy?—flickering within. "What party was this?"
"Steven''s, but it meant nothing," John said quickly, perhaps too quickly. "I haven''t even talked to Deb since. I''m sorry."
Zack sighed, rubbing his forehead as he grappled with the new info. He wasn''t with Deb anymore, she could kiss whoever she wanted—but John? Why did it have to be him?
Before Zack really knew what he was doing, he forced John out of his room. John''s broad shoulders crashed against the wall with such force that some of the photos came crashing to the ground.
"Damn it, John!" Rob scolded as he appeared in the hallway, his dark eyes flashing with irritation. "You''re going to cost us our deposit."
John picked himself up, brushing drywall dust and indignity off his jeans. He threw a sheepish glance toward Rob, but before he could muster an apology, Zack wandered out of his room. "Ready for class?"
This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
Rob, turning to grab his textbook, was about to respond when he noticed something unsettling. The chemistry book he had just picked up was blank. "What the—" His voice trailed off as his fingers touched the smooth surface.
"Rob?" Zack asked a little more forcefully.
Blinking hard, Rob watched the letters twist back into familiar English. "Yeah, I''m ready. Let''s go," he muttered, stepping around John.
Rob''s phone buzzed, and he caught a glimpse of Lindsey''s name on the screen. Another text, probably the investigation her unit was under, The RCMP was looking into the high rate of mysterious unsolved cases in the area. He decided it could wait until later, choosing to race after Zack and John.
---
Meanwhile, across the city, Deb stepped into her apartment building''s elevator. Her breath fogged as the temperature plummeted, and the overhead lights dimmed to a flicker. The digital floor indicator seemed to blur, and when the doors slid open again, she was no longer in her apartment building, but in the cold, forsaken basement of Grand River Hospital.
"What the hell is this," she murmured, taking in the desolate scene. Broken chairs, shattered glass, and debris were strewn about like the aftermath of a fight against a sin. She turned to the buttons in the elevator, but they had vanished leaving her with one choice, she had to go in.
She hesitated at the entrance to the morgue, a clinking noise echoing from the other side. The door swung open, beckoning her in. Deb''s breath quickened as one of the morgue drawers creaked open, a solitary card affixed to its front:
"CASE NO. 113/NAME OF DECEASED: WILLIAM/PLACE OF DEATH (CITY): WATERLOO/PHYSICIAN: Dr. R. Smith"
It can''t be, she thought as she read it over. The last name was faded, but her heart told her it was him, it hadn''t even been a year yet since he passed.
"Father Bill," she whispered, the words escaping on a trembling exhale.
A floodgate of memories opened, the dinners they shared, the tour he gave her when she first arrived on campus. But the drip of water called her back to the present, to the cold, haunted reality of the hospital basement. She needed to get out of there and figure out what exactly was going on.
"Focus, Deb," she ordered herself, turning to leave the morgue. "There has to be a way out."
Deb was almost past the threshold when a new sound pulled her back into the room. A metallic screech snapped her attention to the far end where a figure emerged, contorted and rotting—Father Bill, his cassock dirtied and torn, face twisted in a silent scream. Limbs twisted he crawled toward her like some nightmarish insect.
"God, no," Deb screamed, stumbling backward out the door. Adrenaline coursed through her as she reached the elevator and shoved against the doors; it gave way with surprising ease. She stumbled through, blinking in the harsh fluorescent light of her apartment''s lobby.
"Deb, you okay?" Ahmed asked, walking up to her.
"Fine," she lied, nodding too quickly, still envisioning the corpse of Father Bill after her.
---
Zack approached the lecture hall, not exactly excited to start physics. Pausing by the window, his reflection betrayed him, a dim pink glow surrounded him, golden wings unfurling majestically. He jerked back, it was happening again. He decided that he just had to ignore it and as he continued across the quad, his shadow morphed back into its normal.
"Thank God," he muttered, deciding to sprint to class before things got weirder. Down the stairs he charged, stumbling as he neared the tunnel leading to the science lecture halls.
"Zack!" Rob''s voice came from behind him. "You alright?"
"Fine," Zack lied, avoiding Rob''s searching gaze.
Rob''s eyes narrowed, seeing right through him. "You''re seeing things too aren''t you?"
Before Zack could respond, Ahmed and Deb joined them, it was clear they had been looking for the pair. "Guys," Ahmed announced, "Deb just had this crazy hallucination."
"So it''s happening to all of us," Rob concluded.
---
Back at her office, Lindsey flipped through an aged file containing a faded family photo. They smiled up at her, blissful and unaware of the tragedy that awaited them. Her hand hovered over the picture as a memory assaulted her: an overturned car, the glint of blood on glass, a lifeless hand reaching out. With trembling fingers, she attached a post-it note to the corner, "Winters Family" written in stark black ink.
"Was it really an accident?" she murmured, stepping back to take in the web of evidence splayed before her. Know what she knew, could there have been a supernatural element to it?
---
Back at the university, the gang found seats in the SLC. Ahmed revelled in the shared madness. "At least I''m not the one seeing things this time," he said, half-joking.
Deb shook her head. "Why are we seeing things?" she insisted, trying to figure out how this all started.
"Maybe it''s just After Effects," Zack suggested, thinking back to when they entered the spirit world. "Dying and coming back... it has to leave a mark, right?"
They exchanged weary glances, they really didn''t have any other way to explain it. The next issue was how to get it to stop. "Look, I say we talk to Paulina, she''ll be able to figure this out. I''ve already skipped physics and I have a history class starting in ten, I''ll message her right after." Zack explained, his friends nodded in agreement before heading out to their own classes.
---
The chalk scraped against the blackboard as Prof. Benowitz sketched out timelines and battle names, his voice a steady hum in the hushed classroom. "And so," he concluded, glancing over his shoulder at the sea of university students, "history is not just about the past; it shapes our present."
"I''d like to thank you all for making my first lecture here an enjoyable one," he concluded, setting the whiteboard marker down, "This job has always been a dream of mine. I''m very lucky that my daughter is here to see my dream become a reality today," He gestured vaguely toward the back where a young Indigenous girl sat, her cheeks tinged with pink.
Her eyes darted around the room, mortified, meeting Zack''s gaze. Time seemed to slow as they shared a look, not since Deb had Zack felt this instant connection. Then Zack''s attention was snatched away as he glimpsed his shadow, once again it looked more angel than human.
He blinked hard, heart racing, forcing his gaze back to his notebook. The shadow obeyed, shrinking back into the outline of a messy-haired college student.
---
Across campus, in the psychology lecture hall, Deb''s hand trembled as she tried to take notes. She bit her lip, willing the quaking to stop as she noticed her writing had become illegible. Ahmed leaned closer, looking over her chicken scratch. "Your hand," he whispered.
"It''s been like this since... since we came back," Deb admitted, looking over at him. A spasm shot through her hand, the pen snapping from her grip and clattering to the floor, her notebook following with an echoing thud.
Memories surged—Father Bill''s body sliding into the morgue drawer, the haunting rush of his spider-like approach. Deb squeezed her eyes shut, banishing the images.
"It''s ok, just start over," Ahmed commanded, placing her pen back in her hand. "You''ve got this."
Deb took a deep breath, finding her place in her notebook. Her fingers wrapped around the pen, steadier now, as she resumed her notes, she didn''t notice John''s intense gaze from across the room.
---
Meanwhile, Rob wrestled with his gym locker, digits swimming away from the lock as he tried to read them. The numbers swirled, morphing into nonsensical symbols. Zack arrived after class and noticed him struggling. "Paulina did say there would be side effects," he remembered, thinking back to that night in her basement.
"Side effects?" Rob scoffed, abandoning the lock with a huff. "I can''t read, Zack. And I''m seeing things, there has to be a way to stop this." His snapped, Zack remained silent.
Rob rolled his eyes, frustrated with Zack''s lack of response. He glanced back at the lock, now a cryptic array of runes glowing in the light of the locker room. The symbols pulsated, mirroring the Sacred Stones. His gut twisted with unease.
"Damn it," Rob muttered, dropping the lock. "This is useless."
Zack rested a hand on his shoulder and Rob looked over at him. Together, they abandoned the futile attempt and made their way out into the crisp air of the parking lot. Both were unsure how they were going to fix this problem.
As they strode past a row of cars, Zack sensed a powerful stressed aura. The Indigenous girl from history class was locked in a heated exchange with Mr. Benowitz next to an old red car.
"Please, Dad, just stop. I can handle my own life," she pleaded, her tone teetering between anger and desperation.
Zack slowed his pace, wondering which one was giving off the aura. The teen''s eyes flicked toward him, and he quickly looked away, praying she didn''t notice him eavesdropping.
"Zack?" Rob called, realizing Zack had fallen out of step with him.
Zack''s gaze snapped back to Rob, and for a split second, they stood there, transfixed. Rob''s eyes widened as he noticed Zack''s eyes shift to their florescent pink colour, "Um your vessel eyes are showing."
"Let''s go," Zack said abruptly, grabbing his arm and covering his eyes with his hand.
They hustled towards the nearest building, ducking into the sanctuary of an empty bathroom. The sterile scent of hand soap stung their nostrils as they faced each other beside the sinks.
"Zack, your eyes—" Rob started, but Zack held up a hand to silence him.
Without a word, Zack extended his trembling hands in front of him. Claws, sharp and black as obsidian, erupted from his fingertips. With deliberate force, he drove them into his own palms. Blood welled around the self-inflicted wounds, and Zack'' stifled a scream from the pain.
"Zack!" Rob reached out for his friend.
But as quickly as the transformation had started, Zack regained control. His claws retracted and his wounds healed like nothing had ever happened.
"Zack, what was that?" Rob looked terrified, he had almost forgotten what it was like when Zack couldn''t control his powers.
"It''s ok, pain can help control it," Zack breathed out, washing the blood off his hands. "It grounds me... reminds me I''m in control." He turned off the water, watching the crimson trail disappear down the drain.
"Sure but if you can''t control your shifts, we are in big trouble," Rob countered softly.
Zack met his gaze in the mirror, the pink in his eyes fading to their usual piercing blue. "Paulina will know what to do, trust me. We just need to make it through today. Can you do that?"
Rob nodded but he still wasn''t sure if there was an actual solution to this problem. They had gotten lucky more times than he could count, but eventually, their luck would run out and Rob was worried that might be the case this time.
"Of course I can," Rob affirmed, clapping Zack on the back as they left the bathroom, stepping back into the world where they could pretend to be normal for a few hours a day.