Chapter 5: The Name in the Dark
The wind had died down, leaving the park eerily silent. Zoey stood still, staring at the tree line as if expecting something to step out of the shadows. I couldn't shake the feeling that we weren't alone.
"What do you mean, 'find out what it wants'?" I asked, still catching my breath. "That thing—whatever it was—it chased us, Zoey. I don't think it wants to have a conversation."
She turned to me, her face unreadable. "You're right. It doesn't."
A shiver crawled down my spine.
"Then why are we standing around like we're waiting for it to come back?"
Zoey sighed, her gaze dropping to the ground. "Because running won't help. It always finds me."
I stared at her. The way she said it—so calm, so matter-of-fact—it made my stomach twist.
"How long?" I asked.
She met my eyes, and for the first time, I saw it—fear.
"Since I woke up," she said. "Since the day I came back."
I ran a hand through my hair, trying to piece this together. Zoey had been… what? Resurrected?
Stuck in some in-between state? And something had followed her back? Something that knew my name?
I swallowed hard. "Zoey… is this thing the reason no one else can see you?"
She hesitated. Then, softly, "I think so."
The air around us felt colder now, pressing against my skin like unseen hands.
"Then we need to figure out what it wants before it—"
A sound.
Low. Whispering.
Coming from the trees.
Zoey's entire body went rigid.
I turned toward the sound, my pulse hammering in my ears. At first, I couldn't see anything. Just the thick, shifting shadows between the trees. Then—
A shape.
Tall. Too tall.
It stood at the tree line, just barely visible in the dim light. My breath caught in my throat. It wasn't human—at least, not anymore. Its limbs were too long, its posture too still. But the worst part wasn't how it looked.
It was the way it felt.
Like it knew me.
Then, in a voice that didn't belong to it, it whispered—
"Marcus."
My blood turned to ice.
Zoey grabbed my arm. "Don't listen to it."
But I couldn't move. I couldn't breathe.
The thing took a step closer, its movements slow, deliberate. Its presence made the air feel wrong, like the space around it was warping, folding in on itself.
Then it spoke again—only this time, it wasn't just my name.
"You could have saved her."
The world tilted. My head spun.
Zoey tightened her grip on me. "Marcus, snap out of it."
But I couldn't. Because suddenly, I wasn't standing in the park anymore.
I was back in my house.
Back in the living room.
Back two years ago.
Zoey was sitting across from me, wearing that same oversized hoodie, laughing at something Mia had said. But the moment felt off.
The lights were too dim. The walls seemed to breathe.
And then—
Zoey turned to me. But it wasn't really Zoey anymore.
Her eyes darkened, her skin going pale and sunken.
"You should have known," she whispered.
I stumbled back, gasping, and suddenly—
I was in the park again.
Zoey was shaking me. "Marcus! Look at me!"
I sucked in a sharp breath, my heart hammering against my ribs. The thing in the trees was gone. But the feeling it left behind—like something had reached inside my mind and twisted—lingered.
I clenched my fists. My head was still spinning, but one thought cut through the haze.
"It knows," I whispered.
Zoey nodded. "And it's not going to stop."
I met her gaze, my hands still trembling. "Then we need to find out what it really is. And fast."
Because whatever had followed Zoey back…
It was coming for me, too.
And it wasn't going to let me go.