——
The class was moving on, though sluggishly. Most of the students, having been trudging from exhibit to exhibit for what felt like hours, were visibly relieved when the guide mentioned they were heading to the Ancient Egypt section next. Their relief, however, was quickly replaced by groans.
"Ancient Egypt," the guide said in his characteristic dull tone, extending one bony hand toward the hall. "One of the finest collections of Egyptian relics in Europe." His monotone voice barely stirred a reaction from the students, who, after a long morning of endless artifacts and dusty relics, were more concerned with the dull ache in their feet than the allure of pharaohs and pyramids. Puli felt a faint twinge of sympathy for the man, whose every word was met with such palpable boredom, but she couldn't blame her classmates. Even Brenda, who had once found some amusement in mocking the exhibits, had run out of enthusiasm.
"Are they trying to bore us to death?" Brenda muttered as they shuffled along. "Because it's working."
"You mean you're not excited about more old rocks and mummies?" Evelyn teased, elbowing Brenda lightly. "Come on, Bren, think of it as another opportunity to learn something."
"Maybe they'll show us how to wrap mummies," Brenda replied sarcastically, her stomach audibly growling.
Tina hummed, but she looked distracted, her mind clearly elsewhere. Tina fidgeted with her hands, before following the class.
But Puli didn't follow. While the rest of the class shuffled reluctantly behind the tour guide, Puli found herself rooted to the spot. Her gaze lingered on the stone slab, its golden etchings glowing faintly under the museum lights. A soft humming sound, barely audible, thrummed in her ears, whispering filled her head and she found she couldn't ignore it.
'Just go, Puli told herself. 'You're going to get left behind.'
But her feet wouldn't move. It was as if invisible threads were pulling her toward the stone, tugging her closer. Her heart quickened, a mixture of curiosity and fear swelling inside her chest. She could hear the faintest whisper of her friends' voices in the distance. Tina's worried glance over her shoulder, Evelyn calling out her name, Brenda's laughter, but they all seemed far away, like she was standing in a dream.
'What's wrong with me? Why can't I move!' she thought, panicking. 'Just move. Catch up with them. It's just a rock. It's just…!'
But it wasn't just a rock. The stone seemed to pulse, beckoning her closer. The golden eye gleamed more brightly now, almost alive with some unspoken power. She couldn't take her eyes off it. The guide had said it was an artifact, so old and strange that it had sparked debate among archaeologists. No one really knew where it came from, or how it was made. She felt a pull that was beyond curiosity and wouldn't let her walk away.
Puli had always prided herself on her calm, logical mind, the way science could explain anything if you looked closely enough. But right now, staring at that slab of stone, logic was slipping through her fingers like sand.
'Don't do this. Just turn around. Go with the others', she screamed inside her head, but her body wasn't listening. Her legs moved of their own accord, carrying her step by step toward the display case. Her hand twitched, fingers reaching out as if pulled by an unseen force. She wasn't in control anymore.
'NO! What am I doing?!' Her mind was frantic, alarm bells ringing, but it was as if her thoughts were muffled beneath layers of fog. All she could hear was the humming in her ears, louder now, and the small whispers were now as if a thousand bees was swarming inside her skull. The sound grew, vibrating through her head until it drowned out everything else—her friends, the chatter of the museum, even her own breathing. Her heartbeat drummed in time with the strange energy coursing through the air.
'Stop! STOP!' Her internal voice screamed, but she was helpless. The glass covering the artifact felt cool beneath her fingertips as she lifted the flap, her actions automatic, as though her body had been hijacked. The voices in her head grew louder, chanting things she couldn't understand.
Were they calling her name? Or was it something else?
Her hand hovered over the stone now, her fingers inches away from the golden lines carved into its surface. She tried to pull back, tried to regain control, but it was too late. Her fingers brushed the stone.
The instant she touched it, a shock of icy coldness shot through her hand, racing up her arm like a bolt of lightning. The cold gave way to heat, a searing pain that throbbed and pulsed, spreading from her fingertips to her wrist, then her elbow, then all the way to her shoulder. It felt like fire was burning its way through her veins, blazing a path up her arm and into her head.
The pain was unbearable. Puli let out a blood-curdling scream, the sound tearing from her throat as if it were being ripped from her very core. Her vision blurred, her body convulsing in agony. The buzzing in her ears intensified until it drowned out every other sound. She tried to pull her hand away, to jerk free from the stone's grasp, but her muscles weren't responding. Her arm flailed wildly, knocking against the glass display with a loud crack.
The stone toppled over, falling from its stand and shattering against the cold marble floor. The sound of the stone breaking echoed through the hall, but Puli barely registered it. Her entire body was consumed by the scorching pain, a pain so intense that it felt as though her very bones were being incinerated from the inside out.
She collapsed to the floor, gasping for breath, Her breaths were shallow, her chest heaving as she tried to suck in enough oxygen to keep from passing out.
Her fingers twitched, and she stared down in horror at what she saw. Golden veins—twisting and branching like lightning bolts.They crawled up her fingers, wrapping around her wrist, disappearing beneath the sleeve of her uniform. The veins pulsed in time with her racing heartbeat, glowing brighter with each beat, alive with some strange, otherworldly energy.
Puli's eyes were wide with terror, but she was too weak to move, too weak to scream again. And although she couldn't see it, they glowed with the same brilliant gold as the veins on her skin.
"Puli! Puli! can you hear me?" Evelyn's voice broke through the fog,her voice sharp with fear. The muffled buzzing in Puli's ears made it hard to focus, but she could make out the blurry shapes of her friends rushing toward her. Tina was kneeling beside her, her face pale and stricken with worry.
"Puli, are you okay?" Tina's voice wavered, her hand shaking as she reached out to touch Puli's shoulder. "What happened?" But Puli could barely comprehend the words. Her mind was spinning, the world tilting around her in nauseating circles.
Puli's head lolled to the side, her vision blurring. She could barely make out the shapes of her friends—Tina's pale face, Evelyn's trembling hands. She felt Brenda's hand on her back, warm and comforting, but it was distant, like a memory she couldn't quite grasp.
"Get the teacher!" Evelyn screamed, her voice sharp with urgency. Brenda, who had been frozen in shock, snapped out of it and bolted toward Mrs. Cooper, her trainers squeaking against the slick museum floor.
"Puli, breathe," Tina whispered frantically. "It's okay, you're going to be okay."
Puli tried to respond, but her throat felt raw from screaming. Her chest heaved as she gulped in air, trying to calm the swirling chaos in her mind. But everything was wrong. The world was wrong. Her hand felt like it was burning, and the golden veins pulsed with every beat of her racing heart.
"Hang in there, Puli," Evelyn said, her voice trembling. She knelt in front of her, her hands hovering, unsure of how to help. "Just breathe. We'll get help."
"It's okay," Tina whispered, her voice soft and soothing. "You're going to be okay."
Brenda's footsteps faded into the distance, her cries for help barely audible over the buzzing in Puli's head. Puli wanted to scream again, wanted to make it stop, but her body wasn't responding. Her limbs felt heavy, her vision darkening around the edges.
And as suddenly as it had started, everything changed.
The golden liquid that had spilled from the shattered stone began to glow, bright and blinding. It oozed across the marble floor, spreading like molten lava, Then, without warning—it exploded in a burst of white light.
The light consumed everything. It swallowed the room, the exhibits, the voices of her friends. All Puli could see was the endless white, burning into her retinas, and the loud, deafening buzz that filled her head, drowning out every thought, every sensation.
In that moment, Puli felt herself slipping. The world tilted one last time, and then there was nothing but darkness.
The voices faded. The light flickered out. And Puli was gone.