The hustle and bustle of the campus was almost enough to take Lilly's mind off the chaos still swirling in her head. Almost.
She hunched her shoulders deeper into the hoodie, heavier with her hands buried deeper in its pocket, and wove her way through the sea of students rushing to morning classes. The cacophony of chatter, the aroma of newly brewed coffee, and the faraway honking of cars across the main road all felt unreal. After what she had gone through and what she had learned about herself, normalcy on campus seemed beyond reach.
But this was normalcy, and that was something that she wanted more than anything.
She needed to fall back into the rhythm of life, no matter how frayed the edges of her world seemed. The distraction might even help her retain a semblance of control.
Her phone buzzed again, but this time she ignored it. She didn't want to deal with any more messages from Layla, not from anyone. She just needed to get through today in one piece.
Reaching the lecture hall, she slipped into a seat near the back, well out of sight. The room was already filled with students, most of them talking about assignments or upcoming exams. Lilly pulled out her notebook and opened it to a blank page, though she doubted she'd take any notes today. Her mind was too scattered, too preoccupied with the events of the previous night.
A few minutes later, the professor dove right into the lecture without a preamble. Today's topic was social psychology, something about group dynamics and conformity, but Lilly could barely focus. The professor's voice was like a dull drone in the background, and her eyes kept drifting down to her phone downwards on the desk in front of her.
It had been buzzing ever since the minute she left her apartment, messages coming in from Layla and probably some from her other classmates. But she would not, could not, make herself respond. Not right now.
She felt the weight of it all: the visions, the ritual, Silas's sacrifice. It had all felt so removed from the world she was supposed to be living in; now it bled into her life, seeping in through the cracks she could no longer hide.
Her thoughts drifted back to the cemetery, back to Silas and the thing. She would never fully comprehend what happened, but one truth echoed through her: her life was never going to be the same. She had crossed a line, and there was no going back.
"Miss Harper?"
Her name cut through the air, and Lilly's reverie ended with a blink as she looked up to find the professor staring at her, his eyebrows raised.
Are you with us today?" he asked, his voice laced with a mix of mild irritation and concern.
Lilly nodded quickly though her face was burning red with embarrassment. "Yeah, sorry."
The professor gave her an accusing look before he turned back to the board, continuing with the lesson as if nothing had happened. Lilly slumped in her seat, avoiding the curious glance of a few nearby students.
Her phone buzzed with increased volume a second time, and Lilly cursed softly. She snatched it up, checking the screen with a grim hope that it wasn't just another from Layla, who sounded worried.
Instead, she froze.
It was blank-no notifications, no new messages. But she could have sworn that it had been vibrating nonstop.
Lilly frowned, and her heart quickened as she unlocked the phone and swiped through her messages. Nothing. Nada. Not one missed call or message.
A chill settled over her skin, the hair on the back of her neck standing up. She set the phone down to the desk, the trembling of her fingers slight as she stared at it. What the hell was going on?
It was as though the room mysteriously cooled, and the professor's voice became background noise once more. The whispered hum of the air conditioning now was louder, almost sounding like whistling wind through a narrow space. Lilly shivered and pulled her hoodie tighter against herself as an eerie feeling crawled up her spine. She looked around the room, but nobody else seemed to notice. The other students were either writing notes, typing away on their laptops, or scrolling down on their phones, oblivious to the shift in the air.
But she did feel it, Lilly.
It was the same type of cold she had felt in the cemetery. The same chill that had washed over her right before she had touched Silas.
Her breath caught in her throat as she turned toward the door at the back of the lecture hall. And there, standing just outside, was Silas.
He was not fluttering like a ghost would. He was more substantial, more real than he had ever been, and his presence sent a cold shiver down her spine, but not out of fear of recognition.
He was waiting for her.
As Lilly's eyes locked with his, her heart began to fluently race while her mind was running from one question to another. She did not know why he was here, but one thing could not be gainsaid: the line between this world and the spirit world was thinning for sure.
And Silas needed her assistance.
Lilly blinked, her body tense, but she dared not move. Silas was a statue, his eyes nailed to hers with an intensity she'd never seen before. She could feel the weight of his presence, the pull of something much deeper than the gentle ghosts she'd met thus far. There was an urgency in the air, a quiet but insistent need that she needed to follow.
Her hands quivered as her fingers grasped the edges of her desk on either side. She felt an overwhelming urge to run out of the room, follow Silas to West Wood Cemetery, and uncover precisely what he was trying to convey to her.
But a small, rational part of her was screaming at herself to stay seated, to pretend she didn't see him, go back to her normal life, and just ignore the growing connection with the spirit world.
She shut her eyes and breathed deeply, trying to still the maelstrom of thoughts whirling in her brain. She couldn't just leave. Not in the middle of class. Not when she was already barely hanging on to her scholarship.
When she opened her eyes, Silas lingered in the doorway, immovable as a shadow.
And then the cold air enveloped her once again, coldest this time. She shivered and tried to focus on the professor, but she just couldn't. Words on the board swam before her eyes, unreadable. She wasn't hearing anything the professor was saying. All she could focus on was Silas, the creeping cold that followed him, and the unspoken message hanging between them.
Silas stepped forward, his form solid yet still ethereal around the edges. The movement was slight; it was enough to pull Lilly's attention full circle. He was calling her out—without words, without gestures, just a quiet insistence that she couldn't ignore.
The minutes ticked by painfully, torturing Lilly, needy to get up and simply walk out of the room. She knew she couldn't stay here, couldn't keep pretending all was well when it wasn't.
Finally, the professor turned his back to the class to write something on the board; it was then that Lilly made hers.
She slid her notebook into her bag, reached for her phone, then noiselessly rose to her feet. Keeping her head down, she moved toward the door without eye contact with the inquisitive stares of the other students around her. Her heart was beating wildly in her chest, the cold air following her like a warning to hurry her pace.
As she neared the door, Silas roamed in the opposite direction, the edges of his figure misting into the blackness of the hall. Lilly stood waffling, her hand resting upon the door handle. Do I want to do this? An echo came back almost immediately. Yes.
She shouldered open the door and stepped into the hall. Cold air wrapped around her like a wave. Silas was already gliding down the corridor; his footsteps were quiet, sure, and purposeful. He didn't look back, but Lilly knew he expected her to follow.
She cast a glance over her shoulder-the lecture hall, the room full of shrouded faces before she turned and followed Silas down the deserted hallway, feeling her heart run a crazy race with anticipation and fear. Whatever was waiting for her at West Wood Cemetery, she wasn't sure she was ready.
But she had no choice.