Her footsteps echoed softly against the tiled floor. Mostly, she heard the muffled hum of campus life students chattering, the clatter of lockers, and the faint buzz of air conditioning. The world seemed to be receding sounds blurring and indistinct at the same time pulling her toward a darker place, a quieter place. Silas moved ahead of her, silent steps forward, his form melting into the shadows at the edges of her vision.
Lilly's heart pounded as she tried to steady her breathing. She had no idea what she was walking into, and at this juncture, she knew turning back was not an option. Every step felt heavier than the last as it was loaded down with both the events of the previous night, and the knowledge that whatever had happened wasn't over yet. Not by a long shot.
She could feel the coldness of the air as it swirled around her, the same chill that always came with the supernatural, seeping into her bones and clinging to her skin. It was a reminder, a constant reminder, that she was no longer fully anchored in the world of the living anymore. The boundaries were thinning, and she was caught in the middle.
He hadn't said a word since he'd appeared outside the lecture hall, but his presence was far louder than any voice could have been. There was something urgent in the way he moved, in the way he took her away from the everyday chaos of campus, out into something darker, something far more dangerous. The lecture she just left felt like a distant dream; the noise of normal college life was already fading from her mind.
As they went out into the open from the building, he stepped into the cool morning air; Lilly's eye followed the first light of dawn as it began to fade into the day. The sun climbed higher into the sky, the warmth of its rays pecking against her face, but not even the day could chase away the darkness clinging to her.
She finally said, "Silas", in a trembling voice, barely a whisper.
He wheeled around, his eyes-instantly bright, razor-edged-focused on hers. For a moment, he said nothing, his face inscrutable. It was impossible to divine whether this was still a Silas she had known, who had shepherded her through the dark pathways of West Wood Cemetery, or if he had altered, grown darker and more insistent.
"You've been seeing more, haven't you?" Silas asked quietly and calmly, but there was a thread of tension beneath.
Lilly swallowed hard, as a chill went through her skin. "Yeah," she said, just a slight shake in her words. "And I can… I can touch you now.
Silas nodded, impassive. "That's not supposed to happen. The boundary between our worlds is breaking down."
Her breath caught at his words. She had suspected as much, but having it confirmed sent a chill down her spine.
"You mean…" Lilly trailed off, trying to catch up the thoughts racing in her mind. "Is that why I can touch spirits now? Why does everything feel so… thin?"
Silas didn't respond right away. He looked away from her, out across campus. The sun filtered through the trees, casting long shadows in its wake on the sidewalk; even its warmth couldn't chase away the chill around them. Lilly watched him closely, noticing the way his form flickered as if he barely held himself together.
"It's only going to get worse," Silas said finally, the resignation cut sharp in his tone. "That entity at West Wood Cemetary wasn't contained; its power is seeping into the cracks, and the more it bleeds into your world, the more blurred the lines will become between our realms."
Lilly's stomach fell. "So… what does that mean for me? For us?
For one fleeting second, Silas's eyes gentled, and a flicker of something akin to regret crossed his face. "It means that you are in more danger than you realize, Lilly-you're tied to this now. The more the barrier between our worlds weakens, the more you'll be drawn into this.
Lilly took a shaky breath, attempting to absorb his words. It was as if the thought that she was now tied into this otherworldly chaos-that nothing in her life would ever again be as it had been-teetered heavily against her chest. She knew she was different, considering seeing ghosts wasn't something with which most people could relate. But now, it couldn't be denied. Now she wasn't a bystander anymore; she was part of this world in some permanently terrifying way.
"And the others?" she whispered. "My friends… Layla…"
Silas's face turned grave. "They won't be safe if they're near you. The entity's influence will spread. It will search for weaknesses, for any way to cross fully into your world.
Lilly's breath caught in her throat. She had been trying so hard to keep this part of her life separate from her friendships, from her day-to-day existence, but it was fast becoming clear that separation wasn't possible. Layla had already remarked upon her growing absences and her erratic behavior. She wouldn't understand what was happening, but if the entity was looking for a way in, then anyone close to Lilly would be in danger.
"I cannot keep them out of it," Lilly whispered, helpless. "It's too late already, isn't it?
Silas said nothing for a moment, but his solemn face spoke volumes of confirmation. She was a gateway now, like it or not. The world she had the safe, ordinary life of a college student-was slipping away, and the people she cared about were at risk just by being near her.
Her hands quivered, fists clenched at her sides as anger boiled. "Why me?" she asked, her voice shaking. "Why am I the one tied to all of this?
Silas turned to her once more, his features softening. "It is not just you. You are part of something bigger. The artifact, the entity. They have chosen you. You are part of this now, whether you like it or not.
The weight of his words made Lilly's head spin. She didn't want to be a part of this; she didn't want any of this. She just wanted everything to go back to when she was a regular college student and be concerned over exams and rent, not ancient beings and a boundary collapsing between worlds.
But by then it was too late for that.
Silas took another step closer to her, his eyes locking on hers with quiet intensity. "Lilly, I know this is not what you asked for, but you do have a choice now. You can either fight this and keep the entity at bay or let it take over everything in the world, your friends, your life.
Lilly's chest constricted with the weight of the words. She was spending so much time trying to fit her supernatural encounters into her mundane life, attempting to separate them. Now, though, one thing vaguely shone: there was just no such balance. The world of the supernatural was bleeding into her reality, and she couldn't keep running from it.
"I don't know how to fight this," she admitted in a small voice. Silas's eyes gentled. "You won't have to face anything alone. I'll be there to help you.".
Lilly's eyes widened. "You will?
He nodded. "As much as I can. But you gotta understand, this isn't just about survival. It's about stopping the entity from crossing over completely. It does, there's no going back.
The weight of his words fell on her like a suffocating blanket. She had no idea how to stop an ancient entity, let alone fight it, but Silas's offer of help saw a flicker of hope. Maybe, just maybe, she could figure this out before it was too late.
Lilly took a deep breath and steadied herself. "What do I have to do?
Silas's face turned solemn. "We must perform the binding ritual-the one that was never completed. Only then can we prevent the entity from breaking through.
Lilly's stomach twisted at the thought of returning to the source of it all: the place where the ritual had gone wrong, leaving Silas trapped, the entity waiting. But if that was what it would take to stop this, she knew she didn't have a choice.
"We must go back to West Wood Cemetery," Silas said. "Parts of the ritual are still buried there, and we must find them, or all is lost."
Lilly nodded her head, but her heart was racing. It was as if the entire cemetery was somehow the center of it all and where it had begun. It would make sense that the answers lay buried there, hidden under a layer of history and darkness. There was something else, too-tugging at the back of her brain-a nagging, gnawing sort of fear that had built inside her since she had touched the artifact.
"What about the artifact?" she asked in a lower tone. "It's still attached to me, isn't it?"
Silas's eyes clouded over. "Yes. And that link will only strengthen. The entity will use that to find a way through. But if we complete the binding ritual, we can sever its hold on you."
Lilly blew out a slow breath as her mind adjusted to the enormity of it all. It was all so interwoven, from the artifact to the entity to her new ability to touch spirits. To stop the entity, she would have to face it head-on-going back to where it all started and completing the ritual gone horrifically wrong.
"Let's go," Lilly said, her voice even now, though her heart raced. She nodded to Silas, who fell in beside her, and the two of them began a slow walk in the direction of the edge of town. West Wood wore a soft veil of golden morning light, but to Lilly, the weight of the coming battle felt enormous. The mundane world grew distant as they walked as if already slipping away and leaving her standing at the cusp of something far more perilous and far more real.