The first rays of dawn were barely warming the world outside when Lisa's resolve solidified. She would get answers. The library's archives opened early, and Lisa was there as soon as the doors unlocked. Her steps echoed in the near-empty hall, the quiet amplifying her racing thoughts.
She had been to the library dozens of times before, but never to the dusty, rarely-visited section on ancient texts. The books here were more relics than resources, their spines brittle and stained with age. Lisa scanned the shelves until her fingers landed on a thin, leather-bound book with a worn cover that read Necromancy and Rituals: An Examination. Her heart thudded as she took it off the shelf, a strange chill running down her spine.
She found a table in the corner, away from prying eyes, and started flipping through the pages. The book was filled with diagrams, illustrations of symbols, and meticulously detailed instructions for rituals—some to contact spirits, others to resurrect the dead. Her fingers trembled as she turned to a section titled Resurrection: Risks and Repercussions.
She skimmed through the warnings, her pulse quickening with every line: "A flawed ritual can tear open doors best left closed… Unintended entities may be invited… The soul, unsettled, may bring with it darker forces..."
She read each word twice, hoping she was misunderstanding. But there it was, as clear as day. If her ritual had been flawed, she hadn't just brought Liam back. She might have awakened something else—something darker. Her throat tightened, and a shiver ran down her spine.
Maybe Emily was right. She had wanted so badly to bring Liam back that she hadn't thought of the consequences. She'd felt so powerful that night in the graveyard, so certain of herself. But now she realized she might have opened a door she couldn't close.
Footsteps approached, and Lisa quickly closed the book, her heart leaping. She glanced up to see the librarian shuffling past with an armful of books, paying her no mind. Lisa exhaled, and, with a renewed sense of determination, opened the book again to continue reading.
"Symptoms of a flawed resurrection include shifts in the subject's personality, disturbances in their aura, and unexplained phenomena in the environment." She thought back to the carnival—the flickering lights, the strange energy, the way shadows seemed to cling to Liam as if he were cloaked in darkness. Her stomach twisted. She hadn't imagined it. Liam's return wasn't natural; it was… tainted.
Lisa slammed the book shut, feeling a surge of fear and guilt. What had she done? She could still picture Liam's haunted expression from the night before, his eyes clouded with some hidden pain he'd tried to conceal. Was that because of her?
As the weight of her decision settled heavily on her, she felt a mixture of emotions: guilt, fear, and something almost like betrayal. She had wanted him back, wanted their connection, and yet she'd never thought she might be bringing him into a life filled with torment.
But in the corner of her mind, another thought lingered—a dangerous curiosity. If she'd made a mistake, maybe she could undo it. Or… she could fix it. She swallowed, unsure if she could trust herself to open the book again, but her fingers were already reaching for it.
Suddenly, her phone vibrated, snapping her out of her trance. It was a message from Emily: "Hey, are you okay? You left so early. I can tell something's up. Call me."
Lisa stared at the message, her fingers hovering over the screen. She wanted to confide in Emily, but how could she explain any of this? How could she tell her best friend that she might have unleashed something dark upon them all? No, she decided. She had to fix this herself. She couldn't drag Emily further into this mess.
But deep down, a small voice told her that Emily would find out sooner or later. She always did.
For now, though, Lisa stuffed the book into her bag, making her way out of the library. She needed space, time to think. But as she stepped outside, the town seemed different. The sky was clouded, casting an eerie grayness over everything, and the usually bustling streets were unsettlingly quiet, as if the entire town sensed something amiss.
She walked aimlessly, her thoughts swirling with worry, until she found herself back at the lake where she and Emily had sat the day before. The water was still, its surface mirror-like, and for a moment, Lisa felt an urge to let go, to walk away from everything and let someone else deal with the consequences of her actions.
But then, through the calm surface, she saw her reflection, pale and haunted, and she realized she couldn't escape this. This was her doing, her responsibility. If something dark had come through with Liam, she was the one who would have to face it.
As she turned to leave, a gust of wind rippled across the lake, and in the corner of her eye, she thought she saw a shadow in the water—a shape that didn't belong, lingering just below the surface. She blinked, and it was gone, but the feeling lingered, a chill settling over her.
Clutching her bag tightly, she started back toward her house, her mind racing with questions. How could she put an end to this without losing Liam? How could she fix what she'd broken? And, most terrifyingly, what other forces might be lurking, waiting for her to make a mistake?
By the time she reached her front door, she had only one certainty: she couldn't keep ignoring this. She would have to face the darkness, understand the forces she'd awakened, and find a way to protect those she loved.
And, as she stood there, the shadow she'd seen in the lake flickered in her mind's eye, growing darker and sharper. Whatever she had brought back, she knew it wasn't just Liam anymore. Something else had come with him, and it was getting closer.