The silence that followed was a fragile thing, stretched thin as we sat there in the aftermath. The air felt still, almost too still, and for a moment, it seemed as though the nightmare had finally passed. Will sat cross-legged on the floor, her hands trembling as she wiped her face. She looked small, fragile, but her wide eyes had a flicker of something new—determination.
"We need to keep moving," Ava said finally, pulling herself upright. "We can't stay here."
Cole groaned as he got to his feet, brushing dust off his pants. "Where? There's nowhere left to go."
I scanned the chamber again. The black mark where the sphere had been sat like a scar on the stone, but beyond it, there was another opening—one that hadn't been there before. A faint light glowed from within, pale and bluish, like moonlight.
"There." I pointed. "That tunnel wasn't here before."
Ava nodded, already moving. "Let's go. Before this place decides to close it."
Will hesitated as she stood, glancing at the mark. "What if it's another trap? Or what if the shadows come back?"
"They will come back if we stay here," Ava said firmly. "You want to wait for Freddie and Billy to try again?"
The mention of them made Will shiver, but she set her jaw and nodded. "No. I'm coming."
We slipped into the new tunnel, Cole leading the way with his flashlight. The light here felt strange—dim and hazy, like it was being filtered through water. The air grew colder the farther we went, and with every step, my unease grew. This place was different. It felt alive.
Will walked just ahead of me, her shoulders tense. I could see her fingers twitching at her sides, like she wanted to grab something for comfort but wouldn't let herself.
"Hey," I said quietly, matching her pace. "You doing okay?"
She didn't look at me. "I'm fine."
Her voice was sharper than I expected, but I let it slide. Will had been the quiet, scared one since the start of this nightmare—hiding behind Ava's confidence or Cole's steady calm. But now, there was something in her eyes. Like a spark that refused to die, even after everything we'd seen.
The tunnel eventually opened into a cavern—vast and yawning, the ceiling lost in darkness. At its center was a strange sight: a pool of water, still and black, so perfectly reflective that it looked like a hole carved into the world.
"What is this place?" Cole muttered, shining his flashlight over the pool. The light skittered across the surface, but instead of reflecting, it seemed to sink, absorbed by the blackness.
"It's not water," Ava said. She crouched near the edge, holding her knife just above it. "It's something else."
Will stepped closer, her brow furrowing. "It looks… like a mirror."
Suddenly, the pool rippled, distorting the surface. A low, gurgling sound echoed from the depths, and then something moved.
From the center of the pool, a shape began to rise. It was massive, its silhouette hulking and jagged, like it had been pulled together from fragments of stone and darkness. A head emerged first—twisted and horned, with hollow eyes that glowed faintly blue. Its mouth was too wide, lined with teeth that looked like shards of glass. The creature's body followed, dripping with thick, black ichor as it hauled itself from the pool. Its long limbs ended in clawed hands that scraped across the stone, leaving deep gouges in their wake.
Cole staggered back, his flashlight shaking. "What the hell is that?"
"RUN!" Ava yelled, already moving.
But Will didn't move. She stood frozen, staring at the creature as it pulled itself fully from the pool. It was staring back, its glowing eyes locked on her like it knew her name.
"Will!" I grabbed her arm, but she pulled away, her face set in grim determination.
"No!" she shouted, her voice carrying through the cavern. "I'm done running. I'm done being afraid."
The creature roared, its voice like grinding stone, and it lunged toward her with terrifying speed. My heart jumped into my throat. "WILL!"
But instead of running, Will grabbed a rusted metal pipe from the ground and charged straight at it. Her scream was raw, full of anger and fear that had been bottled up for far too long. The creature swiped at her, its claws slamming into the stone where she'd been moments before. Will ducked under its arm and struck—smashing the pipe against its side.
The sound of the impact was like a bell ringing. The creature staggered, letting out a guttural roar that shook the cavern. It swung toward her again, but she was faster, darting between its limbs and striking wherever she could.
"Will, get back!" Ava shouted, but Will didn't listen. She kept moving, kept fighting, every swing of her makeshift weapon filled with fury.
The creature's attacks grew slower, more desperate. Its form began to shudder, the darkness clinging to it unraveling like smoke. Will struck it one final time—hard enough to send the pipe splintering in her hands—and the creature let out a final, ear-splitting roar before collapsing backward into the pool. The surface rippled violently, then stilled, silent once more.
Will stood at the edge of the pool, panting, her hands bleeding where the pipe had broken. She stared into the black water, daring it to move again.
The rest of us just stood there, stunned.
"Will…" I whispered, stepping toward her. "That was—"
She turned to look at me, and for the first time since we'd entered this nightmare, I saw something fierce in her eyes. "I'm not scared anymore."
Ava stepped forward, shaking her head in disbelief but with something like pride in her expression. "That was stupid. Really stupid. But…" She paused, her lips curling into a small, rare smile. "You did good."
Will let out a shaky breath, nodding as she wiped her hands on her jeans. "We're not running anymore. If these things want a fight, we'll give them one."
Cole grinned, though his face was pale. "Remind me not to make you angry."
I couldn't help but smile, too, despite the lingering dread in my chest. Will had changed. She wasn't the scared kid trailing behind anymore. She'd faced the monster head-on, and in doing so, something had shifted in all of us.
The shadows still waited. The darkness still lingered. But now, it didn't feel quite so hopeless.
Because if Will could fight the monsters, maybe we could, too.