Zayne made it halfway to the entrance before a nurse intercepted him and escorted him back to his room. No matter how much he insisted he was fine, they refused to hear him out.
Screw it, he thought. Might as well use this chance to figure out who this so-called girlfriend is.
He just hoped it wasn't who he thought it was.
A few days passed as the doctors ran tests on Zayne. Finally, an unfamiliar face appeared in his room—a short girl with dyed red hair and green eyes. Despite her small stature, she didn't seem immature. In fact, he was pretty sure she was older than him.
"So, who exactly are you?" Zayne asked, eyeing her suspiciously. "It's pretty creepy to pretend to be someone's girlfriend just to get into my room."
The girl pushed the door shut behind her, forming a symbol with her fingers before casually sitting on the edge of his hospital bed.
"I'm someone sent to make sure you don't bite it in this place. I'm sure you've already had a run-in with a hunter."
Zayne sighed, leaning back against the pillow. "Yeah, that wasn't exactly pleasant. I barely survived—and the guy just vanished. No remains, nothing."
The woman gave him a strange look before chuckling. "Y'know, for a guy who was human a week ago, you're taking this surprisingly well. Especially considering you killed someone."
Zayne exhaled heavily, staring at the ceiling. "It's my personal philosophy not to dwell on things I can't change. The guy's already dead—it's not like I can bring him back. And besides, he was trying to kill me for no reason. I don't exactly feel bad about dealing with one less psycho who wants me dead."
The woman sighed before hopping off the bed. "That's one way to look at things. If you want to guess who sent me to protect you, I bet it'll shock you."
Zayne rolled onto his side, closing his eyes. "Nah, it was probably my sister. She always gave off supernatural vibes. Used to put a bunch of wards and talismans all over the house we grew up in." He yawned, his voice trailing off as sleep crept in. "Wish she would've warned me about all this, though..."
"Wow, good guess. Impressive—" She stopped mid-sentence when she heard his soft snores cutting through her words. Letting out a sigh, she pulled out her phone and stared at a picture on the screen.
"He looks completely different than in this photo..." she muttered to herself, her brows furrowing.
Zayne woke the next day to find the short woman still in his room, lounging on the couch. He let out a yawn and stretched before turning to her. "So, what's your name, anyway? I'm sure you already know mine."
The woman didn't bother turning from the window as she replied, "Wow, you really don't remember me at all. It's Robin. I've known your sister for years, and we've met plenty of times. Do you really not remember anything?"
Zayne blinked at her in disbelief. "No way. I think I'd remember a girl as pretty as you." He furrowed his brows, focusing harder. "But now that I really try... most of my memories feel kinda blurry."
Robin sighed, resting her chin in her hand. "Yeah, probably a side effect of dying. death is usually permanent."
Zayne tilted his head. "So, do I feel different? Other than losing a few memories?" He thought for a moment before shrugging. "Not really. I guess I feel a little... looser?"
Robin didn't respond. Instead, she lifted a small hand mirror and turned it toward him.
Zayne's face shifted from confusion to pure shock.
Who the hell is this? How did I not notice such a drastic change?
His hair was completely white. So were his eyes—every part of them, even his pupils. His usual caramel skin tone was unchanged, but his dreadlocks, eyebrows, and eyelashes had all lost their color. He inspected himself further, noting that he looked thinner, sharper—almost like he was pretending to be human.
Unsettled by his own reflection, he turned away from the mirror, his thoughts swirling in discomfort.
"This is all way too confusing... How am I even supposed to explain this? Maybe they won't notice. I usually keep to myself, so I should be fine if I just wear a hoodie. But what am I going to do about the shadow thing living in my body? It hasn't done anything yet, but who knows when it'll decide to show up again?"
Robin's eyes widened in alarm. She suddenly grabbed his shoulders. "What are you talking about? Shadow creature? What exactly happened?"
Zayne frowned, prying her hands off him. "When that hunter guy tried to kill me, this shadow thing came out of nowhere and saved me. Then it just... crawled back into my body."
"You knew I died, but not about the shadow?" He raised an eyebrow as Robin ran a hand through her hair, looking frustrated.
"This just got a whole lot more complicated," she muttered. "When the shadow attacked the hunter, did you lose control of your body?"
Zayne tilted his head, still processing everything. "Uh... no? I could move just fine—actually, better than fine. I felt stronger, faster... like my body wasn't holding me back anymore."
Robin let out a slow breath and sank back onto the couch. "That's... weird. It sounds like you somehow tamed the parasite, even though you were literally dead. That shouldn't even be possible. They only inhabit corpses." She paused, tapping her fingers against her knee. "Then again, I guess you were a corpse when it tried to take you over..."
Zayne groaned, running both hands down his face. "Great. I ask one dumb question, and now I've got some magic parasite living inside me."
Robin didn't say anything, but her expression softened slightly as he continued.
"I try not to let things get to me, but this? This is too much." His voice dropped to a mutter. "...Maybe I should've just let that hunter finish me."
obin frowned and turned her gaze back to the window. "That would break your sister's heart."
Zayne let out another groan and flopped onto his bed. "I know... but damn, this sucks. This must be God's way of punishing me for being too nosy."
Robin sighed, crossing her arms as she leaned against the window frame. "Maybe, or maybe you just got caught up in something way bigger than you were ever supposed to."
Zayne let out a dry chuckle, staring up at the ceiling. "Yeah, no kidding. One second, I'm asking a simple question, and the next, I'm dead, resurrected, and stuck with some freaky shadow thing living inside me." He ran a hand through his newly white dreadlocks, still weirded out by how different they felt. "And now I gotta figure out how to live like this without anyone noticing. Not exactly the future I had in mind."
Robin glanced over at him, her expression unreadable. "Well, you're handling it better than most would. Most people would be freaking out, crying, maybe even trying to deny it altogether. But you? You're just lying there, cracking jokes."
Zayne huffed. "Yeah, well, what's the alternative? Freaking out won't change anything. And honestly..." He hesitated, his fingers gripping the blanket beneath him. "If I think too hard about it, I might actually lose it."
Robin watched him for a moment before nodding. "Fair enough." She sat back down on the couch, stretching her arms over her head. "But for the record, you're not alone in this. Your sister sent me here to help, and whether you like it or not, I'm gonna make sure you don't end up dead again."
Zayne smirked slightly. "Well, that's reassuring." He closed his eyes for a moment before exhaling. "Still... I can't shake the feeling that this is only the beginning of something way worse."
Robin tilted her head. "It usually is."