Equifinality (Bare Bones)

What's in the Shadow

The sterile white walls of the infirmary gleamed under the midday sun, but the brightness felt wrong—too harsh for what I was feeling inside. The scent of antiseptic hung in the air, cold and clinical, doing nothing to soothe the growing sense of unease gnawing at my gut. My body ached with a dull, persistent pain that made it difficult to move, but that wasn't what scared me. What scared me was the gnawing emptiness in my chest, the shadow that seemed to lurk beneath my skin, waiting for the right moment to take over again.

Three days. I had been unconscious for three whole days.

My eyes flicked to Calliope, who sat beside me, her hand clasped tightly around mine. She had been here for hours, probably since I had first woken up. Her auburn hair caught the sunlight, casting warm, fiery streaks across her pale face, but her eyes... her eyes were full of shadows. Her lips, usually quick to smile, were pressed into a thin, anxious line.

"You're awake," she whispered, her voice fragile, as if it would shatter if she spoke any louder. She squeezed my hand slightly, her grip trembling. "I... I didn't think... I didn't know if you'd come back."

There was something different in her tone. It wasn't just relief—it was fear. It was as if she had seen something in me that terrified her. The memory of the lake came rushing back—the monstrous creature, the fight, and then... then I lost control.

"Calliope," I croaked, my throat dry and scratchy from disuse. I tried to sit up, but my body felt like it had been weighed down by lead. Every movement was slow, stiff, painful. "What... what happened?"

Her gaze flickered away from mine, settling on the floor. She took a shaky breath, her fingers tightening around mine. "You don't remember?" she asked softly, her voice barely audible. "What happened at the lake?"

I shook my head slightly. I remembered the creature. I remembered its eyes, black and soulless, and the way its scales shimmered like oil on water. I remembered the surge of power—the darkness—that had risen in me like a tidal wave, but beyond that... nothing. It was all a blur, like pieces of a dream slipping through my fingers.

"You... you saved me," she said, her voice trembling with the weight of something unsaid. "But... Ethan, your eyes..." She paused, her hand shaking. "They turned black."

Black. The word hung in the air between us, cold and ominous. I stared at her, the pit in my stomach growing deeper. My eyes? No. That couldn't be right. I couldn't have...

I swallowed hard, trying to find the words, but nothing came. Calliope looked at me with a mixture of fear and sadness that twisted something deep inside me. It wasn't just what she had seen. It was what I had become. Something darker, something dangerous.

"Calliope, I—" I started, but she cut me off, her eyes filling with tears.

"You weren't yourself," she whispered, her voice breaking. "It wasn't you, Ethan. It was like... something else took over. I could feel it, the darkness, and it scared me."

The knot in my chest tightened, making it hard to breathe. My mouth went dry as I tried to process what she was saying. It wasn't just the creature we had fought at the lake. It was me. The darkness that had surged through me—my eyes turning black—it wasn't a mistake.

I opened my mouth to deny it, to say anything that would make it go away, but the door to the infirmary swung open, cutting me off. The heavy wooden door creaked loudly on its hinges, revealing Professor Lysandra. She swept into the room like a storm, her robes swirling around her in a flurry of dark fabric. Her usually calm and collected face was drawn tight with worry, her sharp green eyes locking onto me with an intensity that made my skin crawl.