Maya barely slept that night, the entity’s voice replaying in her mind like a haunting melody. Every shadow in her apartment felt alive, every creak of the floor a threat. By morning, her resolve was set—this was no longer about waiting for answers; it was about taking action.
---
At the design school’s rooftop, she met Dante and Aiden, their usual spot now transformed into a planning ground. The sun bathed the city in golden hues, but the warmth felt distant compared to the growing tension.
“We need to start investigating the victims,” Maya began, placing a notebook on the table. “If the entity feeds on people, we need to know who it’s targeting and why.”
Dante nodded, sipping his coffee. “It doesn’t seem random. There’s a pattern—it chooses certain people. Maybe they’re connected somehow.”
Aiden frowned. “And how do you propose we figure that out? We can’t just walk up to its lair and ask it for a list.”
Maya rolled her eyes. “No, but we can start with what we know. The disappearances around your building, Aiden. The people who vanished—do you have records?”
Aiden hesitated, then pulled out his phone. “I... might have something. My dad kept a log of strange events around the building. He called it ‘anomalies.’”
“Of course he did,” Dante muttered, earning a glare from Aiden.
---
They spent the next few hours cross-referencing names and dates from Aiden’s father’s logs with local missing person reports. Patterns began to emerge.
“These people,” Maya said, circling several names, “all lived or worked near your building, Aiden. And look at this—almost all of them were reported missing on cloudy nights.”
“Cloudy nights?” Dante repeated. “That’s oddly specific.”
Aiden leaned over the table, his expression grim. “It makes sense. The rift’s energy is strongest when the sky is overcast. Less sunlight to counteract it.”
“So it’s not just feeding randomly,” Maya concluded. “It’s choosing moments when it’s strongest. We can use that to our advantage.”
Dante raised an eyebrow. “How? Walk up to it with umbrellas and hope for the best?”
“No,” Maya said, her voice firm. “We use the next cloudy night to confront it. But first, we need to figure out how to weaken it.”
---
As the day wore on, Maya found herself growing more uneasy. The apartment buildings around them, once a source of comfort, now felt like looming specters. Even the rooftop, their sanctuary, seemed fraught with danger.
“Do you ever wonder,” she said quietly, “why it’s us? Why we’re the ones who have to deal with this?”
Dante looked at her, his expression softening. “Because we’re the only ones who can. Or maybe we’re just too stubborn to run.”
Aiden smirked faintly. “Definitely the latter.”
The three of them laughed, the sound easing some of the tension. For a brief moment, they were just friends again—normal, carefree, and unburdened by the weight of an ancient evil.
---
That night, Maya returned to her apartment, the weight of the day pressing down on her. She lit a candle, the soft glow casting flickering shadows on the walls.
She sat by her window, staring at Aiden’s building. The unfinished structure loomed in the dark, its outline jagged against the cloudy sky.
“Why you?” she whispered to the shadows. “Why us?”
The hum returned, low and insistent.
**“You’ll understand soon,”** the voice murmured, sending a shiver down her spine.
Maya stood, her fists clenched. “No. You don’t get to dictate this. I’m not afraid of you.”
The voice chuckled, a sound that seemed to vibrate through the very walls. **“Aren’t you?”**
The shadows on the wall shifted, forming shapes that looked almost human.
Maya took a step back, her heart pounding. “Leave me alone!” she shouted.
The shapes froze, then melted back into the darkness. The hum faded, leaving her in silence.
---
The next morning, Maya recounted the incident to Dante and Aiden.
“It’s getting bolder,” she said, her hands trembling slightly. “It’s not just watching anymore—it’s trying to intimidate me.”
Aiden’s expression darkened. “It knows you’re close to figuring it out. That’s why it’s targeting you.”
Dante placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder. “Then we’re going to hit it where it hurts. We just need more time.”
“Time,” Maya said bitterly. “It’s the one thing we don’t have.”
The clouds outside thickened, casting the city in a gray haze. The next storm was coming—and so was their chance to fight back.
YOU ARE READING
Beneath the Shattered Sky
RomanceIn the heart of a bustling city, Maya finds herself caught between two worlds-one filled with passion, secrets, and betrayal, and another yearning for freedom and clarity. When she meets Aiden, the charming but mysterious boy from her design school...
