Grave lessons

The night air was thick with tension. The three artifacts pulsed in unison, casting an eerie glow across Kayla's basement. They had all gathered again, but no one spoke at first.

Everything had changed since the abandoned wing.

Kayla sat on the floor, staring at the ancient book in front of her, flipping through its brittle pages. Her mind was still reeling from what had happened—the entity, the abyss, the bloody handprint on her shoulder. But more than anything, her thoughts kept drifting to Caston.

To the way he had grabbed her before she fell.

To the way he held her.

She shook her head, pushing the thought away. Focus.

"The final step," Laura spoke, adjusting her glasses, "is sealing the rift before it fully opens."

"Before?" Marina echoed, shifting nervously. "So it's not… open yet?"

"It's cracking," Rose said grimly. "We've been seeing the signs. The shadows. The whispers. The thing in the abandoned wing."

Kayla exhaled. "Then we have to move fast."

Caston scoffed. "Oh yeah, because 'fast' has been working out so great for us."

Kayla shot him a glare. "Do you ever stop complaining?"

Caston leaned back against the wall, arms crossed. "Not when we're about to willingly walk into another death trap."

"You could stay behind," she snapped.

The air between them was electric, their gazes locked in a silent challenge. But this time… it was different. There wasn't just anger in Caston's expression—there was something else. Something almost like concern.

"You know I won't," he muttered.

Kayla swallowed, caught off guard.

Before she could respond, Laura cleared her throat. "We need to do this at the source of the rift."

They all knew what that meant.

The graveyard.

The Final Confrontation

Midnight.

The five of them stood at the graveyard's edge, the moon casting long shadows across the overgrown tombstones. The air was wrong—heavy, charged with an unnatural stillness.

Kayla clutched the artifacts, their warmth pulsing against her skin. "Let's go."

They moved carefully through the maze of graves, their flashlights flickering erratically. The further they went, the colder it became.

Then, the ground shifted beneath them.

A crack split through the earth, stretching outward like jagged veins. A deep, guttural growl echoed from below.

And then—

The entity rose.

It was larger now, its form twisting unnaturally, its hollow eyes locked onto them.

"You cannot undo what has been done," it hissed.

Kayla felt ice grip her spine.

"Watch us," Caston said, stepping in front of her.

Kayla blinked. Why is he—

Before she could process it, the entity lunged.

The group scattered, dodging as clawed shadows swiped at them. The artifacts in Kayla's hands burned brighter, vibrating violently.

"This is it!" Laura yelled. "We have to use them—now!"

Kayla's heart pounded. She clutched the artifacts tighter, stepping toward the center of the rift. The entity let out a screech, shadows lashing out—

And then Caston was there again.

Pushing her aside.

Taking the hit.

"Caston!" Kayla screamed.

He staggered, shadows crawling up his arm like living chains. His jaw clenched in pain, but he still turned to her. "Do it!"

Kayla's breath was shaky, but she moved. She slammed the artifacts into the ground, chanting the words from the ancient book.

The air rippled.

A blinding shockwave burst from the artifacts, slamming into the entity. It let out a horrific scream as its form twisted, dissolving into the rift. The ground trembled, the cracks closing—

And then—

Silence.

The night was still. The rift was gone.

It was over.

Kayla turned to Caston, her chest tight. "Are you okay?"

He exhaled, rolling his shoulder. "Been through worse."

She hesitated, then, against all logic, reached out—brushing her fingers over his arm where the shadows had grabbed him.

He let her.

Their eyes met. For the first time, neither of them had a snarky remark.

And that scared Kayla more than anything else.

A New Understanding

Back at Kayla's house, they sat in exhausted silence.

Rose was the first to speak. "So… what now?"

Marina rubbed her temples. "Therapy."

Laura chuckled weakly. "Agreed."

Kayla stole a glance at Caston. He was looking at her, something unreadable in his expression.

Maybe they didn't hate each other as much as they thought.