Rayne was struck by the gloomy atmosphere as soon as he entered the classroom.
No one was chattering or laughing like usual. They were either staring off into space or glued to their phones.
There were a few quiet whispers among friends, voicing their concerns and dissatisfaction.
Even Mrs. Pritchett looked listless.
Rayne headed straight to his seat, near the middle-left side of the room—close to the only window.
The late bell rang, and Mrs. Pritchett began teaching with little enthusiasm.
While scrolling through Reddit, Discord, and Twitter, Rayne would occasionally glance up to observe those around him.
It was a habit he had developed after that experience three years ago.
The last few times he'd done this, he hadn't noticed anything strange or out of the ordinary.
This time was different.
A girl sitting two desks in front of him was checking her reflection in her phone's front camera.
After adjusting her hair, she lowered her head and started texting someone.
If he hadn't been paying such close attention, he wouldn't have noticed it—her shadow. It paused, as if struggling to keep up with her. It lagged behind her movements. The delay was brief, but noticeable.
A shudder ran through him. Rayne's heart dropped. He couldn't breathe.
He looked away quickly, heart pounding wildly. A cold sweat broke over him. His thoughts spiraled. His body trembled. He wanted to run. To leave school. He was terrified.
And excited. He was right. He wasn't crazy.
Rayne tried to calm himself with deep breaths, but it barely helped. He slowly raised his own hand and watched his shadow mirror the movement with rapt attention.
There was no delay.
A few classmates noticed his odd behavior and gave him scowls.
Rayne didn't want to look up again. He stared at his phone and pretended everything was fine.
He began frantically searching through websites and articles.
Eventually, he stumbled upon one titled "Changeling Stock."
The more he read, the more his fear grew.
It was the closest match to what he'd seen, though he still wasn't entirely sure. According to the article, a fae might be hiding inside that girl's shadow. Fae could take many forms—some malicious, some reasonable, few inherently good.
These supernatural creatures would often choose a victim—usually a young child—then kidnap or consume them, taking over their identity.
To get close to the child, they'd shapeshift into something familiar… an object, or even their shadow.
Rayne read until class ended, then left as quickly as possible, trying not to seem suspicious.
He felt pathetic.
It wasn't that he didn't want to help the girl, but he was terrified. He couldn't handle a creature like that alone. And Isis—the girl—probably wouldn't even believe him. Or maybe he was just making excuses.
As he walked to his next class, he calmed down enough to think more clearly.
*I can't stay at school. I have to leave and find Mom. I need a plan.*
Rayne wasn't completely firm in his decision to leave school. He was terrified of what he might find outside.
Even if many students disliked him, there was safety in numbers. If he was careful, he might be relatively safe. But then again, how many students had already been taken? Was there any real safety in numbers anymore?
But he couldn't leave his mom alone either.
He was scared. Torn. Confused. So he decided to give himself more time.
Four days. He'd give himself four days to decide and make a plan.
He would check on his mom every day and document every strange thing he saw. If he saw more than four strange things, he'd leave for sure. He'd also keep checking the internet for news on what was happening—and how widespread it was.
*Okay, I got it. That's the plan.*
Rayne felt a little better. But all his classes up until sixth period passed in a haze of anxiety, fear, and worry.
Sixth period was Spanish. The teacher was always kind, and Rayne tried to stay engaged. But today, he just couldn't.
Eventually, class ended. Many students wandered the hallways or met up with friends.
Rayne was one of them. He desperately wanted to see Navia. He texted her, asking her to wait in her classroom.
He made his way to the literature hall. When he arrived, Navia was chatting with two of her friends, Carly and Sam.
Neither of them really liked Rayne, but they weren't outright mean either.
Rayne sat at the desk in front of them and forced a smile.
"Hey girls, what's up?" he asked.
"Nothing really. We don't know what to do anymore," Carly sighed.
"Yeah, we can't do much except scroll on our phones or wander around," Sam added.
"What do you think happened? Chemical leak? Nuclear war? Zombie apocalypse?" Sam joked.
Carly and Navia laughed, but Rayne couldn't bring himself to.
"Can you guys tell me if you see anything weird? Or find anything online?" Rayne asked.
"Sure," Navia replied on behalf of the group.
While the girls chatted, Rayne opened his notes app and started listing the things he'd need if he chose to leave.
*I think I need a notebook. It'll be hard to keep my phone charged once the power goes out—at least until I find a generator. Damn, I sound paranoid as hell.*
Rayne got up and asked Navia's literature teacher, Mr. Peterson, for a notebook.
Mr. Peterson was surprised. He didn't expect any students to care about school supplies during all this. He figured they'd just use the "stress" as an excuse.
He felt a little touched.
He didn't have any spare spiral notebooks left, but he had a nice leather journal—one he had planned to give to the top student on the final exam.
But that didn't matter anymore. He opened a drawer and handed it to Rayne.
"You can have this if you want," Mr. Peterson said.
"Thanks. I really appreciate it."
Rayne examined the journal as he walked back.
It was bound in dark brown leather. He thought it looked kind of cool, but felt embarrassed for Navia to see it. He worried it would make him look cringey.
When he looked up, he saw Navia laughing and chatting with a guy named Mark.
Suddenly, the notebook didn't seem that important anymore.
Rayne didn't feel like walking over to them, so he found a corner and sat alone.
He felt jealous. He didn't hate Mark—actually, he thought he was a nice guy. The problem was, Mark was Navia's crush.
Rayne sighed and went back to working on his plan.