I didn't pick up the coin.
But it was in my hand.
It pulsed—warm, alive. Not metal. Something else. Something wrong.
I blinked.
The world exhaled around me—
And I was back in the woods.
---
But not the same.
The trees stood like watchers now.
Tall. Silent. Too still.
Their shadows moved… even though the wind didn't.
A thin hum vibrated through the air—like a machine under the dirt.
I tried to walk.
But the ground pulled.
Like it wanted me to stay.
---
Then: a clink.
Another coin?
No.
A key.
Ancient. Rusted. Tied with red thread—still wet, like blood.
It wasn't there a second ago.
I leaned closer—
And a whisper rushed through my skull:
> "The door's already open."
---
The trees around me shuddered.
Not from wind—from memory.
I saw flashes—like lightning behind my eyes:
A child running through Petra, barefoot.
A man standing by a cave, holding a knife.
Screams muffled in stone.
I clutched my chest.
The burn again. Hotter. Deeper.
> "You forgot this," a voice hissed.
I turned.
No one.
Only the key in my hand… twitching.
---
My phone buzzed.
Screen lit up.
> Eli: "Come. Before it finds you."
My heart stopped.
I hadn't told him anything.
Hadn't texted. Hadn't spoken.
But he knew.
---
I ran.
Branches scratched at me—no, grabbed me.
They moved. Twisted. Followed.
I didn't look back.
Because I could hear it—
Something behind me.
Not running. Not walking.
Sliding.
---
Eli's dorm.
I didn't knock.
The door was open.
He was waiting.
Eyes calm. Too calm.
The lights were off.
Yet somehow, I saw him clearly.
> "You saw it," he said.
"Didn't you?"
I couldn't speak.
Only showed him the coin.
It glowed in my palm.
He stared at it… like it hurt him to look.
> "It always chooses the broken ones," he whispered.
"You never had a choice."
---
I stepped back.
> "Who am I?" I asked.
His eyes narrowed.
He smiled.
> "You're the hill, Qu.
And this town? It's the price."
He pointed at the mirror behind me.
But it wasn't reflecting.
It was… shimmering.
A surface, not glass. A passage.
Something behind it moved.
---
I blinked.
And Eli was gone.
So was the dorm.
Only the mirror remained.
And on the glass, written in fog:
> "We were always watching."
---
I touched it.
My fingers passed through.
---
To be continued...
---
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