The growl clung to Rey's ears even after the locker room went still.
He froze, mid-motion, the last strip of hand tape hanging loosely from his fingers.
Jayden was still talking — something about grabbing food after the match — but Rey barely heard him.
There it was again.
Low. Deep. Not human.
It slid through the faint hum of the fluorescent lights like a shadow through a crack.
Rey's gaze shifted toward the door. The metal handle gleamed under the harsh light. The hallway beyond was quiet now — too quiet for a place that had been alive with cheering minutes ago.
"You good?" Jayden asked, brows knitting slightly.
Rey didn't answer. He stood slowly, his movement deliberate, as if any sudden sound might break the spell.
The coach glanced up from stuffing gear into a duffel bag. "Where are you going?"
Rey's voice was low, almost flat. "I'll be right back."
---
The hallway smelled faintly of bleach and damp cement. The muffled thump of bass-heavy music from the after-fight celebrations echoed somewhere far off, but here… here it was different.
Empty.
Hollow.
Rey stepped forward, boots scuffing softly against the floor.
He turned his head slightly, scanning both directions. The left side of the hall stretched into darkness where the emergency light had burnt out long ago. To the right, it bent around a corner toward the loading bay.
The sound came again — a scrape, followed by that same low, rumbling growl.
It was closer now.
Rey's shoulders squared, his instincts tightening like coiled rope. His breathing slowed automatically, the way it did in the ring before a counterattack.
He reached the corner and stopped. His shadow stretched along the wall, a pale smear under the dim lighting.
And then… it shifted.
No, not his shadow.
Something in his shadow.
The outline swelled, hunched forward. Ears — pointed. Arms — too long. Legs bent wrong.
Rey blinked hard.
The figure was gone.
His normal shadow returned, motionless against the peeling paint.
A voice echoed from behind him. "Rey?"
He turned sharply. Jayden stood at the other end of the hall, one hand braced against the wall, his head tilted in confusion.
"You're creeping around like you saw a ghost," Jayden said, forcing a laugh. "What is it?"
Rey hesitated. "Nothing."
The word felt like a lie in his mouth.
Jayden raised an eyebrow, unconvinced, but didn't press. "C'mon, man. Let's get out of here before your coach decides you need another lecture."
Rey gave one last glance toward the dark end of the hall before walking back. The silence in that space seemed heavier now, like something was waiting. Watching.
And as he stepped through the locker room door, the growl rolled in his ears again — so low he couldn't be sure if it was in the building or in his own chest.