Silence.
Nobody moved.
Nobody spoke.
The five boys stood frozen in Zeven's room, staring at the mirror.
The reflection was gone.
Only their own images stared back now.
Normal.
Completely normal.
Yet nobody felt normal anymore.
The storm outside continued to rage.
Rain hammered against the windows.
Thunder rolled across the sky.
For several seconds nobody said anything.
Then Dak finally broke.
"Tell me I'm not crazy."
His voice sounded weaker than usual.
Nobody laughed.
Nobody made a joke.
Because all four of them knew exactly what he meant.
Matthew was the first to answer.
"You saw it."
Dak nodded immediately.
"Yeah."
Ozias crossed his arms.
"I saw it too."
Kael looked at the mirror one more time before speaking.
"Same."
The room became silent again.
Dak pointed toward the mirror.
"So..."
He swallowed.
"What the hell was that?"
Nobody answered.
Because nobody knew.
Zeven looked away from the mirror.
His heart was still beating too fast.
The image was burned into his mind.
His face.
His body.
His hair.
Everything exactly the same.
Except those eyes.
Those black eyes.
Dark.
Cold.
Wrong.
The same eyes he had seen in the bathroom.
The same eyes from before the pain started.
The same eyes from the bathtub.
The same eyes that seemed to follow him.
Matthew noticed Zeven's expression.
"You alright?"
Zeven hesitated.
Then shrugged.
"I don't know."
It was becoming his favorite answer tonight.
Because it was the truth.
He didn't know anything anymore.
Not what happened.
Not why it happened.
Not what he had become.
Not even if it was over.
Dak suddenly stood up.
"Okay."
Everyone looked at him.
"I'm hungry."
The others stared.
Dak raised both hands.
"What?"
"We almost died tonight."
"We deserve food."
For the first time since the mirror incident, a small smile appeared on Ozias' face.
"You always think with your stomach."
"And yet I'm still alive."
Dak answered proudly.
Kael rolled his eyes.
"A miracle."
"Hater."
Matthew sighed.
"Come on."
"Let's go downstairs."
Nobody objected.
The truth was simple.
None of them wanted to stay alone.
Not tonight.
Not after what happened.
Together felt safer.
Even if they didn't understand why.
A few minutes later they sat around the kitchen table.
The atmosphere felt strange.
Familiar.
Yet not.
Dak had somehow found chips.
Nobody knew where.
Nobody asked.
Some mysteries were better left unsolved.
Crunch.
Crunch.
Crunch.
The sound filled the silence.
Ozias leaned back in his chair.
"I still think we're missing something."
Matthew nodded.
"We are."
Kael rubbed his forehead.
"Obviously."
"No human body can do what Zeven did."
"No human body can boil water."
"No human body can grow ten centimeters in an hour."
Dak pointed a chip at him.
"Actually, it looked more than ten."
"Thanks."
Zeven muttered.
Dak immediately realized how that sounded.
"Oh."
"Sorry."
"It's okay."
The room became quiet again.
Dak looked relieved.
Matthew kept watching Zeven.
He had been doing that all night.
Watching.
Observing.
Making sure his friend was okay.
The same way he always did.
Only tonight it felt different.
More serious.
More desperate.
Eventually Matthew spoke.
"What exactly did you feel?"
Everyone looked at him.
Zeven frowned.
"What do you mean?"
"I mean when it happened."
"The bathroom."
"The pain."
"The eyes."
"What did you feel?"
The question surprised him.
Nobody had asked that.
They had asked what he saw.
What happened.
What changed.
But not what he felt.
Zeven thought carefully.
The answer wasn't easy.
For nearly a minute he remained silent.
Then finally spoke.
"At first?"
"Fear."
Nobody reacted.
That was expected.
"Then confusion."
"Then pain."
His hand unconsciously moved toward his chest.
"I thought I was dying."
Dak lowered his eyes.
Nobody joked now.
Not after hearing that.
"I really thought I was dying."
The room felt colder.
Rain struck the windows harder.
"But..."
Zeven stopped.
Matthew immediately noticed.
"But?"
Zeven stared at the table.
Thinking.
Trying to understand himself.
Trying to find words.
When he finally spoke, his voice was quieter.
"There was something else."
"What?"
Asked Kael.
Zeven clenched his fist.
"I liked it."
Silence.
Complete silence.
Nobody expected that answer.
Even Zeven hated saying it.
But it was true.
"When I saw those black eyes..."
He looked down.
"I was scared."
"Really scared."
"But part of me..."
His jaw tightened.
"Part of me didn't want them to disappear."
Nobody spoke.
Not because they were judging him.
Because they understood how serious that sounded.
Matthew looked worried.
Very worried.
"What do you mean?"
"I don't know."
Zeven answered honestly.
"I just know that when I saw them..."
His blue eyes lifted.
"...they felt familiar."
Nobody liked that answer.
Not one bit.
A loud thunderclap exploded outside.
BOOOOM.
Dak nearly jumped out of his chair.
"Mother of..."
Kael immediately started laughing.
"Scared?"
"No."
"Absolutely terrified."
That made Ozias laugh.
Then Matthew.
Then Zeven.
Soon all five were laughing.
Not because it was that funny.
Because they needed it.
They needed something normal.
Something familiar.
Something that reminded them they were still themselves.
For a few minutes they talked.
About stupid things.
Old memories.
Football matches.
School.
The time Kael accidentally started a fight with six boys.
The time Dak nearly broke his arm trying to jump from a bridge.
The time Ozias somehow convinced a security guard he was a teacher.
Slowly.
Very slowly.
The tension faded.
Not completely.
But enough.
Enough for them to breathe again.
Hours passed.
The storm outside never stopped.
Eventually it was almost four in the morning.
Dak was half asleep.
Kael looked exhausted.
Even Ozias was struggling to keep his eyes open.
Matthew finally stood.
"We need sleep."
Nobody argued.
Because he was right.
The boys prepared places to sleep.
Dak immediately claimed the couch downstairs.
Ozias took a guest room.
Kael threw himself onto another couch.
Only Matthew remained standing.
Zeven looked at him.
"What?"
Matthew shrugged.
"I'm staying here."
"In my room?"
"Yes."
"Why?"
Matthew looked directly at him.
Neither smiled.
Neither joked.
"Because I don't trust whatever happened tonight."
For a moment Zeven stared at him.
Then smiled.
A genuine smile.
"Thanks, brother."
Matthew nodded.
"Always."
The lights went out.
Darkness filled the room.
Rain continued outside.
The storm still watched the world.
Minutes passed.
Then an hour.
Eventually sleep claimed them.
For the first time that night, everything became quiet.
Peaceful.
Normal.
Or at least it seemed that way.
Then suddenly...
Matthew's eyes opened.
His heartbeat was fast.
He didn't know why.
No sound had woken him.
No nightmare.
No scream.
Nothing.
Yet something felt wrong.
Very wrong.
Slowly he sat up.
Moonlight entered through the room.
The storm had weakened.
The rain was lighter now.
Matthew rubbed his eyes.
Then looked toward Zeven's bed.
His body froze.
The bed was empty.
Matthew stood immediately.
"Zeven?"
No answer.
The room was silent.
He looked around.
Bathroom.
Closet.
Desk.
Nothing.
Then he noticed something.
The window.
It was open.
A cold wind entered the room.
Matthew rushed toward it.
His stomach tightened.
Slowly he looked outside.
The backyard was dark.
Trees swayed in the night wind.
Nothing unusual.
Then...
CRACK.
A black lightning bolt exploded in the darkness.
For less than a second.
Matthew saw a silhouette standing beneath the rain.
Tall.
Motionless.
Watching the sky.
Then darkness returned.
And the figure was gone.
Matthew's heart stopped.
Because he already knew exactly who it was.
"Zeven..."
And somewhere beyond the trees...
Another black lightning bolt illuminated the night.