Chapter Twelve
1025 Words
Claire, are you listening?"
She's not. Her eyes are somewhere else. Again.
I follow her stare. Dr. Barrett is across the hall. He's watching her. The look on his face makes me uncomfortable.
"Claire?"
"Sorry." She blinks. "What did you say?"
This is the third time this week. She zones out and I always catch her looking at him. Or he's looking at her. Sometimes both.
The weird thing? They never talk. They avoid each other like enemies. But the tension between them is thick enough to cut.
Something is going on.
"Want to grab dinner tonight?" I ask.
"I can't."
"You said that yesterday."
"I'm tired, Simon."
She's more than tired. Dark circles under her eyes. Shaking hands. She jumps at every sound.
"Talk to me. What's wrong?"
"Nothing." She smiles but it's fake. "I need to go."
She walks away fast. Barrett watches her until she disappears. Then he looks at me. His eyes are cold. Like a warning.
I don't understand what's happening here.
***
I start watching closer.
Mrs. Patterson wakes up screaming about shadow monsters. Mr. Chen won't sleep because he dreams about wolves chasing him.
The lights flicker during night shifts. They go dark for no reason. Maintenance says nothing is wrong.
The whole hospital feels off. Heavy. Like something bad is coming.
And Claire gets worse every day.
She barely eats. She flinches when people get close. She stares out the window like she's waiting for something.
I found her crying in the supply closet one night.
"Claire?" I sat next to her. "What happened?"
"Nothing. I'm fine."
"You're not fine."
She looks at me. For a second I think she'll tell me the truth. Then she stands up.
"I have to go."
"Wait—"
She's already gone.
***
I look into her accident.
The report says severe head trauma. Three weeks in a coma. Miraculous recovery.
But things don't add up. The car damage doesn't match her injuries. The first responders found her two miles from the crash.
How did she walk two miles with a head injury?
I keep digging. Local news. Police reports.
That's when I see the pattern.
Animal attacks near her crash site. Hikers seeing large wolves. Dead livestock torn apart.
All of it started when Claire woke up.
My medical training says to find logic. But there's no logic here.
Something happened to Claire. Something nobody talks about.
And Barrett knows what it is.
***
Thursday night. I'm leaving late.
The parking lot is almost empty. I see Claire walking to her car. Alone.
Then I see Barrett. He's leaning on her car door. Waiting.
They're talking. Claire looks scared. She steps back. He moves closer.
I start walking before I think about it.
"Claire!"
They both turn. Barrett's face goes dark. Claire looks relieved.
"Simon." She walks toward me. "What are you doing here?"
"Working late. Thought I'd walk you out." I look at Barrett. "Everything okay?"
"Fine." Barrett's voice is ice. "We were talking."
"Didn't look like just talking."
"This doesn't concern you."
"It does if you're bothering her."
The air gets tense. Barrett steps forward. I think he might hit me.
Claire grabs my arm. "Let's go. Please."
I let her pull me away. But I feel Barrett watching us.
"What was that?" I ask.
"Nothing. He wanted to talk."
"About what?"
"Work stuff."
She's lying.
"If he's harassing you, report him."
"It's not like that."
"Then what is it?"
She doesn't answer. We reached my car.
"Let me drive you home. Get your car tomorrow."
"I'm fine."
"No, you're not. And I'm not leaving you here with him."
She looks back. Barrett is still there. Still watching.
"Okay," she whispers. "Thank you."
***
I drove her home. She lives near the woods. Too close to where the animal attacks happened.
"Thanks for tonight," she says.
"Tell me what's going on."
"I can't."
"Why?"
"You wouldn't believe me."
The way she says it scares me. This is bigger than a work drama.
"Try me."
She stares at me. Fighting with herself. I want to talk. Too scared to talk.
"I have to go. Goodnight."
She gets out and runs to her building. I watch until she's inside.
Then I sit in the dark. Trying to understand.
The nightmares. The power outages. The attacks. Barrett's behavior. Claire's fear.
It's all connected.
I just need to figure out how.
***
Friday night. I stay late on purpose.
If something happens, it happens at night. That's when everything goes wrong.
I wait in my car. Watching.
Claire comes out at 11. She looks around nervously. Then walks to her car.
Barrett appears from nowhere. Claire freezes.
They argue. I can't hear them. But Barrett grabs her arm.
I'm done watching.
I get out of my car. Walk toward them.
"Let her go."
Barrett turns. His eyes flash. For a second they look like they're glowing.
I must be tired.
"Leave," he growls. "Now."
"Not without her."
Claire tries to pull away. "Simon, please go. You don't understand."
"Then help me understand."
Barrett tightens his grip on her. "She doesn't belong to you."
"She doesn't belong to anyone."
The air changes. It gets colder. Heavy. My neck tingles.
Barrett smiles. But it's wrong. Predatory.
"You have no idea what you're messing with."
"Then tell me."
The parking lot lights start flickering. All of them. At once.
Claire's eyes go wide. "No. Not here. Please."
"What's happening?"
Barrett's smile gets bigger. "She didn't tell you? Interesting."
The temperature drops. My breath comes out white.
It's summer. This shouldn't be happening.
"Simon, run." Claire's voice shakes. "Please run."
"I'm not leaving."
"You have to—"
A howl rips through the night. Long. Haunting. Close.
My heart stops.
That's not a dog.
Barrett laughs. "Too late."
The lights go out. Complete darkness.
Something moves in the dark. Something big.
Coming straight at us.
"What the hell is that?" I whisper.
Claire's voice comes out broken. "My past."
The thing growls. Low and deep. Right behind me.
I turn around slowly.
Two glowing eyes stare back at me from the darkness.
Then everything goes black.
- Writer
