Continuation
233 Words
(for Chapter 5 continuation)
This wasn’t just in his head anymore.
It couldn’t be.
Something had changed.
Or—
someone had.
Killian ran a hand slowly down his face, his thoughts refusing to settle.
Why did everyone around him feel… different?
Not completely.
Not obviously.
Just enough to make him question it.
Murray.
Too calm.
Too controlled.
Too precise in everything he said—like every word had already been decided before he spoke it.
Gibson.
Watching more than talking.
Listening more than reacting.
And the others…
Small things.
Slight pauses.
Repeated phrases.
Off.
All of it felt off.
Killian frowned, pacing slowly.
Or maybe—
he just never noticed before.
That thought hit harder than the rest.
Because it meant this wasn’t new.
It meant he was late to something that had always been there.
“…No,” he muttered.
That didn’t feel right either.
His chest tightened slightly as another thought crept in—quieter… but far more dangerous.
What if they had changed?
Not behavior.
Not mood.
Something deeper.
What if the people around him…
weren’t the same people anymore?
Killian stopped pacing.
The room suddenly felt smaller.
Controlled.
Like a space designed for him to stay inside it.
“No…” he whispered again.
But the thought didn’t leave.
It stayed.
Rooted.
Growing.
What if nothing else had changed…
except him?
what if he is not the only variable?
- Writer
