THE MARK
1800 Words
Seraphina did not know how long she had been standing there.
The rain had soaked through her clothes, but she barely noticed. Her eyes remained fixed on the empty road where the men had disappeared.
A few minutes ago, she had been running for her life.
Now there was nothing.
No shouting.
No footsteps.
No car engines.
Nothing except the rain and the distant sound of traffic.
She slowly looked around.
“Where did they go?”
Her voice came out weak.
She took a step backward.
Then another.
Her mind kept trying to convince her that what had happened had some kind of explanation. Maybe she had panicked. Maybe she had imagined part of it.
But she knew she hadn't.
She had seen what happened.
She had felt it.
Something had moved through the darkness.
Something that shouldn't have been possible.
Seraphina rubbed her arms and started walking.
She needed to get home.
That was the only thought she could hold onto.
She kept looking behind her as she walked, expecting one of those men to appear again. Every time a car slowed down, her heart jumped.
By the time she reached her apartment building, her legs were tired.
She hurried inside and pushed the door shut behind her.
The security guard at the entrance glanced at her.
“Miss, are you okay?”
Seraphina stopped.
She looked down at herself.
Her clothes were wet. Her hair was a mess. She was breathing like she'd just run a marathon.
“I'm fine.”
The guard looked unconvinced.
“You're sure?.
“Yeah. I just... fell.”
It was a terrible lie.
He stared at her for another second before nodding.
Seraphina quickly walked toward the stairs.
She didn't want questions.
She didn't even have answers for herself.
The elevator was still out of order, so she climbed the stairs to her apartment.
When she reached her floor, she searched through her bag for her keys.
Her fingers were shaking.
“Come on.”
She finally found them.
As she unlocked the door, she caught sight of something on her hand.
A black mark.
Seraphina frowned.
She lifted her palm closer to the light.
It looked like a small curved symbol, almost like a crescent.
She stared at it.
That hadn't been there before.
She rubbed it with her thumb.
Nothing.
She tried again.
Still nothing.
“What the hell?”
She stepped inside and shut the door.
The moment she was alone, the fear she'd been holding back returned.
She locked the door.
Then she checked it again.
She knew it was unnecessary, but she couldn't help herself.
Seraphina dropped her bag onto the floor and walked into the bathroom.
She stood in front of the mirror.
For a moment, she barely recognized herself.
Her face was pale.
Her hair stuck to her cheeks.
There was a small cut near her eyebrow.
She turned on the tap and washed her face.
Cold water ran down her skin.
She looked at her reflection again.
“I'm okay.”
She said it quietly.
Maybe if she said it enough times, she would believe it.
She reached for a towel.
Then she noticed the mark again.
It had changed.
The lines around it were darker now.
Seraphina's stomach tightened.
She touched it.
Pain shot through her palm.
She pulled her hand away.
“What is happening?”
Her phone rang.
She nearly dropped the towel.
She grabbed the phone from the counter.
Unknown number.
She stared at the screen.
After a moment, she answered.
“Hello?”
Nothing.
“Hello?”
There was breathing on the other end.
Seraphina's expression changed.
“Who is this?”
The call ended.
She stared at the screen.
A second later, a message arrived.
Don't go outside.
Seraphina's heart began beating faster.
She typed a reply.
Who are you?
She hesitated before sending it.
Three dots appeared almost immediately.
......
Then disappeared.
Another message came.
You don't know what you've awakened.
Seraphina's brows pulled together.
She typed quickly.
What are you talking about?
No response.
She waited.
Nothing.
She threw the phone onto her bed.
“This is insane.”
She walked into the kitchen and poured herself a glass of water.
Her hands were still shaking.
She took a sip.
Then the lights flickered.
Seraphina froze.
Once.
Twice.
The apartment went dark.
She closed her eyes.
“No. Please.”
The lights came back on.
She let out a breath.
“Okay.”
She laughed nervously.
“Okay. It's just electricity.”
She turned toward the hallway.
Her laughter disappeared.
There was something on the floor.
A shadow.
It stretched from beneath her bedroom door.
Seraphina stared at it.
Her bedroom door was closed.
The hallway light was on.
But the shadow shouldn't have been there.
She slowly walked toward it.
The closer she got, the more her heart pounded.
She reached for the door handle.
Before she touched it, the shadow moved.
Seraphina stepped back.
The shadow disappeared beneath the door.
She stood completely still.
For several seconds, she didn't breathe.
Then she ran.
She grabbed her phone and rushed toward the front door.
Her hand reached for the lock.
A loud knock came from the other side.
Seraphina froze.
Another knock.
“Seraphina?”
She knew that voice.
It was her neighbor, Mrs. Collins.
Seraphina almost cried from relief.
She opened the door slightly.
Mrs. Collins stood there holding a small bowl.
“I made too much soup,” the older woman said. “I thought you might want some.”
Seraphina stared at her.
Mrs. Collins looked at her face.
“My goodness. You look terrible.”
Seraphina forced a smile.
“It's been a long night.”
“I can see that.”
Mrs. Collins handed her the bowl.
“Eat something before you sleep.”
“Thank you.”
The woman smiled.
Then her eyes moved toward Seraphina's hand.
“What happened there?”
Seraphina immediately pulled her hand behind her back.
“Nothing.”
Mrs. Collins frowned.
“That looks like a burn.”
“It isn't.”
She wasn't sure why she had lied so quickly.
Mrs. Collins looked at her for a moment, then nodded.
“Well, take care of yourself.”
“I will.”
Seraphina closed the door.
She stood there with her back against it.
Her eyes moved to the bowl in her hand.
For some reason, she suddenly felt like crying.
She hadn't realized how badly she needed someone to act normally around her.
She carried the soup into the kitchen.
She ate a few spoonfuls, even though she couldn't taste much.
Eventually, exhaustion won.
She went to bed.
But sleep didn't come easily.
Every small sound woke her.
A car outside.
A pipe knocking somewhere in the building.
The wind against the window.
She kept thinking about the mark.
About the men.
About the strange things she had seen.
And about the person who had called her.
At around two in the morning, she finally fell asleep.
Across the city, Lucian Draven stood inside his father's old study.
The room had remained untouched for years.
Dark wooden shelves covered the walls. Several old photographs sat on the desk, most of them showing people Lucian had grown up around.
People who were either dead or no longer trusted.
Dante entered the room.
“You're still awake.”
Lucian didn't look up.
“Where is the report?”
Dante placed a folder on the desk.
“I got it.”
Lucian opened it.
The first page contained Seraphina's name.
He read through the information carefully.
Nineteen years old.
No criminal record.
No connection to any known organization.
No history that explained why someone would send armed men after her.
Lucian turned the page.
His expression changed.
“Where did you get this?”
“From an old archive.”
“Who else has seen it?”
“Only me.”
Lucian continued reading.
There was a photograph attached to the file.
A woman.
Young.
Beautiful.
And familiar.
Lucian stared at it for several seconds.
“Her mother?”
Dante nodded.
“She disappeared nineteen years ago.”
“Disappeared?”
“That's what the official record says.”
Lucian looked up.
“And what do you think?”
Dante hesitated.
“I think someone wanted her to disappear.”
Lucian closed the folder.
“Why?”
“We don't know.”
A silence settled between them.
Dante finally said, “There was one more thing.”
Lucian waited.
“The mark.”
Lucian's eyes narrowed.
“Are you sure?”
“One of our people saw it before she left.”
Lucian leaned back in his chair.
That changed things.
He had spent years hearing stories about the mark.
Stories his father had dismissed as superstition.
Stories about people who were supposedly born with something no one could explain.
He had never believed them.
Not until tonight.
“Does she know what it means?”
“No.”
“Good.”
Dante frowned.
“Good?”
Lucian stood.
“She shouldn't.”
Before Dante could respond, Lucian walked toward the window.
The city stretched beneath them.
Thousands of lights.
Thousands of people going about their lives without knowing what was happening beneath the surface.
“Find out who sent those men.”
“We're already trying.”
“And Dante?”
“Yes?”
“Keep her alive.”
Dante nodded.
He left the room.
Lucian remained by the window.
For reasons he couldn't explain, his thoughts returned to the girl.
Seraphina Vale.
He had seen frightened people before.
He had seen people begging for their lives.
She had been different.
Even terrified, she had looked angry.
As if she refused to let fear decide what happened to her.
Lucian's phone vibrated.
He looked at the screen.
One message.
They found her.
His expression hardened.
Another message followed.
The others know about the mark.
Lucian stared at the words.
Then he picked up his coat.
The night was far from over.
Seraphina woke suddenly.
She sat upright in bed.
For a moment, she didn't know where she was.
Then she remembered.
The chase.
The mark.
The messages.
She looked toward the window.
Morning light was beginning to enter the room.
Everything appeared normal.
Almost.
Seraphina pushed the blanket aside.
Her feet touched the floor.
She looked at her palm.
The mark was still there.
But now there was something different.
A second line had appeared beneath it.
She stared at it.
Her phone vibrated on the bedside table.
Another unknown message.
She opened it.
There were only four words.
You need to remember everything.
Seraphina frowned.
“Remember what?”
The phone screen went black.
And somewhere outside her bedroom window, someone was watching.
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