The First Signs
1606 Words
Lana was still standing beside Sarah when her best friend suddenly smiled.
“Tomorrow is your eighteenth birthday!”
Sarah grabbed Lana’s hand, her eyes lighting up with excitement.
“We have to celebrate somewhere nice. Maybe we can invite William and a few of our friends, too.”
Lana smiled.
“Okay. I’ll invite him for you.”
Sarah immediately blushed.
“For me?”
Lana laughed softly.
“Yes, for you. But you have to take one step toward him, or I’ll push you.”
Sarah opened her mouth to answer.
Then Lana’s hand trembled.
She frowned and looked down.
The glass in her other hand slipped from her fingers.
Crash!
It shattered across the floor.
The sharp sound cut through the music.
William turned immediately.
So did Adrian.
Adrian’s eyes locked onto Lana.
For a moment, something inside him tightened.
He took a step toward her.
Then another.
But William reached her first.
“Lana, what’s wrong?”
Lana looked at him, confused.
“Nothing. The glass just slipped.”
William didn’t seem convinced.
His eyes moved over her face.
Sweat had begun to gather along her forehead.
His expression changed.
He took both her hands.
“Come on. We need to get out of here.”
“William—”
He was already leading her toward the exit.
Sarah hurried after them.
Behind them, Adrian remained where he stood.
His eyes followed Lana until she disappeared through the doors.
His jaw tightened.
He lowered his voice.
“It seems our fate begins tonight, Lana.”
The moment they stepped outside, Lana pulled her hands away.
“What was that?”
Her voice was sharp.
“I told you I’m fine.”
William said nothing.
Instead, he looked toward the sky.
The full moon hung above them, casting a pale glow over the school grounds.
His expression grew tense.
So this is what triggered the first signs.
He looked back at Lana.
“Is your house close?”
Lana frowned.
“Why?”
She glanced at the time.
“It’s still early.”
“Are your parents home?”
“Yes.”
William immediately shook his head.
“Then we can’t go there.”
Sarah stared at him.
“William, what is wrong with you?”
She folded her arms.
“You’re acting really strange tonight.”
William glanced around them.
His voice dropped.
“We don’t have time.”
He looked directly at Lana.
“We need somewhere private. Somewhere no one will interfere.”
Sarah hesitated.
“My house.”
William turned toward her.
“My parents are traveling. No one is home.”
Lana crossed her arms.
“But you need to explain what’s happening.”
William opened the car door.
“I will.”
He met her gaze.
“Just not here.”
A few minutes later, they were on the road.
Lana and Sarah sat in the back seat while William drove.
At first, Lana said nothing.
Then she pressed a hand against her chest.
Her breathing became uneven.
“I feel…”
She swallowed.
“Really hot.”
Sarah turned toward her.
“How hot?”
“I don’t know.”
Lana wiped her forehead.
“My whole body feels like it’s burning.”
Sarah touched her forehead.
Her eyes widened.
“You’re burning up!”
She looked toward William.
“William, she has a high fever. We need to take her to a hospital.”
“No.”
Sarah stared at him.
“What?”
“We’re going home.”
“She’s burning up!”
“I know.”
His hands tightened around the steering wheel.
“But we’re not going to a hospital.”
Sarah looked at him in disbelief.
“Why?”
William didn’t answer.
His eyes remained fixed on the road.
Because this wasn’t a fever.
And if he was right, tonight was only the beginning.
A sudden wave of pain tore through Lana.
She cried out and curled into herself.
“It hurts!”
William pressed harder on the accelerator.
“Hold on.”
Lana gripped the seat.
Her entire body was trembling now.
“I can’t…”
“You can.”
His voice was firm.
“Just hold on a little longer.”
William stopped outside Sarah’s house.
Before the car had fully stopped, he was already out.
He opened the back door.
“Sarah, go inside.”
She stared at him.
“What?”
“Fill the bathtub with ice water.”
Sarah blinked.
“Why?”
“Now!”
Something in his voice made her move.
She hurried toward the house.
William turned back to Lana.
She could barely keep her eyes open.
Without hesitation, he lifted her from the car.
Her body was burning against his.
He carried her inside and lowered her carefully onto the sofa.
Lana wrapped her arms around herself.
“I feel like…”
Her voice broke.
“My body feels like it’s tearing apart.”
William knelt beside her.
“Stay with me.”
“I’m burning…”
Tears gathered in her eyes.
“I can’t take this anymore.”
William’s expression tightened.
“You’re going to get through it.”
Sarah rushed back into the room.
“The water is ready.”
Then she saw Lana.
Her face went pale.
“Oh my God!”
She looked at William.
“Maybe there was something in the food or the drinks. We need an ambulance.”
She reached for her phone.
“No.”
William’s answer came instantly.
Sarah stared at him.
“William, are you serious?”
She unlocked her phone.
“I’m calling an ambulance.”
Before she could dial, William took the phone from her hand and placed it on the sofa.
“Sarah.”
His voice was urgent but controlled.
“I know what’s happening to her.”
Sarah stared at him.
“Then tell me!”
“I will.”
He looked at Lana.
“But not yet.”
He lifted Lana into his arms again.
“We don’t have time.”
William carried Lana into the bathroom.
The bathtub was filled with ice-cold water.
He lowered her into it.
Lana gasped as the freezing water surrounded her burning body.
She began to shake violently.
William crouched beside the tub.
“Stay with me. This will help.”
Sarah stood frozen in the doorway.
“For how long?”
“Until dawn.”
Sarah’s eyes widened.
“Until dawn?”
William nodded.
“When the sun rises, it should stop.”
Sarah stared at him.
“How do you know that?”
William didn’t answer.
His silence was more frightening than any explanation.
He sat beside the bathtub and took Lana’s hands.
“Stay with me, Lana.”
Her fingers closed around his.
Her grip tightened.
Then tightened further.
Her nails dug into his palms.
William didn’t pull away.
Blood appeared beneath her nails.
He simply held on.
Sarah knelt beside the tub.
She looked terrified.
“What is happening to her?”
William kept his eyes on Lana.
“She’s fighting something.”
“What?”
He didn’t answer.
Sarah looked at him for several seconds.
Then she looked at Lana.
Whatever William knew, he wasn’t ready to tell her.
So she stayed.
She brought more ice whenever the water began to lose its coldness. She whispered to Lana whenever the pain became unbearable.
“I’m here.”
“I’m not going anywhere.”
The hours crawled by.
Lana’s body continued to tremble.
Her breathing came in broken gasps.
William never let go of her hands.
His palms were bleeding now.
Still, he held on.
Inside, fear tightened around his heart.
Lana, you have to survive.
I just need to get you through this.
Outside, the darkness slowly began to fade.
Then the first pale light of dawn appeared through the window.
Lana’s trembling weakened.
The heat inside her body began to disappear.
Her breathing gradually became steady.
William finally exhaled.
His shoulders dropped.
He looked down at his bleeding hands.
Then at Lana.
“It’s over.”
Sarah stared at him.
“Is she okay?”
William nodded.
“She will be.”
He looked toward the bedroom.
“Help me get her out.”
A few minutes later, Sarah helped Lana change into dry clothes.
William changed his own clothes and returned to the bathroom.
His hands were still bleeding.
Sarah noticed immediately.
“Your hands!”
William looked down.
“You’re hurt.”
“It’s nothing.”
“It’s not nothing.”
She pointed toward the living room.
“The first-aid kit is beside the sofa.”
William nodded.
“I’ll take care of it.”
Then Sarah looked at Lana.
She was exhausted.
Her lips were pale.
Her eyes barely opened.
William gently lifted her into his arms.
He carried her into the bedroom and lowered her onto the bed.
He pulled the blanket over her.
For the first time that night, the room was quiet.
William turned to leave.
Then Lana’s hand moved.
Her fingers caught his.
William stopped.
He looked down.
Lana’s eyes opened slightly.
She stared at him through her exhaustion.
“Who are you?”
William said nothing.
For a moment, something unreadable passed through his eyes.
Then he slowly sat beside her.
A faint smile touched his lips.
“I’m your Keeper.”
He paused.
His gaze lingered on her face.
“I’ve always been.”
Lana’s eyes slowly closed.
But William remained beside her.
As dawn spread across the sky, the first sign had already awakened.
And nothing in Lana’s world would ever be the same again.
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