Chapter 5 — The Sleep That Was Not Sleep
997 Words
The gunshot outside turned the entire market into noise.
People shouting.
Metal crashing.
Footsteps everywhere.
Grayson immediately stepped away from the table. “Okay, nope. We are officially leaving.”
The old man moved faster than any of them expected for someone his age.
He grabbed the original map instantly and rolled it shut.
By the time Logan blinked—
the lines were gone.
Blank again.
Completely blank.
Mira stared at it in confusion. “Wait—where did it go?”
Selene frowned. “The markings…”
“What markings?” the old man snapped.
Silence.
Grayson looked between all of them. “Uh… the creepy black lines from two seconds ago?”
The old man stared directly at him.
“There were no lines.”
Grayson blinked once.
Then looked at Logan.
Then the maps.
Then back at the old man again.
“What the f**k are you talking about?”
Logan grabbed his own copy quickly.
Blank.
Nothing on it.
No movement.
No dark markings.
Nothing.
Mira stepped closer. “I saw them.”
“No,” the old man said quietly. “You saw the awakening.”
That made the room still again.
Selene’s expression tightened slightly. “Meaning?”
The old man looked toward Logan now.
“Meaning the map reacted for the first time.”
Another gunshot echoed outside.
Closer.
Grayson pointed toward the door immediately. “I would really love if the ancient cursed paper explanation waited until we weren’t about to get murdered.”
The old man ignored him.
His eyes never left Logan.
“From this point forward,” he said calmly, “only the bearer sees the path.”
Logan frowned slightly. “Bearer?”
“The one it accepts.”
Mira looked confused. “But we all saw it.”
“No,” the old man corrected. “You saw the map wake.”
Selene crossed her arms. “And now?”
The old man’s expression darkened slightly.
“Now it belongs to him.”
Logan immediately shook his head. “No.”
The old man didn’t even react.
“That is not a choice.”
Outside—
someone screamed again.
Then heavy footsteps rushed past the entrance.
Grayson cursed under his breath. “Fantastic. Ancient destiny bullshit. Exactly what I wanted tonight.”
The old man moved toward a shelf quickly and pulled open a hidden compartment.
“Take the copy,” he said.
Logan frowned. “Copy?”
“The original stays with me.”
“That sounds like a terrible plan,” Grayson muttered.
“It is,” the old man replied calmly. “But less terrible than them finding both.”
Selene stepped closer. “Who are ‘they’?”
The old man looked toward the entrance.
“The Virellian Order.”
That name settled badly in the room.
Even without explanation.
It sounded old.
Heavy.
Wrong.
Mira spoke first. “The organization chasing Areshakt?”
The old man nodded once.
“They don’t seek treasure.”
His voice lowered slightly.
“They seek what he hid.”
Another loud crash echoed outside.
Closer now.
The old man looked directly at Logan one last time.
“When the sleep begins,” he said quietly, “do not follow the voice too far.”
Logan frowned. “What sleep?”
But before the old man could answer—
the lights went out.
Completely.
The room vanished into darkness.
Grayson swore immediately. “Oh you have got to be kidding me—”
Then shouting outside.
Fast movement.
Flashlights cutting through the cloth entrance.
Selene grabbed Logan’s arm instantly. “Move.”
Nobody argued.
They rushed through the back exit while the market erupted behind them.
The alley outside was narrower than expected.
Dark walls.
Wet pavement.
Too many turns.
Grayson nearly slammed into a stack of crates. “Why does every illegal place have the worst f*****g exits?”
“Keep moving,” Selene said sharply.
They ran deeper into the alley network while distant voices echoed behind them.
Logan still held the copy tightly against his side.
Even now—
it looked completely blank.
Like nothing had ever happened.
That bothered him more than the lines themselves.
Finally they stopped near an abandoned stairwell between two old buildings.
Everyone breathing heavily except Mira somehow.
Grayson bent forward slightly. “Okay. Couple concerns.”
“Nobody asked,” Mira replied.
“I’m saying them anyway. One: we’re apparently being hunted by evil archaeologists. Two: cursed map. Three: Logan might secretly be the chosen idiot.”
“I’m not chosen.”
“You activated ancient s**t within forty-eight hours.”
Selene leaned against the wall quietly.
Watching Logan carefully now.
Not fear.
Not suspicion.
Something else.
Curiosity maybe.
Logan noticed immediately.
“What?”
Selene looked away slightly. “Nothing.”
“That was obviously something.”
Before she could answer—
Mira frowned suddenly.
“Wait.”
Everyone looked toward her.
She pointed at Logan slowly.
“He’s asleep.”
Silence.
Grayson blinked. “What?”
Logan frowned. “I’m literally standing here.”
“No,” Mira said quietly. “Look at his eyes.”
Selene’s expression changed immediately.
Because Logan’s eyes were open.
But unfocused.
Not fully present.
Like he was staring through the world instead of at it.
Grayson waved a hand in front of Logan’s face.
No response.
“What the f**k?”
Logan spoke calmly.
Too calmly.
“The path is wrong.”
The voice didn’t sound fully like him.
Selene stepped closer carefully. “Logan?”
No response.
Then—
he started walking.
Slowly.
Normally.
Not stumbling.
Not unconscious.
Exactly like someone awake.
Except he wasn’t.
Mira whispered quietly:
“He’s sleepwalking…”
Grayson stared in disbelief. “No. Sleepwalking is pajamas and refrigerators. This is demon shit.”
Logan kept moving down the alley calmly.
Eyes open.
Breathing steady.
Like he could see something they couldn’t.
Then he spoke again.
Softly.
“There’s another map.”
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