Shadows Between Us

q D

9

In the heart of ancient Mesopotamia, the team of archaeologists worked tirelessly under the dim glow of portable lights

is fingers, but the pendant-a shard of glass embedded in an ornate frame-radiated an eerie warmth. He squinted,

agues called from behind,

ere after dark. Th

said," Victor snapped, his eye

This is the artifac

intensified. The image of a man began to form-a figure cloaked

site into darkness. The air grew heavy, thick with an unexplainable dread. From the ho

rm. Tents were torn apart and equipment scattered like leaves. The ground benea

oice that seemed to rise from the sands a

e the n

the storm engulfed the site, blinding him with sand. His team's screams were lost i

e still clutched in his fist. Gasping for breath, he stumbled toward

returned to the U.S., he had no idea what

-

on whether you were truly alone. For the past few months, Victor had tried to return to a semblance of normal life. He went back to work at the university, kissed his wife, Eleanor, go

t another artifact, just another piece of history to be studied and displayed. But now he knew bette

d, her silhouette dark and towering, her eyes glowing with an unearthly intensity. At first, he thought he was losing his

pered, her voice soft and venomo

unted by a demon demanding a relic he no longer possessed? But Savrina was pat

isper behind his back, their gazes filled with pity and suspicion. At home, she turned his dreams into nightma

rs and nightmares weren't

harp mind became a foggy mess. Eleanor begged him to see a doctor, but what could h

smissed him, citing erratic behavior. Their savings dwindled

explain it to Eleanor, but he knew Savrina wouldn't stop until she had the neck

-

he pried it from its display case. Alarms blared, but he didn't care. By the time security arrive

acked their bags, her wide, tear-filled eyes watching his every move. Drake clung

r," was all he

-

ees. Snowflakes fell lazily, their delicate beauty lost on Victor as he gripped the steering wheel with white-knuckled

ment, he thought he saw a flicker of movement-a shado

wing us," h

r asked, her voic

t, it looked like a trick of the headlights-a woman in a flowing black dress,

vr

rip the icy road. Time seemed to slow as the vehicle careened off the edge of a sma

-

d through the shattered windows, melting on his bloodied face. He tr

er. He turned his head, his heart shattering at the sight

unconscious, his tiny f

ace. It was still there, its weight a c

he snow as a figure approached. Victor's vision blurred, but he could just make

hing through the broken glass. He didn't hesitate, didn'

the word barely escaped his li

the sound of the man's foo