Severed

Samantha hesitated, fingers hovering over the door handle. The air around her was thick, humming with an unnatural energy that sent shivers down her spine. This was it. Either Callum was behind this door, or she was walking straight into an illusion, another cruel trick meant to break her resolve.

Taking a steadying breath, she pushed it open.

Inside was a hospital room, but one unlike any she'd seen before. The walls pulsed with faint blue light, and in the center was a bed where Callum lay, apparently sleeping. But something was wrong with the image—his form seemed to flicker, sometimes appearing solid, sometimes translucent. And wrapped around his body were writhing threads of darkness, like living shadows trying to burrow into his skin.

Her breath hitched.

"Callum," she whispered, approaching cautiously.