Chapter 320

It started with the sound of wings. A soft rustling, like leaves fluttering, had filled the space just behind his ear. At first, Jared thought nothing of it. His room was quiet, the walls pressed in too close, the air too heavy. He sat on his bed, head tilted, trying to read a book. But there it was again, that slight buzz, like an insect unsure of itself.

He swiped his hand across his ear. Nothing.

The buzzing didn't stop.

Jared had never been one to get nervous over small things. He'd dealt with enough in his life to keep the jitters at bay. But this… this felt off. The buzzing was too precise, too calculated. It settled in like a thought, at the very edge of his consciousness, something waiting to emerge.

He pulled the covers tighter around his body, trying to ignore it. Just go away, he told himself. His mind turned back to the words on the page, but that wasn't enough. The buzzing had grown into a thrum. And it was getting closer.

He tried to shake his head, but it followed.

"God," Jared muttered. "What the hell is that?"

The buzzing spread, like a ripple on the surface of water, sending little shocks through his skull. It wasn't just an annoyance anymore. It felt as if it were burrowing deep inside him, searching for something. He placed a hand against his head, rubbing at his temples, trying to push it out.

But then came the heat.

It started in his ear, a slow warmth that spread like fingers, creeping down into his neck, his spine. It was as though something was crawling beneath his skin, a presence he couldn't fight off. Jared's breath quickened. He shot up from the bed, heart hammering in his chest.

"Get out," he hissed. "Get the hell out."

He staggered to the mirror, his face pale in the dim light, his eyes wide with panic. His reflection looked wrong, his skin drawn tight. Sweat dotted his forehead.

There it was again. That buzz, but it was louder now, more distinct. Something was inside him. He could feel it. A part of his mind screamed for him to move, to run, to do something, anything. But his limbs felt paralyzed, as if the buzzing had taken control of them.

And then, from somewhere inside his ear, a voice.

It was so soft that he didn't hear it with his ears. He felt it.

"I'm in," it said.

His breath hitched. His stomach turned. The voice was close, too close. He gripped the counter for support, his knuckles white.

"Who… who are you?" Jared's voice trembled, the question slipping out before he could stop himself.

"I am the one who will make you see."

The voice was a quiet thing, like a breeze pushing against his consciousness, brushing at the edges of his thoughts. He shook his head, trying to force the feeling away, but it was in him, spreading, sinking deep.

He gripped his head harder, nails digging into his scalp. The buzzing was deafening now, pulsing in time with his heartbeat. His vision blurred.

"Leave me alone," Jared gasped.

"I'm here now. You've called me." The voice pressed into him, each word a weight he could not escape.

Jared staggered back from the mirror, desperate, his hands shaking. He was alone. He knew that. But the voice wasn't. It was in him, surrounding him, shifting inside his skull, moving around his brain like a predator stalking its prey.

He couldn't focus. Couldn't think. Every muscle screamed for him to run, but he was trapped. Trapped by something he didn't understand, something he couldn't fight.

"Who are you?" he demanded again, his voice shaking.

"I am not who you think I am." The voice was sharp now, an edge in its tone, cold as ice. "But I will be who you need me to be."

The sensation of movement, of crawling, stretched through him again, making his body tremble. He fell to his knees, trying to shake it off, but it wasn't stopping. The buzzing was deeper now, like it was rooted inside his bones.

He looked around the room, eyes darting to the door. His heart was pounding. Sweat streamed down his face, stinging his eyes.

The voice laughed softly, a sound so eerie, so out of place, that it sent a chill crawling across his skin. "You cannot leave. Not anymore."

Jared's chest tightened. His pulse raced. He felt it again, a foreign presence settling over him, as if something were climbing inside, around his thoughts, squeezing his will into nothing.

"You're mine now." The voice was final, its tone a chilling declaration.

Jared gasped for breath, his vision swimming as his body struggled against the pressure. His hands were shaking violently. He couldn't breathe. It was suffocating. It was inside him, everywhere.

The voice didn't let up. "Listen to me. Let me show you how to see. To feel."

Jared's fingers scraped at his skin, his legs trembling beneath him. He didn't know what to do. He didn't know how to stop it.

"You can't stop me. I am here."

He felt a flicker of clarity—a brief, painful moment of lucidity—as his hands flew to his ear. The buzz was louder now, an overwhelming hum deep in his skull, and then—without warning—it stopped.

Dead silence.

But Jared's body still shook. He stared at his reflection in the dark window across the room, his heart a heavy weight in his chest. Something was wrong. Something had changed.

It wasn't just the voice that was gone. It was the control. It wasn't in his head anymore. It was in his body.

He blinked hard, eyes bloodshot, mouth dry. And then, as though awakening from a trance, he realized that something was moving. Something that was not him.

His arm rose of its own accord, dragging him across the room toward the door. He didn't want to move. Didn't want to go. But he couldn't stop.

Jared tried to scream. Nothing came out. His throat was dry.

His hand gripped the door handle, turning it slowly, methodically. With each second, his control over his own actions slipped away further, the other presence inside him taking hold.

The door opened.

It felt like stepping into a different world. The cold air hit him like a slap, biting at his exposed skin. He looked up and saw the street, the houses across the way. It should've felt like relief. But the coldness of the outside world was nothing compared to the ice crawling through his veins.

Jared stumbled down the steps, feeling his legs move without his will, his body jerking unnaturally. Every step was a struggle.

"You're going to find them." The voice was still with him, still echoing in his mind. It wasn't just inside anymore. It was his thoughts now. It was part of him.

"You'll find them. And you'll do it for me."

He wanted to stop. Wanted to collapse, scream, do something—anything to break free. But it didn't matter. He couldn't stop.

Jared's eyes darted around, wild. He didn't know where he was going. Didn't know what to do. His limbs moved with precision, but it was as though they were controlled by something else. Something inside him.

He saw the light at the end of the street, the shadows pooling on the ground in a way that felt wrong. He was drawn to it, pulled closer, each step feeling farther away from the person he once was.

A figure stood at the edge of the alley, waiting.

Jared froze. It wasn't a figure he recognized. The voice grew louder now, its tone almost pleased. "You found them."

He wanted to run. He wanted to scream. But his body didn't listen.

"You'll do what I need. You'll kill them."

Jared's hand reached into his pocket, pulling out the knife he hadn't remembered carrying. His fingers wrapped around the handle with a grip he didn't recognize, and his body—no, the thing controlling him—moved forward, toward the figure in the alley.

As the figure turned, its face a blur of movement, Jared's body acted. His hand gripped the knife. The figure didn't scream. Didn't move.

There was only silence. And the coldness that filled the space.

Jared collapsed, his breath ragged. The thing inside him—the thing that had invaded him—let go. It was gone. It didn't need him anymore.

He didn't even know if he was alive. The last thing he heard before the darkness swallowed him whole was a laugh, distant and cold.

It wasn't his own.