Chapter 38: The Thin Line Between Man and Monster

The night was suffocating.

Even with the windows open, the air inside Kai's office felt thick, like he was breathing in something unnatural. He sat at his desk, gripping his shotgun loosely, the weight of it grounding him. His mind replayed the events of the past few days—the woman in the abandoned town, the shadow in the station, Eleanor's words.

"You're becoming part of it."

A part of him wanted to reject it outright. He was still him. Still Kai.

But he knew better than to ignore the signs.

Something had changed.

Something had followed him back from that place.

And now, it was inside him.

An Omen in the Dark

The clock on the wall ticked toward 3:00 AM.

The rest of the station was quiet. Taylor had left a while ago, muttering something about needing a drink after the day they'd had. That left Kai alone in the dimly lit room, his fingers drumming against the desk.

Then—

A sound.

Not loud. Just a subtle creak, like a footstep on old wood.

Kai tensed, gripping the shotgun a little tighter. His eyes flicked to the doorway.

Nothing.

His jaw clenched. He wasn't in the mood for this.

"If you're gonna kill me," he muttered, "get it over with."

Silence.

And then—

A voice.

"Not yet."

Kai froze.

It wasn't whispering this time.

It was clear. Right behind him.

Slowly, he turned.

The woman was there.

The one from the abandoned town.

She stood in the corner of his office, half-shrouded in shadow, her hollow black eyes locked onto his. Her dress still looked centuries old, her skin cracked like something barely holding itself together.

Kai didn't move.

Neither did she.

Seconds stretched.

Then, she smiled.

And Kai felt something shift inside him.

Like a piece of him was slipping away.

He clenched his fists. "What do you want?"

Her smile widened, but she didn't answer. Instead, she tilted her head—like she was studying him.

Then, she took a step forward.

Kai didn't flinch. He raised his shotgun.

"Step back."

She didn't.

She took another step.

And suddenly—

Everything went cold.

The lights flickered. His breath turned to mist in the air.

And then—

She vanished.

Just… gone.

The warmth returned instantly, like the room had exhaled. The lights steadied. The air no longer felt like a tomb.

Kai lowered the shotgun.

His pulse was steady.

But his mind?

His mind was screaming.

A New Kind of Nightmare

Kai didn't sleep.

By sunrise, he had downed half a pot of coffee and read through every supernatural case file they had in storage. None of them helped. Nothing matched what he was dealing with.

The woman wasn't just a spirit.

She wasn't a monster in the traditional sense.

She was something else.

A force.

A presence.

And she was inside his head.

The sound of the door opening made him look up.

Taylor stepped in, dark circles under his eyes, his uniform slightly wrinkled. He looked as exhausted as Kai felt.

"I brought donuts," Taylor muttered, setting a box down.

Kai raised an eyebrow. "You think donuts are gonna help?"

Taylor shrugged. "They might."

Kai exhaled. "You should've stayed home."

Taylor snorted. "Yeah, because sitting in my apartment, thinking about that thing watching us, is so much better." He grabbed a chair and plopped down. "So. Any bright ideas?"

Kai rubbed a hand down his face. "Nothing good."

Taylor hesitated. "Did it… come back?"

Kai's grip tightened on his coffee cup.

Taylor cursed. "You saw it again?"

Kai nodded. "In my office. It spoke this time."

Taylor's expression darkened. "What did it say?"

Kai met his gaze. "Not yet."

Silence.

Taylor exhaled. "Jesus."

Kai leaned back, fingers tapping against the desk. "I think it's testing me."

Taylor frowned. "Testing you how?"

Kai's jaw tightened. "I don't know."

But he had a bad feeling he was about to find out.

The Blood on His Hands

The call came in around noon.

A murder.

A bad one.

Kai and Taylor arrived at the scene within minutes. It was a rundown house on the outskirts of town, half-collapsed, windows shattered. The kind of place no one should've been living in.

But someone had been.

And now, they were dead.

Kai stepped over the threshold, shotgun slung over his back, eyes scanning the scene. Blood. Everywhere. Splattered across the walls, pooling on the floor. A single, mangled body lay in the center of the room, barely recognizable.

Taylor gagged. "Jesus Christ…"

Kai didn't flinch. He had seen worse.

But what bothered him—

There were no signs of forced entry.

No footprints. No evidence of a struggle.

Like the victim had let it happen.

His stomach twisted.

Something about this felt familiar.

Taylor cleared his throat. "You thinking what I'm thinking?"

Kai nodded slowly. "Yeah."

The thing—the curse—it was escalating.

And this?

This was only the beginning.

The Message in Blood

Kai crouched beside the body, scanning the scene.

Then, he saw it.

A message.

Scrawled on the wall, written in blood.

Four words.

"Not yet, but soon."

Kai's blood went cold.

Taylor saw it too. "Sir…"

Kai didn't answer.

Because in that moment, he knew.

This wasn't just another victim.

This was a warning.

The woman—the thing—wasn't just watching him.

It was preparing him.

And whatever was coming next?

It was going to be worse.

Much, much worse.