Seeds of Doubt

The streets of the city were eerily quiet as Leila walked through them, the pale light of the late afternoon casting long shadows on the cracked sidewalks. The scent of decay lingered in the air, mingling with the faint trace of smoke from a distant fire. It wasn't the first time she'd walked these streets, but this time felt different—heavier, as if the world itself was holding its breath, waiting for something to break.

She had been living cautiously for weeks now, ever since everything began to unravel. The memories of betrayal burned in her chest, sharp and relentless. Except—was it betrayal, if they didn't know what they had done? If they didn't even realize what they were going to do?

She reached the diner, its neon sign flickering weakly in the fading light, a hollow reminder of the normalcy that once was. The bell chimed as she pushed open the door, and warmth wrapped around her like a long-forgotten memory. Inside, the scent of coffee and fried food did little to soothe the tension coiled in her gut.

Her eyes landed on Jace and Ellie almost immediately. They were seated in their usual corner booth, leaning toward each other in quiet conversation. Ellie laughed at something Jace said, a genuine, unburdened laugh, and for a moment, it struck Leila as so painfully normal that she almost turned around and left.

But she didn't.

Jace was the first to notice her. His face lit up in surprise, his brows lifting. "Leila?"

Ellie turned at the sound of his voice, her expression shifting from confusion to delight. "Oh my god, Leila! It's been forever." She scooted over without hesitation, making room for her in the booth. "Come sit. Where have you been?"

Leila hesitated, just for a second, before sliding in beside Ellie. She kept her body language neutral, but the weight of their easy smiles made her stomach twist. They weren't wary. They weren't distant. They had no idea what they had done to her.

What they would do to her.

"Busy," Leila said simply. She forced a small smile. "Surviving."

Jace's grin faded slightly, replaced by something softer. "Yeah. That's been a full-time job lately." He studied her, concern flickering behind his dark eyes. "You okay?"

Ellie nudged her playfully. "You look like you haven't slept in a month."

Leila let out a quiet laugh, though there was no real humor in it. If only they knew.

The conversation moved easily from there—small talk, catching up, filling the silence with meaningless words. And yet, Leila wasn't listening to what they were saying so much as how they were saying it. Every smile, every glance, every pause between words. They weren't lying to her. They weren't hiding anything.

Not yet.

She should leave. She should walk away before she let herself start believing in them again.

But instead, she found herself leaning forward slightly. "Have you noticed it?" she asked, keeping her voice casual. "The city… it feels different. Like something's coming."

Jace frowned, exchanging a glance with Ellie. "You mean all the chaos? Yeah, it's hard not to notice."

Ellie shrugged, stirring her coffee. "It's been weird, sure, but it's not the end of the world."

Leila didn't correct her.

Instead, she just watched them, memorizing their faces—the warmth in their eyes, the way they still looked at her like she mattered. Because soon, that would change.

And she needed to be ready for when it did.

Leila forced herself to relax, to pretend this was just another night, just another conversation. But beneath the surface, every instinct screamed at her to leave before the weight of their unknowing kindness shattered her resolve.

She stirred the lukewarm coffee Ellie had pushed toward her, watching the thin spiral of steam rise and dissipate. "Have you two been sticking together?" she asked, her voice even.

Jace nodded. "Yeah. Safer that way." His gaze sharpened. "You been on your own all this time?"

Leila hesitated. "I manage."

Ellie huffed. "That's not an answer."

Leila gave a ghost of a smile but didn't elaborate. She wasn't sure what scared her more—how much she wanted to trust them again, or how easily they made her forget she shouldn't.

Jace leaned back against the booth, his fingers drumming idly against the tabletop. "Look, I don't know what's going on with you, but you don't have to do this alone. If something's wrong—"

Everything is wrong.

Leila swallowed the words. She couldn't say them. Not yet.

Instead, she glanced toward the window, out at the quiet streets bathed in the neon glow of flickering signs. The city had been restless lately, like a beast shifting in its sleep. She could feel it in her bones, the way the air felt too thick, too still.

She could feel them.

The moment stretched too long, the silence settling between them like a storm about to break. Then Ellie nudged her knee under the table. "Stay with us tonight," she said, her tone casual but her eyes intent. "At least let's hang out for a bit. It's been forever."

A simple offer. A normal night. A chance to pretend, just for a little longer, that nothing had changed.

Leila exhaled slowly. "Okay," she said.

Maybe she needed this. Maybe she needed to remember who they were before. Because soon, the after would come. And she wasn't ready for the after. 

The after would come.

But not yet.

Leila let herself settle into the moment, ignoring the nagging voice in the back of her mind that told her she should leave. She pushed the coffee cup away and leaned back against the worn leather of the booth, forcing herself to relax. If she was going to stay, she had to play the part—pretend she wasn't bracing for the inevitable.

Ellie grinned, satisfied. "Good. We were just talking about heading over to Jace's place. Power's still on there. We can watch a movie, scrounge up some food."

Leila hesitated. It was such a normal plan, so painfully before. But if she left now, they would know something was wrong. And she couldn't risk them prying—couldn't risk the questions she wasn't ready to answer.

"Sure," she said, keeping her voice light.

Jace shot her a look, like he wasn't quite convinced, but he didn't press. Instead, he tossed a few bills onto the table and stood, stretching. "Alright, let's get out of here before the night crowd rolls in."

The three of them stepped out of the diner together, the door swinging shut behind them with a hollow chime. Outside, the city stretched before them, eerily quiet, the streetlights buzzing like they were struggling to stay awake.

Leila wrapped her arms around herself as they walked. She was hyperaware of every shadow, every alleyway that felt too dark, too deep. They were watching. They were always watching.

But Jace and Ellie didn't notice. They were talking, laughing, teasing each other like nothing was wrong. And for a moment, Leila wanted to believe in it. To believe in them.

Then the streetlight ahead of them flickered and died.

Leila stopped walking.

Jace and Ellie were still a few steps ahead, not noticing at first. But then Ellie glanced back. "Leila?"

Leila's heart pounded. The silence stretched, thick and unnatural.

Then, from somewhere in the distance, she heard it.

A sound.

Faint but unmistakable—the slow, dragging scrape of something against the pavement.

Her stomach turned to ice.

Not yet. It wasn't supposed to happen yet.

Jace frowned, stepping closer. "What's wrong?"

Leila forced herself to breathe, to shove the panic down. If she let them see how afraid she was, they would never let it go.

She plastered on a shaky smile. "Nothing. Just—just thought I heard something."

Jace's frown deepened. He looked around, scanning the empty street. The city had been eerily quiet for days, but now it was the wrong kind of quiet—the kind that came when something was lurking just out of sight.

Ellie rolled her eyes. "Okay, let's not do the paranoid thing tonight. No ghosts, no monsters, just a half-dead city and a bad electrical grid."

Leila wished she could believe that.

A gust of wind rattled an abandoned street sign, making it creak against its rusted bolts. But that wasn't the sound she had heard.

She turned her head slightly, listening harder.

There.

Soft, wet, rhythmic. A slow shuffle. Something was moving.

She clenched her fists.

"Let's keep moving," she murmured, forcing her legs to work.

And as they walked, she couldn't shake the feeling that something was following.