CHAPTER 7: The White Eyes Of Deception

"By the way, Dr. Thomas, what were you doing at my door all night?" Luna's voice, usually a gentle melody, held a sharp edge of suspicion. She stood facing him, the dim hallway light casting long shadows that danced around their figures. "I want to speak with you, alone."

Dr. Thomas, his usual affable demeanor replaced with a nervous twitch, glanced around the empty corridor. "Of course, Dr. Luna. What is it?"

Luna's eyes narrowed. "Look, Dr. Thomas, if you're thinking of proposing again, then I'm afraid my answer is still no."

A flicker of hurt crossed his face, quickly masked by a forced smile. "No, no, that's not it at all," she corrected, her tone softening slightly. "I want to talk about that stone."

A tense silence descended. Thomas's eyes, usually bright with intellectual curiosity, seemed to darken. "The stone?" he repeated, his voice barely a whisper.

Luna studied him, her intuition screaming. "Yes, the stone. Let's go to my cabin. The secret library will be closed by now." She turned and strode down the hallway, Thomas following close behind.

Inside her cabin, Luna settled into her chair, her gaze fixed on Thomas. "Tell me what happened back then. As far as I saw, you were lying on the floor."

Thomas shifted uncomfortably. "Yes, well, I… I was disoriented." He paused, his eyes flicking towards the floor. "You're very smart, Luna."

As he spoke, his hands moved subtly beneath the desk. A faint, ethereal glow emanated from his fingertips, coalescing into tiny, shimmering lights that darted towards Luna. Before she could react, the lights swarmed around her, forming a barrier that sealed her mouth shut.

Thomas was suddenly in front of her, his hands gripping her shoulders. His eyes, once warm and familiar, were now completely white, devoid of any discernible pupil. A golden light pulsed from his form, surging into Luna's eyes. She was paralyzed, unable to move or speak.

Suddenly, a violent force struck Thomas, sending him crashing to the floor. A figure, cloaked in shadow, stood over him, quickly binding his hands and legs with thick cloth, then covering his head.

"Luna, are you alright?" The voice, though familiar, held a different timbre. It was the real Dr. Thomas, standing beside the bound figure.

Luna, her mind reeling, stared between the two Thomases. "What… what is happening?"

"There's no time to explain everything now," the real Thomas said, his voice urgent. "When the stone glowed inside the class cube, it came to me. It made me unconscious and took my form. It escaped with it and has been deceiving everyone. Thankfully, I was able to escape as well, or it would have taken days to break free."

"We need to go to the laboratory, to Dr. James," Luna said, her voice trembling. "If we don't act quickly, it could be disastrous."

Their attention snapped back to the bound figure. The stone, in Thomas's form, was struggling, its limbs twitching against the restraints. "You won't stop me," it hissed, its voice a distorted echo of Thomas's.

The real Thomas and Luna quickly reinforced the bindings. "We need to get to the base," he said. "We'll bring the entire force system here. If it roams freely, the consequences could be catastrophic."

They left the cabin, the bound figure writhing behind them. Dr. James's phone was off, a worrying sign. They decided to head directly to his house, the weight of their discovery pressing down on them. The white eyes of deception had been revealed, and the true danger was only just beginning.