Chapter 7: The Beginning of the Hunt

Kai didn't sleep that night.

He sat on the edge of his bed, staring at the artifact resting on his desk. The soft glow pulsed in rhythm with his heartbeat, like it was alive. The journal lay open beside it, pages scattered with cryptic notes his grandfather had left behind.

Jace had gone home reluctantly, after making Kai promise to text if anything strange happened again. But "strange" didn't even begin to cover it anymore.

A hidden artifact.

A secret society of hunters.

And now… a mysterious stranger wielding power Kai couldn't begin to understand.

He rubbed his hands over his face and took a deep breath.

He needed answers.

The journal hinted at something called The Nexus — a place of immense power that the artifact could unlock. But why had his grandfather hidden it? Why warn him not to trust anyone?

As dawn broke, Kai's phone buzzed.

Jace: You awake?

Kai: Didn't sleep.

Jace: Me either. I think we need to talk to Hawthorne again.

Kai hesitated. The librarian had warned them not to come back. But they were out of options.

Kai: Meet at the library after school?

Jace: I'll be there.

Kai shoved the artifact and journal into his bag once more and got ready for the day. Everything felt surreal — like he was going through the motions of normal life while standing on the edge of something massive and dangerous.

At school, he could barely focus. The teachers' voices blurred into meaningless noise. In the hallways, kids laughed and talked like nothing had changed — like the world wasn't hiding monsters and ancient secrets.

Only Jace's occasional glances reminded him that it wasn't all in his head.

The final bell rang, and they met at the bike racks.

"Ready?" Jace asked quietly.

Kai nodded.

They walked to the library in silence, their nerves taut. When they reached the heavy wooden doors, Kai paused.

"Last chance to back out," he said.

Jace gave him a look. "Not happening."

They stepped inside.

The library was quiet, as always. But something felt different. The air was heavier.

They made their way to the back, to Hawthorne's office. The door was closed.

Kai knocked softly.

No answer.

He knocked again.

Still nothing.

He tried the handle. It was unlocked.

Slowly, they pushed the door open.

Hawthorne's office was empty — papers scattered across the desk, the chair tipped over.

On the wall behind the desk, carved into the wood, was the same symbol from his grandfather's journal: a circle with four runes.

And underneath it, freshly scratched words:

"They have found me."

Kai's heart sank.

"Hawthorne's gone," Jace whispered.

Kai stepped inside, scanning the room. On the desk was a sealed envelope with his name on it.

Hands trembling, he tore it open.

Inside was a single sheet of parchment:

"Kai —

I hoped this day wouldn't come so soon.

They are after you now.

Do not trust the Order. Do not trust the Hunters.

Find the Compass.

It will lead you to the Nexus.

Follow the signs in the journal.

— E.H."

"The Compass?" Jace asked, reading over his shoulder.

Kai sat down heavily. "We've got to find it before they do."

They didn't have long to think.

The sound of the front doors slamming echoed through the library.

Voices. Footsteps.

"They're here," Jace breathed.

Kai stuffed the letter into his pocket. "Out the back."

They slipped through the back hallway toward the library's loading dock, but before they reached the door, they heard the soft hiss of a voice behind them:

"Stop."

They turned.

Two figures in dark cloaks blocked the exit, faces hidden, hands resting on the hilts of strange weapons.

"You have something that does not belong to you," one of them rasped.

Jace whispered, "They're Hunters."

Kai's mind raced. No time to think — only act.

He reached into his bag, his fingers brushing the artifact.

Suddenly, a strange energy surged up his arm. His vision blurred for an instant — and the next thing he knew, the hallway twisted around him.

Colors shifted. Gravity tilted.

The Hunters stumbled, disoriented.

"Kai, what did you do?!" Jace shouted.

"I don't know!"

The artifact pulsed, and the world snapped back into focus — but now, the Hunters were stumbling, clutching their heads in confusion.

"Run!"

They bolted through the loading dock doors into the alley, racing down the street without looking back.

They didn't stop until they reached the park.

Both of them collapsed onto a bench, gasping for breath.

Kai looked down at the artifact in his hand.

"It… protected us," he said softly.

Jace wiped sweat from his forehead. "Dude, that thing is insane."

Kai nodded slowly. "And it's only going to get crazier."

He opened the journal again, flipping through the pages until he found a map sketched by his grandfather.

A trail of symbols leading to a single word written in bold, dark ink:

Hollow Creek.

A place just outside town.

Kai looked at Jace. "That's where we'll find the Compass."

Jace let out a shaky breath. "We're really doing this."

Kai stood, the weight of destiny heavy on his shoulders.

"We don't have a choice."

As the sun dipped below the horizon, they began walking toward Hollow Creek — toward secrets buried deep beneath the surface of the world they thought they knew.

The hunt had begun.