Invisible Strings

Chapter 34: No Time Left

The air outside was heavy, carrying the smell of rain and something else... Metal, glass, earth being torn open. Isadora hurried across the courtyard, her boots splashing through shallow puddles as the sounds of engines filled the air. Buses rumbled to life at the far end of campus, students crowding in, faces pale but curious, peeking toward the woods.

Hannah was already at the car when Isadora reached the lot, her floral dress now replaced by her regular jeans and a t-shirt, hair messy from the wind. She turned the moment she saw Isadora, relief flashing across her face.

"Good," Isadora breathed, forcing a small smile. She popped the trunk, the sound sharp in the silence that followed the last bus pulling away. Together they threw their bags in, the dull thud of each one grounding her, barely.

When Hannah straightened, she looked up at Isadora with wide, uncertain eyes. Before the fear could settle, Isadora cupped her face, thumbs brushing along her cheeks. "Hey," she said softly. "It's going to be okay."

Hannah nodded, but the tremor in her breath betrayed her. Isadora pulled her in, wrapping her arms around her, holding tight until the girl's heartbeat slowed against her chest.

Engines faded. Voices quieted. The campus began to empty.

"Get in," Isadora said, her voice firmer this time.

Hannah obeyed, climbing into the passenger seat. Isadora closed the trunk, then started around the car and froze.

The woods were silent. The fight that had shaken the air only minutes ago... gone.

Her pulse spiked. She stood at the edge of the lot, staring toward the greenhouse, the treeline dark and still. The shadows there looked too thick, too knowing.

"Isadora?" Hannah's voice came softly from behind the glass.

Isadora didn't answer at first. Her feet carried her a few steps closer, eyes scanning, muscles tight.

"Isadora," Hannah said again, louder this time, opening the car door, worry threading through her tone.

Isadora stopped, exhaled slowly. "Just a moment," she murmured.

The stillness pressed in. The kind that wasn't empty but waiting. Every rustle of leaf, every whisper of air pulled her backward, into another night, another roar, another ending she'd barely survived.

She could still feel the phantom of Alfie's breath against her neck, the weight of his voice saying her name before everything went wrong.

Isadora's name left Hannah's lips again so softly that it barely touched the air. "...Isadora."

Something in the tone... the way it quivered, the way it asked her not to move, made Isadora's brow knit. She turned, confusion flickering across her face.

And then she saw it.

The Hyde stepped from the treeline. Broad shoulders first, then its twisted frame catching the dim light, muscles slick, eyes too bright to belong to anything human. Its claws dragged across the ground as it straightened to its full height, towering between the car and the woods.

Hannah's breath stuttered. The sound, fragile, terrified, snapped through the silence like a thread pulled too tight.

Isadora froze. Every instinct screamed to move, to protect, to fight, but her body wouldn't obey. The last time she'd faced one of them, everything she loved had ended.

A tremor rippled through the creature's chest. It cocked its head, a low, guttural growl spilling from its throat.

Isadora swallowed hard, forcing air back into her lungs. Then she stepped forward. "Hey!" she yelled, voice sharp, shaking. "Over here! Leave her alone!"