Vinny's breath fogged in the cold night air as he stood before the gnarled oak tree, its skeletal branches clawing at the moonlit sky. The silver marks on his wrist pulsed in time with some unseen heartbeat, each throb sending sharp needles of pain up his arm. Deborah's fingers tightened around his other hand, her warmth the only thing keeping him grounded.
"You don't have to do this," she whispered, her blue eyes wide with fear.
Lena circled the tree's base, her combat boots crushing the dead leaves beneath them. "He does if he wants to survive," she said, kicking aside a patch of mushrooms to reveal strange symbols carved into the dirt. "The tree's chosen him, just like it chose the others."
Vinny's stomach twisted at the word "others." How many students had disappeared from this school? How many had stood where he stood now, feeling this same terrible pull?
A gust of wind howled through the branches, making the old wood groan. The bark split with a sound like cracking bones, revealing a yawning darkness beneath. Shadows swirled in the gap, forming shapes that almost looked human before dissolving again.
Deborah gasped and stepped closer to Vinny. "That's—"
"Echoes," Lena interrupted. "The ones who weren't strong enough." She turned to Vinny, her black eyes reflecting the moonlight. "But you're different. I can feel it."
The tree's voice slithered through Vinny's mind, louder now. *"The key is connection. The lock is fear."*
Vinny's vision swam as the marks on his wrist began spreading, silver lines branching up his arm like living vines. Power flooded his veins—hot and cold all at once, terrifying and exhilarating. The fissure in the tree widened, and for the first time, Vinny saw what lay beyond.
Another world.
A twisted reflection of their own, where the sky burned black and the trees screamed silently. Shadowy figures reached for him with familiar faces—students he'd seen in yearbooks, faces from missing posters. And at the center stood a boy who looked just like him, only older, his eyes hollow with exhaustion. The boy held out a single, glowing key.
*"Hurry,"* the doppelgänger mouthed. *"Before she wakes."*
Deborah's scream shattered the vision as she yanked him backward. "Vinny, stop!"
He blinked, disoriented. The tree's fissure was sealing itself, the bark knitting back together as if nothing had happened. Lena let out a string of curses, rounding on Deborah.
"You idiot!" she snarled. "Do you have any idea what you just did?"
Deborah stood her ground, though Vinny could feel her trembling. "I saved him."
The two girls glared at each other, the air between them crackling with something deeper than anger. Vinny's head pounded, his arm still burning where the marks continued their slow spread. He didn't understand half of what was happening, but one thing was clear—this was far from over.
The tree had chosen him.
And whatever game it was playing, they were all just pieces on the board.
Vinny reached for Deborah's hand again, needing to feel something real, something solid. She laced her fingers through his without hesitation, her touch steady despite the fear in her eyes. Lena watched them, her expression unreadable.
"We need to talk to someone who knows about this," Deborah said. "My aunt—she's been researching my cousin's disappearance. She might—"
"No." Lena's voice was sharp as broken glass. "You bring in outsiders, and you'll get us all killed." She pointed to Vinny's marked arm. "That's not just some random curse. It's a calling. And if he doesn't answer it the right way..."
She didn't need to finish. The tree's whispers filled in the silence, slithering through Vinny's mind like smoke.
*"You cannot hide from what you are."*
The wind picked up, carrying the scent of damp earth and something metallic. Somewhere in the distance, an owl cried out—a lonely sound in the heavy darkness.
Vinny looked down at his wrist, where the silver lines had formed a complete symbol now, pulsing faintly beneath his skin. A bridge. A key. A lock.
And he was the only one who could turn it.
Deborah squeezed his hand tighter, as if she could keep him anchored to this world through sheer willpower alone. Vinny wanted to believe she could. But the tree's call was growing louder, the visions clearer.
Whatever lay beyond that door was waiting for him.
And it wouldn't wait much longer.