The loud brass sound of the university bells echoed across the damp quad at noon, carrying an official decree that brought the academic block to a sudden, grinding halt. By order of the administration and state safety inspectors, a temporary closure of the university was declared, citing urgent structural repairs along the perimeter drainage and ongoing investigations into the recent incidents.
Over the next two days, the quiet campus transformed into a chaotic sea of private vehicles, black sedans, and anxious families.
Parents arrived in continuous waves to pack up trunks and pick up their children, desperate to get them away from the rumors swirling around the North Quad. For those students who lived too far away or were simply unwilling to return home, a long line formed outside the administrative building.
By signing their names into the registry logs, they officially retained their rooms and board for the duration of the hiatus—a group that quietly included Fiona, Lira, and the rest of their inner circle, who had no intention of leaving the area while the ledger remained open.
Meanwhile, in a quiet, sunlit room within the regional clinic's recovery wing, Caleb's eyes fluttered open.
A wave of intense panic immediately surged through his chest. His heart rate monitor spiked into a rapid, frantic beep as his hand shot out, grasping at the air as if he were still tangled in the wet ferns of the woods, screaming under the shadows of the trees.
"Easy, son! Calm down, you're safe," a soft, steady voice called out.
A nurse quickly stepped to his bedside, gently placing a hand on his shoulder to keep him from tearing out his IV line.
Caleb blinked through his blurred vision, taking in the clean white walls, the clean scent of antiseptic, and the calm environment of the ward. The terror of the dark woods slowly began to recede, replaced by a dull, throbbing ache behind his temples.
Over the next few hours, the medical staff ran a battery of comprehensive tests on him—checking his blood pressure, scanning his neck where the silver needle had pierced his skin, and monitoring his neurological responses. To the doctors' surprise, his blood work came back remarkably clean; whatever dark substance had been pushed into his veins seemed to have dissipated, leaving no physical trace behind.
By late afternoon, after confirming that his vitals were completely stable and he was fit to walk, the attending physician signed his discharge papers.
Adjusting his jacket, Caleb stood by the nurse's station, his voice raspy as he finally asked the question that had been weighing on his mind since he woke.
"What about my friends? The two guys who were with me in the woods... are they still in the ICU?"
The desk nurse looked up from her clipboard, offering him a sympathetic smile.
"Their limbs required extensive surgery, but they were stabilized yesterday morning. Their parents came by personally with private transport while you were still unconscious and had them transferred to a private facility back home."
Caleb's brow furrowed. "What about my parents? Did they call?"
"They did," the nurse replied, checking his file. "Your family reached out to the administration last night. They were informed of your discharge status and said they are currently stuck on a business tour out of state. They noted they would be back by the following week to pick you up. Until then, you're clear to stay in your dorm."
Caleb swallowed hard, a bitter wave of isolation settling in his stomach. He nodded silently, grabbed his small bag of belongings, and turned to walk down the main hospital corridor toward the exit doors.
As Caleb approached the sliding glass doors of the lobby, a large, broad-shouldered man in standard blue scrubs stepped inside, carrying a dark leather medical bag. It was Bill, entering the clinic once again in his official capacity as an invited assistant surgeon for the afternoon shift.
The two passed each other in the narrow entryway, missing each other by mere inches.
Bill paused for a split second, his bloodshot eyes turning sideways to lock onto the boy. A slow, chilling grim smile spread across his leathery face—a dark, silent mockery of the fact that the specimen he had injected in the woods was walking right past him, completely oblivious.
Caleb, his mind consumed by thoughts of his empty dorm room and his absent parents, felt a sudden, momentary prickle of cold air brush past his neck. He glanced briefly at the heavy-set doctor, but his dulled memory retained no image of the man in the canvas coat from that foggy night.
Without a second thought, Caleb pushed through the glass doors and walked out into the cool afternoon air, leaving the butcher behind in the lobby.