The storm outside had reached its peak.
The clouds were so dense that even day had turned into night.
And then...
a deafening strike of lightning split the sky,
plunging everything into darkness.
The power went out.
The entire floor sank into pitch black.
The sound jolted Kai awake.
Her eyes snapped open,
and she found her room swallowed by the shadows.
Meanwhile, Wee had already been taken back to her room.
Lamai carefully seated her on the bed and said softly,
"I'll go get your medicine from downstairs. I'll be back soon."
Leaving the door slightly ajar to let in a sliver of light,
Lamai stepped away.
But in that very instant,
the last flicker of light in the corridor also died out.
Darkness claimed everything.
Kai rose from her bed,
her movements cautious,
and slowly pushed her door open.
The corridor stretched before her, endless and lightless.
Only the roar of the storm echoed through the halls.
She turned back,
but in her misstep,
she wandered straight into Wee's room.
The door shut behind her with a sharp click.
Wee heard it.
The sound of the latch,
then the soft rhythm of footsteps...
but not Lamai's footsteps.
She knew instantly.
Someone else had entered the room.
Yet instead of fear,
a strange rush surged through her chest.
Her breathing quickened,
her pulse racing for no reason she could name.
Kai paused, frowning.
A foreign scent lingered in the air...
gentle, unfamiliar,
nothing like the dampness of her own clothes.
The silence grew heavy.
Outside, the storm raged,
raindrops hammering the glass.
And then, a voice.
A soft, trembling whisper broke the quiet:
"Who's there?"
Kai's eyes flicked to the bed.
Her hand instinctively reached behind her back,
pulling free the cold weight of the gun she had hidden.
She stepped closer.
A flash of lightning struck outside,
its glow flooding the room for the briefest heartbeat.
And in that single flicker.....
she saw her.
Wee.
Curled up on the bed, eyes wide with fear.
At the same time, Wee saw her too....
Kai's face, sharp and unreadable,
like the face of a killer standing over her prey.
But in that fleeting moment,
their eyes locked.
And everything changed.
It was as though something was stolen,
snatched away by that single gaze.
A spell cast in silence.
Kai's grip loosened,
her weapon lowering without her even realizing.
Her expression softened, her breath caught.
Those eyes.....
there was something in them that disarmed her completely.
Wee's chest heaved,
her breaths coming faster than ever before.
And then....
The door burst open.
Light spilled into the room.
The spell broke.
Kai blinked, startled back into herself.
She seized the moment,
slipping quickly out of the room.
And just as she stepped into the corridor,
the electricity flickered back to life.
The lights returned.
But nothing could erase what had just happened in that darkness.