FIA
The words hit me like a blow.
Gabriel's body jerked again. Harder than before.
Then his eyes snapped open.
They were unfocused. Wild. Filled with something that looked like terror.
Blood started pouring from his nose.
Then from his mouth.
It ran down his chin and onto the pillow beneath his head.
"No," I said. "No, this cannot be happening."
Maren grabbed a cloth and tried to wipe away the blood, but more just kept coming.
Gabriel's breathing turned ragged. Wet. Like he was drowning.
I stood frozen. Watching him die… Watching him slip away after everything we had done to save him.
Then I heard it.
The hum.
It started low. So faint I almost thought I imagined it because of how badly I hoped it would find me again. It was a distant vibration at first. Like something stirring just beneath the surface of the world.
Then it grew.
Not louder in sound alone, but in presence. It pressed into the room, into my chest, into my bones, until it was impossible to ignore.
