Every morning, Ava woke up tired.
Not the normal kind of tired that came from late nights and loud dreams.
This was the kind of tired that felt… used.
Like her body had been somewhere her mind could not remember.
She would sit up slowly, stare at her hands, turn them over as if expecting to find something written on her skin.
Nothing.
Just her.
Just silence.
Just the same small bedroom, the same pale curtains, the same clock blinking 7:12 a.m.
And yet…
Her chest always felt tight.
Like she had run a long distance in her sleep.
Like she had been chasing something.Or someone.
She blamed it on stress at first.
School. Noise. Life.
Until the news started.
"Another body discovered last night…"
The reporter's voice trembled slightly through the TV speakers in the living room.
Ava froze halfway down the stairs.
Her mother gasped.
Her father muttered, "What is happening to this city?"
Ava didn't know why, but the words crawled under her skin.
Last night.
She tried to remember her dream.
There had been something.
A shadow.Running.
Breathing.
Wind against her face.
Her heart began to race for no reason.
She hadn't left her room.
She knew she hadn't.
She remembered going to bed.
She remembered closing her eyes.
So why did her legs feel sore?
Why did her throat feel dry, like she had been panting?
She stepped into the living room slowly.
On the screen was a blurry image of police lights washing over a dark street.
They said it happened around 2:13 a.m.
Ava's stomach twisted.
She had woken up briefly at exactly 2:13 a.m.She remembered checking the time.
She remembered thinking it was strange that she felt out of breath.
Her mother noticed her staring.
"Terrible things are happening at night now," she said softly. "Thank God you sleep like the dead."
Ava forced a small smile.
Sleep like the dead.
If only they knew.
She went back upstairs.
Sat on her bed.
And looked at her feet.
There was faint dust on her soles.
Dark. Like street dirt.
Her window was still locked from the inside.
Her door had never opened.Her heart began to pound.
"No," she whispered to herself.
That's impossible.
She was here.
She never left.
She never—
A sharp image flashed in her mind.
A narrow alley.
Cold air.
Her own breath, fast and heavy.
A pair of frightened eyes staring at her.
Ava blinked hard.
The image vanished.
Her hands were shaking now.
"I'm just imagining things," she said aloud.But deep down…
Something inside her knew.
Night was no longer a time of rest.
Night was when something else borrowed her body.
And Ava had no idea what it was doing.