Chapter 174 Afterwards
Chapter 174 Afterwards
It was enormous.
Its body was hunched unnaturally, its limbs far too long, its skin dark and rough beneath the moonlight.
Its face was twisted and ugly.
Its mouth opened impossibly wide.
Rows of sharp teeth filled its jaws.
Kimberly froze.
The creature stared directly at her.
Then—
It roared.
“RAAAAAAAHHHH!”
Kimberly screamed at the top of her lungs.
The little dog leapt from the bed, barking wildly.
Kimberly stumbled backward.
“WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU?!”
The creature slammed both hands against the glass.
CRACK!
A thin fracture spread across the window.
Kimberly's eyes widened.
“No…”
Another crack appeared.
The creature smiled.
And the window began to shatter.
Kimberly screamed.
Again.
And again.
“HELP!”
Her voice tore through the room.
The creature remained outside the window, staring at her with those terrible eyes.
“Please!”
Kimberly backed away until her legs struck the side of the bed.
“Somebody help me!”
The creature tilted its head.
Then, to Kimberly's horror, it spoke.
Its voice was deep, rough, and unnatural.
“Where is your friend?”
Kimberly froze.
Her breathing stopped for a second.
“My… friend?”
The creature leaned closer to the cracked window.
“Where is your friend?”
Kimberly's eyes widened.
“Who are you talking about?”
The creature's lips stretched into a grotesque smile.
“The girl.”
Kimberly's blood ran cold.
“Where is she?”
Kimberly shook her head rapidly.
“I don't know what you're talking about!”
The creature slammed its palm against the glass.
BANG!
Kimberly screamed again.
And somewhere far away—
Caleb's eyes snapped open.
He gasped.
“Kimberly!”
He sat upright, his chest heaving.
For one terrifying moment, he didn't understand why he'd woken.
Then he felt it.
Her distress.
It wasn't a normal feeling.
It was sharp.
Raw.
Almost like something had reached through the bond and squeezed his heart.
“Kimberly.”
He didn't waste another second.
Caleb disappeared.
\---
He appeared outside Kimberly's window.
His eyes immediately scanned the room.
“Kimberly!”
She was sitting on the edge of the bed.
Her entire body was trembling.
She was breathing so heavily that her chest rose and fell rapidly.
“Kimberly!”
Caleb hurried through the window.
The moment he reached her, he crouched in front of her.
“Hey. Hey, look at me.”
She didn't respond.
Her eyes were wide, but they didn't seem to focus on him.
Instead, she kept muttering under her breath.
“No one can hear me…”
Caleb frowned.
“What?”
“No one can hear me.”
He gently took her hands.
“Kimberly, I'm here.”
She continued staring into the distance.
“No one could hear me…”
Caleb's concern deepened.
He sat beside her and pulled her carefully against his chest.
“I'm here.”
His arms wrapped around her.
“You're safe.”
He rubbed both of her arms slowly, trying to calm the trembling running through her body.
“Breathe.”
Kimberly's fingers were ice-cold.
Caleb took one of her hands between his palms and gently massaged her fingers.
“Come back to me.”
He pressed his thumb over her knuckles.
“Just breathe.”
Kimberly continued panting.
“You're not alone,” he whispered. “I'm right here.”
He rubbed her fingers again.
“You're safe.”
Slowly—
Her breathing began to settle.
Her eyes blinked.
Once.
Twice.
Then she finally looked at him.
Really looked at him.
Recognition returned to her face.
“Caleb?”
He went still.
“Yes.”
She stared at him in confusion.
For a moment, Caleb simply watched her.
Something had been wrong.
He knew it.
He had felt her terror through their connection.
But now she was looking at him like she had no idea how he'd gotten there.
Caleb pushed the questions aside.
Focus.
Whatever had happened, the important thing was that Kimberly was here.
Alive.
He gently squeezed her hand.
“It's okay.”
Kimberly blinked again.
Then she suddenly looked around the room.
“What are you doing here?”
Caleb stared at her.
“I felt your distress.”
“My distress?”
“Yes.”
He looked toward the window.
The glass was cracked.
His expression hardened.
“I woke up and felt something was wrong with you. I came as fast as I could.”
Kimberly followed his gaze.
Then she looked back at him.
“I…”
She swallowed.
“I don't know what you mean.”
Caleb studied her face.
“You were terrified.”
Kimberly shook her head.
“No, I'm fine.”
“Kimberly—”
“I'm totally fine.”
She forced a small smile.
“Maybe I was just having a nightmare.”
Caleb didn't smile back.
He knew what he'd felt.
That wasn't a simple nightmare.
But Kimberly was breathing normally now, and she was looking at him with clear eyes.
So he chose not to push her.
For the moment.
“Okay,” he said quietly.
But his gaze drifted back toward the cracked window.
Something had happened here.
And whatever it was…
It had known Kimberly had a friend.
Caleb's jaw tightened.
He just didn't know which friend the creature had been looking for.