Shadow of Death (SOD)

Chapter 10

They both made it back home safely.

"Oh. Welcome back. How did it go?" Clara greeted as she walked into the living room, carefully wiping her hands on her apron.

"It was good. He has been admitted," Jack replied before dropping heavily onto the sofa with an exhausted sigh.

Asher glanced around the living room.

Something immediately felt different.

Jayden and Jesse were nowhere to be seen.

Noticing his wandering gaze, Clara provided an explanation.

"They both stepped out just now. How do you feel?"

Asher shrugged.

"I’m good."

He paused.

"But I’ve been noticing something strange for a while now."

Clara lifted a brow, her interest immediately piqued.

"Which is?"

Asher fell silent.

For a few seconds, he debated whether he should bother his parents with what he had noticed or simply keep it to himself.

Maybe he was overthinking everything.

Maybe the strange face he had seen at his window the previous night had gotten into his head.

But if he kept noticing the same thing everywhere, perhaps it was better to tell someone.

At the very least, his parents could reassure him that he wasn’t losing his mind after that first night’s incident.

He shook his head slightly.

It was better to tell them.

"Everybody looks tired."

Clara’s expression changed slightly.

"From the neighbours, normal people in the city, the supermarket, and even the school. They all look exhausted, like they are barely getting any sleep. Isn’t that strange?"

"..."

Silence settled over the room.

Jack’s exhausted body shifted slightly on the sofa as he thought about his son’s words.

Clara also fell deep into thought.

For several seconds, neither of them said anything.

"I noticed it too," Jack finally admitted. "Especially the principal. It seemed like he hadn’t slept in years."

"Exactly," Asher chimed in immediately.

His father’s words only confirmed what he had been noticing since they arrived.

Jack eventually rose from the sofa and waved his hand dismissively.

"I don’t know about the students, but I reckon that people barely get sleep because they are busy at night. Maybe the adults are working overtime while the students are studying overnight, making them look exhausted."

Clara nodded slowly.

"That could be true too."

She looked toward Asher.

"Asher, don’t think too much about it. Come on. Go freshen up."

"Then come and take some money you’ll use to get the items you need for school," Jack added.

Asher lingered for a few seconds.

His parents’ explanation made sense.

At least, on the surface.

Still, something about it continued to bother him.

But there wasn’t much he could say.

So he eventually nodded and walked out of the room.

.....

An hour later, Asher returned downstairs after doing everything he needed to do, including informing Rick that he had gotten into the university.

His best friend was happy for him.

But apparently, he was also a little sad.

{I’m happy, but I feel sad a bit. Honestly, this doesn’t come from a place of bitterness, but I wanted you not to get in so you could return back here and we could school together.}

Rick added a sad emoji at the end of the message.

Asher stared at the message with a conflicted expression.

His thumb hovered over the screen for a moment before he finally typed.

"Mhm. Missing me now? I thought you got the girls, so you wouldn’t even bother realizing I’m gone."

{Man... now I know why you don’t have a girlfriend. I just poured out my heart to you and you are yapping nonsense?}

Asher chuckled.

That sounded exactly like Rick.

He reached the living room and shoved his phone back into his pocket.

Jack handed him two hundred bucks.

"Thanks, Dad."

Asher quickly walked out of the house.

But the moment he reached the porch, he stopped.

His footsteps came to an abrupt halt.

Something felt different.

He couldn’t explain it.

There was just... something in the air.

His expression slowly changed as he lifted his head.

His gaze immediately settled on the neighbour’s house.

The same house.

The same place he had been noticing ever since they arrived.

And then—

The curtains moved.

Hurriedly.

Almost as if whoever was behind them had been watching him and quickly pulled away the moment their eyes nearly met.

Asher’s brows furrowed.

"Huh?"

He stared at the window for a few seconds.

"What’s going on with that person?"

His eyes narrowed slightly.

"If I didn’t know better... I would think we were being stalked."

He hesitated.

The thought sounded ridiculous.

At least, it should have.

But after everything he had already seen since arriving in Vespers, he couldn’t bring himself to dismiss it completely.

His brows knitted tighter.

"Or are we?"

Then he shook his head, shrugged, and sauntered out of the house.

The moment he disappeared from view, the curtain of the neighbouring house slowly slid apart.

A face appeared behind the window.

It was staring directly at the exact spot where the boy had been standing moments earlier.

The figure remained still for several seconds.

Then, slowly, its eyes lifted.

They settled on the Reid family’s house.

It watched.

For a few more seconds, the figure remained hidden behind the curtain, its gaze fixed on the house across from it.

Then—

The curtain was abruptly pulled shut.

....

Asher managed to locate a small shop a few streets away from their neighbourhood and eventually made his way inside.

The moment he stepped through the entrance, he found himself surrounded by shelves and customers.

About a dozen people were scattered throughout the store, picking up different items and moving lazily from one section to another.

It was mostly a bookshop, though it also sold a variety of school supplies.

Shelves were lined with books, notebooks, and textbooks.

Other sections contained pens of different colours, shoes, backpacks, and several other things that would be useful to students.

Both high school and university students.

Asher grabbed a cart from the corner and began making his way through the store.

He already had a list of textbooks he needed to purchase.

He grabbed two notebooks and tossed them into the cart before carefully examining the list again.

One textbook.

Then another.

And another.

He picked them up one by one and placed them into the cart.

Even while focused on his shopping, however, Asher’s attention never completely left the people around him.

Just like he had noticed before, they all looked exhausted.

Yet somehow, they were still forcing smiles onto their faces.

As though everything was perfectly normal.

As though they weren’t all walking around with eyes that looked like they desperately needed sleep.

Some of the customers had children with them.

Most of them looked no older than ten.

But even the children had faint bags beneath their eyes.

Asher’s expression gradually became more thoughtful.

’This is weird.’

Occasionally, he caught people glancing in his direction.

Quick glances.

Followed by whispers between themselves.

Asher couldn’t help wishing he had super hearing.

He had never wanted an ability like that as badly as he did at that moment.

He was barely restraining himself from walking over and asking them what was going on.

What was wrong with everyone?

Why did they all look so tired?

Why did they keep looking at him?

Instead, he simply sighed, grabbed the remaining items he needed, and pushed the cart toward the counter.

The middle-aged man behind the counter began calculating the total.

Asher stood patiently while waiting.

He pulled out his phone and started scrolling through his social media feed.

Several people stood nearby, waiting for the cashier to finish so they could be attended to as well.

A few seconds later, Asher came across a funny video.

He watched it for a few seconds before a chuckle escaped his lips.

The chuckle quickly threatened to turn into laughter.

Asher immediately covered his mouth and forced himself to hold it in.

But the effort only made his chest tighten.

Then—

"Yaaawn..."

A loud yawn escaped his mouth.

It was so loud that everyone around him immediately turned their heads.

Asher blinked.

His laughter had completely disappeared.

He slowly lowered his hand and looked around.

Something was wrong.

The expressions on their faces weren’t merely annoyed.

They looked horrified.

Even the middle-aged cashier had frozen.

His hand remained suspended over the counter as his eyes stared at Asher.

Asher’s brows furrowed.

He glanced around the shop.

Then back at the cashier.

’What?’

He hadn’t done anything.

He had simply yawned.

Yet everyone was looking at him as though he had just done something terrible.

Then—

A child yawned.

Asher’s eyes shifted toward the sound.

Another child followed.

The adults immediately stiffened.

Their expressions changed as they looked at the children.

Then they looked back at Asher.

Fear.

Pure, unmistakable fear.

Asher’s confusion deepened.

"What...?"

One of the adults stared at him with wide eyes.

"What have you done?"

Another person’s voice trembled.

"Yo-You have doomed us all!"

Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!