The house didn't settle after that conversation.
It just… went quiet.
Not the normal kind.
Not the kind that came with people going to sleep or the TV turning off.
This one stayed.
William felt it the moment he stepped back into his room.
Everything was exactly how it should be.
Bed. Desk. Window slightly open.
Nothing out of place.
And yet—
"…Yeah," he muttered, closing the door behind him. "This is not the same house."
He didn't turn on the light.
Didn't need to.
There was enough from outside to see.
He sat on the edge of his bed, elbows resting on his knees, staring at the floor like it might give him answers if he waited long enough.
It didn't.
Nothing did.
Not the Hunters.
Not that figure.
Not even his aunt.
Just pieces.
Half-explanations.
Things that sounded important but didn't actually explain anything.
William leaned back slowly, lying flat against the mattress.
The ceiling came into view.
Familiar.
Too familiar.
"…You'd think something like this would feel different," he said quietly.
It didn't.
That was the problem.
Everything around him stayed normal.
While everything about him—
didn't.
He lifted his hand again.
Held it up in front of him.
Nothing.
Just skin.
Just movement.
But he knew better now.
He kept staring at it anyway.
Waiting.
Like something might happen if he watched long enough.
A few seconds passed.
Then—
it pulsed.
Faint.
Subtle.
But real.
William exhaled slowly.
"…There it is."
Not excitement.
Not fear.
Just… acknowledgment.
Like confirming something he already knew.
He dropped his hand back onto the bed.
"…So what are you supposed to be?" he asked quietly.
No answer.
Of course.
There never was.
From somewhere down the hallway, a faint sound carried through.
A door shifting.
Footsteps.
Then quiet again.
Kai.
Probably.
William closed his eyes briefly.
"…He's not going to sleep either."
That made sense.
None of them would.
Not after tonight.
Jonah—
he was different.
Too quiet.
Too aware.
That part stuck with him.
"…Something changed," William muttered.
He didn't fully understand it.
But he felt it.
Not just in himself.
In the house.
In them.
In everything.
Like something had already started moving—
and they were just catching up to it.
He turned onto his side, facing the wall.
Tried to settle.
Tried to ignore the thoughts stacking on top of each other.
Didn't work.
"…They said I wasn't supposed to be awake yet."
That line again.
It wouldn't leave.
It didn't sound like a threat.
Or a warning.
It sounded like… timing.
Like something had happened earlier than it should have.
William frowned slightly.
"…So what happens next?" he asked.
Silence answered him.
Again.
He let out a slow breath.
His thoughts shifted.
Not to the fight.
Not to the power.
Something else.
Something heavier.
"…Would they have known?"
He didn't say who.
He didn't need to.
The question sat there.
Uncomfortable.
His parents.
If they were still here—
would any of this make sense?
Would he be sitting here trying to piece things together?
Or would they have already told him what he was?
What he was becoming?
William's jaw tightened slightly.
"…Yeah. That's not helping."
He turned onto his back again, staring at the ceiling.
For a long moment—
he didn't move.
Didn't think.
Didn't try to understand anything.
He just stayed there.
Eventually—
his breathing slowed.
His thoughts dulled.
And somewhere between being awake and not—
he slipped into sleep.
The next time he opened his eyes, the house felt different.
Not quiet anymore.
Alive.
Faint sounds carried through the walls.
Movement.
Voices.
Normal things.
William sat up slowly, running a hand through his hair.
For a second—
everything felt fine.
Then—
it came back.
Not the fear.
Not the confusion.
Just the awareness.
"…Right," he muttered.
He stood up and stepped out into the hallway.
The light was brighter now.
Natural.
Coming through the windows.
He didn't stop to think about it.
Didn't label it.
Just noticed.
The voices were clearer as he walked.
Kai, already talking.
"…I'm just saying, pretending nothing happened is a bad plan."
"We're not pretending," his aunt replied.
"That sounds exactly like pretending."
"It isn't."
"It is."
William stepped into the kitchen.
"…You've been arguing since I woke up, haven't you?"
Kai looked at him.
"…You look terrible."
"Thank you."
"You're welcome."
Jonah glanced at him briefly.
"You slept."
"…Eventually."
"That's enough."
"Not really."
William sat down.
The table grounded him immediately.
Something normal.
Something real.
"…So," he said, picking up a cup, "we're not actually going to school like everything is fine, right?"
Kai pointed at him.
"Exactly."
His aunt didn't answer immediately.
Which meant—
this mattered.
"No," she said.
William nodded once.
"…Good."
Kai leaned back.
"That's the first reasonable thing I've heard since yesterday."
Jonah stayed quiet.
Watching.
Waiting.
William rested his arms on the table.
"…So what now?"
A pause.
Not long.
But deliberate.
"There's another place," she said.
William tilted his head slightly.
"…You always say things like that like they're not suspicious."
"It's not meant to be suspicious."
"It is."
Kai nodded.
"Very much."
"It's not a normal school."
"That doesn't help," William said.
"It's for people like you."
That again.
William exhaled quietly.
"…People like me."
"Yes."
Kai frowned.
"…And us?"
She looked at him.
Then Jonah.
"You're coming too."
Kai blinked.
"…Yeah, I don't like that."
"You don't have to."
"That's not comforting."
"It's not supposed to be."
Jonah finally spoke.
"They'll come back."
No hesitation.
William nodded slightly.
"…Yeah."
His aunt didn't argue.
Because she knew.
"…This place," William said, "it's supposed to keep them away?"
"It will help you understand what's happening."
"That's not the same thing."
"No."
William leaned back slightly.
Thinking.
Processing.
Then sighed.
"…When?"
"Soon."
Kai dropped his head slightly.
"Of course it's soon."
William stood.
"…Yeah," he muttered. "Figures."
He looked at his hand again.
Still normal.
Still quiet.
But not empty.
"…Yeah," he said softly. "This isn't over."