The university halls were quieter than usual, the echo of her footsteps the only sound as Elena made her way back to her office. The meeting with Dr. Grey had left her with more questions than answers. He was knowledgeable, no doubt, but there was something about him—something she couldn’t quite put her finger on. His interest in the artifact seemed personal, almost too intense for a simple academic pursuit.

Elena pushed the thought aside as she unlocked her office door. She was probably just imagining things. After all, it wasn’t every day that she made a discovery like this, and it was only natural for others to be excited about it, too. Still, a lingering sense of unease tugged at her as she stepped into the dimly lit room.

The artifact sat on her desk, wrapped in cloth, its presence commanding the space even though it was hidden from view. She had spent hours poring over it, trying to decipher the symbols, trying to understand what it was—and why she felt such a pull toward it. It was as if the object held a secret, something that called to her on a level she couldn’t explain.

Sitting down at her desk, Elena unwrapped the artifact carefully. The cool stone felt strangely warm under her fingers, almost as if it were alive. She traced the symbols with her eyes, their patterns becoming more familiar, though still unreadable. She had sent copies to a few colleagues in the field, hoping someone might recognize the script, but so far, nothing.

As she studied the artifact, a sudden chill ran down her spine. The room felt colder, the air thick with an unnatural stillness. She paused, listening, her eyes scanning the shadows. "Is someone there?" she called out, her voice breaking the heavy silence.

She waited, her heart pounding in her chest, but the only response was the quiet hum of the university’s heating system. She glanced around, half-expecting to see Dr. Grey’s tall figure standing in the doorway, but the room was empty.

Taking a deep breath, Elena decided it was time to call it a night. She wrapped the artifact back up and locked it securely in her desk drawer, telling herself she was just being paranoid. But as she gathered her things and headed for the door, the feeling of unease lingered, a weight she couldn’t quite shake.

She stepped into the hallway, locked the door behind her, and started down the corridor. The sooner she got home, the better, she thought. A good night’s sleep would do wonders. Yet as she walked, the shadows seemed to stretch longer, the silence heavier, pressing in around her.

Elena finally reached the front doors of the university, pushing them open and stepping out into the cool night air. The unease she had felt inside still clung to her, but the fresh air helped clear her mind. She walked quickly across the quad, her footsteps echoing off the surrounding buildings, the campus nearly deserted at this late hour.

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The short walk to her apartment was a familiar routine, one she had taken countless times since joining the university three years ago. The streets were quiet, bathed in the soft glow of streetlights, the occasional rustle of leaves the only sound. She wrapped her coat tighter around herself as a breeze picked up, quickening her pace.

Her building was an older one, tucked away on a quiet street just off campus. It had a certain charm—high ceilings, large windows, and a sense of history that Elena appreciated. She unlocked the front door and stepped into the small foyer, the familiar scent of old wood and dust greeting her as she climbed the stairs to her third-floor apartment.

As she reached her door, she felt a flicker of warmth. Home. It was a small place, but it was hers, filled with the things she loved. She turned the key in the lock, pushed the door open and stepped inside.

The apartment was dimly lit, a single lamp casting a warm glow over the room. Bookshelves lined one wall, packed with volumes on archaeology, history, and mythology. The walls were adorned with framed photographs—snapshots of her life and her family.

Elena shrugged off her coat, draping it over a velvet blue chair as she walked further into the room. Her eyes lingered on a particular photograph on one of the shelves—a picture of her parents taken years ago. Her father, rugged and tanned from years spent in the field, stood with his arm around her mother, a delicate woman with a quiet strength in her eyes. They were smiling, a moment of happiness frozen in time.

Next to it was another photo, capturing her and her brother on the steps of their childhood home. Their arms were wrapped around each other, smiles wide and carefree, as they basked in the golden light of a long-ago afternoon. Their faces were younger, untouched by the years and the silence that had since settled between them. Her fingers brushed the frame, lingering as if somehow, the warmth of that moment could close the distance time had carved between them.

As she moved past the photos, a soft meow caught her attention. She turned to see a sleek black cat padding into the room, its bright green eyes blinking up at her.

“Hello, Charlie,” Elena said with a smile, bending down to scratch the cat behind the ears. Charlie purred in response, rubbing against her leg in greeting. He had been her only companion since she’d moved here, a loyal friend in the solitude of her academic life.

Elena straightened up and made her way to the small kitchen, filling a bowl with food for Charlie before grabbing a glass of water for herself. As she moved through the apartment, the unease she had felt earlier began to fade, replaced by the comfort of her familiar surroundings.

She sat down on the worn leather couch, Charlie jumping up beside her to curl into a ball. For a moment, she let herself relax, taking in the quiet, the stillness of the night. But even as she tried to unwind, her mind kept drifting back to the artifact, to the strange encounter with Dr. Grey, and to the unsettling feeling that something—or someone—was watching her.

Elena shook her head, trying to push the thoughts away. She needed sleep, she told herself. Everything would seem clearer in the morning. But as she settled back against the cushions, her eyes drifting closed, a small part of her couldn’t quite let go of the tension that lingered at the edges of her thoughts.

Theo

Outside, in the darkness beyond the window, Theo watched the light in her apartment flicker off, his expression unreadable as he turned and melted back into the shadows.