Chapter 28
Kallie
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Copper jerked his head toward the door and fought his way through the storm. Finn squeezed Kallie's hand so tight it might break her fingers, but that was the least of her concerns.
He pulled her after him without hesitation. She had no time to think. It took all her attention to stay connected to Finn.
Outside, the wind shoved her sideways. Rain pelted her skin like needles. Stumbling, she cried out. The only reason she stayed on her feet was that Finn refused to let her go down.
She gripped Finn's hand so tightly her knuckles ached, terrified that if she let go for even a second, the storm would swallow her whole.
They sprinted through the empty street, Copper leading the way with long, purposeful strides for a man his age.
Kallie tried to keep her eyes on him, but something flickered at the edge of her vision—a distortion in the air.
She turned her head, and the veil snapped into focus, a warped shimmer twisting the rain around it.
Her breath caught as the thing pulled at her, tugging like invisible fingers hooking into her ribs.
Finn yanked her back so hard she slammed into his chest, his arms locking around her. "Don't look at it," he shouted over the thunder.
She clung to him, shaking, her heart pounding so violently she thought it might burst. The shadow pulsed once, as if aware of her, and the pull intensified for a terrifying second before Finn dragged her forward again.
Copper shoved open the restaurant door, and they stumbled inside, dripping and breathless. The storm roared outside, rattling the windows. Finn kept her pressed against him, his hand splayed over her stomach, as if he thought the glitch might reach through the walls and take her away.
"Follow me." Copper led them straight through the restaurant, past the empty booths and flickering lights, then pushed into the kitchen.
Kallie barely stepped into the small room when Copper lifted a trapdoor, revealing a narrow staircase leading underground.
"Go," Copper said, his voice low and urgent.
Finn guided her down the steps, his hand firm on her back, and she descended into the darkness, her throat spasming. The cellar was small, lit by a single flickering bulb, but the moment Copper shut the trapdoor above them, the storm's roar vanished. The silence hit her like a physical blow.
She leaned against the wall, trying to steady her breathing. Finn stood in front of her, dripping water onto the concrete floor, his chest rising and falling in sharp, uneven pulls. Copper stayed near the stairs, listening, his expression unreadable.
Kallie swallowed hard. "What was that thing?"
Copper looked over his shoulder and met her gaze. "A glitch. A tear in the veil. It's never this close to town. It wants you out of Everstill."
Finn cupped her face with trembling hands. "I won't let it get you."
She shivered, remembering the glitch's strength. "I don't understand. I've walked through the veil before. It was calm. It was nothing like that, that horror."
"You haven't seen anything yet," muttered Copper.
She swallowed hard. "Why me?"
"Because you don't belong here," Finn said. "And it knows."
Her stomach twisted. "Wh-What do I do?"
He shook his head immediately, fiercely. "The rift was broken long before you came back." He leaned his forehead against hers, his breath warm and shaky. "But it's angry now because I won't let it take you."
Copper cleared his throat softly, drawing their attention. "You two need to stay down here until the storm passes," he said. "The rift's unstable. It's reacting to... all of this."
Kallie looked between them, her heart pounding. "Reacting to what?"
Finn's jaw tightened. "Us."
The word hung in the air, heavy and terrifying. She reached for his hand, threading her fingers through his, needing contact. "Finn... what if it doesn't stop?"
He squeezed her hand, his voice low and certain. "We'll figure it out."
Copper's mouth tightened, and he turned away from her view. His silence scared her more than anything. He knew what would happen and said nothing.
In the quiet of the cellar, Finn held her. "How long will it last?" she whispered.
"Once it doesn't get what it wants, it'll calm down." Copper faced them both. "We need to stay down here until the sun comes up."
"The others?" Finn held her tighter.
Copper shook his head, glancing at Kallie before meeting Finn's gaze. "They'll sleep through it. The same as you would've done before she came here."
Kallie leaned against Finn. Copper's attitude toward her was barely civil. He blamed her for the storm and the danger they were all in.
Maybe he had a right to be mad. Maybe it was her fault.
"Why is it only the three of us who are aware of the storm? How can the other men sleep through this?" asked Finn.
Copper stood near the cellar stairs, listening to the storm batter the restaurant above them.
Kallie wrapped her arms around herself, still trembling from the glitch's pull.
Finn stayed close, one hand on her back, his thumb tracing slow circles that did little to ease the tremble in her bones.
She could feel his tension, too. He stayed coiled, ready to fight.
Copper finally turned toward them, his expression grim. "The others won't wake up or come outside at night. They don't sense the storm. They don't sense anything."
Kallie blinked, confused. It would be impossible to sleep through the storm.
Finn stiffened beside her. She glanced at him.
Ever since she'd arrived, Finn had kept things from her.
She suspected he was uncomfortable forming a relationship after she first arrived because Everstill lacked women.
But he'd also hinted that living here wasn't normal and that Everstill didn't like changes.
"How could they not hear the storm?" she asked.
Copper folded his arms. "Most of the men here... they don't feel fear. Or anger. Or love. Not anymore, if they ever did." His voice was steady. "Only Finn and I have gotten some of our emotions back. Emotions that make us think independently and feel."
Kallie held on to Finn tighter. "Why you two?"
Copper hesitated, then looked at her with a strange softness. "Because someone could see past the blackness in our souls, freeing us." He nodded toward Finn. "Someone who saw something worth saving... even when society didn't."
A tremor ran through Kallie so sharply she had to grab Finn's arm to steady herself. Both men noticed instantly—Finn's hand tightened protectively around her waist, and Copper's eyes narrowed with concern.
"Finn's not bad," she said.
"There's not a man in Everstill who deserves to live.
Not me. Not Finn." Copper exhaled slowly.
"Every one of us committed some crime or made choices in a previous life that took us out of the real world and put us here.
This place is where we're sent to live out the rest of our days. We're not expected to leave."
Kallie's stomach dropped. "Everstill is a prison?"
Copper shrugged one shoulder. "Some would call it that.
" He glanced toward the ceiling as thunder rolled overhead.
"But each day, the men get up and do their tasks.
They live lives that satisfy them. They know no different.
They thrive on routine because they have no emotions to tell them otherwise. "
Finn dragged a hand over his face, exhaling hard. "How long have we been here?"
Copper's mouth thinned. "I don't know."
Finn's jaw clenched. "Then how do you know all this? Why are you aware when the others aren't? They never question anything. Hell, until now, I never thought anything of living here."
Copper looked down at his hands. For a long moment, the only sound was the storm raging above them. Then he lifted his gaze, meeting Finn's eyes with a look that carried years of unspoken truth.
"Because I met someone a long time ago," Copper said quietly. "A woman. She walked down the road into Everstill, just like Kallie did."
Kallie's breath hitched. Finn's grip on her tightened.
Copper continued, voice low. "She wasn't from here. She wasn't meant to be here. But she stayed for a while. And I..." He swallowed. "I enjoyed her company. More than I should have."
Kallie felt her heart twist. "What happened to her?"
"She left," Copper said simply. "And I stayed."
He looked at Finn again. Kallie caught the message, silently shared. An understanding. A warning. A truth neither wanted to say aloud.
"There's something about meeting a woman from the other dimension," Copper said softly. "It brings our feelings back. Our memories. Our emotions. The parts of us Everstill had taken from us. We start to feel alive again."
Kallie's pulse hammered in her ears. She looked at Finn, and the fear in his eyes mirrored her own.
If Copper was right, she wasn't only upsetting Everstill. She'd changed Finn for the rest of his life.
Before meeting her, he would've been like the others, happy to go about his day, wandering the town. But he could never settle for that life again, even if she left.
Her eyes burned, and she stared at the cement floor.
Her love had ruined him.