The light enveloped them, wrapping them in a cocoon of warmth and energy. It felt like flying, like being pulled through an endless tunnel. Liam closed his eyes against the overwhelming sensation, his heartbeat thudding in his ears. There was a pressure around them, as if the very fabric of reality was stretching, trying to hold on to them for just a moment longer. But then—snap—the pressure released, and all at once, everything changed.
Liam opened his eyes.
They were back.
The cool breeze of their world washed over them, the familiar sounds of birds chirping, the rustling of trees, the faraway hum of city traffic. The sunlight was warmer, brighter, and the air smelled fresh, untainted by the strangeness of the forest they had left behind.
Liam blinked and took a deep breath. This was it. They were home.
But something felt… off.
The ground beneath their feet seemed a little too solid. The trees around them a little too familiar, like they were in the same place but slightly different. The world had returned to its normal state, but there was a faint ripple, a lingering sense of dissonance. A nagging feeling that things hadn't fully returned to the way they were meant to be.
"Is this… real?" Harry whispered, his voice distant as he looked around, scanning their surroundings. "This feels… wrong."
Zayn turned to him, brow furrowed. "We're back, aren't we? It's the same world. The same place."
But Louis stepped forward, looking around with a hint of unease. "Is it? I mean, really? I don't know. This feels strange… like we're not quite in the world we left. Like things have shifted."
Liam's heart thudded in his chest as the same thought crossed his mind. This wasn't their world. Not fully.
"We're back in our world," he said, voice uncertain. "But something's wrong. It's… it's not what we remember."
He took a few steps forward, glancing at the others. They were all looking at him, eyes wide with confusion, their expressions mirroring his own. There was no doubt in their minds—they'd made it back, but it felt wrong. Like stepping into a house you used to live in, but finding everything out of place. Everything was the same, but nothing felt familiar.
And then, a voice—a familiar voice—echoed in the distance.
"Liam?"
His heart skipped a beat as he turned toward the sound. It was faint at first, like a whisper carried by the wind, but it was unmistakable. The voice he knew so well. The voice he had thought he'd left behind in the other world.
"Roxy?" Liam called out, his breath catching in his throat.
Before the others could react, the sound of footsteps echoed through the trees, and Roxy appeared. She was running toward them, a look of intense relief on her face, her hair blowing in the wind. She was here, in their world. The world they had just returned to.
"Liam!" she cried, reaching him in an instant and pulling him into a tight hug. For a brief moment, everything else faded away. She was here. Real. In their world.
But even as she clung to him, something still felt off. There was something in her eyes—a flicker of something Liam couldn't quite place. A shadow that shouldn't be there. But before he could say anything, Roxy pulled back slightly, her hands still resting on his shoulders as she looked him over with worried eyes.
"Where have you been? I—I've been so worried," Roxy said, her voice trembling with emotion. "You just disappeared… and I didn't know what happened. I—"
She stopped mid-sentence, her gaze shifting over Liam's shoulder, looking past him at the others. Her eyes widened in surprise, recognition dawning.
"Wait… you're all here?" she asked, her voice softening as she took in the rest of the group. "You… remember?"
Liam exchanged a glance with the others. They had all been so focused on the feeling of returning home that they hadn't stopped to think about the consequences of their actions. They hadn't stopped to consider what had changed.
"We remember," Zayn said slowly, his voice uncertain. He looked at the others, his gaze flicking between them as if searching for answers. "But something's not right. This… this doesn't feel like our world. It's familiar, but it's wrong."
Roxy's expression faltered for a moment. She opened her mouth to say something, but the words never came. She hesitated, glancing around at the group, then back at Liam.
"Maybe you should come with me," she said finally, her voice soft, yet filled with an odd sense of urgency. "We need to talk. There's something you don't know."
Liam's stomach tightened. "What is it? What's going on?"
Roxy looked at him, her eyes filled with a mix of fear and concern. "It's Jenny."
The mention of Zayn's girlfriend's name caused him to freeze, his heart pounding in his chest. "What about her?"
Roxy shook her head. "It's complicated. You need to come with me. I don't know how much time we have. There's something you don't know about what happened when you were gone… and it's… it's affecting all of you."
The group exchanged looks, their concern growing. They had just returned home, but now they had a new problem. Roxy wasn't just worried for them—she was terrified.
Without another word, they followed Roxy through the trees, back toward the town. As they walked, Liam's mind raced. What could possibly be wrong? They had fought to return to this world, to leave the strange, distorted reality behind. They had returned to everything they had known, everything they loved.
But now, it seemed that even this world—this one they thought was safe—wasn't the same.
They reached a quiet street, a street Liam barely recognized, and stopped in front of a small, nondescript house. Roxy led them inside, and the moment they crossed the threshold, Liam felt a strange sense of disorientation. It was like entering a room he'd been in before, but somehow, it wasn't quite right. Everything was slightly out of place. He could sense it in the way the furniture was arranged, the way the air felt thicker, as though something was pressing down on them.
They entered a small living room, where Jenny was sitting on the couch, her hands folded tightly in her lap. Her expression was distant, as though she were lost in thought. The moment she saw Zayn, her eyes softened, but then her face darkened, and Liam could feel the tension in the room intensify.
"Jenny," Zayn said, his voice shaky. "What's going on?"
Jenny didn't answer right away. She just looked at him, her eyes filled with unspoken words. Then, in a soft voice, she spoke. "You're here, but you're not. You don't belong here, Zayn. None of you do."
Liam's blood ran cold as he looked around at the others. Something was very wrong. Jenny's words echoed in his mind, their meaning sinking in.
It wasn't over.