The timer reached fifty.
There was no dramatic ticking, no flashing red numbers like something out of an action movie. It was nothing more than a simple white digital countdown displayed on the screen of a phone that had no business existing inside Kai’s apartment.
And yet...
Every second seemed heavier than the last.
Kai remained crouched a few feet away from the hallway table, his phone’s flashlight fixed on the abandoned device while the rest of the apartment dissolved into uncertain shadows. Beyond the narrow beam of light, darkness swallowed everything. Behind him, his stream continued broadcasting to nearly one hundred and fifty thousand people.
For once...
Nobody was joking.
Messages flew through chat too quickly to read one by one, but he could feel the change in mood.
LanternGhost:
Someone call 911 for him.
PotatoWitness:
THIS IS MAKING ME SICK
SleepyOtter:
Please don’t touch that phone.
Kai swallowed.
"I wasn’t planning to."
His own voice sounded unfamiliar.
Too quiet.
Too controlled.
Like someone trying very hard not to let panic slip through.
Luna remained connected to the call. Through his headset, he could hear nothing except the faint rhythm of her breathing. She hadn’t spoken in nearly thirty seconds.
Considering everything that had happened tonight...
That felt unusually long.
"You still there?"
"I’m here."
She answered immediately.
"I was thinking."
Kai let out a tired breath.
"That’s either really comforting or really terrifying."
"A little of both."
Despite everything pressing down on him, the corner of his mouth twitched.
It was strange.
At some point during the chaos, Luna had quietly become one of the only constants left in his life.
The timer continued.
00:43
00:42
00:41
Kai forced himself to look away.
Instead of staring at the countdown, he let his eyes wander around the apartment.
The couch sat exactly where it always had, an old blanket carelessly draped over one armrest.
Empty energy drink cans cluttered the coffee table.
One lonely sock rested near the television.
He had absolutely no memory of taking it off.
The ordinary details hurt more than they should have.
This was supposed to be home.
The safest place he had.
Instead, every familiar object now looked like a possible hiding place.
Every shadow felt occupied.
His phone vibrated again.
Not the hidden one.
His own.
Another unknown number.
He almost ignored it.
Almost.
The message was painfully simple.
Don’t let it reach zero.
Kai frowned.
Before he could process it, another text arrived.
Different number.
Do not touch the phone.
Another.
It’s bait.
Then another.
Run.
Kai let out a sigh so long it almost made his chest ache.
"I’ve officially reached the point where anonymous strangers are arguing over my survival."
"You reached that point hours ago."
He couldn’t argue with that.
Luna’s calm voice steadied him more than he cared to admit.
He hated that.
No...
That wasn’t true.
What he hated was realizing he didn’t actually hate it.
His thoughts drifted back to Derek.
Get out of the apartment.
Simple advice.
Logical advice.
So why was he still here?
Because curiosity had always beaten common sense.
Because he wanted answers.
Because some selfish, broken corner of his mind knew every additional minute meant more viewers.
The realization left a sour taste in his mouth.
His eyes drifted toward the viewer count.
149,903
Almost one hundred and fifty thousand people.
Watching him breathe.
Watching him hesitate.
Watching him slowly become someone who looked at chat before trusting his own instincts.
"Kai."
Luna’s voice broke through his thoughts.
"I need you to promise me something."
He blinked.
"...Depends."
"If anything unexpected happens..."
She hesitated.
"...Leave."
"No investigating."
"No checking the hallway."
"No trying to be brave."
Kai let out a weak laugh.
"I’ve never tried to be brave."
"I know."
He could hear the faintest smile in her voice.
"You try to be curious."
That landed harder than he expected.
Because she was right.
Curiosity had gotten him into streaming.
Curiosity had convinced him to keep reading anonymous messages.
Curiosity had made him answer Luna’s very first DM.
Curiosity was slowly dismantling his life one terrible decision at a time.
The timer continued falling.
00:21
The apartment grew impossibly quiet.
Even the rain outside seemed to soften.
The silence became so complete that Kai noticed sounds he’d ignored all night.
The steady hum of the refrigerator.
The whisper of his computer fans.
The faint electrical buzz from the hallway light outside his apartment.
Then...
Another sound.
Soft.
So soft he almost convinced himself he’d imagined it.
Footsteps.
Not inside the apartment.
Above it.
Someone was walking across the ceiling overhead.
One step.
Another.
Then...
Nothing.
The footsteps stopped.
Kai slowly looked upward.
"So now my upstairs neighbor decides to exist?"
The joke came out weaker than he intended.
Still, chat appreciated the effort.
UnpaidIntern77:
BRO PICKED THE WORST NIGHT TO EXERCISE
KeyboardGoblin:
UPSTAIRS NPC FINALLY LOADED IN
A quiet laugh escaped Luna.
"I’ll admit..."
"What?"
"That timing is unfortunate."
A smile tugged at Kai’s lips.
It disappeared almost immediately.
The hidden phone chimed.
Not loudly.
Just a single notification.
The countdown vanished.
Its screen went completely black.
For one heartbeat...
Nothing happened.
Kai’s pulse thundered inside his ears.
Then the display lit up again.
No timer.
No photograph.
A live camera feed filled the screen.
Before he realized what he was doing, Kai leaned closer.
The video showed a narrow apartment hallway.
Gray carpet.
Apartment doors lining both sides.
An illuminated emergency exit sign hanging overhead.
His building.
Specifically...
His floor.
The camera moved.
Not because it was mounted somewhere.
Because someone was holding it.
Walking.
Each step was slow.
Measured.
Patient.
The feed drifted down the hallway.
Past apartment 4A.
Past 4B.
Past 4C.
Closer.
Closer.
Kai felt his breathing become shallow.
Then...
His own apartment door entered the frame.
The live feed stopped directly in front of it.
Whoever held the camera remained completely silent.
No breathing.
No footsteps.
Nothing.
Only the image of his front door.
Then a gloved hand slowly entered the frame.
It rose toward the wood.
Kai’s heartbeat stopped.
The hand knocked three times.
At that exact same moment...
Three slow knocks echoed through the real door of his apartment.
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