Yandere Stream

Luna’s scream tore through Kai’s headset with such raw panic that his body reacted before his mind could.

He lurched backward, his heel catching the edge of the coffee table. For one terrifying second he thought he was going to fall, but instinct took over. He threw out a hand, caught the back of the couch, and steadied himself while his heart slammed violently against his ribs.

It wasn’t what she’d said that shook him.

It was how she’d said it.

All night, Luna had stayed composed. She’d sounded worried, analytical, frustrated, even frightened once or twice. No matter how impossible things became, she’d always spoken with enough control to keep Kai grounded.

This wasn’t that.

This wasn’t fear.

This was desperation.

"KAI!"

Her breathing came through the headset in uneven bursts.

"Back away from the door. Right now."

Kai didn’t hesitate.

He took another step back, then another, refusing to let his eyes drift toward the peephole again. His pulse still hadn’t recovered from seeing the reflectionless officer.

Outside, another knock came.

Three measured taps.

"Mr. Mercer?"

Daniel’s voice sounded exactly as it always had.

Calm.

Professional.

"If you’re alright, just answer us."

Kai swallowed hard.

He almost looked.

Almost.

The urge crawled through his body like an itch beneath his skin. If he looked one more time, maybe the fourth officer would be gone.

Or maybe he’d finally understand what he was seeing.

His gaze lifted toward the peephole—

—and stopped halfway.

No.

Not again.

Every time he’d looked through it tonight, reality had shifted just a little more.

Every glance seemed to invite something closer.

Instead, he raised his voice.

"Daniel."

"Yes?"

"Tell the officer on your left to wave."

Silence lingered for a heartbeat.

Then Daniel answered.

"...He is."

Kai’s stomach tightened.

"I can’t see him."

Another pause.

Daniel sounded genuinely puzzled now.

"How are you testing us if you’re not looking?"

Kai didn’t answer.

Because Daniel shouldn’t have known he wasn’t looking.

He hadn’t said that.

Slowly, Kai lowered his eyes to the gap beneath the front door.

A thin strip of yellow hallway light spilled across the hardwood.

Four people standing outside should have cast four separate shadows.

He counted carefully.

One.

Two.

Three.

Only three.

The light remained uninterrupted where the fourth should have been.

His heartbeat became painfully loud.

"Luna."

"I’m here."

"There are only three shadows."

"I know."

Her reply came immediately.

No surprise.

No confusion.

Just quiet certainty.

Kai frowned.

"You knew?"

"I suspected."

"What kind of suspicion?"

The silence that followed felt heavy.

Finally she answered.

"The kind I’ve been trying not to believe all night."

He leaned against the wall, keeping the front door in sight.

"What are you talking about?"

"I think..."

She stopped.

Kai could almost hear her choosing every word.

"...I think something has been inserting itself into your memories."

He stared at the floor.

"What?"

"You don’t notice these people until after you’ve already seen them."

"I don’t understand."

"You didn’t remember the man in the hoodie after you looked away."

Her voice stayed gentle.

"You couldn’t describe his face."

"You couldn’t remember his eyes."

"You couldn’t even guess his age."

Kai slowly nodded.

She was right.

"And the fourth officer?"

"You only became certain he existed after looking through the peephole."

Kai’s breathing slowed.

Not because he was calming down.

Because every word made a horrifying amount of sense.

Luna continued.

"I don’t think it’s creating people."

"What, then?"

"I think it’s convincing your mind..."

She exhaled quietly.

"...that they were always there."

The apartment suddenly felt smaller.

Every memory from the night rushed back through his head.

The smiling man behind the police.

The impossible stream.

The older version of himself.

The anonymous messages.

Every single one had appeared the same way.

First impossible.

Then...

Familiar.

As though his own memories had quietly rewritten themselves around them.

His phone vibrated.

Kai flinched.

Another anonymous message.

He didn’t touch it.

The screen lit by itself.

White text against a black background.

She’s lying.

Another sentence typed itself underneath.

Open the door.

A third appeared before his eyes.

You already know me.

Kai locked the screen so quickly his thumb hurt.

"I’m getting really tired of strangers telling me what to do."

For the first time in what felt like forever...

Luna laughed.

Just once.

A tiny, exhausted laugh.

"So am I."

Despite everything, Kai smiled.

It lasted barely a second.

But it reminded him he wasn’t completely alone.

Outside, Daniel knocked again.

"Mr. Mercer."

"We need to know you’re okay."

Kai rubbed a hand across his forehead.

"If I ask you something..."

"Go ahead."

"What color is your tie?"

Daniel laughed softly.

"I’m not wearing one."

Kai asked again.

"What did we talk about before you came upstairs?"

"You asked if we’d arrived."

"Before that."

"You asked if I’d ever responded to something like this before."

Kai remembered.

That was true.

Every answer fit.

Nothing sounded rehearsed.

Nothing sounded forced.

Nothing...

Until another voice interrupted.

Warm.

Relaxed.

Almost amused.

"So many questions."

Daniel fell silent.

The officers fell silent.

Even the rain outside seemed to disappear.

Only one voice remained.

The reflectionless officer.

His words drifted through the door as though wood meant nothing.

"You’ve been asking the wrong ones."

Kai clenched his jaw.

He refused to answer.

The voice chuckled softly.

"You keep asking what I am."

"No."

Kai surprised himself by speaking.

"I stopped caring."

Another laugh.

"Oh?"

"You should."

Kai stayed quiet.

The voice continued anyway.

"You should be asking..."

A pause.

"...why she found you first."

Kai’s stomach twisted.

He didn’t respond.

Not because the question didn’t matter.

Because it mattered too much.

The officer seemed pleased.

"She told you she cares."

Silence.

"She told you she’s protecting you."

Kai closed his eyes.

Still silent.

"But she never told you..."

Another pause.

"...how long she’s been watching."

Something inside Kai shifted.

Not doubt.

Curiosity.

Slow.

Quiet.

Dangerous curiosity.

Questions bloomed before he could stop them.

When had Luna started watching?

How had she found him?

Why had she been online the exact moment everything began?

Why did she always seem to know just a little more than everyone else?

"Kai."

Luna’s voice cut through his thoughts instantly.

"I’m listening."

"Please."

She wasn’t commanding him anymore.

She was pleading.

"Don’t ask."

He swallowed.

"Why?"

"Because that’s exactly what he wants."

Kai looked toward the door.

The silence stretched.

The officer sighed.

"Pity."

Then came footsteps.

Not four sets.

Not three.

One.

A single pair of footsteps walked away from the apartment.

Slow.

Patient.

Almost disappointed.

The sound echoed farther down the hallway until it disappeared completely.

Nobody spoke.

Finally...

Daniel’s voice returned.

"...Mr. Mercer?"

"Yeah?"

"There were only three officers here."

Kai’s head snapped toward the door.

"What?"

"You kept saying there were four."

Daniel sounded honestly confused.

"We thought you were just mistaken."

Kai’s mouth went dry.

"The man standing behind you."

"There wasn’t anyone."

"The officer without a reflection."

Another long silence.

Then—

"...Mr. Mercer."

Daniel’s voice had changed.

"We only brought three officers."

Kai looked back down at the strip of light beneath the door.

Three shadows.

Exactly as before.

Nothing had changed.

Nothing...

Except him.

A horrible realization settled over him.

Daniel hadn’t seen the fourth officer.

The other officers hadn’t seen him.

Even the hallway itself hadn’t acknowledged him.

Only Kai had.

Only Kai.

As if...

Whatever that thing was...

Had revealed itself to exactly one person.

His phone buzzed again.

Against every instinct, Kai looked.

One final anonymous message waited for him.

Six simple words.

Now you know you can see me.

Kai stared at the screen.

A cold certainty settled deep in his chest.

The message didn’t frighten him because it was threatening.

It frightened him because it sounded...

Satisfied.

Like tonight had never been about getting inside the apartment.

It had been about proving something.

Proving that, out of everyone in the building...

Kai Mercer was finally able to see it.

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