The sharp, rhythmic sound of the city outside his window seemed to be seeping into his thoughts, breaking the silence that had settled over him since the strange encounter earlier that night. Liewen sat at the edge of his bed, his fingers absently tracing the edge of his journal as the weight of the unknown lingered in the air.
Sleep hadn't come easy after the voice—those words still echoed in the back of his mind, as if they were floating just beyond his reach. His reflection had been distorted, the eyes staring back at him were unfamiliar. He couldn't shake the feeling that something had changed, or that something was slowly creeping up on him.
The moonlight spilled across the room, casting long, eerie shadows against the walls. Liewen's thoughts buzzed like a swarm of bees. The sharp clarity from earlier had faded, leaving him adrift in uncertainty. He reached for his phone, its light a brief comfort in the darkness of the room, but all he found was a string of missed notifications from Kian and Malik—nothing that felt important enough to answer.
Liewen ran a hand through his hair, sensing a thought hovering just beyond his awareness, like something half-remembered, barely out of reach. He had been acting differently. At the arcade. At school. Even now, sitting here, in this silence that felt too heavy. Was this who he had always been? Or had something else taken over?
He stood abruptly, needing to move, to rid himself of the growing tension in his chest. It wasn't like him to get so worked up over something so—trivial.
It's just a voice, he reminded himself.
Just a moment.
But the unease didn't let up. He needed to get out.
Liewen pulled on his jacket, grabbed his bike keys, and stepped into the hallway. His footsteps echoed, oddly loud in the quiet building. The stairwell greeted him with its usual gloom, the faint smell of stale air and the hum of distant traffic below.
The night was cool, the air carrying the scent of rain from earlier in the day. He pedaled out into the empty streets, the cold wind biting at his face, but even the brisk air couldn't clear the fog from his mind. He rode faster, the familiar rhythm of his bike tires against the pavement offering a small comfort, but the stillness that wrapped around him felt unnerving, like a silent observer lurking in the corners of his mind.
His thoughts kept slipping, like sand running through his fingers. He couldn't hold onto them. He wasn't sure what he was trying to escape from, but there was something pressing at the borders of his consciousness, something urgent.
The streetlights flickered overhead, casting long, jittery shadows. He couldn't remember the last time he had ridden this late. It felt like he was running from something, but what?
He passed by the park, the swings swaying gently in the breeze, the playground now a silhouette against the night sky. The world around him felt so quiet, as though he was the only one awake in a city full of secrets.
And then—
There it was again.
The same sensation he'd felt at home. A quiet stirring. A shift in the air. Something wasn't right.
Liewen stopped his bike suddenly, the tires skidding on the wet pavement. His heart was pounding now, not from exertion, but from a growing discomfort, a rising panic that he couldn't shake. He glanced around, eyes searching the shadows, expecting to see something—or someone—emerge from the dark.
But nothing.
He shook his head, forcing himself to breathe.
It's fine. He was fine.
He pushed the bike forward again, trying to shake off the strange feeling crawling up his spine. The streets seemed endless, stretching out before him, as if he could ride forever and never escape the weight in his chest.
But then, as if on cue, a figure emerged from the shadows ahead.
Liewen braked hard, his heart leaping into his throat. The figure didn't move at first, standing still like a statue, but there was something familiar about the silhouette.
It wasn't until the figure took a step forward that he saw the face.
"Malik?"
The words slipped out before he could stop them.
Malik smiled, that cocky grin Liewen was all too familiar with. But there was something in his eyes that wasn't right. Something darker, like he was playing a role he didn't quite understand.
"You've been avoiding us," Malik said, his voice oddly flat, like a rehearsed line. "Why's that, Liewen?"
Liewen blinked, taken aback by the question. Malik was his friend. He always had been. But tonight, there was an unsettling impression to him, as if he had stepped out of the world Liewen knew and into something else entirely.
"I—" Liewen hesitated, unsure how to answer. "I haven't been avoiding you."
Malik took another step forward, the smile on his face tightening, but not in a way that seemed friendly. "You've been avoiding yourself."
Liewen's chest tightened, the words latching onto him like a weight. His hands gripped the handlebars of his bike, but even that felt too distant. Too disconnected.
"I don't know what you're talking about," Liewen said, his voice thin, like he was trying to convince himself as much as Malik.
Malik's expression softened, but the shift didn't feel comforting. "You don't need to know," he replied quietly. "Not yet."
Liewen's mind raced, trying to make sense of it. Not yet? What did that even mean?
Before he could respond, Malik's figure seemed to blur, as though the light around him was warping. Liewen blinked, and in the next instant, the figure was gone, leaving only the stillness of the night behind.
Liewen stood there for a moment, caught between disbelief and the strange sensation that the world around him had just shifted again—this time, in a way he couldn't follow.
His grip tightened on the bike's handlebars, but the unsettling sensation didn't leave.
What the hell was that?
He turned and rode off, faster this time, as if the night itself might catch up to him, and yet, for the first time, it felt as though he was slipping further from himself with every pedal.
And the darkness behind him only seemed to stretch, deeper and deeper.