A few minutes later, he reached a small 24-hour cafe on the corner. The warm light and the aroma of freshly brewed coffee greeted him like an old friend, offering him a break. Rick stood at the entrance for a moment, and then resolutely went inside.
—Black coffee, please," he said, taking out his wallet.
Rick took the glass and sat down at a table by the window. Outside, the snowstorm was intensifying, obscuring the outlines of houses and streetlights. He took a sip thoughtfully, feeling the hot drink warming him.
Suddenly, the phone vibrated again. Rick tensed, preparing to read something strange. But this time the message was from Mika.:
"Little brother, are you sure you're home? I had a strange dream that someone was watching you... Just check the locks before going to bed, okay?"
A chill went down his spine. He thought for a moment, and then glanced at the window, behind which a swirl of snow danced in time with his rapid heartbeat.
"A coincidence? Or something more?" It flashed through his mind.
Rick snorted, trying to shake off the nagging feeling of anxiety, but a chill ran down his spine, stubbornly reminding him that something was wrong. He slowly turned over his shoulder, looking around the empty cafe room. No one. Just the soft crackle of the coffee machine in the corner and the soft clink of cups behind the bar.
"It's okay," he muttered to himself, but his own words sounded unconvincing.
After finishing his coffee, Rick felt that his taste had become bitter, as if the drink had absorbed all the tension of the moment. He automatically checked his phone, but the screen was silent. No new messages. This strange "peace" strained him more than if the messages had continued.
He left a few bills on the table and left the cafe. It became even quieter outside — the snowfall turned the city into a silent kingdom, covering the sidewalks with a fluffy blanket. Lanterns dimly illuminated the streets, their light reflected in the icy paths.
Rick sauntered home, lost in thought.:
"I'll come back and check the IP address. It's probably someone from the raid. Maybe he decided to settle the score. Anyway, I'll find out who it is."
He tried to convince himself that everything that was happening was just someone's joke, but the strange feeling of someone else's gaze boring into the back of his head wouldn't let go. He looked back twice, but the street behind him remained lifeless. Only his own footprints trailed across the snow, shimmering in the lamplight.
The silence was suddenly broken by a barely audible sound. At first, there was a slight creak, similar to the slipping of shoes on ice, then the crunching of snow.
Rick stopped abruptly.
"Who's there?" His voice sounded hollow in the snowy silence.
He turned around slowly. The street behind him was empty, as before. But when I looked at the snow under the streetlight, I noticed a barely discernible shadow that flashed and immediately disappeared around the corner of the building.
"Damn it," he muttered, feeling a chill run down his spine.
Pulling himself together, Rick quickened his pace, trying to stay in the light of the lanterns. His every move seemed unnecessarily loud in the silence of the night city. But despite his efforts, the anxiety was getting stronger, like a snowstorm that was now howling somewhere in the distance.
The shadow no longer appeared, but the feeling that he was not alone did not leave Rick.
When he reached his entrance, his fingers were trembling slightly as he entered the intercom code. "Nonsense," he tried to reassure himself, entering the warm entrance and brushing the snow off his shoes.
His footsteps echoed in the empty hallway as he approached the elevator. The elevator was going up and down on the screen of blinking numbers, and Rick tiredly pressed the call button.
For a moment, he felt strange. The elevator stopped when it reached the first floor, but the doors did not open immediately. Rick took a step back, peering intently at the metal doors.
With a soft buzz, the doors finally opened. The elevator was empty. He went inside, but when the doors started to close, his gaze accidentally caught on the window opposite the entrance.
A figure stood motionless outside, under a dim streetlight. A black silhouette, indistinct due to the dense snow cover, stared straight at him.
"Who is this?" It flashed through Rick's mind instantly. He tensed, but when he blinked, he found that the figure had disappeared.
The doors closed. Inside the elevator, he felt the tension build up, and cold sweat trickled down his back. Rick clenched his fists, trying to stop shaking.
The elevator stopped on his floor, and he was about to step out into the dark corridor. The light above his apartment door flickered and then went out.
Rick froze for a moment at the elevator exit, staring intently into the darkness in front of him. The corridor, which usually seemed so serene and familiar, now seemed to breathe a hidden threat.
—Great, the light bulb went out, too," he muttered, trying to stay calm, even though his heart was pounding louder than the sound of footsteps.
Rick went to his door and felt for the keys in his pocket. His fingers, trembling slightly, caught on the fabric for a moment before he pulled out the bunch and inserted the key into the lock.
But before he turned it around, he felt a cold wind pass through his body, as if someone was breathing on his back. Rick whirled around.
The corridor remained empty. Only the muffled sound of the wind outside the windows reminded him that he was not alone in the universe.
- "Paranoia. Pure paranoia," he exhaled softly and quickly turned the key, pushing the door open.
It was dark and quiet inside the apartment. He stepped inside, instinctively locking the door behind him and double checking that all the locks were locked.
Rick took off his shoes and reached for the light switch. A click and nothing happened. The light didn't turn on.
"Really? Did they also cut off the electricity?"
He took out his phone, activated the flashlight and went deeper into the apartment. A ray of light picked out familiar shapes from the darkness: a sofa, a table, a computer. Everything was in its place.
But the feeling that someone was watching him wouldn't let go.
When he reached the room, he turned the light on the window. The curtains were slightly ajar, and Rick moved closer to pull them shut. For a moment, his gaze slid outside, and he felt his heart skip a beat.
In the distance, under a weak street lamp, the same black figure stood again. Motionless. Without a face, without features, just a shadow that stared at his window.
—Damn it!" "What is it?" he blurted out.
There was a sharp jerk, and the curtains closed with a bang. Rick retreated against the wall, his breath coming in short gasps, and beads of cold sweat trickled down his back. My chest felt tight, as if an invisible hand was holding my breath.
The phone buzzed, the vibration breaking the disturbing silence of the room. For a moment, he just stared at the screen, not daring to look at the device. But his gaze involuntarily slid down. Thin lines of text flashed on the display.
Message.
"You're home. It's good. Now we can start."
At the same moment, electricity was turned on, the monitor turned on itself, and instead of the usual desktop, an inscription appeared in large font.:
"You've returned home. But are you sure you came back alone?"
Rick recoiled from the monitor, his heart pounding. Panic gripped his mind, but he quickly tried to pull himself together. My fingers ran over the keyboard, but nothing happened. The computer did not respond. The screen glowed with a gloomy inscription for another second, and then went out, leaving the room in complete darkness.
The silence seemed to thicken, becoming almost tangible. And in that silence, there was a barely discernible sound. A creak. Light, but loud enough to be heard. Right behind him.
Rick froze, his breath coming in short gasps. For a few seconds, he didn't dare turn around, feeling as if the air around him was filled with something sinister. Then, taking a deep breath, he abruptly turned around.
Nothing.
The apartment was empty. The same furniture was arranged, the same books on the shelf, the chair was slightly pulled apart. Only now the space seemed alien.
"This... just a glitch," he muttered, forcing himself to move. His hand was shaking as he reached for the light switch on the wall.
Click. The light flashed on, flooding the room with a warm yellow glow. Rick looked around at the familiar surroundings, but the tension wouldn't let go. Everything was in its place.
He licked his dry lips, went to the computer and tried to reboot it by pressing the power button. The screen blinked, but instead of the usual loading, a new inscription appeared:
"Do you really think the light can save you?"
Rick felt an icy chill seep into his bones. He slowly took a step back, then another, until his back was against the wall.
"Who the hell are you?!"Stop it!" he shouted, but his voice sounded too weak, almost uncertain.
The monitor went out again, as did the lights in the room. This time, the darkness seemed even thicker, and it seemed to press him down, filling every corner of the room.
And then there was another sound. The same creaking of the floor, but now much closer.