3:25 AM.
Ethan sat on his bed, gripping his phone like a lifeline.
Sleep pulled at his body, heavy, relentless.
He couldn't afford to close his eyes.
Not now.
Not when Jax had vanished only a night ago.
Not when they were the next targets.
His screen lit up. A message from Maya.
Maya: You awake?
Ethan typed back. Yeah. You?
Maya: Not sleeping. Not after today.
Ethan exhaled. He wasn't alone in this.
But that didn't make him any safer.
3:30 AM.
Three minutes.
His body was exhausted, every muscle weighed down like he'd been running for miles. His brain screamed for rest.
But if he slept…
He'd wake up there.
3:31 AM.
Another text. This time, from Lucy.
Lucy: Guys, something's wrong with Reed.
Ethan's stomach dropped. He typed back fast.
Ethan: What do you mean?
No answer.
3:32 AM.
Ethan's pulse pounded in his ears. He hit the call button.
The phone rang once.
Twice.
Then—
Lucy picked up.
And she was sobbing.
"Ethan," she choked out. "He—he's asleep. But—oh my God—he's not breathing."
Ethan shot up from his bed, his heart slamming against his ribs. "What?! Wake him up!"
"I'm trying!" Lucy's voice broke. "He's—he's shaking, like he's having a seizure."
Ethan grabbed his jacket. "I'm coming—"
Then—
A low hum filled his room.
The air crackled.
And before Ethan could react—
His phone screen glitched.
Then—
Darkness.
When Ethan's eyes opened, he was no longer in his room.
He was back.
The same twisting streets. The same fog curling around his feet.
Fulton Street.
Only this time—it was worse.
The buildings were leaning in more now, tilting toward him, like a throat preparing to swallow something whole.
The sky above wasn't black.
It was a deep, rotten red.
And then—
A scream.
Not just any scream.
Lucy.
Ethan's breath hitched. He turned toward the sound, sprinting forward.
The street stretched, warping beneath his feet. The cracks in the pavement yawned wider, deep and endless.
Then he saw her.
Lucy stood in the center of the street, shaking, her eyes locked on something behind him.
Ethan skidded to a stop. "Lucy!"
She didn't move.
She didn't blink.
Ethan's blood ran cold.
Because he had seen this before.
Jax had stood the same way—frozen, staring.
Right before it took him.
Ethan swallowed hard. "Lucy. We have to go. Now."
Nothing.
She wasn't looking at him.
She was looking at what was behind him.
Ethan's entire body went rigid.
Slowly, he turned.
And there it was.
The same faceless thing.
Only now—
There were more of them.
They stood in the fog, their bodies shifting, flickering like a broken signal.
And they were moving toward Lucy.
Ethan lunged forward, grabbing her wrist. "RUN!"
She didn't react.
Her skin was ice-cold.
And then—
A hand burst from the fog and grabbed her shoulder.
Lucy screamed.
Her body jerked, her limbs stiffening. Her mouth opened in a silent cry, her eyes rolling back—
And in a blink, she was ripped backward into the dark.
Gone.
Just like Jax.
Ethan stood there, his chest heaving. His breath frosted in the air.
The fog swirled where Lucy had been.
Nothing left behind.
The things in the dark turned their blurred, shifting faces toward him now.
And Ethan ran.
Ethan's eyes snapped open.
His body jerked upright in bed, drenched in sweat. His heart hammered, his lungs gasping for air.
For a second, he couldn't move.
Then—he grabbed his phone.
His fingers fumbled as he scrolled to his messages.
Lucy.
Her name was still there.
But when he tapped it—
The conversation was gone.
Every message. Every call.
Like she had never existed.
Ethan's throat tightened. His fingers trembled as he typed.
Ethan: Lucy?
The message didn't send.
A single error popped up on the screen.
Contact does not exist.
And that's when he knew.
Lucy was gone.
Jax had been the first.
Now, Lucy was next.
And if they didn't stop this—
They all would be.