Ethan stood frozen in Reed's dark, empty bedroom.
His breath came fast. His chest felt tight, heavy.
The wall still had deep, jagged scratches—DON'T GO TO SLEEP.
But it didn't matter anymore.
Reed was already gone.
Just like Jax.
Just like Lucy.
And now…
Maya and Ethan were the only ones left.
Maya took a slow, shaky step back. Her flashlight trembled in her grip.
She wouldn't look at the bed. Wouldn't look at the wall.
Because she knew.
She had known the second Reed stopped answering.
"He's really gone," she whispered.
Ethan swallowed hard, forcing himself to move. He grabbed Reed's desk chair and sank into it, his head dropping into his hands.
The nightmare wasn't just picking them off.
It was erasing them.
It was getting faster.
And worse—it was spreading.
Ethan's mind raced back to the glitching streetlights. The flickering sky. The way the world itself seemed to twist, like something warping reality.
Maybe it hadn't started with them.
Maybe this thing had been bleeding into the real world for a long time—and no one even remembered.
Maya's voice broke through his thoughts. "We need to get out of here."
Ethan looked up.
Her face was pale, eyes wide, filled with something beyond fear.
She turned toward the window.
And that's when Ethan noticed it.
The streetlights outside.
They weren't just flickering anymore.
They were going out.
One by one.
Darkness spreading down the block.
Moving toward them.
Ethan's breath hitched. "Maya—"
She grabbed his arm. "We're leaving. Now."
They sprinted down the stairs. Out the front door.
By the time they hit the street, Ethan's heart was pounding.
The night felt wrong.
The air was thick. Heavy. Buzzing.
The houses around them stood silent, dead.
Like the entire neighborhood was holding its breath.
Ethan's hands clenched into fists. "We need to find someone. Make them remember."
Maya shook her head. "Who?"
Ethan didn't answer.
Because deep down—he already knew the truth.
No one remembered Jax.
No one remembered Lucy.
And when they checked?
No one would remember Reed either.
They made it to Maya's house in ten minutes.
Locked the doors. Blocked the windows.
Sat in the living room, lights on, TV blaring—anything to stay awake.
Ethan ran a hand through his hair. "We need to stop this."
Maya let out a hollow laugh. "And how do we do that? We don't even know what it is."
Ethan stared at the floor. "We have to fight it. Inside the nightmare."
Maya shot him a sharp look. "Are you insane?"
Ethan met her gaze. "Jax. Lucy. Reed. They're still in there."
She froze.
He leaned forward. "They disappeared, yeah. But they're not dead. You saw the way they froze up before they were taken. They were pulled into the nightmare."
Maya's lips pressed together. She didn't argue.
Because part of her had thought the same thing.
If they were really gone, the world wouldn't have to erase them.
It was trying to make everyone forget.
Which meant there was still a chance to bring them back.
Maya exhaled, rubbing her temples. "So what? We let ourselves fall asleep?"
Ethan swallowed. "We don't have a choice."
Maya hesitated.
Then she grabbed a pen.
Started scribbling on her arm.
Ethan frowned. "What are you—?"
She held it up.
"DON'T FORGET. FIND US."
Ethan's breath caught.
It was smart.
If their memories started to go, if the nightmare tried to erase them from each other's minds—
They'd have proof.
They'd have each other.
Ethan grabbed the pen and did the same.
"DON'T FORGET. FIND US."
Then he sat back, heart pounding.
Maya took a deep breath.
Closed her eyes.
And let sleep take her.
Ethan followed a moment later.
And as the darkness swallowed him—
He prayed they would wake up somewhere they could fight back.