Ethan woke up to the faint hum of morning traffic outside. For a moment, he almost forgot where he was.
The old familiarity of his childhood room had that effect—pulling him back to a time when life had been simpler. No real responsibilities, no regrets. Just running, winning, and dreaming.
But that was a long time ago.
With a quiet sigh, he pushed himself up, stretching out the stiffness from last night's sleep. Heading to the wardrobe, he grabbed a spare set of clothes—he always left some behind for mornings like this, when he stayed over at his parents' house.
By the time he stepped into the kitchen, his mother was already bustling around, setting out breakfast. His father sat at the table, sipping coffee and flipping through the morning news on his tablet.
"Heading out already?" his mother asked, glancing up from the stove.
"Yeah, got work to do." Ethan slung his jacket over his shoulder. "I'll try to drop by again soon."
His father barely looked up. "Try not to sell out the whole damn city before then."
Ethan smirked. "No promises."
His mother shot his father a look before turning back to Ethan. "Take care of yourself, alright? And if you ever want to talk about anything—"
"I know, Mom." He softened his tone. "I'll see you later."
With that, he stepped out into the crisp morning air, got into his car, and headed for work.
The drive was uneventful, the streets busy with the usual rush of commuters. But something lingered at the back of his mind—that news report from last night.
A collapsed bridge. A dark shape in the sky. Officials avoiding direct answers.
For a second, his grip tightened on the steering wheel.
Then he shook it off.
It didn't concern him.
At least, not yet.
---
He reached the office building and headed straight to the break room. The steady hum of the coffee machine filled the air as he measured out dark roast into his favorite mug. While waiting, he listened to his colleagues trade snippets of office drama—rumors of promotions and whispered rivalries that somehow made the morning feel a little less mundane.
With a warm cup in hand, Ethan returned to his small, tidy office. He set his tablet aside and began the familiar ritual of sorting through a stack of files. One by one, he signed documents and organized them into neat piles. The steady cadence of his work was almost meditative—a brief, comforting haven of order amid a world that was slowly slipping into chaos.
Around 9:30 a.m., a gentle knock at the door signaled the arrival of the couple. Their punctuality and eager expressions brought a brief pause to the routine. In a surprisingly efficient process, all the necessary paperwork was completed within the hour. Each signature reaffirmed a fleeting sense of normalcy, even as hints of something far greater and more unsettling lurked just beyond the edges of his day.
After the couple left, the door opened once more and his boss, Mr. Stevens, stepped in with an air of quiet authority. Surveying Ethan's neatly organized files, he nodded in approval.
"Excellent work, Ethan. You handled that deal like a pro," Mr. Stevens said, a rare smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. "Keep this up, and I see a promotion on the horizon sooner than you might think."
A surge of pride and relief washed over Ethan, momentarily brightening the routine of his day. But before he could fully savor the compliment, Mr. Stevens continued, his tone shifting to business.
"I have a bigger task for you now," he announced. "One of our high-profile clients needs your help finding a property with some... unique requirements. I want you to take charge of this one personally. I trust you can handle it—even if it's a bit more challenging than our usual deals."
Ethan straightened in his seat, his heart quickening at the prospect of a new challenge. "Absolutely, Mr. Stevens. I won't let you down," he replied confidently.
With a nod of satisfaction, Mr. Stevens left Ethan to gather the details of the assignment. Alone once again, Ethan turned back to his desk, the weight of responsibility settling in. This task wasn't just another sale—it was a chance to prove himself, a stepping stone to a brighter future in a world that was slowly shifting beneath his feet.
It was now 7:30 p.m. after Ethan's meeting with the high-profile client. With his mind still buzzing from the day's successes—and the promise of a promotion lingering in the back of his mind—he merged into the steady evening traffic, heading home to fetch his laptop and sort through the new list of properties his boss had entrusted him with.
As he navigated the familiar roads with city lights dancing past his windshield, Ethan's thoughts drifted between work and the comfort of home. Then, as he neared his apartment complex, something unusual caught his eye. A car ahead swerved unexpectedly, and for a split second, Ethan thought he had imagined a dark, shifting shape flickering at the edge of his vision.
Before he could dismiss it as a trick of the light, his heart pounded harder when he saw it clearly—a gaunt, almost spectral creature, half-hidden in the dim glow of a streetlamp. It moved with jerky, inhuman motions, more like a mangled, shadowy animal than anything he'd ever seen. Startled, Ethan slammed on his brakes, the sudden deceleration echoing in the quiet of the approaching night.
In that frozen moment, the creature lunged across the lane. Its eyes glowed with an eerie luminescence, and its body rippled like smoke in a draft. Then, as suddenly as it had appeared, the creature vanished, leaving behind a stunned silence and a cascade of panicked shouts from other drivers.
Ethan's pulse thundered in his ears as he tried to process what he'd just witnessed. Later that night, news channels and social media buzzed with reports of similar attacks all over the world—apparitions, spectral beasts, and inexplicable phenomena that hinted at something far larger than isolated incidents. It was obvious: the very fabric of the world was changing, and the normal was breaking down.
Shaking off his lingering shock, Ethan resumed his drive. He managed to reach his apartment safely, though the encounter weighed heavily on his mind. Once inside, he barely had the energy to do anything. The images of that creature—and the global chaos unfolding on every news channel—kept replaying in his head.
Eventually, exhaustion overcame him. Despite his racing thoughts and deep unease, Ethan somehow managed to fall into a restless sleep, unaware that the fragile boundary between his once-ordinary life and a realm of supernatural chaos was beginning to crumble.