Chapter 1: THE FINDING
Ethan knew better than to run
Running only made things worse.
It gave them more reason to chase him, more reason to laugh, more reason to hurt him and more reason to enjoy it.
But his legs moved anyway, he couldn't stop running — not now
Behind him, footsteps pounded the corridor like drums.
Loud voices bounced off the walls, mixing with laughter that never sounded friendly—only sharp, cruel, and entertained.
“Where are you going, Ethan?” one voice called out.
Another laugh followed. “He’s always running!”
Ethan didn’t look back.
He couldn’t afford to.
His chest burned as he pushed himself forward, past rows of lockers and scattered students who stepped aside like they were used to this scene.
Like it was normal.
Maybe for them, it was.
For him, it never was.
His breath came in broken pieces as he turned sharply into a side corridor, almost slipping as his shoes skidded against the mopped floor. His shoulder hit the wall, but he didn’t stop.
Not until he saw the small wooden door ahead.
Janitor’s closet.
He didn’t think. He just pushed it open, slipped inside, and pulled it shut behind him.
Darkness swallowed him whole.
For a moment, everything went silent.
Only his breathing remained—fast, uneven, alive.
Ethan pressed his back against the door, listening.
Footsteps approached.
He held his breath.
Closer…Closer
Then they passed.
Laughter faded down the hall, slowly dissolving into the distance until there was nothing left but the quiet hum of the school building settling.
Ethan didn’t move.
Not for a long time.
His heartbeat refused to slow down, as if his body didn’t believe the danger was gone yet.
It never fully did.
At some point, time stopped making sense.
Minutes blurred together.
The cramped closet smelled faintly of cleaning chemicals, dirty rags and dust. Ethan slid down until he was sitting on the floor, knees pulled close to his chest.
His eyes stared into nothing.
This was becoming normal.
Hiding - Running - Waiting
He didn’t even remember when school stopped feeling like school and started feeling like survival.
Eventually, exhaustion won, His head tilted forward.
And everything went dark.
When Ethan woke up, the silence felt heavier.
For a moment, he didn’t know where he was. It took a few moments for his eyes to grow accustomed to the darkness again. A weak light slipped under the door.
He blinked slowly.
Then reality returned.
Janitor’s closet.
He pushed himself up, stiff from sleeping in an awkward position. His neck ached. His legs felt numb and tingling.
He opened the door carefully.
The hallway outside was empty.
Completely empty.
No students. No teachers. No noise.
Just rows of lockers and dim hallways lights flickering overhead.
Ethan stepped out slowly.
His footsteps echoed louder than they should have. He stilled, not out of the numbness he still felt but out of fear that maybe those bullies were still around.
He checked his phone instinctively.
No signal - Battery low
Of course
He sighed and rubbed his face, already knowing what this meant.
Late.
Very late.
By the time he reached outside, the sun had already set. Everything swallowed by darkness.
Day had died quietly without him noticing.
The school gates stood open, creaking slightly in the wind. The streets were almost deserted, as if the world had moved on without waiting for him.
Ethan adjusted his bag and started walking home.
Home - the word felt strange in his mind.
Not warm . Not safe
Just… a place he had to return to
The streets near his school were uneven and poorly lit. Some streetlights hadn’t worked in months, leaving long stretches of road swallowed by darkness.
People complained sometimes
But nothing changed.
Ethan kicked a small stone along the road, watching it roll ahead of him before disappearing into the shadows.
He kept walking
The air grew colder as the distance increased between him and the school. The silence around him felt different now—not peaceful, but empty in a way that made him more aware of every sound he made.
His footsteps.
His breathing.
Even his thoughts.
He adjusted his grip on his bag.
That was when he noticed it.
A flicker
Not from a light pole.
Not from a house.
Something deeper in the darkness ahead.
He slowed down.
His eyes narrowed slightly as he focused on the area beside the road—overgrown bushes bending into the shadows.
The flicker came again.
Faint.
Then stronger.
Like something was blinking.
Ethan stopped walking.
He stood still for a moment, listening.
Nothing.
Only wind
Only silence.
He shook his head slightly and continued walking.
Don't get involved. Don't look for trouble.
That was always the rule.
But as he passed the bushes, the flicker came again—clearer this time. Persistent. Like it refused to be ignored.
Ethan stopped again.
This time, longer.
His mother’s voice echoed faintly in his mind, a memory he didn’t fully understand anymore—somethings are better left alone.
He stared ahead, then back at the bushes.
The light blinked again.
Slow - Deliberate
Almost like it noticed him noticing it.
Ethan exhaled slowly, curiosity was dangerous
He knew that.
But so was walking away without knowing.
After a long pause, he turned, stepped off the road and into the bushes.
Branches scratched lightly against his arms as he pushed through, the ground uneven beneath his feet. The flickering light grew stronger with every step.
Closer. Clearer.
Until finally—
He saw it.
A phone.
Lying on the ground.
Its screen glowing faintly, blinking in a rhythm that didn’t feel natural. Not like a notification. Not like a call. Not like a dying battery.
Something else.
Something intentional.
Ethan froze.
The air around him felt suddenly different.
He couldn’t explain it, but the silence here didn’t feel empty anymore.
It felt aware.
He hesitated for a long moment—contemplating.
Then slowly, carefully, he reached down and picked it up.
The moment his fingers touched it—
The screen lit up instantly.
