The Second Warning
1275 Words
Episode 2: The Second Warning
The clock on Ethan's computer read 10:29 PM.
Fourteen minutes.
That was all the time left.
Ethan stared at the donation message.
Oracle_13 — $100
"10:43 PM. Maple Road Convenience Store. Armed robbery. Clerk survives."
His first instinct was to end the livestream.
His second was to call the police.
Neither happened.
Instead, he remained frozen in front of the camera while the chat continued racing upward.
ShadowFox: CALL THE POLICE.
LunaSky: You have to report this.
PixelGhost: Maybe Oracle knows what's going to happen.
Mia89: Don't go there yourself.
Ethan swallowed.
He knew they were right.
If there was even a small chance the prediction was real, someone could get hurt.
He grabbed his phone.
His finger hovered over the emergency number.
Then stopped.
What exactly would he tell them?
Hello, officer. Someone donated money to my livestream and told me a robbery will happen in fourteen minutes.
They would probably think it was a prank.
Worse, they might trace the donation and discover Ethan had somehow fabricated the entire thing.
He looked at the screen again.
10:30 PM.
Thirteen minutes.
"Okay," he whispered.
He leaned toward the microphone.
"I'm calling the police."
The chat erupted.
But before Ethan could dial, another notification appeared.
Oracle_13 is typing...
Ethan's breath caught.
The typing indicator remained for several seconds.
Then a new message appeared.
"Don't."
Ethan stared at it.
Another message arrived.
"If you call them, the clerk dies."
His blood ran cold.
The chat went completely insane.
WHAT?
How does he know?
CALL THE POLICE ANYWAY
THIS IS NOT A JOKE
Ethan's hand tightened around his phone.
"How do you know that?"
He spoke directly into the microphone.
No response.
He waited.
Five seconds.
Ten.
Then another donation notification appeared.
$1
From Oracle_13.
The message contained only four words.
"You were warned once."
Ethan's stomach dropped.
Once.
The first prediction.
The first victim.
The first warning.
Was that what Oracle meant?
He glanced toward his apartment window.
The rain had stopped.
For the first time that night, the city outside looked strangely still.
At 10:34 PM, Ethan finally made a decision.
He couldn't sit there.
If the prediction was real, someone was going to walk into a convenience store in nine minutes and face an armed robber.
He had to do something.
He grabbed his jacket.
The chat immediately reacted.
LunaSky: Ethan don't go.
ShadowFox: Where are you going?
Ethan didn't answer.
He switched off the main camera but kept the livestream running.
Then he grabbed his keys.
Maple Road wasn't far.
Seven minutes by car.
Maybe less.
He could reach the store before 10:43.
He could warn the clerk.
He could stop it.
At least, that was what he told himself.
The streets were wet as Ethan drove.
Streetlights reflected across the windshield.
His hands remained tight around the steering wheel.
10:36.
Seven minutes.
His phone sat in the cup holder, connected to the livestream.
The chat was still moving.
People were watching.
Hundreds now.
His viewer count had exploded.
1,204 watching.
Ethan barely noticed.
All he could think about was the prediction.
Then his phone buzzed.
A private message.
He glanced at the screen.
Unknown number.
"You're making a mistake."
Ethan's heart hammered.
Another message arrived.
"Turn around."
He looked into the rearview mirror.
Nothing.
Only empty road.
He accelerated.
At 10:40 PM, Ethan saw the convenience store.
A small building glowing beneath a flickering sign.
MAPLE ROAD MARKET
One car was parked outside.
A delivery van.
The store looked completely normal.
Ethan pulled over across the street.
His eyes moved to the clock.
10:41 PM.
Two minutes.
He grabbed his phone and stepped out.
Cold air hit his face.
He crossed the road.
The automatic doors opened.
A bell chimed.
Inside, a middle-aged clerk looked up from behind the counter.
"Evening."
Ethan looked around.
Nothing seemed unusual.
Shelves.
Refrigerators.
Lottery tickets.
A security camera mounted in the corner.
He approached the counter.
"Sir?"
The clerk frowned.
"Can I help you?"
Ethan hesitated.
How could he explain this?
He lowered his voice.
"You need to lock the doors."
The clerk stared at him.
"What?"
"Please. Just lock the doors."
The man looked confused.
Ethan glanced toward the entrance.
10:42 PM.
One minute.
Then the bell above the door rang.
Ethan turned.
A man walked inside.
Black hoodie.
Dark jeans.
Face partially covered by a medical mask.
He stopped just inside the entrance.
Ethan's heart slammed against his ribs.
The man looked toward the counter.
Then toward Ethan.
Their eyes met.
For one terrible second, neither moved.
The man reached beneath his jacket.
Ethan's blood turned to ice.
"Get down!" he shouted.
The clerk ducked.
The man pulled out a g*n.
Everything happened at once.
A bottle fell from a shelf.
The clerk screamed.
Ethan threw himself behind a display rack.
The gunman shouted.
"Open the register!"
The clerk's hands shook as he reached for the cash drawer.
Ethan's phone was still recording.
The livestream was still running.
Thousands of people were watching.
And somewhere behind the fear, one thought screamed louder than everything else:
Oracle was right.
The robber grabbed the money.
He turned toward the door.
Then stopped.
His eyes moved toward Ethan.
For a moment, Ethan thought he was going to shoot.
Instead, the man raised the g*n toward the ceiling.
A single shot exploded through the store.
Ethan flinched.
The robber ran.
The door slammed behind him.
Silence followed.
Then the clerk collapsed against the counter.
Ethan slowly stood.
"Are you okay?"
The clerk nodded weakly.
"I... I think so."
Ethan looked at the clock.
10:43 PM.
Exactly.
His phone buzzed.
A donation notification appeared on the livestream.
$250
Oracle_13
Ethan stared at the screen.
The message was only one sentence.
"Told you he'd survive."
Ethan's hands began shaking.
He looked through the glass doors.
The robber had disappeared into the darkness.
Police sirens could be heard in the distance.
Someone must have called them.
Ethan looked back at his phone.
The viewer count had climbed past 8,000.
Then another message appeared.
Not from Oracle.
From one of his viewers.
ShadowFox: Ethan... I think Oracle knew you would come here.
Ethan stopped breathing.
A second message appeared.
LunaSky: Look at the first prediction again.
Ethan opened the previous donation.
"11:17 PM. Red sedan. Corner of Pine Street and 8th Avenue. One victim."
His eyes widened.
The prediction hadn't just described the crime.
It had described what happened before Ethan ever knew about Oracle.
But now there was something different.
Something he'd missed.
At the bottom of the original donation was a tiny line of text.
Something he'd never noticed.
Transaction ID: 11-17-08
Ethan stared at it.
Then at the second donation.
Transaction ID: 10-43-27
A pattern.
Times.
Numbers.
He felt a chill crawl across his skin.
Before he could investigate further, his phone screen went black.
Not locked.
Not asleep.
Completely black.
Then it turned back on.
A new message appeared.
Not in the livestream chat.
Not from an unknown number.
It appeared directly across his phone screen.
White letters against black.
STOP LOOKING FOR ME.
Ethan stared at the words.
Then another line appeared.
I'M TRYING TO SAVE THEM.
And finally:
YOU'RE NEXT.
The screen went black again.
Outside, police lights painted the wet street red and blue.
Ethan slowly raised his head.
Across the road, beyond the flashing lights, someone stood beneath a streetlamp.
A dark figure.
Watching him.
Ethan blinked.
The figure was gone.
End of Episode 2
Cliffhanger: If Oracle_13 is trying to prevent deaths, why does Ethan's name appear to be next on the list?
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