Almost Seen
612 Words
The rain hadn’t stopped since morning.
Grey sheets poured from the sky, soaking the concrete campus in a constant hiss. But Kieran didn’t rush. He moved like a shadow given weight—hood up, shoulders relaxed, steps deliberate.
The world had grown quiet around him lately.
Not because it was truly silent.
But because he’d stopped needing the noise.
> Confidence Level: 23.7%
You are approaching your first trial.
> “There’s still one thread you haven’t pulled,” the Echo murmured. “The boy who smiled at you when no one else did. The one who promised to never lie.”
Kieran’s jaw tightened.
Lucas.
His only real friend. The one who had always sat beside him in class, offered gum without asking, played defense for him when Logan targeted him. The only one who seemed to care.
Until two weeks ago.
Until he laughed with them.
Until he looked away when Kieran needed a voice.
And then…
Vanished.
---
The old arts building stood empty that afternoon—classes were canceled, the lights dim. Kieran stood at its front, water dripping from his sleeves.
He’d tracked the pattern. Lucas had started sneaking off here again lately. The same building they used to hide in during lunch when they were kids.
Nostalgia was a dangerous thing.
Inside, the air smelled of damp wood and old ink. Somewhere deeper, footsteps echoed faintly.
Kieran followed them.
Through the stairwell, up to the third floor.
There—by the window overlooking the backfield—stood Lucas. Hands in his pockets. Watching the rain.
He turned.
Eyes met.
“Kieran?”
Kieran said nothing.
Lucas frowned slightly. “You’re soaked, man. What are you—”
“You used to say I was the smartest person you knew.”
Lucas flinched.
“You used to say,” Kieran continued, “that you wished you could see the world the way I did.”
“I…” Lucas looked down. “I didn’t lie.”
“You didn’t stop them either.”
Lucas opened his mouth, then closed it.
Kieran stepped closer. “Why?”
A beat of silence.
Then—softly, honestly—Lucas said:
“Because I was afraid they’d turn on me too.”
Kieran stared.
And then—
> Confidence Level: 25.0%
Threshold reached. You are now eligible for: Confidence Trial I – “You, Revealed.”
> Trial Opens in: 00:01:00
The room blurred. Dimmed.
Lucas didn’t seem to notice—but the Echo appeared behind Kieran in the windowpane, its figure tall, composed, voice clear:
> “Do you forgive him?”
> “He broke nothing but a promise.”
> “Or does betrayal—quiet, invisible betrayal—cut deeper than fists ever could?”
The air buzzed.
Kieran looked at Lucas again. Really looked. The nervous shifting. The regret. The same voice, same tone—but a different weight behind it.
Lucas still cared.
But caring didn’t undo the silence.
“I get it,” Kieran said quietly. “You did what you had to do.”
Lucas looked up, hopeful.
“But I don’t need that kind of friend anymore.”
Then he turned—and walked out.
Not cold.
Not angry.
Just… final.
Behind him, the Echo nodded in approval.
> “You didn’t scream. You didn’t rage. But you made a choice. And you didn’t look back.”
---
As he exited the building, the air split.
[TRIAL COMMENCING – “YOU, REVEALED”]
A shockwave rippled through his vision, and the world fractured.
The sky overhead shattered like a mirror.
And Kieran fell—
Into a space of endless black glass.
- Writer
