Chapter 3 — The Window
313 Words
Malick stood perfectly still.
The voice outside had disappeared.
He waited for it to return.
Nothing.
Slowly, he reached for the curtains.
His hand stopped inches from the fabric.
The message on his phone was still there.
IT KNOWS YOU’RE AWAKE.
Malick pulled the curtains open.
The street below was empty.
No cars.
No pedestrians.
Not even a stray dog.
But across the road, one streetlight was flickering.
On.
Off.
On.
Off.
Then it stopped.
Malick stared at it.
A figure stood beneath the light.
He couldn't see its face.
It was completely motionless.
Malick blinked.
The figure was gone.
His phone vibrated.
A new message appeared.
DON’T TRUST THE CLOCK.
He looked at the time.
03:19.
Then the numbers changed.
03:17.
Malick stepped backward.
His wall clock showed 03:17 too.
He checked his phone again.
03:17.
The minute had gone backward.
Then every electronic device in the room switched on at once.
His television displayed static.
The radio began whispering.
His laptop opened by itself.
Across its screen appeared a single sentence:
THE SIGNAL WAS NEVER SENT TO YOU.
Malick stared at the words.
A second line appeared.
YOU WERE SENT TO IT.
The lights suddenly returned.
Everything became silent.
On the laptop, the message disappeared.
A folder appeared on the desktop.
Its name was simple.
MALICK
He had never created it.
He opened it.
Inside was one file.
A photograph.
Malick clicked it.
His face appeared on the screen.
But the photograph was impossible.
It showed him standing in his bedroom.
Wearing the exact clothes he had on now.
And behind him, reflected in the window, stood the same faceless figure.
Malick slowly turned around.
The room was empty.
He looked back at the photograph.
The figure had moved closer.
Then the image changed.
A new message appeared beneath it:
CHAPTER 3 HAS BEGUN.
Malick's phone vibrated one final time.
RUN.
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