Chapter 5 — The Missing Minute
365 Words
The clock reached 03:21.
Nothing happened.
Malick waited.
The radio went silent.
The blue light beneath the kitchen door disappeared.
For a moment, everything seemed normal.
Then the clock stopped.
03:21.
Malick checked his phone.
03:17.
He looked at the laptop.
03:17.
Every device in the house showed a different time.
Except the black radio.
Its screen displayed:
03:21:14
Malick stared at the numbers.
They were counting upward.
03:21:15.
03:21:16.
He suddenly understood.
The missing minute hadn't disappeared.
It was still happening.
Somewhere.
The radio crackled.
A voice came through.
Not his this time.
A woman's voice.
“Malick, if you can hear me, don't answer.”
He froze.
“Who are you?”
Silence.
The radio immediately switched off.
Malick regretted speaking.
A second later, his phone rang.
The caller ID displayed:
MALICK LEE
He stared at the screen.
His own number was calling him.
He answered.
Nothing.
Then he heard breathing.
Slow and steady.
His breathing.
But there was something else underneath it.
A faint sound.
Rain.
Malick looked toward the window.
Outside, the street was completely dry.
The voice returned.
This time it was barely audible.
“It's coming back.”
Malick's stomach tightened.
“What is?”
The call ended.
The radio switched on again.
A distorted image appeared on its tiny screen.
A corridor.
Malick recognized it immediately.
It was the corridor outside his bedroom.
But the image was being filmed from the other end.
Something was standing there.
Watching.
Malick looked toward the real corridor.
Empty.
He looked back at the radio.
The figure had moved closer.
Then closer again.
Malick stepped away.
The radio displayed a final message:
THE SIGNAL CAN SHOW YOU THE FUTURE.
A pause.
Another line appeared.
BUT ONLY AFTER IT HAS ALREADY HAPPENED.
The screen went black.
From the corridor came a quiet voice.
“Malick?”
He recognized it.
His own voice.
But this time, it wasn't coming from a recording.
It was coming from the hallway.
And then the footsteps began.
One.
Two.
Three.
Moving toward him.
Malick backed away from the kitchen.
The radio suddenly displayed one final number.
03:22
The footsteps stopped.
And somewhere inside the house, a door opened.
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